The Man Behind the Curtain

Self portrait with Van Dyke (October 11, 2004)

I've been less than eager to post any pictures of myself online, so I suppose what you see above is a threshold crossing. I've been writing for DVDMON.com since 2000, and on a few occasions webmaster Levi Wallach has asked if I have a picture I'd like to include with my bio and list of reviews. (The answer is still no, by the way, although I may come around eventually.) Most of the time I loathe having my picture taken. I realize there's a disconnect considering I'm on television, but who am I to understand my own contradictions?

I've been working on a Van Dyke for the last week and a half. (Although a Van Dyke is often referred to as a goatee, the Van Dyke has a mustache.) Growing it started out of laziness and continued out of curiosity. Does the Van Dyke make me look erudite? Yes. Does it make me look hard? Yes. Did I ever intend to keep it? No.

The caveat attached to my self portrait is that I don't usually look like that and most likely won't come tomorrow morning. With a NOW PLAYING taping looming tomorrow, the time is near for the facial hair to end up in the sink. Maybe I'll keep a soul patch. (Probably not.)

I've felt like I'm in disguise with the Van Dyke, although by no means does it render me unrecognizable. Since I like documentation, taking my own picture and, yes, even sharing it here seemed like the right thing to do. Keep the wise remarks to yourselves, though.