I immediately thought of Vladimir Nabokov, another Russian expat, who fits your lists of desirable traits. "Interesting, attentive, charismatic, observant, original, worldly, conversant...entertaining, intelligent, present and intellectually engaged - definitely quite verbal." Also, I can add that my anecdotes agree with yours. Seems as if it's usually a mistake to not be taciturn, not be a blank screen to receive a woman's projections.
Well, to put it mildly, I (and most people) hardly merit comparison to Nabokov. :-) He was an exceptionally distinctive literator.
> Seems as if it's usually a mistake to not be taciturn, not be a blank screen to receive a woman's projections.
Indeed, and I hate to engage in this kind of provocative gender stereotyping, but as a factual matter, it agrees with nearly all of my dating experiences in my adult life.
And yet the common complaint from young women is that men are simple and don't relate or exhibit much emotional connection. Well, I've tried, and it tends to scare them off.
