Last updated 2003-02-22:.

D. Glenn Arthur Jr.
the vanity page

Okay, here's where I get to do the WWW equivalent of "Kilroy Was Here" and put up the customary cyber-exhibitionism that makes the web what it is. :-) Now I get to babble about myself, my life, and (of course) my girlfriend -- for the benefit of friends, folks curious about the author of the other pages I've written, and all you cyber-voyeurs that fill my access logs and boost my ego. Hope I manage to entertain you.

So who is this guy?

Well, I'm a disabled programmer/analyst (see my resume), science fiction fan, musician, and medievalist. I'm also transgendered, I suffer from fibromyalgia, I'm a Christian, I'm a switch, and I live in Baltimore, MD. I'm the bearded guitarist in the picture at the upper right of this page.

Regular readers (if I've got any) will remember that there used to be a blurb here about a wonderful woman named Jane. This edit is long overdue: she and I broke up in September 1999, and it took me until May 2001 to feel like dealing with changing the references to her on my web site. Sorry if I confused people by leaving stuff up so long. Until recently (late 2002) we remained friends, and the page I wrote about her while we were dating has been renamed and edited but is still archived here. Unfortunately, developments in her professional life made her afraid to be associated with me, and the way that was handled was hurtful, and we've fallen out of contact as a result.

Music!

The most important things in my life are God and music. I think of myself primarily as a guitarist, but I also play bass, drums, recorder, oud, mandolin, and other instruments. The fibromyalgia sometimes interferes (I can't stay on twelve-string guitar all night, and doing barre chords on acoustic guitars can hurt), but more often the music actually helps witht the pain. If I can play, it's usually a good thing for me to go ahead and do so.

Of course, music means a lot more than pain-management to me! It's an important part of how I express myself, and there's definitely a drive to create which I cannot ignore. Performing is a blast -- I love being in front of an audience -- but the music I play for one person, or for myself, is important to me as well. It's been said that "God gave us music, that we might pray without words," and that's more than a cute saying. Standing on a rocky ledge on a mountain, looking out over the Shenandoah Valley far below, higher up than the hawk I watched circle, my fingers on the guitar could express what I was feeling -- what I wanted to say to God -- better than any words I could have whispered in prayer.

I play in a handful of bands

Thrir Venstri Foetr ("Three Left Feet") and Playford Spice

The Homespun Ceilidh Band (Our first CD, Spinning Reels, is now available. We're currently (February 2003) deciding what'll be on our second CD.)
The Beltway Early Music Band
I left Wild Oats in mid-1998, but take a look at that page anyhow to see what other kinds of music I enjoy playing. Maybe order a copy of our CD.

I also filk, I play bass guitar in musical theatre, and I've done a little composing and songwriting. Check out my music page for more about what I play (and teach!). I usually attend the East-Coast floating regional filk convention (held in the Spring in a different city each year), and I sometimes hit the filking at science fiction conventions.

Car, art, excuses

Hey, I wanted an excuse to stick a picture of my car here, and I couldn't think of one ... it's not an especially spiffy car, but it's a nice car. Mostly I'm just incredibly glad to have it, after being carless for over a year (and having the previous two in the shop more often than on the road). A gift from amazingly kind friends and bandmates, it's a 1988 Ford Tempo.

Anyhow, when I had a little accident involving Adobe Photoshop, this picture (if you're using a graphical browser) resulted. I decided it was "artsy" enough to constitute an excuse to put a picture of my car on my web page. So there!

Unfortunately, in August 2001 this car totalled itself and has been junked. (Head gasket failure blew coolant into the oil and trashed the main bearing, resulting in a repair estimate significantly more than the car was worth and several times what I could afford.) It's a real pity, because unlike some of the cars I've put up with for lack of anything better, I really liked this one. I've since obtained the next miraculously affordable set of wheels, which is also red, coincidentally.

Random stuff

I'll be adding more random information and musing here soon, but for now here are a few tidbits:

If you're using a graphical browser and have images enabled, you'll see my personal mark to the right of this paragraph.

I attended a Montessori school when I was a wee little lad, and went to The Key School in Annapolis, Maryland from 7th grade until graduation (class of 1980). I spent a couple of years at the University of Dallas (Fall 1980 through Fall 1982). So if anyone else from Key or UofD is searching the web for folks who attended either of those schools, Hi There!

If you attend science fiction conventions on the East coast you might recognize me from my description (in case you aren't using a graphical browser). I'm that bearded guy who wears a skirt and heels and carries an electric guitar with a battery-powered amplifier. You might also know me as The Human Vibrator.

I've recently discovered that making chocolates is as much fun as I'd thought it would be. Now I want to learn to make my own molds, but I'm having fun with store-bought molds in the meantime.

I've received some nifty shoes as gifts, and decided to write a page about them.

More stuff (links)

Some of these are overdue for an update -- I've been neglecting my site lately, but I'll try to catch up during Summer 2001.

My performance calendar (If you want a more detailed list of when I plan to be where (mostly useful for friends trying to find out which conventions and parties I'm attending or when I'm likely to be home to answer the phone) as well as the latest comments on what's going on in my life, finger me.
A pile of old computers I no longer have.
Some things I've written
Some of my photos.
Where you might run into me
My reading list: What I'm reading, what I've recently read, and some old favourites, with comments.

How to get ahold of me


Email: dglenn@panix.com
Phone: (301) 787-7983   [note:  "DC Metro" Maryland phone number, not a
Baltimore area one.  It's a cell phone, so if we need to have a long
conversation, I'll unplug the modem and ask you to call me on the landline.]
USPS:  D. Glenn Arthur Jr.
       1723 W. Lombard St.
       Baltimore, MD, 21223

I've succumbed to the blogging side of the force

I've got a LiveJournal account where I try to keep a reasonably up to date "public diary" (which includes pretty much anything I feel like talking about, not just how my day is going). The most recent entries should appear in a frame below this paragraph, but you can also go directly to it at http://www.livejournal.com/users/dglenn, where it's probably more convenient to deal with than here.

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D. Glenn Arthur Jr. the vanity page