What I Have Learned From Internet Dating Sites

ON LIFE:

"I tend to be pretty laid back and take every day as it comes."

"I'm very laid back and easy-going , and very lighthearted about life in general."

“In general, I'm a pretty easy-going , laid back kind of guy who loves to live life to the fullest.”

"I'm pretty laid back and easygoing, but definitely know how to have a good time."

"I'm pretty laid back, but like having a good time."

"I'm a laid back guy who just likes to have fun and enjoy life."

"I'm a laid back guy who loves to laugh and enjoy life."

"I'm a laid back person try to stay positive, but i still have my morals."

"Other than that, I'm fairly laid back - just kind of going with the flow at the moment."

"I'm an easygoing type of guy that just likes to go with the flow."

"As for my take on life, I tend to be quite laid back and go with the flow...easygoing and lively."

IN REGARDS TO OTHER PEOPLE:

"I'm really laid-back, carefree, easygoing, down-to-earth."

"I am laid back and easy to get along with."

"I am easy to get along with and relatively laid back."

“Im very laid back, outgoing, easygoing and open minded.”

"I'm very laid back and open-minded."

"I am a laid back guy, with an open mind."

"I would say I'm a pretty laid back person, not really a fan of alot of drama."

"I am very laid back and don't do drama, but I'm not afraid to tell you how it is."

"I'm nice, caring, easygoing, funny, laid back and likes to have fun!"

"I'm very laid back and generally fun to be around."

"I consider myself to be a 'nice dude,' and am super easy going and extremely laid back."

I AM TRYING TO FIND A DATE ON THE INTERNET, BUT I ASSURE YOU THAT I AM VERY SOCIABLE:

"I'm a very easygoing person, and I like to laugh and hang out with friends. "

"I'm pretty laid back and like hanging out or partying with friends."

“Im a really laid back guy who loves to have fun with fun peeps.”

"I am laid back, easygoing, and people usually enjoy my company (at least as far as I know)."

"I'm a pretty laid back guy just looking to have fun and make friends."

“I am an easygoing person who loves to meet new people."

“I'm easygoing, and I love meeting new people.”

"I'm a laid back easygoing guy who loves meeting new people and talking about common interests."

I ENJOY DOING THINGS AND TALKING ABOUT STUFF:

"I'm a laid back guy with many interests."

" Laid back easygoing guy with a love of music and movies."

“I'm a recent college grad and am very laid back.”

"I am laid back, easygoing, and funny."

"I am smart, funny, and laid-back."

"I'm a pretty nice guy, kind of nerdy, usually sarcastic, but always fairly laid-back and easygoing."

"I like to think that I'm a cool laid back dork...I am laid back, very funny, and sarcastic."

"Never a dull moment with me :) im sarcastic and witty and laid-back and easygoing."

"I have a pretty laid back personality and am always up for an adventure."

IN CASE YOU FORGOT MY GENDER:

"I'm a very easygoing and laid-back guy."

"I am a pretty laid back and easy going guy."

"I'm a pretty easygoing guy."

"I'm a laid back easygoing Guy."

“Just a really laid back guy.”

“I'd say I'm a laid back and easygoing guy.”

"Um I would say easygoing laid back kinda guy."

REALLY, I'M NOT A ROBOT, I PROMISE:

"I'm a laid back, easygoing person."

"I'm a fairly laid back and easygoing person."

"I am a very laid back person."

"I consider myself an easygoing laid back person."

SUBMODIFIERS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE:

"I'm pretty laid back ."

"I'm pretty laid back and easygoing."

"I'm pretty easygoing and laid back."

“I'm very easy going and laid back.”

"I'd say that I'm very easygoing and laid-back."

"I am really laid back and down to earth."

“I'm incredibly laid back and easygoing.”

I KNOW THAT IT'S A CLICHÉ, BUT I'M GOING TO SAY IT ANYWAY. I'M ALSO GOING TO USE APOSTROPHES SELECTIVELY:

"I'd say im extremely laid back, I know everyone says that but in my case its absolutely true."

IN SUMMARY:

“Most describe me as laid back and easygoing.”

"Overall I'd say I'm a pretty laid back person, very easygoing."

"I am generally laid back and easy going.”

“I'm generally a laid-back, easygoing kind of guy.”

AND FINALLY, IN CONCLUSION, A SLIGHT GRAMMATICAL ERROR CREATES PERFECT NONSENSE:

"I am a pretty laid back."

And on and on and on it goes.

Lesson: People are unoriginal and enjoy stating the obvious.

My First True Attempt At Concert Photos & A Bit More

These concert photographs were taken for my school newspaper, but were not published due to a rather silly series of events.

Jill Sobule, the opening act (she was really quite adorable):

Fountains of Wayne, the main act:

Other photographs that I've taken recently:

I thought that this was just me being pretentiously artsy, but other people seemed to like it. This was published.

