The second edition of "Meeting the Neighbors" for 2007 brings us to the door of Fearful Symmetries. FS was one of the first blogs I discovered when first moving to Madison nearly four years ago and when I was part of the "eastside mad bloggers" ring (because I had no friends, just my personal blog which has long since been buried). While a personal blog, FS stands out for being well-written and hitting numerous poignant topics ranging from humanism to brew news (he also moonlights as Skip, one of our beer writers) to Doctor Who. Seriously, there is little more poignant than Doctor Who and beer. I have also learned not to visit the blog on Friday's while at work or in a coffeehouse. FS runs one of the oldest podcasts in Madison called Up the Downstair.

*1. Where did the name of your blog originate from, and when did the blog start?*

The name came from the music I was listening to that fateful day back in September of 2003 - the piece by composer John Adams. (Luckily it wasn't "Nixon in China".)

*2. What inspired you to start your blog?*

My previous blog had become known to too many people I knew.

*3. What is the most rewarding facet of writing on the internet?*

I'm not sure. But I can say that it's highly amusing to see the search terms people use to find porn only to stumble upon my blog.

*4. Describe the space you do your writing in.*

Physically, my space is usually a very cluttered Amish oak dining room table which serves as my desk. And I'm in the basement. Mentally, it's most often some kind of caffeine-induced haze with music playing.

*5. What do you do for kicks when you're not posting?*

Posting at my podcast. Most of the rest should be pretty obvious from my blog's sidebar. (N.B. - I am a dork.) Oh, and spending time with kith, kin, and my lovely ladyfriend.

*6. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Madison?*

Smelly hippies.

*7. Is there one thing about the city you wish was different or something the city is missing you wish it had?*

There are many things I wish were different about Madison and my list seems to change on a quotidian basis. Today I mourn the absence of a fetish night at a bar with music that I enjoy. If I were dictator, PROG would play a fetish night as I suspect that shibari in 9/8 time and with lots of Mellotron would be the coolest thing since cryogenics.

*8. Where do you enjoy eating the most in Madison (or Dane County)?*

Arbat, Essen Haus, Maharaja (or any Indian restaurant), New Orleans Take-Out, Wah Kee, et al. I suspect Jada's Soul Food will join this list as soon as I wrap my lips around their food.

*9. If you could replace the word "blogs" in the cultural lexicon, what would you replace it with?*

I dunno - I'm happy with "blog". It sounds like an unseemly bodily function, which is an apt description of most blogs.

*10. Finally, name one person you wish kept a blog and what you think they would title it (can be living or dead).*

I wish that several people kept a blog who don't. Since I can't think of a clever response, I'll say Charles W. Anderson. He was a political science professor at the UW and I had a class with him. One would think that decades of annoying undergrads with their bleating about whether something was going to be on the exam or not would have dulled his enthusiasm. But you'd be wrong. He'd come in every day with a you-know-what eating grin on his face ready to play Six Degrees of Separation. During this he'd do something like link Milton Friedman to Aristotle via John Locke and then go on a detour to discuss Marx and Bellah. Not only was he a great prof, but his lectures changed my life. His books "Pragmatic Liberalism", "A Deeper Freedom", and "Prescribing the Life of the Mind" are all must-reads, in my humble opinion.