"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Biography

Robert M. Tilendis, prop.

That's me.  A Chicagoan, if not by birth, then by decades of acculturation. The product of a coal miner's son from southern Illinois and a farmer's daughter from the Appalachian hills, with an attitude to match. Blessed, or cursed, with an unquenchable curiosity and, thanks to my parents, a love of learning. I take great delight in small, everyday things, and have over the years developed a finely tuned sense of irony.

I laugh easily, anger slowly, and have a sometimes unfortunate tendency to use words like a weapon. I can, unlike many, be swayed by a rational argument. However, "Because I said so" hasn't worked with me since well before the age of five.

Being enthusiastic about new things, I, unlike many of my contemporaries, have a multivalent Web presence, which I am thinking about consolidating under one overarching site. Until that happens, you can find me at a/k/a Hunter, where I store images, bibliographies, and resumes, and Booklag, my LiveJournal page, which I actually use as a journal. I can be reached by e-mail, for which you will have to go to my profile page. I might even respond, if I think you're serious.