Eric Forsman

Peru Central H.S. ('83), Amherst, (B.A., '87) JHU (Ph.D., 1995?)

Amherst College, Attended - , Class of 1987, Bachelor's Degree

Sears Roebuck & Co.

I'm not much of a 'joiner.'

I like working on projects -- at the moment, the chief one is my house. I like hanging out with friends, and reading short non-fiction.

Whole books? I tend to favor short non-fiction; but here are some that got under my skin (not sure that means they're 'favorites, ' though): Genealogy of Morals, Franklin's Autobiography, Discipline & Punish.

I really like the mix of philosophy, history (or 'alternate history'), and humor in Terry Gilliam movies. I don't see a lot of movies these days, because I'm lazy, and one has to sit through so many lame ones between the ones that make your brain buzz so fast you can't get to sleep.

I have strong likes and dislikes; but I'm not into staking out my identity by listing the bands I like.

I don't make time for TV; so, I tend to watch only when I want to veg out, and tend to tune in to 'educational' type stuff. I'm basically a nerd, in this regard, at least. I occasionally luck into the Simpsons, or the Daily show, or something cool, and think I should make it a regular thing; but I'm lazy about TV, I guess.

I'm a former professor of 'theory' (of 'the political' and 'the social') who tired of administering discipline, and decided to engage in a little unalienated labor. So, now I'm a Jack of all trades and 'public intellectual,' minus the 'public' part. A Nietzschean leftist (I love my Marx, after all), I'm basically a skeptical rationalist. I'm prone to laughter, and aspire to be funny; I settle for being considered somewhat droll. I'm an easy touch for help. People generally like me. I'll admit to being excessively fastidious, but am also decidedly casual. I've attended some fancy schools, but nevertheless seem to have avoided wealth and power. I'm liberal in my thinking and my orientation towards others. I have a cat named Mr. Nuts. I'm still a New Englander at heart, though I lived for a decade in Baltimore, and still miss it sometimes. I spent a couple of years teaching in Missouri -- I don't like to talk about that so much. Currently, I live in Atlanta and have for almost five years now. I like living in Atlanta, though I can't say I like Atlanta 'in itself.' I'm handy with tools and with words, and have a decent collection of each. I should say that, after having spent the last few years on home renovation (framing, trim, electric, plumbing, tile, roofing, cabinets, etc), equipment erection, automotive mechanicing, set building, and the like, I'm really interested in doing some writing; but I'll not be getting rid of my truck or tools any time soon. AIM: ericlf1965. Oh, and my name is Eric Forsman. Hi.

I'm looking for people who like to think but also like being alive in the world, which is to say, people both thoughtful enough to approach something like reality and strong enough to be cheerful about it: optimistic non-believers, happy positivists, gay scientists, life-experimenters. Oh, and cool smart people of good will who like to hang out drinking and talking.