About

Anthony – Images by Kira Hagen

Professionally, I’m an educator. I am a native-English speaking business professional who has worked with clients from three-years to adults and in both private and classroom settings. I’ve taught students in the United States, Russia, Germany, and Turkey. I love travel and in today’s global culture, being multi-lingual aids travel. I enjoy helping others in their journeys by developing their language skills and therefore expanding their ability to go and do what they will.

I also love history. Academically, my specialty is medieval Scandinavian literature (though it really ought to be called “Nordic literature”). Because it helps to understand the literature I appreciate the physical history associated with the period. Evidence of people’s daily lives so often shines new light on the meaning behind a text. And bringing this knowledge into the world is important for me both socially and religiously. My favorite, comprehensive hobby is Viking-period living history reenactment and live-steel combat. The literature informs the world-view (to a degree) and the evidence left behind informs us of our ancestors daily lives. As I said, this is not just important to me as an academic discipline but also because I am Ásatrú (Asatru), or “True to the Aesir”, the gods of my ancestors. It is how I connect to the world, the people around me and the people before me.

Which is not to say I pine for an earlier age. I enjoy the modern time and all its luxuries and conveniences just as much as your average 21st Century resident. For pure relaxation, I enjoy modern fantasy and science-fiction. Tolkien’s works are some of my favorites, as are those of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I am also a great fan of the Lord of the Rings Online MMO (Landroval server). I have played other MMOS (Anarchy Online, World of Warcraft, Runes of Magic, Dungeons and Dragons Online, and others) but none have grabbed me the way LOTRO has.

Artistically, I have been all over the board. I prefer to work three-dimensionally. Sculpting, carving, and casting in clay, wood, stone, and metal. But that all takes time, space, and equipment that I lack. I used to sketch a lot but got tired of sketching for sketching’s sake then discarding it all when I moved to a new country. In the past few years, my artistic efforts have mostly been in costuming related to Viking reenactment and modeling. Modeling is something that you really have to be dedicated to and focused on for it to be financially rewarding. So, while I am always willing to discuss paying work, I mostly work with photographers, and the occasional painter, who have proposed an idea that inspires or amuses me.

This site is under development. If you need to reach Tony, email him at anthony dot d dot arndt at gmail dot com . Thanks for your patience.