me

hmm...first, the basics.

year of birth - 1984.
gender - male.
live in - the suburbia of austin, tx.
siblings - one younger sister.
parents - two, one mother and one father.
grade - 11th, now. (may change unexpectedly)
education - homeschooled/unschooled.
interests - writing, reading, acting, politics, philosophy, 'net surfing, sporadically updating this page, chess, soccer, conversations, friendships, stating the obvious, acquiring knowledge, procrastinating.

• three favorite movies
  1. Monty Python's Life of Brian
  2. Monty Python in ...And Now For Something Completely Different
  3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  Honorable mention to Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl.

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• five favorite theatrical works
  1. The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare
  2. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
  3. Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All To You by Christopher Durang
  4. The Misanthrope by Moliere
  5. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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• seven favorite books
  1. Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
  2. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  3. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
  4. Under the Sea-Wind by Rachel Carson
  5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  6. The Stranger by Albert Camus
  7. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

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• nine favorite musical artists
  1. Trio
  2. Counting Crows
  3. R.E.M
  4. Natalie Merchant
  5. Sarah McLachlan
  6. Nirvana
  7. Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  8. Soundgarden
  9. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

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• eleven favorite songs
  1. Counting Crows, Mr. Jones
  2. Trio, Da Da Da
  3. Reel Big Fish, Sell Out
  4. Sarah McLachlan, Possession (the live version/remix)
  5. R.E.M, Losing My Religion
  6. Mephiskapheles, Bumble Bee Tuna
  7. 10,000 Maniacs, Trouble Me
  8. Soundgarden, Black Hole Sun
  9. Nirvana, About A Girl
  10. Tracy Chapman, Telling Stories
  11. Cake, The Distance

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• "The Distance" by Cake is the best song for impromptu singing.

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• "Mr. Jones" (the original version) by the Counting Crows has the best lyrics.

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• I'm vegetarian, and the first and so far only member of the Society of Vegetarians Who Do Not Try To Preach To Everyone Else About Vegetarianism But Just Mind Their Own Business :). Actually, to be honest, I make fun of my family for eating meat fairly often. But nobody else.

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• I like french fries, pasta, and Tex-Mex (the official food of Austin). Between the french fries and the Tex-Mex, I'm probably more of a "greasytarian" than anything else.

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• According to SelectSmart.com, I agree most closely with Kantian philosophy and Unitarian Universalism. Suffice it to say that I've put only one of those into practice.

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• I've never played Quake, but I pretend to know about it.

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• Politically, I'm a Democrat. That's not to say that I agree with all of their policies, but I agree with them a lot more so than I agree with the Republicans', and I'm not quite idealistic (*ahem* naive *ahem*) enough to join a third party.

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• I strongly disagree with the idea of youth curfews. There are many better ways to combat crime, if that's the intent of a curfew. Among other things, they also make life difficult for homeschoolers. I think curfews are a stopgap solution to a much larger problem that take advantage of the fact that children have no rights. Do you think a curfew on any other group would be accepted? Even paroled convicts have the right to walk on the street during the day.

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• I think more people should vote. I don't support the idea of compulsory voting, but isn't it shameful how few of the people that can vote actually do? If you could have taken part in the election of your government officers and didn't, don't complain about them.

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• Why are there age limits for government offices? I think the age limit for government offices should be lowered to the voting age. If you feel that a candidate isn't qualified, just don't vote for them. I think it's much more dangerous to have a 80-year-old President than it would be to have a 20-year-old President.

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• I've been homeschooled my entire life (except for nursery school). Some of the advantages of homeschooling are that you get to work at your own pace and go into more detail on subjects you're interested in. You also get to interact with people of different ages much more than you would in school--I have friends who are 8 and friends who are 18. And yes, we do have social lives. That's not to say everyone should homeschool, but it suits me.

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• I'm part of the very spiffy group of people known as the Austin Area Homeschoolers.

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• Our chess team are the HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONS for Region VI, at least till February.

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• The friends page is finally in the works. It has been in the works for more than a year, and may continue in this state for another year, as long as I stay in my present lazy condition. Actually, to be honest, I have no plans for a friends page. In the meantime, you'll have to make do with a list of my friends who have pages.

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• The Texas Renaissance Festival is spiffy. And they have spiffy T-shirts (at insanely high prices).

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• Props to the 2000 cast of Austin Shakespeare Festival's Julius Caesar (Ride the Iron Rooster!), and to the inaugural class of the Philosophy Discovery Institute (global inequality, or domestic inequality? hmmmm...). Also to the Pi Club, and their fiendishly pious adversary Eggbert.

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• BeLaRuS 4ever!!!