Leaving New York...in recent years it's become little more than an overpriced (not to mention, overbuilt) shopping mall and alcoholic amusement park dominated by the demands of the rich and the overrated (and, of course, those pathetic vassals who service them). New York is more about advertising driven corporate consumerism than any form of grass roots intellectual culture in the 21st century...And yes, NYC area stores will now even accept Euros in lieu of US dollars...and our police are more often rewarded to behave like an occupation army less concerned with community safety (just ask the late Sean Bell's family) than they are in protecting the financial interests of the urban real estate developers to increase property values (i.e. high rents and no affordable housing)...think of it as 'Municipal Ethnic-Cleansing' and you get the right idea...this is like living in one of those dark alternate-reality societies that are popular among writers of speculative fiction...only this is my reality...I do try not to be angry about it, but some new degradation always occurs to remind me that I'd be crazy to just accept things as they are, because if I do, there will be no returning from where they're going...
I'd like to meet:
Anyone to is trying to make a life enhancing difference in the world towards improving human life and improving the relationships humans have with one another and the planet on which we all live.
I'm really just interested in platonic friends (i.e. without 'benefits') right now...my life is just too crowded and the future is too uncertain for anything else at the moment.
Music:
I'm actually too old to be identified solely by the music I enjoy listening to...
The music profiles that I have on my profile aren't necessarily performers I listen to, but they all seem to be making a legitimate effort at their respective levels of development...It would be unfair to compare the recording and artistic level of a person just starting out to more seasoned and financially supported professionals...but they might be interesting to someone (even myself at a later date) and they don't annoy me at the moment, so I've yet to delete their profiles.
Movies:
Blade Runner, Legends of the Fall, Frankenstein, Die Another Day, Revenge of the Sith, American Gangster, The Truth About Charlie, Lawrence of Arabia, The Razor's Edge, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Batman Begins, The Great Debaters, Casablanca, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Richard Burton), Beyond Rangoon, Battle of Algiers, The Road Warrior, Escape from New York (of course), Hardware aka "Mark 13" ('Don't try to buy milk in a hardware store'...lol)...Hardware Trailer
Television:
Not lately (since 1999). So I'm happy to report that I'm out of date on that kind of useless commercial media that is used mainly to sell animal fat...in the form of soap and hamburgers and petroleum based products...like plastic razors and pantyhose...and of course gasoline.
If humanity consumed less animal fat (no, I'm not a vegetarian) and petroleum products the world could be a much more advanced and universally civilized place...in my humble opinion.
Books:
I love promoting books because they can be found for free in the library (along with many other useful services).
A few that I've enjoyed (in no particular order) are:
Frankenstein, Mother Night, The Fountainhead, We The Living, The Difference Engine (having the Oxford biographical dictionary handy made it fun to read), The Trial, Amerika (who knew that Franz Kafka was a steam-punk?), Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Clown, Absent Without Leave, Candide, The Last Emperor, Slaughterhouse Five, Shanghai '37, The English Patient, The Razor's Edge, Seven Years In Tibet, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Hamlet, Nectar In a Sieve, All Quiet on the Western Front, Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series, Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602 (yes I like comics or 'Graphic Novels' as they are now euphemistically called), The Star Wars 'Legacy' series by Darkhorse comics, The Anatomy of Fascism (war is to fascism what lightening is to Frankenstein's monster), Just Another Soldier, The Namesake, Inside Delta Force, Bel Canto, Imperial Life Inside the Emerald City, The Soul of Iran, Bachelors Anonymous, The God of Small Things, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, 'Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said' (You know, I actually am a pampered celebrity from another dimension, myself.), American Gods (I try believe everything), Neverwhere, Allah Is Not Obliged, Death Star, The Buddha of Suburbia, Fighting for Life, Fight Club, Pattern Recognition (Punk rock archaeology!)...to be continued.
Heroes:
Those whose actions reveal the true faith they have in their beliefs...especially when nobody is watching and no cameras are present...Since my heroes are unknown...you, dear reader, could actually be one of them...think about it.
