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Aalasteir
”Please, you have to understand.
The Internet is evil. It corrupted me.”
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Now, I make Royalty-Free Music.
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I'm open for collab!
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Aalasteir @Aalasteir

Age 24, Male

Drug dealer for kids

Pennsylvania Int Sch (PennIS)

DK / Timezone: CEST

Joined on 3/21/22

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Aalasteir's News

Posted by Aalasteir - 4 days ago


@CocoBanoboJojo - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


Q: Your perspective of the Internet, and how did you arrive on NG? And why?


I think the internet as it is, is basically unfit for human consumption, I think it's destroying society.

Although like most things it does have some good.



Q: The story of your usernames: Curtains-Joe / CocoBanoboJojo


When I was little I used to like hiding behind curtains and I knew a kid who had lots of imaginary friends all of whose names where some random word + "Joe", so it kind of clicked, it also seems sort of theatrical becuase of the word 'curtains', I changed it to CoJoOno, because I thought it sounded less weird, then @kevinseeselow called me Coco Banobo Jojo, so that's my name now.



Q: You have a wide interest in music, from folk to hip-hop to electronic, even mind control autismcore. Where do you think your broad palette and appreciation for auditory communication comes from?


Basically I wouldn't normally listen to most of the genres on NewGrounds so I just listen to whatever and I like what I like.



Q: How did you get interested in making experimental music?


Making weird stuff is fun, making good stuff is sort of hard...



Q: The origin of Curtain Simulator


It was an idea I had for ages, then @Zabujard made a thread asking for game ideas.



Q: How did you create The Divine Tragedy?


With haxelflixel, a lot of copy and pasting and trial and error and desperation, the usual coding sort of thing.



Q: You currently have over 7K posts on the BBS, what have you learned about yourself from posting? What would be your advice and philosophy on being in the BBS?


I learned I sometimes need to keep a lid on it.

My philosophy is try to be nice and don't take things too far, I think that goes for most things.



Q: What is your perspective of when general and politics were shut down?


I had decided to give up posting there just before it closed down, I saw TomFulp was lurking on general, which he only ever did when something was up.

I felt a bit guilty, because I suspect I contributed to making them worse places by generally being a pain the arse.



Q: What was it like making bad this animations using python?


All the fun of programming + all the fun of animating, pretty bad...



Q: What do you like about creating art?


The freedom I think...



Q: How do you decide on making art of NG users?


They were sprites for the game I made btw, I just think community is a good thing in general, so one ought to pay ones dues in any way one can and they are great characters anyway.



Q: What interests you about history and also art history?


I think it's cool and it's important in understanding why things are the way they are and how things work in general.



Q: What is your opinion of ultra processed food?


I don't think it's healthy....



- Biological Warfare


When I was 18 I had a job as a cleaner, I went to clean the disabled toilet and I saw it was full of loo roll, I took off the first layer and found someone had taken a shit on top of the massive pile of paper below, I panicked and just flushed the toilet, but of course the massive amount of toilet paper meant the water couldn't drain out, so the toiled was just filled stinky brown papery water, that I couldn't get close to without retching, so I had to use loads bleach to try and dissolve it, then I'd wait for the water to drain and flush the toilet again until I ran out of bleach so I started using acid descaler instead, gradually it started to work, then I got a thing from the cleaning cupboard that looked like a giant toilet brush which I later found out was for removing cobwebs and a pole that someone had sellotaped a scrubbing brush to, to clear out the disgusting mess that remained, by the time I'd managed to get all the paper and shit off them, I'd worked an hour longer than I was supposed to, it was the last day of the company I worked for's contract, I have a suspicion that they were responsible.



Q: How did the experience change your views on working as a cleaner? And what would be your advice on dealing with bad situations?


I had heard stories about having to clean sick out of urinals so I wasn't shocked, the best way to deal with bad situations is to hold your breath and block off your nose.



Tags:

7

Posted by Aalasteir - 5 days ago


@francisclonehero - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


Q: Why do you have Paul McCartney as your profile picture?


1. Paul McCartney is my biggest inspiration in general, if it wasn't for him i wouldn't be so into music, i love him as a person and as an artist.



Q: What is some music you would recommend? And why?


2. My favourite band is Radiohead, i would really recommend Amnesiac or Kid A, Also Hail To The Thief, those are my favourite albums from all time. I also listen to a lot of Aphex Twin, I would recommend Druqks, Syro and Richard D. James Album.



Q: What is your process for making music?


3. I am a person very open to experimentation, i have a folder with like 50 songs till today, but i only upload the ones that are a little better than the rest, that's the reason behind the numbers in the title. I use many of those songs to experimentate some elements to use, and when one of those results somewhat good, i upload it!



Q: The story of your username: francisclonehero


4. The name came of a game that i really was into some years ago, that's the origin of the name, it was a clone of guitar hero called Clone Hero, i even have a shirt of it! but I don't really play it that much since my guitar controller broke.



Q: How did you discover NG, and why did you join?


5. I discovered Newgrounds very long ago because of the Henry The Stickmin games, i played all of them, then i got into the other stuff, mainly Madness Combat, i remember that as a child i won't stop drawing Madness characters, i was and am obsessed with it.



Q: What are your plans for the future?


6.I plan to continue with my musical adventure! i make electronic music on newgrounds as a loner, but i have a band with my guitarist and pianist friends, we play covers like things from The Beatles and Los Tres.



Tags:

4

Posted by Aalasteir - 10 days ago


@brainhem - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


- Introduction


I love animation because its able to expand your imagination in ways that live action isn't able to. The exagerated enviroments and characters in animated works are able to bring things like comedy and horror to a whole other level. Essentially you aren't restricted to the confines of reality in any way. This is important for me, because what I love about writing is its abiltity to teach you things about yourself and the world around you. But in order to do that I have to dive further into things bothering or exciting me then I can do in the real world. I also just love words... massive yapper if you couldn't tell.


The types of stories that I like to share are ones that are emotional and heavy. I like thinking about the nature of existence and what it means to be human. I'm very interested in dreams, philosophy and conversations between people that feel as if it's a private moment and you shouldn't be listening. That and I always try and be funny... because I'm sort of a funny person I think (in all senses of the word)


Q: What is "Can Anyone Hear Me?" How did you come up with the idea and what was your process for creating it ?


