I'm not really Basil Hallward, he's a character in the Oscar Wilde story "A Picture Of Dorian Grey." The reason for doing the name change and using a very old picture is a private joke. My name is Ian Thorpe, Ian R Thorpe to distinguish me from the Australian swimmer, I retired from a career in Information Technology a few years ago and now spend my time writing and creating internet content. And the picture, from 1983? In the story, the eponymous Dorian Gray never looks any older, while the picture of him painted by Basil Hallward ages. And in the online world I never get any older so it's oappropriate that my avatar shows the person I feel I still am. Age, when all's said and done, is a state of mind. .