Andrew Ian Dodge is a 37-year-old American expat living and working in London in the UK. He is a writer, blogger, computer games consultant (his full time work) and the lyricist/frontman for Growing Old Disgracefully. He has recently published a story collection called The Gathering Dark and other tales. Andrew has been writing Cthulhu Mythos stories for many years (currently published here) and he has written an Idiot's Guide to the Mythos. He recently completed a diploma in Witchcraft Studies. His newest project is a UK-based libertarian group blog called Liberty Cadre. Andrew also blogs at Dodgeblogium.
Why do you blog? > I blog because it's a way for me to practise my expository writing and get exposure for all my creative and non-creative output. It additionally allows me to flush out ideas that I might use in future creative and non-fiction writing.
What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > Solo blogs, except in rare cases, will not stand the test of time. Establish yourself as a decent blogger then get yourself into a good group blog.
What are your favourite blogs? > Cold Fury, Silent Running and Frozen in Montreal.
What is the best novel you've ever read? > Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.
What is your favourite song? > 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake (1987 album version).
Who is your favourite composer? > Wagner.
Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? > When I was very young I was an authoritarian (in the Latin American dictator sense). I wanted to have my own island that I ran as a strong man. I grew out of it fairly sharpish and was a crypto-libertarian by the end of prep school.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? > That the state is neither your friend nor the solution to all your problems. One must take personal responsibility for oneself and one's actions. The state needs to be as limited as possible or it will take away all your freedom and entirely run your life.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? > The opposite of the belief above.
Can you name a work of non-fiction which has had a major and lasting influence on how you think about the world? > Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. I believe it was the work above all others that turned me into a libertarian.
If you could effect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be? > End the death tax, as it's evil and immoral.
What would you do with the UN? > I would eject it from NYC forthwith, leave the organization and ostracize it from the world stage if at all possible.
What do you consider to be the main threat to the future peace and security of the world? > Islamic terrorism.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life? > 'Always look on the bright side of life.' (Eric Idle)
Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? > No.
Do you have any prejudices you're willing to acknowledge? > Yes, I have very little patience for ignorance and if at all possible I avoid ignorant people. Life is too short to talk to an ignorant person.
What commonly enjoyed activities do you regard as a waste of time? > Watching sports of any kind.
What, if anything, do you worry about? > When and if my left cornea will tear (I have degenerative disease in that eye), and whether my right eye is truly clear of the disease.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? > Embrace the fact I was doomed destined to be a professional writer, much earlier than I did - ditto the fact that I would become a musician.
What would you call your autobiography? > Growing Old Disgracefully.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? > Mike Myers.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do)? > In a rather large castle in the countryside, overlooking the sea.
What is your most treasured possession? > My large (2000+) and ever-growing CD collection. Vera, my dog is more important, but I don't consider her a possession, more an adopted offspring.
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? > Agrippa.
What talent would you most like to have? > Being able to play as many (7+) musical instruments as my band's key muso.
Who is your favourite comedian or humorist? > Monty Python.
Who are your sporting heroes? > I have none because the idolization of sportsmen is sheer folly.
If you could have one (more or less realistic) wish come true, what would you wish for? > To become a highly successful (and famous) musician and writer.
How, if at all, would you change your life were you suddenly to win or inherit an enormously large sum of money? > Um, yeah, not that much. I know I still would be writing and singing, expect now I would buy a large(ish) house with a studio.
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner who would they be? > Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Simon the Magus.
[The normblog profile is a weekly Friday morning feature. A list of the first 52 profiles, and the links to them, can be found here. Details of subsequent profiles are here.]