Shh, don't tell this woman that I photographed her! This picture was candid, but when I asked her if I could take a portrait, she refused. Then she asked, "Why would a journalist want a picture of another journalist?"

To be honest, this sandwich looked more delicious than it actually was.

This was published, albeit in a horribly misshapen, compressed form.

A (Nearly) Random Selection Of Unedited Summer Images

I would like to post some photographs from the latter part of this summer, but I'm too busy/lazy/unsatisfied with Photoshop Elements to edit them at the moment. As a result, I will simply put up the inferior JPEG versions that were imported into iPhoto, and worry about it later.

These are basically just the photos that caught my eye when I decided to create this post 5 minutes ago. More to come, perhaps?

In Boston, Alicia and I got stuck at the harbor during an intense thunderstorm. When a tanker appeared in the mist, it was decidedly epic.

My friend Lillian is beautiful, although she is very picky about photographs taken of her. Like many of us, I suppose. I liked this one.

In Montreal, I met a Russian girl named Karina, hailing from Kazan. It was nice to have an opportunity to speak Russian with someone not in my family, and we had lots of fun.

MONTREAL FASHION FESTIVAL:

Abs of STEEEEEEEEEEL! And apparently, I am not completely incapable of utilizing the silly little flash unit on my camera.

A fashion show/dance performance. This shot is a little bizarre, eh?

A babushka look-alike makes an appearance on the Ottawa streets!

My lovely Spanish friend Ariadna at the not-terribly-thrilling Mont-Tremblant resort.

THE CITY OF MONTREAL:

That woman is a prostitute/drug addict, in case you were wondering. She told me so.

There are a lot of young people like this in Montreal, all of them with German shepherds and gigantic backpacks. Are they runaways, homeless people, travelers?

I got to live with this puppy for 2 weeks! If only he'd been house trained...

In case you were wondering, Santa lives in the Quartier Latin of Montreal.

ENTERTAINING MYSELF IN A PET STORE:

Kittens are such camera whores.

A frog on a mission.

The scruffiest creature I've ever seen. This bird is my soulmate.

A group of...whatever they are, posing for the camera. Yes, posing - they intentionally gathered all together on the perch like that. "Group shot, everybody, say cheeeeeeese!"

An odd sight.

BACK AT HOME:

My mother's smile lights up the heavens.

Vika peering - a common sight at our house. In this case, she is worrying about the state of the rose bush.

My grandmother looking stately in Provincetown.

An adorable child at the playground.

What Public Radio Means To Me

Dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, duuuuuuum

That little melody, whether in the brassy tones of a trumpet section or the velvety syncopations of a jazz ensemble, has been a staple in my life since childhood. When I was younger, I would hear it emanating from my mother's car radio, followed by crisp and to-the-point voices announcing current events, or the melodic elegance of classical music. As I grew older, I became familiar with many of the voices, recognizing them as one recognizes an old friend. Terry Gross, Ira Glass, Michelle Norris - each of these names brings up the memory of some fascinating program or another.

I have discovered that even if a program covers a topic that doesn't usually interest me, I am intrigued by the various perspectives and intelligent analysis offered on NPR. The media is almost bereft of impartial journalism these days, but NPR continues to support a large variety of opinions, with an innate trust of the listener's intelligence. On NPR, the programs are neither dumbed-down nor pretentiously esoteric, allowing for a broad, diverse audience.

I have always been interested in the media, and am continually exploring both its negative and positive effects. Its influence fascinates me, both due to its omnipresence and to the incredible potential that it possesses. I believe that one of the most important things for our society to focus on is the decrease of negative media, such as product placement and the touting of gigantic corporate entities, and the increase of positive media, such as that which supports local businesses, spreads unbiased information, and helps to improve people's lives.

The catalyst for my interest in media, however, is my fascination with people: how they think, why they behave in the way that they do, and why they make the choices that they make. I believe that one of the main reasons that I adore literature, cinema, and other arts is because they attempt to answer these questions, or at least to consider them. Journalism provides a way to take that analysis and bring it into the real world, learning directly from people.

While I was in New York this summer, my goal was mainly to improve my photographic skills by learning techniques and doing a lot of photography. Without even realizing it, I ended up with a project that focused on interviews and the words of people in the city, creating something that was far more journalistic than it was artistic. This is how I came to understand that, in my life, I hope to pursue a career that allows me to actually interact with and learn about people, and hopefully gives me the opportunity to help them. In fact, I hope that my personal life provides me with the same opportunities.

Public radio is a form of journalism unlike any other. It conveys information to the listener without the benefits of visuals, bringing a story to life with the help of good writing and sounds captured from a previous moment in time. I am very grateful for its existence in my life.