I am basically an honest, independent, happy dude. I can be guileless and goofy. I like many of the recreational activities that most other people like: movies, music, reading, writing, eating, cooking, camping, traveling, spending time with friends, yada yada.

For fun I grow grapes and make bad wine. (Although I just ruined this year's batch. Never add sulfites when you are hung over.) Hiking. Reading. Media. I love movies, even lousy ones (you can learn more about movies by watching bad ones than you can by watching good ones). I have a road bike. In a previous life, I rode about 200 miles a week and would like to get back on board. At the turn of the century, I commuted to Paris for work, which gave me a real appreciation for travel, especially getting to know the people, rather than looking at buildings and eating food. Between then and now, I have been busy with various projects and have not had time for more travel. I would really like to do more, starting next year possibly.

All of that makes me pretty similar to most people. What makes me unique is that I wrote a short story about a traumatic turducken incident.

I am looking for someone who is independent, open-minded and gets that quality time is based more on attitude than activity. Any time can be quality time, if you are paying attention.

Okay, the obligatory movie and music favorites:

Movies: The Once Upon a Time trilogy, 2001, The Best Years of Our Lives, Night of the Hunter, The Big Lebowski, The Thin Red Line, The New World, others. I hold a special place in my heart for those who like The Thief of Baghdad and/or Joe Versus the Volcano: you probably know why.

Music: Beethoven (especially the 9th and the Moonlight Sonata), Mozart, Puccini, Vivaldi, Led Zeppelin 1 and 2, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Henri Dikongue, The Beatles, Graham Parker, Cold Blood, doo-bop by Miles Davis, there is a lot actually. I played music for about 20 years and sometimes cannot get the songs out of my brain. While there are exceptions to everything, I do not like country, house, rap/hip hop, metal or punk. Or Yani.

Books: The Grapes of Wrath, Moby **** (Richard)(How about that! You can't use the word **** even when referring to the title of one of the great American novels.), Raintree County, Le Morte d'Arthur, Don Quixote, Les Miserables, The Bhagavad Gita, Lolita

An on line first date is a pre-date date. It's a date that you have in order to decide whether you want to go on a real date. So, I think coffee, wine, a beer, maybe some tapas. If something clicks, take it from there.