talking with halaster, former prez of fire and all around wierd guy..

Session Start: Mon Jan 27 09:48:40 1997

*** Now talking in #halaster

halaster: hangon a sec.
dangermouse: yep yep

*** halaster is now known as halaSTER

dangermouse: hm.. ok, let's get the ball rolling
dangermouse: firstly, i have to say that our page is way-out there, and therefore so are some of the questions - not as wierd as an acrylic interview however

*** dngrmouse sets mode: +o halaSTER

halaster: i'm willing to bet that i'm weirder than your page could ever be.
dangermouse: it wouldn't suprise me after viewing some of your logos

*** XypherM (xmtrx@ip213-243.cc.interlog.com) has joined #halaster

halaster: yeah yeah yeah. :) so anyway, shoot me the first verbal barrage, baby-face.

*** XypherM was kicked by halaSTER ( you nERD! ) XypherM was kicked off #halaster by halaSTER, to invite XypherM press F12.

*** halaSTER sets mode: +i

halaster: I love being opped, even in a 2-person channel.
dangermouse: (yeah being opd is like being god)

dangermouse: hmm.. first and obvious question.. who is HALASTER? how old? male/female? girlfriend/bf? hobbies.. etc
halaster: my name is jesse kates, and i am a he. i don't have a girlfriend, because girls like to be my friend. in terms of hobbies, i draw, play guitar, skate, read cerebus and buy lots of obscure music.
dangermouse: hmm.. yeah usually babes wanna be my friend, and big fat hos want me.. you can't win really

halaster: xypher M just called me "munchwookie."
dangermouse: look out.. i'd start getting worried

halaster: i don't know any big fat hos.
dangermouse: niether do i.. hence, i don't want to be intimit with big fat hos.. why once, one tried to ask me out almost everyday when i was working at a newsagency.. argghhh!!!!
halaster: maybe she liked you.
halaster: :)
dangermouse: a little too much
halaster: i think it's kinda mean that you're mocking somebody for thinking that you're cool.
dangermouse: nah, i don't mind the size of ppl.. it's just i don't find them attractive as girlfriends.. as friends. yeah.. but..

dangermouse: someone justr whois'd me.. i bet it was u
dangermouse: anyways, let's get back on track shall we..

dangermouse: tell me about your scene background..
halaster: sure sure. goes: i started as a pd-dood, then i opened the regency, then i became a pirate in Phoenix, then i joined fire as an ascii artist, then i started dualing with relic, then relic
dangermouse: then relic...
halaster: relic died (ed: cut something out there), then i joined acid, then i revived fire, then i left acid .. and here i am. :)
dangermouse: that's quite a story..
halaster: i left a lot out. :)

dangermouse: so basically, your fire's leader now
halaster: i have been for the past year+ yeah, and before that i had a heavy hand in the group anyway, even if i wasn't the president.

halaster: maybe someday i'll write the novel.
dangermouse: i'll be at the bookstore with bells on
halaster: bells: and nothing more, baby.

dangermouse: hmm.. it seems that the vice's and such always do more than the pres sometimes.. but, it depends.. i know in one group, pyro, i was second in charge, but i did most the work in the group anyway, even if i wasn't the president. certainly isn't the rule. radman definately does most of the work in acid, for example.
dangermouse: pyro has since merged with fORCE Productions
halaster: pyro? force? :) i care not for such things!
dangermouse: haha.. fORCE Productions is only the best art group in australia!
dangermouse: well, probably the only art group in australia *8)
halaster: that's like saying you're the best snowboarder in saudi arabia :)
dangermouse: exactly
halaster: i'm just kidding. some of my best friends are australian. :)

dangermouse: ok.. next question
dangermouse: what future does fire hold from here? what projects are on the horizon, etc..
halaster: well, we'll be invading normandy on february 19th .. um .. seriosuly? fireweb is coming along nicely, and pyrodraw will be out soon. that's about it in terms of projects. we're not really a project-oriented group. we kinda just draw and take up space.
dangermouse: hehe.. yeah... i've visited fireweb.. it's very nice... wanna plug the url on here?
halaster: not yet, since it's not finished and the final URL will probably be something different anyway.
dangermouse: ok.. fair enuf..

