I think I liked you better without the cowboy hat, kiddo...

Let me tell ya right now, folks: if you don't have the time for it, don't get me started on a discussion of Tolkien, because I will bore you to tears or make you late for something. However, if you have a free schedule, I'll entertain all sorts of interlocutions on any topic pertaining to any age of Middle-Earth. Luckily, no one's missed a meeting in Osaka over it for some time now.
In other news, though: as Brad so sagely pointed out, I do know one Josh from ages long past: Josh Jones, a.k.a. Cowboy. We were buds back in middle school, but when we entered high school he began his descent into cowboy-dom (or is it cowboy-DUMB?). This was coupled with an exploration into what I can only deem a Wiccan-stupid-Goth-existential-fluff philosophy which was the epitome of meaningless hooey. He'd write "Death is a mere state of being" on EVERYTHING, and he'd say it all the time. He'd meet all these people that had never met him before, and he'd try to convince them he was from the South (in his mind, Indiana IS the South) and it was utterly embarassing to concede that I knew him. Especially when he would give free demonstrations of the proper way to ride a bull. Really... Josh wasn't the deepest thinker this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Josh ended up joining the Armed Forces as several directionless former friends of mine did, but found himself in the vaulted position of Anti-Intelligence as of late (actually, it's Counter-Espionage, but in the world of Josh Jones, it's Anti-Intelligence. How appropriate!).
So, be wary of kids dressed in super-tight black pants and cowboy hats driving pick-up trucks decorated with yellow ribbons... you just may run into Josh Jones, Anti-Intelligence agent extraordinaire... and God help you!
That's about it for now, folks. I'll return bearing more news should any arise. Don't take any wooden nickels!

Love, Ian