Who Am I, Anyway?

 

Who Am I, Anyway?

Okay -

I'm a self-taught poet, artist, screenwriter, author, web page designer, songwriter, numerologist - I also am an unschooler, a political activist, a radical, an anarchist, and a would-be studio mogul.

People always wonder why someone decides to be a poet or an artist or a writer or a musician - I think you don't really decide to - it's just something that takes you over, like a passion or a disease (depending on how successful or unsuccessful you are) and you either give in to it, or bust!

But the main thing in life, I believe, is to be creative. Creative people live forever in their work - if you don't leave something behind to remember you by, well, you're just dust in the wind, as Kansas used to sing.

On a lighter note, here are some of my favorite things:

ART! Modern, ancient, impressionist, as long as it's true, and not pretentious, I dig it!

ANIME! Series, films, shorts - you name it! I LOVE it! Especially GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, WOLF'S RAIN, and ANYTHING made by Hayao Miyazaki!

I'm also crazy about black and white films, especially monster movies from Universal Studios, sci-fi features from the 50's, and strong women's melodramas of the 30's and 40's from Warner Bros, though the gangster flicks and the CASABLANCA type espionage films are great, too.

FILM NOIR – of course! Perry Mason is my favorite TV series because it's like watching an hour long Film Noir in every episode, especially in the first two seasons. I love the murder mystery serials and thrillers from the 30s, 40's, 50's, and a few from the 60's are cool. I really enjoy the beautiful color horror films made by Hammer Films in the late 50's and early 60's.

Hitchcock is my favorite director - Shadow of a Doubt my favorite of his films, though I love Notorious, Suspicion, Rebecca, Rear Window, Psycho, The 39 Steps, Marnie and so many more.

John Huston is my second favorite director, with The Maltese Falcon being number one on my list, then The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

I watch a lot of westerns, series and films: Gunsmoke (I like the early 30 minute episodes best), Cheyenne, The Virginian, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, Wanted Dead or Alive, Laramie, etc... Films like High Noon, The Oxbow Incident, Winchester '73 and The Naked Spur are great studies in human nature.

I love watching Asian masterpieces such as those done by Akira Kurosawa, serious dramas from France, Sweden, Russia, Italy and England and really good action films - really good HONG KONG action films in particular.

Manga, if it isn't too goofy - I like the serious stories best.

Books and plays! Mainly old ones like Hound of the Baskervilles (I used to read it once a year as a child), or Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Rebecca, anything by Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie. The Egyptian Book of the Dead, fairy tales, etc...

Poetry - the best poets were Poe, Byron, Shelley, Donne, and so on, but I love Sara Teasdale as well. A lot of the songwriters of today are truly gifted poets.

Any kind of music that sounds original - from alternative to opera, bluegrass to punk, heavy metal to classical, though my favorite is 80s New Wave.

I adore CATS, dogs, rabbits, chickens, birds, squirrels, HORSES, especially Arabians, and miniatures, koalas, dolphins, unicorns, dragons...

I wish I could live in Australia, Ancient Egypt, Japan, Great Britain, California in the 30's or the 50’s, South Africa...

I love the oceans, specifically the Pacific Ocean!

Star Trek (the first series and TNG - anything beyond those two is redundant),

CHOCOLATE! Peach Yogurt, Lightly Salted Peanuts, Shrimp Fried Rice, M&M McFlurries, Salads,

Log houses, barn houses, Mid Century Modern houses, Japanese houses, straw bale houses, dome houses, farmhouses,

Zen gardens, Old English gardens, French gardens …

The colors purple, bright red, teal, and gold, blue skies, springtime, wild roses, calla lilies, fish ponds,

French words, Cockney accents,

I could go on and on, but I won't…