I’m a freelance writer, but along the way I’ve worked in politics, entertainment and co-founded a company dedicated to getting young people involved in community service through music. Our volunteers give 4 hours of their time and in return, get a ticket to a concert that we produce.

A few other details about me --

I love film - Chaplin, Godard, Wilder, Hitchcock, Woody Allen, Renoir, Almodovar, Innaritu, Cassavetes - as long as it's original. The same goes for theater. Really, I’m interested in everything - from poetry to politics, philosophy to philanthropy, art to astrophysics. When I was little, the thought of doing only one job for the rest of my life was as impossible to imagine as the fact that I’d someday grow old. I try to maintain that sense of wonder about the world but it's tempered these days by a heavy dose of cynicism (which makes it critical to keep a sense of humor about the whole thing).

I love to cook.
I love wine.
I know the difference between it's and its, (but don't feel the need to prove it).
I’m usually willing to give people a second chance.
I’m a firm believer that there's no better feeling than that little frisson you get from meeting someone you just click with.

Identifying voice over actors/actresses.

Ordering cheeses.

Being a good friend.

Smart-ass comments.

Difficult to be defined. (or wait... maybe they just said "difficult"...)

Random picks:

Books:
Netherland, Lolita, When A Crocodile Eats the Sun, Open City, Ghostwritten, The Last Tycoon, The End of the Affair, The Age of Innocence, The Book of Salt, A Moveable Feast, Pnin, Brideshead Revisited, Kafka on the Shore, Maltese Falcon, The Sun Also Rises, Gatsby, Game of Thrones (Book 1), Winter's Tale, Just Kids, Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Cloud Atlas (book, not film)

Music:
M83, Frightened Rabbit, The National, Radiohead, Mumford and Sons, The Kills, Florence + The Machine, M. Ward, Elliot Smith, Bon Iver, Massive Attack, Blonde Redhead, Fruit Bats, Nina Simone, The Kinks, The Afternoons, Merrie Amsterberg, Beck, Sinatra, Cinematic Orchestra, TV On the Radio, Mogwai, Band of Horses, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Nat King Cole, Joe Strummer, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, Tchaikovsky, Tallest Man on Earth

Films:
Godfather, Godfather II, Grey Gardens, Fletch, Dr. Zhivago, Tell No One, The Apartment, Casablanca, All The President's Men, All About Eve, All About My Mother, Ratcatcher, The Insider, A Prophet, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Lonestar, Manhattan, Blade Runner, City of God, Shop Around the Corner, Donnie Darko, Old Boy, The Big Lebowski, Breathless, Ordinary People, The War Room, 8 1/2, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Double Indemnity, Gone With The Wind, Serpico, Roman Holiday, The Fifth Element, The Conversation, Kind Hearts and Coronets, City Lights, Groundhog Day, It Happened One Night, Lawrence of Arabia, Sabrina, Annie Hall, Airplane, Seven Samurai, and on and on...

TV:
I Love Lucy, Archer, House of Cards, House of Lies, House, Breaking Bad, Wilfred, Downton Abbey, Dexter, Justified, Rubicon, All in the Family, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, Skins (BBC), West Wing, The Wire, Meet The Press, Pushing Daisies, Top Chef, Arrested Development, Sherlock (BBC), Bored to Death, Game of Thrones, It's Always Sunny, Doctor Who

Booze:
Bulleit Bourbon Manhattan, Gin & Tonic, Dirty Martini, Pinot Blanc, White Bordeaux, dry Riesling, Sancerre, Brunello, Pinot Noir, Barolo, 14-yr Oban, good Port, Sauterne, ice wine

Food:
This would require its own page. Suffice to say I enjoy all types and the more exotic the better. When I was in Spain, I ate partridge and rabbit and brains and tripe. When I was in China I ate duck's tongue and pig's ear. I love snobby Michelin star places and street meat vendors equally.

(And cheese. Cheese is... essential).

The New Yorker... BBC America... caffeine/salt... wine... good company... solitude...

Why we're all here.

Also -- Which checkout line will move the fastest.

Can you keep a secret?

So can I.

I think attraction is incredibly complicated. It's not all mental and it's not all looks. Things I appreciate in a woman -- Intelligence above all. Sense of humor's not far behind (I tend to prefer my chocolate and my comedy dark, but I'm always willing to try something new). Love of film and food is a major plus. Intensity, passion, conviction, open-mindedness are all good qualities to have.

Most important - you've got to be able to laugh at yourself.

(Oh... and at me.)