The Finnamore family came to New Jersey in the 1700s, chose the Brit side in the American Revolution, and was shipped off to New Brunswick at the end of the war. A few generations later, my great-grandparents moved from Canada to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and established a family which is there to this day. Seemingly, we're of Irish-via-English (possibly -via-Provencal-via-Roman) descent, though it might be just English.

Considering all my grandparent's lines, I'm seemingly English-Swedish-Irish with generous dashes of Scottish and German stirred in for good measure, plus minor amounts of Dutch, French, and Danish, and bare traces of all other European stock. One of the lines on my mother's side, 14 generations back from me, intersects with European royalty via Count Johann "Crazy John" Wilhelm (1562-1609) of Altena in North-west Germany, and traces back through him to Charlemagne.

The surname Finnamore probably derives from an English place name referring to a land of moors inhabitted by Finns or members of the clan of the legendary Celt named Finn. However, there is also an Italian family with the same spelling. "Finn amore" is Italian (Latin) for "true love," more-or-less. Alternatively, the name may derive from "fin' amors," which, according to early music performer and broadcaster Angela Mariani, "is the Occitan term for 'courtly love,' the idealized notion of love so prevalent in medieval romance and in the songs of the troubadours." Cool. (Occitan was the language spoken in Provence of old.)

See my genealogy site for more info.

• "Ancient" music: medieval, early renaissance, traditional Celtic (no, I mean really traditional - no later than Turlough O'Carolan), chant of various Western religious traditions, reconstructions from hints from ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Anonymous 4 just knocks me out! They are my all-time favorite music group. I rarely miss the public radio show "Harmonia."
• J. S. Bach - in a class by himself; no one else even comes close. Well, maybe Monteverdi, but that's comparing apples with oranges <g>
• Brahms, especially his German Requiem and Symphony #1.
• Classic Rock/Symphonic Rock, especially Brit rock. Ya know, Floyd, Zeppelin, Yes, The Who, etc. But my favorite rock guitarist is Joe Walsh; his feel for phrasing is incomparable, IMHO. David Gilmore runs a close second. Among rock vocalists, my favorites are Robert Plant and Stevie Nicks.
• Blues -- real blues, not the commercial stuff. My favorites are Junior Kimbrough and Cedell Davis. They just kill me. Raw, unfiltered Mississippi Hill Country blues. It don't git no more better'n 'at.
• I used to say I liked jazz, but I only said it because I thought I was supposed to like it. 8-)> Actually, I am rather fond of Pat Metheny's stuff, especially the records he made with Lyle Mays, and most especially the album Still Life Talking.

Most of Western Civilization has been stuck on the idea of 12 tone per octave equal temperament for about 100 years now. Guitars are tuned to it, and pianos generally have been since about Debussy's time. Few Western musicians are any longer aware that anything else exists, never mind that it has only been in regular use since the late 19th century, and (as we use it) only in the West until after WWII.

I love to explore tunings of many other kinds. My favorites are often subsets of just intonation, though more recently I've become fascinated with the unlimited possibilities of tunings based on the Golden Mean. If you want to explore tunings further, consider joining the definitive mailing list for it, the Alternate Tuning List at Yahoo Groups, and put on your thinking cap! :-)

My favorite current show is Smallville. Latecomer, didn't start watching regularly until season 5. The production values aren't quite as high as the X-files, but the stories are often better. Themes are often related to salvation, self-sacrifice, true love, strong families, and the reality of the supernatural. It makes a presentation of good vs. evil that is clear and real without being corny or unrealistic. This is the Superman story as is should have been (although, perhaps, no one would have listened to it until now).

I also occasionally enjoy "Star Trek" (TNG & DS9), "The Simpsons," and "King of the Hill," though I'm not as fanatical about them. Well, OK, maybe "The Simpsons."