JCC PEOPLE Interviews, Issue LI: Jabba-wocky

I had been interviewing wocky back in the fall of 2011 before I posted tom’s rap issue and announced I wasn’t doing any more of these. I guess I just have to eat my words, then. I always did feel bad about abruptly cancelling wocky’s interview, but in my defense, I thought the interview lacked a certain spark that you usually get when you talk to wocky. Many of you may know this, the spark- the little germinating thought that enters your mind when you talk to wocky for the first time or for the first time in a while… “troll?” “for real?” “get a load of this guy!?” “how does he think this stuff up?”


Recently, I had a hankering to interview somebody, just for a one-time thing, and I thought that since I had been so unfair to wocky, he was the most deserving candidate. But I didn’t want to do an interview like the one from before, so we changed the format around a bit. Instead of using PMs, we used chat. Wocky preferred AIM, so that was our venue. We conducted the interview over the course of three sessions spread out over the last month.

My dialogue will be on the right; wocky’s will be on the left.

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The Interview Before the Interview​

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I talked to Grimby about the future of the boards.​

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Could you talk about the popularity of the site and the increase in site traffic as the movies get closer and closer?​

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Sure. There’s not a whole lot to tell I guess. Our data shows an average of about 4,500 site visits per day prior to the announcement of the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm. That day our traffic spiked to about 13,500 visits, and in the following couple of months it leveled off to around 7,000-7,500 visits per day. Over the last few months, it’s slowly increased to an average of 8,000-8,500 visits per day. Aside from the raw statistics, we’ve now split off Episode VII into two separate boards, and there’s been a greater need for moderator involvement and actions.​

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What were the levels like back during AotC and RotS? Do you have access to that data? Do you think the months around Episode VII will be comparable? Or have messageboards had their day, in this age of Twitter, tumblr, etc… ?​

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We don’t have any analytics from that time, but in terms of posts per day (and I’ll have to double check the data later as I don’t have it front of me), we were seeing it reach as high as 10-15 thousand posts per day. Since we opened up the new forum about a year ago, it’s fluctuated between two to four thousand posts per day.​

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Times have certainly changed, but I still think it’s possible to see numbers approach that of the prequel days, especially closer to the release of the films. Let’s face it, where else are you going to go to when you want to talk in-depth about Star Wars? Sure, you can make a Facebook post and try to have a serious conversation while your family and friends mock you, but a forum like this one still offers something you can’t get anywhere else- a community of people who all love Star Wars enough to discuss it on a regular basis.​

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Thanks for the information!​

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The Interview​

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Session One: August 7, 2013, 9:08pm PDT​

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Ah, there you are​

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Can I make an official statement now?​

You are a huge dork​

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I haven’t done AIM in years! I’m sorry!!!!​

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Well fine​

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Alright, first question…​

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So here we are​

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What is the set up of this interview​

Is this like a two people in arm chairs style interview​

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EVERYTHING is fair game. You say it in this little gray box, it can go in the official issue.​

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oh, I see what you mean​

yes. ​

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Or Mitt Romney sitting awkwardly in a warehouse interview​

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or, wait…​

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Or like, what is going on​

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wait wait wait​

[warning: spoilers are from Game of Thrones]

Spoiler

this is like Theon Greyjoy and Ramsay Snow

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okay that’s sort of weird​

But proceeding​

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there’s a parrot avatar next to your AIM name​

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Oh. It must have been whatever the default option was​

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I see​

okay, okay, which brings me to my next question​

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We’re off to a hard-hitting start​

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why don’t you like avatars?​

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I don’t know that I don’t​

It’s simply that I’ve never found on suitable to represent me​

And the longer it goes on, the more this problem is exacerbated​

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you can just change your avatar if you’re unhappy with it​

are you a perfectionist?​

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At that point, the situation is “This person who has been without an avatar for a whole year has finally chose one, so it must be really great to make him budge”​

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Are you sure people would care that much?​

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But then if you bypass that opportunity and it becomes two years, you’ve only heightened the stakes even more​

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So it quickly becomes impossible to ever have an avatar​

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You used to have the war rhino avatar, if I recall… why was that avatar sufficient? Besides the obvious connection to your infamous diatribe in the 300 thread…​

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and, are you a perfectionist?​

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There is no “besides”​

That was the whole reason​

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Because I think, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be alone in this, the war rhino avatar is sufficiently emblematic of all things wocky​

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Even then, I wouldn’t have done it, except someone made a poster of it in the middle of the discussion​

And I said (somewhat sarcastically at the time) that if it were made into an icon I would wear it​

But then when they actually did so, it would have been dishonorable to decline​

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(do you recall exactly who made the poster?)​

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No idea​

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So I had no choice in that issue​

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But the war rhino is so you, it’s so emblematic​

You could have kept it and avoided the whole “one, then two, then three years pass of having no avatar” heightened expectations​

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How could I “keep it”​

I never got rid of it in the first place​

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but your avatar is presently blank [as of session]​

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I think it happened during the move​

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What is the relationship between sarcasm and truth?​

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What does that question even mean?​

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sarcasm can be humorous, and in humor there is truth​

I’m just wondering if maybe you’re revealing some subconscious traits and desires through your sarcastic asides​

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Seeing as how the traits are subconscious​

I definitionally would not know, would I?​

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I’m saying that when you sarcastically said you would wear it as an icon, you’re actually saying you really, really wanted to​

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wait wait​

So let me answer a few things, then​

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okay, go on then​

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1, In regards to whether I am or am not, a perfectionist, I don’t have any opinion on this word. I try to do what is right, and do it well, as I would hope and suspect all men do​

