My favorite things Utah

Lately there has been too much travel, yes, but writings these posts is fun.  I am headed toward Sundance.  Here goes:

1. Author: Orson Scott Card’s The Ender Trilogy (start with Ender’s Game) is a modern landmark which will be read for years to come.  Next on my list is Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose.

2. Actor: James Woods, as he plays in Casino and Virgin Suicides, two fine movies.

3. Best Robert Redford movie: Out of Africa, schmaltz yes but I love it.

4. Film, set in: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid comes to mind.

5. Novel, set in: Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song.  The first half in particular is a knockout.

6. Can I have a category for kidnapping victim?  Jeopardy champion?

The bottom line: I love Utah.  I love its baked goods, its Mexican food, its sense of building a new world in the wilderness.  I love that it has a uniquely American religion and I find Salt Lake City to be one of America’s most impressive achievements.  I regard southern Utah as quite possibly the most beautiful part of the United States.  That said, I had a tough time filling out these categories and of course plenty of the usual categories are blank altogether.