Exploring DC, rearranging my cramped studio, star gazing on warm summer nights, snowy backyards in the moonlight, running through fields (yes, those do exist in Ohio), philosophy, trapsing through cornfields in the fall, little hole-in-the-wall bookstores, creaky wooden floors, fireplaces, sociology, greasy spoons at 2 in the morning, trying new restaurants with friends, Russian history and literature, the Humanist movement, art and art history, being outdoors, long walks in the woods, wandering through museums or art galleries for hours, swimming, Canadian sketch comedy, soccer (watching only), old, musty books, animal rights, vegetarianism, the smell of wood smoke on a cool fall night, Japanese pop culture, sitting around philosophizing for hours, spontaneous road trips, traveling the world, pancakes on Saturday mornings, eating pancakes in good company ;), dreaming unrealistic dreams, history (particularly ancient Egyptian and Roman), staying up until the sun comes up just talking with long, lost friends, climbing trees, cooking, eating and watching tv simultaneously, finding new music on iTunes, thrift shopping (every now and then just to keep my hand in it), roll-top desks with cubby-holes.
I'd like to meet:
Just to show the theistic that the non-religious can be creative too, I will only list entities that do not exist:A Compassionate Conservative--in my mind, less likely than an all-knowing, all-powerful deity.Indiana Jones--any man who looks like that, carries a bull whip, and knows 20 different languages can put his shoes under my bed any day.Dr. Seuss--okay, the author really existed but the man "Seuss" is an enigma.Danger Mouse--I always had a crush on Danger Mouse as a child. Must have been the sexy patch and British accent--yum! No, I don't have a penchant for rodents.Jesus--I'm really curious where he went for those 17 years when he disappeared from scripture. Did he join a circus as the high-flying trapeeze artist? A commune? Did he travel around the countryside teaching women to love? Did he rent a VW van and following the Stones?A Sasquatch/Big Foot--He's big, he's hairy, he has gnarled feet, I wonder if he would be a good provider?
Music:
Current Loves Include: Black Rebel Motorcycle Gang, Jem, Deathcab for Cutie, Paper Jones, Joshua Radin, Built to Spill, Muse, Gingerbread Patriots, Morningwood, Rock Kills Kid, Kate Havnevik, Weezer, The Sundays, The Pierces, Mazzy Star, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's, The Strokes, Sia, Built to Spill, Anna Nalick, Stone Jack Jones.
Old School Favorites: Prodigy, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Fiona Apple, Violent Femmes, Poe, Bon Jovi, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Greenday, Rage Against the Machine...do you see a pattern yet? I also love big, band music from the WWII era such as Billie Holiday, Bobby Darin, Fred Astaire and on....
Movies:
I have to admit I am a sucker for post-apocalyptic thrillers and anything directed by Kevin Smith (those are not necessarily mutually exclusive--just in case Kevin Smith decides to dabble in disaster movies sometime in the near future).I'm also one of those weirdos who likes obscure artsy flicks such as Pan's Labyrinth, Children of Men, the Hours, The Last Supper (not religious), Ghost World, Memento...Now for the litany of regular titles:
Office Space,
Don't Be a Menace...,
Donnie Darko,
Hero,
Grosse Pointe Blank,
Indiana Jones (all 3),
Army of Darkness (all 3),
LTR (all 3)
Star Wars--although Lucas should be tarred and feathered for those past three atrocities he spewed out,
Stargate,
Contact,
Breakfast at Tiffany's,
Roman Holiday,
I love kung-fu...Jackie Chan (Drunken Master) used to be the apple of my eye until he made that piece of crap with Jennifer Love Spewitt. Now I'm starting to really like Jet Li (of course, now that he's retiring)...Hero was a masterpiece.
Television:
Tele-what?? I never watch tv anymore. I'm too busy going out on the town in DC. If I ever get a chance to take in some tube viewing I'll catch The Daily Show (because John Stewart is my steaming cup of warm man cocoa), Battlestar Galactica, and, in general any bad scifi with plot holes and poor scripts...I'll also take in some anime (Cowboy Bebop, Perfect Blue) once in a great while.I am lovin' the whole boxed set thing..no commercials and fabulous junk from the '90s:
Northern Exposure
X-files
Futurama
Kids in the Hall
The Vacant Lot
Southpark
Felicity
and MASH...which of course isn't from the '90s but is conveniently on boxed set so I don't have to watch the Hallmark channel at like 2 am anymore.
Books:
I am currently working on Daniel Dennett's new book, Breaking the Spell. I have a signed copy which one of the SSA's student activists gave to me as a going away gift. I'm also working on Shutting Out the Sun about Japan's new "lost generation." Favorites Include: anything by Sagan, LTR, Watership Down, Women Don't Ask, The Runaway Bunny, the Earthsea Series, Night, Manufacturing Consent--really anything by Chomsky, anything by Dostoevsky, Goodnight Moon, Greek and Roman classics, anything by Dr. Seuss...and the list goes on...
Heroes:
I always hate this question because I think its cheesy. Its become such a cliche question for interviews, surveys, ice breakers and people always regurgitate the most inane and cliche responses. I don't think I've ever really had a hero in the way that pop culture has depicted personal heroes. Rather, I see people and often times characters in books and movies and identify with aspects of their personality...ways that I wish I'd handled situations, choices I wish I would have made, ideals that I would like to adhere to. When I was little my heroes were James Harriet (because I was all about being a country vet--yes, me), Helen Keller, and Mighty Mouse (there's a strange blindness trend developing here). I wanted to grow up and be either James Bond, or Marion, Indiana Jones' long, lost love from Raider's of the Lost Ark (a girl who can drink any guy under the table, swears like a sailor, and can hold her own). Today, there is still a huge part of me that wants to travel the world doing crazy stunts, but I also identify with people who are bit more realistic.
