I'm pretty shy and quiet. People say I'm very kind. I try to do a lot for the people I care about. I'm nerdy/geeky and sarcastic, with a fairly silly side as well. I seem to do well with people who are at least a bit weird. Or a lot weird. (I like weirdness. We need more of it in the world). I especially like artistic and nerdy types. I like people who develop driving pop culture obsessions. A lot of my interests are pop-culture related, so it'd be great to find someone (or several someones) to watch TV & movies with, or talk about comics or books. Under the right circumstances, there's nothing I love more than spending a weekend burning through a season of Buffy or Angel on DVD. Someone to play video games with would be fun too. I am also trying to broaden my horizons a little bit, and find some less geeky interests. It could be good to meet some people whose interests lie outside my circle of geek, and have lots of cultural interests that have nothing to do with science fiction and comic books.

Also trying to keep up (and in some cases recapture) my sense of wonder. Like, did you ever see the headline from The Onion about the moon landing, where it said "HOLY FUCKING SHIT! MAN WALKS ON THE FUCKING MOON!" So much of what goes on around us is a frikkin' miracle, and we forget that because we see it all the time. I don't wanna do that.

Temperament-wise, I'm kind of half really idealistic, and trapped in awe & wonder, alongside really dark sarcastic cynicism. I try to see the good in the world, but sometimes get overwhelmed by all the bad.

I really like mythology, and learning about religion. I used to be super-into it, although that's fallen off a bit lately. Belief-wise, I'm not sure to explain it. I certainly don't subscribe to any of the small number of stories floated around as absolute truth, but I'm open to the possibility of there being something, most likely decentralized and distributed. I haven't had any kind of spiritual practice in a while, though I'm starting to look for one.

I'm way too fond of things that involve the word "apocalypse". In everyday conversation, and in fiction - give me a thousand-year old conflict between armies of light and darkness, and I'm a happy guy. (See the Nightwatch/Daywatch movies or Rainer Maria's "Catastrophe Keeps Us Together.")

Interested in bdsm (ask me & I'll tell you more), and would like to find someone with similar interests, or at least open to trying new things.

I started out as a math & science type, then swung over to the arts & culture, and now I'm moving back towards math & science. I don't think I'm going to be happy without either side. The emotional and intellectual sides of my brain are always fighting it out, although the emotional side usually ends up winning. In terms of the Myers-Briggs, I'm right on the line between INFJ and INFP, depending on which test I take.

I just started grad school for public health, and I'm excited about doing that and learning about where that may lead (and psyched to be back in Berkeley!). I want to find a way to help people get & stay healthy for as much of their lives as possible, and this seems like a good way to do that without getting too overwhelmed. I'm also going to keep doing my old job part-time, as an editor for a reference book publisher.

I'm a writer (published and everything!) on my own time. I've written a book about Neil Gaiman, and a few other things. Being a pop-culture field is still something I really love, but not the single-minded obsession it once was. (Although I do still live for that moment of getting to the end of an incredible book, movie, etc and having to pick the little smithereens of my mind off the floor.)

Outside of that, I want to keep having fun & learn more about everything. Generally, trying to be more aware and open to everything that's around me, and doing something to improve the joy/suffering balance in the world. And finding some measure of peace for myself.

Writing, remembering arcane pop culture trivia, math (most school things, actually). I'm a good listener, even though I don't always know what to say to the person afterwards. Generally being kind & sympathetic to people. Using parentheses.

Probably that I'm shy. Also thoughtful, and hopefully smiling. Unless I'm talking about something I'm interested in, in which case I'm probably being a total smartass.

Books: GK Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday is my fave of the moment. Chuck Palahniuk (especially Rant!), Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, fantasy, sci-fi, horror. Lots of nonfiction, mostly psychology, religion, mythology. Robert Anton Wilson (fiction and nonfiction - I really want to learn more about Discordianism). Joseph Campbell is a smaller deal for me than he used to be, but still a huge influence. I just read Geek Love, which was wonderful. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Harry Potter. Steven Johnson writes some of the best nonfiction I've ever read - Emergence changed the way I think, and Everything Bad is Good for You explained popular culture better than just about anyone else. In that vein, I also enjoyed Freakonomics and Malcolm Gladwell's Blink.

Comics: I adore anything on Vertigo, especially Neil Gaiman (Sandman is the best thing ever), Garth Ennis (Preacher), Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan), Grant Morrison (The Invisibles), Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, James Robinson, Lucifer, Fables, Brian K. Vaughan (Ex Machina, Y the Last Man). Tons more comics that I can name right now.

Movies: Fight Club, Kevin Smith, Heathers, Matrix, Office Space, American Beauty, The Prestige, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, The Opposite of Sex, Batman (the good ones), the Fifth Element, V for Vendetta, Stardust, The Mist, horror movies (especially cheesy bad ones). Lots of silly comedies (Airplane, Naked Gun). Harold and Kumar (although it bothers me that "going to White Castle" has become slang for smoking up, when it's much more appropriate for a spiritual quest). I also yearn for that poster of Neil Patrick Harris riding a unicorn.

Music: Tori Amos, NIN, the Nields, the Pogues, Johnny Cash, Alice in Chains, Garbage, Liz Phair, the Ramones, Rainer Maria, My Favorite, Smiths, Andrew WK, Tool, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Metallica, The Nields, Henry Rollins' spoken word

TV: Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, My So-Called Life, Carnivale, Scrubs, Heroes, Lost, Dead Like Me, Babylon 5, Dave Chappelle, Upright Citizens Brigade, Metalocalypse

Food: Thai, Italian, Mexican

ipod (all the music I own, with me all the time)

Neil Gaiman

the internet (and porn, but that really counts as one item, right?)

lots and lots of bookshelves

people (much as I hate to admit it sometimes)

my Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator

where my life is going, the state of the world, relationships, movies, books I'm reading at the moment...I'm a ruminator, so there's a fairly constant loop. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out other people, too, and how I can help make a difference (cheesy, I know).

Probably home watching something. Hopefully with friends.

I really love lolcats, even though I know they shouldn't be so funny.

You're sweet and kind (yay for you if you have the "compassionate" picture in your profile). I want to meet people who are passionate about something - not necessarily about the same things I am, but something – I find people’s enthusiasm infectious and like learning about new things. Sarcasm is a big plus (otherwise we might have a hard time understanding each other). I'd like to meet people who are fairly happy and positive: not necessarily shiny happy people, but generally upbeat, fun to be around, and able to see the good in the world. (On the other hand, a little cynicism might be good in order to temper my pathological tendency to trust people and always look for the best in them.)

I'm also noticing that the wittiness/sarcasm thing that I look for tends to turn up a lot of people who, well, aren't very nice. I guess I'd like to find some people who can separate the sarcasm from the meanness, and use their powers for good. That, or take some Sarcasma.

In general we should talk if:

- anything you see looks interesting

- you're looking for friends

- you just want to say hi

- you like the activities listed above

- you're a huge comic geek.

- you put a lot of stock in pop culture tastes, and you favorite activities include indulging & discussing same

- you're open to a relationship

- you're kinky, or at least somewhat adventurous

(any or all of the above would work)

Being honest, I'm also prone to depression. It's pretty under control, but if that's a dealbreaker, it's probably best to move on.

And I've about given up on this, but please have at least a basic grasp of spelling and grammar (note: I know how difficult English is for non-native speakers to pick up, so I don't mean you). Not to be a grammar Nazi, and I know the Internet has pretty much killed off the language, but come on people...at least be able to string together a sentence or two.