I enjoy handcuffs and poetry, violent video games, Frappuccino's and soft sand near large bodies of water. I'm easily bought by a sincere smile, rare company and White Russians (because they're cool like that). I enjoy a fine glass of red and beating baby harp seals over the head with blunt objects, but not for their fur...no...it's more of a sport. I like kicking dogs while yelling "You like THAT...you like THAT?" Actually...I'm more of a story-teller...but you still might not want me to babysit your dog (or harp seal for that matter).
If I was a Sesame Street character, this would be me...grrrrrr...
Barack Obama - 2008!
The short story: I am complex in an unromantic way - a calm, but wild beast.
The long story: I am darker than those who walk in the light and brighter than those who walk in the dark. I am less of society's definition of a man and more of Man. I don't go out into the world to offend, but the world often knocks on my door to be offended.
I have awakened inside of a dream. Somehow, 80 years have passed and I still appear 30...it even says so on my drivers license. I'm not sure how this has happened, but it is a treat that I do not take without a dash of gratitude.
I am a gentleman - a gentle man. You'd best understand me if you could wrap your mind around that. If you want to steal my attention, then you must either be dangerous, smart or funny. If you want to be given my attention, then you must inspire me with some vision of wisdom, love or peace. But never underestimate a stranger's company, because there is only one chance to have the universe unveiled. I can be the spark of the smile that cures your day, or the one that hands you back that puzzle piece you lost when you were a child.
I enjoy long walks across the Earth and love to meet other lost souls. I am religion's resolve, and though deeply spiritual, I'm on a Christian-fast, which is to say that with a few exceptions, I have put a "no more Christians" rule in effect on my life. I've simply known too many. I am inseparably part of the Great Dream and I see The Dreamer well.
I'm not a big fan of "Staying the Course". I would like to think that if I hired a captain to take me to a better place...that he would, upon any point of realizing that his compass was off course, ackowledge, accept and redirect accordingly - not deny science, blame the cook or keep heading into the South Atlantic on some "unilateral vision". It seems like pretty common sense (at least 49% of us thought so).
I am the one you worry about as you see me walking the streets alone at night huddled in a coat. But you should feel comfort with me there, for I am the most sincere person you may ever know, and you just don't know that yet. I'm the one next to you on the plane at 3 AM awaiting your invitation before I offer the words that may heal your wounded heart.
I like people. I like cheese as well, but I really like people. Man, woman, whatever. When asked a direct question, I will present the Truth as I know it, but be prepared for strange theories and sleepless nights starring into the dark.
I shall, upon suggestion from Kie, update my profile to include an absolute about me: I am the reluctant teacher. Either because I recognize that I will never complete my work of life, or because the world simply does not need another religion or unchecked philosophy.
Because of this, I am a good listener, but will never shut the hell up. I have been in search of my teacher or teachers for over a decade, but none have stepped up (except for you, dear Hafiz). So mine is a life of being to you what I've always sought. I am real because that is what I seek. I am introspective because that is my journey. I cannot nor would I choose to change this, because it is me to the very core.
I follow the Native Path and I am my strongest in places others fear, and my weakest in places they call home. Your parents will love me, while your pastor will warn of me. I am the white knight, the black sheep, the red pill. I contribute to the world via art or thought and some respect this while others loathe it, often because such purpose is not bred into our society. Some will say that I have produced my life...and that is exactly what I am doing.
“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.†- Winston Churchill
Music I live by:
Enigma, DM, Beck, The Crystal Method, NIN, Air, Art of Noise, Massive Attack, Ulrich Schnauss (he has written the soundtrack to my life), Rob Zombie, Frou Frou and Cyndi Lauper...well...maybe not Cyndi Lauper...yeah...I would definately say NOT Cyndi Lauper.
