I am a transplant to Texas, having moved from New Jersey, where I grew up and lived for most of my life. I also lived in England, Ireland, Colorado, Louisiana, and Virginia, as well as a short stint in NYC.

I love old stuff: Old buildings, old neighborhoods, old records, old books, old cars, old machinery. There is something poetic about old stuff, and old stuff in a state of decay is beautiful to my eyes. I take photos of old buildings, trying to capture the beauty I see, but I am not a skilled photographer and the photos never capture the moment. I'd be happy to trade lunch for a photography lesson.

I have 2 1/2 dogs. Two of them are mine, both mutts, the 'half' dog is technically my sister's dog, but the dog sleeps in my bed damn near every night, so I claim half ownership of her.

I am starting a new career. I have never worked harder, nor been happier at work, than I am now. Took me long enough to realize that more money is not the path to happiness. Happiness is the path to happiness.

I love seeing the sunrise; I love sleeping in. I love getting a good night's sleep; I love staying up all night. I love an expertly prepared meal; I love grabbing a hot dog from a cart. Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.

Interests

• dogs
• books
• photography
• beauty
• cars

Music, Movies, and Books

I saw the Clash when I was sixteen years old, got to hang out with the band after the show, and it was a life altering experience. I like the Beatles, but I am definitely a Stones guy. Everyone has to come down on one side or the other of the great cultural questions (same with Faulkner vs. Hemingway, Tolstoy vs. Dostoevsky, and Family Guy vs. South Park), and I am a Stones guy.

I have a major Dylan obsession. I love Dylan's Christian Albums, and I love the Holy Trinity of Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. I even loved Dylan's Christmas album.

I love Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, The Ramones, Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Willie Johnson, the Mekons, David Bowie, and Hank Williams. I love Minor Threat, Black Flag and the Minutemen, Townes Van Zandt and Kinky Friedman, Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway. I appreciate Rap more than I actually enjoy it. I don't enjoy heavy metal at all, but I am truly fascinated by the heavy metal subculture. Except for a few pieces, classical music bores me to tears.

As beloved as he is, I truly believe that Louis Armstrong is an underrated artist. As a Jersey Guy, born and raised, Sinatra and Springsteen are part of my DNA.

I have a crush on Neko Case. I have a crush on Cat Power too. I grieve for Amy Winehouse. And like Dylan, I'm thinkin' 'bout Alicia Keys.

I was an English major, and used to read only big 'L' LITERATURE, books that worked on different levels, stuffed with symbolism, and that were the subject of many a doctoral thesis. I still read those, but now I just enjoy a good story, and worry less about the semiotics. If I have to name some names: Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy, James Ellroy, Raymond Chandler, Nick Hornby, Charles Dickens, Allen Ginsberg. I go through phases where I read just fiction, and then there are times when all I read is non-fiction. Oh yeah, I like paper, none of these Kindle thingamabobs for me, I want the tactile sensation of turning pages.

I miss Christopher Hitchens. He fought the good fight. We need him now more than ever.

I hate the term 'foodie' but I am one. I love finding new and strange and wonderful things to eat. I like the challenge of taking the cheapest, toughest, crappiest cut of meat and transforming it into something wonderful. I love to cook. It soothes me.

I am a beer snob. There are far too many good to great beers out there to ever be caught with a Corona or Bud or Coors Light in your hand. You can read about my beer snobbery here:

http://tiltingsuds.wordpress.com/

I have seen Godfather 1 & 2 about 10,000 times. In my universe, Godfather 3 did not happen. I love Le Mepris, La Dolce Vita, Animal House, Repo Man, The Wrestler, Wedding Crashers, Superbad, Withnail & I, and Dumb & Dumber, and a good horror movie always floats my boat. I will watch any movie directed by Stanley Kubrick or Jim Jarmusch or Terry Gilliam or Tim Burton; I will see any movie with Vincent Gallo or Vince Vaughn or Denzel Washington in it; I think Scarlett Johannson is a better actress than she is beautiful, and I think she is damn beautiful.

TV Shows: The Wire; Deadwood; Archer; The Simpsons; South Park; and I am loving the Cosmos reboot with Neil Degrasse Tyson.