Spotlight On Beldaran : Interview # 1

[carrot red]

To those who aren't familiar with the concept and haven't read the previous thread, this is where you ask whatever question you feel like asking to get to know better the AGN member featured in the thread.


AGN Name: Beldaran
Real Name: Forrest
D.O.B.: 10/15/81
Sign: Libra
Location: Austin, TX

"I was born in Denver, CO. I spent my young childhood moving around between California and Washington and back. I then lived in Washington state for 15 years. I enjoy playing guitar and studying things that interest me."


What are your phobias?

I am afraid of large crowds of people. I'm afraid of being forced to spend time on things I'm not interested in. I'm afraid of collectivism and the mob mentality. I used to be afraid of stupid things like bugs and drowing, but since moving to Texas I've encountered so many hideous bugs that I'm just no afraid of them anymore. Also, I started swimming regularly so I'm no longer afraid of water/drowning. I still get woozy with heights, but I don't consider it a phobia as much as a physiological reaction. I am not afraid of heights, but my equilibrium is poorly suited to the experience.


What are your talents?

I am really good at playing guitar and bass guitar. I have an in depth knowledge of music theory. I read fast and learn complicated systems of relationships quickly. (ie I am so smrt, S-M-R-T!)


If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Nowhere. I prefer to stay home. If I was forced to travel, I would go to Germany/Sweeden/ north eastern europe. I think scandinavian girls are SEXAY. Also, Irish girls, when they are hot, are some of the hottest women on earth.


What's your favorite holiday? What do you do on that holiday?

My birthday. (Yes, it's a holiday, damn it!) I basically just do whatever I want and follow all my whims for the entire day. Usually this means staying home and rocking my ass out on the guitar. If I live near any friends (which I currently don't) I will go do something fun with them.


What is one thing you would want to tell your AGN buddies about yourself that we wouldn't normally know?

I make lots of smart ass posts and act like a dick at AGN sometimes, but really I'm very sweet and polite. I am a closet romantic. I buy romantic comedies on DVD and I enjoy lots of music that isn't rock, including pop and love songs. Don't get me wrong though, I still rock the fuck out most of the time. I gotta have my rock.


What kinds of books do you like to read? Do you have favorite author(s)?

I used to read a lot of speculative fiction like fantasy and science fiction. My favorite authors in this genre are Terry Goodkind and David Eddings. Nowdays, I don't read so much fiction. I still read Goodkind's books because they are the best ever, but mostly I read non-fiction, usually pertaining to computers or a physical science. My favorite book ever is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. If you want to know anything about what kind of person I am, read this book. It encapsulates many of the things that inspire me and make me tick. My second favorite book is Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind.


What's your most embarrassing moment?

SO MANY. I have lived a very embarassing life, filled with many classic nerd moments. =( I am actually having problems narrowing it down, I have had so many embarassing moments. One that stands out is from when I attended a catholic school with a uniform policy. The shorts they gave us were very gay and lame. You could buy your own shorts of the same color if you wanted, but at the time my family couldn't afford any. Most of the kids' parents had lots of money so they all wore the "cool" shorts. Anyway, it was very hot and so I capitulated and wore the gay shorts. I'll never forget the feeling of having a crowd of people just standing there laughing at how I look. This girl that I liked kept cracking up and pointing out how skinny I was, and how I had knobby knees. That was an incredibly hurtful, embarassing day and I didn't wear shorts for like two years after that.

One time in high school I was hanging out with this girl that I LOVED WITH ALL MY HEART (not kidding) and all of her friends. They were all hanging out in the living room of this person's house, and I excused myself to use the bathroom. Above the toilet was this weird shelf with all these little glass trinkets on it. I did my business, and then when I leaned over the flush the toilet, and stood back up, my hand smacked the shelf (it was really badly located) and all the little trinkets came crashing down. No matter what I said, they were convinced that I had been masturbating, and in a fit of passion, bashed into the shelf. I wanted to die. Jus fucking die right there. It never worked out with that girl and I. She probably still thinks I excused myself to go bust one out while thinking about her. GAH!


Which person, living or dead, do you most admire?

John D. Carmack, Chief Technical Office of id Software. Carmack is the most consistent, focused, inteliigent, hard working person I have ever heard of. He completely encapsulates some of my highest values. He's like a model of what I admire in a person; tenacity, persistence, and independent thought.



If you could live at any time in the past or the future (but not in the present), which time period would you choose, and why?

Probably a few hundred years in the future. I want to see how (if) we progress as a species, and hopefully enjoy space travel for the first time.


What's your worst habit?

uh, surfing AGN? hehe
Honestly, though, I think idly surfing the internet might be my worst habit. I waste too much time just browsing crap.

