I like lots of different sorts of people, but am hoping to date someone with whom I can have a real, intense connection. It’s the sort of feeling I have when I read or listen to or think about some of the following people:

Virginia Woolf
Dorothy Parker
Iris Murdoch
Arundhati Roy
Molly Ivins
Barbara Ehrenreich
Simone DeBeauvoir
Hannah Arendt
Simone Weil
Emma Goldman
Amy Goodman
Aung San Su Kyi
Laurie Anderson (some days)
Joni Mitchell
Bjork
Jenny Holzer

I seek extremely able, intelligent, expansive company because I enjoy and revel in it, and I can reciprocate and be appreciated in turn. That's what optimism and high expectations are for: to push you towards the best you can be, and the best you can do for yourself and others. This list speaks to what I like in people, and in women in particular. You don’t have to quite belong on that list, but if you’re for me and I’m for you, it’s because you enjoy spending time with people of extraordinary abilities and characters. I don’t claim to be in quite that league, either (I take it that the male version of that list starts with Jon Stewart, runs through Nat King Cole and Noam Chomsky, and ends somewhere around Barack Obama), but at least those are the people I go for, in my own humble, but not too humble, way. So I hope to meet someone who aspires to that too, in her own humble way.

Here are some facts about me. I am extremely nice, gentle, responsible, broadly capable, good at keeping my word, thoughtful, careful, hard working. I also write well (including but not limited to spelling and grammar – when I feel like it, anyway :). I am fairly creative, fairly funny (if you have a taste for a dry, self-deprecating wit), a reasonably good cook (I’m basically vegetarian, but not fussy about it). I’m technologically inclined, but not hardwired to the internet. I am average to better than average looking, wiry, clean shaven, kempt, and appropriately outfitted. I’m physically fit without working at it much, stronger than I look, a bicycle rider, occasional skater, and look and feel younger than I am.

I have no children (but would be interested in having a family with the right person). I’ve never been married. I have a healthy but non-obsessive lifestyle.

I watch nearly no TV, some movies (I have good taste in movies, but am basically a dilettante), listen to lots of music, and enjoy concerts that aren’t too much of a hassle. I love doing cultural things together, especially with someone who is a better interpreter of them than I am. I play a number of musical instruments on occasion and sing frequently, but singing is the only one of these I’m any good at, which is still more fun than good. I dance, sometimes without even meaning to.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I'm a good listener and good communicator. When I care about someone, I will pay attention to her words (and to what she isn't saying) like few others can. And I will tell her, with tact and kindness, what I really think and feel about what she's communicating.

So if this is starting to sound appealing, what should we do together? Let’s get together to play with each other in mind, body, and spirit. I'd love to meet someone who is beautiful inside and out, into great moments together, out of the ordinary, and happy enough being that way. We are both works in progress, and can accept and enjoy some collaboration in the growing process. Or, at the very least, we can help each other to stay focused on our respective labours until we give each other something better to do instead.

As you can see, I put effort into things I care about and want; and that’s perhaps the most important thing to know about me. I want the same.

I'll be happy to send more convincing photos upon request.

Thanks for reading, and best wishes to all.

Maybe sit around and make fun of other people. Ok, maybe not.

No hurry or worry about that. If you made it this far, and we want to meet, we'll think of something.