Johnboy profile picture

Johnboy

Sometimes there is nothing sexier than knowing that you are doomed.

About Me

I'm originally from My Old Kentucky Home, I live in DC, and will soon move to Portugal. Which requires a little recent history I think...I was laid off from my last real job in the summer of 2005. I spent the next year and a half on four separate runs around the world : 1) Laos, Cambodia (again) and Vietnam; 2) Belgium and Sweden; 3) Mexico; 4) Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand (again), Nepal, India, Portugal, and Spain. It was my response to getting laid off.
So, once again, here is my combined travel map:

Through it all, I had an orangutan sit in my lap, a close encounter in the jungle with a cobra that couldn't care less about me, and learned a little bit about how to drive an elephant. I also swam with sea turtles, moray eels, leopard sharks, manta rays, a whale shark, and big barracudas. I strode up Indonesian volcanoes, through tea plantations, and over the high Himalaya, and I got to see Gunung Merapi rumble and smoke before it erupted. I seem to have had fantastic dumb luck for showing up in the best places just in time to catch local festivals. My cooking lore has been expanded, I figured out the mechanics of Muay Thai boxing, and I've gotten a good grip on Northern Thai style massage. Everywhere I went, people asked me if I was a Moslem, and in India people joked that I was "Ali Baba." I've made a regular habit of visiting wats and gompas to debate with the Buddhist monks, do some chanting, and get blessed. I picked up working Bahsa Indonesian/Malay, Hindi, and Gurkhali, and a very tiny bit of Thai. Oh, and I fell in love. It was my Before Sunrise that actually went somewhere. And that is why I am moving to Portugal...

Continuing photojournal

My Interests

learning about wine, music, boxing, bourbon, northern thai massage, accupressure, theatre, show-going, SCUBA, reading, philosophizing, travel, my dog, politics, debating Buddhist monks, cooking, history, tea, pranks

I'd like to meet:

People who walk the walk more than they talk the talk. Folks with color and substance. Thinkers who are more interested in living their thoughts, as an artist ought to live their art (counting angels on pinheads: not interested). Nostalgics who still have more stories to be made ahead of them than there are behind them... unless, of course, you have a pile of really awesome stories to go with your ongoing retirement. Individuals who don't have to be told that individuality is centered on how well you do on your own, not how well you stand out from or lead a crowd.

Music:

Recent acquisitions: Aesop Rock, 13 Ghosts, Neko Case, Del the Funky Homosapien, R.E.M., Whisekytown, Digital Underground, Ryan Adams, The Foals, Moomaw

Movies:

The Addiction, The Aristocrats, The Duelists, Spartacus, Gladiator, Sex and Lucia, Scratch, the Godfather, the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Herzog's Nosferatu, High Fidelity, Blue Velvet, Caligula, Dead Alive, Halloween, Master and Commander

Books:

A selection of favorite books, authors, and genres: House of Leaves, Nick Hornby, This is Serbia Calling, Lovecraft, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic, Poe, Our Band Could Be Your Life, Jared Diamond, Dead Souls, B. H. Liddell Hart, The Meditations, A Short History of Nearly Everything, Christopher Moore, To Reign in Hell, Chuck Palahnuik, Royal Navy age of sail adventure fiction (ala Master and Commander), Irvine Welsh, Pol Pot, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Dogs and Demons: The Fall of Modern Japan

My Blog

My Current Life

This is more like who I am today George Carlin passed away. Carlin and Bo Diddley. I'm now waiting for the third undeniable entertainment genius to pass away. And no, I don't count Tim Russert - while...
Posted by Johnboy on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:57:00 PST

Where to direct that gas anger

So with gas being relatively as expensive as it was during the 1970s OPEC Embargo (albeit without the shortages), one has to wonder... if there aren't shortages, why is it so damn expensive? You have ...
Posted by Johnboy on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:31:00 PST

My Former Life 2

I also have some more scribbling for y'all:Muhammad Ali: The Years of DeclineHow to Make Full Use of a Whole Cut-Up ChickenJourney to Stockholm...
Posted by Johnboy on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:59:00 PST

More Assorted Tidbits

This weekend marked a milestone. Friday saw the last of the documents I needed to apply for my temporary work permit arrive. I finished my application and immediately rushed over to the Embassy to fil...
Posted by Johnboy on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:40:00 PST

Food, Glorious Food

So earlier this week I stopped by Five Guys for the very first time, and was actually quite impressed. Finally a fast food burger joint I can deal with! Why? Probably because it's not all pre-processe...
Posted by Johnboy on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:53:00 PST

My Former Life

I've rediscovered the joys of Mitch Clem
Posted by Johnboy on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:26:00 PST

Bush: The Farewell Tour

George W. Bush is over in Europe on what is being called his "Farewell Tour." Apparently that is literally what he is doing: judging from the international news, he isn't doing anything in Europe that...
Posted by Johnboy on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:20:00 PST

Another Installment of Random Tidbits (Part ??)

So I recently read that My Old Kentucky Hometown of Lexington has the highest per capita carbon footprint in the nation.  Oh the shame... and what's worst is I moved from there to DC, which has o...
Posted by Johnboy on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:03:00 PST

Youre the Champion of Where?

On Friday the heavyweight champions of Britain and Germany met for a bout in Spain, and that bout was broadcast solely on the internet. Beyond the sheer novely of that, it's also a great way to illust...
Posted by Johnboy on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:12:00 PST

At the Movies...

So the new Sex and the City movie is out. I wound up watching a handful of episodes from this series, because during its heyday it was very, very hard to find anyone in DC to date that didn't think it...
Posted by Johnboy on Fri, 30 May 2008 04:39:00 PST