[Beldaran]

oooh awesome answers! What a bad ass. God damn. I want to interview him too:

Beldaran: Are you sexy and what's your penis like?

Answer: Yeah I'm really sexy and my penis rules.

This is grade A journalism here, folks! :love:

[carrot red]

*rolleyes*
You don't get to interview yourself, Bel. Just answer the questions.

Now give me:


5 snacks you enjoy.
5 songs you know all the words to.
5 things you would do with $100 million dollars.
5 places you would run away to.
5 things you would never wear.
5 fictional characters you would date.

[Beldaran]

5 snacks you enjoy
Pepperidge Farms Pizza Flavored Fish Crackers
Rainbow Sherbet
Mountain Dew
Rice Crispy Treats
Cocoa Puffs

5 songs you know all the words to

Fuck Her Gently -Tenacious D
Jump - Van Halen
Stacy's Mom - Fountain of Wayne
It's My Life - Bon Jovi
Dr. Worm - They Might Be Giants

5 things you would do with $100 million dollars:

1) Pay off my college loans
2) Pay off my sister's college loans
3) Set my parents up for retirement
4) Build a recording studio
5) Start a video game company

5 places you would run away to:

An isolated house in the mountains
A tiny town in the middle of nowhere in midwestern USA
An underwater superbase with an army of cyborg warriors programmed to do my bidding
A special bunker built under my house that no one can get into
Puerto Rico

5 things you would never wear:

a bra
a t-shirt representing a top 40 pop band
an abercrombie and fitch shirt
a skirt
anything remotely resembling a KISS costume

5 fictional characters you would date:

Kahlan Amnell (Sword of Truth Series, Terry Goodkind)
Dominque Francon (The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand)
Dagny Taggart (Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand)
Princess Leia (Star Wars, George Lucas)
Beldaran ( NO, NOT ME. Beldaran is a female character from a David Eddings Book called "Belgarath The Sorcerer")

[Lilith]

oooh awesome answers! What a bad ass. God damn. I want to interview him too:

Beldaran: Are you sexy and what's your penis like?

Answer: Yeah I'm really sexy and my penis rules.

This is grade A journalism here, folks! :love:

I enjoy this.

[theplustwo]

Good answers. I can see that this is going to be a cool feature. Is it weekly?

[Brasel]

I don't have much to respond to this, but I enjoyed reading this. I say lets keep em coming.

[carrot red]

Weekly or twice a week, tpt, we'll see about that.

Just ask him questions, Tony.

Isn't anyone curious about one thing or the other concerning Beldaran? This is your chance to find out.

[Darth Marsden]

Dare I ask that most boring and obvious of questions - What led you to AGN?

Gets mobbed

[Beldaran]

Dare I ask that most boring and obvious of questions - What led you to AGN?

Gets mobbed

My friend was having a nerdgasm about Zelda Classic and he turned me onto the site. I think he was one of the beta testers, for a short while. He eventually stopped posting here, and I just kept posting because, well, I'm an idiot? :laughing:

At the time, I had just built my first computer and purchased my first high speed internet connection. I was totally psyched about computers. My girlfriend at the time didn't get the whole "nerd" thing and disapproved. She asked me once to spend less time on the computer. In responce I bought a copy of Microsoft Visual Studio and started programming, never leaving my computer. We eventually broke up because there was nothing about her as interesting as even the most boring aspect of computing. (aside from her body, which was VERY interesting. :D But in the end, it didn't make up for her personality.)

[Brasel]

When did you start playing guitar and what was it that triggered it? You've probably posted this before, but I either forgot it or missed it.

[Beldaran]

I was 14 years old, so it was like... 1995? Anyway, I saw a picture of Kurt Cobain on a magazine cover. He was screaming into a microphone and playing a guitar. He looked pissed, in love, horny, and bored all at the same time. I wanted to find out what that was all about. I bought some Nirvana CD's and life just spiraled downwards from there. I knew had to get a guitar and learn how to play it. Played pretty much all the time. Rock music is bad ass.

[fatcatfan]

How did you go about learning to play the guitar? Have you studied music theory on your own, or taken lessons? I ask because I'm not sure where to start learning to play bass.

Paper or plastic?

Describe the woman you'd like to marry.

[Beldaran]

How did you go about learning to play the guitar? Have you studied music theory on your own, or taken lessons? I ask because I'm not sure where to start learning to play bass.

At first, I took private lessons for about two years. I learned the basic physical techniques of playing the guitar, I learned scales, how to read notation, and some basic theory. After I stopped taking lessons, I start playing guitar about 6-7 hours a day for two or three years. I would just put my favorite CD's on repeat and play a bunch of crap over the top. Eventually, I started sounding better at doing this, and finally one day I could just pop a CD and start playing it exactly back. I also studied some jazz stuff to inrease my knowledge of theory.

I suggest a two pronged approach: If you can afford it, find someone to give you bass lessons. They don't have to be a great player, just enough to show you the ropes.

Second, use the internet to learn scales as well as how to play your favorite songs on bass. Look for "tabs", a style of notation specific to guitar and bass.

Also, the amount of time your spend playing is directly proportional to how good you are.


Paper or plastic?

I definately prefer plastic boobs to paper ones.



Describe the woman you'd like to marry.

Big boobs, lots o' money.

No seriously, I have no idea. Just someone who I think is sexy, whose values and work ethic I admire, and who loves me back and doesn't try to change me. By "values I admire" I mean honesty, loayalty, individuality, independence, intellectually active, etc.

[fatcatfan]

I suggest a two pronged approach: If you can afford it, find someone to give you bass lessons. They don't have to be a great player, just enough to show you the ropes.

Second, use the internet to learn scales as well as how to play your favorite songs on bass. Look for "tabs", a style of notation specific to guitar and bass.

Also, the amount of time your spend playing is directly proportional to how good you are.Actually, I meant one of these:
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:fxFJGz1c0kwJ:www.danielbuttner.com/bass4sale/bass5.jpg (http://www.danielbuttner.com/bass4sale/bass5.jpg)
I honestly still know nothing about learning to play it, but would "tabs" still be appropriate? I want to play jazz, swing, not rock.

[Great Warrior]

This is a great idea. totally different from what I imagined Beldaran to be. :p

I have the following questions: At what age did you have your first girlfriend? What was your first kiss like? What are the qualities you look for in a girl? are there a lot of things you regret doing – not doing? are you afraid of dying young? can you imagine yourself living a life opposite to the life you are living now? do you smoke? are you arrogant and stubborn or do you listen to reasoning and admit you are wrong? who was your next choice of a person to interview? What do you find intolerable about yourself? Do you believe in heaven or hell and do you think you make your own heaven and hell?

[Beldaran]

Wow, lot sof questions Great Warrior. :scared: ;)


At what age did you have your first girlfriend?

18. I was a senior in high school, she was a junior. We met a my friend Doug's house at a Nintendo party. lol I asked her to go to some stupid school dance with me and she did. We dated for two years. She was really attractive. Incidentally, she's getting married in a few days to some douchebag. :evil:


What was your first kiss like?

Weirdly enough, my first serious kiss wasn't with my first girlfriend, but a year before with a gril who I was hopelessly in love with, and who liked me but never really ponied up to being my actual girlfriend. She said I was too nice. She wanted someone dangerous and dashing. Bleh. She once said that I was like vegetables. She knew I was good for her, but she preferred chocolate cake. She has a myspace page, so I grabbed a picture off of it:

http://www.forrestkyle.com/photos/laura.jpg

When she left for college and started dating some big italian super model (not joking) I was crushed. Seriously heartbroken.

Anyway, her parents went on vacation one time and I ended up staying the night at her house. We just hung out, sipped wine, watched movies, and sat out under the stars for most of the night. At one point, when we were sitting on the couch she leaned against me, then sort of snuggled into my arm. I reall wasn't sure if she liked me at this point, so I soft of jokingly said, "Don't worry, I won't get the wrong idea,". She responded, "It wouldn't be the wrong idea."

So then she sat up and I kissed her. We were in the loft of her house, and there was the big window with moonlight coming in and I kissed the girl I loved most. My first kiss. [sigh] :laughing:

Of course, a week later she left for college in California and I never saw her again. Yay for broken hearts and naivety! We sometimes correspond via e-mail now days and are on friendly terms.


What are the qualities you look for in a girl?

I am attracted to girls who value reason, tell the truth, and have aspirations for their life. Aside from that, I just look for that *spark* of chemistry that is so hard to find and define.


are there a lot of things you regret doing – not doing?

I don't really have any regrets. I've done stupid things, and I've made good choices as well. I've done some crazy stuff (cliff jumping, mountain boarding, skiing down double diamon runs, inline skating on huge half pipes, playing in a full contact football league, jumping stairs on skates, careening down a mountain at full speed on a bike, etc) and while I've sustained various injuries from these activities (10 stitches in my forehead, stitches in my wrist, almost died cliff jumping, sprained ankles, numerous football bruises, etc) I look back on these things very fondly.

The only things I regret not doing are finishing college sooner, dumping my girlfriend while we were still in high school, and working harder. (even though I work pretty hard, I'm a drill sergeant for myself!)


are you afraid of dying young?

Yes. But I'm actually more afraid of getting old. I think it would be best if I died at like age 50. There's things I really, really want to do before I die, such as have sex with an incredibly hot woman, fall in love, play a bad ass rock concert, and release an album that is so good I feel like I never have to make another album again.


can you imagine yourself living a life opposite to the life you are living now?

If you mean in a meterial sense, then yes I can imagine having much more money.;) But if you mean personally, then no. My values and ideas are so much a part of me that without them I would simply cease to exist and would be some one else entirely.


do you smoke?

No.


are you arrogant and stubborn or do you listen to reasoning and admit you are wrong?

I will twist this one on you. I am arrogant and stubborn about listening to reason, even if I have to admit I am wrong. Reason is one of man's highest virtues in my opinion, and it is hopelessly absent from our society at large. When I meet new people, I look for reason first, before anything else.


who was your next choice of a person to interview?

I waived my write to choose an interviewee so that we could all interview Cyberkitten. :) (per carrot red's request, since the thread was her idea) I think it's cool. I want to see what CK has to say anyway.


What do you find intolerable about yourself?

The size of my penis. I mean, shit how am I supposed to walk with this god damned firehose tripping my feet up?

Probably the only thing I find intolerable about myself is my own mortality.


Do you believe in heaven or hell and do you think you make your own heaven and hell?

Officially I don't know. Secretly and off the record, I believe good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell.

whew, that was a lot of questions! :tongue:

[deathbyhokie]

A) how did you happen upon the Quest for glory series
B) Which of the 5 is your favorite
c) Which class do you use?

[Beldaran]

A) how did you happen upon the Quest for glory series
B) Which of the 5 is your favorite
c) Which class do you use?


Ah, Quest For Glory. One of my favorite games of all time.

We had just moved to this little town in Washington State, and after a while, I got to know the two brothers who lived across the street from me. They had a nice, new computer with some games on it. One day, while Steven (the older brother) was playing FF3, I sat at his computer and started looking around in his directories. I found some fun little games here and there. After a few minutes, I found the "QFG3" directory. "Hmm?" thought I, "what's QFG3?". So I opened the program was suddenly transported to another world!

I had never played a game like this before. I could decide exactly what kind of person I was, what I was good at, etc... but more than that... I could actually practice skills I was weak in and get better! This was awesome! Then as I played I felt really drawn into the world. I was not sitting at Steven's computer. I was being sent by the Emir of Shapier to help prevent war in Tarna. There were so many exciting characters; lionataurs, sorcerers, wizards, theives, taverns, monsters, sauruses to ride through the sweltering desert... I was mesmorized.

I didn't get to play it all that much because I didn't hang out with Steven too often, but I knew that I had to find out more about this world. I knew that since QFG3 was the third installment, there was tons of story I was missing out on. So I got online and ordered the Quest For Glory Anthology, which I still have to this day. I loved beating those 4 games. And then when QFG5 game out, I beat that. So much god damned fun. It's probably my favorite series ever.

My favorite installment is....hmmm....probably a tie between Quest for Glory I (the VGA remake) and Quest For Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness. I love QFG 1 because there is so much excitement about the long adventure you are setting out on. I like trading with Braugi the giant, finding Erana's Peace, and becoming the hero of Spielburg. Quest For Glory IV just rocks because the music is awesome, the fighting interface is fun, and you get to resolve the Ad Avis story arc. Plus, Katrina is smoking hot, and the Rasulka is responsible for some of my earlierst boners. lol Also, this game is very creepy and full of evil. It's fun travelling the forest at night fighting wraiths and getting their treasure. I like restoring happiness to the beleagured valley of Mordavia. So those are my two favorites.

The first time I beat the series, I was a fighter who became a Paladin. Oh, and can I just say that the feature of allowing you to import your saved characters from one game to the next is bad the fuck ass? I LOVE that, and very few games do it. Later, I beat it as both a theif and a magic user. Theif is really fun to play, and I enjoy the spell powers of being a Magic User/Wizard, but I think I felt most at home being a noble Paladin.

If anyone has the chance, play these games! Sometimes you can find the anthology on ebay. You'll need a program called Dosbox to play it though, because modern computers just eat the games for lunch.

Check out this site (http://www.questformoreglory.com/index.php) for more information on this awesome, awesome game.

[Darth Marsden]

- If you had to choose between having one arm or no arms, which would you choose and why?
- (The nerd in me compels this one) What are your top 3 video games ever?
- If you were God for a day, what would you do?
- (Again, blame the nerd for this) Which D&D alignment would you be?
- A giant meteor is headed for Earth and we can't stop it. The planet is being evacuated and you, somehow, have scored two tickets on a space shuttle. Who would you take with you?

[Verman]

1) Have you ever dreamed of having intercourse with an animal of somesort? What kind of animal?
2) Have you ever had intercourse with a person of the same sex?
3) Why exactly do you think anyone here that matters actully cares that you can play guitar or why you came to agn? What makes you special? Why do you believe you are more important then anyone?
4) What do you think of your president George Bush?

[Beldaran]

- If you had to choose between having one arm or no arms, which would you choose and why?

One arm. I'm not ready to give up what is, at this point, my sex life.


- (The nerd in me compels this one) What are your top 3 video games ever?

1) Quest For Glory
2) Chrono Trigger
3) DOOM


- If you were God for a day, what would you do?

Remove people's ability to lie or physically harm other people. Cure all diseases. Supply a reneweable energy source. Make all women hot. Stuff like that.


- (Again, blame the nerd for this) Which D&D alignment would you be?

The nerd in me allows me to answer this without looking anything up. Chaotic Good.



- A giant meteor is headed for Earth and we can't stop it. The planet is being evacuated and you, somehow, have scored two tickets on a space shuttle. Who would you take with you?

I would scour the universities and research laboratories of the world and take the hottest genius woman I could find. If we're going to repopulate the species, we'll want some good gene stock to go off of.



1) Have you ever dreamed of having intercourse with an animal of somesort? What kind of animal?

Platypus. Talk about sexy. Holy shit.


2) Have you ever had intercourse with a person of the same sex?

Yes, I have intercourse with men and women everyday. I do it in public, over the internet, even with my parents.

... oh wait, you mean sexual intercourse? No, never done that.


3) Why exactly do you think anyone here that matters actully cares that you can play guitar or why you came to agn?

Because playing guitar kicks ass and because they asked.


What makes you special?

I have bionic arms that shoot nuclear bullets out of my fingertips.


Why do you believe you are more important then anyone?

I just don't care what anyone thinks about me. Maybe it comes across as arrogance.


4) What do you think of your president George Bush?

I think he has a poor command of spoken english and that he's not a good leader.

[Prrkitty]

1) What is your favorite color?

2) Do you have a place/park/etc that you like to go to when you have things you need to think about... sort out... etc?

[Beldaran]

1) Blue - clean, refreshing, life giving blue

2) I like to go for long bike rides when I need to think about things. The Texas hill country is great for this, but you have to be sure and bring plenty of water along.

[Darth Marsden]

Dude, I almost feel like you're my best friend :D

- If you could live anywhere, where you you live? ("I wouldn't move anywhere" is not a valid answer. Anywhere OTHER then where you live at the moment, mister.)
- Stealth or Big Guns?
- Since I haven't heard this anywhere, what's your middle name?
- Do you have any family members you don't... like? Maybe that's the wrong word. Are there any family members you aren't as close to as you feel you ought to be? That's a bit better, I guess. You get what I'm trying to say, I hope.
- Coke or Pepsi?

[Beldaran]

Dude, I almost feel like you're my best friend :D


Right on. :thumbsup:


- If you could live anywhere, where you you live? ("I wouldn't move anywhere" is not a valid answer. Anywhere OTHER then where you live at the moment, mister.)


Well, I moved to where I live (Austin) because it's where I'd want to live if I could live anywhere. The truth is, I CAN live anywhere. I don't have to fantasize. I chose Austin, TX. But, to honor the intent of the question, I suppose if I was forced to relocate, it would be to Dallas.


- Stealth or Big Guns?


Big Guns!


- Since I haven't heard this anywhere, what's your middle name?


Everett


- Do you have any family members you don't... like? Maybe that's the wrong word. Are there any family members you aren't as close to as you feel you ought to be? That's a bit better, I guess. You get what I'm trying to say, I hope.

My family is very close. I'm closer to my family members than anyone else. I fight with my sister all the time, but it's always stupid stuff and we always end up hanging out.


- Coke or Pepsi?

I don't drink acid sugar poison that people use to clean chrome. I'll have a nice glass of water or orange juice, thank you. I like Gatorade too, now that I think about it. But that's pretty much it.


No more questions! My interview is over. I'm too lazy to answer anymore. Thanks for reading everyone! Now I can slink back into the shadows. Wait, who am I kidding? I'm an obnoxious loudmouth. See you next post! ;)

[biggiy05]

How are things going with you and your band? Do you think you will be able to put out a cd in the near future?

[carrot red]

This should be your last question, Bel. Answer it. Oh, and thanks for the link.