A: ‘Can Anyone Hear Me?’ is a short comedy/drama film that follows a cartoonist named Gus who wants to make it in the industry. It’s mostly conversational and was written, animated and composed by myself. I came up with the idea after hearing countless stories of artists being treated poorly, with the main examples being Ub Iwerks (revolving the creation of Mickey Mouse) and Petra Collins (whos style was allegedly plagiarised for the show Euphoria) I chose to work on this for my year 12 high-school film subject. The process for creating it began with me designing key characters that I knew should be involved, then writing the script and finally animating it in three weeks. 



Q: How did you learn to animate?


A: During the covid-19 pandemic! At this time I still thought I was going to be a live action filmmaker, but I wanted to learn to animate for fun anyway. I used original characters from the beginning but would attempt lip-syncing them to existing music. 



Q: What is the story of you creating "The Quest for the Cigarette?"


A: I really badly wanted to make a film, at the time I really didn’t know how but I figured the best way to learn was to just start. I started making it at the end of 2023, and would take breaks to work on shorts. I really loved stories like alice in wonderland and the wizard of oz, mix that with me getting really into david lynch and you’ve got essence of it. If I make a project this long or longer again then that’ll be all I focus on, just because I didn’t love jumping back and forth with stuff. I’m sure I'll make a film again but I'm not forcing it, I’m just gonna let stories be as long as they should be. 



Q: Your experiences with the Internet?


A: I really loved youtube growing up, I’ve been making and uploading different types of videos to it since I was very young. I can remember watching the super cute mario bros and stuff like that and I thought it was pure cinema. I also would watch really violent and crude videos that I loved and would show to my parents who were always repulsed and banned me from the internet after seeing them. As an adult I find youtube quite a troubling place at times but still love it for all the talented artists i’m able to find, I just wish art was treated more seriously there and had a better chance at doing well next to all the slop. 



Q: The story of your username: brainhem


A: Brainhem was not my first username and I remember always struggling to come up with one. Originally I started uploading videos under the name ‘Shower Animations’ because I was in the shower and it was all I could think of. That got old pretty quickly so I was going back and forth with my friend about what name I could use and at one point he said ‘The Brain Hemorrhage.’ And I only went with it because I thought it looked funny with my profile picture at the time which was an inflatable horse. Then one day youtube added username @’s and I felt like I should create a name that was easier to remember, so I decided on shortening it to ‘Brainhem.’ I like the name brainhem for myself because I feel like it reflects my content well. It’s a little shocking, weird, and funny, which probably sums up my art pretty well. 



Q: How did you discover NG, and why did you join?


A: I’ve always known about newgrounds because alot of my favourite animators started here, creators like David Firth (salad fingers) and Jason Steele (charlie the unicorn). I never joined though and I’m not sure why. That was up until recently, after I told my friend I wish there was a place where artistic films were pushed over what’s most popular on youtube, causing him to tell me that I should join newgrounds. 



Q: What is it like living in Australia?


A: I don’t like it to be honest. I mean I’m doing alright but there are people here who are suffering so I don’t think it's guaranteed this place will look after you. I don’t like hot weather, I love rain! When it’s hot it really ruins my whole mood. I don’t really mesh with most people in the culture, since I don’t like sports, drinking or gambling. I don’t know how exclusive that is to Australia though, I probably just wouldn't fit in anywhere. We also have serious discrimination problems… but I'm sure that’s also the case in most places. I find it hard to find anything I like here in particular, like something that’s unique to Australia. But I'm doing alright here, and it’s not the worst it could be… so that’s something!



Q: Why do you think you have minor tics? And how are your yawns musical?


A: I have no idea why I have minor tics, but I’m getting tested for adhd/autism at the moment and was told It could have something to do with that. My yawns are musical because for some reason every time I yawn it sounds like I’m going to break out into song and I can’t help it. I sound like an opera singer for a few seconds and I’m not able to recreate it.



Q: What is it like having heart pain that's related to stress?


A: Not fun but I can’t complain too much since I'd rather have this than something that affected my physical abilities or life expectancy. I suppose there’s a chance it is related to something medical professionals haven’t found, but for now I was told it’s probably stress and anxiety, since tests were run on me and nothing was uncovered. It happens at random times… how my mood is doesn’t really seem to matter. Sometimes it’s long and I feel like I can't breathe, other times it’s short and like a jolt in my chest that makes me jump. 



Q: How would you describe your worldview?


A: I like to consider myself an optimistic nihilist but it does become harder to be optimistic every day. Which is why I don’t blame people for being so apathetic at the moment but I really think everyone should do their very best to care about stuff. Not necessarily the world as a whole but at the very least the people close to you. Be the best person you can in your tiny life, there’s no excuse for not showing empathy and kindness to people. The world is cruel enough to everyone, we need to not make it any worse for each other by being shitty even if that’s not easy sometimes. So I guess that’s how I see the world, I wish people would be better. And I hope that things will get better (still somehow) but I’m really not certain of it. 



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Posted by Aalasteir - 11 days ago


@GuyHitchens - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


Q: What does art mean to you?


Art to me (and this goes for anything creative really) is the ultimate form of self expression. i absolutely love how it can tell you so much about the creator and their feeling on something whilst also not telling you much at all about them. i picture it almost as a capsule of what the creator feels and thinks at a given point in time, shaped into what the creator wants to convey to the audience. The viewers may infer their own unique feelings about the art however that capsule exists as a thing for anyone to interact with and have their own thoughts and feeling as a response to. <- Hopefully i didn't just write a bunch of complete gibberish



Q: What was it like studying animation at the University of Hertfordshire? What did you learn, and how would you describe the experience?


Studying at UH (The University of Hertfordshire) was definitely the biggest personal growth period of my life. It was the period where i really got to make a lot of friends and bond with some similar like minded people. Before that i generally found it a bit harder to find people i could resonate with. I also loved my tutor Phil Vallentin. The course was SUPER busy and stressful in the first two years tho, as that's when you're really learning everything, but i personally am very fond of my experience at uni



Q: As far back as you can remember, you always wanted to create things. Why do you think making art resonates with you?


 I think for myself i mainly just want to make things i want to see, or make something i think my friends will laugh at



Q: What are the key storytelling differences between manga and comics? Which manga and comics do you like, and why?


tbh i dont really think about the differences between manga and comics storytelling. i think if there are, its mainly down to the industries and culture behind them. 


As for manga I love One piece, Hunter x Hunter, Chainsaw man, Kingdom and Takopi's Original Sin


As for comics i like Bone, Invincible, Batman, Hellboy and Spawn


I tend to be a sucker for long running series, and really just love anything that has good characters, cool designs, and a gripping story. (As long as a series does one of these things right im sold)



Q: What video games do you enjoy and why? Are there any games you dislike, and for what reasons?


