Who I Be

I'd prefer that my first blog post be an eloquent yet brief autobiography/statement of purpose written in only the best prose (think James Baldwin's introduction to Notes of a Native Son).

If I even attempted to do that then the damn thing would never get written.

That can come later.

Right now, I'll settle for a  few pithy bullet points. Just to get this virgin post out of the way.

1. My middle initial is E. What the "E" stands for will be the topic of a blog post in the near future.
2.  I received my BA from Loyola University-Chicago in 2006. I majored in Classical Civilization. I had an "almost major" in English and "almost minors" in philosophy and anthropology. ("Almost major/minor" = I was a class short of an actual major/minor).
3. Occupation: unemployed and looking. And that is a job.
4. Vocation: Reading, writing, editing, and now this blog.
5. Why Cynosarges?  My favorite philosopher is the ancient Greek Cynic philosopher Diogenes and the Cynosarges was the location of Cynic teaching. The gymnasium was also located just outside the city walls of Athens and, in a sense, it's an appropriate metaphor of the psychical distance that I fell from the black and gay communities.

In this space, I'll discuss pretty much anything that comes to mind. But especially:

1. Books. I love to read and I love reading the "Dead Old White Guys". A goal of mine: to read the St. John's College Reading List within the next two or three years. The complete works of William Shakespeare. The Christian Bible from Genesis to Revelation (in fact, I want to read all of the major works of sacred literature). The complete works of James Baldwin. I love reading dead and living black and gay literature and as soon as I can find good lists on the net, I'll post 'em.
2. Politics and History.I've followed politics most of my life. You will follow politics and history with me.
3. Michigan Wolverine football. I was born and raised in Detroit and given the usual sorriness of the Detroit Lions (although that seems to be changing in 2011), I am a Michigan Wolverine fan going back to the days of Bo Schembechler and Ricky Leach. Even in these dark days of late for the Michigan football program, my love for U of M is as undiminished as my hatred for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

OK, that's enough for now. The very first time is usually painful and better when it's over with.

I'm done.