Not a huge fan of self-summaries as you can't help but feel egotistical writing them. Messages are much better. That said...

I am a student at Duke University, but I'm currently studying at The LSE for the 2009/2010 academic year. I am originally from Tennessee, around the Great Smoky Mountains, where I grew up hiking and learning to love the outdoors. I was raised by two abstract ceramic artists, and I think the open-mindedness that is associated with that speaks well to my personality. Somehow managed to miss the art gene per se, but I have some musical talent, and have played the sax and piano for years.

I guess I'm on here mainly because I love meeting strangers. Random conversations about serious to trivial things with those that don't have preconceived notions of what to expect are wonderful things.

I am working on a Political Science major, Environmental Sciences and Policy minor, and Ethics Certificate. I have worked in the music industry for the last few years, and have interned with the company that puts on Bonnaroo, the largest music festival in the States. I helped book bands and run shows across the southeast. I got started doing the same thing for my University, and have had the opportunity to meet and work with many different musicians (which I would be happy to list/talk about via messages).

Books: Recently I've really been getting into Nietzsche and Sarte. I will read anything that is classic or makes you think (i.e. the list is way too long for me to put on here, but I would love to discuss books and literature if you send me a message). As far as poetry goes, I'm a big Ginsberg/Whitman fan. My favorite books that I've read recently just for my own enjoyment would be Love in the Time of Cholera, Zeitoun, and 2666.

Movies: The Man From Earth, Stalker, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le papillon), A Clockwork Orange, Borat, Scent of a Woman, Schindler's List, Shaun of the Dead, Gladiator, Se7en, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Forrest Gump, Monty Python and the Meaning of Life, Anchorman, Pan's Labyrinth, Equilibrium, Brick, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, An Inconvienient Truth, The Royal Tenenbaums, Being John Malkovich, Good Will Hunting, Idiocracy, Battle Royale, Superbad, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Jean de Florette, Manon des sources, The Darjeeling Limited, Quo Vadis Baby?, I Heart Huckabees, Rocky Horror Picture Show (Live, of course)

Music: Bob Dylan, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Beatles, Ben Folds, Ben Folds Five, Arlo Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, Woody Guthrie, Country Joe and the Fish, Cosmic Rough Riders, The Doors, Dave Matthews Band, Weezer, The Band, The Byrds, Ben Kwellar, Steve Winwood, Blood Sweat and Tears, Earth Wind and Fire, Bright Eyes, Cake, Charlie Parker, Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Billy Joel, Elton John, Flogging Molly, Franz Ferdinand, Gorillaz, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, John Melloncamp, Kaizers Orchestra, Louis Armstrong, Michael Jackson, Modest Mouse, O-Zone, Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, Gary Jules, Phantom Planet, Queen, Robert Plant, The Rolling Stones, Saves the Day, Sondre Lerche, Stevie Wonder, Sting, The Streets, The Strokes, The Who, Wynton Marsalis, Journey, Sufjan Stevens, Beck, William Shatner, Frank Sinatra, Andrew Bird, M.I.A., The Microphones, Okkervil River, Arctic Monkeys, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, MONO, Massive Attack, Tilly and the Wall, The Hush Sound, Destroyer, The Dresden Dolls, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Lazlo Bane, The Fratellis, Mika, LCD Soundsystem, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, The Decemberists, Jeff Coffin, Duke Ellington, Imogen Heap, Soil and The Pimp Sessions, Dangerdoom, Wolfmother, OK Go, The Hives, Hot Hot Heat, David Bowie, Seu Jorge, Billy Bragg, Ghostland Observatory, Los Campesinos!

TV: The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Tom Goes To The Mayor, Futurama, South Park, Stella, The Office (British Version), Scrubs, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Mighty Boosh, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development

Food: I will try anything, and the only strong hates I can think of are heavily processed foods.