Gary De Risio's

Aesthete's Home Page

Welcome to   www.apencollector.com

Celebrating things eccentric,

eclectic and esoteric since 1996.

Why is it dedicated to aesthetes, you ask?

Well, for those of us who appreciate some of the finer things in life, I have links to a few of the sites I find particularly enjoyable, including:

Opera

Classical Music

Close Harmony

Fountain Pen Collecting

Automobiles

Museums

Historic Preservation

You may also wish to view my other pages .
But first, a bit about me. If you're interested, that is… .

I am Gary De Risio (as if you hadn't figured that out by now), a descendant of a proud Italian family .

I am a native Californian and fiercely proud of it (which means the rest of you non-natives should GO HOME, just kidding… well, sort of...). In California, we consider driving not to be a privilege but a God-given right. So stay out of our way because we've got lives to get on with here! I am a firm believer in 32-valve dual overhead cam V8 horsepower and plenty of torque to get the job done. 

I relocated to Bakersfield 21 years ago when my previous employer opened a location in this area. I am a 30-year veteran (read: survivor) retailer and former department store Operations Manager. In 2006, I made a career change and now work as the Development Manager for a non-profit community hospital foundation.

My Favorites List:

Aesthete: Oscar Wilde  

Composers: Giuseppe Verdi ,  Gioacchino Rossini and G.F. Handel

Operas: "Rigoletto", "Aida", "I Pagliacci" and "Cleofide"

Overture: Verdi - "La Forza del Destino"

Singers: Leonard Warren, Jussi Björling, Cecilia Bartoli, Placido Domingo and Juan Diego Florez

Concerti: Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 and the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor". The Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26; the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 and the Bach Double Violin Concerto in D minor. Vivaldi's Double Violin Concerti in C, D and G minor and D major (RV 509, 514, 517 and 512). 

Popular Music and Musicians: The Palast Orchester with Max Raabe , The Comedian Harmonists and Ute Lemper, performing (respectively) dance music, close harmony and cabaret songs from the Weimar and post-Weimar eras. Contemporary close harmony group Hudson Shad.

Objects: Crystal Lalique; Parker Duofold and Montblanc pens

Authors: Shelby Foote, William Manchester, Gore Vidal, Robert K. Massie, Stephen Fry and Edward Rutherfurd

Books: "Cry To Heaven", "The Civil War, A Narrative" and "A World Lit Only By Fire"

Films: The Merchant Ivory adaptations of E. M. Forster's novels and Gerard Corbiau's "Farinelli"

Cities: Rome and London

Hotel: Plaza Hotel Lucchesi, Florence

Museum: The Pergammon Museum, Berlin

Musical: "Chess"

Theater: Palais Garnier (The Paris Opera), Paris

Store: Harrods, Knightsbridge - London 

Automobiles: 1970 Continental Mark III, 2000-2006 Lincoln LS

Media: BBC America, and NPR

Artists: John Singer Sargent and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Artworks: "El Jaleo" by Sargent and San Giovanni Battista (IV), c.1604 by Caravaggio

Diatribe: The rants of Dennis Miller

Television series:  "Battlestar Galactica", "House", "Deadwood", "The Big Bang Theory" and "Better Off Ted"

Figures from the past that I admire most:

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain	Robert E. Lee	Enrico Caruso
Karl Faberge	Andrea Palladio	Catherine the Great

My Least Favorite and Most Dreaded List:

"My child is/was…of the week/month…" bumper stickers

Martha Stewart - enough said

The "Religious Right" (which isn't)

The "Moral Majority" (which is neither)

Daytime TV talk shows 

To visit my other pages and links, please click below:

Click here to see a list of my computer hardware

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Site last updated: October 03, 2009

Visitors since November 10, 1996:     

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Copyright © 1996-2009  All rights reserved.  Gary De Risio   The Aesthete's Home Page