About Diane F. Fisli, your webmistress

Many people have asked about ME, for some strange reason - so I thought I would put up a page offering at least some story as to who I am and why I am here, and what is my fate - but the MOST IMPORTANT question remains to be answered: Where are the cookies???

All right, here it is, by popular request - quite simply - ME: I am originally from Northlake IL USA, which is a western suburb of Chicago. Born September 25th, 1957 (presents or monetary contributions will be humbly accepted!) (HA!), I am the daughter of a first-generation Hungarian-American card-carrying 30-year union carpenter father and a first-generation German-American housemom mother. I have one sister named Francine (Hi Fran!). I went to Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal IL for two years (art, music, photography, English, and anthropology) and also attended a couple of summers of college courses with Northwestern University - learning to be an archaeologist - while working on a dig on the Illinois River in Kampsville. I then lived in FL (all over) for about eight months. After that I lived in Chicago (Edgewater and Humboldt Park) for about six years, then moved to Los Angeles CA in 1983.

I am a live action or candid photographer (not a paparazzo!), graphics artist, webmistress (or DOMAIN-natrix, if you prefer) (HA!), an independent sales representative of ganoderma (reishi, lingzhi) (check out Ganotherapy USA if you are suffering from any kind of ailment - Chinese herbal medicine is thousands of years old and they were RIGHT!), writer, and just about anything else I can get into to help me continue this way of life which entails rising fairly early, having breakfast in bed (with my three cats), going to work about thirty feet from my bed in my home office in the dining room, having dinner right around three PM and snoozing until about five or six PM (ahhhhh, siesta!), and then working until way past midnight... These types of days are interrupted by camping trips, plus Bead Faires, Gem and Jewelry Shows, Renaissance Faires, and other places where I might either buy supplies or sell my original handmade wire and glass bead jewelry. YES, this is WORK! (ha, what a life!)

Other interests include: Folk music, contemporary and traditional jazz, David Sanborn, Dave Brubeck, Grover Washington Jr., Count Basie, Duke Ellington) and blues, Neil Diamond (don't groan, he writes the most wonderful songs and you probably enjoy him more than you realize!), Aerosmith (rock on!), the Renaissance Pleasure Faire (yes, I am a pirate!), polo (on horseback) (spectator and photographer, not participant!), camping, hiking, reading (non-fiction such as bio & autobiography, history, true crime, war, etc, PLUS sci-fi/fantasy, spy novels, mysteries, something good and content-heavy to sink my teeth into), humor (not to be confused with comedy), and COMPUTERS and the Internet (yes, I LOVE this stuff!).

I don't claim to be an amazing programmer or hacker (hardly!) but I have been doing this computer stuff since about 1988.

Here are some examples of my website work:

27 Miles, a soulful Southern (California) rock band - and they are EXCELLENT!
Carletha's Creations, a portfolio website for a lovely lady who is a florist/balloon artist and does custom handmade decorations for your events (especially weddings).
Robert's Computer Hospital, a friend's computer repair website.
Skipper Wise, a smooth jazz artist whose musical endeavors cover groups called Windows and Colour Club, his own solo work, and work with many other musical artists. A big site with a lot of info.
Technolab, a site for an innovative designer and manufacturer of WI-FI and other communications devices. The basic site design is not my own, however I designed their online store from a self-customized script built to interface with PayPal.
I have too much fun doing this stuff. :)
I am single, never been married (proposed to twice, tho!) (one of the nicest things about being single is not ever having to explain to someone where you've been all night long) (HA!), no children (just my three cats - yes that's them on my logo - and one rat who sleeps when I play my albums so he didn't get into the logo), and I have been said to be "cleverly disguised as a responsible adult", tho a friend assures me the disguise isn't THAT clever! (HA!)

Some personal favorite www links:

SelfPromotion.com is THE place to go to promote your web pages - submit everywhere at the touch of a single button, and do it for free!

Sausage Software - makers of HotDog Pro HTML editing software - it's what I use and it's a really great suite of programs to satisfy any webmaster.

Discus - FREE Discussion Board Script - THIS is where I got that great script for the bulletin boards I run on my sites - so easy even a dummy like me (haha!) can do it!

DAVID FOSTER.COM - the "producer's producer" - this guy is a musical genius and I just have to direct people here so they can explore his music. The producer behind such gems as the "St. Elmo's Fire" soundtrack, the "Unforgettable" duet with Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole, and the exciting "Winter Games" theme for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.

Nine Dragons Software makes the premiere true Mah Jongg computer game - not the "Dragon's Eye" or "Taipei" form of stacking tiles, but the true Chinese game. It's got opponents to choose from, levels of play, selections of tile styles, great music by the "Fat Man", and it's EXCELLENT! I highly recommend it to people who know what the real game is all about.

F I S C H E R W E S T - This guy is an amazing artist and I really dig his work. Stumbled upon it late one night while wandering around on the web in places I probably should not have been, but HEY, this guy's work is GOOD. Check it out!

P.S. MUELLER - Comic artist - If you've ever seen any of Mueller's comics you will never forget them - he has a strange sense of humor and is a master at illustrating the absurdities of life.

WFMT 98.7 FM. This is the most excellent radio station in Chicago - mainly classical music, a dash of human interest, some really strange folk music, and other odd things - worth checking out if you like good classical music - and if you want to hear some of the rest of what I've mentioned, check out WFMT's "Midnight Special" on Saturday nights. Their streaming audio broadcast is subscription now; it used to be free, but it's worth the money if you love this kind of music - they do it right.

The Really Big Button That Doesn't Do Anything - It's just what it says. A mystical magical place on the internet.

Catalina Island Guide - Visitor's Information - if you want to go to the "Island of Romance", this is the place to check out your destination, hotels, activities, and other items of interest. I LOVE THIS ISLAND.

Willys Jeep Station Wagon - I one day will own one of these wonderful wagons. These sturdy trucks are a true slice of American History.

Willys America - More on this great little truck.

Klasky-Csupo - these are the people who make the cartoons "Rugrats" and "Aaaaah! Real Monsters!" - I love these people, they have such a strange sense of humor and their cartoons are clever and inventive.

KPOA Maui - Listen to a radio station from Maui, HI - When I was there for the Maui Music Festival I found this station and began to really appreciate contemporary Hawaiian music. It's worth a listen - might not be for everyone - but if you've got an open heart and like all kinds of world music, you might really like this gentle, interesting musical mix of '40's swing, reggae, rap, Hawaiian traditional, and other genres, all with a unique Hawaiian flavor. I think what I like about it the best is that the music is uplifting and basically puts you into a good mood.

The Red Green Show - Any fan of public television madcap humor will love this entry from Canada -- it's Monty Python meets Home Improvement - bound together with LOTS of duct tape!

Here's a quote, and then I'll end this self-indulgence: "...Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry..." -Mark Twain.

HAPPY BROWSING!
Keep smiling - everyone will wonder what you've been up to!

Keep smiling - everyone will wonder what you've been up to!

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