Music junkie. Crappy writer. INTJ. I brush twice a day and chew with my mouth closed. I put the toilet seat down and open doors (though not at the same time). I'm also a dead ringer for Denzel Washington (or Bea Arthur).
"How do I contact you?" See links above (and useless info, below) Email: twbuddha@gmail.com Twitter: @TWBuddha Facebook: Yeah, um... no Snapchat: I'm in my 50s. Don't think so. "Are you a Buddhist?" No. "The Writing Buddha" is a line from Kerouac's "Brooklyn Bridge Blues" (poem).
"What the hell is an INTJ?" Myers-Briggs personality type (think sun signs/astrology for corporate America)
"Fun. I don't have time to read these things. What do they say about you?" They say to run. Fast. "He's not the brightest bulb, this one."
"Do you have a philosophy you try to live by?" Why, as a matter of fact... I do. Here you go.
“Do you have a type?” Not really. It’s pretty fluid. I think all women can be sexy and beautiful... regardless of cup size, age, race, weight, etc.,. Honestly... what matters most is good conversation. If she tends to speak in emoji, LOL-like initialisms and gives short replies (and it’s mainly just me talking to myself), I’m out. I care more about her mind than her body.
“What's an immediate turn off?” Extremes, I suppose. Someone who wants to meet ASAP (without getting to know me) or.... she calls/tries to do one of those video chat things within the first 24 hours (relax... we'll get there; I'm not out to catfish anyone, nor am I juggling 10,000 women; I just don't like to be rushed and I, like most people, don't love being on cam; it's too intense for me). That said, the opposite bugs me... someone who is clearly not interested. They never reply back or, if they do, they send short replies. Like I said above, good conversation is everything to me.
What else? Um... I can't believe I'm saying this (because I used to be a moderate/centrist), but if she labels herself a "conservative"... chances are she's an anti-mask/anti-vax, MAGA-loving gal who hates on "libs" and rants about "freedom!" (I'll pass). See my comment, above, about emojis (which I use, too... just not all the time).
"Can you explain the point of the 'Yin' and 'Yang' pages?" Sure thing. I used to have two Tumblrs back in the day (when Tumblr was still a thing), The Infinite Ache (got the line from a Pablo Neruda poem) and Tea Leaf Dancer (got the name from one of my favorite Flying Lotus songs). Yin is a nod to The Infinite Ache. Dark. Sensual. The pleasure of the moment. Yang is a nod to Tea Leaf Dancer. All things light, bright, and positive. In the Yin/Yang symbol, Yin is the black and Yang is the white.
They're just two sides of my personality, I suppose... one dark/erotic, one light/pure.
"Where are you from?" Chicago. Western suburbs, but lived in high rises in the city for years after college.
"Do you live in Chicago now?" No. Orange County, CA.
“Where in Orange County?” Do you want a key to my house? I keep the cash in a Pringles jar.
"What's the most beautiful place you've visited?" Santorini (Greek Islands), Italy.
"What's the most interesting place?" India. Visited a few times. Such a vibrant culture.
"Where are you off to next?" 7-night Western Mediterranean (September 2022) on the world's biggest ship... Royal Caribbean's brand new Wonder of the Seas. It leaves from Barcelona and anchors at the island of Mallorca (Spain), Marseilles/Provence (France), Florence/Pisa, Rome, Naples, and back to Barcelona. We'll spend a couple nights in Barcelona (before and after). I'm definitely going to wine country in France (Provence). Florence, for sure... though I may skip Pisa. In Naples, we're going to head down to the Amalfi Coast (Positano/Sorrento) and then take a ferry out to the island of Capri. If any of you have been to these spots, let me know where you think I should go.
I'd also like to go back to Las Vegas at some point. Cabo San Lucas is scheduled for late 2022.
"What do you smell like?" Meatloaf (and not the singer; ok, maybe the singer)
"Have you ever been a mule for a Mexican drug cartel?" How far back are we going?
"Boxers or briefs?" Neither. Low-rise trunks.
"Did you really just answer that last question?" I really did
"Do you talk to yourself?" I don't, no... but I can't speak for the other personalities
"What are you doing on a typical Friday night?" - Sobbing, uncontrollably - Acting out Cirque du Soleil in my living room - Watching a Golden Girl's marathon - Researching how to join a cult
"Do you shave?" My ear hair? No. My face? Yes, but... sometimes I look like this.
"What's the most private thing you're willing to admit?" I was born a male. What? I'm still a male? Oh. Disregard. I feel so vulnerable now.
