Joseph Mullens

"Member of the Technical Staff"

socializing, enjoying life, good food, reading, swimming, massage therapy, [trying to] understanding how the world and our minds work, staying curious, tinkering, inventing, experimenting, electronics, programming, numerical algorithms

art, art-history, sculpture, photography, photojournalism, history, factbooks, quotebooks, literature, fiction, historical-fiction, nonfiction, science- fiction, some fantasy, choice biographies, science [hard and soft], math, engineering, computer science, philosophy, old new-yorker style comics, and anything & everything that's clever and funny. I own ~600 books.

5 star classics[so good they are timeless], Koyaanisqats, Foriegn films, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Dr. Strangelov, The Seven Samurai, Rear Window, Paths of Glory, Taxi Driver, Bridge on the River Kwai, Spaghetti Westerns, Animal House, Rashomon, The Godfather, Fantasia, High Noon, Dekalog, Blazing Saddles

Only college radio would play a du-wop, 50ies bubble-gum-oldies 4-part a-capella version of "Anarchy in the UK" by the SexPistols ..for this, I feel truly blessed. ; rock-60ies, 70ies, 80ies, some metal, early/ancient [secular] music, classical, cross-cultural/genre-fusion, funk, African, world music, Afro-Cuban Jazz, Javanese Gamelan, electronic, Brazilian.. Afrobeat! My tastes are wide and varied and am into hundreds of genres. There's a lot great music out there to find and explore.

My TV hasn't been connected to the outside world for ~5 years. TV is that metastable state where you're not really living, and not really dead; plus, it's a huge addiction that sucks all your time finding something that sucks the least.. First class PBS/ BBC documentaries when & if I reconnect :)

We're all different people depending in who we're with, and the moment you catch us. I wish to find those that bring out the best in me, and I in them.

As far as I can gather; in person, people often perceive me as being bright, but that is often hedged by my slightly irreverent sense of humor, and an overall nonjudgmental and friendly personality. On line, I come off as being a lot more serious and intimidating than I do in real-life. ..There are sides of oneself I wish to explore in others; of finding seemingly eccentric interests in other people. In any population base large enough, you're bound to find those with your same common interests. Friendster has the same appeal to me as any large metropolitan city; with all it's charn, eccentric curio shops, theaters and eateries. So many different cultures and personalities to enrich our quality of life...

I can and do make friends everywhere, though I tend to be a sociable loner. I think very highly of those I consider friends, and seem to be continually charmed by them, as they seem to be in me. Irreverence and curiosity are contagious ;)

There are those that can bring out our best and brightest sides of ourselves. I always try to encourage people that have potential, even when they don't necessarily see it themselves, but I do try to be subtle about it.

I love reading (mostly nonfiction of one sort or another) Often the real world is a lot more fantastic and unbelievable than anything you can find in fiction..

fun quotes:
"We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge."-- John Naisbitt

Everybody is ignorant. Only on different subjects.-- Will Rogers

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.-- Marilyn vos Savant

Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A friend in college found all these bad 70ies porn tapes and edited out all the sex to merge all this awkwardly bad acting and leering puns, punctuated by slapped bass guitars and wa-wa pedals. Pat had waaay to much time on his hand. God I miss that weirdo... Silicon Valley is entirely too bland; not enough freaks..
Seeking those with easy laughter, clever humor, amusing anecdotes, lovers of life, bright/creative people, the curious, the tinkerers, artists, the learned, the erudite, scientists, R&D engineers ,writers, poets, musicians; People that are approachable and friendly despite their unusual talents or abilities; and all those, like me, that seek out people like this.

http://www.myspace.com/2205096