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so, a rightist​

go on​

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2, As for this war rhino issue, that does not reflect my memory of the period in question. No. But since you are marking the desire as subconscious anyway​

I mean, yeah. As I’ve said. I don’t think I had any secret passion for it, nor any malice against it. It simply was​

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what is your opinion on the resurgent movement to split up the community forums once again? ​

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I have spoken pretty extensively on the community forum issue, as you are probably aware​

I personally do not think it is necessary to do, as the theories being proposed don’t really make sense​

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When there is real demand for a forum, it’s traffic tends to overwhelm the normal flow of wherever they’re stuck​

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How can so many users be against this splitting up, and yet among promoted users, a decision was unanimous?​

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For instance, the RPF was only created after people kept cluttering normal forums with those sorts of role-playing threads. It became so much that they just got their own​

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Similarly, when there’s a lot of interest in superhero movies or whatever, those threads just cover the whole front page of the JCC​

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So to pretend that we are somehow “drowning out” Arena or Senate or whatever threads is just fraudulent, awful logic​

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So you think there should be a superhero forum?​

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No I don’t. The interest is too periodic, and unsustainable for a whole forum​

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okay, okay, good answers all, now let’s take the interview in a different direction​

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The second point of hypocrisy that is more specific to the Senate is​

Hold wait wait​

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okay, okay, go on​

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If you look at the people that really “wanted” this, or even those that really use the newly resurrected Senate forum​

It’s not more than about 5 or 6 people, and only about 3 of them consistently​

There’s literally nothing unique about the content of the forum at all​

And if you compare, say, the course of the Christianity threads there and in the JCC​

They are nearly identical for long stretches​

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who are these 5 or 6?​

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Lowbacca​

LostonHoth​

Mr44+Kimball Kinnison​

largely bit players otherwise, but​

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My point is not to name names, because it doesn’t matter who they are​

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It’s just that an extremely small cabal of friends demanded and got their own forum​

To do nothing but segregate themselves from the rest of the userbase​

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There’s a better case to be made for a JC-hosted Shiny Forum, if that’s what we’re doing​

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Finally, to answer why the mods handled it as they did, I think the mods have been pretty public about it. They saw a potential issue, and rather than spending independent time investigating, they just blindly accepted the recommendation they received from the self-interested parties involved​

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do you think that because the senate forum aspires to a higher, more refined style of discussion, they get special treatment, maybe?​

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I would to some considerable extent contest that they actually do aspire to anything that is substantially higher than JCC posts in which people are actually having a discussion​

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Alright, go on​

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I thought we were taking the interview in another direction now​

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okay, okay, we’ll do that now​

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I finished my summary statement. People who are otherwise interested should re-read the relevant threads, send PMs to mods, or open protesting threads in Comms​

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so, about your signature… recently, you’ve created a list of enemies. It’s a very concise list, but it seems to feature mainly 3 people [as of session]​

Why are these people your enemies?​

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By “mainly” you mean “exclusively” yes​

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of course​

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Tom mocked Arya’s fall grom grace​

As well as impugned Margaery’s behavior​

Ender is generally awful to the later​

and LostonHoth encourages them both​

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and just for the record to readers, these mentioned characters are from the Game of Thrones series​

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Wocky, I detect a trend with you​

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Yes, to explain​

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okay, go on​

[SPOILERS ARE FROM GAME OF THRONES]​

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Arya is a very good young girl​

Who has to suffer through awful tragedies and the deprivations of war​

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But in spite of that—until recently—she always did the right thing and was a good example of moral behavior in bad circumstances​

Spoiler

Except that for the first time, she killed someone. Which is the only time in memory that she’s done something wrong

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Margaery Tyrell is a high-minded, intelligent altruist

Spoiler

whom they accuse of not being a virgin

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Spoiler

why is it important that Margaery is a virgin?

Why is this important to you, in particular?​

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So what is this trend that you detect?​

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oh, yes, the trend​

but I’ll ask you about that next time in session 2. We are out of time!​

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Okay, ship of one thousand years​

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Session Two: August 19, 2013, 9:41pm PDT​

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last we talked​

I said I detected a trend with you​

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and we had been talking about Margaery Tyrell, the character from GoT​

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yes​

What do you want to know about her?​

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what I detected was that you seem to latch on to a supporting female character in various tv shows and defend her to the death in debate​

like Boomer from BSG, Margaery from GoT, or Kate in LOST​

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This is not correct​

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and there are probably others I am not recalling at the moment​

okay, why so​

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Although everyone should in fact note that I have, in retrospect​

Admitted I was wrong to support Kate, and have renounced that position entirely​

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but that doesn’t change the fact that you did latch onto a female character and initially defend her vigorously​

even if you renounced your support in the long run​

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As for Margaery and Boomer, your explanation rather under explains​

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There are many other female characters, so why those?​

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well, they’re very peculiar because they occupy a clearly supporting role in their stories. They’re not the leads, they’re not main characters, although they are “major” characters but it just seems that you always defend the honor and innocence of these characters​

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But there are always many supporting female roles​

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and I’m saying there’s a trend with you, you pick one of these supporting female characters, just ONE, and defend her to the death, from many tv shows and stories​

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Also, what about the males I have supported?​

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additionally​

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In Legend of Korra, you will note that I was the single most vocal supporter of Amon on the entire boards​

Who is certainly not female​

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I would like to note that there is officially a REAL female on the forums that you support, even though she’s a bit peculiar and everyone treats her awfully, except for you and perhaps Jello​

that’s Skywalker Numbers​

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she’s another female, who you have defended, except she actually exists​

