Gibson Eisnein--always shaken

About Me

Born in Paterson, NJ--a city that bears the name of a framer of the US Constitution.* ME: I am an all-American blend of English/Irish Knickerbocker Dutch (maternal) and first generation Hungarian + Slovak (paternal). Culturally: I consider myself Hungaro-Anglo American.* * Politically: independent, advocate of the independent rights of the US states--a libertarian that once upon a time, tended to vote Republican, but I'll never again vote for a reformed drunk, born-again ass-hole [N.B., no matter how many times an ass-hole is born again--it just multiplies what it already is]. Me? I was born O.K. the first time. As long as this evilvangelical defamer of the Constitution in the White House, and the rest of the Republican Party refuse to clean up their act, and recapture the values of the Party of Lincoln, none of them will get my vote.* * Traits: Somewhat off-beat, avant-garde, existentialist, eclectic, closet rebel; James Dean admirer. * Grew up in North Jersey near the Big Apple--I LOVE NEW YAWK--but a Jersey native all the way; lived and/or worked in about 10 of the 21 New Jersey counties before migrating south; camped, hiked and/or canoed in several more; love the pines and the shore--an LBI guy forever. * Definitely not leading a life of quiet desperation (although I haven't written any songs). Still love rock-n-roll--and dancin' to it. * Lover of sarcastic, vitriolic satire/comedy (e.g., Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert). * Really despise polls and surveys in general--especially when they try to wedge you into some type of category you're not [e.g., the rather short MY Space list of religious choices (N.B., for the record, I am a Bochonanist!--it's not on the list)].

My Interests

OUTDOORS: bugs, slugs; HUGS--all I can get (but not from bugs and slugs); stayin' away from thugs; CAMPING, CANOEING, SCUBA DIVING; GARDENING.

I'd like to meet:

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Really! no extant individual has done more to change the world I live in--and received so little credit for it); E. O. Wilson; Bruce Springstein; Bob Dylan; Lenny Bruce; Jean Shepherd; Mahatma Ghandi (not in any rush to meet the last three).

Music:

Not much I don't like including some hip-hop stuff--I am an admirer of Lauryn Hill; favorite artists include Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton; favorite groups: Rolling Stones; Traffic (my nomination for best rock group ever); Supertramp (2nd place) and Pink Floyd. Love old R&B singers (e.g., Charlie Patton) who helped pave the way for modern R&B and rock and roll.

Movies:

Absolutely the best movie I have ever seen: "Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sopetto" ("Investigation of a citizen above suspicion"), which won an Oscar in 1971 [Best Foreign Language Film (Italia)]; suggestion: cf. the police inspector in the film with Raskolnikov (principal character in Crime and Punishment--I think there are some interesting parallels.A few other favorites: "Blow Up"; "Inherit the Wind;" "The Thomas Crown Affair;" "The Usual Suspects;" "Pulp Fiction."In the category of classics: "Lawrence of Arabia"; "Potemkin" and "Alexander Nevsky" (Eisentstein gets my vote as best director in the first 50 years or so of film making).

Television:

A medium used by the old radio broadcast networks for, among other things, doing a rather poor job of news dissemination, which the cable networks have managed to evolve into a vast waste land--"April is the cruelest month . . ." along with all the others. And "so it goes . . . ." There are a few bright spots: The History Channel; The Discovery Channel; "The Daily Show," and the "Colbert Report."

Books:

Cat's Cradle (no surprise there--eh?); Slaughtherhouse Five ". . . and so it goes . . . ." All time favorite: Crime and Punishment Last book read: Do They Hear You When You Cry: Fauziya Kassindja (a book about a crime not committed and the punishment of the innocent who try to avoid it).

Heroes:

Fantasy Heroes: The Phantom; Crusader Rabbit; Bugs Bunny; SupermanReal heroes extant and extinct: Mikhail Gorbachev; Bob Dylan; E. O. Wilson; Mahatma Ghandi; Benjamin Franklin; Thomas Jefferson; Kurt Vonnegut; Jean Shepherd