Introduction

Well, if your reading this, odds are you are in a class about vampire novels. Since we do not have any actual material to go over (at least, I hope that's right or I have been reading the syllabus wrong), I figure I would introduce myself. *Edit - Upon reading the blog posts, I see there are criteria, which is now updated.

My name is Adam and I am a returning junior. Originally I went to UW-Whitewater, however, I decided I needed a semester break and that turned into a five year break. I'm hoping to finish up my degree in English, go on to graduate school, become a professor and eventually a principle or super superintendent, if I am able to stumble through life efficiently enough that is. I enjoy writing and critiquing things and hope too do this for a living. My general philosophy/belief in life is that human production is good, but I don't know about much else. I absolutely love art, so food, music, writing, anything that involves the senses and enjoyment or appreciation, is a large aspect of my paradigm and day to day experiences.

Some random things about me:

Favorite authors and poets include William Burrough, Charles Bukowski, Charles Bordeleux, Marquez, Andre Breton, Baudelaire and I also like some Hess, although I make no claims that Siddartha changed my life. Currently I am exploring books about corporate America and personalities, such as, is it always good to dangle the carrot and train your employees based on risk versus reward? How do you unmake the company man? Most of these explorations have turned into a quick gaze and then throw on the shelf so I can resume The Republic of Plato.

I enjoy cerebral movies and documentaries from any time period. Personal favorites wartime propaganda cartoons (so of course Tex Avery), anything by John Waters, Some like it Hot, Peeping Tom, Modus Operandi, David Lynch (Dumbland!)... Long list, movies are great; I love combined art mediums.

As for music, everything from Klezmer to Gucci to Wolf Parade to Pavement to Chopan to Gershwin...

3 Random Facts

* I love peppers; sweet, read, yellow, hot.... you name it. Going to farmers market on Sunday is perhaps one of the best sensory experiences.

* I have always wanted to travel the world, but have only been to Canada.

Quebec City

* I have a large family that is spread out; a brother in Singapore, another brother in Tokyo, a sister in Dallas, another sister in the Twin Cities and my mom lives in La Crosse.

Common Dreams

Here is a link to a website I frequent, as I find it has very well written articles by people I like to follow, primarily regarding the economy and politics.

Cain and Abel

Finally, my favorite vampire is the biblical Cain from Cain and Abel. This may need a brief explanation; there is an old storyline for a board game a friend told me about, and the origin of the vampires for this setting is explained to be Cain. After he kills Abel, an angel comes down offering redemption for Cain. He will not follow the Angel and tells her to leave. Before she does, she curses him, stating that he will not be able to walk in the sun or be burned. This scene continues on and on until Cain is finally cursed with the thirst for human blood for survival. At this point, the angel no longer visits Cain and he is damned, Earth of course, being what he is damned too.

With that being said, I look forward to getting to know everyone from class!