A Fine Line profile picture

A Fine Line

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

"Me In A Nutshell":
I cannot decide if I'm an "extroverted introvert" or an "introverted extrovert". Perhaps the most succinct summation of myself in this regard is "extrovert deluxe - introvert deluxe". I'm quite social and gregarious but can be surprisingly shy and reserved. It depends...really it does. At the end of the day or night, I'm no one special - just a guy with no pretenses and a My Space page - really, that's all you need to know.
Ok, enough of that. Not to sound acerbic but, I *DO* have an existence outside of "MySpace" and that is the priority. Don't get me wrong, I have "met" some fantastic people via MySpace but there are times I am tempted to jettison the whole shebang. But to date I haven't primarily because of the truly worthwhile people I have had the distinct pleasure to interact with on MySpace...and even beyond! A good number of those on my list are family members and old "offline" friends I touch base with periodically. What a unique notion!
I value depth, substance, honesty, integrity, humor, and respectful courtesy above all. An incisive wit would also be welcomed and appreciated. So please reciprocate such commodities when I offer them. Well...I'll settle for some of the aforementioned. Satire and various forms of irony are a big part of my style. If you don't know what those are, move along then...there's nothing to see here...;-)
I realize that this is after all, the "almighty" Internet and for all I know, you could very well be a dog. Or Mickey Mouse. Whatever. I'm not expecting too much. But enough to make it worthwhile at least to have a cool "virtual pal" to converse with now and then. Even if it's only the occasional greeting and "I am acknowledging you exist" comment now and then. In regard to all matters, I never grant a pro or negative bias without due and thorough consideration. I appreciate exactitude but fully comprehend that existence is ofttimes anything but.
Despite my periodic zaniness and "tongue in cheek" stabs at humor, I am actually quite a serious, down to earth fellow in person. But not overly so. I do enjoy good satire. But not too much melo-drama and theatrics. So, if you ever get to meet me in 3D - you know, real life, you might be surprised. Then again...
Since almost everyone is curious, here are some very miscellaneous facts about me: I pay my bills on time. Presently, I have a 763 credit score. I have a job or two. I was born on January the 26th, last day of Chinese "Year of the Dog", on Chinese New Year's Day. Guess the year yourself. I'm also an Aquarius, Aquarian, whatever. I have an uncle I share the same D.O.B. with. So I'm not all that special after all. I scored 142 on an IQ test while being tested by a professor at the University of Pennsylvania (and higher once on an online test). My blood type is A+. My shoe size is 12. I'm the tallest in my family. I'm left handed. I can roll my tongue, but not so much with the letter 'R'. I'm still getting lessons from Charro on that one. I'm a night owl. I currently drive a green Mitsubishi Gallant. I also have an expensive blue Trek Mountain Bike. I enjoy tuna hoagies (we don't call them subs where I come from), especially from A&LP Deli and Quiznos.
I watch a lot of CNN. I once won a contest on "Casey Kasem's American Top 10" TV show and had my picture displayed on worldwide television. I enjoy writing and have had some editorials published. A Philly newspaper once did a "human interest" story on me for being an "aspiring cartoonist" when I was 14. I once was a club DJ and worked in radio when I was still in high school. I don't like airplanes because they're too much of a hassle to board. I do like trains overall. I like both cats and dogs and other animals too. I love Chinese food. Completely. Lipton Cup-A-Soup hits the spot sometimes. I drink a tremendous amount of Green Tea and take scads of multivitamins and mineral supplements, some with exotic sounding names. I have had good auspices in health overall but not so much with accidents and injuries. I can be clumsy. My legs are solid and muscular. My abs need more definition.
I don't hate Mondays since I usually have them off. I do hate traffic, pollution, smog, and the smell of a musty hamper. I like to play with and actually tweak and fix computers. Most of TV bores me. Except for good Sci-Fi and documentaries. I like to communicate, articulately and eloquently if possible. I can spell pretty good too. I love to read and have been reading since age 2. I'm a "readaholic". Imagine that! I've been called both a smart ass and just plain smart. Right now, my knee smarts. Jimmy can crack corn and I really don't care. Gee whiz...I can't think of anything else to describe myself. Let me check back later.
I'm not here to simply "collect" friends and vie for a high "MySpace" ranking on your "friends" list. If you have me ranked on your list somewhere (like your top friends list), do it because you want to and honestly "value" me with such a distinction. 'Cause I do take the sincere intent (there is sincere intent right?) behind such seriously and I appreciate the nice thought behind it. If ya mean it. Again, I reiterate - to those who expend such an action to do so - my serious thanks. I am humbled. And as Bogart once said..."Here's lookin' at you kid". Uh, yeah that's the ticket.
And for those who rank and add or delete me on the basis akin to some arbitrary passing fad...well, it's only MySpace after all. A rough translation for the unitiated: "I'll live". To those that matter - "I'll be true as long as you and not a second more". So there.
Anyway, someday Rupert Murdoch is going to flip the mighty "MySpace switch" to the "off" position - and that will be the end of MySpace. Just like turning off a light. Special inside sources reveal he has it right next to his desk. How am I so sure? I read it in "The Weekly World News" of course! So it must be so!
Thanks for reading this - Have a nice day and night! :-P


Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Myspace Layouts at Pimp-My-Profile.com / Sparkly stars - Image Hosting

My Interests

Writing, Philosophy, Metaphysics, Science, Sociology and practical application, Computers(!)as an enthusiast and a technician, Reading, Sci-Fi, Traveling, Jungian Psychology, Bicycling, Exploring, Hiking, Sampling decent Chinese Buffets, Joyriding, Skylarking, Dumpster Diving, Parasailing, and Shadow Dancin'.

I'd like to meet:


I'm always open to making new friends. One can never have too many! People from all walks of life make life interesting! Open mindedness is a must. I only advocate and endorse 'wide horizons' and possibilities. I know it's a tired cliche but I'll say it anyhow: "Just Be Real". Poseurs, narrow minded nimrods, bigots, "haterz", demons, and the uncivil are unwelcome.
Please check the video below for an important message:
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If you have the patience, check out this 3 minute video of the giant ferris wheel in one of my hometowns, Wildwood, NJ. Pretty spiffy...

The video below features the August 1980 bombing of Harvey's Casino in Stateline, Nevada/South Lake Tahoe, California. I resided about a 1/2 mile from there.

Music:

My tastes run the gamut - I sample from almost every genre imaginable, from Big Band to Modern Rock to scat Rap to Jazz-bop. But my primary favorites are generally Modern/Alt Rock-Grunge, New Wave, and various 60s-90s pop offerings. I am *not* too impressed with the general offerings of the '00s decade so far. Call me a curmudgeon but I think much of today's Top 40 is insipid(barring some notable exceptions). To close, I am a tremendous fan of most things in the power pop genre. To be succinct: I Love That Shit!
Some of who and what I listen to: The Church (my favorite band hands down), Steve Kilbey, Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Seal, The Verve, Richard Ashcroft, P.M. Dawn, Badfinger, Simple Minds, U2, R.E.M., The Cure, The October Project, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music, The Killers, Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, The Electrolites, Jude Cole, Del Amitri, Gordon Lightfoot, Grant Lee Buffalo, Neil Diamond, Classic Elton John, The Beatles, Alice Cooper, Jim Croce, ABBA, Lush, Cocteau Twins, Jellyfish, Kate Bush, The Grays, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Cinderella, Crowded House, Rush, Soundgarden, Morrissey, The Smiths, Supertramp, ELO, Grandmaster Flash, Information Society, Technotronic, The Carpenters, Steely Dan, Tears For Fears, Tasmin Archer, Alice In Chains, Run D.M.C., British Invasion Groups, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Carole King, Bob Seger, John Denver, Zero 7, Air, Men At Work,...I'll add more as they come to me.

Movies:

I'm not the biggest movie aficionado in the world, let alone in my house. Perhaps I lack the attention span for much of what passes off as movie fare today? But, there have been a good number which made an impact on me and of which I would watch again. The following constitute that list:
Borat,The Matrix Trilogy, The Star Trek Canon, Star Wars (the original trilogy), The Time Machine (2002 remake), Crash, The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer, Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison (I admit, I like Adam Sandler flicks), ET, Back To The Future (1,2,& 3), The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (what an inspiration), Austin Powers (all of 'em), A Clockwork Orange, Dumb And Dumber, Big Momma's House, The Wizard of Oz, The Alien Movies (Sigourney Weaver where are you?), South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut, Superman The Movie and Superman 2, Groundhog Day,Forest Gump, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Falling Down, Staying Alive, Grease, The Boondock Saints (thanks Paul!), Eurotrip, Road Trip, and Freddie Got Fingered.

