CURRENT MISSION

To be a little Stan Laurel, a little Fred Astaire and a little Betty Crocker

ABOUT ME

Hi, my name is Martin and I'm a software engineer, working from home in Penrith, near the Lake District.
I'm currently travelling across the US, having landed in New York and will depart from Los Angeles in May 2010. I'm using public transport and a folding bicycle to, hopefully, visit all the Lancasters across the United States (Lancaster, England is where I was born). There are 16 dotted across the country and I have two months to see them. Hopefully along the way I'll get to see some of my favourite things:
Art galleries (Met, Moma, Boston, Cleveland, Chigago)
Architecture (Frabk Lloyd Wright, Saarinen, Der Rohe)
Utopias (Fruitlands, Oneida, Harmony).

PHILOSOPHY

Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives first wins the laurel.
Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire.
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am new to couchsurfing.

Interests

Travelling and wandering in new places, photography, current affairs, walking and running to stay fit, going to art museums, watching live music, collecting art glass and etchings.

• arts
• architecture
• photography
• marathon
• running
• walking
• clothing
• traveling
• music
• live music
• engineering
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:
The Third Man, Casablanca, Four Feathers, Kim, Lady Vanishes, North by Northwest, Vertigo, Un Coeur en Hiver, Passport to Pimlico, Sweet Smell of Success, Peeping Tom, Life and Times of Colonel Blimp, Double Indemnity, The Browning Version, A Child is Waiting, Bridge Over River Kwai, Great Expectations, Dead Poets Society, My Brilliant Career, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Empire of the Sun, Night of the Hunter, Tunes of Glory, Man in White Suit, Our Man in Havana, Billy Liar, Maltese Falcon, Touch of Evil, 12 Angry Men, Rebecca, Silk Stockings, Cinema Paradiso
Music:
Pop: Midlake, Killers, Earth Wind and Fire, Chic, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Cure, Echo & Bunnymen, Husky Rescue, Carpenters, Kool & Gang, Happy Mondays, Black Grape, Stone Roses, Oasis, Cajan Dance Party, Decembrists, Trashcan Sinatras, Sinatra, Andy Williams, Petula Clark, DJ Shadow, Belle & Sebastian, Arcade Fire, Butchers and the Builders, Beth Jeans Houghton.
Classical: Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi, John Ireland, Bach, Janacek, Elgar, Hovhaness, Shostakovich, Frank Bridge
Books:
Colin Thubron, Bruce Chatwin,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Running my first half marathon this year, across Morecambe bay.
Seeing the Registan Square in Samarkand and admiring the magical mosaics on the buildings.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Chile, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, United Kingdom