Antoine Shirdlu

My parents told me I was descended from some royalty or other... but, you know, before the revolution, so don't expect any wealthy uncles. In researching that claim, the best I could discover is that I'm the great-grandchild of August Shirdlu, polymath and ne'er-do-well. (Polymath may be a bit strong... the old man was a collector of failed pursuits.) On my best days I am an aspirant to notoriety. On my worst, I'm an aspirant of those hard candies my nan keeps in a crystal bowl on her coffee-table. I've summited the lowest peaks, I've swum the shallowest oceans, and have never shied from an excursion so long as it's a modestly short post-prandial constitutional. I am a fancier of cheese, a delighter in esoterica, and I once bowled a 400.