about

This is not a weblog; this is an online journal. I keep an online journal for many reasons, some selfish and some altruistic, but the primary reason has always been “because I feel like it.” (If weblogs are more interesting to you, I have one of those too, called unlibrarian.)

Why cygnoir.net? Well, “cygnoir” is a portmanteau: cygne and noir are the French words for “swan” and “black”, respectively. Pronounce it /see-NWAH/ while apologizing profusely to the French. I love black swans and wordplay.

cygnoir.net hatched on 4 July 2002, but I have been online since 1984, and have had a web presence since 1995. After having a page on a friend’s website, I moved to GeoCities (pre-Yahoo!) and then Tripod (pre-Lycos). From 1998 through 2001, I inhabited squixel.net, “squixel” being a portmanteau for “squid” and “pixel”, which were two of my favorite things at the time.

Though I prefer to work with HTML directly, I have used a few different content management systems, including LiveJournal, Greymatter, and Movable Type. On 10 May 2006, I made the switch to WordPress, and I was so pleased with the results that this site now resides on WordPress.com.

If you’d like to chat with me in real time, call me at +1 (415) 944-8351. Otherwise, you may email me with this form, and I’ll try to respond promptly. Don’t spam me. That’s just rude.

Text only. No markup allowed.

For readers who would like to know more about the person behind the website, what follows is a (long) list of description.

  • Name: Halsted Mencotti Bernard. My first name comes from Halsted Street in Chicago. My middle name is my paternal family name, and my last is derived from my maternal family name.
  • Aliases: Friends either call me Halsted or ‘Sted. Online acquaintances tend to call me Cygnoir or Carinah, abbreviating them Cyg or Cari, respectively.
  • Likeness: There are (too many) photos of me on Flickr.
  • Birthday: 23 February. I am a Pisces with a Scorpio Moon and Cancer rising. It is unsurprising to anyone remotely interested in astrology that all three are water signs. I have a wish list for gift-giving types.
  • Birthplace: Northwestern Pennsylvania. I say “pop” instead of “soda” or “coke” though I don’t drink it. I also say “expressway” instead of “freeway” and I know the difference between Mennonites and Amish.
  • Residence: Le Chateau du Jambon, located in the Central Sunset District of San Francisco, California.  Past homes include Chicago, northwestern Pennsylvania, and Birmingham, Alabama. There is an interesting story behind how I found myself in the Bay Area.
  • Languages: Fluent in English. I was also once so in Italian, Spanish, German, and French, but they’re gone now. I have also dabbled in Esperanto, ASL, Irish Gaelic, and Mandarin.
  • Culture: Italian-American.
  • Totem: Cygnus atratus, the black swan, but you knew that already.
  • Alignment: Chaotic good.
  • Stats: str 5, int 15, wis 16, dex 12, con 5, chr 18.
  • Status: Not yours; his.
  • Profession: Writer.
  • Occupation: Unlibrarian.
  • Education: Bachelor of Arts in the structure and culture of the English language (an individually-designed major that fused linguistics, literary theory and creative writing) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
  • Politics: Yes.
  • Religion: No.
  • Personality type: According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I am the rarest type, INFJ.
  • State: Liquid.
  • Phase: Moult.
  • Metal: Silver.
  • Stone: Moonstone.
  • Cuisine: I love to eat, especially gluten-free versions of the following: tom kha gai, sushi, phở, butternut squash, barbecue, corn chowder, risotto, hanger steak, salt and pepper crab, nav ratna korma, mashed potatoes, Nutella-filled crepes, cheese fondue, roasted beets, prawn cocktail, lobster bisque, biscuits and gravy, gnocchi, pickles, and good old macaroni and cheese.
  • Couture: Simple, comfortable, and boyishly girlish. Solid, deep colors, mostly black. Wide-legged pants and black boots.
  • Soundtrack: Compiled by Last.FM.
  • Favorite word: Cygnoir, somewhat obviously. I also like serendipity, foible, extrapolate, and oblivescence.
  • Favorite letter: X.
  • Favorite font: Gill Sans.
  • Favorite color: Aubergine, known on the Web as #330033.
  • Favorite flowers: Calla lilies, French tulips, purple irises, moss roses, winter daphne, and poet’s jasmine.
  • Favorite time of day: The gloaming.
  • Favorite season: Autumn.
  • Favorite beverages: Water, carrot juice, lapsang souchong tea, espresso, syrah, and Islay whisky.
  • Favorite flavor: Chocolate hazelnut, e.g. Nutella.
  • Favorite scents: Sandalwood, seawater, garlic, petrichor, amber, and books.
  • Favorite love song: “Gorecki” by Lamb.
  • Favorite place to be: Near the Pacific Ocean.
  • Favorite OS: Mac OS X; I have some hardware and software recommendations.
  • Favorite toy: Serendipity, my iPhone.
  • Obsession: Fountain pens.
  • Aversions: illiteracy, close spaces, spoiled dairy products, eyeball injuries, people who don’t respect my very clear boundaries, feet, pretentiousness, mainstream media, Tori Amos, yellow gold, Burning Man, ignorance, instant coffee, pats on the head, warmongering, incurable diseases, sexism, homophobia, racism, classism, organized religion, incorrect metadata, peeing outdoors, Paris Hilton, passive aggression, sport-utility vehicles, alcoholism, and apathy.

Special thanks to Mike Jeung of Angry Muse Productions, who created the black swan logo.