Friday, October 10, 2003

Sasha Castel---Questions You May Have

When and where was Sasha born?
I came into this world at 10:30 AM on March 16, 1973, at the NYU Medical Center Hospital in New York City.

Who are Sasha's parents? and the rest of her family?
Silvia Nancy Benfield Castel, an airline reservations agent and homemeker born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Her parents: Alexander, an accountant from London, and Sara Goldberg, a homemaker of Ukranian descent.

Naftali Chaim Kalinhoff, aka James Kalinhoff, aka Jimmy Sales, aka Nico Castel; opera singer, writer, and professor born in Lisbon, Portugal and raised in Caracas, Venezuela.His parents: Felix, a bicycle-parts salesman born in Indonesia of Austrian parents; and Margalit Castel, one of five daughters of a rabbi in Lisbon, born in Hebron in what is now the disputed territory of Israel/Palestine.

What does Sasha look like?
I'm 5 feet 6 and a half inches tall, with auburn hair (L'Oreal Feria #P64 Intense Red Copper, to be exact) and hazel eyes. I've got freckles on top of fair skin. Perfect strangers have commented on my resemblance to Jodie Foster, both in appearance and speech. I don't see it myself.

What does Sasha do for a living?
Little bits of this and that. For the past 12 years, she has been a supernumerary and usher at the Metropolitan Opera. She also does freelance consulting work for theater and opera programs throughout the world. In the past she has sold cookware, videos, classical CDs, cosmetics and healthfoods at retail.

What does Sasha do for fun?
Reading, baking, blogging, cold-process soapmaking, perfumery, traveling (when I have the money), shopping (ditto), tarot reading, and listening to opera.
What does Sasha aspire to be?
Any combination of the following, preferably all:

*Opera impressario. (impressaria?)
*Pundit.
*Philanthropist.
*Beauty mogul.

Is Sasha Jewish?
Mom is Ashkenazic and Dad is Sephardic. But I am not an observant Jew. I am intrigued by mysticism, esoteric traditions and the occult.

Where does Sasha live?
As of right now, Canberra, Australia. But that may change.

Does your left boob really portrude like Dangergirl's does on the top of your site?
No.
Sasha at 6:54 AM

Monday, September 22, 2003

Who are the co-authors at Sasha's site?

Scott Wickstein is a 30something Australian who has dropped out of the rat race but fiercely defends other people's right to stay in the rat race and make as much money as they like. He likes beer, blogging and sport. He lives in the hidden paradise known as Adelaide, Australia. He also writes for his own blog as well as the sport blog Ubersportingpundit.

Big Arm Woman is a thirty-something fugitive from higher education, although she still works at a university in order to be in a better position to point and laugh at academe. She lives in North Carolina with Hublet and The Boy, and spends her off hours corralling toddlers and planning the demise of The Wiggles and Whoever Wrote Those Damn Thomas the Tank Engine Songs. See her also at Tightly Wound.

"Al Maviva" is a nobleman living near Seville, Spain. He is sick of having his wife and servants plot against him, and wishes they would leave him alone.

Just kidding.... "Al" is a pseudonym for an attorney living in the Washington, DC area.

Major Sean Bannion is the pseudonym of a Boston native and Regular Army officer currently stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. He overly educated thanks to Uncle Sam, and has held multiple military specialties including infantry, armor, cavalry, logistics and now works in operational and strategic planning. (Basically he has problems holding a job). He is a perennially disappointed Red Sox fan and amateur oenophile who now fully understands why Iraq is not known for its viticulture.

"Inscrutable American" is a student of Economics at McGill University. He writes from the
socialist paradise that is Montreal, Canada. He has lived most of his life in India, but moved to the D.C. metro area when he was 16. He also blogs at his own site.

Sheryl L. (aka Labrador Lover) is a thirty-something who wears lots of hats. Computer geek by day, Aromatherapy & Mineral Makeup junkie by night. Sheryl works as a Systems Analyst for a large health insurance company, is married, has one kid, furkid that is - a gorgeous yellow Labrador named Indy. In her spare time (yeah, like she has any!) she makes natural personal care products and sells them wholesale to retail vendors, is an avid reader, and loves to annoy liberals simply by using fact, truth and common sense against them.

Glen Johnstone is 30 years old, lives in West Los Angeles, and sells surgical equipment for a very large healthcare company. He graduated from UCLA in '94, with a B.A. in Political Science, and never even considered entering the legal profession. He's tall, has difficulty tanning, and refuses to consider white wine when so much red still exists. He also blogs at Velvet Hammers.

Sydney resident Matt Clarke is a 28 year old House Husband who sent his wife off to work in the coal mines full-time so he can stay at home and look after his two kids while working part-time as a tech support officer. Adept at cooking, cleaning, baking, gardening, sewing and washing he also enjoys drinking beer, SCUBA diving and laughing at people who appear on Jerry Springer. He also blogs at http://www.househusband.blogspot.com

Alan K. Henderson is a bored computer operator living in Irving, Texas. Has no pets, roommates, dependents, spouses, ex-spouses, or stalkers. He enjoys classic rock, classical music, science fiction, geeky philosophical stuff, and computer games involving world (or galactic) conquest. And blogging - he blogs at http://alankhenderson.blogspot.com.

The Pink-Toothed Tart lives near Adelaide, Australia. She works in a law office, owns the dumbest cat this side of "Friends", drinks like an Australian and takes no prisoners.

"Helena Handbasket" is an unmarried 24-year old writer who is expecting to write and publish the Great American novel any decade now. In the meantime, she is a clerk at a music store and a makeup artist for various small New York theater companies.
Sasha at 4:19 AM

Saturday, March 01, 2003

What does Sasha sound like?

You can hear a truly banal audio clip of me by clicking the link below.

audblog audio post
Sasha at 9:35 PM

Sunday, August 25, 2002

I never got to read your interview with Dawn Olsen. WAAAH!!!

Don't fret, little ones. Here it is.
Sasha at 10:01 PM

Friday, August 23, 2002

What's up with those link groupings? Do they have any significance?

They're all named after Harold Arlen songs. Some of them have significance, some of them don't. You're smart. You can figure it out.
Sasha at 2:32 PM

Monday, August 12, 2002

Where did Sasha's book recommendations go?

They've moved to their own page, here.
Sasha at 12:03 PM

Sunday, August 04, 2002

Really, now. What does Sasha look like?

A little bit like this:


Sasha at 2:00 PM