Casa Mai - Bruce's Stuph

	Costuming is my main interest. Typical for me, when I get interested in something, I jump in with both feet. Right now, I'm the President of our chapter of the International Costumers Guild (aka St. Louis Ubiquitous Tailoring Society -- SLUTS). We have between 30-40 members at the moment. Nora and I have also published a collection of costume photos for the ICG, showcasing its members' works.
Doctor Who -- I'll always have a fond place for it in my heart. I met a lot of friends there, including Nora. I was the President of the local DW fan club for 4 years, and my first costume was from Doctor Who -- Fred , a full sized Dalek Supreme. He lives in our basement. Now that the show has been revived, I'm really enjoying watching it again.
Anime - I've always had a fascination for animation. I used to make my own stop-motion films when I was a kid. For awhile, I went to a lot of animation film festivals. Back in the 1980s, I was watching Japanese anime before it became cool. I kind of got out of the habit a year or two after Nora and I got married. Now, we've sort of been re-discovering it again. As part of our learning about the huge anime fandom that exists now, in connection with folks who wear costumes of their favorite characters, we've been buying videos again, along with watching stuff on the Toon Channel. We're now dabbling with making our own anime-inspired outfits. We attended our first convention in 2005.
Near Death Experiences -- Ooo, there's a cheery subject! I became interested in this while researching for a costume I was making. An NDE is where someone "dies" temporarily and has an out-of-body experience before being revived again. They may see loved ones or religious figures -- it differs with each person. It can actually be quite uplifting to learn about, since I believe Death is by no means an end to our existence. My personal focus is on people who have seen animals during their experiences. I've been collecting stories relating to the existence of animal immortality and have just launched the bare bones of a website called The Path to Forever, devoted to this subject. The original documentation for the presentation, "Gone...But Not Forgotten" is the centerpiece of the site. I will eventually add more stories I've found, plus there'll be related links of interest to people who love their animals and have wondered about the Afterlife.
As one of the outgrowths from the above, I sort of collect winged cat art.
Gossamer - I also collect good images of this minor Warner Bros. cartoon monster character. For a pic of him, go to the Office.
	Otters -- We both like 'em, especially river otters. We have an in-joke between us related to them. When we run into someone with strong body odor, we say they've brought their "otters" with them, and are in need of "de-otterant". All sorts of visual imagery and little voices come to mind. See more about otters in the Bedroom.
Bagpipes! - Ever since I saw "The Longest Day", an old war movie back in the 1960s, I've always kind of liked Scottish Highland bagpipes. Nora gave me a practice chanter as part of a kit to learn them, before we were married (she likes them too). For whatever reason (mostly not wanting to spend the time learning), I never got around trying to play it. Finally, in May of 2005, I finally pushed myself to give it a go. As it happens, there's a well-known in town group called the John Ford Highland Pipe Band that practices just 4 miles from our house. I'll let you know how it goes....