I've been absolutely Resident Evil-pilled this past year as i just recently played all the games for the first time. Other than that tho i like The Binding of Isaac, Fallout New Vegas, Batman Arkham City, Breath of the Wild and Dark Souls


I cant really think of any games i actually dislike so im just gonna choose Ratatouille for the Nintendo wii. A truely indescribable sinister energy emanates from that game....



Q: What advice would you give for learning how to draw in an anime style?


I would just say copy and try to emulate the style of artists you really like, and this goes for any art style. Over time you'll develop a taste for how to draw specific features and end up with your own style, or you could just be a super cool style emulating machine


Honestly i have a long way to go as an artist myself, but i think as long as you focus on improving in classic areas like anatomy, form and gesture, all the while being inspired by artists you like you will see yourself improving and getting better over time



Q: What was the inspiration behind Pesticide?


I was heavily inspired by the works of Hiroyuki Imaishi and his fast frenetic style. The two works of his that inspired me the Most were Dead Leaves and SEX and VIOLENCE with MACHSPEED



Q: What is your typical animation pipeline?


I usually start off with a premise i think will be fun / what gets me excited to work on something and then design the characters after that to help me visualise how it may look. HOWEVER for this short i designed my character fist and later decided what the short would be haha


After that ill just write a bunch of diabolically bad versions of what i think should happen in a word document, until im happy with something, so i have a guideline for my animatic


I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on the animatic, this really helps me understand the pacing of the film, as well as knowing what edits and sound effects to keep in mind whilst i'm animating (as a lot of that stuff goes hand in hand)


After that its just me animating the shots and compositing them in after effects, after which i will stitch everything together in Premier!



Q: What makes an animation good?


This is super subjective for everyone but me personally - Guy Hitchens - i am a sucker for anything punchy, energetic, colourful and expressive. i love anything with a strong personality



Q: Please, give us some hints on the location of the Guy Hitchens CRYSTALS!?


Oh man actually whilst i was typing all of this someone actually found all of them and beat the shit out of me, so this is like old news now. Those crystals are gone



Q: When you were younger, you studied acting and took drama classes. How would you say that has impacted your ability to improv? But you were not a theater kid, what is a theater kid?


When i say Theatre kid, i guess i mean the super confident, outgoing, singing and dancing type of person, i was far too awkward for that lmao. I wouldn't say im great at improv or anything, but i think that was definitely a moment where i realised making a fool of myself and trying to make dumb jokes was something i found fun



Q: What do you think about food?


Genuinely the thing that motivates me throughout the day. I think if i have a bad meal the day is instantly fucked (this is a 'slight' exaggeration)



Q: Top 10 memes (ironic)


Just went red in the face laughing at the 9gag best memes of the week list. idk if they have 10 memes on there but whatever those guys have selected they are cooking (Please i beg do not have anything offensive or hateful on there)



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Posted by Aalasteir - 2 weeks ago


@adamSongbird - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


Q: What was your pipeline for creating Aye!! Pizoozo!


I did some quick boards in Clip Studio Paint, but I did most of the animation work in Procreate Dreams on the iPad. It's a severely flawed piece of software, but it worked well for this looser kind of style I decided to try out. Although one of Dreams's "quirks" -- the variable line resolution based on how zoomed in or out you are while drawing, which I was unaware of at first -- unfortunately resulted in me having to go back and redraw a bunch of frames. I made the music using Furnace, a chiptune tracker with SNES-style soundfonts.



Q: What was your process for further realizing what about making art brings you joy?


I think around 2020 or so -- whatever went on then -- I had time to really delve into my old work I made as a kid and as a teenager and I think really zero in what I loved about those old pieces, as technically scruffy as they may have been, and also I think just better get in touch with myself and how to express these parts of me I liked better in a piece of art. Just things like the memory of how much I enjoyed sitting at a table as a kid with a blank piece of paper in front of me and boldly colored markers or colored pencils... things like that.



Q: What was the inspiration for "Those Pesky Beetles!" and "Love is Lunch?"


So both Love is Lunch and Those Pesky Beetles! were created specifically for a little animation festival called Loopdeloop. There was another piece of animation I made before either of those called 'Toy Robot', too, which isn't on NG. It was -- at the time -- a Los Angeles thing where animators submitted little or sometimes not-so-little looping animations based on a theme, within a month or so.


For 'Love is Lunch' the theme was 'Love is Love' -- I didn't want to make a super short loop, so I envisioned a piece where two alien monster ladies expressed their love for each other odd ways, namely feeding each other strange objects. I figured most couples in private probably have these goofy idiosyncratic expressions of love language for one another, the kind that probably wouldn't make sense to anyone outside of the relationship, but doesn't have to, the short was kind of an homage to that I guess. I originally wanted it to keep building in weirdness over the course of the movie, but it got simplified and streamlined down to what it is for the sake of time, it was a little too ambitious to get done in a month or however long I had to create it.


For 'Beetles' the theme was 'insects' if I remember correctly. This one I didn't actually complete in time for the festival. I had been toying with the idea of little dung beetle characters for a while before coming up with this one, so I was happy that I found a way to use them, even if it wasn't part of their originally intended context.



Q: What did you learn from animating for Ollie & Scoops Episode 8: Warm Cream


I actually worked on five episodes of Ollie & Scoops: episodes 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 altogether. The team were sharing social media handles with each other sometime before episode 8 dropped I think, I shared my NG handle and whomever was in charge of uploading the cartoon was kind enough to add me in to the little personnel section. It was a fun series to animate for because the cartoony style gelled well with my own, and we were allowed to exercise a decent level of creativity and personal pizzazz to how we animated our shots (within reason). It was a good means of trying new things and challenging myself as an animator, although sometimes we just had to finish a shot quickly and efficiently as well.



Q: Tutorials and art resources you would recommend?


There's a lot out there, I'd say just find someone who does the kind of thing you'd like to do, or at least someone who explains it in a way that makes sense to you. If I'm being honest I don't spend a whole lot of time studying art resources or references these days unless I need to figure something out for a specific, present use. I do have a video of Bob Clampett's 'Kitty Kornered' on hand that I'd occasionally go through and freeze frame when trying to figure out how they did certain "cartoony" feeling effects. Doing stuff like that can be helpful.



Q: What are your favourite Nintendo games, and why?


Most of my favorites were from the SNES era. Super Mario World is very nostalgic -- probably the first game I ever pined for seeing it on display at department stores, and the most enchanting -- and Earthbound is very special to me for maybe more complicated reasons. In addition to just loving the feel and aesthetic of Earthbound, it also came into my life at a time when I felt like I was transitioning out of childhood into adolescence, and the game felt like it represented that in a lot of ways, but in a way that was weird and beautiful and warm.



