Rudy Ramirez

SMH (stands for Sadean, Maleficent Hellhole, or at least it should)

University of California - Berkeley, Attended 2004 - Present, Ph.D., English
University of Pennsylvania, Attended 1998 - 2002, Class of 2002, Bachelor's Degree, English

English PhD student, theatre director

The Rhizome Collective and Austin activism, Austin musicians like Ginger Leigh, Hedda Layne, and the Sexy Finger Champs, The Society for the Use of "Myriad" as an Adjective Only (The SftUo"M"aaAO), the Justice League of America

literature, experimental theatre and performance art, all sorts of movies, live music, shit-talkin', lefty activism, exploring my Mexican heritage through feeding people

Books, Poems, and Performance Pieces by: Dorothy Allison, Sherwood Anderson, Brenda Wong Aoki, Kate Bornstein, Judith Butler, Angela Carter, Sandra Cisneros, Michelle Cliff, Christopher Durang, Warren Ellis, William Faulkner, EM Forster, Neil Gaiman, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hollis Gillespie, Lynda Hart, Harriet Jacobs, Gayl Jones, James Joyce, Josh Kornbluth, Deb Margolin, Tim MIller, Terry Moore, Toni Morrison, Terry Pratchett, Tom Robbins, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Edward Said, Anne Sexton, Annie Sprinkle, Sarah Vowell, Jane Wagner, Bill Willingham, Jeanette Winterson

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, All About My Mother, The Baxter, The Dark Crystal, D.E.B.S., The Disney Ashman-Menken Renaissance, Eat Drink Man Woman, 8 Women, The Emperor's New Groove (and Kronk's New Groove), Haiku Tunnel, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I Think I Do, Kill Bill 1&2, Kung Fu Hustle, L.A. Story, Labyrinth, The Life of Brian, The Lion in Winter, Mean Girls, Monsoon Wedding, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Moulin Rouge, Muriel's Wedding, Orlando, Party Girl, Passed Away, Psycho Beach Party, Queen Margot, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Saved!, Soapdish, Spirited Away, Stage Beauty, Stranger Than Fiction, Tank Girl, The View Askew Oeuvre, Wet Hot American Summer, Zoolander

Tori Amos, Erykah Badu, Bjork, Cheese on Bread, The Clash, Celia Cruz, The Decemberists, Ani DiFranco, Ella Fitzgerald, Ruthie Foster, Girlyman, The Go! Team, Grupo Fantasma, Emmylou Harris, PJ Harvey, Eartha "Do It Yourelf!" Kitt, Las Krudas, Hedda Layne, Le Tigre, Led Zeppelin, Ginger Leigh, Lot 6, Kirsty MacColl, The Metalchicks, Mistress Stephanie and Her Melodic Cat, New Order, Outkast, Ozomatli, Dolly Parton, Pearl Jam, pre "Liz Phair" Liz Phair, The Pixies, The Polyphonic Spree, Lou Reed, Rilo Kiley, Scissor Sisters, The Sexy Finger Champs, Nina Simone, Stanley Roy and the Pigfuckers, That Damned Band, They Might Be Giants, The White Ghost Shivers, The White Stripes, Dar Williams, Zap Mama, I'll give anything a try in the genres of folk, punk, and Latin, and I'll dance to nearly anything

Absolutely Fabulous, all comedies on Adult Swim, ANTM, The Amazing Race, Big Love, Changing Rooms, Chapelle's Show, The Colbert Report, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Daily Show, Daria, Deadwood, MXC, Project Runway, Reno 911, Sex and the City, The Simpsons, Six Feet Under, Star Trek: TNG and DS9

Capricorn

Thanks to studying for orals, I have a new favorite poem: Countee Cullen's "She of the Dancing Feet Sings."
And what would I do in heaven pray,
Me with my dancing feet?
And limbs like apple boughs that sway
When the gusty rain winds beat.

And how would I thrive in a perfect place
Where dancing would be a sin,
With not a man to love my face,
Nor an arm to hold me in?

The seraphs and the cherubim
Would be too proud to bend,
To sing the faery tunes that brim
My heart from end to end.

The wistful angels down in hell
Will smile to see my face,
And understand, because they fell
From that all-perfect place.

I sometimes wonder whether I'm the uptight, nerdy, sheltered one who secretly wants to find someone who will break them out of their shell, or the kooky, out there, free spirited one who secretly wants to find someone who will be their harbor. According to all the romantic comedies that have brainwashed me, you have to be one or the other. So since I'm adaptable, I'll let you pick first. Although please hurry because this will determine whether I continue in graduate school or not . . . whenever you're ready . . . anytime now . . . (begins to whistle and tap feet) . . .