I'm an English Professor at a community college. I'm interested in anything to do with the arts, and I'm an avid movie fan. I enjoy learning about anything that sparks my interest (so if you love certain sports or activities, even if they are new to me, I'll give them an enthusiastic try). I particularly like to keep up with health topics and nutrition, both of which are important to me. I stay away from simple carbohydrates (refined sugar and flour), and try to eat relatively low carb (fruits, vegetables, protein bars, poultry). Don't get me wrong. As a Libra, all my senses are very refined, so I enjoy good food and love to explore new ethnic varieties. But I don't think one has to eat junk food to enjoy oneself.

I'm on this website because over these last few years I've tended to be a workaholic; therefore, I haven't had much leisure time, teaching seven to eight classes a semester. But I've had a carpe diem (seize the day) revelation, or, as Andrew Marvell says in the poem "To His Coy Mistress," "The grave's a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace." I want to correct the lack of balance between my personal/professional life. I want to meet new people. I want to go out more. I want to share my ideas, my laughter, my enjoyment of life with others.

I know myself well, so I know that, deep down, I am hoping for a long term relationship with the right person. But that isn't my exclusive goal, and I very much prize my freedom, so you needn't worry that I'll try to slap chains on you the minute you get involved with me.

This is probably no startling piece of information, but the most important quality I'm looking for in a man is kindness. I do need someone who is intelligent and well-educated, but I've seen too much of what I call intellectual arrogance in the academic world, so I know that a mind without a heart is undesirable.

Interests:
The White Sox – To say I was elated when they won the World Series would be an understatement, although I admit that when they have a lousy season I can’t bear to watch. When they are losing, I engage in all kinds of superstitious rituals to break the curse.

Music – My taste in music on You Tube varies. I enjoy listening to some of my favorite opera and classical music pieces. Some of my favorite vocal pieces include, Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan tutte, Final trio from Der Rosenkavalier, Suoni la tromba from I Puritani, Don Carlos Duet sung by Bergonzi and Cappuccilli and ella giammai'm amo from Don Carlos, Evening Prayer from Hansel and Gretel, Grand Duet from Les Troyens, M'appari tutt'amor from Martha, Stride la vampa and Il balin del suo sorriso from Il Trovatore, the Judgment Scene from Aida, Ravel's Kaddish sung by Jose van Dam, Deep River sung by Marian Anderson, Pie Jesu sung by Lucia Popp, Salut, demeure from Faust sung by Jussi Bjorling, Salve Regina from Dialogues des Carmelites, and Bernstein's Candide (an obvious favorite as I majored in philosophy as an undergrad). I love any piece Itzhak Perlman plays, and my symphony tastes include Prokofiev, Mahler, Shostakovich, and Dvorak. In fact Dvorak was my introduction to classical music. I like all folk and pop music, except, perhaps, rap. Lately I've listened to pop classics like Harry Chapin’s Taxi, Randy Newman’s Simon Smith and His Dancing Bear sung by Alan Price (Randy Newman is a wonderful composer of film music), as well as contemporary hits like Follow the Heron Home. (My favorite version of this song is on You Tube and it's done by the Dave Munnelly band.)

You Tube – I also love to watch odds and ends on You Tube, for example, lectures on science and the philosophy of science. From Barishnikov to Snowball the dancing bird, You Tube has it all. (If you haven't seen Snowball, check him out. They are even conducting scientific experiments on him because he truly listens to the beat of the music and picks it up and adjusts his steps when he gets off beat. In other words, he's truly dancing; he isn't just performing a trick.)

Walking out in nature - The fresh air, the sounds of nature, and the exercise are relaxing and emotionally uplifting. (In the best of all possible worlds, I’d also love to get into the use of gym equipment or a personal trainer to improve muscle tone.)

Movies – A few of the movies I’ve seen over the years and found fascinating include The Painted Veil, Beowulf, Stranger than Fiction, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, The Quiet American, The Weather Man, Gosford Park, Chinatown, My One True Thing, Amelie, The Field, Jean de Florette, Babette's Feast, Lord Jim, The Fisher King, The Two of Us (directed by Claude Berri), Dean Spanley, and Henry Poole is Here. I actually taught film when I was a grad student, so I pay attention to all aspects of the film: content, acting, shot properties, editing, mise-en-scene, and so on. I tend to like movies with substance that explore the complex aspects of life or relationships.

I also enjoy the TV series House; my favorite episode thus far is one called “The Social Contract.” I do realize the limits of the series in that patients need either to be sweating blood or bleeding profusely from one of their orifices before the doctors realize something is wrong. Equally implausible is that they have encyclopedic knowledge of strange maladies I’m sure most doctors have never heard of, yet I can diagnose the patient as dying of an obvious condition like rabies or Cushing's Disease long before they figure it out. And as corny as it sounds, I enjoy programs like Dancing with the Stars because (although I never would have succeeded) the very first thing I ever wanted to be was a dancer.

I like to shop on-line, and I pride myself on being fashion conscious, but I do all my shopping alone, always buy everything at reduced or clearance prices, and I never drag anyone to the mall, so that should assuage fears regarding women shoppers.

And I love animals, including animals in the wild, not just domestic pets. This summer my students and I read a poem called Burying an Animal on the Way to New York. The poem was about reverence for the sanctity of all life. It suggested that it was a great deal harder to empathize with the death of the unfortunate animal hit by a car once a lot of traffic had flattened it, but that we should nevertheless do so. When I asked my students "why," imagine my chagrin when they replied, "Well, it's easier to be more interested in an animal that was just hit because if you look closely, you might be able to see the tire tracks and get an idea where the initial impact occurred." Or, "Why should I care about a wild animal? Maybe if it was a pet." I love all creatures great and small. (Mosquitoes, perhaps, the one exception.)

Writing – I’m a fairly decent writer and an excellent editor of other people’s work.

The above description includes a few of my interests. As far as dating is concerned, I'd like first to exchange some e-mails to see if we have rapport. Then we can take it from there. Everyone else has already listed all kinds of perfectly sensible options for a first date. I'm agreeable with any of them. I limited my e-mails to men with pictures, not because I'm superficially fixated on physical appearance, but because I want at least some assurance that I'm talking to the individual outlined in the profile, a single, middle-aged man.