CURRENT MISSION

Adventure

ABOUT ME

I'm into people who live life full-tilt, anyone who's into talking about ideas that might change my life or the world, anyone who likes to be creative, and more!

See more on what I like to do at http://starsimpson.com
or just come over and say hi!

My US cell # is (202) 285-8902. Call me up!

I'm into mind-altering conversations, and I'm a big fan of this sentiment from my Hungarian friend Zsuzsanna: "Don't sleep at your host's place. Talk until dawn."

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PHILOSOPHY

So check it out - I believe that one person can't tell another what's right for that other person. This requires listening to yourself, always. It works pretty well. It works better, the more people who are into the idea. If everyone refused to let anyone else decide what was right for them, I think we'd have a pretty happy, self-reliant, resilient and independent society.

It's also important to THINK. I like to understand myself. It helps with living an uncomplicated life. My most favorite thing are mind-changing experiences.

I'd love it if every person was concerned about how their work was affecting the world. What are you creating? How is it helping the earth?

Define yourself by the things you do on purpose. Go, see, make up your own mind about things.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Here's some participation:

Do you need internet access in Boston?
I have a computer you can use at my house, so this is for couchsurfers who need to communicate and are out in metro Boston (write this down, there are no internet cafes!):

There's an Apple Store at 815 Boylston St. with free computer and internet access, and that's the closest one to my house.

Thanks to Christina for this, all the free wifi spots in Massachusetts (and everywhere) are online at http://wififreespot.com/mass.html

How I participate?
I love it when people come over. I've hosted a bunch of people in Boston, couchsurfed around Brazil, Montreal, and all across Europe & the UK!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I stayed with an awesome student in Montreal while traveling with a friend, and was so floored by how cool couchsurfing is, I made a profile and started hosting people - it's been good ever since!

Interests

#1 interest: The art of getting things done.

I'm interested in:
programming, puzzles, reverse engineering, invention, innovation, high performance engineering, space robotics, social change/crafting societies, judo, dance, human communication, accordions, open source hardware, eating well, urban horticulture, math, technical feminism, homemade music, caving, yoga, guns, creative commons/free art, hitchhiking (for sport and for travel), motorcycling, repairing motorcycles, taking photos, building things, electricity, SCUBA, good books, DIY biological engineering, storytelling, storylistening, climbing things (trees, buildings, cliffs), rapelling, laughter, walking/hiking, cycling, traveling, meeting the interesting people of the world.

I'm an incorrigible bannister-slider. I love exercising my imagination and telling stories.

Anything in water. Sailing, surfing, swimming, windsurfing, kiting, diving, boogie-boarding, body-boarding, floating, sinking, skinny dipping, skiing, more!

you can see my photos!

Four things we can do together:
Scuba Dive
Dumpster Dive
Take photos
Ride bikes!

(If you're here on a Friday or Saturday, we can go to Haymarket!
I have plenty of bikes to share.
If you're into biking a bit further, we can swim in Spy Pond.
If you're here in the summer and feeling adventurous, we can put on swim suits and tour Boston's public fountains and get all soaking wet!)

Four things I like doing:
Programming
Playing with Electricity
Cycling
Doodling on my Accordion

Four things I can show you how to do in under 10 minutes:
Welding/metalworking
Web design
On-the-fly bike repair!
Tuvan throat singing
and anything you see at: http://www.instructables.com/member/stasterisk

• arts
• books
• singing
• performing arts
• design
• make up
• diy
• dancing
• womens rights
• dining
• vegetarian
• exercise
• yoga
• walking
• flying
• motorcycles
• boating
• news
• traveling
• puzzles
• blogging
• dumpster diving
• metalworking
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• kayaking
• windsurfing
• spelunking
• camping
• surfing
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skiing
• sports
• rock climbing
• swimming
• engineering
• mathematics
• hitchhiking
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I CONSUME books.

I love any music that makes me move, and I like to dance.

I'm a big fan of clever lyricists. You could say I'm a word-ie.

I grew up on pre-reggae, reggae, jazz, the blues, original underground hip-hop, and famous dead german composers. I discovered alternative rock around age 12 because the local radio station "STAR 101.9" was named after me and I liked that. I got into eclectic stuff as I grew up, weird obscure tracks, noise music, ambient, and scratch-dj stuff. What tends to catches my attention are unusual beats and clever lyrics. Puns are a plus. Further, I wholly appreciate drumnbass, dubstep, laserbass, and breakbeat -- take me dancing!