Why are you so militant in your online defense of the honor and innocence of these females? ​

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I have never had to defend either her “honor” or “innocence” that I am aware​

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but you defended her!​

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In fact, I don’t even recall much defending her, as such. I agreed with some of her positions when I felt they were correct​

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and she was a bit under attack from all sides, just like Margaery, just like Boomer, just like Kate​

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When are you talking about?​

As I recall, I remember posting​

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“AHAHAHAHAHHAHA” in all caps when she said she was quitting the JCC​

With a defense of that sort, who needs enemies​

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wocky, I guess what I want to say is… you have some kind of fatherly need to protect daughter figures. I’m also fully willing to admit I’m full of bs, but I cannot ignore the trend I have observed​

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Boomer is a full grown woman​

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so in place of my wild psychoanalysis, which is total BS, I’m sure you’d agree, I was hoping you could put forth some kind of explanation​

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Why are you infantilizing her​

As is, for that matter, SkywalkerNumbers​

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Speaking of whom, she has certain opinions which it pleases me to have disseminated​

So I move to facilitate that where possible​

I think she is a very good poster, and like her opinion on a number of posts​

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alright, let’s move on from this subject​

next question​

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Okay​

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in light of the Juli/Mike revelations, and that ASG is apparently some phantom person it’s all too understandable that JCers these days are a bit wary of users who are a bit private or who no one seems to know anything about or haven’t met. This is the way it is with Juliet316, for example​

I mean, who knows about her! ​

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But why the privacy thing?​

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Precisely.​

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I would actually take a completely opposite view​

What “ASG” did was not be incredibly private​

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we’re not talking about ASG​

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this is your interview about you​

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“She” told stories pretty incessantly, and divulged all sorts of information about her own “life” and used those to leverage information from other people​

But she was just lying​

I would argue that what I am doing is safer and more honest​

I have never claimed to be anything but a guy that likes Obama and Ancient Egypt and the Rush Hour series​

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If you want to interact with me about that stuff, great! We can have a good time together​

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and yet no one knows anything about you. I’m not talking about your interests, hobbies, political affiliations…​

Who are you? ​

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But we never bring other stuff into it, so people will never have to worry I have lied to them about who I am​

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so instead you keep us all in the cold, like that’s preferable​

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Nor do I have to worry about feeling betrayed if they choose to divulge something to me​

It is safer for everyone that way​

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would you go to the next Celebration?​

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Almost certainly not. I’ve never been a fan of those sorts of mob events​

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alright, not the celebration, then​

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Even beside the fact that I am not really that comfortable meeting JCers in person​

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but how about one of the JCC-only extraneous events, like those people who hung about the villa at the last celebration​

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why are you not comfortable​

with meeting JCers in person?​

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because I don’t know any of you​

You are strangers​

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but I think so many of us would disagree!​

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Who do I know?​

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because we have shared so much online, either in chat or in PMs or on the open forum, we say we really, really, know each other, but regret that we cannot say that about you​

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But I have shared a great deal with you all​

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one user I talked to said you always share about the same 12 things​

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Witness the predictions about Ess Ell Gee’s thread​

How could they be accurate unless you knew me?​

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were these predictions about YOU? were you sharing about YOU, not your political opinions, or you tv-viewing philosophy, but about mistakes you’ve made in the past, wisdom you’ve learned from hard-earned experience, the work you do and have had to do​

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They were predictions about how I would react if name-dropped​

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And still, what if is not safe​

And I discover this only after having revealed everything​

How much sense would that make?​

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have you been scammed or stalked before?​

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And even if all of you are, the internet fundamentally distorts human interactions​

Things meant for one audience are preserved​

And may be stumbled across by someone else later​

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Who has a very different intent​

As is exemplified by countless instances of internet harassment​

So it is safer not to commit such things to electronic records​

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do you have a family of your own? or is this concern for privacy entirely for your own benefit?​

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I cannot tell you this thing​

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interesting​

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Also how does it influence anything?​

Is it less valid if the concern is for 1 vs 3 vs 5 people?​

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I think… people would just like you to share more, and that is certainly a very human thing. We like you, we’re entertained by you, we want to get to know you better. ​

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I will try​

Where it is sufficiently safe​

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Okay​

What else to ask?​

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what in your life and experiences helped to develop the political opinions that you now hold? ​

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So, for instance, gun control​

Long before I was born​

A male of my paternal line was once given a firearm​

And he took to it with avidity, and practiced​

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Finally, on one occasion, he went out to the woods, and practiced against a live target​

He shot and killed a bird​

At first, he was very pleased at his successful marksmanship​

But then, he was deeply bothered​

Sad inside his heart​

Because he comprehended the terrible, destructive violence of guns​

And he put it away immediately​

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And vowed never to use it again​

And since that time, no male of my family has ever carried any guns​

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but what about the women!?​

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That unexpected, but terrible and hardly comprehended power​

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YOU CANT LET WIMMIN HAVE GUNS!!!​

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I don’t know about the women​

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I would presume not but I haven’t checked​

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so you were saying​

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Is why I support firm gun control legislation​

People shouldn’t wander so blindly into such great violence​

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I definitely agree with that!​

and we’re out of time​

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And you’ll note it was even a personal story​

So meh​

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Sometime after the end of the second session, Jabba-wocky sent the following in Conversation…​

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I realize some people may have heard the story I told you in the interview before, so I wanted to offer up a bonus so that they don’t complain.​

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I was only a boy then, returning with my parents and brother from Egypt. At some point, I’d decided to throw caution to the wind, eating and drinking everything freely. Having almost proved the invincibility of youth, I fell more desperately ill as the trip wound down than I have at most any other time in life. I was febrile for several days, running. I remember vomiting over 12 times in the space of a few hours. This successfully diverted me from the journey home to a visit with a British physician.​

