Sprouted in San Diego-CA. Educated in Midwestern universities, professor in the borderline South. Searching for viable alternatives to mainstream culture. Interested in indymedia, radical histories, revolutionary art/music, speculative fictions, food politics, sexuality/gender and resistance cultures. My worldviews are firmly anarchist, socialist, polyamorous, and pantheist (I oppose controlling ideologies)... I could be considered to be a geek or nerd because of my intellectual interests, but it is blended with a working class physicality and a love for the outdoors! I'm working on a conception of radical love ... in which I can love wholeheartedly, but not attempt to control or possess those I love and I remain open to the possibilities. I'm looking for creative, free, imaginative comrades that embrace this attitude.

I'm very open to difference of opinion. I take friendship very seriously and believe it to be an important part of a fulfilling life. I believe in the revolutionary power of creative expression and understand why it threatens reactionary people/institutions. I recognize the increasing consolidation of the media as one of the most serious threats to our fragile democracy and seek to educate people about this issue and increase their awareness of communication methods, propaganda techniques, and the symbolic construction of reality. I'm a very sensual person and enjoy experiencing the pleasures of life (new foods, exploring nature, urban adventures, intense conversations, heady buzz, rhythmic music, intimate interactions, etc...). I'm a full-on romantic, but comfortable living alone (as opposed to just rushing into bad relationships). I combine my serious intellectual pursuits with my wild natural inclinations to good effect. I like to write. I have always felt somewhat shy and introspective, but people laugh if I tell them that because they seem to think I am very outgoing. I am a very serious person when studying, but I burst out in laughter with my friends and can be moved to tears by songs/films.

I am playful, curious, and eclectic

Developing an endowed lecture for a university: “Finding the Truth Where Certainties Collide”: Dialogic Performance Studies

Working with local comrades to develop Libertarian Municipalism in our city: essentially development of autonomous collectives and self-sufficient communities

Just received tenure and avoiding the bureaucratic madness

Exploring radical relationships and communities--how should we live? How should we relate to others.

Writing for local newspapers and cultural studies journals

Planning my first film studies book on Dialogic Performance Studies

Trying to lessen my dependence on corporate food by growing my own food and working with a local food/garden collective

Developing a close group of friends I trust and who have similar life goals/interests

Protest from time to time: Went to Pittsburgh last year to protest the G20 Economic Summit and went to DC to protest the anniversary of the war (and Obama's decision to accelerate it). Have been active with the local Occupy group and thinking about the convergence on Chicago in May for the next G20.

Advising students in the Socialist Student Union, Gay/Straight Alliance, Peace and Earth Justice Association, and the Secular Student Union

Lots of research into International Film Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Social Movements, Gender/Sexualities and Anarchism.

Preparing a new culture on Contemporary Japanese Culture

Traveling when I can: Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Mexico, Belize, California, Oregon -- in spring I am going to Amsterdam for the first time.

Hiking, not as much as I would like, but my summers will hopefully provide more opportunities

Attending professional conferences -- next one is the Slavic and East European conference at Ohio State University in the Spring of 2012

Working on my downtown house and always planting all over my jungle-like yard

I teach:
International Film Studies
Peace & Conflict Studies
Cultural Studies
Gender and Sexuality
Writing
Media Studies
History of Propaganda
Social Movements
Radical Histories

Also good at:
Goofing Off
Blogging
hiking
imagining new possibilities
exploring alterity
erotic stories
role playing
D/s
cooking Mexican and Asian food... although I wish I had more opportunities to do so....
listening
understanding people who think differently (may sometimes require work... but always worth it, not always rewarding.... but a learning experience nonetheless)

I've been told my eyes: by the way they change colors (Green-Blue-Grey) depending on the weather and my moods-I guess I'm part moodstone.

I'm a very situational person, sometimes I'm vibrant and in the center of things, sometimes I am intensely involved in building community, sometimes I am observant and along the margins--I like to allow for different possibilities.

So I guess different people notice different things about me...

Part of the problem with filling something like this out is that I am an eclectic humanities professor... one interest always leads to another....

My favorite film right now: John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus (2006) and why American Culture: Sex and Sexuality

Books/Literature:

Reading is a joy and a passion--my house is full of bookcases, as is my office, and I work with my college library to build their collection

Last book I read:

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Timothy Wu

Currently Reading:

New World of Indigenous Resistance: Noam Chomsky and Voices from North, South, and Central America

Currently teaching:

Project Censored 2012

Membership to (receive new books through friend service):

AK Press (Anarchism)
Framing
Revolution By the Book (Anarchism)

I'm an avid reader of well-written, radical science fiction

My favorite play is Antigone--the courage of the protagonist to defy her king because he is wrong and the way that the play has been adapted throughout its history to comment on the political events/troubles of the times.

I read the Bible seven times straight-through, from the beginning to the end, annotated in a different color each year I read it (in case you are wondering from the age of 6-13, ah the joys of early religious indocrination)--at 13 I knew that text better than those preaching before our congregation. This is where I learned textual analysis skills and the important lesson that most people do not read closely the founding texts of their beliefs/politics. I also benefited from grandparents, who were essentially fundamentalist, but still pushed me to question what I read (perhaps not in the way I eventually did)

I usually talk about the things I read at Dialogic and because I believe that knowledge should be free and accessible, I have built some handy archives on the website to aid people in exploring various issues.

These books I read and unravel, some half read, some abandoned, they are only fully brought to life in sharing them.

Films:

This could go on forever because I teach film, so here is my archive for the course: International Film Studies

Along with film I appreciate the arts of documentary photography (and auto-ethnography).

Music:

Eclectic and wide-ranging--like it live!

Food:

Nicaraguan/Costa Rican; Thai with lots of vegetables; Mexican food (Pacific Coast style); Meditteranean (so tasty and so good for me); Indian Food (spicy); our collective dinners of fresh made pasta, salads and wine; sushi; omelettes... guacamole; fresh salsa; hot cocoa; tea; south american wines (esp Malbec and Carmenere); Belgian Beer; Brie/French Bread; fresh chicken from a local farm roasted in the oven.

Podcasts:

I don't watch TV--it has been disconnected for a decade (I do watch Films/Netflix).

I listen to various political, music, scientific and philosophical podcasts at night, when cleaning/gardening, and when walking back-and-forth from work (kind of my TV I guess)

to be continued

1) autonomy
2) curiosity/imagination
3) good food
4) love/comrades/family (esp. Literaghost
5) books
6) a sense of the possibility that things could be different and that we can work toward making life better for everyone

What can be done to make this a better world alternating with what can we do to make people's lives more fulfilling and pleasurable (not at the expense of others).

Hanging out with Literaghost if our schedules work out, watching a movie when there is a good one at the local art theater, Gallery Hop once a month (art galleries across downtown open their doors and provide food/drinks), randomly driving to a different place to explore something new, howling at the moon, curling up on the couch with a good book, hanging out in bookstores and/or cooking something decadent!

I also like creative and non-fiction writing.

I'm a hopeless romantic... I have a passion for people I like (friends and lovers), places I care about, and I believe in the power of collective/direct action to confront injustices.

Friends are a very important part of life, so I'm interested in meeting intelligent, imaginative, open-minded people. In my mind, friendship is a radical engagement (open, imaginative, playful and supportive)... how do we form meaningful relationships in this world and what are the significance of those bonds?

Eros is important to me, while attraction on a physical level is necessary, it is foremost an engagement (enlightenment?) of the mind.

If you would like to talk, grab a cup of coffee/tea or a mug of beer, check out a movie, explore some creative space and/or go for a walk/hike.

What are you thinking?