About

Atherton Bartelby - Photo Credit AV Flox

Atherton Bartelby is a native Chicagoan who was born on The Third Coast the same year that Secretariat took The Triple Crown Of Horse Racing. Following years of education and experience in New England, Europe, and the Pacific Rim, he is now a graphic designer, art director, writer, blogger, and photographer based in New York. He is currently an Associate at DMD Network, a dynamic network of consulting microagencies that assist clients with a broad range of integrated marketing, environmental management, and interactive design solutions.

Atherton’s interests are as eclectic and as elastic as his experiences, and he attempts to write widely and with passion on each, be they the latest trends in graphic design and typography, current events in culture and media, or the newest just-opened, must-not-miss eatery in the East Village. Originally trained in literary theory and philosophy, it is Atherton’s belief that a variety of interests enhances all experiences, so he does his best to resist being pigeonholed into any too-confining niches, in life…and in his blog.

As a writer, Atherton has contributed editorial content to Black Heart Magazine and Mashable, and is a regular Cultural Correspondent at Scallywag & Vagabond, the Salon of Cultural Affairs. Links to Atherton’s online editorial portfolio, as well as to other mentions in the digital press, may be found on the Press page.

When not pushing the pixels or tweaking the text, Atherton may be found in his kitchen, nourishing a renewed love of gourmet cooking and baking; attending the openings of visually arresting artists or photographers, or of particularly engaging films; or dashing aboard a plane or the Acela for an extended weekend in Who Knows Where?

His life’s goal is to see all of the world’s Foucault pendula.

“With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.”

Curious Affairs began as a personal blog in March of 2003, and metamorphosed into a personal slash quasi-professional blog in January of 2007. Originally intended as an online space to house Atherton’s “writing, graphic design, photography, and life in general,” it has unfailingly been a bit too heavy on the “life in general.”

As before, Curious Affairs is metamorphosing again, in tandem with its author’s embarkment on new life adventures. Atherton intends to write more professionally on topics in the areas of graphic design, typography, and new media; traditional journalism and online media; photography; travel; cuisine; and, of course, the place in which Atherton observes all of this: the secondary narrator of Curious Affairs, The City Of New York itself.

Readers may also enjoy perusing The Curious Addenda, a curated tumblelog intended as a more concise compendium to the lengthier meanderings of Curious Affairs, or, if they are truly brave and do not mind paying @abartelby’s Nuclear Follow Cost, Atherton’s far more frenetic microblogging endeavors on Twitter. Readers are also welcome to connect with Atherton on any of the social networking sites thoughtfully compiled on the Follow page.