Hello! Thanks for taking a look to find out a little bit about me. Here am I, a 35-year old, Atlanta-born, British-souled, female Ph.D. candidate in Victorian Literature, who has taken FAR too long to write that dissertation and finally graduate, but I always find something new to take my attention away from the tasks at hand. I also own my own web-based antiques company. I specialize in antique jewelry, run auctions on eBay (Silver Powerseller since 1998), and occasionally lecture on the context of history in jewelry and fashion at museums, art colleges, conferences and anywhere else that can find use for a bookworm obsessed with all things old and wonderful.
I was born a research and history fanatic; I started reading at the age of 2, and have never stopped! All my life, I've been a pure Anglophile, interested in all things British, especially Victorian (although I have branched out quite a bit in history studies since then). I started studying Victorian costume design at 11, and antiques and jewelry at the age of 16. I am also engaged to a very sweet man (first time around for me), and live in Decatur, GA, a suburb of metro Atlanta.
My hobbies are reading, reading, drawing, reading, and watching cable channels like A&E, The Discovery Channel, BBC America, and of course, the History Channel. Oh, and did I mention reading? ;) I am currently enjoying my latest issues of BBC History Magazine and The Maine Antiques Digest.
Okay. . . what else. . . well, if you have read my reviews, you can tell that I am also a big animation fan; my favorite cartoons are SpongeBob Squarepants and Rocko's Modern Life (unfortunately no longer running!) I suppose you could say I am paradoxical; one side of me is the serious scholar with her nose buried in a book (usually reference books for my work), the other side is a platform-wearing, wacko woman with a taste for all things theatrical and a surreal sense of humor.
Other things I love:
TV: "That 70s Show" (Great writing and superb ensemble cast. "Happy Days" for the New Millenium, but much, much better!); "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Antiques Roadshow," "Blackadder I-V," "Monty Python".
Movies: "Withnail and I" (UK, 1988)
"Gladiator" (cool Roman history!)
"Sense and Sensibility" (great costumes, cast)
"A Clockwork Orange"
"The Producers" (1967; Mel Brooks' 1st movie)
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (must see!)
"Velvet Goldmine" (guilty pleasure, great
soundtrack!)
"Gormanghast" (BBC; 2002)
All of Eddie Izzard's videos.
Favorite Authors: Oscar Wilde, Louisa May Alcott, Stephen Fry, James Thurber, P. G. Wodehouse, Daniel DeFoe, Virginia Woolf, Sarah Waters, Jeannette Winterson. (I do not write many book reviews, because I would never get them all done!)
Favorite Books: "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde, "Work: A Story of Experience" by Louisa May Alcott.
Actors/Actresses: Too many to name, but always Kate Winslet, Eddie Izzard (the World's Most Brilliant Comedian), Jim Carrey, Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Robert Downey Jr., Gerard Diepardeu, Angelina Jolie (she can't act, but I wish I looked like her!), Alan Cumming, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and that guilty pleasure, eye-friendly Ashton Kutcher.
Other Things You (Really Don't) Need to Know About Me:
I am proudest of: My charity-based Atlanta production of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Hedwig for Hope" (ran Nov. 2001-Oct. 2002). Co-director, producer, script adapter, Hedwig/Tommy. This is how I coped with Sept. 11; our 2001 charity was the Sept. 11th Fund. Plus, I am the only biological female to have played the role for more than 3 public performances! (Antiques dealer by day; pseudo "drag queen" by night? OH YEAH! The thrill of a double-life!)
My best trait: I am a loyal friend.
My worst trait: I am hyper-critical.
Current Nail Polish: Currently this cool shade of blue.
I am happiest when: 1) I am in the UK; 2) Picking an antiques show for "buried treasure," 3) Performing on stage.
I am saddest when: Someone is angry at me, or I am angry at myself.
Political Stance: Card-carrying Libertarian.
God? Yeah, I think so, but I think she might be female.
Reincarnation? My intellect says "no," but it sure would explain a lot about my life.
In my last life I was: Probably a gay man, circa 1870. (Maybe one of Wilde's Oxford chums?) I'm still pretty much a raving queen trapped in a woman's body.
Music: Mozart, John Dowland, Renaissance-period madrigals, David Bowie, all things glittery and glam, 80s "New Wave" (for the nostalgia), Beyonce, N.E.R.D., The Smiths, Morrisey, They Might Be Giants.
Pets: Two cats, Fred (rescue kitty) and Joris (pedigreed and pampered ruddy Abyssinian, CFA Grand Premier, retired).
Children: None yet, but I think I want one eventually.
Dream Car: 1932 Bugatti, white w/chrome trim.
Next Car: Mini Cooper with a Union Jack paint job, if I have the money.
Alcoholic beverage: Jagermeister with a Coke chaser, until absinthe becomes legal in the States.
Cake or Death? Cake!
I hate: Selfish people, Sunday drivers, people with no sense of humor, politicians, most cooked vegetables.
People hate it when I: Smoke, Bite my nails, Pick apart "historic" movies because someone got the props/costumes wrong for the period, endlessly quote Eddie Izzard's best material.
A Fun Day Includes: Listening to Bowie, then dressing up and going to a Renaissance Fair. Geez, what a geek!!
For Your Amusement (with many thanks to the brilliant dpjohansen):
Well, it COULD be worse!
Are you damned?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey
Another good argument for reincarnation:
Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.
HOW I RATE MY REVIEWS:
I was an English Comp professor for 5 years, so I look for well-written, grammatically-correct, insightful reviews that address the topic at hand. If you have actually spent some TIME on your review, you are likely to get a "Very Helpful" or "Helpful" review from me. I do not expect more from others than I expect from myself. If your review is slap-dash" or off-topic, or has content that offends your audience, you are not likely to get a good review from me. These reviews matter - make them count!
Well, that's me! Now back to writing those reviews!
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
