Writing, Theology, Hip-hop culture, Basketball, Baseball, Camping, Video games, Dry media art, Film criticism, Acting, Steampunk, Vanitas, The Uncanny Valley, Gadgets, Digging through crates, Cruising in the late night, Wandering around museums, Browsing through used book shops, Miniature golf, Community services, Hanging out in burger joints, Eating the hottest chili peppers known to man, Glutting on chips, Collecting Nike Dunks, Keeping a sense of wonder in the mundane, Making lists, Rolling things up into my katamari, Zombies
The Garden Christian Fellowship
Grace Community Church
Mosaic Los Angeles
I'd like to meet:
Mira Sorvino. Rachel Weisz. Jennifer Connelly. Marisa Tomei. Catherine Zeta-Jones. (I seriously have a thing for actresses who only win one Best Supporting Oscar.) Christy Turlington. Winona Ryder. Stacy Keibler. Jade Raymond. Natalie Portman. Tift Merritt.
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I used to be the kind of Christian who spends all his time buried in books on theology. Discussing the finer points of sin and salvation seemed to me the most satisfying and stimulating intellectual zenith of my faith and I thrived upon that. I've come to realize, however, that I did so at the expense of actually acting upon the commandments of Jesus, namely to love my neighbor. I see too many Christians (even pastors) who can perfectly analyze, comprehend, and relate the Scripture in sermons and study groups, and yet do not reflect its doctrine in their daily actions and words. I want to meet people who are working hard to make sure they don't end up like that.
I know, it's hard sometimes to even aspire to that, when you find yourself surrounded by friends who fail you, people who misunderstand and assume the worst about you, and manipulators who outright slander you. It makes you wonder where the beauty is in the struggle 'cause it just looks real grimy down where you are. I used to succumb to that thought, and I still do sometimes -- it's real easy to make yourself cold and mean and selfish in response to your surroundings. But does that change really make you any happier or better off than you were before? I hope your careful, honest answer is no.
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You know what I love about Los Angeles? There are people of all colors and cultures living here. I've befriended people of these ethnicities or nationalities:
Argentine, Armenian, Australian, Brazilian, British, Cambodian, Canadian, Chilean, Chinese, Croatian, Dominican, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Filipino, French, Greek, Indian, Indonesian, Iranian, Irish, Italian, Jamaican, Japanese, Jewish, Kenyan, Korean, Laotian, Malaysian, Mexican, Native American, New Zealander, Nigerian, Norwegian, Pakistani, Peruvian, Polynesian, Puerto Rican, Russian, Salvadoran, Samoan, Serbian, Singaporean, South African, Spanish, Sri Lankan, Swiss, Taiwanese, Thai, Trinidadian, Turkish, Ukranian, Vietnamese
Are you one of these Angelenos? I could always use even more cultural awareness. If you don't see your ethnicity/nationality on this list...let's be friends!
Attention music artists:
I get a dozen friend requests each day from bands, rappers, songwriters, producers, record labels, promoters, you name it... My friend request manager is usually 6 pages long because of that and I can't keep up with the flow. If you want me to listen to your music and possibly add you as a friend, send me an accompanying message addressing me as "rapsodist" (and not by whatever my display name may be) somewhere in the subject line. That way I'll know that you've actually taken the time to read through my profile (or at least this sentence, I guess) and, based on what you've read about me, you really, truly, honestly believe that I'll like your music. Anything else will be immediately marked as spam. Thanks for your cooperation.
Music:
Underground rap, Alternative hip-hop, '60s soul, Electric blues, '60s rock, Film score, Bop jazz, Alternative country, Sacred steel, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, U2, Public Enemy, John Coltrane, The Black Keys, Common, The Roots, Reflection Eternal, Black Star, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Koji Kondo, Mars ILL, Nick Cave, El-P, Eric Clapton, Aesop Rock, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Ennio Morricone, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Jurassic 5, RJD2, Yasunori Mitsuda, Run-D.M.C., Nas, Led Zeppelin, Gang Starr, Beck, Murs, Wu-Tang Clan, Jimi Hendrix, Outkast, Blackalicious, Al Green, Dr. Dre, B.B. King, Deepspace5, Ice Cube, Shelby Lynne, Handsome Boy Modeling School, The Flaming Lips, Interpol, K-os, Over the Rhine, 2Pac, Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, LA Symphony, Spearhead, A Girl Called Eddy
Movies:
Black and white, Foreign drama, Spaghetti western, Classic war, '80s action, Akira Kurosawa, Sergio Leone, Walt Disney, Woody Allen, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton, Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Clint Eastwood, Toshiro Mifune, Henry Fonda, Harrison Ford, The Godfather, Casablanca, Seven Samurai, Once Upon a Time in the West, Roman Holiday, Rashomon, Wild Strawberries, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, City Lights, Ikiru, Das Boot, Terminator 2, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Die Hard, Sunset Boulevard, The Big Sleep, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, My Man Godfrey, 12 Angry Men, All About Eve, Taxi Driver, The Road Warrior, All Quiet on the Western Front, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sullivan's Travels
Television:
'80s Saturday morning cartoons, PBS travel/science documentaries, ESPN, Arrested Development, The Simpsons, Batman: The Animated Series, The Twilight Zone, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fawlty Towers, Mr. Bean, Monk, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Transformers, Pee-wee's Playhouse, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Charlie Rose, California's Gold with Huell Howser, NBA Inside Stuff
Adventure/fantasy, 3D exploration, Platform, 16-bit RPGs, Experimental/niche, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, Super Mario Bros., Final Fantasy VI, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Street Fighter II Turbo, Metal Gear Solid, Metroid Prime, Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy IV, Half-Life, Tetris, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Soul Calibur, Silent Hill, Mega Man 2, ICO, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Resident Evil 2, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Secret of Mana, Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves, Ape Escape, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Katamari Damacy, Shadow of the Colossus, Parasite Eve, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Books:
George Orwell, Charles Dickens, Raymond Chandler, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis, Alan Moore, Kurt Busiek, E.B. White, Charles Colson, Nick Hornby, Dylan Thomas, Langston Hughes, Hans Christian Andersen, Neil Gaiman, The Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, The Odyssey, 1984, Aesop's Fables, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Animal Farm, The Republic, The Screwtape Letters, Treasure Island, Astro City, Kingdom Come, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Pilgrim's Progress, The Gift of the Magi, Bible commentaries, Dictionaries, Instruction manuals
Heroes:
John the Baptist, Johnny Cash, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John Muir, C.S. Lewis, Tupac Shakur, Benjamin Franklin, Jackie Robinson, Chuck D, Mister Rogers, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Michael Jordan, Shigeru Miyamoto, Mr. T, Will "The Thrill" Clark, Allen Iverson, Sherlock Holmes, The Man with No Name, Batman, Samus Aran, Daredevil, Philip Marlowe, Guile, Han Solo, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, The King of All Cosmos, Encyclopedia Brown, "The Sports Guy" Bill Simmons, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, Dikembe Mutumbo, Emperor Norton, Jimmy Patterson
