The examined life is the only option for me. I strive always to be mindful and aware, and to act only upon reflection.

For me, the most important aspects of living are intellectual engagement, emotional closeness and opportunities to strive for positive change in the world. Combining the three in political comradeship is as close to heaven as I ever expect to get.

I haven't watched TV in for two decades or more, but I'll own having viewed episodes of _The "L" Word_ and _Sex and the City_ on DVD. I'm happy not to have a car or a cellphone. I loathe organized sports -- playing or watching -- but I enjoy biking, lifting weights and practicing yoga. I don't play any instruments but for some years I hosted music shows on campus/community radio. I don't have even a baccalaureate but I have worked as a freelance editor. I was raised in a patriarchal, right-wing Catholic household but have long since embraced atheism, feminism and socialism. I lived as a monk for the past 20 years until a crisis of faith drove me from the monastery. I have retained the tonsure and beard out of lingering nostalgia for the cloistered existence.

Two of the above statements aren't true. Go ahead: guess.


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An incomplete catalogue of the songs I love best:

Some Jingle-Jangle Morning (Mary Lou Lord) I Hope that I don't Fall in Love with You (Tom Waits) Little Jenny (Chuck Angus; performed by Grievous Angels) Having to Say Goodbye (Chuck Angus; performed by Grievous Angels) The Good and the Bad (Ted Hawkins) Walking on a Wire (Richard Thompson; performed by Richard and Linda Thompson) Only You (Donna Dunlop) Never Mind (Harlan Howard; sung by Nanci Griffith) Trouble in the Fields (Nanci Griffith) You Made this Love a Teardrop (Nanci Griffith) Your Untouchable Face (Ani diFranco) Sea of a Million Faces (Allison Crowe) World Turned Upside Down (Leon Rosselson; sung by Billy Bragg) St. Swithin’s Day (Billy Bragg) Tear in your Hand (Tori Amos) Little Earthquakes (Tori Amos) Winter (Tori Amos) Crucify (Tori Amos) Dark-eyed Molly (Archie Fisher; arranged and sung by Stan Rogers) Forty-five Years (Stan Rogers) The Jeannie C. (Stan Rogers) The First Cut is the Deepest (Cat Stevens) Blue and Wonder (Richard Buckner) The Bramble and the Rose (Barbara Keith; arranged and performed by Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin) Our Town (Iris Dement; arranged and performed by Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin) You've Done Nothing Wrong (Iris Dement) Calling for You (Iris Dement) No Time to Cry (Iris Dement) Sweet is the Melody (Iris Dement) Alabaster (Oh Susanna) That’s No Way to Say Goodbye (Leonard Cohen; sung by Laura Love) Suzanne (Leonard Cohen) Iowa (Dar Williams) The Sweetest Gift (J.B. Coats; arranged and performed by Connie and Babe and the Backwood Boys) Closer to Fine (Emily Saliers; performed by Indigo Girls) Land of Canaan (Amy Ray; performed by Indigo Girls) Love’s Recovery (Emily Saliers; performed by Indigo Girls) Making Believe (Jimmy Work; sung by Kitty Wells) Will you Miss me? (A.P. Carter; performed by the Carter Family) Nebraska (Springsteen) Highway Patrolman (Springsteen) Sunday Morning Coming Down (Kris Kristofferson; sung by Johnny Cash) Memories of East Texas (Michelle Shocked) A Good Time (John Prine) If I Needed You (Townes van Zandt) Tecumseh Valley (Townes van Zandt) Lungs (Townes van Zandt) To Live is to Fly (Townes van Zandt; performed by Cowboy Junkies) Misguided Angel (Michael Timmins; performed by Cowboy Junkies) Coat of Many Colors (Dolly Parton) He never got enough Love (Lucinda Williams) Sharp Cutting Wings (Lucinda Williams) Side of the Road (Lucinda Williams) Those Three Days (Lucinda Williams) Passionate Kisses (Lucinda Williams; sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter) Ain't Life a Brook (Ferron) Lodestar (Sarah Harmer) Basement Apartment (Sarah Harmer) Dogs and Thunder (Sarah Harmer) Fly me to the North (Marianne Segal; arranged and performed by John & Mary)

As I see it, a first date should be a means of learning about one another's ideas and ideals, about each other's character and intellect.