Q: What makes a video game, retro? And why do you think retro gaming appeals to you?


I mean it was literally the era I grew up in, so personal nostalgia plays a pretty big role. I often perceive my childhood, not just now but even as it was happening, as revolving around video games, which game I was playing at the time, or which game I was waiting to get for Christmas for what seemed like forever. By the time I was a teenager I was already missing certain things, and I started going back and looking for older games I'd missed out on, or rented but never bought. Collecting old games was a lot cheaper at the time, thankfully.



Q: How did you get interested in One Piece?


There was some sort of pipeline that led me from playing through Dragon Quest 11 to rewatching all of Dragonball to One Piece. I think the former things eased me back into realizing I could still appreciate long-form media as an adult, which made it easier to finally jump into One Piece, but it'd caught me eye repeatedly over the years beforehand. Now I'm obsessed, it's the best. Up there with Nintendo for me.



Q: What do you think about anime?


I loved it as a kid; I watched Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z and my older sister would bring home VHS tapes of all sorts of strange and wondrous cartoons from Japan. I think it started to feel stigmatized during my teenage years, and I guess maybe I convinced myself that it wasn't as good as I'd remembered it. But I think as an adult you start worrying less about being seen as some socially mal-adapted "God and anime" kid and I went back and watched the stuff I enjoyed and it held up just fine! The animation scene in Japan is just way more vibrant and complex than it ever really had a chance to be in the US, for a number of reasons.



Q: In what ways has David Lynch influenced your creative process?


I don't know about process, but I just love the weird, mesmerizingly dreamy feel of Lynch's films. Mulholland Drive really got into my head, and really reshaped how I saw the medium. I'd like to capture some small semblance of that essence, ideally, but I make very different things I think.



Q: What do you do when times are tough?


Something. Always something. Sometimes it's good to withdraw, but never to the point of passivity, especially when others might be relying on you. That also means making time to make the art I want to make, even when I'm exhausted from everything else, because I know that if I don't do that now I might not ever.



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Posted by Aalasteir - 3 weeks ago


iu_1407233_10495428.png

Banner by @Dungeonation


The reason you're in your current position is because others shared their knowledge.


Now it's your turn to do the same!


Your tutorial will take the form of a news post, and can feature art pieces, audio projects, movies and games.


RULES:

Please respect the Newgrounds Wiki: Blog Guidelines.

Do NOT plagiarize your entire tutorial, you may incorporate elements from different sources, but it must not consist primarily of copied material.

Additionally, your post cannot be rated 'A'.


HOW TO SUBMIT:

Make a news post with the tag: tutorial-jam-2025-NG

Publish your news post anytime from now before the deadline on:

August 1st.

-- -- -- -- -- 

Selected judges will reach a decision on the winning entries, the Tutorial Jam winners will be announced on:

August 25th.

-- -- -- -- -- 

JUDGING CRITERIA:

1 - Accessibility - How easily the tutorial can be understood.


2 - Software Choice - The focus should be on free/open-source software.

Paid software can still be used.


3 - Creative Potential - How much creative freedom your tutorial enables.


4 - Example Result - Show an example of what your tutorial creates.

The example result must be created specifically for your tutorial, NOT previously uploaded materials. While you can reference and link existing work, it should not be presented as your tutorial's example result.


Here's an example of what it could look like.

Aalasteir - Podcast Tutorial

-- -- -- -- -- 

PRIZES:

1st: $150

2nd: $65

3rd: $45

4th: $25

5th: $9


SPONSORS:

@Aalasteir - $175

@53xy83457 - $69

@CocoBanoboJojo - $50


If you'd like to contribute to the prize pool:

You can donate here!

And PM @TomFulp after donating and say it is for the Tutorial Jam!


Tags:

98

Posted by Aalasteir - 3 weeks ago


Podcasting does not need to be complicated.


The most crucial aspect is that you enjoy doing it, and you don’t need to do any editing. 

Or very little.


This is a potential pipeline, you can create a production process tailored to your specific software, focusing on achieving the kind of podcast you want to make and find most enjoyable.


-- -- -- -- 

1 - You can use OBS for both your guest and yourself.

https://obsproject.com/download

Before you start recording, do a sound check. If necessary:

You can ask your guest whether they should increase or decrease the volume on their microphone.


iu_1407220_10495428.png

Try to have both your audio and your guest’s audio at around the same volume; 

it doesn’t need to be exact, just close enough.


Aim for overall above -40 and it can enter the yellow zone. It shouldn't hit red too much.

DON'T OBSESS OVER THIS. It just needs to be audible. If you can hear your guest, then it's loud enough. Trust your ears.


Have a conversation before starting recording.

Focus on creating a good environment to be in.


Your first priority should be ensuring this is a good experience for the guest.

Remember to listen, try not to interrupt.


Say when you have started recording.


When you press start, also start a stopwatch on your phone, only if the guest says something that ABSOLUTELY HAS be cut out, drama, guest takes a break, etc.

Then you press lap. That way you know at that specific time something has to be cut out.


2 - Drag and drop your video to Fre:ac

https://www.freac.org


- Selected Encoder: Windows Wave File Output

iu_1407221_10495428.png


- Encode > "Start encoding" - It will be exported as .WAV

iu_1407222_10495428.png


3 - Drag and drop your .WAV to Audacity.

https://www.audacityteam.org/download

A1 - Move to the lap time on your stopwatch. If you need to cut something out.

NOTE: You can also edit out long pauses.


** Zoom In -- Ctrl + 1

iu_1407223_10495428.png


** Zoom Out -- Ctrl + 3

iu_1407224_10495428.png


The Main Cut

- Move to all of the lapped times on your stopwatch, select and drag the parts you want to remove, and use Split Clip (Ctrl + I). If you use Delete, it will mess up the timestamps.

iu_1407225_10495428.png


- Click "Split Clip" And delete the clip - Do this for all of the lapped times.

iu_1407226_10495428.png

iu_1407227_10495428.png


After you've done this with all the laps for sections you want to remove.


You can then drag all the clips together using your mouse.

iu_1407228_10495428.png


Make sure to click and drag to select the sections, right-click, and choose "Join Clips"

(Ctrl + J) to combine the cuts with the track.

iu_1407229_10495428.png


This way, when you make the fine cut, you won’t have to manually drag them back into place.


Fine Cut - This is good for taking out long pauses.


- Click and drag what you want to cut out.


- Press delete on your keyboard.


A2 - Double-click on your audio to select the entire track.

