I'm originally from Yellow Springs, OH. I did my undergrad and MA at OU in sociology in Athens. I then went to IU in Bloomington, IN to pursue a doctorate. I just accepted a full-time, tenure track position at CSCC in the department of social sciences in early July. So far, I'm teaching pop culture and introductory sociology--I hope to branch out further into courses on deviance and law and society. I've moved to Columbus in the middle of August.

If you're still conscious, my dissertation involves the legal and social controversies surrounding mixed martial arts (MMA) competition; I'm particularly examining the legal battle in New York. The grist of the study consists of interviews with legislators, fighters, trainers, and historians as well as a soul-crushing amount of legal research. However, it's an excuse to attend a lot of fights--it's a young sport (particularly in North America) and access to fighters is still possible even for someone like myself. Finally, I want to examine the stigma surrounding the sport as, statistically, it's much safer than many American past times like football and boxing yet it retains a shameful image among much of the public. I hope to have it done in the next 18 months.

Sort of to that end, i love training kickboxing. I just joined Ohio Muay Thai on E. Broad two weeks ago and it's amazing. I love the challenge and the tradition; before that, I had trained some jiu-jitsu but found I was much better at stand-up fighting. I also love watching tennis, football, boxing, gymnastics, diving, and soccer. I also think curling is oddly fascinating to watch...

Pretending to detect hints of citrus in wine, trying supplements that don't do shit, sternly telling students (in a low tone) to "be safe" over holiday breaks, acting like i'm not weirded out, removing my glasses in dramatic fashion, finding cool antiques, quoting "Arrested Development," failing at parallel parking, looking concerned as I wait for AAA, grading papers, tying water balloons, telling people they "have to watch the 'The Wire,'" cooking chicken cacciatore, making obscure film references, taking photos that look like they should be on a bookjacket (etc.)...

My resemblance to Justin Bieber.

Authors: The most incredible book I've ever read is "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy. It's the only book I've ever clearly had recurring dreams about after reading. It's power is such that my initial attempts to read it failed as I couldn't handle the devastating imagery. It'd be presumptuous of me to try to describe it further except to say it makes "The Road" look like "The Little Prince." (*pause for faint laughter*)
However, J.M. Coetzee--my favorite South African enigma--is currently my most read author (at least of those living)...he and Ian McEwan battle valiantly for the spot off and on. Nabokov, Carver, Marquez, Roth, Faulkner, Conrad, Huxley, Hesse, Amy Hempel, Donald Ray Pollock (my current favorite Buckeye), Jonathan Franzen, Saul Bellow, Michael Chabon, Chuck Klosterman, Dennis Cooper, the guy who wrote the Waffle House menus, Howard Bloom, Mark Haddon, and Paul Auster are among my favorites. I also love Adam Liptak, Carol Greenhouse, and Jordan Breen for online journalism.
Films: Here's a stab at a top twenty-five (in no particular order): The Warzone, Naked, Paths of Glory, The Color of Paradise, Happiness, Raging Bull, Blue Velvet, Talk to Her, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Chinatown, City of God, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pan's Labyrinth, Husbands and Wives, Wild Strawberries, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, In the Bedroom, Thank You for Smoking, Dr. Stangelove, Memento, Kids, Requiem for a Dream, Deliver Us From Evil, Mulholland Drive.
Music: Amon Tobin, Omara Portuondo, Wu Tang, Hank Williams, Sr., Bonobo, Basement Jaxx, Metro Area, Portishead, GZA, Crystal Castles, Rakim, The Roots, The Icarus Line, The New Deal, Liars, Neko Case, Rakim, Goldfrapp, Radiohead, Orlando Lopez, Chemical Brothers, Ghostface, Blockhead, Hercules and Love Affair, Broadcast, El-P, Kid Koala, Mr. Lif, Johnny Cash, Charlie Feathers, Meshuggah, Helmet, Nirvana, Mastodon, Ting Tings, Skalpel to name a few I like.
Food: Indian and Italian are my favorites

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it." -- H.L. Mencken

if you're intrigued.