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After looking me over, he turned to my parents, chuckled softly, and said, “You [redacted], always running off somewhere uncivilized, and then coming to us to fix things.”​

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I jolted out of the stupor of illness and into rage. My eyes bored into his back. I wished I could summon up all the fevered heat that wracked me, and turn it into incinerating him. I understood that he was joking, well enough. But the premise of his joke was that there was something less worthy about the place and its people. The preceding month had been more than enough to make me recoil from that idea. I would have a thousand times rather been sick than in that man’s presence.​

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It was something of a touchstone experience. There was a powerful resonance as I would, in much later years, be introduced to ideas like imperialism and anti-imperialism. The visceral wrongness of that memory was my first awareness of what were already powerful shifts in my ideas about society, international affairs, and justice.​

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I then asked why dp4m had been added to his List…​

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Did you not see where he called Margaery Tyrell subversive and compared her to Miley Cyrus? It is an outrage.​

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I also asked if any of his ancestors fought in the Civil War…​

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I cannot speculate on the military involvement of my forerunners.​

Session Three: September 4, 2013, 9:30pm PDT​

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Hello, hello, hello!​

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Wocky, are you present? ​

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Hail​

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Excellent.​

Shall​

We​

Begin?​

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I must admit I’ll miss these little appointments when they’re gone​

But there is a time and a season for everything​

So certainly, onward!​

Yes​

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Would you recommend Hitsville, USA to a tourist?​

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If someone was going to be touring in the Midwest United States, I certainly think it would be a worthwhile stop, yes. It’s a culturally interesting moment.​

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does your recommendation stem, in part, from personal experience?​

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I’ve had an occasion to visit before, yes​

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Now, I’ve found out since our last little session that you are a big fan of Nat King Cole. Tell me, just how big a fan are you? ​

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His Christmas album is probably the pinnacle of all Christmas music​

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That more or less explains the greater part of my interest​

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is this is only Xmas album? what is the name of it? ​

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The Christmas Album​

I think​

And no, not only that. I mean, he is a very good singer, and I like most all of his stuff​

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It’s just that my enthusiasm would be far less were it not for the Christmas stuff​

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Also, just so you know, I have turned on the Nat King Cole Christmas Album since you brought it up​

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so why do you like Christmas so much? I mean, everybody likes Christmas, except freaks like Tunick, but your appreciation seems to go to another level​

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A lot of reasons​

1, I feel like it’s one of the few holidays that is actually about something, whereas most are just amorphous excuses for a day off​

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And what’s wrong with a day off?​

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It’s lazy​

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but continue with your reasons of course​

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2, There are lots of good personal memories. When I was a boy, my father would always insist on gathering all of us, and cooking just innumerable batches of cookies​

And decorate them and everything​

Often he would play Nat King Cole records as we worked​

He used to take them in to work later in the week​

Afterwrds it is… if you were in any proximity to me, I am not sure I can say I truly loved you unless we did this​

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Alright, so, let’s go in a new direction…​

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but we might return to Christmas later​

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okay​

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So, what is the ideal snack or lunch? Like something you might consume in a break room​

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I used to know a maiden​

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Who would carry a peach with her​

And she would take a butter knife​

And section it so very exactly​

And eat it as a snack​

I never quite did that, because I do not like cutting fruit so much, but it was impressive​

The general answer is fruit, anyway​

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Okay, and then you’d down a soda with it, right? ​

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. . .​

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Why would you drink pop with fruit?​

No​

You would just have fruit​

Maybe some fruit juice also​

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Oh, it’s just interested, because I distinctly recall a post of yours where you enjoyed two very healthy items for a snack, I don’t remember both of them, but they were both healthy, and one of them was pomegranate seeds, and then you drank a soda with it all.​

by your report!​

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I do very much like promegranite​

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I don’t recall this post, but I cannot deny I might have done this at some point​

And even enjoyed it​

But it’s positively ridiculous to preplan such an event as ideal​

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Do you still drink soda, or “pop” as it might be in your dialect, with any snacks at all?​

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Yes, I drink pop often enough​

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Alright, moving on​

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tell us about Dr. Pepper​

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When I was a boy, the rumor was that you had to become a doctor if you drank it​

Otherwise, you could face charges for fraud​

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and are you a doctor?​

or in the healthcare field?​

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I cannot tell you this thing​

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Fair enough, fair enough​

What is your opinion on tattoos? ​

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People out not to have scarified bodies​

It is unseemly​

And also, a disastrous career move​

As no place offering a decent wage​

Has employees that look like that​

So I have always recommend people avoid them​

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But can’t tattoos be a positive thing? Don’t they enhance the wearer’s personality by exhibiting his or her interests and loves in such a free, proud way?​

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No​

No they do not​

If it was a positive thing, you should not need to scar yourself about it​

Certainly not​

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do you have any scars of your own?​

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Are you asking if I have a tattoo, or have I ever been wounded accidentally?​

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both​

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The former, I would never have dreamed of it. The idea was always abhorrent​

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do you think someone helped instill in you your abhorrence of tattoos?​

and what about the latter kind of scarring?​

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To the latter, yes. Both my knees bear the marks of common boyhood. I have minor surgical scars besides, from childhood procedures​

Obviously, I think social convention probably influences my views of tattoos​

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http://boards.theforce.net/threads/when-was-the-day-you-realized-you-were-morbidly-obese.30485925/​