- Go to "Effect" > "Volume and Compression" and select "Normalize"

- Normalize peak amplitude to: -1.0 dB

- Apply


A3 - Go to "File" > "Export" > "Audio Format", then select "MP3 files"

- Set Channels to Mono, Quality to Medium, and Sample Rate to 44100 Hz.

- Export


4 - Upload to Newgrounds.


5 - Example


-- -- -- -- 

Below is a template you will customize for your podcast. It's important to specify both your available times and when you're unavailable for recording sessions.


Click and drag over the text, then press (Ctrl + C) to copy and (Ctrl + V) to paste it into your text document.


Then change the text to suit your specific needs. You can reuse and modify it each time you send it to a guest for an invitation. It’s always good to make the message personally tailored to the individual.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Subject: TITLE

-- -- -- -- 

Hi NAME,


YOUR MESSAGE TO THE GUEST - THIS SHOULD BE TAILORED SPECIFICALLY TO THE PERSON YOU’RE SENDING IT TO.


DESCRIBE WHAT YOUR PODCAST ABOUT.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

1. We will talk on Discord -- yourusername


2. I record


3. After recording, I do production and publish the episode on:

DATE

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Example result: 

Link to your show / or what it's kind of going to be like.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Please, tell me the available time frame; when we would be able to START a session.

A recording session would be 1 hour,

for example: from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM


https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter?t=12pm&d=2025-05-26&tz2=EST-EDT-Eastern-Time

-- Timezone: EST (Eastern Standard Time)


Monday -- 12:00 PM 

Tuesday -- 3:00 AM -- 12:00 PM

Wednesday -- 12:00 PM

Thursday -- 3:00 AM -- 12:00 PM

Friday -- 12:00 PM

Saturday -- 3:00 AM -- 12:00 PM

Sunday -- 3:00 AM -- 12:00 PM


-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

I would be grateful to hear what you think!

Kind regards,


YOURNAME

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --


Another useful link is: https://hammertime.cyou/

When you're on Discord, you can use it to automatically calculate and display the scheduled time in both your time zone and the other person's time zone.


You'll learn more techniques and concepts that will help you, but you just have to get started, keep learning, and keep improving. Get comfortable with fucking shit up, because that’s going to happen a lot. You move forward and learn from it.


Listen to podcast and think about what you like and don't like.


Stay awesome!


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14

Posted by Aalasteir - 3 weeks ago


@CacklingGrungilo - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


Q: Newgrounds inspired you to become an animator, specifically the SleepyCabin crew. Why do you think that spoke to you?


I always assumed animation wasn't something that anyone could do or it was something that took a really long time to ever get decent at seeing regular people who were around the same age as me making awesome stuff made me feel like it might be possible for me too, another thing that really inspired me was the fact that you could mix comedy and art even in just drawings alone that wasn't something I ever considered doing before I found newgrounds. I was more focused on having my art be serious and meaningful then having it be something fun and memorable.


I also love newgrounds because of how experimental and creative a lot of the art and animation is :^)



Q: In your opinion, what makes a cartoon good?


I think the best things are things that try to do something different, even if something isnt executed perfectly if it's unique and something thats never been seen or thought of before I would say it's good. Especially in an art medium where u can create anything and do anything in it.



Q: What’s your perspective on what makes a cartoon bad?


The only things I really think are bad is if something is copying something else blatantly and not putting a create spin on it or trying to make something new.



Q: What is it about cartoons from the ’90s to early 2000s, like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ren and Stimpy, and Beavis and Butt-Head, that inspires you?


I really like how expressive a lot of the old cartoons were faces are one of my favorite things to draw because I think there funny, I also liked that the fact the 90s and 2000s had a lot more experimental shows and art styles on TV, I also like the humor and designs I really like gross out stuff and monsters I think there fun :^)



Q: What does your typical animation pipeline look like?


Usually I'll think of an idea for a bit then I'll make a script, then i do the animatic and voice acting around the same time to get the pacing right and then I'll design characters while animating usually on the spot unless there main characters.



Q: What did you learn between making Josh and The Various Evils Ep. 1: CURSE OF KRABATO and Josh and the Various Evils (Pilot)?


A big thing was framing and color I feel like I've gotten a little better at having more complex shots and having more vibrant colors. Another thing is I'm using an actually decent animation software now until recently I used really janky softwares that held me back a bunch and i would use them because animate really confused me, learning animate was a big thing that I think made this episode a lot easier to make than the first.



Q: Originally, in Josh and the Various Evils (Pilot), Slenderman was going to be part of the show. What are your thoughts on creepypastas in general?


As a kid I thought creepy pastas were way too scary and only bad boys with cool sunglasses read them i thought if i saw a slenderman or jeff the killer on my computer they would come to my house and get me, but now I like creepypastas I think there pretty sweet I like a lot of horror stuff and some of my favorite movies to watch are just bad horror movies creepypastas to me are just like that but sometimes mario and the simpsons are involved too wich is just friggin epic.



Q: What do you like about playing instruments?


I really like improvisation i think its fun just to jam out and creating something that has never been made before and probably won't happen again I also like that every instrument is like it's own creature they all sound different and are played completely different so u can come up with different ideas depending on wich one your using :^)



Q: Top 10 sound effects for cartoons?


1. Tom's Scream

2. Rens laugh

3. Punch

4. Awooga (old car horn)

5. Splat

6. Scooby doo run/skid sound

7. Gulp

8. Bonk

9. Womp womp womp (trumpet)

10. Boingoingoingoing



Q: What were some of the games you liked on PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2?


I loved Crash Bandicoot 2 and 3, destroy all humans, war of the monsters, tony hawk underground, spongebob battle for bikini bottom, and spider man for ps1 those were some of my first games as a kid and I thought they were pretty sweet :^)



Q: Some of your favorite games are Crash Bandicoot, the Mother series, and Bloodborne. What do you like about each one, and why do you think they resonate with you?


I really like crash's for it's gameplay and art in the first 3 games i think its really cool how expressive it was even though the models were really low poly crash bandicoot 3 was one of the first games I owned as a kid and I thought crash was sweet because he had a cool yoyo and drove a motorcycle I also really like crash's music a lot I think it's really fun.


I really like the art music and story of the Mother series I like stuff that can mixes comedy into serious stories and I also like the world it has and all the enemies have fun designs and I like all the areas how it will mix realistic areas with goofy fantasy ones.


