Bio

    'Twas the year of 1972, when I became #108,000,000,000 of our species. One of these numbers is completely arbitrary, the other less so. 
    I dedicate my life to words and communication, by day as a translator, by night as an artist. Without efficient articulation, expression and interchange, we shall perish earlier than necessary. Communication important is. 

    By day, I help people from all continents to overcome language obstacles, so that they may no longer be hindered by physical and social barriers.
    By night, I illuminate people's minds, the seen and unseen, voluntarily or involuntarily - for a variety of reasons, reasonable or not. I find it fascinating how a thought emerges, embarks on a perilous journey through neurons with such amazing speed, to finally emerge from their output devices - only to be misunderstood ever so often. 
    Our species appears to be the result of an angoing, roughly four-billion-year-long process. Homo sapiens has come a long way, yet all too often I must conclude, its members have found their communication skills that same morning, between their house keys, phone and pocket lint. 
    As you might already be able to tell, I see my artistic purpose in looking for vantage points off the beaten path. 

    Why?

    As the novelist Stephen King once put it when asked for the reasons he writes:
    "Why do you think I have a choice?"

    We all seem to have coagulated from the universe's pocket lint, made with moxie, zazz, and elbow grease. We are all currently finding ourselves in this gravity well called Three of Eight - or Earth, if you will -  to enjoy a single-fare round trip around a star, in the outer regions of one galaxy among trillions.
    Our species' collective database is thirsting for constructive and competent input - so that future wordsmiths may find better explanations, because their scientists did what science does best:
    Question without reservation, learn as much as possible, and observe with diligent curiosity, until we can lift the veils off the ever-present answers from our surroundings with our capable but limited minds.
    The universe has donated each little building block of our conscience, possibly for a reason, but most likely for none at all - other that it being able to perceive itself. In any case, it is our decision to be part of the problems, or part of the solutions - I assume. For now. Research and debate on whether there is "free will" still goes on. 

    I must conclude there is, because I find that I can make choices - and the fleeting breath of my own conscience is what I shall leave behind for an ever so brief time. 
    My name is Sum 108 and I am very happy to welcome you all. 

    Pronunciation of my name is supposed to gauge the maturity of the person trying to do so - neither to make anyone's life unnecessarily difficult nor to expose a potential failure. Think of it as a social experiment: 
    Sum is Latin for "I am". it is also a representation of my sum of experiences. Einhundertacht is German for the number 108. The definition is above, and it is also meant as a nod to our ancestors up to 300,000 years ago, when (by current definition) the first anatomically modern humans evolved. 
    "Einhundertacht" already is a concession made to rules issued by governments, public and private companies. I would prefer 108.
   Ok, then. Each name, surname, place name, city name, company name, etc. merely has one correct pronunciation, right? I was born in Germany, I live and work in Germany, ergo a German pronunciation might make sense, would it not? 
    Modern English pronunciation guides probably would spell it thusly: 
    [s-um AIN-hunn-dirt-ACH-t]