^ Is that a parody thread?​

​

​

Yes, obviously​

I don’t recall what it was about though​

​

​

It’s not completely obvious, for all we know about you, you really do might have grandkids! J​

so, moving on…​

​

You once said you might have a maternal grandmother who is Jewish. You said you were making enquiries about it. Did you ever get a final answer?​

​

​

Did I say that as a conditional thing?​

​

​

what do you mean?​

​

​

Or I mean, as an uncertain one?​

My maternal grandmother was Jewish​

​

​

oh, oh, I mean that you were uncertain at the time​

​

​

Oh, well. It is a fact​

​

​

So, it is fair to say you could be jokingly called, and with all due fondness, “Jewba-wocky?”​

​

​

yes​

​

​

I see!​

​

​

Someone once commented​

They thought J-w​

had come about as a nickname because I was Jewish​

​

​

oh​

understandable​

Moving on…​

​

​

But I was leaving out the vowel, like G-d (or “Adonai”) instead of using the name in vain​

​

​

What about this great-uncle of yours that fought in WWI?​

​

​

Hmm?​

​

​

You mentioned in a rather long post that you had a great-uncle who was in the first world war and you got your stiff gait from him​

​

​

I don’t have much record of his service. Only that he served​

Link me to this post? I am sort of interested to see it​

​

​

I’ll find it​

Meanwhile​

​

​

Okay​

​

​

Ship of a Thousand Years​

is this from a Persian poem?​

​

​

From an Egyptian funerary text​

May he go forth on the Sunrise Boat​

May he come to port in the Sunset Boat​

May he sail among the stars, imperishable​

May he go on the Boat of a Million Years​

​

Is the best available translation​

​

​

interesting​

​

​

However, at the time I first found it, my resources were considerably poorer​

And thus​

Ship of a thousand years​

​

​

there’s a Poul Anderson novel called “Boat of a Million Years”​

​

​

I’ve read that. It’s not a lot to write home about​

​

​

ah, that’s too bad​

​

​

I bought it because I recognized the poem​

Yes​

It was fun enough, just nothing especially memorable​

​

​

So why do you use “Ship of a Thousand Years” as a farewell?​

Why that specifically?​

​

​

It is an elegant one​

​

​

I definitely agree. So the aesthetic elegance of it was enough to make it your signature greeting and farewell?​

​

​

Well, not just that​

It is also always good to be mindful of the end​

​

​

That’s very true.​

Speaking of ends​

there is a tv show, Breaking Bad, that is in the process of ending​

you have recently started watching it, have you not?​

​

​

Well, I only got to see one episode​

​

Because even said I was not allowed to watch it out of order​

​

​

I highly recommend the entire show​

​

​

I am not sure if I will watch it all or not. I don’t like drug shows very much​

​

​

and Evan is right, can’t be watched out of order​

but did you see the promotional video for the second half of season 5?​

Bryan Cranston narrating the poem “Ozymandias?”​

​

​

No​

​

​

It was very good, perfectly fit the tone of the show, I thought​

what do you think of that poem, by the way?​

​

​

It is alright, I suppose​

​

overrated?​

​

​

Not necessarily. I am just not so taken with it​

One of my favorite poems is Rabia al Basri’s​

​

My Greatest Need Is You​

​

​

that sounds like a pop song​

​

​

It is much better than that, I can promise​

http://allpoetry.com/poem/8540919-My_Greatest_Need_is_You-by-Rabia_al_Basri​

​

​

I believe you, I was just saying. ​

​

​

Even said something similar once​

​

​

I see that you have visited Egypt, India, and Russia… and perhaps still more places… is there a reason you are so well traveled? why did you go to Russia?​

​

​

When I was a boy, I went with my family on business/pleasure​

And then it was a habit​

​

​

how could a visit to Egypt have been business, when you were a boy? Is there a reason your parent(s) had to take you on business trips?​

And what about the much more recent trip to Russia? Are you an appreciator of Russia?​

​

​

It was not my business. It was my family’s business. I went because it was important to go​

​

​

So, what kind of family business is it that the children go, too?​

​

​

What kind of sloth would leave their children?​

​

​

Well, I know plenty of parents that go on business trips and leave their children with relatives or friends​

how long was this business trip?​

​

​

You keep excluding the “/pleasure”​

As I indicated, we ended up staying several weeks​

​

​

So what was the business about?​

​

​

The extreme minority of that was any sort of work, as I understand. But how much does a boy understand?​

​

I can hardly tell you my father’s work if I can’t even speak of my own​

​

​

True, true.​

Alright, so, moving somewhere else…​

I found out you like to wear snow suits a lot​

any reason why?​

​

​

Who said I like to wear snowsuits?​

​

​

you​

​

​

I don’t recall all these statements​

​

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/are-snow-suits-back-in-style-yet.25674254/#post-25685515​

​

​

Oh umm​

I honestly don’t recall the context of this post​

I think the initial part was a small bit of hyperbole​

Because snowsuits really haven’t ever gone out of style​

I don’t know about the rest of it, though​

I mean, the idea is absurd​

It’s like saying “Has Central Heating and Cooling gone out of style yet?”​

​

Style has nothing to do with it. It’s an environmental adaptation​

​

​

I just don’t know many people who wear snowsuits all that much​

​

​

Well there has to be cold weather, obviously​

​

​

And you don’t like the cold. ​

like ice cream. ​

​

​

No, I don’t​

Neither​

​

​

So, different direction​

I saw a few of your favorite cartoons​

​

​

It is usually far too sweet, cold besides​

Yes?​

​

​

Prince of Egypt, Aladdin, Lion King​

​

​

I don’t know how Aladdin ended up ranked beside the other two​

​

But yes, fair enough for animated films​

​

​

one is Egyptian, obviously, the other is very Persian influenced, and the other is African​

