CURRENT MISSION

To wine, dine, and fail in attempting to write a song for as many different sorts of folks as are out there.

ABOUT ME

Jack of all trades, and dilettante student. Scholar; friend.

PHILOSOPHY

Ubuntu. Definitely that, albeit I'm an inconsistent hypocrite about it.

Also like what Heraklitus once wrote: "If you do not the expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail" (22B18).

I also like what Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote in terms of traveling: "Own only what you can always carry with you; know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag."

Hmm…these aren't exactly personal. I try to stay open to trying out living various philosophies.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Right now just hosting the random traveler.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

It's getting up there.

Interests

Philosophy, religion, history, art, politics, trivialities, the usual stuff. Chess.

For the time being: evolutionary biology, antiquities, game theory, travel, naval warfare, self-cultivation,

• arts
• books
• singing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• wine
• politics
• chess
• traveling
• guitar
• blues
• biology
• history
• languages
• religion
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2028421

A great blog that you might be interested in is Rolf Potts' Vagabonding

Bob Dylan was my hero growing up, although his concerts generally suck in my experience. I'm up for a wide variety of music, from Sahara blues to Atlanta funk bands (e.g. Entropy). Right now I'm listening to Other Lives, next might be Wooden Wand, MGMT, Pink Mountaintops, Jeffrey Lewis, Phosphorescent, Beirut, Morphine, Tom Waits, or Utah Phillips. I love music.

Blind Willie McTell, Billy Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone, Leadbelly, Joni Mitchell, Robert Johnson, and that sort are staples. Also love Dvořák, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky. Baroque listeners may be shot. Not really, but...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I crawled up the Great Wall of China, mostly bare-foot. My goal was to get 1,000 people to laugh at me. I lost count, but we'll say the mission was a success.

Hugh (some Canuck) and I in Rome once spent 3 hours at the place where Peter was imprisoned near the Forum chanting, me meditating and him praying, singing, listening to different tour guide stories, telling our own versions of what really happened based on our synthesization to a few of the less touristy people who were interested.

Teach, Learn, Share

1. If you play the blues, please bring your guitar. I'll play the idiot part, you can play the rest, and perhaps show me a thing or two.

2. Recipes and cooking methods. I love to learn them.

3. We do have a selected informal book-exchange program.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Cayman Islands, China, France, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

Switzerland, United States

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