”These aren’t really FAQs, are they?” No, but let’s pretend they are so I can continue being an idiot
”What are some of your favorite books?” - Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston) - Beloved (Morrison) - Lolita (Nabokov) - Housekeeping (Robinson) - The Road and Blood Meridian (McCarthy) - An American Tragedy (Dreiser) - Tales of the City (Maupin) - Wide Sargasso Sea (Rhys) - Portnoy’s Complaint (Roth) - The Dead (Joyce)
"What books have you bookmarked to read?" - They Both Die at the End (Silvera) - The Water Dancer (Coates) - Strange Water in Tokyo (Kawakami) - Healing Earthquakes (Baca) - Mary Ann in Autumn (Maupin)
"Who (or what) motivated you to start writing?" A few things. Springsteen's Born to Run album, to start (especially "Jungleland"). It was street poetry at its finest. That song was... a novel. Then, just... Robert Smith (The Cure), in general. Such a romantic. The sexual influence came years later after having read lots of poems by Pablo Neruda and Charles Bukowski, in particular.
"Any favorite poets?” Pablo Neruda and Charles Bukowski, for sure. Anne Sexton. Others.
“What music do you listen to? Any favorites?” I tend to be all over the place, but here are a few:
"Speaking of artists, what is your favorite art style?” Abstract Expressionism, Color Field, Fauvism, Digital Art
"Art style? You're a pretentious jackass, aren't you?" Maybe
"What are some of your favorite movies?” - (500) Days of Summer - 50 First Dates - About Time - Belle de Jour (French) - Blade Runner - Branded to Kill (Japanese) - Breathless (French) - Bull Durham - Chef - Chungking Express (Chinese) - Cinema Paradiso (Italian) - City of God (Brazilian) - Crazy Rich Asians - Cube (series) - Cyrano - Dan in Real Life - Dead Poet’s Society - Drive - Edge of Tomorrow - Fast & Furious (series) - Field of Dreams - Friday - Gangs of New York - Gladiator - Grease - Harry Potter (series) - I Saw the Devil (Korean) - Ikiru (Japanese) - In the Mood for Love (Chinese) - Inception - It's a Wonderful Life - John Wick (series) - Kill Bill (series) - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Bollywood) - Kung Fu Hustle (Chinese) - La La Land - Lost in Translation - Love Actually - Love Me If You Dare (French) - Memento - Midnight in Paris - Mission Impossible (series) - Moonlight - Mulholland Dr. - Mystic Pizza - Nobody - Oldboy (Korean) - Saturday Night Fever - Serendipity - Taken - Tenet - The Beauty Inside (Korean) - The Equalizer (series) - The Game - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - The Matrix - The Night Comes For Us (Indonesian) - The Raid (Indonesian; series) - The Revenant - The Sun is Also a Star - The Truman Show - The Usual Suspects - Top Gun - Upgrade - Valley Girl - Wings of Desire (German) - Yesterday
"What about a guilty pleasure movie?" Mamma Mia! Takes me back to Santorini.
"What movies make you laugh?” Usually something stupid... but clever (e.g., Eurotrip, Sorority Boys, Mystery Team)
"What's your favorite movie genre?" Horror, smart Rom Coms, movies like Cube/Platform... as well as stuff like John Wick/Taken/Raid.
"What are some of your favorite horror films/shows/shorts?" - 2AM: The Smiling Man (YouTube short) - Bloody Mary (YouTube short) - Channel Zero (anthology series on Shudder; fantastic) - Haunt - Hell House LLC - Hereditary - Host - Insidious (series) - Lights Out (YouTube short) - Mama (YouTube short) - Polaroid (YouTube short) - REC (the original Spanish film; don't watch Quarantine, the remake) - Relic - Slasher (Netflix series) - The Blair Witch Project - The Collector - The Conjuring (series) - The Descent - The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix series; Hill House is scarier, though) - The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix series) - The Ring - The Strangers
"What are your all-time favorite TV shows?” - Black Mirror (top 5) - Curb Your Enthusiasm - Doctor Who - Fawlty Towers - Game of Thrones (top 5) - Miami Vice - Northern Exposure (top 5) - Seinfeld - South Park - The Honeymooners - The OC - The Prisoner - The Sopranos - The Twilight Zone (top 5) - The West Wing - The X-Files (top 5)
"What current shows (last few years) do you like?" - All Creatures Great and Small (PBS) - All of Us Are Dead (Netflix) - Black Mirror (Netflix) - Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix) - Calls (Apple TV+) - Dark (Amazon; German) - From (EPIX) - Into the Night (Netflix) - Jack Ryan (Amazon) - Loki (Disney+) - Love Death + Robots (Netflix) - Modern Love (Amazon) - Normal People (Hulu) - Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) - Outer Range (Amazon) - Parallels (Disney+) - Reacher (Amazon) - Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+) - Servant (Apple TV+) - Severance (Apple TV+) - Squid Game (Netflix; Korean) - Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) - The Boys (Amazon) - The Sinner (Netflix) - Them (Amazon) - Tokyo Girl (Amazon; Japanese) - Upload (Amazon) - Westworld (HBO) - You (Amazon)
Asian rom coms, too (Korean and, to a lesser extent, Taiwanese).