​

​

Yes?​

​

​

and then you said most the rest of all the other Disney and animated films suck​

I’m just wondering if there MIGHT be a bias, here?​

​

​

Oh​

Well yes, that’s true​

No, there is not​

What else were you going to do put forward as a candidate?​

​

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the water-down reworked story of a mutilated outcast?​

​

​

you do sorely love ancient Egypt and ancient Persia, it’s okay​

​

well, how about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?​

or Mulan?​

​

​

Snow White is a fair enough adaptation of a not very interesting fairy tale​

​

​

Mulan?​

​

​

Though the Beautiful Jesus reimagining of the last few years was interested in its own awful way​

I’ve never seen Mulan​

​

​

good cartoon! I recommend it​

So, tell us about your Leopold name.​

​

​

My Leopold name?​

​

​

Yes, I seem to recall evil_sockpuppet liking to call you “Leopold.”​

​

​

Oh​

​

She says that my diction reminds her of​

One of the characters from the eponymous Kate and Leopold​

​

​

ah​

I have to agree, you do seem like a “Leopold.”​

Not that that’s my official guess as to your real first name, of course.​

why did you call her Francisca?​

​

​

She remarked that she knew Spanish, and I did not know her true name​

Erm​

Wait​

I don’t know that Spanish had anything to do with it, anymore​

It is difficult to reconstruct my reasoning after so many years​

In any case, it was appropriate​

​

​

So, I recall in a previous session, you said you don’t like large gatherings​

and this was part of your reason (or may have been the only reason you gave) for having no interest in going to a Celebration​

Do you go out of your way to avoid awkward social situations?​

why?​

​

​

what do you mean “awkward” situations?​

​

​

Well, like, the time you were in the grocery store…​

​

​

I don’t think anyone seeks out awkwardness​

​

Oh, and that fellow kept talking to me at every aisle​

That was the worst​

​

​

and yet it is unavoidable, is it not?​

awkwardness, I mean​

​

​

lol​

Yes, but that is a totally different case than going to some big mob​

​

​

in the process of making friends, gaining trust, loving a woman who could become a wife someday… awkwardness is part and parcel​

​

so, do you consider your friendships here on the JC worthwhile, valuable?​

​

​

Yes, but it is not the case that I avoid anything with the potential of awkwardness​

Yes, I have some worthwhile allies here​

​

​

why do you call them allies? are they friends or not?​

​

​

Because they are friends and partners​

We work for common goals​

We are allies​

​

​

I see. Wouldn’t you alliances be strengthened by meeting face-to-face, in a place which even you would have to admit would give no one any clue as to what part of the country you live, thus protecting your cherished privacy?​

I don’t think anyone ever regrets meeting JCers in person.​

​

​

It certainly would give clues​

​

​

how so?​

​

​

Well, from my level of fatigue, you might surmise how far I had travelled to meet you​

​

​

then arrive a few days early​

surely you have the financial acumen to accomplish such a thing with so much advance notice of the celebration?​

​

​

Why would I go to the Celebration, of all things​

It is a big drunken mob​

and then star wars foolishness​

What business do I have there?​

​

​

if not the Celebration, then how about a smaller satellite gathering, like the Fig was once, or a hotel room will inevitably be?​

you have spent the last several years engaged in the serious debate of star wars foolishness, wocky. J​

​

​

If I met, it would be with individuals​

not mobs​

​

​

would a JCCers only gathering be judged a mob?​

​

​

If there was a huge hoard of them​

​

​

how much is a “huge hoard?”​

​

​

err​

horde​

​

​

freudian slip of the tongue? ​

​

​

I truly don’t see the reason to meet anymore than two or at most three individuals on one occasion​

​

​

okay, then​

fair enough​

​

​

I don’t put much stock in Freud, but if you prefer it, sure​

​

​

what psychologists do you put stock in?​

​

​

Not many at all​

​

To be clear, they have made worthwhile contributions​

And I am not some overall skeptic of the field​

But they produce an incredible amount of just sheer crap​

​

​

What are some of your favorite museums?​

​

​

Type or specific locales?​

​

​

specific​

​

​

I feel that to be a sort of absurd question​

​

​

surely you’ve visited a museum more than once?​

​

​

Yes, certainly​

But I mean that’s not really the question​

If you visit one museum 15 years ago​

And one museum 20 and 5 years ago, what is the basis for comparison​

​

​

so what are some museums you’ve visited more than once?​

​

​

The African-American History museum in Washington DC​

​

Actually, I have visited all the DC museums several times​

​

​

so it is safe to say DC is a beloved vacation destination?​

​

​

No it is not safe to say that, and no it isn’t particularly​

I just visit the local museums as often as I go​

​

​

you go to DC often, then? what’s “often?”​

​

​

No no no​

I said “as often”​

​

which is to say “as many times as it has happened”​

​

​

would you say in your estimation you have been to DC a lot or not?​

​

​

a moderate number of times​

​

​

what’s a “moderate” number mean?​

​

​

More than rarely, not necessarily “often/regularly”​

but several times​

​

​

okay, okay, just wanted to clear that up​

I’m just curious… have you read any Stephen King?​

​

​

No​

I don’t think much of him​

​

​

but if you haven’t read him, how can you not think much of him?​

​

​

I have seen plenty of his adapted material​

Given, they make changes​

But the story is the story​

And it all seems rather schlocky​

​

​

at the very least, his description of the setting of many of his works, Maine, is worthwhile in a literary sense. It really captures Maine​