halaster: okie.
halaster: ask me more questions!
dangermouse: o.,. ok
dangermouse: yeah, i mean about fire.. do you see the group moving towards more hi-rez than ansi.. this a move radman has tipped for acid..
halaster: not really. .. well, if we end up doing that, it certainly won't be intentional. god among lice is doing such a good job getting new vga guys for fire hirez that it's sometimes kinda hard for fire ansi to compete, in terms of new recruits. there are
halaster: simply more vga guys out there to get, so if fire has more and more vga, that'll be why. i'm partial to ansi myself, of course, so fire will always have a strong ansi lilt.
dangermouse: hmnm.. yeah, well im an ansi artist, so i don't want the scene to die with me.. but, ansi might live on just as an art form - for something to do.. that should be why ppl do ansi - to express themselves within art
halaster: there are lots of good reasons to do ansi, but yeah, artistic expression is one of the better ones. :)
halaster: i don't care _why_ people draw, as long as they're drawing.
dangermouse: well.. yeah, from a presidents point of view that'd be right.. no point in having 200 artists that don't draw (kinda like acid these days)
halaster: i just wanna see lots of productivity in the scene in general. i miss the personal competition. to be blunt, i'm one of the best guys drawing right now, and that sucks.

dangermouse: hmm.. have a gander at me colly
dangermouse: not that im good.. just want you to see it
halaster: now?
dangermouse: why not
halaster: ok. brb
dangermouse: then you can flame me on the interview
halaster: how long have you been drawing?
dangermouse: 1 year and a bit i spose
halaster: that's cool. it's important to just experiment a lot, like you're doing.
halaster: too many clone artists out there today, ESPECIALLY in logo art.
dangermouse: hmm.. yeah im a logo man.. don't draw pics for i) i can't, and ii) don't have the time

dangermouse: how long u been drawing?
dangermouse: you there?

*** gigalo13 is on IRC (a big poof)

halaster: that's cool. it's important to just experiment a lot, like you're doing. makes it 2 and a half years now.
dangermouse: hmm... yeah, your styles are way-out.. very original and colourful to say the least
halaster: well thanks. :) it wasn't always that way. i started as a big flood/eerie ripoff. but i kinda diverged early on. i don't really have a definitive style anymore, but you can usually tell my work just because it's different.

dangermouse: hmm.. what do you think about cool-t and napalm death using the name of acid!ansi for a group?
halaster: i had heard about this acid!ansi thing, but i didn't really pay much attention. i take it radman hasn't given them permission?
dangermouse: well, he's none to pleased i can assure you
halaster: i don't think it's much of an issue, since it'll fall apart really fast.

dangermouse: where abouts are u situated?

halaster: [stop double-questioning me. ;)]
dangermouse: (im not.. you can't keep up)

halaster: i live in pittsburgh, pa, where i go to school at carnegie mellon.
halaster: [i'm eating. :)]

dangermouse: how old were you again?
halaster: i'm 19
halaster: and a half! :)
dangermouse: hmm.. im 18.. woo

dangermouse: are there any other things about yourself we haven't touched on?
halaster: well, sure. :) i'm not that easily summed up. :) it all depends on what you can drag out of me.
dangermouse: hmm.. well, i dunno..
halaster: let's gossip.
halaster: tell me the latest controversy, and i'll tell you who sucks.

dangermouse: will you make the transition to hi-rez?
dangermouse: (i'll tell you about the latest gossip after you answer this question)

halaster: i tinker with photoshop, but ansi and vga are essentially VERY different art forms. ansi is more like building with legos, while vga is like painting. some
halaster: skills transfer over, like lighting knowledge and coloring and all that, but there are some big differences.
dangermouse: well.. hi-rez in my book is way harder to accomplish.. especially the good shit
halaster: see, i think it depends completely on the person. cat can't draw ansi for shit. :) so if you look at THAT case, ansi is harder.
dangermouse: hmm. :) point taken
dangermouse: i spose it just comes down to experience and good old practise
halaster: besides, 99% of ansi is crap. :) there aren't enough good ansi guys left to make a fair comparison.
dangermouse: hmm.. you want gossip? hmm..

