Welcome to my blog

Hi folks!

This is the start of my new blog. Stay tuned for updates on the experiences of a nice Connecticut boy who now finds himself living in the upper Midwest (that would be me - actually, I'm kind of a misanthrope and not particularly nice. And at nearly 30(!), I'm not really a boy). I do, in fact, like it here but sometimes I feel like one of those chicks in Chekhov's Three Sisters pining for Moscow.

This blog will focus on several primary themes.

Firstly, I consider this to be a study of the folkways and regional styles of this region (the Midwest, in general, but primarily Minnesota and Wisconsin; I live in the Twin Cities). Think of it as an amateur's exploration into cultural geography and anthropology.

Secondly, I will post on my broad interests concerning center-left politics in the US, Canada and the UK. My views are basically progressive but somewhat iconoclastic. I hate dogmatism and sanctimony on the left as much as I hate religious and market fundamentalism on the right. That said, I'm only nice to white liberals because I'm a sexual minority and an elitist and I don't want to be sent to a gulag if a revolution takes place. Also, I'm not particularly prone to acts of heroic resistance; I hate totalitarians but I'd probably work with our Chinese overlords if they one day invade and conquer our sweet land.

Thirdly, I will occasionally touch upon on cultural issues...especially those concerning sexual politics. I'm bisexual and a bit radical in this sphere. I like both the ladies and the gents and occasionally those somewhere in between (I just hate the uglies and the stupids).

I'll also be posting book reviews. My reading interests are broad and varied and I have unusual passions as of late (the Interwar period, anything on Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the Mitford family). I have a voracious appetite for books (and other things...but more on that later).

Also, I hope to interview some real life Midwesterners for this blog so they can share their stories of hot dish, jello molds, DUIs, trees, constant cheerfulness, lakes and flat accents with us all! Any Midwesterners who want to participate in my interview project, just let me know! I will provide cheese and/or beer to those who participate in this project.

PS - I have a dark, wry sense of humor and I'm not particularly politically correct. You have been warned.