Hi, my name is most likely not Dr Gaius Baltar, but I do like that internet handle.

I'm 22, I live in Baltimore, and I was bored and wanting to interact in some interesting discussions. I do a heavy amount of writing: essays, short stories, a novel I'm tinkering with (but very little productive results with the accompanying lack of creative energy needed to actually work on a novel...), the occasional poem...

I'd say I'm more inclined towards philosophy than politics, living in a country that lacks true diametrically-opposed mainstream parties. I do not vote. My sole concerns lay with education and humanitarianism. This includes social reforms, social welfare (I would also support an overhaul that would emphasize trying to achieve economic independence for its recipients rather than simply hand out meager payments), free access to medical care, among other means of providing a quality of life all citizens deserve.

I have major disagreements with the general definition of an American liberal, but in the actual definition of the word (before American politics corrupted what it actually means), I'd say I identify as a liberal individual. I'm not a socialist, but I believe in co-op business models, in state-regulated price fixing for basic food items (milk, butter, eggs, basic forms of meat, bottled water) to ease the strain on households across America already crippled with the burden of ever-increasing cost of food and water, regulated business practices as well as forced transparency, high graduated income taxes, and so on. If these things were on the ballot, I would vote.

I love zombie-related movies but I end up paranoid for weeks, sometimes just glancing out the windows to watch for corpses running after people.

My three favorite movies are, in order, "Blade Runner", "Solaris" (1970s version), and "Fight Club". The recent Indie movie, "Moon", still strikes me as an excellent movie, while "Schindler's List" and "Jacob's Ladder" are also movies I think about often. When I watch a movie, I want to feel forced to have to contemplate and actually use my brain. For this reason, I will never watch something like Transformers or the endless stream of romantic comedies that pollute the movie theaters.

I love the book "Brothers Karamazov", "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "Lord of the Rings", and the works of the Bard. I love the short stories and novels of Philip K. Dick.

I drink alcohol, and I've drunk a lot of it, but I've never had control issues before. Even despite going out for dinner and lunches frequently I often don't order a cold beer or a glass of some cabernet. Alcohol is like a strawberry daiquiri: I can't imagine myself drinking it all the time.

I've smoked pot once, got raging high, a case of the munchies that made me order $100 in Chinese food (the restaurant does delivery), and I really liked the experience, but as addictions aren't something I grapple with, I'm not planning on smoking pot unless it's offered. I've never done other drugs besides smoked a couple cigarettes, but I'd probably try cocaine just for the experience.

I like music acts like VNV Nation, Covenant, Assemblage 23, Prodigy (I really like synthpop/electronica/techno); classical works of Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak, and Strauss primarily; classic rock (I consider this to be mostly 60s/70s despite differing styles) like Jimi Hendrix, Queen; groups like Blue Man Group, Nirvana, and the Blue Scholars also hit my music bone.

Well, that's about it, looking forward to being here.

Addendum: I'm an entirely secular person but I do have personal religious beliefs, but which do not affect my life in the slightest and which I do not talk about unless asked, and feel like answering, or if there's some conversation I want to join in concerning religious belief. I value my secular self and that quality in others.