“Asian rom coms? Are you serious?” Yup. The happy endings are a guilty pleasure. Click here for a playlist of some of my favorites. Note: Most are on Viki, but some are on Netflix.
"Ok. What Asian rom coms should I watch?" - Boys Over Flowers (Korean; Netflix/Viki) - Business Proposal (Korean; Netflix) - Familiar Wife (Korean; one of my favorites; Netflix) - Go Back Couple (Korean; one of my favorites; Viki) - Goblin (Korean; Viki; also goes by "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) - Good Morning Call (Japanese; Netflix) - Just You (Taiwanese; one of my favorites; Netflix) - Oh My Venus (Korean; one of my favorites; Viki) - Office Girls (Taiwanese; Netflix) - Playful Kiss (Korean; Viki) - Refresh Man (Taiwanese; Netflix) - Rooftop Prince (Korean; Viki) - She Was Pretty (Korean; one of my favorites; Viki) - Splash Splash Love (Korean; Viki) - Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (Korean; Viki) - What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (Korean: Viki)
"What's the stupidest movie you've seen lately?" The last Fast & Furious film. Love the series, but... cars in space? No.
"Do you work out?" Before the recent apocalypse, I used to go to LA Fitness 4-5 times a week. Was down to about 140-150 lbs, but have since turned into Fat Bastard (eating everything in sight). Bought a NordicTrack elliptical (one of those "SpaceSaver" ones), so I'll get there, again (unless we have another pandemic).
"Do you play sports at all?” I swam competitively from age 6 through college, but no... not really.
"What about watching it on TV?" Baseball and golf can be relaxing (and disc golf, as strange as it is), but I'd rather watch my girl than a bunch of guys playing with their balls. Ok, so... college football and basketball is always fun to watch. I've also been watching a lot of college softball lately (girls; no idea why; on ESPN via YouTube TV).
"Do you go camping/hiking/biking/etc.?" I like to bike (and I like watching camping videos), but I'm not a big outdoorsy guy. Camping looks like a lot of fun (especially winter camping... which I'd love to experience), but I'd rather skip the insects and potential bear attacks and check into a Ritz-Carlton (with a fully-stocked bar, 5-star spa, and a nice, comfy bed).
"Do you play video games?" A little. Xbox, mainly. Usually sports or racing games. Here are some favorites.
- MLB The Show 22 (baseball; what I play most... by far; Xbox) - PGA Tour 2K21 (golf; Xbox & Switch) - Super Mega Baseball 3 (baseball; Xbox & Switch) - Forza Horizon 5 (racing; Xbox) - Gravel (racing; Xbox) - Dirt 5 (racing; Xbox) - Wreckfest (racing; Xbox) - Hotshot Racing (racing; Xbox) - Hot Wheels Unleashed (toy car racing; Xbox) - Horizon Chase Turbo (retro racing; Xbox) - Gears of War 5 (shooter; Xbox) - Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (Switch)
"Are you a foodie?" Um... yeah. I love to cook, eat out, and post poorly-written Yelp reviews.
"Any favorite restaurants?” A lot of them are in Las Vegas, but yeah.
"What's one thing you've always wanted to learn more about?" Physics (M-theory, etc.) and metaphysics/philosophy (solipsism, etc.)
"Any comedy specials on Netflix that you recommend?" Yup. Ali Wong's "Baby Cobra" and "Don Won" specials.
“Who would you love to sit down and have a beer with? Anthony Bourdain (don't think that's in the cards). I'm not really into celebrities, though. I think it's weird that society fawns all over them (especially the Kardashians of the world... who've done absolutely nothing to earn the attention - those famous for being famous). Some might be gifted at what they do, but they're just people at the end of the day. They may live in nicer houses and travel more, but they take a shit just like the rest of us. I've seen plenty of celebrities over the years. I have no interest in getting an autograph or photo. It's stupid.
"So you wouldn't be starstruck by anyone? Not one person?" Ok, well... while I'm a Springsteen fanatic, it would be Paul McCartney.
"What's your setup like for working from home?" Glad you asked
Bose SoundLink Mini II for conference calls. Bose QC 20 earbuds and Bose QC 25's for when I need noise cancellation (e.g., fucking landscapers). I use the Bolle&Raven adapter for the 25's when I want to go wireless. When I'm working, I use the middle & right monitors and keep the left one for the Mac (using a separate keyboard & mouse)... unless I need all 3. At night and on weekends, I use all 3 monitors for the Mac.