​

​

I cannot comment though, since I’ve not read​

I will perhaps look into it​

​

Honestly, though, probably not​

​

​

Heh, okay.​

Let’s talk about your civic participation. We know you LOVE politics, obviously. I’m just wondering if you’re not the kind of guy who talks all about it, but then doesn’t vote?​

​

​

I of course vote​

​

​

how often?​

​

​

As often as issues come to the ballot​

​

​

and candidates, in both general and caucuses?​

​

​

Not always in primaries​

​

​

but I thought you vote in caucuses?​

​

​

If there is someone I want to back​

Otherwise no​

​

​

like Howard Dean?​

​

​

I did for Howard Dean, yes​

​

​

Moving to something else (and by the way, I do believe we’re in the home stretch)​

​

would you consider yourself a Yankee?​

​

​

Are you asking me if I am loyal to the Union?​

In answer to your question, last week I was singing a song that includes the lyric:​

“We will hang Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree”​

​

​

Well, I think beyond the question of loyalty to the Union, there’s also the more surface characteristics of a Yankee.​

​

​

what surface characteristics?​

Or did I satisfy your question?​

​

​

no, no, we’ll move on​

​

​

HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON​

(also, this interview)​

​

​

How about the Great Lakes area? I found an old discussion about a trip a user was going to be taking across the country and you aked about how that user was going to cross the Lakes at an “odd diagonal angle?” ​

I thought it was a very odd question to ask.​

​

​

why is that?​

​

well, wouldn’t it naturally be assumed that the diagonal angle is not literal?​

​

and why did you remark on just the Great Lakes? there were diagonal lines all over the user’s itinerary​

​

​

I am not known for doing things naturally​

​

​

you subversive!​

​

​

The dichotomy there was between natural and mechanical, fool​

​

​

yes, but why just the Great Lakes?​

​

​

I don’t know​

It is a pretty area​

I presume what you are fishing for is​

When I was a boy​

​

One of my relatives on the distaff side used to live there​

So I visited on some occasions with fond memories​

​

​

did one of these visits include a stop by Hitsville USA, by any chance?​

​

​

yes​

​

​

okay, okay​

So how about that Ophelia? What do you think of her?​

I’m disappointed she hasn’t been around the JCC lately​

​

​

She is one of the best posters​

​

She was very funny and insightful, and most of all kind to everyone​

Her absence is a loss to the community​

​

​

ophelia had an interesting comment​

​

​

You spoke to her?​

In preparation for this?​

​

​

in a manner of speaking​

​

​

If you have lines of communication open​

​

​

yes?​

​

​

Please tell her I am unhappy that she does not return to the JCC​

​

​

I shall!​

​

She said this, a while back: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/can-you-pass-8th-graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade-science.27015801/page-3#post-27024289​

“Hey, you’ve lived out here, haven’t you?”​

ophelia is from Michigan​

​

​

I am close to my family​

We speak often about all things, so I can take the sense of places​

​

​

the reaction time was a bit slow on that. ​

​

​

I was trying to read the thread for context​

​

​

it’s funny, Michigan has Democratic caucuses​

​

​

Every state has Democratic caucuses or primaries​

Even places that are not states have them​

​

​

yes, but when you voted for Howard Dean, you voted for him in caucuses​

​

and we have established that your normal word to refer to primaries and caucuses in general is “primaries”​

​

​

No we haven’t​

​

​

up in the interview, a little bit​

​

​

Yes, but that is a one time usage, not a pattern of usage​

Further, I simply chose not to alter the language you offered​

Which is not necessarily the same as language I would have chosen on my own​

​

For instance, I also accepted “tattoo” despite at other times suggesting it was more appropriately called​

ritual scarification​

​

​

18 minutes ago​

I said, “and you always vote, in general and caucuses”​

to which you replied, “not always in primaries”​

you changed the word​

​

​

Yes of course​

But that’s a different case​

That’s convention​

The overall process before a party candidate is selected is commonly called “the primary process”​

​

​

of course​

​

​

Even though it is inclusive of both primaries and caucuses​

​

​

but you referred to them as caucuses when you voted​

​

​

So conforming to the national conventions for word usage doesn’t say anything particular about me​

​

​

you changed to a very specific word​

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/ds1977s-official-2008-united-states-presidential-election-thread.17977580/#post-17977678​

see point 3 in that post​

​

​

So I did, though that is wholly divorced from this conversation​

In any case, though, one may vote for whomever one wishes​

People continue to accrue votes even after formally dropping out​

​

Though yes, I lived in a caucus state at the time of Howard Dean’s candidacy​

​

​

was that state Michigan?​

​

​

I have never commented on my place of residence at any time in life​

​

​

fair enough, fair enough. We’re almost done with the session.​

​

​

okay​

​

​

Let’s do some concluding questions​

​

​

Okay​

​

​

I think, there are a considerable number of users here who would love to know more about you, in particular the Big Three (at least, as far as you are concerned). Those are: name (just first, not last), state of residence, and approximate age.​

And when queried about any of these things, you reply with ICTYTT. ​

And it is your right do so, to protect your privacy. ​

​

​

Yes​

​

​

In conclusion, remind us, why do you prefer to keep these kinds of things in private?​

Especially when so many users don’t, including users with families?​

​

​

The internet, for its ability to store and transmit information, breaks down the traditional way we make exchanges of information, and do confidence/trust-building​

​

Also, it is remarkably permanent, and can often leak to unintended audience, even when everyone has the best of intentions​

​

My first duty is to my own family, not there’s. I can’t answer for them​

​

​

is there a reason you were more loose-lipped about your personal details before 2007 and 2008, and that, after those two years, there is a marked increase in your privateness?​