Movies I enjoy:
"All of life's questions are answered in movies" (Steve Martin - Grand Canyon). Which do I find particularly educational? Shawshank Redemtion, Being Human, Grand Canyon, AI, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Goodwill Hunting, Harold and Maude, Dances With Wolves, Lost in Translation, Forrest Gump...and more. Which do I find just out-right entertaining? Fight Club, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Boondock Saints, Contact, Snatch, The Hunt for Red October, The Matrix (yes, it's still a good movie), Clerks, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Momento, PI, Groundhog Day, Pulp Fiction ("...this is a tasty burger!"), Terminator 2, The Princess Bride, Crank (because I could be happy with a death like that), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Sphere, A Fish Called Wanda, Jurassic Park (you know you still watch it when it comes on), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and the main attraction: The Big Lebowski.
Television I watch:
Television...hmmm...too many people jump on the instant-personality-wagon of the "Kill your TV" campaign. Although a cute sticker that adds value to the polluting car you drive, the TV is a fantastic (in all meanings of the word) creation that has revolutionized public access of information and ideas. If it weren't for the TV, people would be slothing under a tree trying to figure out if rocks are edible. So, before you throw your TV out the window, first look to see if a happless bystander is walking their dog down there, then decide if that's you talking or the peer pressure working its way into your life. Although I do not watch much TV at all (too easy to be sitting under that tree slothing), I do find value in the following broadcasted propaganda: The Daily Show, Lost, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, South Park, Family Guy and you (by the way, could you open your blinds a little bit, they're blocking tonight's webcast).
Books I read:
What's a book? I rarely read anymore, sorry. You're smarter than I am. I prefer to live the sort of life that inspires authors. For now, however...I will often go back and re-read: Bear in the Attic (don't try this at home), The Audacity of Hope (good stuff), Dune - The Butlarian Jihad, Sphere (still a good'n), The Celestine Prophecy (you read it, too!?!?), The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, The Holographic Universe, Anything Rumi, Our Endangered Values (Carter), The Gift (Hafiz), The Prophet (Kahlil Gibran), The Bible (2,000 year-old drunken Arabs) and the story that is you, my dear unknown stranger. Voyeur on...voyeur on...
Heros:
I respect Jesus - not because of how he died, but because of how he lived, Ben Franklin (for his mind and contribution to the American community - not for his contribution to Chivalry), Tesla (sorry about our patent office being monitored by the NSA - better luck next life), Jimmy Carter (not bad for a right-wing Baptist), Dogbert (...just ask yourself..."WWDogbertD"?), Khalil Gibran (your mind is as beautifully simple as it is compellingly complex), Hafiz (you are my greatest teacher, my brother, my Love), Rumi, I would love to meet Christopher Walken (but I would imagine it to be rude if I were to continually ask him "WTF did you just say? I mean, it was cool Mr. Walken, but WTF."), Monty Python (for granting me a smile while the rest of my peers were watching the smurfs), Samuel Mother-Fucking Jackson, Gore Vidal (because I just know he throws a wicked dinner party), Are you still fucking reading this? Trigger Happy TV and Upright Citizen's Brigade crews. Hardeep Singh Kohli because he makes turbans look cool. Mr. Lebowski, because I DO understand "The Dude" - and yes, stranger...I feel better knowing he's out there somewhere. Everyone on Myspace because they say things like "ROTFLMAO" and "I heart you". No, seriously...are you STILL reading this? George Dubbaya for taking long strides in the advancement of incomprehensible primates.
Great quotes:
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama Bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." - George Bush Sept. 13th, 2001
"I don't know where he is. I have no idea and I don't really care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - George Bush March 13th, 2002
(Why am I suddenly in the mood for "waffles" Mr. Bush?)
"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience ... In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic process." - President Dwight Eisenhower, farewell speech to the nation, January 17, 1961
Final note:
What does Iraq cost you?
$8.4 Billion per month
$1.9 Billion per week
$275 Million per day
$11.5 Million per hour
This is not conservative economics.
The government is our employee, and while we are responsible for its actions in the world, it has locked us out of the company. This is the state of the union: the board members and factory workers are in the parking lot watching the temps burn the building and sell our office supplies on eBay.