Reds

NOTE: I've recently been "downsized," as my employer lost a major contract and I was one of the juniormost employees. I've had problems with my at-home internet service provider, and have discontinued home service. These two things combined have led to my being online less than I had been in previous months. I may be later than I'd like in rating people or in marking swaps as sent. I hope not to be late in sending swaps out.

I like children's picture books, including Seuss and Sendak, Munro Leaf's Ferdinand, Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Aside from children's books, I like a Faulkner, Joyce, Brautigan, and To Kill a Mockingbird, various David Sedaris, Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, some non-fiction, including some biographies (including Caro's bios of Lyndon Johnson), autobiographies (Charlie Chaplin's comes to mind) and journalistic/sociological stuff, including Horwitz' Confederates in the Attic and Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas and The Wrecking Crew.

I like to think I have eclectic and "diverse" musical taste, but in person, I probably come across as not liking much and having very rigid likes and dislikes in terms of music.

I listen to various forms of jazz, including Dixieland, swing and Bop. This is mostly a result of my father's influence on my musical tastes.

I like a lotta "popular classics" from the '40s, '50s and '60s -- stuff written by people like Johnny Mercer and sung by people like Dean Martin, Nat 'King' Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, etc.

Having been a kid/teenager in the '80s, I dug "punk" music. At this point, I still like the stuff I find to be sorta melodic or lyrically interesting, like The Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Replacements, X, the Pogues, Social Distortion, El Vez ("The Mexican Elvis), and more. I also dig some simple, bubblegum punk stuff like the Ramones.

Bob Dylan and Randy Newman are standbys. I tend to like singers with "rough" voices more than I like singers/songs that sound very well-trained, polished and "pretty." I'll take a Johnny Cash, a Screamin' Jay Hawkins, a Tom Waits over a non-operatic self-proclaimed "diva" type any day.

I like some "outlaw" country, like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and some "cowpunk" or "alt.country," including a lotta stuff on the Bloodshot and YepRoc record labels. I also like a lotta rockabilly and psychobilly stuff.

Southern Culture on the Skids is a favorite at the moment.

I dig most stuff on Stax Records and various "old" R&B and soul records.

Generally speaking, the less action and the more dialogue and character exploration, the better. I like the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, various Hitchcock, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, Barry Levinson's Diner and Avalon, various John Waters movies, The Wizard of Oz, and I could keep going on and on.

The Twilight Zone (original), The Andy Griffith Show, Freaks and Geeks, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire, Mad Men

Mostly, I draw and write.

I have not done a lot of ATC swaps, but when and where I join in them, I've sent hand-drawn ones. I don't have an expectation of receiving "extras" with any ATCs that come my way. I'm not offended to receive extras, but I don't demand them or give ratings based on whether there are any extras in a package.

I dabble in polymer clay (such as Sculpey and Fimo) crafts.

I also paint, but as I usually paint with oils (which are v-e-r-y slow to dry), it's not likely that I'd send out much painted stuff.

Hardware store stuff I use and appreciate includes very small "screw eyes" -- a screw on one end and a small "eye" -- sort of a loop -- at the other end.

I'm interested in letterpress, but haven't explored it much and am not well-supplied for it. I am experimenting with lineoleum-type printing and carving.

Things I like include the following. I do not mean for this to be a list of suggestions on what "extras" to send my way. As said elsewhere, I don't demand extras and don't award "hearts" on the basis of extras. The following list is meant to give you some sense of who I am, what might be coming your way if I'm your partner in a sender's choice-type swap, et cetera.

• vintage stuff, from the early '60s or so and prior
• "found art"
• outsider art
• repurposed, visually and texturally interesting bits of found/used items when and where someone has an eye for that kind o' thing
• thrift store kitsch of bygone eras
• tiki-related stuff
• "exotica," (not "erotica")
• Hawaiiana in general
• Bakelite/Bakelite-esque pins, bracelets, etc.
• sepia-toned photographs
• black-and-white photography
• Polaroid photography
• papel picado
• images of redhaired people and/or of Ireland and Irish things in general (though I'm not intrigued by or drawn to brightly colored "Celtic" designs and am more interested in images of stonework, etc. in natural colors

Architecturally and design-wise, I like
* Art Deco/International style and
* kitschy Modern, including
* unusually shaped/decorated roadside stands/attractions
* neon signage, etc.
* old-fashioned jukeboxes * Marimekko and similar fabrics, designs, etc. * old-fashioned Mardi Gras necklaces, including the ones made of Czech glass. I also like the ones from the '70s or so, with strung plastic beads. I'm not so crazy 'bout the current style of Mardi Gras beads, with the metallic-looking plastic beads attached to the string.

