This section always seemed just a wee bit stuffy to me after I first wrote it, so I'm taking out all this text for now and I'll rewrite it when I get around to it.

Until then, I'm Josh, I'm self-employed, and I like everything except lists of likes.

I'm an artist involved in the best theatre company in the county, working whether in production, stage management, writing or acting. I work freelance in the entertainment industry, so I'm able to live comfortably but it gives me the freedom to pick my hours, too. Pretty sweeeeeet.

Talking passionately about things that mean a lot to me, talking people out of fights, seeing another person's perspectives, making friends with dogs, chivalry, wordplay, spending money on people I love (family, friends, and everyone beyond)

I get a lot of compliments about my teeth and hair lately. And I get called "cute" or "cutie" a lot.

Books:

Plays of all kinds, from classical training in Shakespeare to the dark comedies of Martin McDonagh. The immediate author that comes to mind as a favorite is Haruki Murakami. My father is an author so I have to list his books as among my favorites. I grew up with authors like Neal Stephenson, David Eddings, C.S. Freidman. I've had the chance to read only one Hunter S. Thompson book but I would relish the opportunity to read more. I like any well-told story, and have a reading-list a mile long that I have to find the time to get around to... people keep lending me books and I never have time to read anymore.

Comics! I forgot comics! Warren Ellis, especially Transmetropolitan, as well as Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis and Alan Moore. I enjoyed reading the first half of Dave Sim's Cerebus the Aardvark, but then it just spiraled downward into insanity. Also, I don't share his misogynistic or crazy-ass religious points of view.

Movies:

I love movies. I'm always looking for more. But here are some of my favorites.

Comedy: The Big Lebowski
Action: Die Hard
Drama: The Godfather
Horror: Alien
Foreign: Akira Kurosawa or 8 1/2
Animated: Spirited Away or The Lion King
Romance: Roxanne
TV: Joss Whedon, The Shield, Six Feet Under, Arrested Development, The West Wing (the good seasons: 1-4), The Venture Brothers, Battlestar Galactica
New Media: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Favorite living screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman. I can't really give a genre to his movies.

You pretty much get the idea. I dig geekery, as long as it's well written. Don't come at me with any "Stargate" crap unless it's the lovely 3.5-out-of-5-star romp of a sci-fi/action movie.

Music:

Recently, Flogging Molly and The Frames (or, as they are now, The Swell Season) are on my favorites. I listen to everything from classic rock like David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to old school metal/hard rock like early AC/DC and Metallica, good old Americana like Bruce Springsteen, and in the indie scene I'm a fan of The New Pornographers, 8MM, The Raveonettes, The Dresden Dolls, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Ladytron, and Mindless Self Indulgence. Other big name catalogues I've worked my way through include The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Muse.

Food:
I like good ramen, not the kind in the grocery store but from an authentic Japanese restaurant. I'm slightly vegetarian at the moment, but more as a dietary choice than any ideology, and do break it now and then for some meat. Being a born Texan, I love a good steak, but also like fish and sushi and even some cheap burrito or mexican at El Coyote or the like. For drinks, I like Guinness as a beer and usually drink red wine though I like white, and for liquors, I'm currently drinking on a scotch kick, with the occasional gin.

My hopelessly romantic optimism.
A strong relationship with my family.
Art and the pursuit of art.
Laughter.
A desire to learn more each day.
Thinking.

List will be updated soon, too. Boo, lists. Boo generic responses to said lists.

Tomorrow, today, and the past. Hopes and dreams, loves and losses, what we can do to make the most of our time and how we can get by without things that we think we need, while still being able to enjoy the decadence of those guilty, unproductive pleasures.

Wherever I want to be. I don't need to be seen anywhere, and if there's a play going up with a friend in it, or that I hear is good, I don't mind doing a night at the theater. I have no problem staying at home and making it a relaxing night, nor do I mind popping down to the pub with a few friends and playing some darts. I'm as easygoing as it gets with night-life, and I can always make my own fun.

I own almost every video game console since the Dreamcast. Sure, I don't play very often anymore (comparatively), but I'm a geek. Deal with it. I'm great.

People who write "could of" and "should of" when they mean "could've" or "should have", etc, annoy me. Also people who use "loose" when they mean "lose". We've all got our grammatical pet peeves. Those are mine.

You get the joke I made when I made my religion "Agnosticism and somewhat serious about it."

No, really, that's not an ACTUAL requirement. How picky do you think I AM?

UPDATE BEGINS HERE:

So, I've left this section relatively blank because I feel like the more open I am to different experiences beyond my expectations, the more I appreciate and find joy in those things I might initially be closed off to.

Having said that, I have on the other hand given up on a great opportunity to make a whimsical list with no borders but my imagination. So here goes:

If you have a sense of humor that can sting with love.

If you'd rather keep asking questions than have all the answers.

If you're independently minded, but don't mind asking for support when you need to.

If your pragmatism keeps a check on your idealism, and your idealism keeps a check on your pragmatism.

If you can enjoy answering the personality questions but do find the answers to be a little too black and white without context to fill in the blanks.

If you took a "which (TV show/Movie) Character are you?" online test once and admit to rigging it because you knew all the answers to get you the character you desired.
- Yes, not knowing the answers to get you the character you desired probably counts against you. 99% of the quizzes are pretty damn easy to figure out if you know the source material.

If you find subcultures fascinating.

If you love talking over drinks until 4AM.

If you still love games of any kind.

If you never tell me the odds.

If you want to share what you love to do.

If you've ever made an inside joke about David Bowie.

If you've had a conversation with a friend based entirely on inside jokes.

If you've ever caught yourself making an inside joke when there's no one around who will remotely understand what the hell you're talking about.

If you've ever caught yourself making an inside joke when there's no one around at all.

If you don't mind me leaving the whole "Twilight" obsession up to your gender.

If you love the Edison because it is a steampunk wonderland.

If your favorite bar on the Sunset Strip is the Cat & Fiddle on a quiet night.

Which reminds me... Guinness drinkers also welcome.

Editors

• AmbrettiAmore