This is going to be woefully incomplete, but here goes:
Iraq Veterans Agains the War, reading, writing, listening to, and performing poetry; dancing to all types of music (especially salsa), playing chess, learning things, plays, musicals, open-air theatre, political involvement, singing, long nights of intense discussions with friends, reading anything my eyes can rest on, camping, ice skating, exploring, travelling, immersing, museums, symphonies, jazz clubs, jam sessions, new york city, karaoke (or noraebong), idyllic walks, running in the rain, diving into cultures, languages, horseback riding, quiet enjoyment of absinthe, concerts (whatever the type), blazing new adventures
Music
What music I will be listening to on any given day really depends on my mood. I have an interest in some of the less known musicians, but I don't think obscurity is a substitute for quality, nor does popularity make a musician some sort of "sellout". I despise even the word. I do tend to have a preference sometimes for music where the lyrics are clearly distinguishable, but I also enjoy music without words at all.
There's a point at which music melds with the body. I'm going to sound like a pretentious git talking about it, but some beats reverberate in your body and force you to dance, sing, cry-anything, but you are completely involved. That's the music I like.
However, some of the artists I have on the iPod in front of me are: Ani DiFranco, Arlo Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Wolfsheim, Arrested Development, Bauhaus, Belle and Sebastian, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Billie Holiday, Billy Joel, Bing Crosby, Black Eyed Peas, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Bloodhound Gang, Blutengel, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Cake, Carole King, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Celia Cruz, Clan of Xymox, Concrete Blonde, the Clancy Brothers, Darkest of the Hillside Thickets (nothing beats Cthulu rock!), David Rovics, Dead Can Dance, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Death in June, Deathcab for Cutie, Ella Fitzgerald, Flogging Molly, the Flaming Lips, Gilbert & Sullivan, the Grateful Dead, Gypsy Kings, various Broadway recordings, Holly Cole, Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Joy Division, Kingston Trio, Legendary Pink Dots, Lacuna Coil, Leonard Cohen, The Lords of the Rhymes, Beethoven, The Magnetic Fields, MC Frontalot, Meatloaf (so sue me), the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Ookla the Mok, Our Lady Peace, Paul Oakenfold, Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Paul & Mary, the Pogues, Rachel Sage, Rasputina, Saliva, Santana, Sisters of Mercy, Stray Cats, System of a Down, They Might Be Giants, Tom Waits.
And that's just the iPod, and says nothing about the vinyl, cassette tapes, and CDs I own. Let's just say music is a big factor in my life.
Movies
I love classic black and white movies, because the dialogue was sharper and people actually had to act. Anything in that style will find favor with me, or anything with a witty script. I do like modern movies as well, but usually ones that take significant chunks from the old stuff.
Television
The Daily Show is the only show I watch almost every night-I used to watch the Colbert Report, but now I often fall asleep halfway through it. I also have an odd interest in The L Word and the Tudors. However, I would be completely unable to watch those without On Demand, because it is more important to me to be having fun on a Sunday night than glued to the television screen.
Books
This will be filled in at more length later. Suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoy science fiction, poetry, philosophy, mythology, any form of learning, political...oh, hell, anything that makes me /think/. Perhaps contrary to that last, and despite what Asimov said about the genre, I do also enjoy fantasy. Currently, I have 1,841 books catalogued on www.librarything.com . I still have quite a lot to go through, but if you message me and are really curious, I can give you a link to where all my books are.
Heroes
Alexander Hamilton, Hugh Thompson, Lord Byron, Archimedes, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isaac Asimov, Harlan Ellison, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin...um..I'll get back to this one. A lot. Anyone who did not let fear rule their life.
About me: Very recently, I've thrown off the gulf between my public persona and my private one.
I'm a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. I'm loud, I'm proud, and I'm definitely in-your-face. I'm hot-blooded and hotter-tempered, especially in the face of injustice.
I love harder, fight longer, and blaze brighter than most. My candle burns at both ends, and I have no intention of stopping it. You never know when death will come, and I don't want to live a single day with regret.
Who I'd like to meet: I'm tired of superficial conversation about banalities. I'd like to meet people I once knew, people I've forgotten, people that have forgotten me. I'd like to meet people who aren't afraid to be real. I want to talk to people who are witty, and sharp, and who I can spark with. I want to meet people who make me feel like I'm on fire when I read their words. Above all, I want to meet people who live their life without fear.
When it comes to romance?
Someone whose eyes flash when they're excited about something, and who, no matter how obscure the subject, manages to get me excited about it too. Someone with such a powerful charisma that they're always the first person I look to. Someone with passion-not necessarily sexual, though that's important too, but someone with a passion for living, and for learning, and for doing brilliant things. Someone who can give as good as he gets, and manages to stand up for himself without being cruel about it.
Someone brave. Someone who has no need to lie. Someone who knows his good and his bad and accepts them both, and is honest about both with me. No cowards need apply.
I saw a few minutes of IVAW on the hill, and recognized you a few rows back from the speakers. Did you testify? I haven't even looked on the IVAW site yet, but will get the audio from C-Span at least, soon.
So, just HI! Thanks for being part of this great movement.
Thanks for accepting, Selena. You are without a doubt very cool, HOTT, strong hearted woman with a great mind... I love your introduction, fired me up!
We want heroes from IVAW as friends to start with, but some of you seem like real brothers and sisters of mine before I ever even converse with you. Thank YOU for becoming what you are. VERY honored to meet you.
If I were single you'd probably just have to block me! ;) I'm not, you don't.