halaster: what's hot? what's hot? :)
dangermouse: what's acheron's latest news.. ahh.. some fucker dee-jay, formerly of eden, was caught ripping ascii's of a guy called jab
dangermouse: hmm
dangermouse: wow
halaster: that's like piddly. :) i mean big issues. stuff you'll get in touble for saying. :)
dangermouse: these were BIG RIP JOBS! like 70% of his asciis weren't his
halaster: ripping happens all the time. :)
halaster: the people who rip are always forgotten a month later. they probably all come back with new handles anyway. :)
dangermouse: yeah, well.. whether they realise it or not, they're breaking copyright law big time
halaster: copyright law? i wasn't aware that most ascii groups had attorneys. :)
halaster: laws mean diddly-squid unless you press charges.
dangermouse: yeah.. well, if ppl bothered to up-hold it.. but if someone ripped your ansi, i doubt you'd sue him/her.. :)
halaster: besides, there's no reason to sue somebody for ripping your ascii, since it's all not-for-profit anyway.
dangermouse: you'd just flame the living shit out of em
halaster: if somebody was making big bucks with my ansi, i'd sue. :)
halaster: but that's not likely to ever happen.
halaster: i've been ripped before. :) 3 times, that i'm aware of.
halaster: i'm sure tons of people rip my screens for their bbs's too, which is a slightly-less bad crime, but a crime nonetheless.
dangermouse: imagine the court scene..
dangermouse: the judge: dee-jay, how do you plead? guilty or innnocent to the charge of ripping ascii's..
dangermouse: dee-jay: i don't care.. who gives a shit.. you've got no proof
dangermouse: it could be a whole murder-one series
halaster: word to that.
dangermouse: haha.. that'd be fucking funny

halaster: what do you think of twilight?
dangermouse: hmm.. not bad actually.. there web page will be good..
halaster: twilight is nifty. hmmm.. you're not making this easy, son. :) i feel like i'm interviewing you! :) we can cut this off if you like.
dangermouse: nah.. i said our page was way out... hence the tables can be turned
halaster: hehehehe..

dangermouse: ok.. what about twilight? or for that matter, plan-9 and the other new groups donning the scene caps

halaster: i need to draw a font.
dangermouse: woo.. for what?

dangermouse: do you see if as a good thing?
halaster: shastriskt. .. see, i don't know anything about these new groups. :) i'm becoming one of those jaded old-timers who doesn't know what's up. all of these plan-9 kids and twilight kids should call my freaking board and smack me upside the noggin.

halaster: the logo will be for "silk."
dangermouse: ahh, that'd be a krad font if got my hands on it.. -- you know, do a really "silky" font

dangermouse: yeah, well.. i see these new groups as breathing life at least into a tired old scene..

halaster: i'm gonna plug me now: i do pay work out the wazoo, as long as your board name doesn't REALLY suck. my prices are $10/25 lines, and you can order any length you want. e-mail halaster@cmu.edu if interested.

dangermouse: most of em are from euro anyway! the scene over there has boomed!
halaster: kinda. new groups also destabilize things.
halaster: yep, the hot spot has definately moved away from the united states.
halaster: i wonder if japan will ever get in on the action.
dangermouse: hmm.. you think it would.. technology capital of the world :)
halaster: yeah, so they're probally way beyond ansi by now. damn japs! :)
halaster: they're almost as bad as commies and limeys. :)
halaster: and aussies! :)
dangermouse: :~(

dangermouse: hmm.. i dunno, what are conventional questions does one ask in an interview!
halaster: i dunno. we've covered all the conventional ones. stone the crow was always really good at coming up with a topic of discussion. i have ideas, but it's not my place to be posing the questions. :) besides, i'm too lazy.
dangermouse: hmm.. i bet.. visit our web page, then we'll have something the talk about

halaster: actually i'd like to cut this off. i've gotta get rolling on that logo.
halaster: pay request and all. :)
dangermouse: nah..

dangermouse: hmmm.. yeah, i had about 20 billion requests, finished em all and haven't got squidly didly now
dangermouse: oh well then.. you'd better get going and start that "silky" logo..
dangermouse: i'll see you around like a choc-chip cookie

halaster: word to that. everyone telnet/ftp to the regency! (tregency.res.cmu.edu)
halaster: coolie. thanks for the interview.
dangermouse: i certainly will be there..
dangermouse: cya

Session Close: Mon Jan 27 10:49:31 1997