I love the world and art of bloodborne I think the monsters are awesome and the music is fantastic and I like all the gritty cool weapons you get. I really like fantasy stuff that has huge scary monsters I think it's sweet, and I also like the world and monsters are unique because it mixes aliens with fantasy, and the gameplay is really fun I like the aggressive fast paced combat.



Q: How would you describe the experiences of fishing and camping with your grandpa, who was a commercial crabber?


It was a lot of fun :^) as a kid I spent a lot of time with my grandfather he had a house on the water were we would catch fish and go out crabbing the house was always full of seafood and creatures fish, crabs, and eels I think alot of that inspired my art because I always thought that they looked cool and the bugs outside looked cool and would draw cool fish bug monster creatures.



- Starting Art


I started making art as a kid i liked to make small story books and creating characters, I had a sweet notebook that I made different monsters designs on each page I used to really like making different creatures and still do character design and world build are my two favorite parts animation



Q: Why do you think you like character design and world-building?


I love world building because I think it's really satisfying I think it's really fun just creating stupid lore and easter eggs that I know are there but probably no one else will notice it makes it feel like each project instead of being something by itself is building up to something bigger, I also am a big history fan so I think it's cool making my own history for my own universe :^)


I love character design because I like making creatures and entities that people have never thought of or seen before and I really like drawing faces it's one of my favorite parts about character design I like all the different expression and stories u can tell just with a face :>()



Q: Top 10 hats?


1. Backwards/sideways cap

2.propeller hat

3. Fedora

4.top hot

5.wizard hat

6.dunce cap

7. Pirate hat

8. Cowboy hat

9. Bowler



Tags:

8

Posted by Aalasteir - 3 weeks ago


@LIQUIDEATH - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


Q: What do you think about the Internet?


Q1 It is not safe for some.



Q: Why did you join Newgrounds and why do you have two different accounts?


Q2 I heard of Newgrounds from Sr.pelo, and I have two accounts because I can't post art on my other account due to uploading memes (plagiarism), so I made a new account so I can post art.



Q: How did you get interested in creating art?


Q3 from reading books by "the man, the myth, the legend" Dav Pilkey.



Q: What do you like about creating art?


Q4 Because I can show how I feel in what I make, by not making it bland.



Q: Is your art piece inspired by MF DOOM - Mm..Food


Q5 Yes, I love his album MM..FOOD?



Q: Your advice on creating art?


Q6 Draw what you feel like if you're doing it for fun.



Q: What was it like making your song SPEED RUN MUSIC (kinda bad tho)?


Q7 I don't really know other than I just wanted to mess around and make beats, so yeah.



Q: What do you think about ROBLOX?


Q8 If I ever have children, I would not let them play Roblox, because I saw pedophiles and hentai, and I'm from SoCal, so I don't represent NorCal.



Q: Advice on staying safe on the Internet?


Q9 Not going on the internet at all, I would just recommend reading books by "the man, the myth, the legend" Dav Pilkey.



Tags:

5

Posted by Aalasteir - 1 month ago


@Pingu - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index


Q: How did you discover the Internet?


Makes me sound way older than I am but either the one computer the elementary school had in the library, or my dad’s work computer. Newgrounds was one of the first sites I came across, suggested by a friend who had found stickfight animations.



Q: What’s the story of why and how you created your Newgrounds account, and how has it changed over time? What have you learned from using NG?


I made my original account in 2004 and briefly used it before coming back in 2005 with this account. This account has gone through about 5-6 name changes (at least one to remove hyphens when those needed to be taken from usernames).


There’s been a long evolution of the account to keep pace as I matured, one thing I got better at was not participating in arguments masking as debate. I think overall it’s been a good first hand lesson in how online communities differ from real life.



Q: What have your experiences been like on the BBS?


Mostly positive, Supporter Party has definitely shifted to be General 2.0.



Q: You've been part of many discussions on the BBS. What is your perspective on handling discussions and arguments on the forums? What are some common mistakes you've seen, and what philosophy do you think is helpful to have?


Approach discussions/argument with respect and be willing to learn or at least see the other person’s perspective. It does get challenging when one of you is unwilling to move along, some folks like to dig their heels in.



Q: What is The Elite Guard Barracks? What are some interesting moments you’d like to share from it, and why do you think people don't do the roleplay anymore?


EGB is a community for people interested in helping keep the games/movies portal free of rulebreaking and low quality things, with a military theme.


I came to EGB from the NGPD which at the time was originally a parody thread. The NGPD founder had moved on and I ended up running it for a while until I “ranked up” to the EGB, at which point I remained a bit of a liaison between the two.


I miss the roleplay, which in general has fallen off in forums as people maybe feel uncomfortable/silly about it. NGPD, EGB, NG Mafia and a few other threads used to have common mixed RP interaction on and offsite but after many of the core members left it tapered off. EGB keeps the framework of RP in the monthly updates and some flavor posting but it requires newer members to want to buy into the theme beyond posting a link. I'd love to see more of it overall.



Q: How did you become an audio mod, and what do you typically do in that role? How big of an issue is Geometry Dash in your moderation work?


I came back to NG in 2018 after about 10 years away and got active flagging in the audio portal since there were so many GD-related stolen submissions. I ended up being offered mod midway through that year, and accepted. As one of the mods joked “now you can deal with your own flags”. I set myself a (completely unsustainable) quota to help clear a lot of the blatant stolen backlog and went at it for a good while before finding a more normal groove.


GD is the vast majority of the audio mod workload, which has become a little easier with the verification program for unscouted users and RobTob finally making some changes. Now instead of 50-75 stolen submissions to remove from the audio portal every day, there’s maybe 20 or so which slip through and the remainder are appeals (either legitimate or begging to let them use the song in GD).


I’m aware of the NONG and other things, in the end I’m indifferent to the game but am just concerned with keeping NG safe from legal action. There’s a distinct lack of independent websites now and it would be unfortunate to have NG go down for a game hosted elsewhere.


AI is starting to become more of a concern, there are ways to determine most of them but it’s a tech which is improving and people are exploiting grey areas/loopholes.


(I got added to icon modding in 2021 to handle some of the more questionable audio/portal thumbnails as I came across them, BBS modding in early 2022, and games/movies in early 2024.)



Q: What advice would you give to someone about being an NG user?


If you sit on your hands waiting for someone to engage with you, you may be waiting a while. NG is very community focused so engagement in the forums and portals is important.



Q: Why did you like around voice acting?


I think I didn’t have as good an appreciation for how someone can have such a range of characters and emotions through their voice. I think generally we rely a lot on facial cues, which is probably why a lot of voice actors are also now doing facial capture for things like games.

