"To live is the rarest thing in the world; most people exist, that is all."
- Oscar Wilde

"My country is the world, and to do good is my religion." - Thomas Paine

"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness." - Albert Einstein

"The best way to find oneself is to lose oneself in service to others."

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw

My favorite quotes. Would that I could be of that mind at all times.

I'm a registered Democrat, and rather socially Liberal. Same-sex marriage, drug legalization and regulation, universal healthcare and a woman's right to choose are all good. Senseless wars and religion interfering with the political system are not. Obama '08

I want to live a beautiful life, and so far I could have done much better. There's so much to see and experience, so many places to visit and people to meet and talk with, so much...good to be done.

I enjoy discussions over a wide range of subjects with intelligent people, drunken revelry, smoking hookah, (tabletop) role-play, reading, writing, dreaming, photography, physical intimacy, and coffee, among other things. I have a healthy sexual appetite. We are sexual creatures, and it is better to embrace our sexuality than try to repress it.

Bigotry will not be tolerated.

I have angry eyebrows.

I was raised Lutheran, and have since become an agnostic atheist.

In other news, I had answered over 2000 questions on this here website, but felt compelled to erase them all and start anew, since I feel that some of my answers were perhaps a bit off. El oh effing el.

If you haven't been put off by anything yet, go ahead and read more.

Having grown tired of my sabbatical, I would like to attend college in the near future with the intent of majoring/minoring in some combination of English and political science. Whether this would lead into some career in writing, political or otherwise, political activism or something else entirely, I'm not quite sure, but at the present time I do believe it is the correct course to set.

At some point in my life, I would very much like to participate in the Peace Corps. anywhere in the world that requires aid.

I've been told that I'm possessed of some degree of writing skill, though I sometimes fail to understand where the hell anyone gets such a ridiculous idea. It's exceedingly difficult for me to feel satisfied with my writing, and I'm prone to throwing out and rewriting large sections of work multiple times before at long last leaving it alone, before more damage can be wrought.

I'm a good listener. For reasons yet unknown, people have a way of spilling their guts to me, which can sometimes prove to be very messy. I, on the other hand, am virtually incapable of speaking candidly even with those that I love and trust the most.

This goes hand in hand with the writing, I suppose, but I don't generally encounter many misspellings or grammatical errors. In the works of others, these things all but leap from their respective computer monitors and pages, demanding that I point them out to the authors, who more than likely couldn't care less about their misplaced semicolons or commas.

Walking quietly.

Oftentimes I allow my hair to grow long, sometimes below my shoulders. Men generally wear their hair cut much shorter these days, so during the times when I feel like cultivating a wilder, shaggier look, it's probably one of the first things people notice when meeting me.

Apart from that, I'm an amiable, quiet guy, and often more inclined to observe the goings-on around me than take part. This isn't to say that I'm always necessarily a social wallflower -- just that I find people watching pretty entertaining.

My sense of humor is generally rather dark and dry.

A.) I'm presently obsessed with Kahlil Gibran.

B.) The Shawshank Redemption, The Music Within, Silence of the Lambs, Enemy at the Gates, Lord of War, Zorro, The Mask of Zorro, Requiem for a Dream, The Matrix, American Psycho, Children of Men, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Hero, Harold and Maude, Sleepy Hollow, Indiana Jones, Underworld, Love Actually, Lost In Translation, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Waking Life, 3:10 to Yuma, Kinsey, V for Vendetta, The Edge, Pan's Labyrinth, 300, Road to Perdition, Once, The Breakfast Club, Batman Begins, The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Clockwork Orange, Donnie Darko, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, Sin City, The Mummy, Equilibrium, many more.

C.) System of a Down, Sufjan Stevens, Cat Stevens, Tool, Bjork, Iron and Wine, Mastodon, Sigur Ros, Fleet Foxes, The Beatles, Muse, Bright Eyes, Modest Mouse, The Killers, Blind Guardian, Bach, Disturbed, Andrew Bird, Damien Rice, Akon, Regina Spektor, Hot Chip, Marilyn Manson, Portishead, Beirut, Rob Zombie, Crystal Castles, Rufus Wainwright, Tech N9NE, Mogwai, Nine Inch Nails, Oceanlab, Chicane, Imogen Heap, Cat Power, MGMT, The New Pornographers, Cold War Kids, Dispatch, Beethoven, Pink Martini, Scarling, U2, Maroon 5, Fiona Apple, Michael Jackson, Serj Tankian, Portishead, Max Richter, James Blunt, Mozart, Chairlift, Jeff Buckley, Franz Liszt, Vast, Band of Horses, St. Vincent, Daft Punk, Enya, Devotcha, Snow Patrol, Failure, many more.

D.) Italian is a given. I mean, seriously, who the fuck doesn't like Italian? Nobody, that's who. I like to think of myself - somewhat jokingly - as a baby back rib connoisseur. (I *think* Longhorn Steakhouse currently holds the title for the top; if not, it would likely be awarded to Quaker Steak and Lube.) Cereals in many wondrous varieties stock the larder, though I'm less apt to choose the more sugary ones. I'm not so fond of sweeter fare, for the most part. Cheesecake is an exception.

E.) Arrested Development really needs to be mentioned.

The origin of suffering is attachment.

Politics, people who matter to me and religions in which I have no faith.

Other thoughts often include:
- Women
- Humanism
- Sex(uality)
- The direction in which my life is heading and just how I feel about it.
- Music. There is nearly always some sort of song playing in my head.

Looking for something interesting to get me out of the house. If that fails, I'm most likely home, bored and sullen, reading or watching film.

I absolutely love the night, but if I'm outside, particularly if the moon is out, I suffer a completely irrational, ridiculous fear of werewolves.

I'm serious.

Also, I can be pretty fucking hedonistic. I don't know whether to label it good or bad, but it's the truth.

You're real.

You know what I mean by real.

You're literate.

You've found me interesting.

You've found some commonality between us.

You know what and where Darfur is, and actually give a shit about it.

If this describes you, feel free to contact me via instant message. And I'm not talking about the terribad OKC messaging client, but AIM! Though I may not -appear- to be online at the time, this is quite often simple deception.

Firimar Elerrino