Why, yes, I do have hobbies. Writing webpages is one. Writing poetry is another. I also enjoy theatre, impromptu acting, juggling, commedia dell'arte, and both tabletop and live-action role-playing. Don't you? Some huge work goes on growing, / or not growing. / How could one person's words matter? Where you walk, heads pop from the ground. / What is one seed-head compared to you? On my death-day I'll know the answer. / I have cleared this house, / so your furniture, when it comes, / can fill every room. / I slide like an empty boat pulled over the water. Mathnawi, #622; Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273)

Thespianic Virtues I do not claim to be a great entertainer, but I do enjoy performing before others, whether by reciting my poetry, juggling, or otherwise being silly. Two of my strong interests are commedia dell'arte and Shakespearean tragedies and comedies, as well as modern pieces that have been influenced by Shakespeare (I highly recommend Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Shakespeare in Love). I even enjoy the somewhat bizarre and inaccurate histories in the Holinshed Chronicles, which the Bard used. Holinshed Chronicles Riverside Shakespeare Photography I am neophyte, hear me click. Go here. Books I read. Even if I was born in the American South... Heh. Author C.J. Cherryh Author Charles DeLint Author Christopher Moore Author Neil Gaiman of Sandman fame Artist Jim FitzPatrick's fantasy work Mythography Myth, stories, religion, and legend tells us many things about who we are. I enjoy studying religions - both my own and others - and studying the process of storytelling and mythmaking as well. This extends from both old tales up to modern storytellers, science fiction writers, and graphic artists, from Oscar Wilde to Emma Bull and Charles de Lint. The Vatican Lilith - an ancient myth The Principia Discordia Dan Levy's Alchemy site WebCircle - Wiccan / Pagan webring Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring - Jewish Ring of Troth Ásatrú site - Paleo-Norse Isaac Bonewits' cybernetic grove - Neo-Druidical Wesley Center Online's Noncanonical Literature - also, links to: Pseudepigrapha, like the Books of Enoch and Jubilees Gnostic documents from the Nag Hammadi find, such as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas Documents of the Corpus Hermeticum of Hermes Trismegistus, such as Poemandres Space What can I say? It runs in my blood. While in the Army I attended one of the early Space Action Officer seminars at Fort Leavenworth, and two of my uncles have been career NASA professionals (Marshall's Ed Weaver and Canaveral's Dick Smith). Fortunately, my lovely wife enjoys observational astronomy (at least the two of us can discuss my armchair astronomy!). National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The Artemis Project (a private venture of the Lunar Resources Company) Recreating Medieval Arts One of my hobbies is recreating things from history, especially the middle ages and the Renaissance. I enjoy costuming and period pastimes (though I do not dance well). I also enjoy calligraphy and illumination as well. More information on both the modern recreative movement and the history of those times may be found at: Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) More information on my SCA involvement The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies Heraldry: By the way, the blazon of my SCA badge is (Fieldless, a kraken inverted bendwise, Or), which is very close to the Kingdom of Atlantia's later Order of the Kraken badge, (Fieldless, a kraken, Or). I lived in Atlantia for a while (the middle seaboard of the eastern US), but just couldn't get the time to show up at the occasional SCA event here just to sow confusion... Fandom One of my other hobbies is science fiction (SF) fandom. I enjoy attending SF conventions ("cons") and similar activities; I've been attending SF cons since the late 1970s, mostly to talk with and enjoy the company of fellow SF fans and guests from many different walks of life. Conventions may have different themes - there are literary SF and fantasy cons, media-oriented cons, "relaxi-cons," horror cons, gaming cons, and genre-specific cons for fans of anime/manga, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and other genres. Southern Fandom Resource Guide Fantasm - A favorite SF relaxi-con. Roleplaying Another hobby of mine revolves around roleplaying games, which I enjoy. I indulge in both tabletop and live-action gaming. To understand what live-action roleplaying is like, think of acting out a performance- art role that is a cross between impromptu acting and a detective or fantasy novel. I was on the Board of Directors of the Camarilla, the international fan club of White Wolf, from October 1998 to October 1999. White Wolf is a gaming studio in Atlanta, Georgia. With several thousand members, the Camarilla also promotes charity activities, blood drives, and other community and social events - all things that help the gaming community gain a greater perspective on the world in which we live. I also enjoy other live action roleplaying (LARP) games, such as the superb Shattered Isles fantasy LARP run by Chimera Interactive's Ian Lemke. These and other LARPs can be fun ways of meeting other people with like interests. Gnostica White Wolf The Camarilla Chimera Interactive Gothic and Industrial Arts Yes, I enjoy the macabre and dark. Though my musical tastes do include modern vocalists like Sarah Maclachlan and Tori Amos, they also include Sisters of Mercy, Dead Can Dance, Godhead, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and vintage David Bowie. Other aspects of the 'gothic' aesthetic also appeal to me as well... Gothic.Net Gothic Gardening Poe Godhead Tori Amos* Crüxshadows Changelings David Bowie Sarah McLachlan Danny Elfman's Boingo* Bill Leeb's Delerium Apoptygma Berzerk *These are fan-run sites.