Michael profile picture

Michael

rachmaninov555

About Me

Wikipedia defines my life: an insatiable thirst for knowledge that takes one from the Hapsburg Empire to Jay Leno in three clicks. Right now I am discovering the world of medieval Scandanavia and Germany as well as brushing up on my Turkish and Swahili. Oh yeah, I am pretty normal too. I promise. Honestly. I mean it. I like to watch Family Guy. How much more normal can you get?

My Interests

Turkish, Swahili, Thomas Mann, political aesthetics, getting lost in academic exploration, Beethovening, and people watching in the library.

I'd like to meet:

A Viking (not the Minnesota NFL kind), a Swedish folk band, Bill Clinton, Gerhard Schroeder, and Tony Blair (the third-path liberals) and an old woman in a little hut in some German forest who wants to read me Grimms' fairytales.
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Music:

Rufus Wainwright (is a god!), Old Crow Medicine Show, James Blunt, Dar Williams, Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, Jamie Cullum, Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Carole King, Chicago, Coldplay, Dan Dyer, David Gray, Diana Krall, Dido, Elton John, Fiona Apple, Gavin DeGraw, Goo Goo Dolls, Josh Groban, Marvin Gaye, Minnesota Orchestra, Nellie McKay, Paolo Conte, Paris Combo, Seal, STING!, East Village Opera Company, Matchbox 20, any classical or world music imaginable

Movies:

Withnail and I, Kitchen Stories, The Day after Tomorrow, Deep Impact, The Harry Potter movies, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Brothers Grimm and Van Helsing

Television:

Since I no longer have a TV, YouTube.com is now my life

Books:

The whole Milton S. Eisenhower library

Heroes:

Any humanitarian worker in the world, Tony Blair, Mother Teresa, Dr. John Davis of Howard University, and Kofi Annan.

My Blog

College!

Well this week surely has been a roller coaster ride: two acceptances (Macalester and Johns Hopkins) and two rejections (Dartmouth and Georgetown). Tonight, though, I recieved some great (but not the ...
Posted by Michael on Fri, 31 Mar 2006 08:31:00 PST

A Biology Quiz for Intelligent Designers

This was in the Star Tribune months ago, but I think it's still a great little quiz for all the scientists within us! Enjoy! (It's a little long, but entirely worth it) 1. Some sources suggest the ear...
Posted by Michael on Sun, 19 Feb 2006 12:56:00 PST

The Opposite Sex

Okay, today I have to say that the opposite sex confused me. While walking in the hallway, a girl (who was wearing low riding pants and a bungee (or so I call these elastic, basically doo rags, t...
Posted by Michael on Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:47:00 PST

College: Part II

Well, this is it. The wait is on. I sent in all of my applications the other day. Columbia's I did online and it took me a while before I could even click "Submit". Licking the envelopes shut for Dart...
Posted by Michael on Sat, 31 Dec 2005 08:33:00 PST

Essay Ideas

Okay, I have a whopping six college essays to write. I need your help MySpace world to answer the following: If you had 10 bucks and a day, where would you go, what would you do and who would com...
Posted by Michael on Mon, 21 Nov 2005 07:08:00 PST

The End of an Era

The era of Michael Arnst as high school pit orchestra member is officially over. After an amazing string of three shows and nights of packing houses, the famed, self-styled "Piano Man" has retired fro...
Posted by Michael on Mon, 21 Nov 2005 07:16:00 PST