Lex

I'm Alex (short for Alexander, not Alexandra) from Ontario, and a Canadian at heart. What does that mean? Peaceful, laidback, though not as obsessed with beer as some stereotypical characters and commercials portray us as. :) I love music, like TV but prefer reading to it, really.

Neil Gaiman's Stardust and American Gods are great. Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series and Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro series are my favourite mystery series', though I like Agatha Christie quite a bit as well. The Shipping News, by Janet Proulx, and I Know This Much is True and She's Come Undone by wally Lamb are also favourites. And of course the wonderful Wicked, which spawned the musical I love.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're sending me a mix CD, I'd much prefer if the music's in mp3 format instead of basic CD format (.cda), as I use an iPod and a computer (and a newer stereo), so it's much more convenient for me. :) Thanks a lot! If you can't burn as mp3 (or mp4 works too, I think) then I'll be alright with .cda. Just means converting it, which is usually a little annoying, but I'll survive! Note done.

Andrew Bird is my most recent obsession, though I have a love of the indie scene in general. Music is my all-consuming passion, though I only listen, do not make. I can sit for hours basically just listening to my music. It makes me so happy.

Female vocalists ...

• Sia
• Nellie McKay
• Hello Saferide
• Lily Allen
• Fiona Apple
• The Pipettes
• Aimee Mann
• Rachael Yamagata
• Regina Spektor
• The Pierces
• Jem
• Dragonette
• Tori Amos
• Dido
• Sarah Blasko
• Eisley
• Kate Havnevik
• Imogen Heap
• Tegan and Sara
• Rilo Kiley
• Pink
• Shannon Wright
• Amy Winehouse

Also, a secret love of Diana Krall and... Kelly Clarkson. I can't believe I actually put that in writing. I lay my reputation on the line, all for SwapBot! :)

On the guys side...

• the aforementioned Andrew Bird
• David Usher
• Ben Folds
• White Rabbits
• Both The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie, who share Ben Gibbard as lead vocalist.
• The Shins
• The Smiths
• Snow Patrol
• Stars
• Mika
• Hawksley Workman
• M. Ward
• Angie Aparo
• Travis
• Cake
• The Fray

Not much, really. The big ones - Lost, Grey's Anatomy, and a wonderful little series about a serial killer a friend told me about called Dexter. Most of the shows I like get cancelled. :(

Not a big crafts person, to be honest. My mum crochets, but I tend to stick to the scholarly pursuit of reading.

Chocolate, candy, etc. are wonderful. Have a hate of peanuts and peanut butter, so please keep that as far away as possible. Also not a fan of black licorice.

For smaller swaps, I'm always in need of bookmarks. Journals might not be the best idea, as I've bought many and never actually filled them in, and I'd hate to not use something sent to me. I like keychains and am in need of some. And if you're American, it may seem weird but I love TV Guides, and they stopped selling them in Canada, so that's another possibility.

If you can find cheap books, I'd love them, even if they're in a language other than English. I love looking through books (or bookmarks, comics, etc.) in other languages, and I wanna learn other languages someday, so they'd be a great. help. :)

I love...

Colour: Blues (darker) and greens (forest to light, not picky) especially, also black, white, red, grey, orange.

Music: Indie, non-mainstream pop, rock and alternative, mostly. Female vocalists seem to dominate my listening habits, but I do love a good male voice too. Also, have a love of cover songs and collect as many as I can, especially gender-switched ones as I find the difference quite fascinating.

Candies: Hard candies are nice as long as they don't have a weird filling; love lollipops and suckers. Chocolate is good, even both white and dark. I have an intense love of Skor bars.

Books: I love richly drawn characters and intricate plots. Usually not a sci-fi fan, but I might be persuaded. Fantasy and literature are my big ones.

Comics: Just getting into these, but I love Marvel comics and manga. If it's not either of those, if it's similar I should love it. ;) Favourites are Astonishing X-Men (Joss Whedon!), Runaways (Joss Whedon!) of the former and Fruits Basket and stuff like Death Note of the latter. Also, getting into this fantastic series named Fables.

Tea: I'm in love with the Stash Chai Spice tea and I love Chai lattes, so Chai is my favouite flavour. Also a fan of Orange Pekoe. However, I'm always wanting to try new tastes, so go crazy, especially if it's something that fits with los of sugar.

Animals: Wolves are my favourite thing in the universe, and if they wouldn't eat me I'd own one. Also love bald eagles, have since I was a kid.

Religion: I am athiestic, and thus anything with religious under/overtones would probably not be appreciated. Sorry! If it's literature and fictional, I might be amenable, but most likely not. However, if it's a token that says more about your culture than a recruitment attempt, I'm cool for it. :)

Other: World cultures excite me, whether it's the US or England or Spain. I have a strange fascination with Japan (especially the samurai era) and have a number of books on samurai and geisha, but I love history and world culture in general, so I'd love to get anything that would give me the feel of being in another place.