Popular Culture Interests

1). Film (and name genres and favorites)
Fight Club, American Psycho, Control (Anton Corbijn), No Country for Old Men, The Departed, Le Schaphandre et La Papillion, There Will Be Blood (PTA in general), Into the Wild, Gone Baby Gone, Grindhouse, Walk the Line, 24 Hour Party People, Event Horizon, Gladiator, Apocalypto, Sin City, Ravenous, Black Snake Moan, Cidade de Deus, The Machinist, Wedding Crashers, Vertigo, Rear Window, Zombie movies (Hard Rock Zombies, Return of the Living dead, anything old by Romero), Vietnam “Conflict” Films, Merchant Ivory films (esp The Golden Bowl and A Room With a View), Low-budget/80s horror movies (NOT rated PG-13), Vampire movies, Gingerdeadman, Revenge of the Red Baron, Stephen King (esp Needful Things), The Thing, Well-done epics (e.g. by Edward Zwick), Back to the Future (Parts I, II and III), SciFi + horror + action when in the right mood, The Matrix, Clint Eastwood, Michael Mann (and his sound recording techniques), Total Recall, anything that Philip Seymour Hoffman (PSH) is in, Pi, Borat, Lock-Stock, Snatch, Comedies: Knocked-Up, Blades of Glory, Office Space, Jackass/CKY, Will Farrell, Will Arnett, Trey Parker and Matt Stone



2). TV (and name your must-see shows)
Arrested Development, Flight of the Conchords, Entourage, The Office, South Park, old Law & Orders (the original and the first few seasons of CI), Discovery HD Theater, Planet Earth, Ali G Show/Borat, SNL: Christopher Walken, The Welshley Arms. AD is my favorite thing ever.



3). Comics, including manga, web, etc. (which ones)
X-Men as a kid got me into drawing, more recently looked into some Frank Miller after the films.



4) Games (and name format, i.e. Playstation, on-line World of Warcraft, etc.)
Sega (Genesis/CD/32X/Saturn/Dreamcast):NiGHTS: into Dreams (1996), Panzer Dragoon Saga, Skies of Arcadia, Sonic Franchise (everything up until Sonic R, after Sonic Adventure is not good), Virtua Racing, Mortal Kombat I-III, Earthworm Jim, The Lion King

XBOX 360 (and classic and online): Halo franchise, Gears of War, Guitar Hero franchise, realistic racing games, Grand Theft Auto, The Burger King games, Tiger Woods ’07,

Nintendo (64, Wii): Zelda franchise, Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports (esp tennis/bowling), Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Mario Kart, Bond

Computer (and online): Myst franchise, Unreal Tournament franchise,



5). Music (and specify, i.e. jazz, blues, etc)
Genres: Classic Rock, Prog Rock, Indie Rock, Punk, Post-Punk, Electronica, Techno, House, Drum and Bass, Grunge, American Psycho Soundtrack, Classical, EMB, Industrial, IDM, alternative, Breakbeats, mash-ups, Blues (Chicago and Southern), Bluegrass

Artists: 311 is what most of my friendships are based on, Joy Division, Tool, Johnny Cash, Fischerspooner, iiO, Pendulum, Sander Kleinenberg, VNV nation, Apoptygma Berserk, Rammstein, Slightly Stoopid, Avett Brothers ... those are the ones I listen too essentially daily out of thousands - too many to list here for now; music is incredibly important to me and a good sound-system is absolutely necessary to let every nuance of this art form get inside you. Music, until recently, is about the only thing in this world that has ever brought me to tears. In regards to the age-old question of whether or not you would rather be blind or deaf if you absolutely had to decide, after about 10 years of deliberation I can safely say hearing is more important to me because of 1) music and 2) communication with loved ones.



6) Sports (specify areas of interest, except for Duke basketball)
F1A, CART, karting, rally racing, prop plane racing, anything concerning speed/machinery/danger/skill mastering/engineering/perfection/art



7) Art
Art to me is about perfection. It is beyond just creativity, (defined in my Creative Mind class concisely as something that is both “novel and appropriate”). It is when someone makes every detail of something so perfect it brings both the creator and the observer to another state of consciousness. It is understanding something so well that a perfect product/execution can come from within you - your subconscious and conscious working together so that 100% of your existence is being utilized. My entire life has been balancing between science and art, and I’ve come to the conclusion now that they exist hand in hand. The science of the brain can explain why a painting is an inthralling masterpiece; a perfect formula can be painfully beautiful. When you get in “flow” and lose track of time and external distractions, you are participating in art in one form or another (e.g. creating or viewing). When anyone reaches utmost passion in any field that is beyond existing explanation, that is art to me. Therefore anything that someone does with complete and utter determination (whether it is racing, dancing, painting, acting, writing, singing, building, modeling, designing, etc) that results in a flawless outcome interests me as art.



8) Other interests, hobbies, etc.
BMW CCA Driving School, traveling, fine dining and steak houses (no chains ever), local cuisine, going to the gym, computers, home theater design, Photography, camping, driving while listening to music, road trips, reading, Neuroscience, meeting people, political incorrectness, going to museums, attending concerts, bar hopping, dancing, finding creativity, helping people lighten up, sleep, attention to detail, laughing, family and friends during all of the above



9) Animation/Anime/Cartoons (which ones)
Southpark, John Hubley, Johnny Quest, Sealab 2021, 2 Stupid Dogs, Ren and Stimpy, Garfield, Adult Swim, Pixar, Stickdeath, Scooby Doo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles