Question: What's the story behind your handle?
The Grifter: The Story?....Hmmmm....Ok...well I used to be
Basehead, a little
inference to online addiction that very few people picked up on. Then
I was known for a while as Scarecrow....cause I was always just
Hanging around chat rooms acting Brainless...then I was Basehead
again, but well Basehead was getting a little too loud for his own
good so I shelved him. Anyways one night me and a few friends were
hanging out in PE Net (R.I.P.) without handles causing some chaos,
and a few of us decided to actually give ourselves new names just for
a gag. I had just seen the Movie "The Grifters" the night earlier and
put up "Grifter" as my fake name for the night. But a few people
really liked the Handle....and the more I thought about it the more
it fit. That's what I do online sometimes, take things from other
people....HTML code....little sayings and bits of wisdom...thier
opinions and sometimes when absolutely neccessary their personal info.
My
webpage is online proof of just how I have used other peoples
thoughts to increase my personal myth. And anyone who writes a chat
based webpage knows that they do the same...only I being the "in your
face" kinda guy I am, readily admit it.
Question: We've met irl at a radio station, where you worked as a journalist.
Why did you choose this profession?
The Grifter: Well as most people who know me personally
are aware I am no longer a journalist...that's not to say I won't do it again but for now I
can't. I was naive when I got into it. I thought that I could operate
a news gathering operation that stood on merit of fact alone and
bring a degree of rationality that is missing quite often in that
profession. And in many respects I was successful. I got in because I
was serving a higher purpose....the public dissemination of
information...and when a persons intent is pure they get places fast.
But there came a point this summer when I realized to get big in news
you have to be willing to invade people's lives,dig into very
private nooks and cranies and find information that titilates and
informs. Personally I am very unwilling to do that. I don't care who
my best friends are sleeping with (as long as it's not me)...let
alone some elected official. I don't think that alot of the
information the public wants is really germaine to their daily lives,
so I'm not going to be part of the machine that provides it to them.
It's all part of what I call the "dumbing down" of western society.
So I walked in pure and left jaded...just like any love
affair...*Grin*
Question: What one song seems to be your personal theme? Why?
The Grifter: Hmmmm Actually there are three right now and
it shifts....you know at times in your life certain lyrics fit better than others.....actually
I bought this new CD today Jamiroquai "Travelling without Moving",
and one song really got me.....here's a short verse
Question: What's your view on cyber relationships, and the hot topic, cyber-sex?
The Grifter: Hmmm...that is a very loaded question...and one
that's better left behind closed doors...BUT....before I go on one small
disclaimer...3 months ago you would have got a different answer, but
events in my life have forced me to re-evaluate my former stance...
The whole term "cyber-relationship", or "cyber friend" lost all it's
meaning to me this summer when after a real bad day and a fight with
my girlfriend at the time ...a really good friend of mine...who I had never spoken to off chat called me and
asked if the was anything he could do to help me out. It blew my
mind, anyone who has spoken to a "chat friend" over the phone for the
first time knows what I'm talking about. The sudden awareness of the
reality of the other people at the other end of the keyboard. I spent
a couple of days thinking about his action, a simple phone call. I
thought to myself..."hey that's what any real-time friend would do
for me"...call me when I'm down and see if he/she could help. So I
discarded the whole "Cyber" part of my online friendships....these
are my friends...end of sentence.
As for online love.... we
all know that our best real time relationships develop on a solid
"friendship" foundation...if the people we chat with are indeed our
friends, then falling in love with one of those friends should
logically be a natural next step. It's not always easy though being
in love with someone who lives thousands of miles away and going
months,weeks, or years without actually touching them, holding their
hand.Even stupid shit like buying them dinner in a cheap restaurant
and killing a bottle of red wine over a plate of spagetti can become
your greatest desire at times.(does it sound like I'm talking from
experience yet?)
As for "cyber-sex"..anything between two consenting adults is just
fine by me...but before you start rutting like two crazed weasles
in heat in an open chat room ask yourself..."would I do that in
public?"...if the answer is yes then be my guest but don't get
offended if I or someone like me makes fun of how poorly endowed you
are...*LOL*
Question: What would you rather be doing right now?
The Grifter: *Sigh*...next question please.........
OK, the truth, is there's this very wonderful woman in the eastern United States who I
really just want to be sharing a cup of coffee and getting to know better
right now. And considering how far away I am from her it's getting me
down.......next question please....
Question: Describe your idea of the perfect mate for you.
The Grifter: That's a little personal isn't it? Damn I will regret
consenting to this interview won't I?.....Hmmmmm OK.....my perfect mate...she has a
fire inside her that won't be denied, she's highly intelligent, very
self willed and knows what she wants from the world around her. Lets
see, she's also playfull and unafraid to express her sexuality.
Finnally her hair is a shade of red...for some reason I like redheads
and attract them.....so if there is anyone out there who fit's that
bill....(and you know who you are).... e-mail me ...age, race, not
important....republicans and right wing wackos need not apply...LOL
Question: Why do you handle-flip?
The Grifter: Me?...handle flip?....Noooooo......never.....
LOL...OK Sometimes I want to lurk...sometimes I get into trouble and don't want my words
encumbered by previous preconceptions of me...and sometimes I'm just
feeling silly and want to let my imagination fly. You could not
imagine the Chaos one can cause posting as A Small Grey
Mouse...scurrying across a chat room floor biting people in
search of a hunk of cheese......just gotta bite the right
people...*Grin*
Question: What do you think about being interviewed like this?
The Grifter: Actually that list of things I'd rather be doing right
now is getting longer....lemme see ....yep I'm adding "getting
an exotic virus" to the list right now....
Question: What was the single most embarrassing moment of your life? Explain.
The Grifter: Oh $#!t!!!!....no...no...NOPE I'm not going to
take you or the reader there...let me just suffice it to say that it involved...
Some
Silly Putty
Some used Motor oil
A cat named Wendle
A large
swedish girl named Inga
...and a bottle of everclear that had been
distilled from some bad homemade wine
BTW it is my experience that
anything "embarassing" always involves a cat and used motor
oil...don't ask me why...*Shrugs his shoulders*
Question: What's your favorite non-alcoholic drink?
The Grifter: Actually you can now go down to the local
convienience store and get a bottle of something called "Kick"...it's like Mountian Dew but it's
made with Guaranna...which is a natural and very potent source of
caffine....I actually prefer caffine and nicotine to booze anyways
And with that I'm gonna have a smoke.....*Puff*