My friends are mostly geeky types, Rennies,SCA folk, dance at goth clubs and are largely of the alternate/indie/burning flipside/poly/pagan/kink variety of people.

I tend to be pretty vanilla compared to the company I keep, but if that set raises your hackles I'm certainly not the man for you...

A stable steady recession proof dayjob that is a good balance of creative and interesting, yet unchallenging IE a 9-5 er that I like.

Working on creative projects.. (mostly involving a small digital video/photo studio I've created)

this also involves making props, and assembling a HUGE costume collection and a lot of digital grunt work in the editing and effects department . in between the frequent shooting dates.

Dreaming big dreams and still taking baby steps towards doing them

Making useful and/or beautiful things from practically NOTHING.

Making things simpler.

Seeing the best in people and helping them see it in themselves.

Seeing what is ACTUALLY there. (as opposed to the surface, or the common perception thats so accepted that its practically built in)

Things someone might notice will be very subject to context.. I can be silly or grave or boisterously outgoing or quietly observant.

Editors

• Nicky

OK. theres a long list below for books and movies.. but what really matters is that there be emotional RANGE... and VIVID characters I care about and settings that feel real. If finishing the book or movie feels like returning from a different place and leaving a set of people (with some regret) THAT will be wind up on my 'favorites' list.

recently? Bujolds Barrayar series. the collected works of Abraham Lincoln, and 'The collected works of Thomas Jefferson'... .MORE recently.. a Bioof John Adams, a non-fiction book on BioWar, and an autobiography of an Englishman who joined the French Foriegn Legion in 1960.

all time favorites inlcude: 'The Guns of August' , 'A distant Mirror', and 'the first salute' by Barbara Tuchman. 'The Screwtape Letters' by CS Lewis (and his Narnia books of course). GK Chesterons "Return of Don Quixote". MOST of Pratchett's works.. (I stopped around his 25th discworld novel and just haven't picked up the new ones yet). Richard Bachs "Johnathon Livingston Seagull" and "Illusions" certainly make my hit parade, along with works by Bradbury, Heinlein and Arthur C. Clark... and so many many more... Canticle for Liebowitz,Watership Down , Lincolns Generals, War for the Oaks, Woman on the Edge of Time, The Handmaids Tale

-------------------- MOVIES: -------
My all time favorite is "The Lion In Winter": 1967. Peter O'toole, Katherine Hepburn , Nigel Terry, Timothy Dalton and Anthony Hopkins.

but in no particular order, you wont have to wrestle me to the ground to see the following again at any time... Princess bride, Legend of the Leprechauns, Ladyhawk, Labyrinth, Legend,Excalibur, Monty Python and the Holy Grail,Becket, A Man for all Seasons, Mallrats,Tank Girl, The Mask, Robocop.. and of course all the musical listed under "Music"

I dont own a TV but from DVD I'm a fan of The West Wing,Buffy, and Firefly, Burn Notice and Battlestar Galactica . I think Rod Serling was the American Shakespeare (in terms of TV) and his Twilight Zone works will be viewed for centuries. HULU.COM has become my chief TV station.. I follows Terminator:SCC till it canceled and am still following Burn Notice, Castle, and Eureka as they come out.

Due to my sons influence (theyre pretty much all he watches so thats how we spend time together) I guarantee I've seen and can discuss more Anime', especially the GOOD non-mainstream stuff (generally subtitled) than virtually anyone who isnt a complete Japan-aholic .. just don't ask me to remember or pronounce the titles.

-------------------- MUSIC: ------

Older/all time favorites include billy joel,heart, queen, Indigo Girls, Mary Chapin Carpenter, movie scores. In no particular order... Musicals: 1776, Yentl, Moulin Rouge, Scarlet Pimpernel, BUffy The Musical (episode title='once more with feeling') Camelot,man of La Mancha, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Rent, Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun, With the exception of those last three, I can still sing better than half the songs from ALL of these on cue... and am likely to do so. :) ,Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez ballad book, Enigma, U2, dead can dance, Cocteau Twins, Holzt, Resphigi, Bach and Beethoven, (some Mozart and a few others as well) Annie Lennox, Classic Rock, Swing (Glenn miller's wartime hits are an occasional favorite), and especially Vintage (turn of the century through 1930's) FILK: most recently, the Norwegian troops on Duty in Kosovo put out a wonderful and politicully astute (not to mention side splittingly funny) filk of the beach boys "Kokomo" entitled.."Kosovo" but filk in general , especially improving and jamming at it ... and an eclectic bunch of others besides... oh and AMV's are a favorite as well.

FOOD: Sushi is a favorite.. and well toasted Unagi my favorite of that. I enjoy most ethnic cuisine. My limits are that I choose not to eat Mammals and fowl .. I have low tolerance for oil based hot sauces and don't generally like squid.

Editors

• Nicky

Hope, Honesty, compassion, curiosity, joy , humor. make that 7 .. *purpose*

Editors

• Nicky

A beautiful future that shines like the dreams of tomorrow I grew up with but that I can believe in and make happen in small steps starting from now.

and metaphysics, and design in general

and the chessboard that is geopolitics, ethics, practicality and principal

Some times its Swimming at Barton springs, especially under a full moon or possibly Elysium if my friends are going. Occasionally at a party held by friends. I havent been hosting of late... I should probably do that as soon as the weather turns cool but not cold.

Or something involving my photo/film studio.(generally setting up for a shoot.. but occasionally shooting)

To be honest.. mostly staying home and resting up from the work week (probably invovles watching obscure anime' with my son, or getting slaughtered at warhammer40k or Kohan2 by him. And of course theres commonplaces like 'catching up on laundry'

...that the paradox of this question is fun and silly?

I'm going to go with one of those "ask me anything, I'll probably tell you" responses.

Editors

• Nicky

You'll have your own reasons of course :)

If you read the movies/books list and said "ME TOO!" a lot .. thats a good place to start.

If you want good company to got to Barton Springs with.

If youre someone who has thought about thier own cosmology and consciously CHOSEN your own rather than letting your parents or custom or society hand them to you as if there is only one way of being.

Editors

• Nicky