Birth Certificate Says: Philip James Chmiel
Some Know Me As: PJ Coffinger, PJ Chmiel #2, Hoss, Flip

In a Nutshell: Recently completed a 10,000 mile cross-country journey by scooter. Just moved from Chicago to Louisville, KY (Old Louisville, represent!) and am working as a freelance graphic and web designer.

Date of Birth: August 15, 1977

Family: I'm an only child, my parents are divorced, most of family lives in Michigan, Chicago, or South Dakota, I share my home with two great (adopted) cats. German, Polish, French and other misc. ancestors.

Skilled Trades: Graphics-Designer, Print-Maker, Gear-Jammer, Bull-Shitter, Critic, Man of Letters, Activist, Lock-Smith, Accident Investigator, Moustache-Ride-Giver, Tree-Topper, Small Engine Repair, Water-Witchery.

Beliefs: Vegan, I don't smoke, drink or use drugs (never have), liberal politics, human and animal rights, don't subscribe to religion, environmentally-conscious, pro-population-control

Interests: scooters, road trips/traveling, activism, art and design, foreign/documentary/art-house films, Nihongo (Japanese language study), exercise, drawing, reading nonfiction, screenprinting, photography, truck-driving/CB culture, obscure kungfu movies, skateboarding

Likes: Good smells (nature, quality incense, someone wearing nice perfume or cologne, candles), evocative design, seeing new places, vegan baked goods, flea markets, instigating positive change in the world, cute (girls) feet, Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Coen bros., The Onion, Walden, transcribing memorable quotes, pine trees, walking through quiet neighborhoods at nighttime, 24 hour-places, camping, Bill Bryson, bookstores, non-corporate coffeeshops, sleep and dreaming, NPR & PBS, owls, working "full tilt boogie" on an exciting project...

Dislikes: Being the center of attention, strip malls, chain stores/restaurants, thoughtlessly-planned suburbs, most TV, bad design/bad typography, most condiments, iceberg lettuce, blockbuster movies, regular malls, pop music, SUVs, wastefulness, long finger- and toenails, modern "country" music, empirical corporations, human propagation, the computer, Danny DeVito, "wacky" DJs and 95% of all radio, wood that has been painted over, leather jackets, anyone who thinks eating "white meat" is somehow healthier or more ethical than "red."

Music (not an exhaustive list): Richmond Fontaine, John Delafose, Townes Van Zandt, Johnny Cash, Misfits, George Jones, RZA, Merle Haggard, Zydeco, Chinese classical, Bjork, Portishead, Hank/Patsy/Merle/Willie/Lefty, Wu Tang, Carter Family, Slick Rick, Indian film music, Outkast, Son Volt, delta blues, Tricky, Japanese koto, Dead Kennedys, Guru, Prince, Arabic love songs, KRS-One, surf rock, Nintendo/MIDI themes, Billie/Ella, Nas, Motown, Ennio Morricone, NWA, Negativland, Kool Keith, Crass, Pizzicato 5, Mexican/Tejano, truck-driving songs (I have 15 albums' worth), some techno/electronic, lots of particular songs from many many artists, etc., etc....

Appearance: 5' 11" (180cm), Buck-forty, (10 stone, 63 kg), boring brown hair and eyes, olive skin. Prefer plain, utilitarian clothes: form-fitting tops, straight-legged or boot-cut pants, most things bought at thrift stores. Not into "fashion" and would like to make my own clothes someday... Shoes made of synthetics or canvas, no tattoos or piercings, occasionally sport "mullet" hairpiece in social situations.

Hung my Hat in:
Paw Paw, MI (77-95)
Minneapolis, MN (95-99)
Kyoto, Japan (98)
Norfolk, VA (99-02)
Chicago, IL (02-06)
Louisville, KY (2007-?)

Make my day...e-mail me

If you want to see more photos of me, there are some buried in the "Others" link below. You can also see the shitload of photos tagged with "self" on my Flickr account.