CURRENT MISSION

the pursuit of a full life, in all respects

ABOUT ME

I have traveled a fair bit, and met lots of people from all over the world. I spent spent some time trying to do more conventional things with my life (math student, english teacher, various random sundry jobs), but in the end realized I was really happy playing music; so that is what I do. I know how to live well without the trappings of wealth, or even the trappings of lower middle class; and have figured out that that is way, way more important.

PHILOSOPHY

Be kind. Be cool. Don't be a fool. Pay attention. Little things matter. Send postcards. Simplicity is key.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

A this point I have both hosted and surfed. It is awesome, and I tell people about CS all the time. Breaking down fear, barriers to community, demonstrating how quickly bonds can be formed. It's a remarkable reaffirmation of faith in human nature.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I tour regularly, and when I'm staying in a town that I don't know people in, I couchsurf. It's great. Hotels are kinda depressing when you're touring on your own ("on a tour of one-night stands/my suitcase and guitar in hand", thanks Mr Simon). Having people to hang out with, and a place to go back to that is homey and welcoming, makes all the difference in the world. I've met and stayed with some amazing people, many of whom have gone on to become good friends.

I stayed on many couches before getting involved in Couchsurfing in an official capacity. I've had many people stay on my couch, too. From the quick, overnight guests who're gone when I get up, to multi-day visitors who become such a part of my life in that moment it's hard to recall what it was like before they were there.

I hung out with many couchsurfers who had stayed with friends of mine in Flagstaff (that's how I found out about the project), and have had some great experiences hosting people. Couchsurfing is like the world trust-falling into its own arms.

I've gone on tour a bunch of times now, and Couchsurfing has made them wonderful, life- and heart-expanding experiences. I've stayed in hotels on the road, and it's nowhere near the same experience as having a new friend to converse and share with.

Interests

Music, languages, math & science, hiking, Tai Chi, movies, books of all kinds, philosophy (semi-retired). sustainability, alternative energy (these last two are things i'm real interested in, and don't know that much about yet.) Games (like, recreational, not psychological. Not into those). Politics, inasmuch as we all gotta think about it at least a little bit.

• books
• politics
• movies
• music
• guitar
• hiking
• teaching
• languages
• mathematics
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

many, many many of all three.
BOOKS:
1491: New Revelations about the Americas before Columbus
1493: Uncovering the World Columbus Helped Create
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Catch-22
Picture This
Chaos (Gleick)
Does God Play Dice? (Ian Stewart; title is a reference to Einstein's dispargement of quantum mechanics, i.e. that "God does not play dice with the universe." Another book on Chaos theory).
Excession (and any other science fiction by Iain M. Banks)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Tipping Point
The Power of Myth
Euclid's Elements
Ozymandias, by Shelley
The Day is Done, by Longfellow
I Am Weary of Being Bitter, by Ficke
A Midsummer Night's Dream, by the Bard
Pathways to Bliss (and anything by Joseph Campbell)
The Baroque Cycle (and most things Neal Stephenson)
Ringworld
Descartes' Bones
The Big Short
The Concept of Anxiety (Kierkegaard)
Theatetus, The Republic, The Meno, Parmenides (Plato)
Die Phenomenologie des Geistes (Hegel)
100 Years of Solitude (Marquez)
Babbletower (A.S. Byatt)
Born to Run (the book, not the album, by Christopher McDougall)
Slapstick (And all other Vonnegut)
Freakonomics
The Tao de Ching
anything by Timothy Powers
The Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erikson
Tolkien (for a loooooong time now; I grew up reading that stuff)
H.P. Lovecraft
Cerebus the Aardvark
Too Much Coffee Man
Demian
The Glass Bead Game

MOVIES:
The History of Future Folk
The Sound of Noise
Rollertown
Rubber
Europa Report
Inequality for All
Bag of Hammers
Midsomer Murders
Dead Man
The City of Lost Children
Crying Fist (Jumeogi Unda)
Raising Arizona
Yojimbo (anything Kurasawa, really)
Pi (the greek letter/transcendental number, that is)
In Bruges
Snatch
Once Upon a Time in the West (best western ever!!!)
The Good, the Bad, and the Weird (Korean reamake/homage to GB&U)
Godzilla!
Star Wars (of course. The original ones, tho).
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (Wilco documentary)

MUSIC:
Morphine
Andrew Bird
Del The Funky Homosapien
The Wood Brothers
John Prine
The Court and Spark
Wilco
James McMurtry
Greg Brown
The Subhumans
Thamusemeant
Tom Waits
Gram Rabbit
The Deathray Davies
Mountain Goats
Miles Davis
Charlie Hunter
The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
Gomez
Paul Simon
Da Beatles
Steely Dan
Cat Stevens
Metallica!!!! (pre-1990)
Primus
Mose Allison
Charles Mingus
Zeep
Astronautalis
We Are Scientists

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I hiked to the top of Mt Humphrey's, the highest point in Arizona (12,633 feet), less than seven months after breaking both of my femurs.

Teach, Learn, Share

Music. Guitar. Math. Basic Tai Chi. How to change your spark plugs. Some abstruse, pseudo-mystical, semi-philosophical mumbo-jumbo. German, French, Italian, Spanish - languages I know some or a lot of, and would teach, and would like to learn more of. Depth-psychological significance of dream and myth

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Russian Federation, Spain, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, Germany, United States

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