Hobbies & Interests
Favorite Bands:
Nightwish, Auri, Indica,
& Kontrust
Even though I don’t listen to them as often as I used to, Nightwish will always have a soft spot in my heart. They were the first band I discovered when I was starting to find music on my own and they got me through a lot of tough times in high school. They were my gateway into the world of Symphonic Metal like Within Temptation and Epica. From there they led me to Death Metal bands like Eluveitie and Arch Enemy. I remember late nights after school watching music videos on YouTube for Amaranth, The Islander and Endless Forms Most Beautiful, and for those fond nostalgic memories, I will be forever grateful.
Favorite Album: Imaginaerum
As a huge fan of the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, it’s not surprise I love the albums by the band Auri. Their debut album has many songs that remind me of events from the books and Underthing Solstice will forever be one of my favorites. Even though the second album strays much farther from the books themselves, I still go back and listen with fondness. I’m deeply excited for album 3 to come out next year.
Favorite Album: Auri
If you haven’t seen it already, I made a music video for one of Indica’s songs as a class project. I first discovered them in college while listening to music on YouTube (back when the algorithm was good and not flooded with AI, shorts and other spam). Some of their songs were in English, other’s of theirs were in Finnish, which immediately captured my attention. I clicked on one song and it was great. Then I clicked on another, and another and another and was hooked. Eventually I realized their connection with Nightwish, (Tuomas produced some of Indica’s records) and that made me love them even more.
Favorite Album: Shine
Kontrust is a strange one for me, I don’t really know why I like them so much, but I think it has a lot to do with their former singer Agata. I even did a watercolor portrait of her for a class in college. As far as I can gather we really know almost nothing about her. After hours of research she remains an enigmatic mystery and I love that. Two of the only concrete things I can find about her are that she’s Polish, and that she appears to have written most of the songs for the albums she sang on.
Favorite Album: Second Hand Wonderland
Favorite Movies:
Nightwish Imaginareum, Run, Lola, Run, Mad Max: Fury Road & Furiosa
Of course, Nightwish being my favorite band, the movie they made is also one of my favorites. I watch it every December, late in the darkest hours when I’m able to find a night to be home alone. At the right times it can feel deeply comforting, like a warm blanket and a good friend.
Life is a crazy adventure. Run, Lola, Run is a reminder to make the most of every minute and to make a choice. To run after what we desire and do our best to achieve our goals. If we find way that fails, try another way until we find one that works. I’m doing a bad job of describing it here, but it truly is amazing, and unlike anything else I’ve ever seen before. Run, Lola, run Trailer.
Fury Road and Furiosa are an action packed adrenaline rush from start to finish. I never saw Fury Road in theaters, but I saw Furiosa in theaters 3 times with Dolby Atmos Sound. I love the underdog stories, the apocalyptic desert wasteland, and the strength and determination we see from all of the characters. I love them, and I’m not even a car guy.
Favorite Books:
The Slow Regard of Silent Things, The Name of the Wind, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
The Slow Regard and The Name of the Wind are full of mystery and lore. I first read them both in high school and immediately fell in love with both the immensity and the realness of the world at hand. The 2nd Harry Potter book is the best one. And while I love reading biographies of figureheads of world history, this one on Catherine the Great is probably the most well written and well researched one I’ve ever read. Would highly recommend.
Favorite Video Games:
Epic Mickey, Mario Kart Wii,
Tomb Raider (2013), Super Mario Party
I’ve never been a heavy gamer. The only console I owned growing up was an Nintendo Wii, and it’s a console I still own and use to this day. I spent many hours trying to get Mario Kart Online to work with my friends in elementary school. Even though it dosen’t hold up tremendously today, Epic Mickey was a world that was always so comforting and immersive to me as a kid. OsTown and Mean Street especially were the most wonderful places to escape to.