I very much think it’s a skills that has to be practiced as well, it’s usually a little weird to be alone having a full conversation with a microphone (or yelling but hoping to not get the neighbours worried)



Q: What was it like hosting what did you enjoy about it?


I hadn’t run a contest before so I asked others with experience for their tips, but it was still a learning curve for all the little things you don’t really think about (IT issues, judging transparency, etc)



Q: Lessons you got from the contests?


I think I developed a little more personal skill in project management. I set a task with a deadline which had inputs from both the contestants and other judges. This was the first time I did something in that vein online, and it improved the second contest as I then had the personal experience to reference from.  



Q: What do you like about shooting? Your dad coached competition pistol when he was younger, so you started with his instructions, you would like to compete in multi-gun, though it seems unlikely at this point? Why?


I like that it is a physical and mental sport. A lot of people make shooting look easy, which is thousands of hours of practice like most skills. Rifle can be fairly forgiving, but for pistol if your hand muscles grip in the wrong way you miss completely. You get aware of how our bodies are structured, when you want to pull your index finger back and notice that your pinkie finger contracts as well and changes your grip. In longer range shooting, your breathing and heart rate influence where something will impact so you can either train physically to change your breathing/pulse or have to learn when to make a shot. Mentally, if you miss and then miss again it starts the mind game of keeping yourself from getting worse every shot.


As for the why no competitive, Canada has very strict gun laws. Without getting political, it is very difficult for Olympic level and prospect shooters to get permission to own/use certain guns, so doing something like 3-gun shooting (rifle, shotgun, pistol) is also impacted. AR rifles are now prohibited, as are handguns, and prior to that there was a limit to how many rounds you could have which disrupts your flow if you have to change a 30-round magazine every 5 rounds. Unless the law changes, it’s impractical to try competing.



Q: What do you like about gardening? What are your favorite vegetables to grow? And how often do chipmunks actually steal your vegetables?


It’s probably a midlife crisis thing, but at least I started a decade back… I had struggles when I was younger with having enough fresh vegetables at home for our pet guinea pig. I started a garden with mostly lettuce to always have a supply through the summer to avoid the threatening wheeking of a disappointed pig. I was also growing raspberry and tomato because that collectively made for a salad. This was also my first experience with animals stealing my things:

We had magpies in Alberta who would come into the yard and steal my berries, which became problematic enough that they ignored all my other attempts to discourage them. I ended up shooting one with an air rifle and then holding it as a display to the others so they knew it was me. Magpies didn’t come in my yard again for months, but they did scream at me when I went to the garden. By the next summer they were eating my berries again and we were getting ready to move so I let them.


Our new house in Ontario has chipmunks, black squirrels, and red squirrels who all like to do what they do and dig/forage. I don’t blame them, but one summer we had a dry season and the squirrels chewed the stems of my corn to get the water (at one point I watched a corn stalk be pulled up a tree like how leopards save their food).

We’ve had a few rounds of handling the most bold of the rodents, but also better account for them taking a few things. They can steal birdseed and berries in exchange for my husky sometimes catching one to play with.

For crops we rotate corn, cucumber, tomato, and lettuce with some random other things I want to try. We also have apple and cherry trees, blueberries, haskap berries, rhubarb, and a raspberry patch which are all perennial and give enough fruit for freezing/dehydrating through part of winter.



Q: You have a 6-acre campsite near the Atlantic Ocean that you’re turning into a homestead, though it’s challenging since it takes 14 hours to get there. How is living out in the country different from the city? What does it take to build a homestead?


I do already live about 2 hours outside of a major city, so I’m used to a lack of big convenient chain stores but the big consideration is hospital and cell service. If I’m using a chainsaw and get injured, my property barely gets cellphone signal and is about 30 minutes to a community hospital.


We’re still at the stage that all our water and food is being brought in with us until we set up a well, but we have a small stream on the property so we have a water pump and filter. It isn’t worth testing the water for bacteria at this point, so we drink bottled and the stream is for cleaning. The land used to be farm fields which went fallow before being logged back, so we do have 50 year old apple trees on the property which still bear fruit and are a nice bonus.


I have a lot more admiration for pioneers, spending every day clearing trees and brush by hand to make space even to set up a tent is a lot of work. We’re spoiled with our access to equipment.  



Q: You also enjoy hiking, swimming in rivers, and snowshoeing as much as possible. What effect does being out in nature have on you? What do the different seasons and weather say to you, what emotions do they bring?


I got back into willingly being in nature because I wanted to undo the dislike of camping/hiking/snowshoeing the army put into me (they take the fun out of everything). I still dislike winter, but a good friend was an artic warfare instructor and working with him has given me a better appreciation and admiration for winter. I did a mostly-naked walk (shoes and underwear) for about 20 minutes in the woods at -20c(-4f) while it snowed and learned more about how to recognize the kind of cold I could/couldn’t handle and how to recover from it.


Nature is where we were meant to spend most of our time, and most of us surround ourselves with concrete/steel/glass instead. Being outside for long periods does improve my own mental health.



Q: You used to play piano, what was that like? You also played brass instruments in school (trombone and trumpet)?


Piano was my Dad’s thing so he brought me to have lessons where he took his. I never really bonded with it and haven’t touched it in a while. I did want to learn violin instead when I was young (which our hindsight conversations my Dad acknowledges might have been better), and I’ve owned a violin but had trouble self-teaching from youtube and I don’t live near any instructors. Maybe some day I’ll take another shot.


Trombone and trumpet were two years of school music class, it was interesting but again I had trouble getting right into it and didn’t carry them on after.



Q: Why do you think your all-time favorite music styles are classical and jazz, which you blame mostly on your dad, given his record/CD collection? What are some of the classics, hits, and compositions you love, and why?


I think if you grow up around something you either develop a fondness for it or a deep dislike, depending on the other memories which form around them. I had some Classics for Kids which I listened to on car rides to see family, so it was positive association. Same with my dad’s classics/jazz/blues albums which came out over holidays.


All time I love Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and seasonally (mostly winter) get into having soft jazz mixes in the background while I do other things around the house.



Q: You also like synthwave and artists who blend traditional and electronic styles (like Lindsey Stirling and Magic Sword). Why do you think that style resonates with you?


I find physical instruments are better at conveying emotion, but some artists can blen that with more modern tools to build out depth in a way you used to only really get with a full orchestra. I think that all plays a part of why I’m drawn to that blend of style (and open to any new suggestions!)



Q: How did you come to participate in the group hug? And what was the process for doing the group hug?


The event was organized to raise awareness for cancer on behalf of a classmate, and I ended up volunteering to be on the event staff for safety. The group hug extended over a large area including over a makeshift bridge over a creek so they had folks spread out in case of any safety concerns.