Television:

I tend to avoid watching too much TV - it's primarily used as a background distraction tool. But, there are some shows that catch my eye from time to time. In general, I watch some CNN mixed in with local news programming. In addition, I like:
Stargate SG1 & Stargate Atlantis, Trek, 30 Days, Sliders, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of The Hill, House, South Park, and bits of Seinfeld (all in moderation). Also, I enjoy a smattering of classic sitcoms from the 60s - 80s (think Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Good Times). But again much like candy and soft drinks, I strive for moderation. One could kill my television and I likely wouldn't miss it...too much.
*UPDATE* - I would like to append this and state that I am a big fan of the (at present as of 11/07) new sci-fi drama series "Journeyman". I absolutely *LOVE* this show and cannot give it enough plaudits. I am a sucker for cool time traveling stories mixed in with edgy drama. Of course, so far the ratings for Journeyman have been in the basement as is often the case with such shows of respectable caliber (look at Star Trek's example). But I live in hope...Journeyman is "the shit" as opposed to being shit.

I could probably be more accurately defined by some of the shows I've never watched. Some of the following are:
American Idol (more like American Idle, ho-hum), Friends, Sex And The City, Survivor, The Sopranos, Fraiser, Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond(evidently not), Becker, Will & Grace, etc.
To close, I am not a fan of the "reality" genre at all. I think it reflects the mass society's lack of imagination and creativity in general and such offerings serve as a distraction from banal existence. That's just my 2 cents.

Books:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycling Maintenance, Illusions, Plato The Republic, The Soul's Code - Of Calling and of Character, The Celestine Prophesy & The 10th Insight, The Mary Summer Rain Collection, Life After Life, Robert Monroe's Trilogy, The 200 Billion Dollar Broadband Scandal, and currently reading "The Disappearance of the Universe" and have "What The "Bleep" Do we Know?" cued up next.
I also enjoy a good bit of classic literature and poetry such as that from the "greats" - Elizabeth Browning, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and of course W.B. Yeats.

Heroes:

Ferris Bueller!!! - And of course, anyone else who manifests an effective and positive change in the world gets my vote. "Become the change you wish to be and live it accordingly".

My Blog

Wal*Mart Sums Up Its Christmas Mantra

I've noticed Wal*mart has already premiered its new ad slogan for the holidays.  I must admit, this new slogan seems to sum up how Christmas has become commercialized to the point of which it is ...
Posted by A Fine Line on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:20:00 PST

Running The Gamut (And Congrats Rich!)

Firstly, I would like to personally extend my sincere "congratulations" to old pal Richie Fennessy for finally, FINALLY freakin' finding apparent true love in his life. Rich, I'm not sure if you'll ge...
Posted by A Fine Line on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:12:00 PST

"This Time Of Year"...

For some reason, I always tend to find myself in some sort of doldrums (seemingly without exception) this time of year. November can be a dire time. The days darken, the future seems bleaker, the sun ...
Posted by A Fine Line on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 10:32:00 PST

Scary U.S. Illegal Immigration Statistics

I'm far from being Xenophobic...very far. This issue has NOTHING to do with ethnic or racial discrimination - it has *EVERYTHING* to do with upholding the rule of law infrastructure in the U.S. (somet...
Posted by A Fine Line on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 04:10:00 PST

An Artificial Fuel Crisis: Could This Be A Plausible Scenario?

It's about an hour long and very provocative. I realize that chatter along these lines ofttimes tends to be dismissed as "fringe lunacy" or conspiracy theory fodder. However, I have heard similar se...
Posted by A Fine Line on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:13:00 PST

Welcome Back Seal!

Yes, WELCOME BACK Seal...For *FINALLY* coming back after a long hiatus (well, if I were married to a supermodel like Heidi Klum I would understand the delay to getting back to work too) and rescuing m...
Posted by A Fine Line on Sat, 03 Nov 2007 01:18:00 PST

Roll With It, Baby...

I'm in the midst of the tail end of one of two trips, both of which I would have to describe as "chaotic". Sometimes, despite our best intentions of finding "down time" on a self designated " vacation...
Posted by A Fine Line on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:20:00 PST

The Onus Of Ownership

A week ago, I've begun a process of "downsizing" and consolidation. In anticipation of my imminent return to Lake Tahoe, I've been eager to cast off anything I have deemed non essential. This "mission...
Posted by A Fine Line on Sun, 28 Oct 2007 08:02:00 PST

Old Letters & Ghosts From The Past

I've had a number of "legacy" floppy discs lying around for awhile now. These floppies date back to my very first IBM platform based based PC, circa 1996. It was in April of 1996 that after being infa...
Posted by A Fine Line on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:21:00 PST

Happy 93rd Birthday Bart!

Remarkably, out of all the "characters" I've blogged about on here, one significant player in my life has received relatively little publicity. That would be the venerable Bart E. Rees, my recently tu...
Posted by A Fine Line on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 02:54:00 PST