The CHASE Interview

PART ONE: AS AN X-FILES FAN

When did you start watching The X-Files?
I have watched X Files from the beginning, although I must admit I skipped the first episode in lieu of Earth 2 when it was on the air. Silly me. But I must say - I still miss Earth 2! :)

Just off the top of your head, some classic episodes?
I think by far, One Breath remains a classic because of the range of emotion it showed. For once, we saw Mulder lose it emotionally, and that was a great scene. Also, I would have to call Darkness Falls a classic because it was about the only episode that scared the daylights out of me. I camp a lot, and I have never looked at a large wooded area in quite the same way since!

How long have you realised you were a Noromo? What do you think about the whole Shippers vs. Noromos thing?
Oh, I think I have been a Noromo from the beginning. One of the reasons I fell in love with XF was that it did not rely on a sexual relationship to pilot its characters. You have Mulder and Scully - two highly intelligent people on a quest - and the relationship between the two was a strong one without a sexual connotation. In fact, I think the original relationship superceded any type of intimate relationship as so desired by Shippers. It stood on its own.

As for the issue of Shippers vs. Noromos, never have I had so much ammunition to create web pages based on one esoteric idea! However, I think it was a lot of fun to put a spin on the whole thing, where Noromos are level headed and professional while Shippers just want to see a good time cheap on national television. That's the way the battle lines were sort of drawn as I saw them online. In the end, though, we're talking about a television show, not real life. So, that leaves a lot of room to just play with the idea and make it a truly "us vs. them" battle.

What was your opinion on the movie, and in particular, ~~that scene~~?
Much to the chagrin of many X Philes, I didn't like the movie. I came away shrugging and saying, "So what?" We learned nothing. I felt like, "Gee, thanks for recapping the last six seasons for us. Couldn't you have done this on TV instead?"

However, in regard to "that scene", I now have 26 beehives in my backyard where I spoil the little winged heroes rotten. :)

How do you feel about the characters now (eg, are you a OBSSEsor, a Mulderist, a Frohike Liberationist)?
I think I have always respected Scully as a character the most, but I really don't side with any one particular group that specializes in adoration of either the actors or the characters. I like to look at a show as a whole and appreciate the interaction of all the characters. As a Community Leader on AOL for the Gillian Anderson Fan Chat in the X Files Forum, I moderate that hour because I think Gillian Anderson is a fine actress and that her fans deserve some time to talk about her work specifically. So, that's about the extent of my loyal support of one character or actor on the show. However, I find the lack of continuity disturbing because it's becoming the downfall of the show. I think it's beginning to ruin the cohesiveness of the characters. But I will stick it out for season seven to see if they fix it.

X-F links you love to death?
I used to surf the web a lot for different XF sites, but my time is short most days now, so I just stick to the proven stuff:

1. Dawgtoons - My absolute favorite cartoon romp based on the battle between Shippers and Noromos with my hero, Noromo Ninja. GaDawg123 is the artist who is missing her calling by not putting these characters on t-shirts!

2. The Noromo Message Board - My home away from home on the web where the intelligent play. :)

What are your thoughts on fanfic? Do you read it regularly, write it? If so where is it archived, under what name?
I think fanfic is a terrific outlet for many people to express themselves. In particular, I read fic by Luvmulder, who has a terrific grasp of law, medicine, and suspense when she writes. Of all the writers I have taken the time to read, I could not get enough of her work, specifically RENEWAL, found at Gossamer. As for writing it, I play with it sometimes, but just never have the nerve to post my own work!

PART TWO: AS A WEBMASTER

How old is your site now?
Um, let's see - officially, I think a year or so. I never kept track. :)

What inspired you to create it in the first place?
We had started an informal discussion group with a core set of people on AOL to shoot the breeze about developments on the show, particularly the growing Shipper sentiment. Also, AOL's XF Forum had a Shipper Chat, but no Noromo Chat for equal time. So, we made our own little private room to voice our opinions. Out of that came the Noromo Love Page, which was actually a joke put in web form. When you have Photoshop and Front Page at your disposal, it's easy to start putting together a web page with the look you want. And of course, it's all made possible with the inspiration of that core group of people who huddled in a dark private room online and had me laughing so hard I thought I was going to die!

