Let’s Meet The Author
Who is The Byronic Man? Who is this mystery wrapped in an enigma, with a drizzling of secret sauce?
He is a brain surgeon and former Olympic kick-boxer.
He is accepted by bears the world over as one of them.
He was the inspiration for the characters of Neo, in The Matrix, and James Bond (From Russia With Love and Casino Royale, only)
At night, The Byronic Man, it’s rumored, puts on a cape & mask and fights crime. (He denies these rumors, citing his mild-manner as evidence)
He wrote Cyrano de Bergerac under the pen-name “Edmond Rostand” and the pen-year “1897.”
He can bench-press an adult bull.
His mind is so powerful that when he thinks sad thoughts, flowers die.
On their vacations, dolphins like to go swimming with The Byronic Man.
…Hm? What? Oh. Not buying it, eh?… fine.
Once upon a time there was this guy (spoiler alert!: it was me). He was a professional stand-up comic, actor, and struggling writer. He was going along, feeling quite iconoclastic and cool as he built a name for himself.
Then one day, he had a moment of something, perhaps clarity, and realized he was becoming someone he didn’t like very much – he was someone who cared more about the adoration of strangers than building close friendships, he was tired of dumbing down his humor, much of his life had become dedicated to developing the superficial parts of his life, he was starting to really hate everyone (you try making 90% of your human interaction with strangers who’ve been drinking – see how you fare), and starting to abandon ideas of morality and honor that he’d always felt strongly about. So what did he do? Well, depending on who you ask he either:
- Went crazy (unlikely, but possible – he does talk to himself quite a bit)
- Self-destructed (ample precedent for this, certainly)
- Walked away in search of the person he wanted to be (which sounds pretty saccharine, doesn’t it? Like the narration before the opening credits of a 1980’s CBS drama, or something)
In all likelihood, of course, it was a mix of all three, perhaps 2 & 3 more than 1, we’d like to think, but maybe the jury’s still out.
In any case, he quit everything, sold his stuff and moved. He started trying to, in the words of Mr. Antolini from Catcher in the Rye, “live humbly for a cause,” instead of always trying to die nobly for one.
This was a while ago, and now he still acts, performs, writes, etc, but also spends time with friends, teaches college and high-school classes, and other humble things. Happily ever after? Psh. Yeah, right. Things are pretty good, thank you, but a leopard don’t change no spots, and a Byronic guy don’t change no Byronism. And thus, this site was born.
And he wouldn’t say no to a little adoration of strangers, now and again, by the way…
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25 Comments on “Let’s Meet The Author”
April 15, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Oregon, huh? That’s cool. And yes, quite incomplete
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April 15, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Shamefully incomplete is an understatement. Yet mine is the same.
It will come. lol
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April 16, 2011 at 6:36 am
Someone should really teach a class on writing bios without sounding like a braggart or a bore, shouldn’t they? Thanks for reading, though.
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April 16, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I live in Oregon . . . I love it here. My dog’s name is Byron. If it helps, he is the only dog I know or have ever known, that bares that name. also, he is really cute. =0)
I enjoyed your posts! Thanks for sharing!
~Stace
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June 18, 2011 at 2:14 pm
*** So, if you’re reading this, wondering why the above comments seem to – at best – barely connect to the material in the bio, it’s not them, it’s me. They’re responding to a previous incarnation of the bio which basically said, “Garsh, I just don’t know what to write.”
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June 22, 2011 at 6:47 am
I, too, can bench press and adult bull. Wait…
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July 13, 2011 at 5:50 am
You’ll never believe this but I too am a brain surgeon and former Olympic kick-boxer !! Wait … wait … but I am accepted by wolves the world over … darn, for a second there I thought you might be my long lost brother !!
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July 13, 2011 at 7:24 am
Well, I’ll still look forward to hanging out with you at the brain surgeon cage-fights.
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July 27, 2011 at 9:41 pm
The pen name followed by a pen year made me laugh out loud. I always read bio’s before I read any of the posts. Whether or not I like the bio determines whether or not I read the blog. haha Which reminds me, if I read my bio, I would so not read my blog.
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July 28, 2011 at 8:07 am
My bio was awful for a while. Not that it’s brilliant now, but I kind of dashed of something and forgot about it. Then thought, “It’s probably not a positive that I dread someone looking at the bio page…”
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August 24, 2011 at 10:03 am
Awesome.
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August 26, 2011 at 5:43 am
Simply delightful … definitely deserves a little strange adoration
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August 26, 2011 at 6:19 am
I know it’s just a typo, but I have to admit I’m a big fan of “strange adoration” as well. Thanks for reading.
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August 28, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Hmmm … no typo … I’m a small part strange and a large part stranger so it logically followed that strange adoration would be an apt description … perhaps strange(r) adoration if we have to be pedantic.
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August 29, 2011 at 6:22 am
Well, even better then! My humblest apologies for assuming it was a typo.
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October 30, 2011 at 2:27 am
Rather interesting way to put a Bio out there Byron….like the Witty edge in your writing!!!
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December 18, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Adoration-wise you have been nominated for a liebster by none other than myself!
It is at thepollyannafragments.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/nomination-jubilation-observation/
Cheers for the good work!
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December 19, 2011 at 8:33 am
Thanks! I really appreciate the thought!
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December 28, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I just nominated you for the “Versatile Blogger” award for WordPress! I had to write a post about my own nomiation- it’s a tradition, I guess.
If you decide to continue the posting tradition you need to:
1. write seven random things about yourself
2. nominate 15 bloggers that you follow
3. put the “Versatile Blogger” picture (you can find it on my blog on the very first post on the homepage) on your post.
Happy Blogging! : )
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December 29, 2011 at 8:14 am
Thanks, I appreciate the nod!
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