PRINT MATERIALS, LITERATURE & WRITING

I am a "bibliophile" and IT user which means that I read voraciously and try to consume several books concurrently, ranging from histories of Mexico to psychological mysteries, while trying to stay current with the latest IT/MIS applications. I'm also a "wannabe" poet and am struggling to find time to work on a fictional work that will trace the evolution and adventures of my people from the coming of Cortez to contemporary times. Over the years I have also managed to find some very special first editions of works by Richard Wright, Octavio Paz, and other great writers of the 20th Century and hope to add a few more from the 21st Century if Alicia allows me to make space for them in our already book-filled home. I've also written a couple of non-fiction texts in the area of information seeking behavior of culturally diverse people and have recently co-authored a new text on Energy Services Outsourcing. I am currently working on a book that focuses on the history of environmental programs in the United States and I'm always on the prowl for time to write some fresh poetry for my wife. When I have the courage in the future I will incorporate some of my vintage poetry and prose into a tapestry depicting both my real and mythical lives. Over the years I have managed to find, read, and preserve several thousand "comics", primarily Marvels and New Age (Darkhorse, Vertigo, et al). The Fantastic Four and Conan are among my "old" favorites although I also find the Sandman series to be artistic, mythical, and thought provoking. In addition to my comic collection I have also acquired several thousand vintage/collectible post-cards, many of them reflecting unusual and sometimes socially powerful themes for the times. For example, I have scores of post-cards from the turn of the century that show Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans in stereotypic and/or demeaning circumstances. I also stumbled on a large trove of postcards collected my Mennonite missionaries in the Soviet block countries and Latin America. The point of all this is that I love a broad spectrum of print materials, both the serious and the ephemeral.