I was born in East LA and have spent much of my life somewhere in Los Angeles County. I am an unabashed collector of weird facts and explorer of oddball places here and anywhere I travel. Take Hunter S. Thompson, Huell Howser and Elvira and you'll get an idea of my hosting qualities. I have been writing about unexplained phenomena since I was 17. In 2007 I founded a group called the League of Western Fortean Intermediatists (www.forteanswest.com) which explores the mysteries and peculiarities of the American West specifically. I have a cracked sense of humor, love animals, and hope to be mounting a book speaking tour of the West Coast soon.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm always interested in meeting interesting new folks. I haven't been able to travel as much as I like these last few years thanks to the economy. I am a most gracious and thoughtful guest. I have a wide range of interests and consider myself pretty dang adventurous.

Interests

Fortean and unexplained phenomena, ufology, the paranormal, magic, animals, animal rescue, exploring, elves, science, astronomy, crackpot sociology, hidden history, strange lecturers and people with very specific bodies of knowledge, political action that has an impact... Exploring anything and everything... I write for a living so I wouldn't say I "enjoy" it...

• animals
• wildlife
• writing
• books
• cooking
• traveling
• magic
• hunting
• astronomy
• history
• science
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

Argh, that's too hard, so...
Favorite bands as a kid were Rush, Queen and the Ramones.
My favorite movie is The Loved One, the blackest comedy of all time, penned by Terry Southern.
The book(s) that had the most impact on me - The Complete Works of Charles Fort (Dover edition).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I try to do at least one good deed a day. The most recent thing I'm proud to have done was rescue a molting baby raven from a high traffic 7-11 parking lot. His wing feathers hadn't come in yet, and he'd apparently been trapped alone in this parking lot across from a park full of tweakers for days. What made me most happy was - Animal Services in LA county are well known for being deplorable, but the officer who came to pick up the baby raven actually did what he said he would. He was transferred to the Wildlife Waystation the next day, and they told me he was severely emaciated and if I hadn't done what I did, he would've died.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a veritable encyclopedia of ufology, weird stuff and also, strange stories of southern California.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can't cook worth a damn but for a few specific things... I make Japanese soba noodles with ginger wasabi tuna, that's about the only thing I can make! Currently I am not driving, but if you have a car, you can literally go anywhere in Los Angeles county and I will have an itinerary for you of what's *really* cool to do, oddball historical facts to share with you, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama