Total Number of Ratings: 26
Talk Amongst Ourselves: Who Are You?
Monday, March 1, 2010 3:19 PM
It's time for another intermittent installment of Talk Amongst Ourselves where I ask a question and you answer it!
The Question: Who Are You?
Why I'm Asking: Well, it didn't hurt that Jim called me out on twitter for letting this column stagnate, but there are lots of reasons. The feedback to my recent article about Internet Friends was incredible. Almost everyone expressed the same frustrations and extended warm fuzzies across this unfeeling medium. (Sorry, I'm feeling a bit poetical this morning. Blame all the fiction writing I've finally been doing this Lent.) Since then I've noticed that I've filled in lots of details about "you people" without any basis in reality.
For instance, I'm guilty of assuming everyone's more or less my age, with more or less the same frame of reference. DaveC and throughthebrush posted articles this week heralding the teen/youth television shows of the 1990's. Cuz they were kids in the 1990's, you see. I mean, don't get me wrong. I was 12 when the 90's started, but I had (almost) graduated college by the time they were over. I would have, without that dang victory lap, anyway. By the time they were celebrating the golden age of Nickelodeon, I was mostly done with it. Nick's attempt to keep the teen audience with that block programming between the kids stuff and Nick at Night just missed me. I didn't know who Keenan and Kel were until Good Burger showed up at the Blockbuster Video where I worked.
Similarly, I'm exceedingly guilty of the stereotypical "everyone's from the US until proven otherwise" attitude, but between the discussions of poutine and people cheering for the "wrong" hockey and curling teams on twitter, I'm starting to retain which ones of us are Canadian. Eventually I'll remember who's living across the dateline and in the southern hemisphere, too. And you know, that not everyone is living in a small-ish metropolitan city in the middle of the US and has been married for nearly 10 years with a second child on the way.
Sometimes, though, it's not about what makes us different. The fantasticfangirls recently wrote about their true geek confessions and I was stunned at the pro-fanfic response. Usually I have to lurk in places surrounded by people who I wouldn't even consider "internet friends" to feel like I'm with like-minded folk. Since I'm lurking and everyone's using false names (i even use a false false-name most of the time!) it still has that taint of shamefulness. Not so with the fangirls. It blew my tiny mind.
It's amazing how much more real everyone becomes when these little details come to light. I'm curious and I think we all are. Who are you? Where do you live? Who do you live with? Do you like it there? How old are you? What do you do for a living or what are you studying in school? Any hobbies or interests that we might care about? Any other life-defining stories or fun facts you wish we knew about but haven't managed to casually drop into conversations? I'm sure there are other questions other people are curious about, too.
I'm not going to be obnoxious and paste one of those 30-questions emails/memes that have gone around since email became a thing that everyone could use (sometime in the mid-nineties, kiddos). And of course, nobody wants to know anything you don't want to share. This isn't about prying into your private lives, it's about getting to know each other. Pretend we're on one of those 5-minute date things at a bar, or an ice-breaker at a retreat.
So tell me, Internet Friends, who are you?
Kelly is in her nearly-mid 30's, lives in a warehouse-turned-condo multi-family dwelling in St. Louis, MO (USA). She's married with one 2 year old daughter and a son due in June. She has no pets, except a vat of guppies that she can't seem to kill or take quality care of, and no siblings that didn't come with her husband. Almost anything else you can learn from her blog, her twitter stream, or the other blog that's mostly about her kids.
I'm Eric, and I'm definitely a Murmur lurker who was initially turned on to the site by the gang over at iFanboy.com. I listen to both the iFanboy and Murmur podcasts faithfully.
I'm 34 and a Language Arts middle school teacher in the Chicago area. I love comics and graphic novels, and use them in my classroom quite frequently. I've been laid off effective the end of this school year, which has made me a nervous wreck. Greener pastures, I hope.
I'm also a big tech junkie -- I have two Twitter accounts (you can find me at @e_federspiel and @comicsteacher) that I check obsessively. I love the Creative Commons ethos, and have found such amazing resources through my teaching connections on Twitter. I recently bought my first smartphone (a Motorola Droid), and don't know how I ever lived without it.
I live in Chicago with my wife of almost two years, who is also a teacher. We're originally from the Detroit area, moving out here about two years ago for work (ironic, huh?).
Indie rock is my thing, though not indie enough to be really cool. I like the idea of video games, though barely can find time to play them. I have aspirations to be a writer -- criticism, probably -- and maybe my recent professional setback will provide me with that opportunity.
This is my first contribution to the Murmur community, so I'm taking the safe route and writing about something I know all too well: myself. I am Jenn, a 22 year-old residing in Cincinnati, where I spend my time trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Ever since I was a youngster, I have had a passion for writing. I may not be the most eloquent person and punctuation always seems to get the best of me, but at the end of a long day writing is my therapy of choice. I've recently fallen in love with a wonderful boy who is very supportive of my passion and purchased me a blog for Christmas (although coming up with a cohesive topic to write about has been my undoing for months now).
I live with my little seven-toed cat, Snarf. I enjoy music, gravitating towards artists like Jenny Lewis, The Black Keys, and Ryan Adams. I also enjoy video games and films. I love B-rated zombie flicks and I have a nerdy high school crush on Jason Lee.
When I'm not writing or lusting over Brodie Bruce (Mallrats reference, sorry), I can usually be found with my nose buried in a book. I will read almost anything, but lately I've been choosing a lot of non-fiction works. I am a huge Chuck Klosterman fan. Currently, I'm reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and very much enjoying it.
Although, it is hard to breakdown the broad spectrum of my personality for you, my new-found internet chums, that is the basics. I'm just a nerdy mid-western girl, and I couldn't be prouder of it!
I've been lurking on Murmur (and this post) for a while. I wasn't going to say anything, but I felt almost obligated by Paul Montgomery to make myself known after listening to the Murmur #19 podcast today.
So, my name is Carllee and I'm from Boulder, CO. I'm 24 years-old and I am a graduate student at Naropa University. I'm currently working on my Master's in Religious Studies, and my main focus is on Religious Influences in Children's Literature and Youth Culture. I work a group of odd jobs to help pay the bills including (but not limited to): nannying, making coffee, selling hair products, and answering phones at my parent's car repair shop. I've come to Murmur via iFanboy (where I lurk too under the username atomeve).
I am a bibliophage. My Master's degree is basically my two greatest loves put together: children's / young adult literature and the academic study of religion. If you count the murmur book club (which I do) I currently belong to 3 book clubs. Audiobooks have basically saved my life, they are the only way I can possibly get all of my school readings done and still keep up with the fiction I love to read. I also love comics, and wish I could keep up with my weekly habit. I still go to the comic shop every week but I rarely get to read the books the week they come out. I'm currently looking at a stack of about 30 books from the past month waiting to be read.
Things I love: books, pumpkins, flowers, the apocalypse, crayons, orange juice, and jelly fish.
Things I do: needle felt, read 1000+ pages a week, swim, collect books, research, bake, and obsessively make / remake To Do lists.
Favorite Comic Book Character: The Hood.
Favorite Comic Book Hero: Captain America
Favorite TV Shows: Lost, Avatar, Glee, True Blood, Bones, & The Big Bang Theory.
Favorite Movies: Sunshine, Children of Men, Princess Mononoke, & Fight Club.
That was far too many "I" statements for my liking so this is where I will leave it and say goodnight.
( Twitter: @carllee )
After reading bits and pieces of it over my life, i have very recently decided to actively read the entire Bible. I have been reading it on my Kindle a little bit at a time, and I would really like to get a study guide. Do you happen to have a recommendation for a good one?
@JohnVFerrigno it all comes down to what you're looking for. For highest readability: English Standard Version (ESV) is the best, but the best scholarly version is Oxford Annotated Bible (which is an New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and is also very readable). Avoid New International Version (NIV) & anything that's an interrpretation like The Living Testament. Have Fun, reading the bible is sort of like reading the dictionary- informative and rewarding but not the easiest thing in the world to just sit down & read.
I actually meant a book ABOUT the Bible, not an actual Bible itself. After discussing it with some people, I have been reading the King James Bible. I was just looking for something as a companion to that. But thanks for the info! I may get a second Bible one day just to compare. (Actually, a third, as I want to get a children's Bible for my daughter as well.)
OH. Sorry! That's a completely different (and much more difficult) question. First, study bibles like Oxford Annotated Bible & Harper-Collins Study Bible have tons on information about the bible in the footnotes. However, I would say the absolute best introduction to Christian bible is this: http://bit.ly/bKWSpZ The New Testament by Bart Ehrman. It's the book we used in my New Testament class to learn both about the bible and it's social/historical/anthropological context.
I must warn you though, my recommendations come from the perspective of a religious studies scholar, not a theologian. I do study a lot a Christianity and the bible, but I don't do what most would qualify as "bible study."
Hope that helps!
Hello, there. My name is Chris and I use the name odare77 on ifanboy, a fairly straightforward tribute to my love of DC Comics' Starman series. Until this very comment ifanboy is the only place I post anything on the internet, primarily due to lack of time. I'm a 32 year old living in a quiet corner of Norfolk, England with my wife and 7 yr old son (he likes Transformers, Lego and Star Wars). I am, for my sins, a police officer and have been for nigh on 10 years, which is about the same time I've been married.
My passions are comics and movies. I've read comics for roughly 25 years now, starting with Batman 380 from a time when you could walk into a newsagents and buy comics. I love pretty much any genre, although Bats will always remain my favourite character. I spend far too much money on duplicates of comics I already own in hardcover form. Titles I currently think rule the roost are Scalped, Detective Comics, Amazing Spider-man and Punisher. And essentially anything else written by Morrison, Fraction, Brubaker or Aaron.
With movies I like a variety of genres, tending these days to just watch what interests me at any given time. Still, I really go for spy thrillers, 70s conspiracies or neo noir stuff. All time favourites are Jaws, North by Northwest, All The Presidents Men, The Third Man and Le Cercle Rouge. I dig anything by Spielberg, Jean Pierre Melville, Hitchcock, Fincher and probably far too many others to list right now.
My other defining passion of late has been travel, although that's been limited to Europe so far. New York is on the horizon in October however, as well as a trip to Croatia next month and France (which i'm afraid I love) in the Summer. Favourite places so far are probably Berlin and Paris.
I only really post on these two sister sites for a couple of reasons. Largely it's time, due to all the things listed above. When I have spare time I'd kind of opt for coffee and a slice of cake in a cafe with something to read, rather than spend too much time looking at a computer screen. There's too much negativity on the net which I kind of avoid as life's too short. The thing is, the sense of community fostered on these 2 sister sites bucks that trend. These are the most welcoming places to visit online that I've found so far - long may it last!
This was a great article, one I can't believe I haven't read until now. Been pretty busy lately, not as much time on the internet as i would like. I'll be sure to read everybody's response when i can, but for now:
My name is John V. Ferrigno, as anybody who sees my user name can probably guess. While John is a rather common name, i was actually named after John Galt from Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged. My father has read the book 19 times, so it's a fairly large part of his life. (I'm currently reading it for the third time myself. Perhaps a future Murmur article?)
I am 31 years old and live in Connecticut. I was raised mostly in new Jersey, but moved to CT at the age of 20. My mother died of an extremely rare form of cancer when i was 16 (It was cancer of the inside lining of her white blood cells or something like that. She was like the 73rd person to ever get it in history. The doctor said she had a better chance of hitting Lotto. My mom asked "So why the fuck couldn't I have hit Lotto instead?") My father remarried and moved to CT, where his new wife lived. I stayed in jersey, but some stuff happened and I wanted to move back home for a while, so I migrated to the Nutmeg state. Stayed with them for a year, then moved out into the wilderness AKA, a place of my own.
I have been with my wife now for 5 years. We met on-line, were "internet friends" for a long time, then met in person 5 years ago. We went to the movies to see Constantine on a Wednesday afternoon. We were the only two people in the theater, and the two main characters were named John and Angela, which is our names as well. I saw it as a sign. We've been together ever since (been officially married about 2 and a half years now.)
On March 5th, my wife gave birth to our first child, my daughter Zoe. I can't believe that I am actually allowed to raise a child. i still get toys for Christmas. And I don't mean like digital cameras or things that adults call "toys." I mean action figures. that i take out of the original packaging. Yet I'm allowed to have a child.
My two main loves (besides my wife and child, obviously), are comics and music. All genres of both really. I have a strong love of opera and jazz, plus the standard rock, metal, rap, R and B, that normal people listen to lol. I've been reading comics since I was 2 years old.
I'm always reading something. I have been reading for as long as I can remember. I kind of skipped children's books, though. I've had an advanced reading level for a long time. When i was 8 years old, I was able to do high school level math, and had a college level reading comprehension. So what happens to a child prodigy? Well, in my case, he is so bored with school, he basically quits as soon as he is able lol. I went to college for 6 weeks and said "Yeah, I've had enough of this."
I work as a forklift operator in a grocery wholesaler warehouse. We basically sell food to grocery stores. Yes, it is a mind numbingly boring job but it pays the bills. I try to do some writing in my spare time. I still haven't given up hope that I will finish my novel one day and be able to write full time. it helps to dream.
I try to be a nice person, even on the internet, but it doesn't always work out. i have no patience for laziness or stupidity, and I believe people are entitled to their own INFORMED opinion, not an opinion based on nothing. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me if their opinion is based on research and fact. I hate people who just say things like "meh" or "lame" in response to stuff. Don't tell us you don't like it, tell us WHY. And it annoys me when people judge things they haven't seen, or are even out yet.
I love the Murmur wesbiste, and the sister iFanboy. It's great to see that many people who share similar interets with me. plus, the podcasts get me through my commute to and from work and put me in a good mood when I get home.
I spend my free time reading, listening to music, or watching TV/Movies, the typical stuff, nothing too exciting.
And that's about all. I am late for work! GAH!
Wow, I'm so surprised to see how long this thread has been going. I have been lurking around Murmur for a while. Like a lot of you I came over to the site from iFanboy.
My name is Remington, I am 25 years old, and I live in Texas. As some of you might have guessed, I was indeed named after the gun manufacturer. I love comics and movies (mostly comedies and action flicks.) I've been married for 2 years now and it's been great. I really don't understand were all of those negative stereotypes about marriage came from.
I wanted to be a writer and an artist but when I went to college I was pulled into accounting. I am now a tax accountant and I will be sitting for my CPA exam later this year. I haven't spotted any other accountants or CPAs in here yet but if there are some lurking around I would love to hear what it was like taking the exam. I'm very nervous about it.
I'm Paul, a long-time fan of Ifanboy and a recent Murmur convert/member (recent as in 10 minutes ago really). I'm a 25 year old in Wisconsin living with my wife and cats, Harry (7 years) and Barney (6 months), both of which are cute, but Barney's a little crazy.
Whilst I do love comics, gaming in the real world as opposed to video games is really my passion. I've been trying my hand at blogging about tabletop games since August, just before last year's Gencon Indy (check it out at www.thehopelessgamer.blogspot.com). I've had a lot of fun with coming up with article ideas and it's really spurred my creativity.
Since the blog started up, I've wanted to do a lot more creative writing. I've been working on various short stories, comic scripts, and gaming supplements but have yet to really nail down something I want to work on long-term. My wife is extremely supportive in these endeavors and tells me all the time that she really likes my ideas, which of course is very helpful.
This year I've gotten more opportunities to do cool stuff than ever before. I just got to play a yet-to-be-released board game taught to my brother and I by the designer, which was a very cool experience (if there are any board gamers, it's the new Battles of Westeros game being produced by Fantasy Flight Games). In April I'll be at c2e2 with my first ever press badge for a convention, which I'm very excited about. In May I'll be seeing Conan's traveling comedy and music show in Chicago, which is awesome, and of course we'll be at Gencon Indy in August. Quite an exciting year.
Anyway, enough jibba jabba from me.
G'day,
I'm Sam Cavanagh or g0ofgnewt here and almost everywhere (Its supposed to be read g nought of g'newt like the Green Lantern Character.
As the welcome would suggest I'm a proud Australian, I even live in the Capital (points to people who get that right).
There was a time that I wanted to be a comic artist, not so much anymore. I still like to draw and paint (as is shown here on the site). Every week I do the 90 min movie drawing challenge here on the site. I'm having a lot of fun doing that.
I like to cook, and I'm semi-domestic (as I'm single I do it all) and I'm quite pedantic about my Ironing and cleanliness (to the point of alphabetizing by herbs and spices).
I have some strange idiosyncrasies, I separate my skittles into their colours, I enjoy masks (blue corn mud masks), cocktails and jazz (all at once).
My age stays with me.
Hi everyone,
My name is Mike Graham, which makes my internet handle extremely uninspired but I find it easier to keep things straight this way (plus itā??s a reminder to watch what I say while posting on the ā??net). I heard about this article through the Murmur podcast and I thought it was a fantastic idea. I donā??t get to check out this site as often as Iā??d like but every time I do, Iā??m always amazed at the amount of great work and love you all manage to put into all the articles.
Like many of you, I congregated over to Murmur from the iFanboy site, which I had been following in some capacity since the early days of the podcast. I was such a big fan that I dove into the Rev3 forum where I posted VERY frequently (I was working night shifts at the time and work was slow). I got to know a lot of great people during that time and while some seem to have disappeared, I was lucky enough to keep in sort of contact with some of you for almost four years. New (and busier) jobs and crappy personal computers have slowed down my activity on iFanboy, Murmur and Twitter but youā??ll see me pop up every now and then.
A little about myself: Iā??m 27 years old but I will be turning 28 on Saturday March 20th. I live in the capital of Canada (Not Toronto) Ottawa, Ontario in a condo I recently purchased with my fiancee, who I proposed to a little over a month ago. She is the sweetest girl whoā??s ever existed and loves me so much that she actively sought out the nerdier elements of my life and participated with the type of enthusiasm that honestly boggles my mind. I have no idea how I manage to keep a girl who will travel to NYC for comic con with me, while I have a hard time taking her to go see a romantic comedy. Much of my spare time has been helping plan our wedding, which will take place in Aug. 2011. We have an orange tabby cat named Bendis (yes, named after that Bendis).
I graduated with an honours degree in Communication and Iā??ve worked in some Coms capacity ever since, mostly having to do with News/Media Analysis. Iā??ve worked in various departments within the Government of Canada including my favorite Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Iā??ve been lucky enough to work in jobs that Iā??ve loved and right now I work in the Public Affairs section of Canadaā??s Department of National Defence. I just started this job at the beginning of February and itā??s had a steep learning curve but so far Iā??ve really been enjoying it!
My interests beyond comics, video games and assorted media, include following current affairs (Iā??m a big news junkie) and traveling. My last trip was to NYC where I got a chance to meet much of the iFanboy community, it was LOADS of fun. Iā??ve backpacked all over Europe on two separate occasions and even managed to catch a World Cup Soccer match in Germany. My next trip was originally supposed to be Nepal this May, but unfortunately that fell through, so instead my fiancee and I will be traveling to Croatia for 10 days then heading to Liverpool, England where my close friend is getting married. I canā??t wait!
Every year I also get full passes for a 10 day long music festival here in Ottawa called Bluesfest which sees artists across TONS of genres perform on over 6 stages. Itā??s a great time and itā??s usually provides me a bunch of new artists to listen to for the next year.
Hopefully Iā??ll get around to posting more here now that I have a Mac to fiddle around with. I really miss the days when I was more active on the iFanboy (and by extension the Murmur) community.
All the best
-MIKE
A little bit about me...
My name is Paul Austin, currently a Kansas Citian, former St louis arean. I am getting ready to graduate Pharmacy School at UMKC school of Pharmacy in May, so that has been the thing that has kind of defined me for the last few years.
I have been listening to iFanboy for about two years now, and came to murmur from there. I read articles here and there, and participate in the book club.
Some of my interests...
Video gaming: ps3 and xbox id are both exorcst, feel free to add me. I really play all sorts of games, shooter, rpg, sports, strategy, music.
MMORPG gaming. My first was Dark age of Camelot, and have tried almost all out since. Currently actively playing Aion. And have lifetime accounts in Lord of the Rings Online and Champions online.
I read comics and books. I use the book club to expose me to new things but when I'm done with school I intend to get caught up on reading, Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore and Christopher Moore. As far as comics, I read just about everyting, but love the old Valiant and liked the tight continuity that Shooter brought to comics.
I love going to concerts and will pretty much go to any concert if invited just for the experience. My favorite band is Counting Crows, I've seen them 46 times. My dream job would be their roadie, so I could see them play every night.
I find myself at 34 returning to the fun of my youth and want to get back playing Magic the gathering cause I had so much fun playing it in my 20's. I also find myself getting back into baseball cards because baseball is my favorite sport.
The defining moment in my life was probably when my father passed away when I was 21 and that changed my life view. After watching a man work in a steel mill for 40 years and die a couple years short of retirement I decided that I'm going to enjoy today and deal with tomorrow when it gets here. So, that makes me pretty spontaneous. As an example... The year I was doing my pre req's for pharmacy school I was in Organic chemistry and the first test was coming up. Peter Stuart who was the main guy of Dog's eye view ( a band from the early 90's, hit single: Everything Falls apart), and I know from meeting him when he opened for counting crows, emails me and says he's playing some midwest shows. Boulder, Co, Des Moines, and St Louis. I said I'd see him at a couple of those show's and he asked me for a favor: if I was going to come to the shows, could he just hitch a ride with me to st louis, cause he flew into Denver, and didnt want to rent a car, etc. So with my roadie dreams, I of course said YES!!!! My organic chem test be damned. Hopped into the car and spent 4 days as a semi-roadie. Had some surreal "wanna talk to any of these movie,tv, rock stars" in my phone moments. I ended up having to drop Orgo. that semester but those few days were awesome. And in the end, those memories are worth way more than me having to take it the following year. So be warned, if you have a fun idea, don't invite me along, cause I just might drop whatever is going on and deal with the consequences later.
Hello fellow Murmurers, my name is Shaun Kreider. I'm a 24 year old graphic designer from Lancaster Pennsylvania. No I'm not Amish. I'm actually from the city of Lancaster. Yes, Lancaster is actually an urban area. I graduated with a BA in English Communications from a small liberal arts college named Lebanon Valley College. I am proud to say that our mascot was the Flying Dutchman, and I loved that.
When I was in high school, and through the first three years of college, all I wanted to be was a writer. I had it narrowed down to either a music journalist or a sports journalist. However, I also had dreams of being a comic scribe or a novelist...maybe a tv writer. But my senior year of college I started to get heavily into design and loved it. I found I was pretty decent at it too. You can judge for yourself at my website www.kreiderdesigns.com (though don't judge too harshly b/c i'm currently working on updating the site design and content).
During college I really flourished as a person. I was involved and in charge of so many things. I was on our club volleyball team, I was the statistician for our NCAA hockey team, sports editor of our newspaper, music reviewer for our newspaper, president of our literary society and editor of our literary magazine, publicity chair of our yearly spring arts festival and publicity chair of the F-Word, our feminism group. Thatā??s right people, Iā??m a feminist!
I found out about Murmur through iFanboy. Iā??ve been a member of that community for about two years now. I love their podcast and the converstations that Iā??m able to have on their boards. Itā??s because of that site that I signed up for this and other online communities. It taught me that not all online message boards and blogs are a bunch of terrible spellers fighting with eachother with no evidence to support opinions.
I used to have two blogs, one named Fanboy Files about all pop culture in general and one called Play To The Whistle about sports. Iā??ve let these fall by the wayside and Iā??m very saddened by that. However, I hope to regain the passion for blogging I once had and restart my writing on this site.
My passions and loves in life boil down to music, sports, comics, tv and film. My top five favorite artists (today, and in no particular order): Barenaked Ladies, Squeeze, The Format/fun, Flogging Molly, The Decemberists. My top sports are (in order) Hockey, Volleyball, Baseball, Soccer, Curling, Lacrosse. Favorite comics and movies are too numerous to list. However, I will tell you that I have seen 86 of the top 100 Films according to AFI, a fact that I am very proud of considering my age and the fact that I only started trying to watch them 2 years ago.
My name is Paul Montgomery. I'm 25 at the moment. A Leo. I graduated with a BS (no, not a BA, oddly enough) in Screenwriting and Playwriting from Drexel University, here in my hometown of Philadelphia.
I write for Murmur as well as iFanboy.com, Wormwood, a serialized mystery, and Philadelphia Weekly.
I come to Murmur through iFanboy, which I started listening to...4 years ago? 5? I was pretty active on the Revision 3 boards and met Josh, Conor, and Ron for the first time at the 100th episode taping of the POW podcast in Manhattan. I've joined them for the past two New York Comic Cons, and in 2008, I started writing a weekly column for the site. I no longer do the column, but I still write regular reviews and, well, there'll be a lot more content coming soon.
I have a tattoo on my left hand between my thumb and index finger. It's a simple Chinese character for "create." It's one of my favorite words and really sort of encapsulates so many of my interests. I love stories and character and the arts. I love all kinds of writing, from novels to theater to comics and television. My favorite writers include people like Michael Chabon, Aimee Bender, Mike Mignola, Joe Hill, Charlie Huston, Aaron Sorkin, Wes Anderson, Guilermo del Toro, and Roald Dahl.
I'm a broke-ass college graduate and I'm trying to make it as a freelance writer, so I live with my parents in Philadelphia. We get along pretty well, and I'm able to work part time with my dad and uncle at our family business, a garage my late grandfather opened in the late 60s. I'm not at all mechanically inclined (except when it comes to writing), but my dad's never in his life given me grief about it. I've been very lucky to have such a spectacular family, to have two people so supportive of my writing. We have five dogs at the moment, my goldendoodles Abby and Bailey as well as three mutts--Lily, Cocoa, and Lola--inherited from my late aunt just recently. It's a little chaotic right now, but we're getting there.
I've met a lot of truly amazing people through Murmur and iFanboy and I'm extremely grateful for that. And I mean that with all sincerity. My goofy articles have been met with such encouragement and kindness, sometimes on days where I really needed it. I love sharing new books or movies with you, and so many of you have really shaped the decisions I've made as a writer. We couldn't ask for a better community.
--paul
Don't forget how much help you are to all the good people from iFanboy who harrass you about writing questions! Or is it just me?
I never would have guessed that you'd get a BS instead of a BA for screenwriting / playwriting. I wonder what the logic is behind that...
I'm sure that the community here at Murmur is grateful for your involvement in the site, and I mean that with the same genuine sincerity.
So many responses so I guess I'll throw mine into the mix as well. My name is Derrick and I live in Calgary, AB, Canada. I'm 27 years old, very happily married with one cat (his name is Pinot, like Pinot Noir). I'm in school at the University of Calgary getting my Masters of Geographic Information Sciences (if you don't know what that is, that's okay, most people don't).
I love maps, mapping things and most things to do with Geography. Yep, that's why I'm doing Geographic Information Sciences.
Movie-wise I will watch almost anything. I wish District 9 would have won an Oscar so that might give away a bit about my tastes. I read comics, but not nearly as many as I want. Spider-Man is easily my favourite character. I play a lot of videogames, and they are the things I turn to most often when I want something to do. Mass Effect 2 was my most recent awesome game I played. I don't really listen to music very often, whenever I do listen to something it's usually podcasts.
Zombies are awesome and that is why I started a website really recently all about zombie stuff that I don't update nearly as much as I would like (http://www.theatomicbrain.com).
I also love to play board, card and pen and paper games. So much so that me and a friend are trying to create some games of our own. I am finding out that it is incredibly difficult and kudos to anyone that does it.
I haven't written anything for Murmur yet and I am more of a lurker. Hopefully that will change, once I have some ideas of what I could write about. Oh, and my nickname on here is DMaggot because when I first got my Xbox 360 that's what I chose. D because it's the first letter of my name, and Maggot because I liked him in the X-Men comics in the 90s (I know, I know, he's not a good character, but sometimes we can't help what we love). And if anybody here has a PS3 then my name on there is Deeplots.
Alright, hopefully that didn't suck too much.
Hello everyone!. My name is Chris: I'm a 38 year old GP (Family Doctor) and I live with my smashing boyfriend of 10 years in Bath, UK. It's a beautiful city in south-west England that often features in small & big screen costume dramas because of it's lovely preserved architecture. The city's a big favourite with the tourists, so if you've visited from abroad, you may have spent a day or two visiting the Baths, Abbey and Royal Crescent.
Stuff what I do like.
TV: Being a Brit who grew up in the '70's and '80's, Dr Who is writ large in my DNA! I collect the classic Tom Baker / Peter Davison era DVD's and love to watch nostalgically reliving my happy childhood memories! I'm so glad it's back on the box and think the new era shows really preserve and build on the spirit of the classic series. If any of you Dr Who reviewers on Murmur want a British perspective, feel free to contact me! I like lots of other Sci Fi shows like Blakes 7 and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
I enjoy some of the American imports we get over here: West Wing and Mad Men are particular favourites but my guilty pleasures are Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives and Glee. I think The Daily Show is an amazing amalgam of comedy, satire and politics and we've recently discovered 30 Rock - very funny. I like science documentaries and anything with Vikings in it (being a bit of a Scandinaviophile), but I hate reality TV: Big Brother, Pop/ American Idol etc.
Music & Radio.
Very catholic tastes, but really like obscure Britpop and latterly have been getting into some modern folk - artists like Seth Lakeman and Liam Frost, for example.
I listen to a few regular podcasts: iFanboy & Tom vs the Flash, but I love BBC speech radio. Radio 4 is my station of choice, and I would urge anyone to download Danny Baker's 5live show from iTunes as I think he's one of the UK's greatest broadcasters. If I had a DAB radio in the car, I'd listen to 6music more than I do currently.
Comics:
BIG DC reader since 1990. Comics were rather frowned upon by my parents when I was a child. Now I buy several DC titles a week and have a library of DC comics from the last 20 years. I also like HergƩ's Tintin and Tove Jansson's Moomin stories & comics. iFanboy has me trying comics from other publishers in trade: Paul Cornell's Captain Britain run, Chew, Fell, Queen & Country, Phonogram and I Kill Giants are all recent examples. I'm lucky enough to live close to Bristol where the UK's largest comic convention is held annually. I'm sure in terms of American con's it's tiny, but it's the highlight of my comics year. I'll be doing some more reports from this May's con on the iFanboy forum page, just like I did last year.
Books: We recently joined a book group at our local independent book store. They tend to pick quite serious literature, which is quite a gear change from - say - a Red Tornado miniseries! Through the book group, however, I've become an unofficial advisor to the store owner on which Graphic Novels to order. Looks like the iFanboy Books of the Month might be making their way onto bookshelves in Bath in the near future!
Last November I participated in and "won" NaNoWriMo for the first time. Although it devoured all my spare time, I really enjoyed the writing, and I'm already formulating a few ideas for next winter...
Other Stuff:
Really appreciate good quality modern design (the Scandinavian thing again) and Modernist architecture. I like gardening and we both enjoy walking in the countryside - the national Arboretum isn't far from here at Westonbirt and is great for an afternoon out. My other half is a great cook and frequently Twitters about his baking exploits (@chriscbrookes). We are big fans of Apple products (Mac's, iPhones, iPods etc).
That's my five minutes, so I'll pass you on to the next person. You can follow me on Twitter @ceekayell if you so desire!
Hi folks, I'm Chris W, a Murmur and iFanyboy lurker. I "know" some of you from Twitter already, and have met a couple of you face-to-face.
I'm a 33-year-old Canadian, living in Brooklyn and working in Jersey while my wife does MFA study in NYC. By day, I'm a tech writer / editor for an IT services group in a large corporation. I've always had writing and editing jobs.
I'm a big fan of movies in general, scripted TV, and comics. I also read a lot of genre fiction and I like listening to a variety of music, though I'm a bit of a musical dunce and always feel dumb when people talk about their favorite bands or artists.
I didn't read comics much since I was a teenager, but have gotten into them more in the last few years than I ever did then. I tend to enjoy superhero comics more than other types, and due to childhood reading, tend to like DC characters over Marvel, though I read a lot of titles from both companies. I've definitely been expanding my comics tastes in the last year or so, and now have a fair number of trades that involve no capes, tights, or mutants.
I used to write a lot of fiction: short stories and many, many first chapters. I've gotten away from that as work has taken over since finishing school, but with my renewed interest in comics, I've started dabbling in scripts. I wrote a Batman story to get my feet wet after going to a lot of writing and editing panels at last year's NYCC, and in the time since then I've started an original miniseries. So far, I'm enjoying it a lot, and I'm more comfortable with the style of writing scripts than I ever was with prose. I like the dialogue,and the tight, brief descriptions of scene and action.
I used to act in community theater (with a tiny bit of writing and directing) and be part of an improv performance group, but the time for those pursuits has fallen away since moving to NYC and adding a lot of commuting time to my work day. However, since my wife is in a theater degree program, we see a lot of shows, and I hang out with a lot of actors, so it doesn't seem that different in the end.
The best parts of living in NYC are the live theater, the food and restaurant choices, and the events I've attended and people I've met relating to the comics world.
Oh, and beer at the corner store. Man, that's awesome.
Hi, I'm Randy (NOT Randall or Randolph), and Austin Powers nearly ruined my life (I'm sure you can guess why). My last name is Forbister, which it seems no school, cable company, or phone company can get right (Forrester, Frobisher, Fobrisher, the list goes on). I'm 21 (22 in August), and I am enjoying my first year living away from home (with my girlfriend in a relatively cozy apartment).
I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which in addition to being freaking cold from November to March, is also the Slurpee Capital of the WORLD. Figure that one out. I probably buy just as many Slurpees in the winter as I do in the summer. With the exception of the downtown area, you could drive 10 minutes from one 7-Eleven and get to another one (or three). Also, the hometown of Winnie the Pooh, which is kinda cool.
I'm a huge Film, Anime, TV, Manga, and Comic book fan, in that order. My interest in any could waver and faulter at any moment, but none have ever really gone away. Except for comics. I hadn't picked one up since I was a kid until the Buffy Season Eight comics started coming out. One day iFanboy made one issue their Pick of the Week, I heard about it through a link, was thouroughly enamored by what I heard, kept listening, and eventually started picking up books. Unfortunately, it's always the first thing to get cut when I'm running tight on cash.
I was a manufacturing grunt for a while, making Guide Rails for elevators. Some of the rails I made will be used in the new Freedom Tower (now known as 1 World Trade Center according to Wikipedia), so that's cool. Then I was laid off, which was not so cool. I'm currently unemployed, living off my savings and Employment Insurance until I head to college to first become a Teacher's Aid, with the intention of one day becoming a full-fleged teacher.
My favourite film is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, anime is Uninhabited Planet Survive (don't worry, no one else has heard of it either), TV is Buffy the Vammpire Slayer, manga is 20th Century Boys (hence the username), and comic is Y The Last Man.
I am virtually a vat of useless knowledge. When I like something, I tend to research every last speck of information I can about it. I often spend more time researching a series when I could've better spent my time watching the damn thing.
I unabashedly enjoy all of those "chick" shows I'm not supposed to. I own the complete box set of The O.C. (which I only watched recently, then kicked myself for not watching sooner), Buffy, Angel, Firely, Roswell, Veronica Mars etc. My favourite shows on TV right now are Glee and (surprisingly enough) The Vampire Diaries.
I was big into theatre and improv in high school, but have since dropped out, due to not being able to really find a good creative source. I'm feel like I'll burst into a giant explosion of creativity at any second.
Also, I clearly ramble.
hello my name is andrew wiseman I am 18 and i live in aberdeenshire scotland im am a big fan of a lot of the stuff that is discussed on this website im also an ice hockey fan the Toronto Maple Leafs is my team (I know i have had a bad run recentliy) I am doing a computing course at collage i have published one artcle on this site and im working on the other i used to play golf but i have not play since i left school so im probley a bit rusty i work at my local corner shop which is were i seem to spend all my free time these days eating pick and mix ( I know its not good for me but im weak about that sort of thing)
My first name is John, but only my mom calls me John. My last name is Wolf, and everyone has called me Wolfdog for as long as I can remember. I have started writing many Murmur articles, but have only finished one. I think I might start trying a little harder now I know a little about the folks around here.
I'm 42, with a wife and 2 daughters (11&14). Despite being 42 and a hair over 6'8", I often don't feel all that grown-up yet. I have healthy obsessions/diversions/hobbies that include owning more electric guitars than I can truly justify. Collecting and playing vintage board wargames from Avalon Hill and SPI. Being a frustrated bogey golfer that can't break 80 no matter how much I spend. And of course, owning more books, comics, DVD's, video games, CD's, etc. than I could ever expect to consume.
I play guitar and sing for an alternative/country/rock sorta cover band. I'm an 'I.T. guy' for a local company where I work midnight to 8am. I frequent my kids' athletic events trying hard not to be one of 'those' parents. I love music so terribly much, but I'm at an age now where it's harder to like a new band... so I pretty much fall back on what I know. I own a Boba Fett costume that actually fits me. I grew up in Imperial Beach, CA yet have never been to Mexico. I currently live in St. Paul, MN yet never been to Canada. That's about all I can think of, besides my dedication to the greatness of the Green Bay Packers.
Howdy.
I'm Mark, I'm a 32 y.o. single male who is currently living in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, in the Caribbean.
I try to write for Murmur as often as I can, but when American pop culture gets down here it's about two weeks old already, by which time it's already been written to death on the Internet. I got involved with this site because I was going through geek withdrawal down here, so I started listening to the iFanboy podcast to follow what's going on in the world of comic books.
I can't really talk about my job except to quote THE LAST BOY SCOUT: "why is there an injury report in pro football?" The answer is my company.
Hi, first off, it's nice to "meet" everyone on here. I don't usually post here due to my busy schedule. So I guess I am a lurker as well.
My name is Nick I'm 24 a only child, I own a cat named Bob. I live in Sunny San Diego and go to UC San Diego where I'm majoring in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution in the bio department. I not too clear as to what I will do with that degree when i graduate in a year, but I guess I'll see when I get there.
I was born in London England, and moved here with my family when I was 2 1/2 years old. Having grown up in San Diego I have always identified myself as being English (hence the name) I guess as a way to stand apart from my schoolmates. but overall i just feel like a half breed (English and American).
Living in SD I stared going to SDCC in 2002 and have been going every year since. I alway remember having the odd comic around when i grew up as a child, but i really started collecting after that first SDCC. I've had the opportunity to meet a few of you at the iFanboy meet ups. Last year I met Jimski and was able to unload a Rom Annual I had some how acquired.
My life is often consumed with school so I don't have many chances for hobbies, but here are a few of the things I enjoy when I have time. Obviously I read comics. My favorite books include: Brave New World, Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, and and Lord of the Rings (although I don't remember the last time I read a novel for fun). I always enjoy finding music I haven't heard before. Some recent acquisitions have been: Made of Bricks by Kate Nash, La Roux. I also have a decent collection of The Stones and Beatles. I Fenced for about three years and competed for two, and now live with my friends who I met when I Fenced. My TV habits range all over from Lost to Always Sunny, to House, all of which I watch on Hulu, since I don't get cable.
I currently work at a Residential treatment facility for children ages 6-13 who are wards of the court, but this spring break I need to get off my butt and find a new job (no cancun for me).
I think I may be rambling right now, this is due to the fact that I have been studying Bio Statistics all day and my brain has finally given up to prepare for finals next week, GungaDin knows what I mean. anyway I think that pretty much sums me up in a nut shell. I've read everyones post for the most part and happy to know you all.
Nick.
Hey fellow murmurites!
My name is Jason and I currently reside in what is called the third coast or Chicago. Single 27 year old and I found the site from iFanboy where I post under the same name. I definately used to write more articles on this site and slowed down since I started going back to school. I am currently a law clerk, which means that I do the stuff that lawyers do not want to do. I really am going back to school to be an educator because it is something that I have always had a passion for. Now on to my big passions in my life.
The first one being sports, I have two seasons in my life. The first being hockey and the second being baseball. As far as favorite teams I tend to remain local and am a Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago White Sox fan. The reason that I enjoy sports is that it is unscripted live theater. You have your basic outline and anything can happen in a given set of innings or periods. My passion for hockey is so large I assist with the publication of a local fanzine here for the Chicago Blackhawks.
The second is movies. When DVDs began I collected anything that moved on DVD. When I stopped collecting them I ended up with about 700 DVDs and I really watched most of them once or at most twice. Now that Blu Ray has come out I have been more selective and began to sell back some of my older DVDs, I mean does any really need a copy of Deep Blue Sea? It's on TNT all the time! Anyways I digress, I have a hard time pinning down my top 10 let alone my top 3, but here we go: The Godfather, American Beauty, and Major League.
I also read whether it is comics or prose. While most of my reading is done for class now, I do read comics pretty regularly. I read all kinds of books and my favorite right now is RASL by Jeff Smith. If you want to know more about my comics reading stuff iFanboy is a great place to start.
Finally, TV is the something that I really watch religiously. I have my set lineup of shows that I watch and really stick to the old school method of watching them live (oh no!)when broadcast whenever I can. The only time I really use the DVR is when I know I am going to be out or shows on top shows scheduling. I have always thought I could do a this was my week in TV similar to Ali and gobo, but never get around to it. Anyways that is a little about myself and its been a great site to be part of keep up the good work!
Jason
The Blackhawks I respect, but the White Sox? Really? You couldn't bring yourself to root for a real team (that, of course, being the Cubs)? :) Regardless of baseball choice, I'm insanely jealous that you live in Chicago, my Mom grew up and has family out there and I always love it when I visit out there, currently working on finding a job there for after college, actually...
I'm 33, and I'm a single guy living in NJ. I post here every so often because I like the idea of writing, but I don't think I'm good at it. I'd like to improve that and I guess practice makes perfect.
I'm basically a big geek. I do computer networking for a living which I love. I'm also into Anime, comics, video games and movies. I guess I could be described as a man-child (even though I hate the term)
I don't follow a lot of the stereotypes of most of my geeky bretheren. I'm Black, and I'm actually in pretty good shape. I wound up going to the gym for several hours a day. While at the gym I listen to/watch podcasts about the geeky things I enjoy.
I feel like I should have a lot more to say, but I'm drawing a blank.
From what I can tell, I am the oldest poster so far. My name is Jay and I'm 38. I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago with a lovely wife and 2 children.
I have to say that I'm probably more of a lurker than an avid poster. My posting seems to come in bursts and then I go silent for months. I am in a constant panic of saying something that might offend someone or just being boring and redundant. I also have to admit to being just plain old intimidated by the level of discussion and how well most people write on this site and IFanboy.
With two small children I don't have a ton of free time but when I do I spend most of it reading comics, watching movies/television and playing basketball. I used to be more of a sports watcher than I am now but still watch Duke basketball pretty religously. I also seem to have my IPod permanentyly attached to my ear so I can listen to all the podcasts I subscribe to.
I have been slowly dipping my toe into the writing waters but it has mainly been in the realm of keeping a journal so that I can better remember what was happening when and with whom. I have a terrible memory and I want my kids to have some idea who this crazy person they called dad was. I keep saying I'm going to write an article of this site, but no idea has really clicked for me yet.
I work for a park district running a pool and a community center. It is not overly stressful or hectic and it still allows me to have a family life and a paycheck.
I used to do theatre when I was a kid and in college but career and family have made it too time consuming of a hobby to pick back up right now but I would love to try and get back to it someday.
Anyway, just wanted to come out of the shadows long enough to say hi and tell all of you how wonderful it is to be able to read all of your interactions on a daily basis. It is nice to know there are nice people on the net who know how to have a constructive conversation. Thanks to Kelly once again for another great article and discussion.
Well, I'll start by making the assumption that I'm probably the youngest person on here. I could be wrong, and would love to be seeing as how it'd be awesome to see younger kids thinking more critically but anyways here we go.
My name is Joe Johnson and I'm 18 years old. I am currently enrolled in a high school where I flourish on the school paper. I'm the Editor-in-chief (which isn't much to say for a high school paper) where I mostly write opinion pieces and movie reviews. This past fall I received First Place in the State for Newspaper Review for Minnesota's High School Press Association. I may be tooting my own horn here but it's something I'm proud of.
I also do theater and improvisational comedy at my school, but my real passion is writing. I am very much a social person and love to discuss things with people, be it politics religion or the latest issue of Kick-Ass. I work at GameStop, am a frequent customer at my local comics shop as well as many of the local movie theaters.
As said earlier I have a real interest in film. I've been watching movies avidly since I first watched Reservoir Dogs when I was 14. I finally outgrew the Disney repertoire and began to expand my horizons. Much like what Gorsline said, I also plan on watching to Oscar winners. I don't have a favorite movie because it is way too hard to pick just one. There is way too much out there to be commited to any one film or genre.
Going off of the genre thing I am also very into music. I listen to pretty much every genre (save for country). It's really quite normal for me to jump from metal to rap in one go.
You'll probably see more movie reviews from me.
I am Timmy Wood. 26 years old. I am a comedian who mainly does sketch and improv comedy. I am initially from Texas but now reside in New York. My girlfriend, also from Houston, also lives here and is a grad student. I love reading comics and watching comedy. Also I am quite the social butterfly. Love going out, really enjoying meeting and talking to new people. Very outgoing. My dad is a minister so I was raised in a heavy organized religion environment. Now I know the bible backwards and forwards and at one time was being groomed to go into the ministry. I got out of that though and now while I have problems with certain aspects in religion consider myself a spiritual person as cliche as that sounds.
I studied theatre and writing in college. Although now I have no aspirations in becoming any sort of dramatic actor. I like making people laugh. That's what is important to me. I can't think of anything else but feel free to ask.
I just discovered this site about a month ago and this looks like a good place to introduce myself.
My name is Matt and I am 28 and live near Detroit, MI. I have a BS in Chemistry and currently work as a compliance supervisor for a generic pharmaceutical company. I am known for being the sarcastic one of the bunch and always quick with the joke. My wife is a high school math teacher and we are just leaving happily together.
My history is similiar to most that grew up reading comics. Started in the 90's thanks to the X-men cartoon and then stopped due to Onslaught (for me it was actually the Red/Blue Superman debacle). Got back into it because of the Hush storyline. I am obsessed with Movies and Television. I am the Pop Culture guy on our local trivia team. I will watch anything almost anything with a long drawn out plot. I watch all the standard geek shows and I am obsessed with Lost, but even with that obsession my favorite show on TV right now is Mad Men.
Beyond the above, I am also involved in the local community theatre which keeps me up to date with the latest broadway shows. I do anything there, I am onstage, backstage and in the director's chair.
My current plan though is to being watching all of the Oscar winning movies in order. It should be fun.
I, too, am a bit of a lurker on this site. My classes take up so much my time, that I haven't really had the opportunity to have a presence here. But on to the reason I'm here. I'm not much of an open book, so this will be brief.
My name is Greg. I'm 24 and live in Central Texas. I'm majoring in Elementary Education. When I'm finally done, I will be able to teach Preschool through 6th Grade. The little time I have left is spent at work. I work with my local school district, at an elementary level after school program. So, Pre-K through 5th. I am a general nerd. I obsess over movies, music and comics. My favorite movie is Casablanca. My sense of humor is incredibly dry. On a camping trip a few years ago, my friends threatened to use me as kindling for the bonfire we were building. The problem is that I have always found it difficult to make that translate to written language.
This was a bit longer than I thought it was going to be.
Hard to think about what to write - one interesting thing about internet friends is that I feel like, baring my soul on places like Murmur, Twitter and my blog, I'm both closer and more distant from you than with my "real life" friends. I suppose I'll just let stuff flow out, stream of consciousness style.
My name is Josh. I grew up in and still live in the great state of Maine, and work as a bookseller at an independent bookstore and an project coordinator for a statewide non-profit association. The jobs aren't going to make me rich (in fact, they just barely cover the bills and student loans), but I can't imagine two jobs I would enjoy more. Working at an indie bookstore gives me a chance to be around books every day, and the job is so broad that I do everything from ordering stock for the store to office stuff to designing promotional stuff and setting up book signings and events. The non-profit is within the ski industry here in Maine, and being around ski and snowboard stuff every week is both personally and professionally fulfilling (more on that later).
On top of my "real" jobs, I maintain my own website at BrewsAndBooks.com and write as a weekly columnist for the craft beer community RateBeer.com. I don't think a hell of a lot of my writing - as I like to tell people, my immensely talented brother is a writer, whereas I just write things down. Still, it's been a ton of fun to write about books and beer as much as possible, and I'm starting to see some real improvement.
I'm a bit obsessive about beer - I've written about it here on Murmur and talked about it on the Murmur podcast, and I even incorporated beer into the Murmur book club. Homebrewing is an incredibly fun hobby I've really taken to with vigor recently, and finding new beer is something I enjoy a ton - I relish new and exciting flavors in beer the way foodies love great dishes and comic fans love Wednesdays. I've actually had a couple people on Murmur and Twitter let me know that I turned them on to new beers or beer in general, which I find terribly flattering.
I'm half of a set of identical twins. Going to college in a place separate from my brother was a surreal experience after living together since -9 mo. old. I'm incredibly proud of and impressed by my brother, who is a talented writer and has more creativity in his pinkie than I have in my entire body. I'm really thankful that, after college, we've ended up living in the same city.
I suffer from a dearth of self-confidence, probably a result of some mocking for being an nerd growing up. It's both gratifying and strange to have people impressed by and respond to my writing. I try not to let the sheepishness come through too much in my writing and commenting, but if you see me being hard on myself or kinda self-deprecating, know that it's not for attention or for sympathy. Plus, I'm getting better - apparently I have something to say that people find interesting!
If there's anything that surpasses my passion for beer and books, it's a love of skiing. Although my degree is in Political Science, I actually chose my college based on a certificate program called "Ski Industries" - I was convinced I'd be a ski bum for the rest of my life. My family has a long history in the mountains (my dad was at ski resorts throughout his life, was on the US ski squad (kinda the Olympic Team alternates) and wrote a book about a local resort), and I don't enjoy many things more in life than skiing with abandon. When I was in college, I used to ski about 100 days a year.
Although it's mostly incongruous with my looks and personality, I'm a huge punk music fan. My favorite bands are The Clash and Bad Religion, and late HS and college had me going to many, many punk, pop-punk and ski shows.
WOO, Someone else who spends most of their time in Maine (well, you live there, I just study there)! I'm also insanely jealous of your ski totals from when you were in college, I just barely break 10 a year at Sunday River/Sugarloaf and a big whopping 0 this year
@deezer
Going to college 40 miles away from the Loaf and "studying" skiing in college was a great way to get on the hill! I miss those epic triple-digit seasons, but I'm lucky enough to still get 30 or 40 days a year - thank goodness retail is slow on the coast in the Spring!
@JesTr82
Lately, I've really been getting into sour ales - so the Cantillon Classic Geuze is a new favorite. Stone Pale Ale, Brooklyn Lager, Flying Dog Double Pale Ale, Rogue Shakespeare Stout and Schneider Aventinus are all long-time favorites and superb examples of their styles.
My friends and I were talking about starting a home brew experiment, do you have any advice for sites that can start us off?
@English
If you want to start off real light and easy and brew a one-gallon batch, I'd recommend the Brooklyn Brew Shop (www.brooklynbrewshop.com). They have really cool one-gallon recipe kits, and for about 40 bucks you can get all the equipment and ingredients you need to brew.
If you want to have some more options and brew larger (and more cost effective) batches, I'd suggest AustinHomebrew.com. You can buy all the basic equipment you need to brew 5-gallon batches of beer for around 80 bucks, and they have hundreds of different recipes to choose from - both original beers and "clones" of beers you can buy from other breweries.
Whichever you go with, definitely pick up Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It is THE bible of beer brewing, and tells you everything you need to know to brew from start to finish.
Also, if you could arrange that you never again had to see or hear of (a) Jay Leno , (b) Deadpool , (c) a single Internet commenter/troll of your choice who frequents a favorite site. .. what would you choose?
Done now!
Oops, this was supposed to be for Jimski and now I can't delete it! (i suppose anyone could answer :))
What can I tell you?
I'll be 35 in a couple of weeks. I have one kid, and soon I'll have two, so that's pretty great.
I'm a St. Louisan like Kelly here, who I've known for fifteen years and who I brought here for all of you to enjoy.
I write a weekly column at ifanboy.com and a much, much, much, much much less frequent one here. I have no idea how I must come across to people who only know me in this context. In "reality," the only thing that makes me cranky is listening to other people being cranky, which is why deciding to spend this much time online as a career path was a monumental blunder that will shave ten years off my life.
Because I use my real name and photo on sites (you should too, by the way; cowboy up, trolly!) I feel like everyone knows all of these things. Is there anything you want to know about me and don't?
I find your articles on iFanboy consistently enjoyable. Anyone who isn't reading them, needs to start.
If you could only afford to buy one comic book a month, which would it be?
My birthday's in August, so now I'm the *3rd* oldest person here admitting my age.
I do have a question -- I know you're a big fan of sketch comedy, SNL, etc. Are you as big a fan of standup, and do you have any favorites? Did you watch "Funny People", and if so, did you think, like me, "I swear that there used to be standup that wasn't just a lot of dick jokes, so has comedy changed or is it a thing with this movie?"
Also, did you/do you have ambitions to write or perform for improv/sketch/standup, or are you more of a student?
(oops, posted this above but it was supposed to be for Jimski)
Also, if you could arrange that you never again had to see or hear of (a) Jay Leno , (b) Deadpool , (c) a single Internet commenter/troll of your choice who frequents a favorite site. .. what would you choose?
Brad: I am constantly shaking my hands in the air, although they are usually balled into fists at the time.
OHcaroline: when I think of standup, the names that leap to mind are Patton Oswalt, Paul F. Tompkins and Mitch Hedberg. I listen to a lot of comedians' podcasts-- it's most of what my iPod is for, in fact-- including Never Not Funny, Comedy and Everything Else, Doug Benson's I Love Movies, Comedy Death Ray, Jordan Jesse GO, and Marc Maron's WTF.
When I saw Funny People I thought, "Oh, now I see why I never became a comedian: I don't talk about masturbation for eleven hours a day."
I wrote some sketches for high school shows, but it was never something I was especially driven to do.
Finally, and most crucially: if such things as Bad Vibes existed, I would send every one I ever had going back to junior prom directly at Jay Leno. Deadpool comics never got good comics canceled. And, of course, every member of the iFanboy and Murmur readership is a valued and respected member of the community.
"And, of course, every member of the iFanboy and Murmur readership is a valued and respected member of the community." Well played.
This is an excellent idea!
I'm Cooper, living in Glasgow in bonnie Scotland.
I'm 21, but my mum tells me I act at LEAST 21-and-a-half.
I live with my lovely girlfriend and we're pretty unbelievably happy together.
I'm in my 4th and final year of university, studying "Digital Art", which is a bit of a blanket term but incorporates illustration, graphic design, animation and a wee bit of film making.
Ideally when it's all over I want to move into a creative field of some kind, although I realise it might be a while until I'm comfortably in a job I want to have.
I am currently working on my first self-published graphic novel, as well as a short 3D animation. Both are super fun.
It's safe to say I love media. I am not fussy about what media but I love films, TV, comics, prose and music, not necessarily in that order.
I try to support local art where I can, attending many local gigs, films, exhibitions etc as I can afford because I feel Glasgow is such a vibrant centre for creativity.
Beyond that I also love going to concerts, averaging 2 - 3 a month I'd say (although it would be much more if I had the time or money).
I'd say I'm pretty content, as long as I can sort this career thing out.
Oh oh and also I have a webcomic ( http://www.perpendicular-universe.com ) but I see it more as a hobby than a business venture. I enjoy doing it and wish to improve by practising, but I realise not many will like it that much.
Oh, ans also I like Murmur. <3
Hello my name is Jon, and I'm an alcoh... wait it's not that type of thread? Forget what I just said.
As you may have surmised my name is Jon, last name Stump. I'm currently located in Boulder CO where I moved to become the Community Collaborator for Graphic.ly. I'm a long time iFanboy fan and someone who doesn't post on murmur nearly enough. I love talking with all sorts of people, so feel free to hit me up on aim (guardiandevil21) or skype (jmstump). In fact I can usually be found most places under jmstump. There's probably a few people who are still shocked my name isn't Jim. The M is actually my middle initial. Good luck prying my middle name from my cold dead fingers.
I graduated with a Masters in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University, where I rediscovered my love for comics. I'll pretty much read anything to try it out.
As far as movies/TV I like a wide variety. I finally got into LOST, but since I don't have TV I can't get any of the new season just yet. I despise watching things on my computer and I have no explanation as to why.
How did you get approached to work on Graphic.ly or did you help create it?
Graphic.ly is the real deal. Go check it out.
A connection was actually made through my Brother who heard about the project and knows a couple of the people involved.
You better buy that brother one hell of a Christmas present. May I suggest Absolute All Star Superman.
My name is Chris Powers, and I am dancing right now. See, I just bought the new Rob Zombie album yesterday, and have been completely enamoured by it to the point where I put "What?" on repeat and am headbanging and jumping around my empty apartment numerous times. It's nothing new, as I really like to get into the music I listen to. It's completely embarasing, and I hope that none of you are ever subjected to this.
But anyways, I'm an electrical engineer who graduated from college about 2 years ago. I was originally going to go for my licence to be a head engineer on big ships (like cruise ships and cargo liners), but I decided after an accumulated 6 months at sea that I much prefer the life on land. It's a decision that I have no regrets about making, as right now I'm living a pretty awesome adult life so far in my hometown of NYC. It's a great place to be that caters to my 4 hobbies in life: music, comics, movies, and food! I love living in a city where my night can consist of me going to a comic store that's open till like 1, then go to a midnight screening of The Thing, the get a hot dog that's wrapped in a pork roll egg & cheese, and finish off the night at bar which has punk rock tunes on the jukebox that you don't hear anywhere else. And air hockey.
I absolutely love anything spicy and covered in cheese (that goes for food as well). I love hockey and am a devotee to the New Jersey Devils. My favorite types of movies are horror, and I'm torn whether or not The Thing or The Toxic Avenger are the best horror movies. I am equally torn to who's the bes horror actor: Bruce Campbell or Vincent Price.
I was primarily into rap until I was in 7th grade, and got a cassette of "I Against I" by Bad Brains, thinking it was "Me Myself And I" by De La Soul. A little after then, I was all about punk rock. Nowadays I listen to many things, but punk is my true love.
My favorite book of all time (and the one that got me into reading as a hobby) is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and my favorite comic series is X-Factor. In fact, I got Jamie Madrox's symbol as my first tattoo, and is on my right shoulder blade. I'm still thinking about what my next will be, either The Toxic Avenger or the dragon from Dragon Ball Z.
And I can't think of anything else to say without sounding long winded...so ask if there's nything else you want to know!
So the new Rob Zombie album is worth a grab? Good to hear (I wasn't sure if I should get it or not, but you've convinced me)
Oh god, you're an EE? That explains SOOOOO much! :-P
I was all about rap until about 9th grade. But being from Cali, from the streets, it was all about Tupac, Snoop, DPG, all that. Man, good times back then.
@Jurassicalien
What makes Rob Zombie a fun listen is the spooky and shlockey tone of his songs, something that was lacking in the last album. So this is pretty much a return to form, and it's a heck of alot of fun.
@Miguel
CALIFORNIA LOOOOOVE!
I forgot Zombie's new album was out. I'll pick it up later. I wasn't impressed with the last one either. Since the new title is Hellbilly Deluxe 2 I guess he is channeling the Zombie of old.
In order for it to be a real battle, both sides would have to be equally matched. That was clearly never the case.
Well, hi. My name's Miguel/Mig-L, which ever you prefer -- I choose the latter.
Anyway, I'm a 22-yr-old kid from Miami, FL. Born and raised on these sunny and horribly humid streets. I'm finishing up college as we speak; studying Visual Arts and Entertainment, in hopes that I'll break into comics or something that involves me drawing people in funny poses.
I've become a huge fan of comics again since about 2007. I had always liked them in the mid-90's -- not the greatest time to be reading them -- thanks to my brother, who adored them and now can't even remember them. I've always become a "Whovian". Got hooked on the series after a friend from Australian introduced me to it and I spent my money on buying the seasons through iTunes, one after the other.
Obviously, I love me some podcasts as well. Of course, the top one, iFanboy and Murmur, but I also listen in on SModcast, Rooster Teeth Drunk Tank Podcast, The Ricky Gervais Podcast and a couple of the DC ones, when they do come out. Which is always during con seasons, so I can expect some soon.
I'm big on British TV shows as of lately, thanks to DW. Got into Torchwood, of course, then onto shows like Top Gear, Only Human, The Jonathan Ross Show, The Inbetweeners and some others.
Music wise, I find myself jamming to anything that has a solid bassline, due to the fact that I play bass. Have been for 5 years now. But I still listen to my favorites like, Incubus, Jason Mraz, The Mars Volta, Jamiroquai and some other stuff. It's kind of all over the place when it comes to music.
Now for comics, man, I unfortunately live in the city that has only about 2 comics shops total. Not even kidding. So, I can't do the Wednesday comic buying, or even online cause it's just too pricey and honestly, I'd rather spend it on art supplies and comic boards to draw. So, I'm stuck on relying on my Barnes and Nobles for trades or of course, InStockTrades.com ( Plug, plug.) I'm a huuuuuuuge Jim Lee fan, only cause the first thing I saw when I started reading comics again was his Batman: Hush run and honestly, for a kid who was drawing Street Fighter and King of Fighter characters all his life.. To see Batman drawn that badass, was just like a clusterfuck to the right side of my brain. Now my tastes have changed. People like Stuart Immonen are huge influences, along with Sean Gordon Murphy, Skottie Young, Mike Norton, Chris Samnee, Michael Lark, Mitch Breitweiser and too many to name. I try and take as much from these guys and put it in my own style, just because I love every little thing they do. Hell, sometimes I'm like a schizo when it comes to drawing, my style changes drastically from one moment to another, which I don't think is a bad thing, just cause it means I'll have a versatile style and I'll never be labeled for one certain way of drawing.. I hope.
So yeah, I'm a youngster, huge on TV shows, music and art in comics. And that's me in a nutshell .. and very small one that doesn't provide too much of a meal. Sorry.
Oh, excellent. I've had it in the back of my mind that I need to get more involved on this site.
I'm Andrew.
Woomer is my last name and, since most people call me that anyway, it's my username most places, like Twitter and iFanboy.
I'm about to turn 28 end of this month and about to graduate in May, after a long, twisty road, from Belmont University with a BFA in Theatre Performance. I imagine it will look good on my wall and that will be the only use I get out of it.
I'm a professional (in the sense that I get paid sometimes) photographer. I've been doing that for about 6 years and I've gotten pretty good.
I love to read, both comics and prose. I'm working on about five books right now, as usual.
I'm a fairly normal geek, in that I like all the Greatest Hits of the stereotype.
I play the banjo, not well, but enough to relax me.
I love making people laugh and entertaining them. People tell me I should do stand-up, but I can never write anything down and be funny. It's spontaneous.
This is starting to feel like a personal ad.
My favorite movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I don't know what I want to do with my life and I doubt I ever will. I'll wind up doing something for a career and realizing I'm good at it.
I love pretty much any kind of music, except for new pop-country. I'm especially fascinated by mashups, since the mathematics of music never ceases to amaze me.
My favorite beer is Newcastle.
I went through a whole fascination with mash-ups, too. I think it's the combination of something familiar and something new. I say this because I've found that I have two minds about music. Some days, I want something old and familiar that i know all the lyrics to, even if it's super-cheesy. I want an anthem. Other days, I want to be swept away by some new and different that opens my mind to new arrangements.
Also: I, too, tend to read about 5 books at a time. I never know what kind of mood I'll be in!
I thought about writing something and then I thought that, you know, there is already an uncomfortably high number of people on the internet who know an uncomfortable amount of things about me.
But I want to know more! Like what's your address? And would you mind if I watch you sleep sometime?
But what is your favorite beer man!? We hear you talk so much about alcohol on both your shows, but we know nothing of what kind!?
Well, up until now I've been a bit of a "lurker" on the site, not really commenting or anything, but I've been wanting to change that. When I saw that Kelly had posted this I figured there's no time like the present! So here it goes...
My name's Scott Carelli. Scott is my middle name, my first name is actually Lawrence, but I've always gone by "Scott" simply because I am the fourth "Lawrence" in my family and it started getting confusing for everyone at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I'm 24, and live in the Indianapolis area, was born in Texas, and spent most of my childhood in Florida. I work in retail as a manager, but spend most of my free time writing in hopes of one day getting lucky enough to be paid for it.
As you can probably tell by my handle, I'm a HUGE Doctor Who fan, and hate the fact that just because I was born in the US, I will probably never have a chance to ever work on the show (regardless of how successful I may ever be). I've been having a ton of fun going back to watch some of the classic episodes that are available on netflix instant watch. I co-host a weekly DW podcast called The Doctor's Companion (plug plug shameless plug), and am very excited about the new series in April (speaking of which, has anyone called dibs on doing RECAP articles for that? If not, I'd like to...).
I've also discovered, in the past year or so, that I am a bit of an anglophile, especially where entertainment is concerned. Not sure how it happened exactly, but after loving Coupling, Jekyll (Steven Moffat is brilliant), The IT Crowd, and Law & Order: UK, it obviously has and I've accepted it.
I've actually been an avid podcaster since 2005, having been the host of Two Geeks a Mic and a Podcast and the writer/producer/creator of the podcast series, Geek By Night which the iFanboy guys had guest roles in. Both shows have since died due to behind the scenes drama, but I've been trying to get back on the podcast horse, and TDC was step one.
I love comics, and between the Big Two, I prefer DC, mostly due to my avid love of Bruce Timm from as far back as the premiere of Batman TAS and everything since. Lately, however, I've been in the mood to read comics of the non-capes variety, and have been having a great time finding new stuff to read.
I'm currently writing a stageplay, a screenplay that I hope to direct by the end of the year, and a comic book version of Geek By Night which is currently without an artist (any takers?).
I'm an absolute hopeless romantic, and tend to be insanely positive in the worst situations.
I unabashedly love things "real" men aren't supposed to like romantic comedies, or Gilmore Girls (I own the Complete Series set and watch it whenever I want to be cheered up).
My favorite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
I like clothes, and would consider myself a snappy dresser. On any given day I wear a collar shirt, tie, vest or sweater, and usually a sports coat of some kind. Unfortunately, most people in Indiana find this eccentric, rather than endearing. But it makes me happy, so I don't care...
I wear glasses, and while I own contacts, I prefer how I look in glasses and only wear contacts to amusement parks and to 3D movies. Although, I do get tired of people constantly saying I look like famous people that I don't just because we have the same glasses: Buddy Holly, Rivers Cuomo, the Verizon guy, Peter Parker (okay, I'll admit I get a bit of a thrill from little kids who are nervous to talk to me because they think I'm Spider-Man... usually makes my day), etc.
I have never written an article for Murmur, but now that's I've introduced myself here, I'll definitely get my first one posted by the end of the week!
I think that's all I got...
Dude. Yeah. Doctor Who fan woo.
I've been actually going through and watching old episodes and relating them to my friend and she wants me to blog about them after I watch them. Which could be amusing. You should do recaps though. I would love them. A lot. Just be careful posting them because the BBC America airs them weeks later and all that.
Good to see you around, though. Awesome for the community and all that. And I'd love to listen to your podcast (just might download them now). I'm just wondering if you talk about the older episodes, cuz I'm trying not to get those spoiled till I watch them.
But cool to have you, man. And Law & Order: UK is good? I have the first season on my hard drive and I keep wanting to find time to watch it.
@GungaDin Yeah, if I get the okay for recaps, then I'll be sure to not post them until after their BBCA airing. Would never want to spoil the episodes for anyone...
We have talked about the classic stuff, but other than a brief, random mentions here or there, those discussions are in specific episodes. We let you know what episodes of the classic series we're specifically talking about, and we usually have some sort of "theme" (such as our 3-part "Regenerations" series of episodes). So if you haven't seen what we're talking about, you can simply skip it and come back to it when you have.
And yeah, I really like L&O:UK. Their legal system fascinates me... they have to wear wigs in court!
I'm Dave, but have never really been called that in my life ever, in deference to Doc (I'm and EMT) or the more-prevalent Deezer (I've been called that since I was, oh, 4 days old supposedly). I'm 20 years old going on 21 in August and am, for the moment, in Merry Old London England.
I do, however, live in Boston and go to school for real in Maine, where I study Classics and theater technology, specifically lighting and set design, after a brief but strenuous acting career in high school. Mostly because of all this work, I've picked up a lot of accents that I regularly use to mess with people, and learning more is kind of my hobby.
I read an awful lot of comics (not as many as some, but more than most, I assume) and regular books and, because of my future career choice (lighting/set designer), see or work on a lot of plays/musicals. Other than that, I don't do all that much, what with constantly being on call for EMS and working on the sets and electrics for stuff going on at school.
Well my name is Steve. I live on Long Island, but work in Manhattan.
i am the first to graduate college in my family, (BA in Media and Communications) but I have no idea what to do with it.
About a year ago I agreed to sacrafice my sanity and social life and work the night shift at an Apartment complex. So that means I read too many comics, play too many video games and watch to many movies before noon.
My name is Chris Clark. I am 31 years old. I live in Georgia and was born in Kentucky (just one of many, many things I have in common with George Clooney).
I love my wife and two daughters. I enjoy reading (both comics and prose), movies, and to a much lesser extent TV.
I am Assistant Professor of Economics at a small, public, liberal arts University in Georgia.
I earned my Ph.D. in economics at the University of Kentucky in 2005.
I study education, health economics, labor economics, adolescent behavior, gambling, and public policy. My most recent papers investigate the impact of medical malpractice reform on health labor markets, the effect of attractiveness on academic performance and behavior, and the effectiveness of Advanced Placement Economics classes. In the past, I've written and published on topics ranging from the impact of peers on academic performance, the determinants and results of gambling addiction, and grade inflation.
I LOVE teaching and regularly teach core courses in economics including principles of economics and intermediate microeconomics. I have taught field courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level, including labor economics, public economics, and managerial economics.
[Thank you for this article. It was an excellent idea.]
Did you move from Kentucky to Georgia because of the position you got?
And I love cake and brownies...but don't think I have ever eaten a "cake brownie". What is this amalgam?
I moved to Georgia for the job (and the weather).
And don't listen to gobo. Cake brownies are manna from heaven: http://southernfood.about.com/od/brownies/r/blbb563.htm
Sorry man, it just looks like a big cake. Not that there is anything wrong with that! I love cake, my best friend is a cake.
What I like about Chris from his posts here and on iFanboy is that he's very level-headed and genuinely good natured, which I dig. I feel a kinship. But then he goes and kicks ASS with the economics talk, which is SO not me that I find it riveting -- even if it makes my head hurt. Respect!
Whoo. Kelly, you really cut to the heart of the matter here. :) All these great responses, and it really challenges that idea that you toyed around with on your previous column.
I say that because I'm sitting here wondering what I should type. Because I want to talk to all of you, and like Ryan, I'm kind of an open book guy. But this isn't just a conversation with you. It's public. So there are certain things I'd share with you all over a beer or cocktail that I wouldn't say here.
I'll say this:
I'm Dave or David. I'm one of those few people who doesn't mind which name you use. And I like it better when people with accents call me David. Just sounds better. ;)
I'm 37, which makes me feel like an elder statesmen of the group. I also sometimes wonder if it makes it seem like I'm one of those guys who is growing old and desperately trying to stay hip by having friends in their 20's. But I think the truth is that I'm just young at heart. ;)
The most personal look I can give you here is probably the articles I've already posted under my "Creative Life" banner. Sure, maybe I'm not giving you details about my divorce or dating life or the struggles with co-parenting a 9-yr-old (oops -- public forum!), but I'm pretty open and honest about my work and my view of life, etc.
What else can I say? Like everyone else, I like music, movies, comics, and books. Video games. My tastes are fairly eclectic, so I'll likely enjoy something you love and something you hate.
I'm both a writer and graphic designer by trade. That takes up most of my day job, which is in marketing. I like working with print design much more than web design. Designing in HTML, CSS, Flash, etc., all make me feel like I'm trying to write poetry in a language I studied for one semester back in high school.
I love sushi. And Chocolate. And Cheese.
I try appreciate the wonders of life -- a good book, a good meal, a great conversation.
I've lived in California my whole life, but I've slowly migrated down the state from Sacramento to the Bay Area to LA. The Bay Area is still my favorite.
I dunno. What else? Ask me.
Yay! Not the oldest anymore! I mean. . .
You always make wonderfully thoughtful contributions to any discussion and it's very appreciated.
Now, important things. . .what's the best sushi you've ever had, your favorite kind of chocolate, and your favorite cheese? (I may have had two of those 3 things for dinner tonight, plus wine, and am regretting the omission of cheese).
i think it's the personal details that aren't related to the hobbies we all naturally share that make us all seem more real. how do i tell the difference between you and the montgomery when you're both wormwoody and eloquent everywhere you go? you're also divorced and have a 9 year old daughter. that's a real person, right there, not just a name on a post.
@Caroline - heh, I'm used to being the oldest as this point. Somewhere along the line, Paul and others started calling me Cthulhu..." :D
Best sushi place? I fondly recall one I discoverd in Flagstaff early last year. In town, there's one near me that seems to specialize in rolls with baked fish in them, and it's quite good. But as for sushi itself, I really just enjoy the flavor and texture of sashimi. All the usual suspects: ahi, toro, yellow tail, salmon, etc.
I love LOTS of different kinds of cheese, but I guess if I had to pick a favorite, the thing I always come back to would be a good brie melting on a freshly baked baguette. Nothing on earth like it. Mmm.
I don't have specific brands of chocolate I like, but I find that I like a good dark chocolate, and at this point, I can really tell the difference between good chocolate and waxy mass-produced stuff. That said, any chocolate is good in a pinch. :) I have a certain fondness for anything peanut butter and chocolate, and I've been known to horde a bag of peanut butter M&M's, a time or two. ;)
I may or may not also be perversely fascinated with bacon and chocolate, and I may or may not have spent $7 at Whole Foods one time just to try such a confection. I may have even liked it, if I were admitting to such a thing.
@Ali - I'd really like to. I had the best of intentions, but around NaNoWriMo it became too much and I also felt like there were a lot of articles about writing, and so I didnt' feel the need to push it. But I would like to come back to it. I do still have a few subjects I wanted to cover. :)
@Kelly - Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I do like what you all have written here, and I do feel like I know you all a bit more. While I might talk about my trials and tribulations a bit more in person over a cocktail, I just don't mind sliding in a few personal details here just so you can differentiate. I'm just very aware that it's "public information." :)
Oh, and incidentally, my 9-yr-old is a boy. ;) His name is Jack -- short for Jackson.
@stuclach - I kinda figure everyone already knows that. :D Plus, the Creative Life articles i posted here kinda cover that. :) But thanks for mentioning it. It's like my "other" baby at this point. ;)
'ello!! My name is Miguel.
I'm 26 years old, but frequently forget that. I have a really hard time remembering my age, don't ask me why because I don't know.
I have had grey whiskers in my facial hair since I was 21 years old. I really like it, the wife finds it odd.
I'm married. My wife is currently in the Philippines visiting her homelands, but for the last 8 months she has been studying in Taiwan. She comes back on April 10th and on that day my happiness will instantly skyrocket to level 12. (I'm at about a 5 now)
I go by Drake Dangerz (Darkwing Duck + Austin Powers references) and Solo Basura (on the side of a dumpster at my work) in various online circles.
I write comic reviews for IGN and I moderate Robert Kirkman's messageboard. I love his beard.
I work with MRI machines and yes, I will scan your brain and give you a picture of it if you ever make your way to Berkeley, California.
I got my degree in bioengeering because my lifelong goal is to have a prehensile tail. With that degree, I think I can make it happen. We'll see.
I love bread. All kinds.
I like to snack on raw tofu. I'm told this is weird.
My blood type is O+.
I've worn glasses since I was 5 years old.
My favorite comic book character growing up was Batman, but right now I would have to say it's Iron Fist. If only his own series would come back.
I would go gay for Gael Garcia Bernal.
I love the smell of freshly cut grass.
I'm addicted to video games. I play them like, all the time.
I sometimes like to inflate my air mattress and sleep in my own living room. It feels like a sleep over and is quite exciting.
I love beef tongue tacos. If you ever try them, I am confident you will love them too.
My middle name is Angel. So that means my full name is Michaelangelo. Yes, he was my favorite ninja turtle.
Half Baked is one of my favorite movies of all time.
I love Coupling.
I make a mean batch of Buffalo wings.
I have given, but never received, an atomic wedgie.
Any questions?
i went gray in my early 20's too! only i didn't know it until i was about 25 and decided to let my natural color out long enough to see what it had become.
(that was the last time i did that, too ;)
i have eaten and do not care for beef tongue tacos. the texture is too odd to help me forget what i'm eating long enough to enjoy it. i keep trying them, though, so as not to look like a wuss. :)
Enjoy the grey hair, or any hair while you can. I started first thinning and then balding by age 19. Oh yeah! Plus nothing wrong with Grey, it can give a George Clooney type of vibe on the right head.
@Kelly - It saddens me that beef tongue tacos did not bring you immediate joy. Still, it's awesome that you will keep trying!
As for the grey hair, I'm enjoying seeing new ones sprout up every so often. Eventually when it all goes grey, it'll be time for Just For Men :-)
I love Coupling too!! Such a great sitcom. Steven Moffat is genius.
Also, I would go gay for Salma Hayek ;)
I've been wanting to see Coupling. The series is on my Netflix queue on instant watch. So you guys recommend that, then?
@WonderAli-If Gael turned me, Selma would bring me right back.
@GungaDin-Heck yes. The 3rd season stumbled, since it didn't have Jeff in it, but the first two are very much worth watching.
@louis (with apologies for everyone else who won't care/get to sample it) you know about this place, right? hella awesome "street tacos" among other stuff. and yes, there's tripe and tongue :)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/neveria-la-vallesana-saint-louis
Kirkman does have the grandest beard, doesn't he? It almost rivals Jonathan Frakes' beard.
I'm up to Season 2 of Coupling and absolutely love it. I didn't think that I would, since romantic comedy sitcoms aren't usually my thing. But the writing and jokes are brilliant.
Potato bread is king :)
(As a preface, I haven't read your guys' stuff yet. But I will! It's a comin')
Hey there. My name's Matt. I'm twenty one (almost) and I'm a third year writing student at UC San Diego. Originally from L.A. I moved to San Diego about ten years ago, and in about a year and a half, I plan to move back.
I love stories. Really. That's where this'll all come back to. I love assimilating them. I love writing them. It's a vicious cycle.
So yeah, I'm a writer. And I write things (like this! except not really, but also this) and just kinda see what happens, although I don't think I'm very good at it but I will be someday maybe hopefully.
I love TV. Not so much movies, but movies too. TV is just the stories I like. Stuff that's episodic but also serialized with characters and stuff that goes on for a crazy long time. Favorite shows of all time are like... What... Buffy, LOST, BSG, Veronica Mars, Firefly, Doctor Who, Mad Men, Weeds, 30 Rock... The list goes on. Seriously, I'm on Facebook. You want a list, go there. =p
I know, though. I have to watch The Wire (loved the first season, have the last four) and The West Wing (two and a half seasons in, but really I should just start three over at this point) and a whole lot of others, so I should be busy for a while.
I love Joss Whedon. I think the man is a god of story and delight. I've never had so much enjoyment come from anything as has come from his body of work (and yes, I will say that I think Dollhouse was brilliant with caveats) and I'm a hard core Whedonite in every sense of the word (except for the part where I'm a dick about it. Because I'm just not that guy) and I can't ever get enough of his work.
I love Doctor Who. This gets its own topic because I'm falling for it and hard. I've seen all of the new stuff, am working my way through the old, and I have tons of supplementary materials to work through which include books and audioplays. Really. It just goes on. It's just fueling my addiction to stories and really, there's nothing that does story-focus like Doctor Who. It's everything I want out of anything. So... Yeah. I'm addicted. It happens.
I like music. I'm into soundtracks and scores but I'm slowly branching into bands and the like (thanks to friends. But also you people. I'm constantly looking for suggestions). My go-to band of love is The Decemberists because I love the story-nature of all their music. And it's a bit weird but also dark but always fun. And that works for me.
As far as soundtrack/scores, go though... You can't beat Stephen Sondheim (in anything really. The man is so much genius it's like he doesn't really even exist as he is just a mythic creature akin to a modern Shakespeare, but with music) or Bear McCreary (go to iTunes and download the soundtrack to Dark Void. You'll thank me) because they just... speak to me, I guess...
And... is there anything else? Oh. I don't sleep. Well, I mean I do, but my days are long and my eyes open time is much much higher than my eyes closed time. Except on weekends. I like weekends. But that's what you get when you work thirty hours a week and take four classes.
And that's enough about me for now, don't you think? I think so (and look at me! Still typing!). If you want more innane banter, find me on Twitter (twitter.com/GungaDin) and listen to more of this nonsense although better because it's better in small doses... or something...
Anyhoo. Yeah. That's me. I guess?
To say I am obsessed with Doctor Who would be a thrilling understatement. I too am plowing through the older episodes as well as the Big Finish Audio Adventures. (Thanks to those Colin Baker and Paul McGann are two of my favorite Doctors! Though really, Nice Chap, all of him!) And I'm in love with Bear McCreary. Which runs at odds to the fact that I hate underscoring with a passion. There are about 5-10 composers for film and TV I enjoy, but most of the rest is unimpressive. (Clint Mansell, Murrary Gold, John Williams are some of the names I can think of without looking at my iTunes!)
For the record, it's thanks to your enthusiastic tweets about the BSG score that I know who Bear McCreary is. (And he's awesome :)).
@BrianMcNamara Dude. Murray Gold's Doctor Who soundtracks rule. Good to know there's a fan out there who is ish like me! I've not heard of Clint Mansell, but I'll check him out. I also *just* watched my first Tom Baker serial last night and enjoyed it, but I want to see more of him before making a decision. I'm most excited for McGann, though. But I have my own reasons for that and shan't get into them here. We could talk more elsewhere or something, maybe.
@OhCaroline It's good to know my tweets about Bear don't fall on deaf ears because he is quite good. I do worry at times. =D
I'm occasionally embarrassed when I realize how often I mention certain subjects (especially Twitter), to the point people can predict what I'm going to say. Somebody I only know very slightly online emailed me the other day to send me an article about James Purefoy, and I was like, "How did they know. . .? Oh yes, I wrote a murmur article and like 500 tweets." But really, what is the Internet for besides sharing your enthusiasms?
Okay, I won't say I've *never* done that. Some people may be aware I think the comic 'X-Force' sucks, for instance.
Stephen Sondheim is indeed the bomb. Being a drama geek in high school you get to hear a fair amount of Sondheim. I was lucky enough to go to a rehersal for his birthday celebration a few years back at the Hollywood bowl. So I got to actually see Sondheim try to coach the people singing his work, it was AMAZING.
I feel the need to elaborate thanks to all your prolific responses.
I picked up a degree in education and one in theatre while in college (at Saint Louis University - where i also met and befriended jimski). the education degree (middle school with an emphasis in math and language arts) was because i thought i wanted to be a teacher. it turns out i just really like being a student. i pretty much hated being a teacher. the theatre degree (general, but with an emphasis in costume design) was because i like being a student and i like being on stage. it turns out i'm not a very good actress, though.
so what'd I do with all of that? I became a Unix Admin at the phone company, naturally! (you see, back in the day, kiddos, big companies didn't care what sort of degree you had, so long as you seemed smart and something loosely related on your resume.) This morphed into a doing web design and programming (who on the team wants to learn cold fusion?), which it turns out i'm pretty good at.
eventually this turned into a project managing job at an interactive marketing firm (non elevator-pitch translation: they make websites/online applications for other companies to attract and sell you things), which turned into being a mom and a part time gig that turned into being laid off when some much-needed belt tightening occurred. i bear them little ill wishes, since my husband still works there and makes all this possible :)
i still want to be a writer when i grow up, but i'm getting the sinking feeling that i never will and that i'm just enamored with the idea of being a writer instead. if it's not that, it's the fear of rejection and that i'm not actually any good. either way, something keeps getting in the way of doing much about it and my biggest excuse right now is wiggling in my belly.
if money were no object, i would just go to school all the time and learn whatever i wanted without the stress of writing a thesis. i'd start in the english department.
i've lived in st. louis since i was 8 years old, spending time before that in various suburbs of kansas city, houston, and denver. the only place i've been outside of the U.S. is jamaica for my honeymoon. someday i'll change that.
my middle name is jeanne.
"theotherkelly" is my sister in law and there was a window of time between my wedding and hers where we had the exact same name (only she spells jeanne, "jean")
i like pretty much any alcohol, so long as it's quality. life's too short to waste brain cells on cheap alcohol. right now (or at least as of last september) i'm on a vodka and gin kick. pregnancy has made me appreciate scotch in a way i never thought possible. most of them smell so yummy now.
i generally like anything i can be opinionated about. books, movies, tv. some things i like because they're good, some things i like because they're absolutely terrible.
i don't follow any sport except NHL hockey, and that's really just for the Blues.
i love to sing as much as i love to write and spout my opinion :)
Thanks, Kelly, for starting this post, and for sharing this about yourself, too. (You should add that you are also an enthusiastic sharer of cookie recipes, and a great spokesperson for the Kindle ;))
I feel like all of us murmurites with writing ambitions should support each other -- which I know is easier to say than to do in concrete ways, but even just the general enthusiasm for conversations about creativity is a positive thing.
if this were live journal, we'd have flipped it around and put up a "tell me what you think you know of me" meme on all our home pages.
and i think caroline would win :)
OK, serious answer:
My name is Brad. I live in Seattle with my wife and 10-year old daughter. I have a degree in anthropology from The University of Washington (U-Dub!) and, as is usually the case with us liberal arts majors, I ended up doing something completely different for work. In my case, I got a government job right out of college, which has blossomed into a really great (and recession-proof) career.
I grew up in Spokane, and some of my close friends included Drew Hayes (the artist/writer of the comic series, Poison Elves), and Craig Montoya (the bassist of the 90's band, Everclear). I was also classmates with the guitarist for Sunny Day Real Estate. I was fully immersed in the world of 80's punk, and went to more shows than I can ever possibly remember. I moved to the Seattle area in the late 80's, and had the privilege of seeing all the Seattle "grunge" bands perform in small clubs, years before they were discovered.
These days I live a quiet life in the suburbs, and my weekends are now filled with cookie site sales for my daughter's Girl Scout troop, or taking her to guitar lessons; trips to Home Depot; and enjoying a local microbrew next to my trusty grill. In other words, any coolness I previously had is now completely gone. In fact, if you've ever been in the Seattle area, I was was probably the guy you honked at for driving too slow in the minivan.
I am a HUGE film buff, and right now I am fully immersed in old film noirs.
I'm also a painter, and am hoping to have my first exhibit later this summer.
It's nice to meet you all and hear your stories.
Cheers!
every time i scan this section for new comments i think "there are two unopened boxes of girl scout cookies on my counter. that's blasphemous and i should really do something about that." and then i don't. what's with that?
Girl Scout cookies, ah it's just a bit of heaven. I love putting thin mints in the freezer. SO good.
Kiss Me Deadly and DOA are my favorite film noir movies at the moment, since they take the classic formula and add a little something weird to it. Plus, after seeing DOA, I always wanted to go to a hotel and order a Manhattan and a pack of razors :)
Good to meet you!
Thin mint ice cream (made with Girl Scout cookies) is also pretty darn yummy! And while I don't want to get too controversial here, I would even go so far as to say it's better then regular mint chocolate chip ice cream.
And comicBOOKchris- those two are definitely in my top 10. Have you seen Detour or Sunset Boulevard yet? Two other examples of film noir weirdness (and greatness!)
Hey, I'm Craig.
I'm 19 years old. I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Arts at University with a Major in Film and Television and a Major in Journalism. I might take next semester off as most of the classes I want to do aren't available then.
I spent the first 18 years of my life in New Zealand. In 2008, my family decided to move to the Gold Coast in Australia. We had spent a lot of time there before on holidays and it was a nice place with a lot of opportunities. I moved with them to attend the nearby University.
I would like to be a writer (of all forms - movies, TV, books, articles etc.) in the future.
I have far too many favourite movies to list but my #1 is The Shawshank Redemption. I tend to follow certain directors... Spielberg, Kubrick, Scorsese, Tarantino, Anderson (either Paul Thomas or Wes), Coen Bros., Nolan, Boyle, Eastwood, Fincher, Jackson, Jonze, Aronofsky... the list continues to grow.
I watch a lot of TV. I download new episodes of current TV shows and watch old shows on DVD. Again, a list of my favourites would be too long but the UK version of The Office is my #1. I have watched/listened/read everything Gervais has been involved in since (the Gervais/Merchant/Pilkington podcasts are the greatest thing ever). Lost was the first show that got me watching TV regularly and I am so happy and sad for the conclusion. I recently finished watching Six Feet Under on DVD and loved it. I am currently making my way through The Sopranos (just finished Season 2) and The Wire (still need to buy Season 5).
I don't read as many books as I want to. Favourites include Animal Farm, Battle Royale and Holes. Favourite authors include Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Michael Chabon and Joe Hill (currently reading Horns). You can find me on Goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1817043
Comics... the thing that led me to iFanboy and then Murmur. Comics were hard to find in New Zealand. I would come across the odd issue in bookstores and the like but my interest never really continued past that one issue. Somehow, I came across a description of The Ultimates in a Hulk Encyclopedia and thought it was the greatest thing ever. A bit of research led me to an amazing invention known as the trade paperback and eventually The Ultimates Vol. 1 was in my hands. I loved it. I eventually found about the rest of the Ultimate Universe... and the rest of Marvel... and then DC and Vertigo and Wildstorm... and then the rest of the comic industry. I love comics.
I was never really a fan of music until I discovered Radiohead when In Rainbows came out. I downloaded their discography and now they're my favourite band. My music experience grew from there. Other favourites include Oasis, The Smiths, Nirvana, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blur, Beck, Gorillaz, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and of course, the greatest band ever: The Beatles. My Last.fm is here: http://www.last.fm/user/ProjectX2
Okay. I think that's enough from me. I'm supposed to be writing an essay about suppression orders. Other random information: I moderate a comic board discussion form. I am on almost every social networking site (except MySpace). I am a big fan of the iFanboy/Murmur podcasts. And I stalk most of you on Twitter but have only talked to some of you. I am here: www.twitter.com/projectx2
I also have no idea why my username for all of these sites is ProjectX2. It just is.
Fun times. Okay
Hey. My name is Cameron Rice. I'm 22 (turning 23 on March 17th). I work night crew at the grocery store. It's kind of hell, but I'm allowed to have an ipod, so I get a lot of podcast and music listening done from the hours of 10-7am.
I live in La Crescenta California (which is about fifteen minutes from Burbank). I live with my mom, and sister, and occasionally my grandmother, aunt and (female) cousin will stay with us as well. I'm one guy in a house of five women. Life is interesting. I come from a large Irish/Catholic family. So on top of family being a big priority, so is guilt. My dad was a painter, my mom is a legal secretary.
I went to community college for film, just before transfer I had to drop out to take the above job to help out family. It is what it is. With that you can figure I'm a big film fan. I love every genre, every kind of film, foreign and docs. I try to watch at least a movie a day and go to the theater once a week. My goal is to become a screen writer and maybe director, but my first love is writing. When I have free time I spend it filming shorts with my friends that I met through theater in high school. On the weekends I do stand up comedy when I can, I've been doing it since High School, and hope to make a real push for it at some point. I was also the captain of my high school Improve league.
I grew up with cartoons, Monty Python and Mel Brooks. Simpsons and Looney Tunes. And 90's SNL. George Carlin and Richard Pryor CDs. If I had to point at what formed my comedy, it'd be those.
My music taste is all over the place. I can go from listening to the Beastie Boys, to Genesis, Nine Inch Nails and then Philip Glass.
Comic books have been a big part of my life since the middle of high school. when I got my first ipod, I typed in "Comics" into itunes, the first podcast I ever downloaded was "Ifanboy: Ultimate X-men 66" (If that sounds like ass kissing I'm sorry, but that's what happened.) Since then my addiction to comics has grown and grown, and my mom believes I have a problem. The only problem is when I run out of money to buy comics. HEY OH!
This last year I started doing two podcast which have turned out very well. I try to live life to the fullest, have fun and meet new people and have new stories. I'm pretty easy going, I'd much rather stay in, cook a meal and read a good book. But I'm never against a night at Dave and Busters, have a few drinks and playing some video games. This year I'll be going to SDCC for the first time (Which my Uncle has been going to for 20 years, I didn't find this out till last July...crazy right?). It'll be my first Con, hope to see some of you there.
First time at SDCC? You should have a fun time at that. It really is an enjoyable con if you can get past the crush of humanity that descends the further into the weekend you get. Honestly, there's nothing else like it. You might still want to hit up a smaller con to get a completely different experience later.
Yeah I'm going to try to go to LBCC (Long Beach) this year if I can. I want to hit up Wonder Con next year perhaps, cause I love San Francisco and have always heard great thing.
I'm pretty nervous and excited as well for SDCC. I'm only going Thursday and Friday, (couldn't get tickets to saturday, curses) but that's okay. I'm more interested to see who I run into from these here murmur/ifanboy folks rather then creators, which is odd, but it's the truth. Though I do hope to hit up some of the smaller panels. I don't figure I'll buy anything, but I'm saving up, because who knows.
..... You all make me even more excited for Comic-Con. I'm just saying.
Also, dude. I did that too. I typed in comics and downloaded iFanboy and that was how I started listening to podcasts. Not a bad way to do it (although it does spoil you to almost every other one out there...)
Well, it sounds like more and more iFanboy/Murmur folks will be descending on SDCC -- that is awesome to hear. I had a great time last year getting to meet a bunch of ya.
Also, I want to say that Cameron failed to mention that he just had the AWESOME Ray Wise on his podcast recently. I love me some Ray Wise. Twin Peaks, FTW!
Hello all, I'm Brian. I just turned 24 last week. I hail from NJ and currently reside there, but am doing everything in my power to get back to NYC where I lived for 5 years (Bronx for 4, Harlem for 1). I am currently unemployed, but just got called for a job interview today!
For my BA at Fordham, I double majored in Anthropology and Communications & Media Studies and have an unrecognized minor in Classical Studies. I have an MA from Columbia Univ. in Anthropology and Education that has more to do with Communications than either of the previous two. My masters thesis was on "Comic Book Creation and Readership as a Community of Practice"
My pet theorists are Marshall McLuhan, Lewis Mumford, Walter Ong & Lance Strate. Franz Boas, Margaret Meade, Clifford Geertz & Marshall Sahlins. I'm also really fond of existential philosophy - Jean Paul Sartre in particular.
I'm an avid reader, though I often have far too many books going at one time.
I'm a big film buff and am slowly working my way through the AFI 100 movies 100 years (Both the '98 and '08 versions). My favorite movies are Doctor Zhivago, Casablanca, Some Like It Hot and Unforgiven. Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade and Stargate hold a special places in my heart because they launched my interest in anthropology.
I love TV as well. The Prisoner is my all time favorite show. Followed by Doctor Who, Star Trek: DS9 and Stargate Sg-1
I love Broadway musicals. Favorites: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Jesus Christ Superstar (despite my crippling atheism!), Les Mis, Tick, Tick... Boom!. And The Seven.
I've done some acting in my time. And singing!
I'm a huge Anglophile. HUGE! I'm enamored with older TV shows. One of my personal heroes is Lord, the Viscount Horatio Nelson.
My favorite comic book character is Green Lantern Hal Jordan and has been for 17 years. I can't stand Superman.
I'm currently obsessed with Kurt Vonnegut.
I have been, for 11 years, a "professional" fan fiction writer. This is to say that I've been involved in an IRC chat room-based Star Trek roleplaying game, www.usspotemkin.com . I have written and run over 200 weekly stories just by myself and another 150 collaboratively with my fellow game runner. Prax Jarvin (my usual user name on other sites) is the name of a character I've played for 8 years on the Potemkin.
I am extremely shy - until I get to know you, in which case I become a total button pusher.
I classify myself as a punk. I am a devotee of Ska (It's not dead!) and have become something of a "Elder" at concerts, helping to train the novices in how to get on top of the crowd. (Because of my height and build, this tends to mean a 16 year old taps me on the shoulder and says "Man, can you ... uh... toss me up there?" And I do... every time.)
Well, I think that's me rambling on enough? It's been a pleasure sharing with you all and learning about you.
Never would have pegged you as a ska guy, awesome!
Also didn't realize you were 24.
Also also, Existentialism yay, I'm one of the people that find it a positive and enriching philosophy not a depressing "Oh shit what do I do with my life" one.
@gobo I got big into ska 6 years ago. My friend played me a Toasters album shortly after HS graduation and I fell in love. Little did we know that we'd see them live in just 4 months! And we've seen them once a year ever since. Fantastic live shows. I'm also a fan of Mustard Plug ,The (English) Beat and Spider Nick & The Mad Dogs.
As for the age... yeah. Everyone seems to always think I'm older. I'm guessing it's my goatee.
I'm glad, to find another, too!
I find the idea of making your own meaning in life empowering. A+
Life has no inherent meaning, and I'm a-ok with that.
Oh, Vonnegut. I miss him dearly. His death was hard. I've read his entire corpus twice. Backwards, Forwards. Upside down
I keep forgetting that there are some people who actually really like DS9. DS9 rules (in places. But that's all Star Trek) and it's probably my favorite of the Star Treks (and one day I will watch it all...)
my favorite musicals when i went through my super angsty faux-atheist phase were JC superstar and godspell. now that i've mellowed, i still love them to death.
I love Jesus Christ Superstar! The guy who played Jesus in the movie was phenominal, I much prefer him to the guy from Deep Purple. He really knew how to hold a really loud note, as I loved it during The Last Supper when him and Judas were arguing and he just loudly belted out "Get out! They're waiting! GET OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUT!!!!" I can listen to that soundtrack a billion times. It's second only to my all-time favorite musical, the Rocky Horror Picture Show :)
Plus, you're my punk rock brother!!
Hi all! I'm Bethany.
I'm 22, but it is now March, so this is my birthday month. That's right, I reserve the entire month.
I currently live in Syracuse, NY where I am a graduate student in the Goldring Arts Journalism program at Syracuse University's Newhouse School.
I was born and raised in Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas with a BA in History. The thing I miss most about the South is Shiner Bock beer.
I have an unabashed love for the American Girl series (both books and movies), all things Jane Austen, pickles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tom Waits, and Zachary Quinto.
I'm a dog person.
I commute into New York City every week for my internship with Flavorwire. It's great because I get to catch up on pleasure reading.
My mother and I have a relationship that rivals the Gilmore Girls.
I speak French.
My dream job would be taking over all of Samantha Brown's shows on the Travel Channel.
I'm a TV junkie.
I've know two brilliant people who have gone to Syracuse (and Newhouse in particular). So you're in good company there! I, too, am a dog person.
Just on a longshot, if you know Jon Hogan (He's currently a grad at newhouse), I have a litany of curses for you to bestow on him. ;-)
Listing Jane Austen & Tom Waits in the same sentence of favorite things = automatically awesome. Welcome!
@BrianMcNamara I don't know Jon Hogan, but I am unopposed to Facebook stalking him....
also, thanks for the comments! and a big thanks to @kelly for letting us introduce ourselves to each other. :)
Tom Waits! Yes.
(I have nothing else to add at this time, Bethany, but I just felt like Waits needed an 'amen!' :D )
I can't help that I have a baby face. If it makes you feel better, I'll be one year older in less than 48 hours.
Hi Gang! My name is Meg.
I am 30. I have a BA and MA in English Lit.
I always have a notebook on me and write things down constantly.
I ruined my eyes reading books by light of a nightlight I convinced my parents I still needed until almost High School.
The first comic book character I wanted to be was Little Orphan Annie.
I don't drink caffeine.
When I was little I cut my bangs off at the root with safety scissors because I wanted to be Daisy Duke.
There's never a day I don't sing and rarely a day I don't dance in my apartment.
My favorite holidays are Christmas, Palm Sunday and Opening Day of the MLB season.
I love Broadway musicals.
I have a terrible sense of humor and an easy laugh...this works out really well for most men in my life.
My brain just 'sploded at the Daisy Dukes thing. That was unexpected.
And if you have a bad sense of humor and your musings consistenly cause me giggle than, I wonder what that says about me.
She kicked butt and had her own Jeep! (I was too young to recognize the other reasons she was popular.)
I have idolized James Dean for far longer than I can remember. I had a leather bomber style jacket I wore for at lrast the first five years of my life. Not to mention the hair gel. Egads, the hair gekl. I also wanted to be Letterman and Danny Kaye. All of this unironically
Wow. I'm learning a lot by reading everyone else's stuff. I suppose I should just jump on in, eh?
I'm Jeff. Last name, Reid. My handle of 'JeffR' came in a lack of inspiration.
I'm 27 now but will be 28 in the summer. My wife and I just celebrated our two-year anniversary.
I've been a full time librarian for over three years. I have my Master's Degree in 'Library and Information Science.'
Born and educated in Michigan but moved to Ohio for a job. Dayton isn't a very exciting city but my wife and I make do. We're not very exciting people, really.
My wife recently got her Masters Degree as well and I am extremely proud of her for doing so. She's a first-year high school math teacher and it's been a lot of work.
We're planning on seeing more of the Midwest over the next several years so we're going to St. Louis this summer. I hope to see some of you while we're there doing things like getting our picture taken in front of that half of a McDonald's symbol. ... Oh, I'm being told that is the 'Gateway Arch.' My apologies.
We live in an apartment but plan on buying a house. Now that we each have a job, this dream is within our reach. We're both pretty excited about that.
I used to write an awful lot of articles here but dropped off quite precipitously recently. I need to do something about that.
You do need to write more articles, they are missed and of a different variety. (An article on Subtitles? Who knew it'd be so compelling)
Michigan huh, I just assumed you were from Dayton. Spartans or Wolverines? Now is a great time to buy a house. Especially while the first time home buyer tax credit is around.
I actually went to a little college called Oakland University. Most of my family actually went to Western Michigan University so I've got no real dog in the UofM vs. State fight.
Getting a piece of the tax credit would be nice, but we're not going to be ready to sign anything by the April 30th deadline. We've heard rumors that they might extend that program, so here's hoping.
Heya, I'm Anika and you're talking about me!
I'm one of the Fantastic Fangirls and the author of the pro-fanfic confession. I love comic books, memoir, space opera, anime, sports movies, psychology, philosophy, Young Adult fiction, running, writing, dancing, Disney, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars, Starbucks, Starbuck, Shakespeare, Dawson's Creek, Fringe, House, Law and Order, Justice League Animated, The Avengers (Emma Peel!), The Avengers (Carol Danvers!)...
I am 34. My birthday is four days after Christmas. I live in Connecticut with my husband, my two daughters, my brother, sometimes my other brothers, and my cat from Bali. I work at a small liberal arts college that bills itself as too alternative to compete with the Ivy Leagues. In university I was a Theatre Major with a concentration in Dance. I did my honours thesis as a performance piece interpreting the myth of Pandora. Once I was in a play with Bradley Whitford. This gives me 3 degrees or less to practically everyone I love including Naomi Watts, George Clooney, Natalie Portman and both Diane Kruger AND Joshua Jackson.
I have a billion and one goals in life and even more dreams and projects constantly going at once. I flitter about online amongst my blogs and Twitter. I hate facebook but I have one. I love tumblr because I love pretty things.
I write songs and screenplays and I'm trying to get myself to start writing my original graphic novel. Or my original non-graphic novel.
I have the very best idea for a TV show. I really need an agent.
you certainly get credit for starting the pro-fanfic march, but it really took off in the comments section of that article (i wasn't *just* talking about you ;)
and i wish more people sought out quality pictures of celebrities that i like to look at and posted them to twitter :)
Fanfic has played such a role in getting to know *lots* of my friends. I'm glad Kelly and hopefully others have found our conversation to be inspiring!
Oh Dawson's Creek. To this day that finale stirs up a torrent of emotion. On the one hand, it fits. On the other hand I have never encountered anyone who is capable of behaving so altruistically when the Loins are involved.
That is one staggering creative output.
Also, I have a mancrush on Bradley Whitford. Man crush
"Sorry ... Excuse me ... oops
Oh -- I'm not --
I'm just here to --
I don't have --
I'm here with --
Um --Paul
Paul -- I'm Paul
Well -- this is quite an operation"
:) In all seriousness
Just turned 33
I have what can only be described as a Congress of Cats
I'm a self styled Northeast liberal do gooder.
Political junkie, community organizer, former military, almost priest, rabble-rouser, nerdcore, all around one man revolution.
And I like a dark pint or a gin and tonic.
I have also related to this quote amongst many others
"You were born a white man in mid-twentieth century industrial America. You came into the world armed to the teeth with an arsenal of weapons. The weapons of privilege: racial privilege, sexual privilege, economic privilege. If you wanna be a pacifist it's not just giving up guns, and knives, and clubs, and fists, and angry words. But giving up the weapons of privilege and going into the world completely disarmed. Try that!"
Hello. My name is Colin and I have a problem...what...wait...oh...wrong forum.
I live in Edmonton, AB. Which is the home of the Edmonton Oilers, a great Fringe Fest and the worst slurpees in Canada.
I'm engaged to Meghan. 5 years together and getting married a year from now.
I'm about to turn 25.
My job pays the bills, that is all you need to know.
When Meghan is done school, I plan to quit my job and go back to school. Not entirely sure what I will be taking yet!
I love sports. College basketball and football on the top of my list. I currently play basketball and ball hockey.
I read a little too much. Comics, novels, magazines, newspaper...if it has words I read it.
I watch a lot of movies as well. You can probably tell that by my Was It Worth It article each Wednesday on this very site.
I write a lot but have a problem with finishing what I start. Have a bunch of movie scripts/novels/comics that are 1/2 done before I shelve them.
I love Jack Daniels, sushi, grilled cheese sandwhiches and anything that has peanut butter in it.
I'm Adrian.
I'm 28, turning 29 in June.
I'm engaged. Her name is Keryn and we've been together for 5 years (our anniversary was Feb 21st).
I work for a university in Australia as a web publisher in one of the faculties but I also help out with student support. We recently had our orientation week (O'Week) and I was helping to corral about 500 students around our campus. Somewhat stressful.
I studied at the university that I work at but not in IT. My major was Ancient History (specifically Rome and Greece) and I did a minor in Film Studies. I had intended to do a thesis about the depiction of ancient societies in Hollywood films but by the time I finished my undergraduate degree I was well sick of study and needed a break.
