who: Steven Jarvis

where: I live in Northwest Arkansas with my wife and young son.

when: I’m a native Arkansan, and I grew up in Batesville and Newport before heading for the hills in Fayetteville. I’ve also lived in Mississippi and (briefly) Alabama.

what: I attended college at: Arkansas College (now Lyon College), Hendrix College, University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas – Little Rock, University of Mississippi, University of Arkansas School of Law. I’m an over-educated under-achiever (B.A. English/Creative Writing, graduate work in English and American Lit, M.A. Southern Studies, J.D. Law). I have worked as a: cook, disc jockey, dishwasher, fly tier, reporter, editor, lawyer, web designer + developer, editor (web) again, and now again web designer + developer + content strategist.

interests.

• Scouting. The Boy and I are pretty involved in Scouting (he’s a Cub Scout; I’m Cubmaster for his pack this year, plus I also serve on the District Cub Scout Roundtable Staff). We both love it. We do a lot of camping, hiking, fishing, exploring, etc.
• Geekery. I like gadgets, computers, electronics, boardgames, comics, RPGs, etc.
• Music. I play guitar, bass, drums, some primitive piano, clawhammer banjo (poorly), ukulele, and various computer and iOS device-based computer music “instruments.”
• design, esp. Modern and Mid Century Modern, graphic design, and web/interaction design.
• roleplaying games (esp. Burning Wheel, and various classic editions of Dungeons & Dragons).
• reading (fiction: esp. Science Fiction, spy/espionage thrillers; non-fiction: food, nature and science writing, etc.; Comics: mostly indie)

food.

Anything fresh, whole, local, organic, good. Japanese (esp. sushi). Chinese. Southern/Home Cookin’/Soul Food.

music.

Historically, my favorite music is 80s and 90s alternative (back when it was called “College Rock”), but I also listen to a lot of real Soul, classic metal, surf (classic and new), real country, indie pop, and electronic music (esp. IDM, ambient, minimal), such as: Al Green, Boards of Canada, Booker T. and the MGs, The Church, Guster, Hüsker Dü, Iron Maiden, Jack Johnson, The Jayhawks, Lyle Lovett, Marvin Gaye, Minisystem, the Ocean Blue, the Orange Peels, Pantha du Prince, the Pernice Brothers, the Police, the Postal Service, R.E.M., the Smithereens, the Smiths, Tangerine Dream, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tycho, Ulrich Schnauss, the Wallflowers, Wisp, and lots of others on a random, rotating basis.

books/fiction.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, Microserfs by Douglas Coupland, Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner, The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Neuromancer (and most of the others, too) by William Gibson, A Heart to the Hawks by Don Moser, The Watch: stories by Rick Bass, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.

movies.

Blade Runner; Ronin; the Bourne trilogy; Lost in Translation; Jaws; Star Wars; That Thing You Do!; Blue Velvet; Sideways; Indian Summer; My Neighbor Totoro.

television.

The Big Bang Theory, The Guild, Tabletop, Dexter, The Walking Dead, The Killing, Mad Men, Firefly (RIP), The Sandbaggers (great British spy show from late 70s/early 80s).

five random things about me:

1. I can roll a kayak.
2. I can make a cheesecake from scratch (and a good one, too).
3. I taught myself to read at the age of three.
4. I do everything left-handed except play golf (which I suck at).
5. I once dined with a past president (Jimmy Carter) and a future president (Bill Clinton) at the same time.

updated: 2012.04.06