​

​

What was I loose-lipped about?​

I always tried to be vigilant​

What you are seeing is probably the same divide evident in this interview​

​

​

I gleaned far more information about you from before 2007 than after.​

​

​

Contrary to what is said, I always try to be open and forthright about myself​

And will share many stories and things​

It is only that I cannot reveal things that might make me traceable​

But anything innocuous enough or in the distant enough past tends to be safe​

​

​

That is true.​

​

Alright, in closing, let’s move away from the privacy issue​

and talk about something else I’m sure you’ll be more receptive to​

let’s talk not about geographic homes, states of residence or anything like that​

but spiritual homes, intellectual homes​

​

​

Okay​

​

Don’t know where you are going with this, but sure​

​

​

Why is your Christianity important to you? Why do you love ancient Egypt and ancient Persia so? Why do your political beliefs lie in accordance, generally speaking, with the left wing?​

​

​

I have tried several times to make sense of your question. Ultimately, it’s probably too fundamental to be anything profound. Why do the things that matter to me matter? I wouldn’t know. In the case of religion, it’s been too integral to my personal development to really have some sort of objective analysis about the extent and nature of its influences. As a general case, though, I’ll say my level of involvement and commitment seems commensurate to the importance of the claims the religion makes.​

​

The history question is somewhat easier to address. The Levant was and is a major locus of world civilization. Certainly most of the ideas that are foundational to Western society developed there. The Bronze Age is the first point at which we start to get high-volume, readily interpretable historical information. Further, the developments from that era are pretty long lasting. For instance, the geo-political situation in Palestine created by the Egyptian imperial project held for the next several centuries, even after the New Kingdom faded. Trying to get an understanding of the peoples that were foundational to this seminal moment in our history is a really worthwhile project. Besides which, as I dug deeper, there is a lot to catch one’s interests. Like the history of all people’s, it is filled with rich intrigues, surprising historical reversals, and moments of incredible grandeur and elegance. Unique to these cultures is the way each saw and interacted with their world. I for one think there’s a tremendous amount to be gained from the study of history, and that probably everyone could find a favorite period or civilization if they looked.​

​

Politics is simpler still. I should, first, take this moment to impress upon you how incredibly and outrageously racist the Republican Party is. Especially after the Tea Party became prominent, the atmosphere has (again) become so palpably hostile that I question why you’d even ask this of a person of color. I realize full well that this is just an open attack. But it’s a deserved one. The party does little to tamp down on racism, and less to court minority voters. Their showing at commemoration of the March on Washington is only the latest example of this trend. To balance out this diatribe, I am not necessarily saying that if a person of color is a member of the Republican Party, they are wrong to do so. I’m simply saying that the reasons not to be are so painfully obvious that people needn’t bring them up.​

​

After hijacking the interview for a soapbox moment, let me answer your actual question. Very little they have to say appeals to me. Increasingly, the party trends towards a sort of fixation on personal wealth as the major policy consideration. I see that as both unreasonable and repugnant. So I don’t support their politicians.​

​

​

​

can you really get to know a person without ever knowing his name, his age, his general location, who his family are, and what he does to contribute to the world? if yes, how so?​

can you trust that person?​

​

​

Isn’t that what we’re all finding out together, on the JCC? Isn’t that what this interview has been about?​

​

​

Yes.​

​

​

I feel good about the answer so far. I hope you all do as well​

​

​

​

End of Interview.​

​

​

Well, I hope you had an enjoyable time reading the interview. I know wocky and I certainly had a good time. Thanks, Jabba-wocky, for participating!​

​

~Coruscant​

 

this is long and the formatting makes it very difficult to read.

 

Cool stuff, Cor, but the dialogue arrangement is precisely the opposite of what you said it was.

 

Fixed that. I've put L on the back of my left hand as penance.

 

This is as entertaining as the juli interview.

 

Horrible format... really annoying to read.... also so boring.

 

this sort of recreates the experience of watching a tennis match, only without the excitement of a tennis match.

 

I'll read this interview when it doesn't look like a page from House Of Leaves.

 

Some things are better in smaller amounts.

 

also cor i got a direct message from you on twitter trying to sell me some kind of weight loss product. you might want to look into that.

 

This is just not his day.

 

Alright, my edit window is gone. I'll send a reformatted version to a mod to edit in.

I log into Twitter ONE time... ****ing petri dish.

 

best interview yet. Nice work J-W and Coruscant

 

Troll v Droll.

 

That was actually quite interesting.

 

Formatting is normal now.

Thank you, Ramza!

 

Aside from the Game of Thrones portion that I glossed over, I enjoyed what I read... even without giving personal details like many of us have, I still found this an insightful look into one J-Wocky. And my dear Wocky, you're so wrong about hanging out with fellow JC'ers! You've got to give it a try one day.

 

I didn't have a problem with the original format. Made sense. Wocky's answers on the left, questions on the right.

In any event, I like this thing.

 

I read the interview via my phone when it first went up... never noticed that left/right issue!

 

Interesting interview . . . and you were quite the thread paleontologist, Cor! How did you remember half that stuff existed? I'm also touched to be remembered in an interview thread, even if it's for a 6-year-old throwaway comment. For what it's worth, "South Quad" is what an Ann Arbor local would call a certain block of University of Michigan dorms. My family has a long history with the U of M, so I know it well.

And Wocky, I haven't really gone anywhere. I log in almost every day, I just haven't had anything to say in a long time.

 

I'm so happy now.

EDIT: Regarding the descending belittling quotes, obviously.