CURRENT MISSION

'sophrosune'

ABOUT ME

**Please send a proper CouchRequest, not a message**

THE HO-HUM SHIT:

I work at Jacobin magazine, plus freelance editing and writing. I like to converse with people, depending on the person. I like swapping stories. Going to museums is cool. Is the Internet cool? Because I sure use it a lot. Walking outside is cool.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Of course Couchsurfing helps create memoir-worthy treks around the world. That's easy to recognize and rave about. Blah blah blah. But even just offering someone a place to sleep during a long road trip is, I think, the kind of straightforward and simple hospitality that Couchsurfing makes possible. I participate by opening my place up to others, be they trekking around the world or going to a cousin's funeral on Long Island. Mostly I've just hosted other people my age while they're traveling (and been that person myself). It's all been worthwhile.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've couchsurfed the Balkans--an exceptional three-week trip with fast friends, delicious foods, and stories about growing up in the volatile 90s. I first couchsurfed in 2008 in Seattle, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia, the first and last stops on a bike tour along the Olympic Peninsula.

I've hosted in Colorado, where I used to live. I've yet to host in New York City.

My experiences have all been excellent.

Interests

-Leftist politics
-Literature, mostly American, by habit and circumstance
-Music, recently mid-century American music during this weird time when country, rockabilly, rock & roll, and doo-wop were all still more or less the same thing. I've had Kurt Vile's "Wakin on a Pretty Daze" playing for months now. Tried and true favorites include: Gang of Four, Mission of Burma, Woody Guthrie, Animal Collective, Lower Dens, Death Grips.
-studying religions, specifically Christianity and Judaism, their texts and traditions
-Major League Baseball
-Bicycles, either riding them or working on them

• animals
• culture
• writing
• literature
• walking
• drinking
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• coding
• music
• cycling
• christian
• baseball
• freelancing
• history
• languages
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC, A SLIGHTLY MORE EXTENSIVE LIST: Battles, Destroyer, Women, Kurt Vile, Cass McCombs, Bill Callahan, Built to Spill, No Age, Wire, Joy Division, Death Grips, Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb.

TV/MOVIES: Twin Peaks; The Sopranos; 80s and 90s episodes of Late Night with David Letterman. I'm trying to find the time to watch Werner Herzog films other than Aguirre the Wrath of God. I found Spike Jonze's "Her" disingenuous at best.

TWO CURRENT FAVORITE AUTHORS: William Gaddis, Roberto Bolaño, CLR James.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Watched Couchsurfing.org grow.

awwww!

Teach, Learn, Share

TEACH: bicycle maintenance, English, New York City subway system

LEARN: history of cinema; history of your country, region or city; basic coding languages

SHARE: my belongings, drinks, dinner, conversation (about fiction, baseball, politics, "CULTURE," philosophy, traveling, family stories, funny things).

Countries I’ve Visited

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, France, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United Kingdom, United States

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