Things I dislike/Things for which I don't have immediate use: * most scrapbooking stuff, particularly when it's geared to specific interests (with patterns/motifs) As I'm not scrapbooker, I don't have a lot of occasion to use paper that features "limiting" designs, like with sports themes, new-baby themes, etc.

That said, I do use notecards and stationery, and have a fondness for shades of green, particularly lime green, chartreuse, and jewel-toned greens. I like unadorned, monochromatic paper; paper that has subtle variations in tone/texture, and paper with simple patterns -- grids, polka dots, etc.

I don't care for paper that is "busy" with characters and quotes and such.

I have little use/need for
* stickers (exceptions include stickers by the artist SHAG)
* Kawaii and (most) stuff that represents animated characters or marketed characters.

A side note: To my knowledge, Kawaii stuff is not widely available where I live. In part because of this, I try not to sign up for any swaps wherein it seems that I might get a partner who'd want/expect Kawaii items. If you and I are partners and you're interested in Kawaii, I hope you understand that I can't find it easily, and are somewhat flexible with your expectations.

• I haven't the slightest notion of what to do with or where to send the FBs I've gotten as extras in some recent swaps. I don't feel comfortable with sending them on to other people (which is what I THINK I am supposed to do with them) if I am not pretty near certain that they know what to do with 'em. Therefore, I usually set them aside, (but worry that this makes me seem to be a poor sport or something).

• I'm not generally into baby-pinks and very "girly," lacy kinds of stuff, in most contexts.

I like all colors and tones, but I'm not crazy about items that feature every color of the rainbow.

I'm also not wild over shiny, glittery stuff unless it's dulled with age and/or use or if it has the appearance of having been dulled with age, or -- sometimes -- if there's a retro-kitsch angle to it.

• I'm generally not drawn to overtly religious themes (in the sense of proselytizing. I'm interested in religion in an anthropological sense)

nor am I drawn to --

• overtly "patriotic" themes, slogans, sayings or images

• While I like animals and babies and such, I'm not into cutesy images and representations of animals and babies, etc.

• retro '70s and '80s stuff. Once in a while, I'll find these things interesting or funny, but mostly it reminds me of the worst elements of those decades

I do like:
* subtly textured fabrics and papers
* blank journals (without any printed lines -- including Moleskine brand notebooks/journals, etc., in various sizes)
* stationery (medium-toned and pale, yellowish greens/chartreuses are a pretty safe bet)

I use
* art markers of various brands and
* Sharpie brand permanent markers of all colors
* pens; pencils (particularly Crayola and Prismacolor, though I'm up for trying brands that aren't widely available in the U.S.)
* Crayola and other crayons -- but not overly waxy, low-pigment Crayola knockoffs
* Uniball roller pens, like from office- supply stores, with micro tips and black ink

Chocolate-wise, I like * basic milk chocolate
* dark chocolate, up to 70% cocoa
* plain ol' milk chocolate bars, as well as
* chocolate with berries;
* chocolate with nuts;
* chocolate with infusions;
* chocolate with toffee;
* chocolate with peanut butter;
* chocolate with coconut and
* some cremes, including (some) maples and mints

I'm not crazy about * marshmallow fillings;
* jelly fillings;
* most alcohol fillings, or
* any kind of artificial fruity flavors/cremes
* Palmer- or similar-brand chocolate
* sugar-free stuff that contains artificial sweeteners. (No sugar added is fine)

I prefer tea to coffee, but have been known to drink both, at times. I'm always up for trying new types of tea.

If you've got any old-fashioned bottle caps -- the metal ones with the crinkled edges -- particularly if they're specific to your region of the world (like for sodas, juices or beer bottled near you and not widely available) and/or the caps themselves are colorful, I dig those. I haven't done any bottle cap-related crafts -- I'm just fascinated, I guess, by the designs and such.

I also like * Fimo and Sculpey polymer clays
* Pez dispensers, particularly if they feature characters that aren't well-known in the U.S. (I've got a lotta U.S. ones).

I like a range of artists, artistic eras and styles. At the moment, I'm interested in R. Crumb's sketchbooks and in SHAG's Mid-Century retro images.