I am interested in learning to play the Indonesian Gangsa, the austrian Zither, and every kind of accordion.

Additionally, I can whistle and hum *at the same time*. !!!

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Movies are good too. I'll watch anything you recommend. If you asked me, I'd recommend:

+ Hi Fidelity -- Wow, someone else likes music as much as I do! And, John Cusack is so lovable, it's hard not to like the movies he's in (I also like him in Being John Malkovich)
+ Sita Sings the Blues -- Creative Commons licensed feature film, watch it for free online at the internet archive! YEAH free culture!
+ Dopamine -- 2003 indie film about the chemical nature of love. Quite good + dark + thoughtful + winningly good puns.
+ Green Card -- Two people marrying for legal reasons, and end up falling in actual love. Yeah, sappy, but charming.
+ The Dark Crystal -- yeah Jim Henson!
+ The Boondock Saints -- this movie is basically pure action with a sprinkling of cute witticisms; still, I enjoy watching it for its unusual story and plot twists.
+ The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill, but Down a Mountain -- man, only the Welsh and Hugh Grant could pull a good movie out of a clunky, and pretty much self-describing title like that.
+ Koyaanisqatsi -- not sure if we'd watch this together, but I really enjoy doing work while it's playing, and therefore I have watched it many times.
+ Dodgeball -- If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball! Hilarious.
+ Requiem for a Dream -- a dark, twisty, and well-made movie.
+ Lantana -- Excellent/long Australian movie that does well at capturing human relationships.
+ Gattacca -- SPACE! SCIFI! And DNA.
+ The Last Starfighter -- you too could be called upon to save the universe with your mad video game skills
+ The 25th Hour -- a Spike Lee joint.
+ Lord of War -- what if you grew up to be an international arms dealer? I notice something new every time I watch this movie.
+ Ma Vie en Rose -- the cutest, most endearing comment on gender identity! And it's in French!
+ 2:37 -- What high school would be like if you could see it from everyone else's perspective.
+ Sneakers, Hackers, Cheaters, Enemy of the State -- All good tech-oriented action/thriller/drama. Plus 1/2 have Angelina Jolie.
+ Harold and Maude -- nothing like true love. And demolitions!
+ The Naked Lunch -- the whole movie is good, the very final scene is golden
+ The Thomas Crown Affair -- nothing like a good heist
+ Batteries Not Included is the cutest robot movie ever! I watched this so many times in childhood, I couldn't even recall now what the count is. One of the many good works of art that influenced me into building robots :)

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Poetry: I like poetry a lot. Bring me your favorite poem! I also like terrible puns, and clever jokes -- especially dirty ones.

What books do I read? Well, I went traveling on my bike, and I brought along Cradle to Cradle, The Complete Works of Walt Whitman, and The Art of Electronics. When I went to Brazil, I brought The Tipping Point, and William Gibson's new book, Spook Country.

The last book I gave away was "Another Roadside Attraction" by Tom Robbins -- and I absolutely loved it!

Also, I really dig sculpture -- particularly, stuff by Andy Goldsworthy, the Mutoid Waste Company, and Marc Di Suvero -- always on the lookout for more!

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My favorite double entendre:

"A woman walks into a bar, and asks the bartender for an Innuendo.

So he gives it to her."

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went on a sailing trip in a homemade boat with a blue tarp for a sail, in the Tomales Bay in California. We slept out on the ground, camped amongst a herd of elk for the night.

In the morning we really wanted to go swimming, but it was a bit chilly and nobody else was swimming either.

Later, we were out of the bay in the Pacific ocean, sailing back to San Francisco, when problems forced us to land the boat on a convenient beach, and get back to the car somehow. We hitchhiked a family in a giant SUV with room to spare and, on the way back to our car, I learned that the Tomales bay is the second biggest breeding ground for great white sharks in the United States. good thing we didn't go swimming

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm voraciously curious, so teach me things!

I'm new to being vegetarian and am always curious to learn how to make more delicious food. For me, any good meal can become a great meal by involving avocadoes. I also love hiking and climbing and camping and sailing and kayaking, and would love to learn more about how to do so well.

In exchange, I can teach you to pick up a coin from the ground, using a forklift!

I love to make things. I know how to use most tools, and I love to show people how to make things, too! This extends from cutting wood to make a treehouse, to building robots, to learning how to surf.

Bonus: Do you speak another language? How do you say "Star"?

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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