Everyone got into a bog extended line which formed a very long 5000 person ring, there was an audible signal which indicated start and an overhead helicopter provided some kind of photo/video to show everyone was arm in arm to make a big hug. It was successful, and then the record was surpassed the next year and then again a few years later which still stands around 10,000 people.



- Boat over Car


I learned how to drive a boat before learning to drive a car. I had decent public transit where I grew up so didn't get my car license until I was 25, but needed the boat license at 16 since I was lifeguarding on a lake.



Q: What do you think about driving?


I enjoy it, my drive to work is about 20 minutes through forest so it makes a nice liminal space which separates my home and work lives, great place to shelve any frustration. I generally enjoy long drives as long as they avoid stop and go traffic and moose (I drove through a specific forest at late night and came across 10 moose in 45 minutes)



Q: What do you like about sailing?


(sailing wasn’t mentioned but it worked out) I got both my boating license and a sailing level 1 certifications. Sailing is interesting though I haven’t done it in years. I learned fast that the boom got its name from the sound of it hitting my head if I didn’t duck fast enough. It’s fun and you have to be focused as the wind can shift very quickly and force a reaction.


After my written motor boating test, my employer of the time taught me how to pilot a boat in a way to recover someone from the water, tow water skiers, and even practice beaching a boat to transfer a medical patient. I didn’t have to use any of the safety skills outside of practice thankfully.



Q: What is lifeguarding like, and how did you become a lifeguard?


In Canada the process involved going through a number of courses and then the lifeguarding course exam. I got a job right after at a city pool, and then in the summer on a lake at a campsite. I ended up as a head lifeguard/swim instructor after a few years before moving on.


It was interesting, teaching swimming I met a lot of interesting people and learned how to adapt my interaction to different personalities. I was super proud of getting someone from being very afraid of going in the water to a point they could jump off a diving board safely, which I hope set them on a path to more success.



Q: How did you decide to study political science and history in university? What did you learn, and what did you discover about yourself?


I learned that 17 (when I started university, November birthday) wasn’t a great time to decide how to plan my life path. In hindsight I should have taken a victory lap of high school or a short college program to give myself more time to figure my path out. Politics and history was interesting, but both don’t have good job prospects after university.

I later shifted to study anthropology which I think would have been more interesting from the start, but I’m still short of a degree as I carried on in my current job.



Q: You also took college courses on Macromedia Flash animation right before Adobe bought it. What's your perspective on Flash and what it represents in Internet history? What effects did it have on independent media?


I think flash overall (as well as Newgrounds and other community sites) helped the internet become more of a user experience. You had communities pop up where the user controlled the content (since NG preceded YouTube), which I suppose you could argue became the start of social networking. Flash itself helped thousands of people get into coding and animation, and is probably a big influence on how the internet of today exists.



Q: What's the story about someone from Newgrounds who was big into animation reaching out to ask if you wanted paid work helping with their webpage code? You ended up turning it down, how do you think your life would have been different in that alternate timeline?


I’ll leave them anonymous, but I do think I wasn’t the right person for the job at the time as I still had a lot to learn. This was 2006/7 timeframe, so there still wasn’t much money to be made in the coding side of the internet, in the end I think it was the right decision. I think there’s an alternate timeline where Pingu got into the coding/scriptwriting side of creativity (I was never skilled at art) though I don’t think it would have gone beyond that though, but who knows.



Q: You've been in the military for 18 years, which has been both your best and worst experience at times, but overall you've enjoyed it. What aspects do you enjoy and dislike about military service?


A less pleasant topic. I think the worst is seeing friends and coworkers lose their personal battles. I’ve had a few coworkers killed in combat but I wasn’t close to them so that aspect never really bothered me, but I have around 15 or so people from coworkers to friends who died by suicide. I had two in a week (unrelated, a friend and a recent coworker) which was pretty tough.


As far as work related losses, we’re a volunteer force so to a point people sign up with good intention.

The military overall is a weird family with stupid inside jokes and culture. I love it and every time I am with friends from outside the military I question the culture difference, but I think there is a lot to be gained on a personal level by choosing to be in. I think overall the benefits of joining have outweighed the negatives.


I’ve had great opportunities to see how people in less prosperous places live their lives, which has given me more appreciation for the conveniences I take for granted. I have four deployments of varying lengths (1-6 months each, on 3 continents) so I’m starting to also value time at home more.



Q: You plan to continue your military career until graduating with your pension at 25 years of service. What do you think will happen? What would you really choose to do afterwards?


Hard to say, unless a new political party changes things I’ll have a guaranteed income at that point. It’s hard to say these days how things will look in a few years, but I think I’ll be ready to start a new chapter. I joined young, so I’ll still have a good 25 years of potential second career in me to go.


I hope that I’m in a position I can pick a career which I’m passionate about, since I won’t have to worry as hard about paying the bills long term with an assured pension. I’d like to finish my anthropology degree and spend some years digging in the dirt to find small artifacts of history.



Q: What are your opinions on foods and drinks?


I am fortunate that my metabolism and personal fitness match my love of carbs. There are so many wonderful cultural foods out there, I love trying the local options wherever I go. Like my profile mentions, I want buns of steel but also buns of cinnamon.



- Right place wrong time


I have the uncanny knack of being one step removed from a crisis/right place wrong time enough that it feels like a trend but really is just a reflection of the job I chose. Some include being about to fly into a country just to be delayed on takeoff as the destination was having a coup d'etat (which trapped some coworkers for 2 months until the airports opened again), landing back at a home airport an hour after the country I left started COVID lockdown. Closer to home, a few years ago I helped get my neighbour and their kids out of a house fire; this turned out to have been arson/attempted murder by the person I helped and I had to testify at trial years later (they were convicted, it felt like a movie script).



Q: How would you describe testifying at a trial?


My experience was weird, both because of COVID changes to trials as well as the fact that I had moved since the event. I testified by teams meeting, which was awkward as it was a bit impersonal. It also ended up being about 6 years after the event.



Q: What is your view of the COVID lockdown?


I missed most of it, but when I came back home some random lady gave me heck because I was going down the grocery aisle in the wrong direction.



Q: How are your two coworkers doing after being trapped? Are they okay?


Yeah they were fine, I don’t think they had kids at home so it wasn’t a huge thing to be away a bit longer.



Q: Your advice for life?


It’s ok to change your opinions and beliefs over time, lots of people have trouble with that. We should always be learning and improving, and ideally see how far we’ve come from the person we used to be.



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