Music, writing and Travel. I am a bass player and have played in several underground bands (First Strike, Vibram 94 and Skin Disorder); with my best days to come. Writing is something I enjoy a lot and try to do as much as possible, with my main interests being global politics, historical and current events, which my writing reflects (check out my blogs). Having had the opportunity to travel a bit (visiting three continents), it's become somewhat of passion (which I wish I could indulge in more often). I also enjoy biking, walking/hiking outdoors; museums, resturants and all that New York City has to offer culturally; and a general enjoyment of life.
Positive like-minded people.
Yes, indeed! The whole spectrum. I grew up listening to Rock: Metal, Hardcore, Punk and OI! So I guess this is my foundation. Bands like: Slayer, (old) C.O.C., Cro-Mags, Oppressed, Böhse Onkelz, Daily Terror, Komitern Sect, Motörhead, Cockney Rejects, Celtic Frost, Warzone, Brutal Combat, Venom, Nabat, B.T.M., Sheer Terror, Cock Sparrer, Condemned 84, Bad Brains, Red London, Agnostic Front, Skin-Deep (both bands), The Clash, Exploited, Die Alliierten, Evil Conduct, Virus 27, NYHC (Outburst, Breakdown, Rest in Pieces, etc.), Nausea, Iron Maiden, (old) Metallica, Dio, Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, Deicide, Death, Autopsy, (old) Morbid Angel, Terrorizer, (old) Napalm Death; The Allman Brothers Band, David Allan Coe, Thin Lizzy, and Bad Company, Led Zepplin, George Harrison; and Curtis Mayfield, Parliment, and Stevie Wonder (to name a few). Locally: Oxblood, Templars, Skin Disorder, and Fed-up (shit like that). The newer stuff would be: Pammi Bai, Incubus, System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beck, Black Eyed Peas, and various female vocalists. Other tracks that get played include medieval/early, classical and Baroque; international (Hindu Bhajanas, African, Middle Eastern, etc); national anthems, military marches, etc; Hip-Hop (Wu-Tang, Big L, Dead Prez, B.I.G., Tupac, Dirty South, etc.) and some Reggae (Barrington Levy, Marley, Desmond Dekker, Bounty Killer); and various underground, genre bending artists and tracks. I'm sure I missed a lot (yeah, I'm all over the place). also, groups/artists that are politically active or reflect that in their music are a big plus with me.
Not much of a movie-goer, but some of my favorite movies include: The Wild Bunch, Star Wars (all six films), Saving Private Ryan, The Usual Suspects, Shaolin Intruders, Fist of the White Lotus, Road Warrior, A Lion in Winter, Moby Dick (Gregory Peck), Django, and a good romantic comedy once in a while (French Kiss ia a good example of one). I also like nice period/scenic pieces, and something that is shot well, like Seven Years in Tibet, Gladiator, The Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman), Braveheart, Elizabeth and Gods and Generals. I like documentaries, like Fog of war and many of the IMAX titles; and some foreign films. Like most I like to be entertained, whether it's a comedy, drama, action or romance. I tend to be put off by unrealistic action (one against ten), but do understand that it is only a movie. Two things you might like to know: The Color Purple was the only movie that made me cry, and I'm not a big horror fan. Yes, I'm a sissy! I almost walked out of The Blair Witch Project--and we were watching it on video!
History Channel, National Geographic, Military Channel, Discovery Channel, Discovery/Times, and my local PBS stations (13, 21, 25, and 75). And of course CNN, BBC news and various international channels/programming. I believe that the best stories are the ones that occur throughout this global community.
Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, The Cruel Hunters: Sonderkommando Dirlewanger (French), In the Firestorm of the Last Years of the War (Tieke), the major Puranas, The Butter Thief, Prinz Eugen (Kumm), The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (Shirer), Soldiers of Destruction (Sydnor Jr.), The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-45 (Stein), American Legacy, Growth of the American Republic (Morison, Commager and Leuchtenburg), Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America (Bodansky), Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (Rashid), Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries (Heckethorn), and various documents, court transcritpions and the like. These are some of my favorites, but I'm always reading something--and something quite interesting, I might add. Does Score and Voluptuous magazines count (cause I "read" them a lot also)?
I have a few (including but not limited to): Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara, Mao Tse Tung, Yasser Arafat, Mahatma Ghandi, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Charles Darwin, Aung Sang Suu Kyi, Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglas, Adolf Hitler and Nicolaus Copernicus. These include those who have influenced or affected me and/or those who I respect highly. I honestly believe that one person can affect change in the world.