 |
| A mysterious woman from the Portland Vase, "the most famous cameo-glass vessel from antiquity". |
- Gender: Female
- Location: Canada
* * *
A seemingly life-long student, my life may be a WIP (work in process), but I'm never under the lash.
My general outlook can be summed up as a trifle with layers of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a few lashings a la Famous Five with its Comic Strip parody, Doctor Who, Monty Python, and the Tanglewood Tales; a twist of folk and classical music; and a pinch of Indian food gently folded into the early movies of Robert Altman and films of Woody Allen.
I'm rarely in the Goldilocks Zone (my micro version, not NASA's macro definition) and life obstinately refuses to be dull, so I'm fortunate that my children are incarcerated in educational institutions.
My number one pet peeve is acoustic terrorism. Calliopean, it's pervasive, it's everywhere, and it's in my face. As for number two, let's just say I'm a distinct inhabitant of the Great White North's smoking section and have a lower than average opinion of politicians.
On the bright side, I'm not on-side with the doomsayers and cannot believe that "things (ie, everything, especially young people) were better in my day"). To refute the assertion that we're in moral freefall, I offer up the ancient Greek playwrights. Some of them had the same complaints. Surely life and offspring weren't so wonderful -- so much better -- than today? Exactly how far must we have fallen?
As you may have guessed by now, my interests and experiences are all over the map. Anthropology, Business School, science studies, translation studies, art -- painting, drawing, sculpting -- and writing courses. Both the profit and the non-profit sectors. A wage slave and self-employed. Living in several Canadian provinces and Europe. Travelling either alone or with family in North and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Ranging from the sublime to the downright awful, life is never a bore.
I'm an avid reader and traveller. A movie fan, I've been viewing solo since I was a preteen. It's heaven when I can combine all three.
I often read at least one book a week and frequently have two or more going at the same time. I also spend an inordinate amount of time plotting my travels -- guide books, history, culture and when I can, a language tape or two. And my aim, which I often meet, is to see one film in the cinema per week. There's no lack of raw material.
So I do what I've always done. I think about what I am reading and relate it to other aspects of my life -- people, places, current events, works of art, even science fiction. The sky's the limit.
Oh yeah, and since I got my hands on a digital camera, I take lots and lots of pictures. Especially when I travel.
Notes
* * *
The ancient Library of Celsus, at Ephesus ranks just after those of Alexandria and Pergamon (home of the Pergamon Altar). Apart from the tourists, there's not much left but the stones. Surrounded by so much history, I was convinced I was fluent in the Latin of the inscription left by an earlier bunch of ill-behaved yahoos ...
The Library of Celsus. The inscription is above the lower building's arch (right).