Do you still enjoy updating it and looking after it?
Actually, it's interesting because my love of the show has waned in the last season or so. The lack of continuity and the level of excitement akin to watching someone raking leaves makes it difficult to wholeheartedly love the show as much as I used to. The main part of the site, PONDER THIS... NOW is my weekly editorial. I do enjoy writing that because I get good feedback on it, and I basically get to say what I want to say. If someone wants to thumb their nose at it, they're certainly welcome to send me hate mail, which I will gladly answer with a smile on my face and a song in my heart, knowing it's yet another hit on my page counter. :)

Have you had much interesting feedback from it, made any new friends / enemies?
I have had only one bad piece of mail come from someone viewing the site. What is interesting is that I get more fun feedback from shippers who write saying the site cracked them up, even though they didn't agree, and that's what I wanted. I wanted a site that poked fun no matter the side, yet still stated I am a Noromo now and forever.

Why the Noromo "love" page? (And I hate to sound like a newbie, but I have to ask: what on earth are SMT and Toomahs?!)
The Noromo Love Page title was actually a tongue-in-cheek name for the site, taking the Shipper position to the extreme. The pulsating handcuff/heart graphic was also a joke, much like saying, "Aren't they so CUTE together?! "

SMT was an inside joke concerning the creedo at the beginning of the page. Again, getting back to that core group of AOLers that hid in the private room with me, they were all Duchovnyheads, drooling all over the place because of the man. It just so happens that most of them are in a medical profession of some sort, and they would crack jokes about taking care of Mulder should he ever get wounded on the show. (It must be a medical thing.) So, they came up with Sadistic Mulder Torture to cover everything from bumps and bruises to gunshot wounds to being spattered with alien goo. As I understand it, there is now an official SMT site somewhere on the web. But hell if I'm going to visit it!

As for Toomahs, that came about when Scully was found to have a tumor in her head. Taking the Arnold Schwarzeneggar statement in "Kindergarten Cop", "It's not a toomah!", it was a battle cry when we learned she had a "toomah" as well. So, of course, it made its way to the Noromo creedo, as well. :)

PART THREE: AS A HUMAN BEING

Alias' used, if any?
Always CHASE

Please list all the websites you run...
I'm a web programmer by profession, so the list is long and distinguished. :)

Which mailing lists / message boards / newsgroups do you usually hang around?
I despise message boards (with the exception of the Noromo board) and mailing lists, actually! I know, I know - I'm a baaaaad webmaster.

E-mail addie:
AChase998@aol.com

What would be likely to find you reading / listening to / playing?
I play a lot of flight simulators and 1st person action games while listening to Barenaked Ladies, Gin Blossoms, Sister Hazel, REM, and the like. As for reading, unless it's a tech manual or a Sue Grafton book, I'm not a big reader. If what I am reading doesn't grab me in the first couple of paragraphs, I'm off to do something else.

What do you spend your time doing when your modem's turned off?
I am a musician, so I play a lot when I have the time. And I'm constantly cleaning my apartment. :)

Any other comments that you think I might've missed....
My personal quote - "When the whole world is against you, paranoia is just good policy!"

Any other links of interest...
http://www.stargate-sg1.com/ - This show is becoming the replacement show in my heart over XF. Smart and strong, the cast is super as well as the sets and special effects! Look for an upcoming page in regard to this show!

http://www.afn.org/~afn15301/drseuss.html - The Doctor Seuss home page. Just when I think I'm too old to have fun, I go here and have Dr. Seuss smack me around in Java games. :)

http://www.lego.com - LegoLand in Shockwave!

http://www.brigidscross.com - THE premiere Irish pub group in Cleveland and abroad!

The NOROMO Love Page - http://members.aol.com/achase998/noromo.htm