Name: Luna Kahlo (last name is a tribute to Frida Kahlo, the most influential Hispanic Woman of the surrealist movement. The first harkens back to my high school obsession with Sailor Moon-the cat, you know what I'm talkin about)

Claims to Fame: Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of Michigan, professional oil painter with several juried shows,traditional animation storyboard/character design artist, won second place in potato sack race in the 3rd grade.

Favorite Books: Anything by Stephen King (The Stand, Salem's Lot, and the whole Dark Tower series springs to mind),Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, anything by Terry Pratchet, such as Witches Abroad, The Night Watch, and The Last Hero. Mmm, that's good satire. Also Eregon and Eldest, In the Time of the Butterflies, Catch 22, Catcher in the Rye, 1984, Moo (or anything) by Jane Smileyand the Harry Potter saga.

Favorite Movies: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson is a genius), Incredibles, Finding Nemo, heck anything Pixar does, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, anything by Hayao Miyazaki in general, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill(both volumes, though the second one grudgingly), Wallace and Gromit (everyone needs more stop motion animation in their lives!)and the basics: anything by Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining), Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Alien, Gone With the Wind, Silence of the Lambs.

Favorite TV Shows: I don't nestle the glass teet much, but I am a rabid fan of the Simpsons (I am so smart! S-M-R-T), had a fling with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Spike provided some great eye candy) and I do watch all my cartoons on Saturday, like Spongebob, Danny Phantom, Avatar, the Last Airbender (of course), Teen Titans. Also:Samauri Shamploo (quite entertaining) and now almost every episode of Full Metal Alchemist (gotta love a kid named Alphonse)

Favorite Musicians: The Beatles (John Lennon is sublime), Vast, Dave Matthews Band, got a thing for Gorillaz and Death Cab for Cutie, Alicia Keys, Green Day, Led Zeplin, Metallica (gotta Ride the Lightning), & Alanis Morrisette are the creme'. However, won't say "no" to a little U2,Shakira (the Spanish albums, folks), Supertramp, R.E.M, Smashing Pumpkins, Cranberries, or Red Hot Chili Peppers. Gotta have your fruits and veggies, kids.

Dislikes: Apathy (come on, people,ya gotta care about something; paint, write, take a stand-gotta do it!), people with mindsmore narrow than theirarse puckered up tightlike a snare drum, people who think video games are turning kids into either mindless zombies or rampaging maniacs (neither are true, folks), pork and spiders.

Mantra: "Defy Plums! Killing Apathy With Art"- trying to create awareness of the issues going on both on a local and global scale through the arts: music, dance, writing, applied and fine arts, discussion and debate. Hey Middle Class, ipod worshiping, monochromatic world-viewers--got originality?

recommended reading: The Avatar Saga by yours truely-there's the plug.