Who is this MJV? He is I, Matt Villano. The J stands for Jacob, my middle name. I'm an only child. I stand about six feet tall. I've got dark hair and olive skin. My nose is usually stuffed. I don't need much sleep at night, and my favorite meal of the day is breakfast. I make a mean salad. I'm most comfortable in jeans and an old T-shirt. Or a sweatshirt. Some things about me: I'm a full-time freelance writer. I've written about everything under the sun, from Moonies to Mercedes-Benz, Borneo to baseball. I've written for magazines, newspapers, newsletters, Web sites, aquariums, advertising and marketing firms, radio, TV, even corporate executives. I also do some editing from time to time. I'm a multimedia whiz, and an Internet video and audio star. I even earn good money. If you don't believe me, check out my resume. If you want to read some (not all) of the stuff I've written over the years, grab a scotch and check out my online library of work. When I'm not typing away at my computer, I'm probably studying whales and dolphins. Some people like trains, others like a sport they play. I like cetaceans. I watch them. I read about them. I spend a good bit of time thinking about them, too. More than anything, I enjoy observing people interact with these magical creatures. Everyone remembers the first time they saw a whale. Whales seem to touch the human spirit like nothing else. Someday, I hope to write a book on this subject. I've always loved teaching, and during the summer of 2007, I taught a class at San Francisco State University. The class was JOUR-300, a reporting course in the journalism department. I had 23 students in all, and think I made the experience informative and fun. At one point in history, I also was a huge fan of the game of baseball. Before steroids and A-Rod, I loved the New York Yankees, and represented the fourth generation of baseball fans in my family. I've resigned as a fan, but my past is no secret: I loved the national pastime. And like the big dork I am, I kept score of every game I attended, so if you're interested in seeing how much of a fan I really was, be sure to visit my Baseball Journal. Now you know about my main passions. To understand these passions is to understand MJV. But that's only the beginning. Here are some of the other things I think make this world fun: My wife; my daughters; Coomer; whales; Salt bagels; the New Yorker; Sonoma County; "The Vampire Diaries"; Dar Williams; Seattle; emus; Central Park; Paul O'Neill; Gamesville; Mario Cuomo; Editor & Publisher; Moxy Fruvous; Gloucester, Mass.; Harp of Burma; running; HomeSite; singer/songwriter Paul Simon; "Project Runway"; Montara Mountain; GPS devices; sea green crayons; John McPhee; ESPN; Kathleen Edwards; peppermint stick ice cream; Las Vegas; Hector Berlioz; tuna fish; Bruce Springsteen; "Wild Gaper" wine; reduced fat Wheat Thins; Coldplay; soft coated wheaten terriers; Tracy Kidder; Earl Grey tea; the Indigo Girls; kayaking; Northport, N.Y.; clementines; Edie Carey; gerunds; sushi; (the late) M&R bar; Dell computers; "Glee"; the Chicago Blackhawks; Chanticleer; churrascaria restaurants; poker; Nick Drake; Mom and Dad; Torrone nougat candies; Greg Brown; night bike rides with Dave; El Famous Burrito; Alaska; craps; Ethopian food; coolerheart; the book, "Moby Dick"; GORP; Rusted Root; Barney Greengrass; e-mail; Bob Talbot; Linux; the San Juan Islands; pineapples; El Gran Amigo; camping; Bjork; Nissan Xterras; mini bars; Dan McCourt; Vancouver Island, British Columbia; the last name Yoder; poker; swimming caps; Martin Sexton; Coming into the Country; avocados; black labrador puppies; fog; Matt's in the Market; Gunther's Tap Room; the indie flick, "Once"; e.e. cummings; Whitefish, Mont.; REI; homemade hummus; cowbells; the WNBA; Jared Fogle; Half Moon Bay, Calif.; Marisa Tomei; Josh Rouse; Camelbak packs; my orthotics; XM Radio channel 15, Lima, Peru, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Land Rovers; pisco; Lentejas from Nestle; comedian Jon LaJoie; the word "power"; Tofino, B.C.; Caesars Palace; the Society of American Travel Writers; Ray's Pizza; United Airlines; Melody Gardot; chana masala; Briggs & Riley luggage; Healdsburg, Calif.; The Economist; Toyota Prius.