Interests & Hobbies
Meaning of Life:
Trying to follow a way of life that was wonderfully described by the Dali Lama:
"I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life."
Five Things I Can't Live Without:
(1) Family, (2) friends, (3) the music of J. S. Bach, (4) the company of intelligent, sensitive, attractive women, and (5) at least 8 hours of sleep each night.
Favorite Books:
Boris Pasternak. "Doctor Zhivago." (1956, Soviet Union).||
Gustave Flaubert. "Madame Bovary." (1856. France).||
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." (1962, Soviet Union).||
Fernand Braudel. "The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II." (1949. France).||
Jane Austen. "Mansfield Park." (1814. United Kingdom).||
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. "Faust." (1808, Weimar).||
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. "Mesillat Yesharim" ["Path of the Upright"]. (c.1738. Amsterdam) ||
Gabriel Garcia Marquez. "One Hundred Years of Solitude." (1967. Colombia).||
Michel Foucault. "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison." (1975. New York: Random House).||
What I Like To Do For Fun:
Engage in conversations with intelligent, sensitive, attractive women while having tea or sipping wine.
Favorite Songs:
J.S.Bach. Two and Three Part Inventions. BWV 772801 || Johannes Brahms. Liebeslieder Walzer. ("Love Song Waltzes"), Op 52 || Johannes Brahms. Intermezzi, Op. 117 & 118. || Felix Mendelssohn. Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20. || Ludwig von Beethoven. Piano Sonatas--any and all. || Franz Josef Haydn. String Quartets--any and all. ||
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Piano Concerti--any and all. ||
Contemporary club music from Africa ("Afro Pop") || Latin American popular dance music--salsa, tango, samba, rumba.
Favorite Movies:
* * ROMANTIC COMEDIES * *
"The Seventh Seal" [Det sjunde inseglet] (1957, Swedish, Ingmar Bergman).
"Through a Glass Darkly" [Ssom i en spegel] (1961, Swedish, Ingmar Bergman).
"Winter Light" [Nattvardsgsterna, literally "The Communicants"] (1962, Swedish, Ingmar Bergman).
"The Silence" [Tystnaden] (1963, Swedish, Ingmar Bergman).
Craziest Thing I've Ever Done:
1) Unbeknownst to the driver, I stood on the back bumper of her Volkswagen Beetle and hung on as she drove from one end of the city of Jos, Nigeria, to the other.
2) Had sex with a woman while sharing a queen-sized bed with another sleeping couple. The other couple didn't seem to notice, noticed but were too polite to say anything, or noticed but were afraid to join in.
If I Could Be Anywhere Right Now:
"All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia." ~ W. C. Fields
Hobbies:
Mindful Meditation, Compassionate Meditation and Tai Chi. Since I'm retired, everything I do is a hobby.
Talents:
I'm not sure. You tell me.
Perfect Mate:
An intelligent and sensitive woman who makes me feel loved and cared for.
Perfect Date:
Perfect date? I am unclear as to whether I am to report on what sort of person or kind of activity would make a date perfect. A woman who resembles Monica Bellucci and is intelligent, sensitive and caring. Paris would be nice place to be. Dinner and a concert, perhaps. Coffee and conversation after. Or a walk back to our hotel.
Turn Ons/Offs:
Turn Ons: Good conversations with Intelligent, sensitive, attractive women (and men). The music of J. S. Bach. Ballet. (I think that ballet dancers are "God's Athletes.")
What turn me off are the usual suspects: clods, blowhards, rude people, people with inflated self-worth based on their sense of superior intelligence, extravagant wealth, myriad accomplishments, high status or unique social class.
Best Reason to Get to Know Me:
The best reason to get to know me is that I am the bearded man in the Dos XX TV commercial, but without his egotism. I'm nicer than he is. Sweeter.