Friendship and the comfortable conversation it brings with it are the fundamentals to all relationships.

I’m looking for someone who’s an active reader, who reads the newspaper regularly, likes books, whether history or literature, who has a sense of humor, and especially likes to tell jokes. I like movies of all sorts, though these days I don’t seem to get to them as often as I’d like. I would love a friend with whom to see first-run films and talk about them together afterwards, over coffee or a glass of wine.
Politics are really important; they have been since I was in my late teens, and if you’re conservative, you're probably looking for someone else.
I love long walks in cities, and I’m learning again how great it is to spend more time outdoors, such as hiking. But if you're a good dancer, and are patient, I'd also like to get better at a simple dance like the waltz.

I love to read. I do it for a living, but I also do it for fun. It’s one of the ways I count myself lucky, that I love what I do every day. I like to garden and to cook. I especially like cooking for friends. (Dinner parties with good food and wine, stimulating conversation where people discuss politics or culture – these are some of the great pleasures of life). I’m argumentative, and you, I hope, are both willing to argue as well as to understand that disagreement does not mean disapproval or anger. Having differing opinions is one of the best ways to see something clearly as well as a way to understand how the other thinks.

Talking to people of all sorts, whether doing political canvassing, teaching kids or meeting people for the first time. I'm a pretty good cook, too, especially if you eat spicy food.

Now, how should I know this? The color of my skin? I'm brown.

Current faves
novels: Germinal, Fantasia, Midnight's Children, One Hundred Years of Solitude, A Fine Balance, Mrs. Dalloway, A Sea of Poppies, The Golden Notebook. novelists: Balzac, Woolf, Rushdie, Rohinton Mistry, Joyce, and you-know-who.
tv shows: The Wire, South Park (yes, it's shocking but so witty); I'm also addicted to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
movies: recent ones range from Beasts of the Southern Wild, to Argot and A Separation (which won last year's foreign Oscar); classics include Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Godfather (I and III especially) and Jackie Brown.
music: The Clash, The Talking Heads, and Elvis Costello; Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and most reggae; King Sunny Ade, Youssou N'Dour, Buena Vista Social Club and spinoffs; Miles, Monk, Coltrane, Ella, Dinah Washington; Ericah Baydou, Gerri Allen. Of classical I most like baroque and modern, though listen to most things happily.

Coffee first thing in the morning; good friends including much of my family; reading (have I said that?); conversation about politics; good food, especially spicy food; travel

The current state of the world, politically and economically -- also how to leave my tiny piece of it in a little better shape.

returning from the gym, about to: hang out and make dinner, go to a movie with friends, or eat at someone's house.

Can't watch horror films, and I'm squeamish about violence

any of this intrigues you, and you like to talk. Not all emails on this website will turn into the romantic relationship of your life, but some might turn into friendships that nurture and which you cherish.