OK, so where does one begin with this sort of thing? I'm supposed to sell myself to you, whoever you are.

DISCLAIMER: This self-summary section is a work in progress. I just keep adding things to it, bullet point-style. Maybe someday I'll get around to assembling them into a cohesive and eloquently penned paragraph. But for now...

One thing that you'll likely notice straightaway is that I'm not into the whole brevity thing.

I think that apathy is a bad thing, but that empathy is a good thing.

I really like being outside.

I am a sucker for twin braids.

Music is a big deal to me, as is social justice, taking care of the planet and really spicy food.

There is a time for fast paced walking and there is a time for ambling, but I never stand still when I'm on an escalator.

There are no known or intentional falsehoods in this profile. Lying on profiles starts you out on the wrong foot.

I once played a pump organ in Helen Keller's house.

I have been to 9 countries and 49 of the 50 states and that is nowhere near enough.

I have been known to eat a big bowl of fresh salsa for dinner.

In my world, the word "party" is a noun, not a verb.

I think this compatibility percentage thing is funny and interesting. Although I really want you to be you. I already have a me. In other words, it's good to have common interests, but I like people who can bring new things to my life. And what's with the "enemy" thing? That's a pretty loaded word to be throwing around, don't you think?

I don't think the death penalty solves anything.

I like sleeping with the windows open.

I think that Dan Savage should be a Supreme Court justice.

I have Midwestern roots. This means that though I might be a dreamer, I am grounded. It also means that I don't have a propensity to generate drama in order to make things interesting. Life has a way of getting interesting on its own.

I am an Apple guy when it comes to computers and blinky things. I am not an evangelist, but I will say that my tech life is simpler and sexier with Apple products. PCs do pretty much the same stuff, but I won't spend as much time trying to fix your PC.

I think that Johnny Cash should be on Mount Rushmore.

I am very attracted to strong, independent women, but this tendency can be a liability. Strong, independent women sometimes forget that it's nice to have a wingman.

I am also attracted to smart women. Maybe some guys like dumb girls because it makes them feel smarter. As for me, I prefer smart girls because I like the challenge of stimulating them on multiple levels.

When I say that I like hiking/adventures, I do not mean yet another leisurely hike in Griffith Park. I did a lot of hiking this past summer and autumn... including the "Cactus to Clouds" San Jacinto Peak hike - 22 miles and over 10,000 feet of altitude gain. I also hiked Mount Whitney, a roughly 22-mile hike to a nearly 14,500 foot summit... and I hiked up Half Dome in Yosemite for the 5th time 4 days prior. I am in no way bragging, I just want to make sure you know that I like feats of strength and a little danger. It makes me feel alive. You don't have to be "Miss REI" but a girl who likes getting her boots in the dirt is appealing to me.

And that bona fide martinis are made with gin.

Trying to figure out the changing music business on my weekly radio show. As hokey as it sounds, I'm trying to wrest the most out of each day. Life is short, so there isn't time for crappy sandwiches.

Improvising. Catching things when they fall. Finding the most random items at the precise time I need them. Parallel parking. Starting a campfire with one strike of a match. Fixing things. Navigating without a map. Navigating with a map. Seeing both sides of a story. Doing what I say I'm going to do. And finding the absurd humor in the things that make life challenging.

That I can talk to anyone. My vocabulary. People have told me that I look like Viggo Mortensen. Honestly. Lots of people. Lately, I've also been told I look like Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead. That's cool.

Books, books, books. I'm usually reading several at once. But the big names are Bradbury, Vonnegut and Bryson - followed by piles of nonfiction. The last two books I loved were The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem. I am currently reading a witty and interesting book about fonts. Dig it. Oh, and I love Michael Pollan. Where in god's name am I going to put all these books?

Movies, you say? My tastes include anything by the Coen Brothers, Christopher Guest and Monty Python. You might as well throw Wes Anderson in there as well. And I really like films with flawed heroes or villains who are cooler than the protagonist for whom we're supposed to be cheering. Alan Rickman's cadence can nearly pull an abysmal attempt at a Robin Hood revamp out of the ditch.

Other movies that I dig include: The Iron Giant, most Scorsese, A Room With A View, Field of Dreams, Winter's Bone, Junebug, Dr. Strangelove and many others that I'll add as I think of them.

I don't have the cable TV, nay a satellite dish. You'd never find the television on just to provide ambient noise in my world. I've never seen a reality show. Odds are, as far as the last few years of TV, if it isn't The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad or The Sopranos I haven't seen it. Viva Netflix. But I like public TV - and I love public radio with a capital L. I have been known to stream The Daily Show, however.

Music? Music could be its own section. I grew up on classic rock but am always falling in love with new music. I strongly believe that it is possible to have a romantic life cycle with an album - e.g., right now I have a huge crush on the new Iron and Wine record. I find music with autotuned vocals to be offensive. I have a deep and abiding love for twangy rock music ala Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and The Jayhawks. Lately, I've been really into quiet music. Life in the new millennium can be plenty loud.

Other artists of note include - in no particular order of importance: Dawes, Jason Isbell, Gillian Welch, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Buddy Miller, Nick Drake, Blue Rodeo, Drive-By Truckers, Great Lakes Myth Society, Hem, Ray Lamontagne, Josh Ritter, Kathleen Edwards, Van Morrison, et al. I will admit that I might be kind of a bastard about music.

I write and perform my own music, so my world features piles of guitars, accordions, mandolins and other implements of musical destruction/construction. I can get down with Back in Black, but I also grew up singing in a capella choirs so I know who Rachmaninoff is. (He wrote the best parts for basses.)

And then there's Tom Waits, who I believe to be a mad genius. Your ability to, at a minimum, appreciate Tom Waits may very well be a dating litmus test.

Food. Mmmm. Food is important. I love cooking - I've done my Thanksgiving turkey on my charcoal grill several years running and served it to as many friends as I can fit around my table. I've been known to shovel out a spot in the snow to grill during inclement weather in my hometown... where there was a lot of inclement weather.

I make sushi at home.

There is a place in Eagle Rock that serves blue corn meal pancakes with cinnamon syrup. They also make the best huevos con chorizo in LA. The combination of the two is mind blowingly delicious, but I can't eat all of it. I guess I'm looking for someone to share the pancakes.

Adventure(s).
Sunshine.
Summer.
My dog, Sally.
Friends.
Family.

Honorable mentions:

Honeycrisp apples.
Sushi.
India Pale Ale.
A bottle opener.
My Martin guitar.
Campfires.
The Perseids.
Jalapenos.
Lightning bugs.
Books.
The Sierra Nevadas.
Pumpkins.
NPR.

I just spend a lot of time thinking, but I also like doing. I'd like to think that I've struck a balance between the two. But that's probably not the reality. I like to think and make a plan with enough room to tweak it along the way... and to know when to abort the plan entirely. Jump and build your wings on the way down.

Having a pint and making a decent dinner. Sitting on my porch tinkering with a new song on my guitar. Maybe getting to bed early in anticipation of a Saturday morning hike.

A perfect afternoon or evening might find me working out the world's problems at the pub with my best friends - regardless of the day of the week.

A girl once told me that I was the most emotionally mature male she'd ever met.

You're not afraid to be courageous and play the Sadie Hawkins card. Please, just say "hi," and I'll take care of the rest.