Mathematicians say triangles are the sturdiest shapes, but love triangles are surprisingly unsturdy. That's why Pythagoras and Euclid never worked out. Eratosthenes kept getting in the way.

Hello, I'm Mark. I'm passionate about everything I do, I'm a hopeless romantic and I don't believe in serial commas. I've realized that my profile reads like a resume, but that's because I'm bad at filling these things out. Don't we all say that, though?

Right now, I'm in a Master's program. I want to be a high school English teacher. I love school. Yeah, I said it.

At the same time, I'm working on another love, which is writing. I'm in the midst of my first novel, which I may try to get published should I think it's good enough.

That leads me to my next point, which is my greatest passion in life: great literature, especially Shakespeare. (I'd acknowledge it's a cliche to say your favorite author is Shakespeare, but it's a cliche to say something is a cliche.) I've read everything the man wrote and every bit of analysis of his works that I could get my hands on. I'm currently working at an arts program on Staten Island. We recently finished a program that taught kids about Shakespearean theater. Now we're moving on to a production of Othello. I'm so excited about this, because the woman who runs the program is a theater director, and I don't have much experience with the theatrical side of Shakespeare.

But my real baby is the weekly Shakespeare podcast we do (feed url: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheTwelfthNightShow), and the Shakespeare blog at: http://twelfthnighttheatre.wordpress.com/

What else to tell?

I'm politically liberal. Strongly in favor of universal healthcare and opposed to capital punishment.

I'm an atheist, a pacifist and an anglophile.

I'm a Mets, Jets and Devils fan. (God help me.)

I'm not really sure what else to say. I'm open to being asked.

I am the pater familias, waiting for Vizzini, and a Jedi, like my father before me.

Being a starving artist, I suppose.

Well, I mentioned the Shakespeare program. I'm also writing my novel, and in the process of taking up running as a hobby and exercise.

I recently ran a Shakespeare residency in some of the schools on Staten Island, with second and third graders. And I just finished my first semester of grad school. Congratulate me.

Writing, reading and critiquing stuff, I suppose. I'm an Eagle Scout, so that generates a lot of skills that don't have much good if you're not lost in the woods. I can tell direction with the sun.

Also, KenKen puzzles.

I can reverse gravity with my mind.

Books: Impossible to list. Literature lover, remember? I'll make a list of authors I admire, but it's by no means comprehensive, or in any order: Shakespeare, Vladimir Nabokov, Philip Roth, Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, Cormac McCarthy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sophocles, John Milton, Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, Homer, Virgil.

Movies: My favorite genre is mafia movies ("Whoa, so he's a guy after all"). That includes The Godfather trilogy, Donnie Brasco and Road to Perdition, among others. My favorite comedy is The Big Lebowski. Another movie I absolutely love is Ran. It's a Japanese film. You're missing out if you're not familiar with it. And let's not forget No Country for Old Men.

Music: I like opera, especially Puccini and Verdi. In terms of popular music, I like classic rock. The Beatles and such. I also love Bruce Springsteen. I'm not hugely musically inclined. But there's very little I actively don't enjoy.

Food: I like eating and trying exotic foods. My favorite cuisines include Italian and Indian -- yeah, I know, not very daring for someone who claims to be -- but I also love Ethiopian. It's so unique.

I've become obsessed with Doctor Who. I am crazy in love with Amy Pond. And I guessed who River was AFTER TWO EPISODES.

It used to be sunny in Philadelphia, but the last few seasons, not so much.

Um ... food, clothing, and shelter? This is a weird question. Do they mean specific items? I'm just not that material, because I honestly can't think of anything. So I'll go with ... Martin Brodeur. Yeah.

If Andy spends his days doing prisoner stuff and his nights digging through his wall, when does he sleep?

Working on my book, watching a ballgame, seeing a play, reading or out at a relatively calm bar with a few friends, having a nice conversation.

I've been called an excellent kisser.

OK, so I took the space for something private to say something I want to brag about. I'm just a rebel like that.

You would get the joke if I wore a shirt that said, "Mercutio drew first."