A good story, well told. Music that stirs the soul. A mental challenge. Inspiration that breeds action and prevents stagnation.
Music
Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Offspring. Metallica. They Might Be Giants. RX Bandits. Reel Big Fish. The Reverend Horton Heat. Rufus Wainwright. 5'nizza. Foo Fighters. Nine Inch Nails. Monopuff. Portishead. Presidents of the United States of America. Blues Traveler. Richard Cheese. Rob Zombie/White Zombie. Buddy Guy. Blue Man Group. Sam & Dave. Marilyn Manson. Alice in Chains. Korn. Stone Temple Pilots. Jimi Hendrix. The Incredible Moses Leroy. The Rolling Stones. Tool. Yoko Kanno. AC/DC. Akira Ymaoka. Apocalyptica.
Movies
Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Blazing Saddles. Cowboy Bebop. Nightwatch (Nochnoy Dozor). Pirates of the Caribbean. Toys. Willow. The Pink Panther series. The American President. Memento. Superman. The Princess Bride. The Incredibles. The Ninth Gate. True Lies. Back to the Future. Time Bandits. The Matrix. Ghostbusters. Face/Off. Poltergeist. Imitation of Life (1934). Amores Perros. Spirited Away. X-Men. Love Actually. American Beauty. The Birdcage. The Triplets of Belville. A Fish Called Wanda. The Truman Show. Much Ado About Nothing. Dave. Road to Perdition. 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould. The Christopher Guest Collections. Mr. and Mrs. Smith. American History X. The Breakfast Club. Clue. Kentucky Fried Movie. The Royal Tennenbaums. Tokyo Godfathers. A.I. The Rocky Horry Picture Show. The Full Monty. The Departed. All of Me. Star Wars. Scent of a Woman. Bulworth. Very Bad Things. Oldboy. Hero. Rounders. Sneakers. 12 Monkeys. The Fifth Element. The Producers (1968).
Television
24. Life. Lost. Star Trek TNG and DS9. Babylon 5. Penn & Teller: Bullshit. Family Guy. The Shield. Robot Chicken. Law and Order SVU. CSI (Las Vegas). Reno 911! The Daily Show. The Colbert Report.
Books
By Alfred Bester: The Stars my Destination, The Demolished Man.
By Neil Stephenson: Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon.
By Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game, Treasure Box.
By Robert Jordan: The Wheel of Time.
By Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird.
By Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings.
By Neil Gaiman: Sandman, American Gods, Neverwhere.
By Stephen King: The Stand, Needful Things, The Dark Tower
Heroes
Stevie Ray Vaughan; at age 12, he got fired from a job washing dishes and decided, "Wait a minute, this is not what I want to do. I want to play guitar like Albert King. And that's the last job I've had other than playing guitar."
J.D. Challenger; a trained painter who painted billboards in Dallas just to get by. "But a time came when I realized that, if I painted one more billboard, I would be painting them the rest of my life. So I quit."
About me: Subject to change. Suggestions welcome. Details upon request.
I am currently, in no particular order: supervisor * brother * son * friend * ex-boyfriend * ex-fiancé * nerd * reader * gamer * living alone * extraordinarily loyal * passionately in pursuit of my dreams * uncommunicative over long distance (it’s not just you) * jovial * grateful I’m an adult * healing *
I have, in no particular order, and no particular number: sung in Italian * sung to a lover * acted in Russian * written poems and short stories * cheated on a lover * stolen * a cat * wept in despair * tattoos * driven a pickup at 100 mph * nephews * forsaken opportunities for happiness * made someone laugh until they cried * made someone despair until they cried * successfully fought off an attacker * saved a human life * read a novel in one night * visited a foreign land *
I have been, in no particular order and with no singular level of pride: engaged * bartender * teacher * cashier * cook * bouncer * busboy * voice-over actor (find me on IMDB) * heartbroken * waiter * cheated on * scammed * trusted * loved * respected * broken * broke *
I want, before I die: a marriage * to start a family * to build a house * to build a car * to earn professional recognition doing something I love * to earn a living wage doing something I love * to inspire * to educate * to entertain * a home theater * respect *
"Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife’s image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look was then more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.
A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth—that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way—an honorable way—in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, 'The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.'
My thoughts were interrupted for a few minutes. But soon my soul found its way back from
the prisoner’s existence to another world and I resumed talk with my loved one: I asked her questions, and she answered; she questioned me in return, and I answered.
My mind clung to the image of my wife. A thought crossed my mind: I didn’t even know if she were still alive. I knew only one thing—which I have learned well by now: Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.
I did not know whether my wife was alive, and I had no means of finding out; but at that moment it ceased to matter. There was no need for me to know; nothing could touch the strength of my love, my thoughts, and the image of my beloved. Had I known then that my wife was dead, I think that I would still have given myself, undisturbed by that knowledge, to the contemplation of her image, and that my mental conversation with her would have been just as vivid and just as satisfying. 'Set me like a seal upon thy heart, love is as strong as death.'"
--Victor Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning" (paraphrase)
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes."
Attitude, by Charles Swindoll
"It is sometimes a mistake to climb; it is always a mistake never even to make the attempt. But is it really so bad, to fail? If you do not climb, you will not fall. This is true. But is it that bad to fail, that hard to fall? Sometimes you wake, and sometimes, yes, you die. But there is a third alternative."
Sandman, by Neil Gaiman
Check this out; I didn't even cheat--
Your results: You are Superman
Superman
100%
Spider-Man
80%
Iron Man
80%
Supergirl
72%
Hulk
70%
Green Lantern
70%
Wonder Woman
67%
The Flash
65%
Robin
60%
Batman
55%
Catwoman
35%
You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.
well i don't wanna take YOU home tonight. not really referring to...anyONE so much as my song...it's the song, man! you're the one enjoying a 17 year old!!!! oh. bottle of bourbon.
all the other builders we looked at had a theme for the names of their floorplans. I half expected other houses in our neighborhood to be "the Howard," or "the Bosley," or "the Baio."
meeehhhh!!! i just listened to my voicemails...i guess you were that weird # that called. ima be honest, i thought you were a collector! thanks for my bday wishes brutherrrrrrr...i want to visit this summer...
I'm not sure what movies you have or have not see but I have a rather extensive list in my brain. Let me know what a few of your favorite movies are so I know which direction to lean
Well, operating under the "assumption" that this is the greatest April Fools joke of all time...I'm far to committed for it to be funny anymore. Just think of all the years worth of birthday money and drinks that I'd have to return. Sheesh!
Or maybe the body of a walrus with the head of a sea lion. Or something with the body of an egret with the head of a meerkat. Or just... the head of a monkey, with the antlers of a reindeer, with the body of a porcupine.
