John December Personal Page

I value people, experiences, places, and ideas, and I live a (materially) simple life. I'm very grateful for the experiences I've had and the independent life I can live today. I love learning and continue to explore any topic that catches my interest. I value where I live, and I'm grateful that I've gotten to know some people here.

Interests

information organization, information connections, car-free living, simple living, new urbanism, old urbanism, freelancing, Milwaukee, art, theatre, design, creative writing, poetry, metaphor, fiction, creativity, conceptual age, psychology, history, online, computer-mediated communication, computer science, mathematics, genealogy, communication, rhetoric, Internet, World Wide Web, technology, philosophy, transit

Activities

Web publishing, digital photography, walking, bicycling, coffee, thinking, writing, reading, talking, listening, traveling

Favorite Movies

The Ice Storm
The Last Picture Show
Suzanne's Career
Vertigo
American Beauty
The Virgin Suicides
My Man Godfrey
Woman Under the Influence
The Birds
Fire Maidens of Outer Space

Favorite Music

ABBA, Tori Amos, Alanis Morissette, Counting Crows, Loreena McKennitt, Mozart, The Decemberists

Favorite TV Shows

I don't have a TV, but I watch online video, "The Twilight Zone" (original series), documentaries, old movies, Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Favorite Quotes

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world." -- Mahatma Gandhi

"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler." -- Albert Einstein

I'm reading in the area of urban criticim, planning, architecture, cultural geography, history, and demographics for a section of my Web site, People Places.

Favorites from Past Reading

In Our Time, by Ernest Hemingway
The short story collection that launched Hemingway's writing career.
A Short History of the World, by Geoffrey Blainey
A highly-readable, one-volume sketch of human history, highlighting the interplay of settlement patterns with technology and practices (the mastery of fire, meat-eating, agriculture, religions, warfare, government, cities, ocean travel, the printing press, medicine, physics, the steam engine, world wars, atomic power, and space travel).
Extra Nutty! Even more letters from a nut, by Ted L. Nancy
Ted needs a lot of help with hotel stays, pumpkin odor, Valclav Havel, and loony new store ideas.
Letters to Yesenin (and) Returning to Earth, by Jim Harrison
Worldwalk, by Steven M. Newman
Steven Newman walked around the world during 1983-1987. Although his life was threatened, he steadily traversed 24,000 kilometers and faced a vast and intricate mix of beauty, ugliness, evil, and love all at the same time and showed that adaptability, openness, and tenacity can get you far.
The Sun Also Rises
A Moveable Feast
This Side of Paradise
Cities of the Interior
The High Cost of Free Parking
The Book of Nightmares