December 22, 2006
Meet the Flockers: Daniel Lestarjette
If everything goes according to plan, this brief introduction should appear at precisely 8:00 a.m. sharp. Or 3:00 a.m. if I get it wrong. Either way, Good morning!
I’m Daniel Lestarjette, the new guy around here. In fact, I’ve never been very good at writing these kinds of self-profiles, so I’ll opt for the straightforward approach. I’m a senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where I study anthropology. I’m particularly interested in prehistoric art, how the environment shapes cultural aesthetics, Renaissance art, as well as cultural perceptions of time and space. Increasingly, I’ve found myself drawn to how the physical and cultural geography of the so-called “real world” is mapped onto the virtual dimension of the Internet.
I also study French, because it’s so damn cool, but also as a kind of personal heritage. My ancestors were French autrefois, and I think it’s important to know the language of your roots. Plus, if you believe everything you read on the Internet (as I do), we have some interesting historical skeletons in our familial closet: an enigmatic “M. Lestarjette” rented a house to the Marquis de Sade—yes, that Marquis de Sade—in 1766, while another fellow may have been associated with Ben Franklin for a short while. But I really don’t like to name drop.
As for the day-to-day, I live with my partner, Kyle, and our two cats, Simon and Gryffin, in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
That’s it about me, really, so I’ll leave you with this final though:
Have a great weekend!
comments
welcome aboard, monsieur!
in addition, I will add that, from what I am told, mr. lestarjette has a texas connection….
Welcome aboard, indeed! I will definitely be interested to see thing related to your field of expertise.
Yes, it’s true! I grew up near Houston and lived in Austin briefly before coming to Chicago. Vive le Texas !
You know, I was hoping you might step forth from the shadows of commentary into the dazzling light of contributorship. Welcome!
I enjoyed reading your introduction. Your tenuous Sadean connection is almost (but not quite) good enough to erase the stain of your unsavory links to the state of Texas.
And I hope that you stick around Chicago long enough for our paths to intersect.
Thanks Sheila—I was going to say, “It could be worse; I could be from —,” but really, I couldn’t think of another state that would really fit the bill. Don’t get me wrong. Texas isn’t all bad; Austin, for example, is a fab little breath of fresh air. I’m just disappointed that Kinky Freidman wasn’t elected governor.
As for my Sadean connection, the little house he rented from my ancestor still exists today. If I could only come up with 240 years of back taxes…
You know what part of the PIZZA-LA ad scared me?
That shot of the ‘real’ slice of pizza being prised loose, all gooey with cheese like molten lava.
There’s an English subtitled version on YouTube; search for Pizza-La.
Here’s what scares me: late night pizza + Pizza-La commercial + reading Lovecraft before bed.
Not wise.
Belated welcome! Are you the youngest flocker now?
Thanks, Josh. Although no one really ever believes me, I’m 30. How old are you?
No one really ever believes I’m 30 either, Daniel.