Avatar of the Week: Terence Steiner

This week three avatars stood out for me because their profiles went beyond the mere “favorite book and movie” lists and actually provide a full-fledge biography that gives you a real sense of who these AfterElton.com members are. And who they are is pretty damned interesting. I’m calling it Avatar of the Week: My Life is an Open Book edition. I wish all our members were as forthcoming — this new “set profile to private” feature absolutely sucks, if you ask me. It sort of defeats the purpose of an online community if you know absolutely nothing about the other people in that community. Thankfully, AfterElton.com still has members like the three spotlighted below.

First up is Jamers. Here’s how he describes himself:

"Well, I'm a nice guy, who is kind of, laid back. I can be really serious, and down to earth at times, but when im with my friends I’m just me. Im an avid tennis player. without tennis, I don’t know what I would do. My dream was to go pro but we all know that will never happen. I am a gamer, I love video games. My favorite kind of movies are horror, and comedy. now T.V. is a whole different story... Sci fi is my all time fav. my favorite show is Battlestar Galactica. followed by SG1, SGA, Torchwood, Ghost Hunters, Eureka, Doctor Who, Dead Like Me, Painkiller Jane, and all that jazz. I also like to watch WWE, NHL, and Tennis. I am a total 80's junkie. All of my favorite songs and stuff is from that period of time. I love meeting new people, and welcome each day with open arms."

Second up is Peter Jacobs:

"My name is Peter and I'm a 23 year old senior at Clemson University in South Carolina. While I may be located in the south currently, I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. After playing collegiate tennis at the U. of Minnesota freshman year, I transferred to Clemson to escape what I found to be a suffocating environment in the midwest (although I love Chicago with every fiber of my being). I'm like any other college student who enjoys staying active with a seemingly endless list of hobbies. I'm a Communications Studies major with a minor in Business Administration emphasizing Advertising/PR. I've acted and modeled since an early age and currently compete on Clemson's Forensics (public speaking/debate) Team. My interests include: traveling, cooking/fine dining, shopping, fashion, and the theatre/arts. Extroverted in nature, I love meeting new people and feel comfortable in any situation. We can all use quality people in our lives, and with that, love conversation, friendships, dating, and relationships."

I wish I’d had as strong a sense of self at 23 as Peter clearly has. His parents raised him up right. Sounds like Peter and Jamers are both avid tennis players. They should get together and hit a few balls.

This week’s winner is Terence Steiner who can claim both Jesse James and Edward II as direct ancestors. We both seem to have an interest in geneology. Me, I can trace my ancestors back to the first trailer park in North America. But I digress.

Terence lives in San Francisco and works at a college as the assistant director of development. But far more interesting are his hobbies:

"I'm a filmmaker, writer, and photographer whose creative goals get too sidetracked by a day job. To console my howling soul I compulsively collect movie and theatre posters, and go to the gym 4x a week. Last year I perfected pie crust and this year I'm working on making the perfect cake. I also have an unhealthy fascination with the paranormal and would like to start a ghost hunting team. Contact me if you are interested."

"Currently I'm working on the screenplay for the most artistically successful and top grossing movie of all time, and preparing to shoot a short experimental film entitled Grotesque: The Musical Romancing the Grotesque.”

Okay, I don’t know about you but I so want to be on Terence’s ghost hunting team. I’m serious. Terence please drop me a line. Except for maybe the gym 4x a week thing we have tons in common.

Well, that’s it for this week. Congrats to runners up Jamers and Peter Jacobs, and a special tip of the ectoplasm to ghost-hunter Terence Steiner.