If I could have any super power it would be flight. Hands down this is what I want. I often close my eyes and imagine zipping down a highway just above the cars. Superman sort of flight if I'm allowed to choose.
My middle name is John.
I had dreams of being a writer but soon discovered I had little talent for the nitty gritty. I'm a concept sort of person so if anyone out there is shit at thinking up stories but writes great prose, I'm your guy.
I play Dungeons and Dragons about once a month with some friends from high school. We also do board games and go see movies or just have dinner when we can.
Working all day on a computer means that I don't really wanna have that much to do with it when I get home. This means that I have a bunch of Murmur articles in draft form sitting on my computer.
Joss Whedon is my Master. I am an unashamed fan of the man and all his work. He got me into comics with his stellar run on Astonishing X-Men and for that I will be forever grateful to him because it opened up a whole new community of people to me.
I have only been overseas once. It was last year when I went to San Diego Comic-Con. I had a blast. I'm very keen to go to Wonder-Con and New York Comic-Con now. I visited San Francisco when I went over and fell in love with the place. I am desperate to go back.
I love talking about myself.
but...but what do you mean you've never been overseas? you *live* overseas!
oh, right. stupid US-centric perspective getting in the way ;)
My name is Jesse and I'm from what many would consider a podunk town in northern Kentucky. I'm 27 (until Thursday), currently single, and just purchased my first house.
I do have a southern accent but I don't notice unless I'm out of state.
I graduated college with a degree in Computer Science but work for the state tax department.
While in college I gained 60 lbs and worked my ass off to lose it all. Now I work out constantly.
I quit smoking a few years ago.
I covet the Martain Manhunter's superpowers. He's like Superman with more abilities.
I wanted to be a dentist growing up.
You will not find a bigger University of Kentucky Wildcats fan.
I love casinos and Blackjack.
I'm a huge comics, manga, and anime fan.
I love rum and bourbon.
I don't drink coffee.
I hate the smell of mustard.
The ladies think I'm extremely, extremely good looking... extremely. If anyone tells you any different, they're big fat liars.
One day I'll quit being lazy and write an article or two here at Murmur.
i lived in texas for just the right period of time to completely mess up my voice. i'll take on the speech quirks of whoever is near by if i'm around them too long. when i'm drunk, i start sounding like whoever is doing the most talking within about 20 minutes. if it's me, then a very strange blend of deep-texas drawl and northern fargo-speech kicks in (my husband's family is from the chicago/millwaukee areas).
(also, i love blackjack, too)
"You will not find a bigger University of Kentucky Wildcats fan." My wife would fight you (and win) for that title.
The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it.
I'm Dave.
I just turned 23 in January. When I'm clean shaven, I get carded at R Movies.
I can curse in Greek and Latin, but never bothered to learn the rest.
I have a Twin Siter Kelly who about as awesome as any human being has a right to be.
I am a stand up comic.
I teach Composition, Philosophy and Religious Studies at a college.
I like ladies.
I try to treat anyone online as I would treat them in person, because what's the point of this if we can't help and connect with each other
You are also everybody else's biggest fan and cheerleader. I love that you play that role in our little online community.
I second Caroline's response -- and you're also really good at talking people into coming out of their shells. (*cough*)
And you were nice enough to congratulate my wife and I on our anniversary on Facebook. That was very surprising and meant a lot. You're a good man, David Carr.
Dave is so awesome, I kinda want him to be my little brother, but then we'd both be named Dave and it would be confusing at family dinners. Plus the fact that I'd be totally emulating and looking up to him, which might be weird because I'm the older brother and everyone knows the younger brother looks up to the older brother and I feel that might be some sign of imminent universal implosion.
So, yeah. Younger Dave. Not a brother. Should be looking up to me. Still awesome.
Hi, I'm Caroline. I'm 34 and live in Richmond, Virginia.
I have three brothers and a sister, two nieces and two nephews.
I bought my first house in October, and I live by myself. I had a dog for about a week, but I just got back from taking him back to the SPCA because he got too anxious being left alone during
the day. I cried a lot, but after talking to the people at the shelter, I know he'll find a home that's better for him and that it was the right thing to do.
I have a law degree, and a master's degree in creative writing, though I've never practiced law or finished a novel. I work in a job that doesn't exactly use either of those degrees. It's hard to describe what I do even to other people in my field, not because it's interesting or complex but because it's kind of obscure and dull. I like the people I work with, though, and it pays the bills.
I'm a member of the Fantastic Fangirls site, and the others who run it are some of my best friends. I love comic books, but I've been reading fanfiction longer than I've been reading comic books, and I've still never heard a convincing explanation for why comic books that are about, say, Batman, are not a form of fanfiction. I think there's great fanfic and terrible fanfic, just like any other kind of writing, and at least with terrible fanfic I don't have to be in shock that the writer actually got paid for it.
I love going to live theater and concerts and sports events but don't drag myself out nearly enough. I've always lived in Virginia but I've moved around so much that I have more friends who are 'long-distance' than nearby. I love the city I live in, but I don't always feel like I live 'in' it enough.
I still think of myself as a fiction writer but it's been a long time since I've actually done it with any commitment. I keeping hoping this will change but I always seem to put off doing anything about it.
Oh, and my name's "madmarvelgirl" on Twitter, because I have trouble keeping my internet identities consistent.
I almost got through this comment without mentioning how much I love Bruce Springsteen.
Aww, 'Four Eyes', that was good stuff. I wish it had kept coming out :-/. And I think you were the first ifanboy person I met at NYCC (and recognized from your twitter photo.) That was a fun show.
I've gotten a lot of people to be Bruce fans, over the years. I need to find another way to use my powers for good!
My girlfriend writes Blach fanfics, and makes some pretty great stories. In fact, she showed me some of some other people's stories, and I think I enjoyed some as much as their respective animes. It's a great outlet for creative fans to cut loose with their imaginations, and yeah, there are some shitty writers who are lumped into this because of the freedom, but there are some equally shitty professional writers.
I saw some vids of Bruce's recent concerts. I gotta give him alot of credit for being so full of electricity this far into his career, while other singers I see whose bands originate from around the same time just phone it in. Good stff!
@Chris I missed the most recent tour but I saw Bruce & Co in 2007 & again in 2008, right next to the stage that time. Seeing those guys up close, you realize just how much they go all out for every show. They're obviously doing it because they love it. Plus, you have a lot of fans there who obviously don't go to any other concerts all year, they just come because they love Bruce so much.
And I just wanna say: Caroline is one of those super-smart writers/commenters who makes me step up my game. She's always got some literary theory that's bang-on, and -- I'm making this more about me now -- I've always felt in the 'middle' when it comes to intellectual discussion. Like, I'm a little low-brow, a little high-brow, and while the low-brow folks think I'm a snobby elitist, I always feel like I'm struggling to sound smart enough to play at the table with people who toss around '-isms' while I equate things to 'that episode of Punky Brewster where the kid got locked in the refrigerator.'
But anyway: Caroline -- smart cookie. Total respect.
My name is Louis. My parents were planning on moving to St. Louis shortly after my birth, which is how I ended up with that name.
At various points, I wanted to be an archeologist, ninja turtle, librarian, or psychologist. I ended up working in financial reporting and accounting. I don't do taxes.
I love music. My first albums were Nirvana's Nevermind and MC Hammer's 2 Legit to Quit. I had a music radio show in college called Spontaneous Combustion.
I am married to an awesome wife, who cooks amazing Korean dishes. We have a chihuahua terrier mix named Piper. Many people think he's named after the theologian John Piper, but he was actually named after Rowdy Roddy Piper because he's so rowdy.
I don't contribute here as much as I would like to.
Actually CDs! I didn't really get into music until high school, which is a few years after CDs were starting to take off
I didn't even but the whole Louis in St. Louis thing together before! Maybe because I knew you as 'Kwok' from 'KwokTalk.'
Did you routinely do the 2 Legit to Quit hand motions? It's okay to admit, youre among friends here!
Hi. I'm Ali. ("Hi, Ali"). My living situation is something out of a sitcom right now, so let's just say I live in the suburbs of Long Island and plan on moving to Manhattan (or Brooklyn) once I sell the house I'm in.
I have a kitten named Minnie who is blind but adorable (that's right, I'm a cat person).
I tell people I'm 27.
I do not have a middle name.
I love comics.
I do not like asparagus.
I operate on Ali Time, which is about 20 minutes later than everyone else.
When I was a kid I wanted to be an archeologist or palenthologist or astronaut. I work in marketing for a bond rating agency.
If I could have a super power, I'd want telekinesis, but I think super speed would be much more helpful.
I am petrified of sharks, but love the movie Jaws.
I'm a bit of a know-it-all.
I am NOT a morning person.
I like to think I'm tiny and cute.
I think I'd be a Star Sapphire right now, but I'm much better suited for the Indigo Tribe.
I get made fun of all the time cause my full name is Coleman Patrick Ranahan, which leads to a lot of CPR jokes.
You are tiny and cute and love you iphone. I heard a rumor you have some tattoos but I don't know where they are.
You love YOUR iphone. Also, something in that previous statement is a lie, but I won't say which part!
Super speed WOULD be really helpful.
You forgot to mention you're also super-awesome and one of the friendliest people in the entire world.
You work in a bond rating agency!? I seriously could have used your help about three weeks ago on a reference question! If only I had a time machine! ... Well, if I had a time machine, I doubt I'd use it for such a mundane purpose. I mean, I'd be like Hermione in HARRY POTTER 3 just using a time machine to take extra classes. I mean, who would honestly use a time machine for just that purpose? That's so unrealistic.
But I fear I've gone off the topic. Nice to know a little more about you, Ali!
@Jeff - if you figure out that time travel thing, let me know... there's some stuff I'd like to take care of. If not, you can always ask me boring bond questions if they happen to come up again.
OK, since Dave had the stones to say it, I might as well too (alhtough I'm hiding it as a response instead of posting a new comment). I'm also divorced... and still stuck living with my ex... so now you know... yeah.
While I wasn't divorced I've been through the living with your ex after being together for a long time. It was awful. (And yet I did so for 3 years).
Hahah, I just saw your "hidden" comment. Yeah, this is one of those things where we become very guarded at just how much we're going to open up in a public forum. Not because "divorce" itself is bad or shameful, but because too often it ends up opening up a floodgate... :)
Needless to say, I totally understand finding yourself in a tragically comical situation, and life is never easy and always complicated, but I think I feel more connected with people when I know that their lives are sometimes messy, complicated, and imperfect as well. Empathy, y'know?
@Dave - it's such a weird thing to bring up, you know? But you're totally right about finding people in the same or similar boat. It does help.
Horror movies are a bit different than the rest, in that your enjoyment of them not only comes from if you think they're well made or not, but also if they can creep you out. So yeah, it makes sense to me that you love Jaws and hate sharks...so don't worry, you're not weird :)
I'm Ryan Closs, 29 year old Canadian living in Montreal. I live with a longterm girlfriend who bakes cupcakes semi-professionally while technically still being a graduate student in neuroscience.
I love Montreal, even with what's usually a terrible winter it's a fantastic city to live in with a great vibe and, mostly, great people.
I'm a web programmer who works from home, I worked in a few web firms for a while and offices are NOT for me. I've been freelancing for a few years and recently sort of became employed from home on an indefinite contract.
Many of you know I'm a huge comic and music fan, and as the co-writer of the This Week in TV column my TV tastes are a matter of public record :)
I have a sporadically updated podcast called Internet Boyfriends that can be found on itunes, although we can rarely get recording time scheduled together. Got a few others in "planning stages" which for me usually means "Talk about but never do"
Fun facts:
I love beverages of all kinds, as long as they aren't anise flavoured.
I love cooking shows although I'm a fairly picky eater and can't stand onions
I'm pro marijuana legalization and smoke semi-regularly (nowhere near "pothead" status)
My middle name is James
I love both dogs and cats
I could never eat rabbit since I've had one as a pet
As far as rings go I'd probably be a Star Sapphire, although I don't think any fit me terribly well.
Favourite Super power would be (controlled) telepathy or flight.
Also, since I'm from Canada I spell things properly with the "u"s like colour, flavour and neighbour.
One of the reasons I'm named Ryan is so I could have the nickname "RJ" (James is a last name of a grandparent). No one has ever really called me that (thankfully)
Sambuca, Absinthe, Pernod Ricard are all anise flavoured and all gross. At least as the majority of a cocktail, MAYBE ok as an accent flavour.
I hate socks and would prefer to be barefoot at all times. Sandals are my footwear of choice.
I'd love to live somewhere that would mean I'd never have to wear socks again (barring formal affairs)
I would love to see NYC at some point, but I don't think it's happening in October. Disappointing, since I know so many of you will be there. But everyone is welcome to come to Dayton AKA The Gem City! (Please note: There are no actual gems in Dayton.)
Seriously, I mentioned I might not be going to NYCC and Ali informed me it was not optional! Ali is a great cruise director.
A pot smoker with a girlfriend who bakes cupcakes for a living- there's a good joke in there somewhere!
BTW, I also hate onions!
To be fair, I assume everyone on the internet is about 10 years older than me, and am surprised to find people my own age! Blame it on my cobloggers and most of the iFanboy/Murmur community being around that age.
But as far as introductions go: I'm two months shy of 24, and I live with my parents and 21-year-old brother in central NJ, in the hometown of Jon Bon Jovi. I got an English degree from Princeton in 2008 and wrote my senior thesis on Captain America; I also spent a brief period of time getting my teaching certification in middle/high school English, but that didn't amount to much. Now, I'm working at a local college in the financial aid office, preparing to go to grad school 1,000 miles away in the fall to pursue a PhD in media and cultural studies, where I will rigorously study comics and the kind of media Murmur covers.
And I am pro-fanfic. :)
Oh, and by "cobloggers" I mean my compatriots at the aforementioned http://www.fantasticfangirls.org.
Well I'm 20, soon to be 21 in June, and I'm a bit of a stand up junkie so rather than get wasted on my birthday I'm going to a comedy club. I'm also going to the nation's largest film school in Chicago, which is Columbia College.
Respond
This is a pretty deep question, and one I sincerely hope I don't end up answering in a novel-length indulgence about the fine line between self-awareness & narcissism ('cause trust me, it can go there). The thing is, I've wanted to start contributing here since it was announced on iFanboy, and I felt it would be foolish to pass up an open invitation to introduce myself. That said, I'll try to be as succinct as possible:
My name is Mike, and I want to tell stories. I'm 24 and for as long as I can remember I've been mentally constructing one elaborate narrative or another; weaving myself a tough-guy backstory to impress the kids in a new neighborhood; playing out schoolyard soap operas and special-ops missions; putting together a lightsaber sequence for a tenth grade Lit. project; or convincing myself that I am, in fact, using semicolons correctly.
I live in suburban CT & earn a living as a Medical Assistant. While healthcare is a wonderful and exciting career, I am first and foremost a filmmaker (a title I've only recently allowed myself to start using) and full-on cinephile (an unavoidable truth). While film was pretty much always the long-term plan, I spent my teenage years playing in bands, dabbled in slam poetry, developed an obsessive appreciation for comedy, and a fondness for comic books. In the end, I just love stories & the process of telling them.
I've never gotten involved in any online communities (mostly out of a fear of rejection) but the whole idea of Murmur appeals to me as a place where one can swap creative/analytical musings with like-minded individuals.
I don't want to get all mushy on my first post, but thats friggin' awesome! Hope I didn't come off as a crazy person.