Rabbit Killer (it will make sense later) comes from Alaska, is a bean counter by day, and a fine diner by night.  He’s played violin at the highest levels (see below) and served the rich and famous pinot grigio.

The phrase: "Everyday I'm hustlin'" comes to mind.

Premise Guy: You have a blog The Budget College Cook. How did you get into blogging about cooking, and haven’t you been out of college for a while now?

Rabbit Killer: well, I got into blogging because I was in college and was bored, classes weren’t all that challenging. And I live in San Francisco EVERYONE has a blog out here. So I figured why not? And I’ve only been out of college for a year now. I originally dropped out of college when I was 21, but reenrolled when I was 24.

Premise Guy: Ahhhh, I see.

Rabbit Killer: It took me an additional 4 years to get my degree because I switched from violin performance to finance – disparate majors so no classes transferred.

Premise Guy: Sounds like a major life crisis/realization. What’s it like to completely switch directions like that?

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Peter is a close friend of both of us.  He’s also…special.  We normally try and edit the interviews here at IWAN for readability, typos etc.  However, in Peter’s case we thought this would subtract from the poetry that is his chat logs.  Bill Shatner, are you interested in doing a dramatic reading?

Probably thinking about chocolate chip cookies, sex, and the Punisher.

Peter: yes

GinDrunk: Ready?

Peter: shoot

GinDrunk: Being that we’re all friends here, would you be comfortable talking about your experiences with the Rage?

Peter: yes

my rage is a part of my mystique

to deny it is to deny an essential quality of myself

also, denial means I will wind up in jail due to inappropriate acts of rage

I was almost ejected from a Samsung store due to my rage

GinDrunk: Samsung store.

What could enrage you in a Samsung store?

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We had the great opportunity to interview mister heroin, a man whose history of drug use probably puts Hunter S. Thompson to (undead) shame, but who has also managed to kick the habit. This is his fall and rise tale.

A superhero...of drug knowledge!

GinDrunk: Hey man.

mister heroin: Hola.

GinDrunk: Okay, knowing that this is an touchy subject with you, we’re really pleased to talk to you about the subject of drug addiction, especially your experience. Where do you think it all started?

mister heroin: probably with drugs.

GinDrunk: heh.

mister heroin: To be honest I don’t know why I started doing drugs, but I do have an idea. I think it was because I had very little self confidence when I started (10 years old was my first taste of illicit substances). Always a smaller kid, very bright, but a small little shit nonetheless.

GinDrunk: Damn dude. What was your first taste?

mister heroin: Weed, which I hate. But all the “cool kids” were doing it so I figured I would do the same to fit in. Up until that point I was a straight A student and in accelerated learning programs. After that, it all went down hill. I drank before that and alcohol is a drug but I cant remember actually ABUSING it until I got a little older (12 or so).

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The Poker Baron built his life around poker, from backroom card rooms to the bright lights of Vegas and the World Series of Poker, to owning and operating his own cardroom.  He talks about his experiences with us here at IWAN, and we are all the more jealous for it.

Poker Baron is also a manbeast.

Poker Baron: Who is this?

Premise Guy: Premise Guy

Poker Baron: jokes jokes  lol

Premise Guy: lol.  yes, we’re 7th grade girls

Poker Baron: I was at my best when trying to smooth talk 7th grade girls but I was 13 then :(.

Premise Guy: Haha, that’s probably going in. Alright, first question: We were going to do this interview a couple days ago, but I got a message from you at 7 am saying you were just about to go to bed. What the hell are you up to at 7 on a Wednesday morning?

Poker Baron: I own a small poker room and had just finished up about 13 hours of playing live poker.  It makes it more interesting that I had to come home and play with my kiddos for a bit before I could get some sleep. Falling asleep in front of nickelodeon programs on the couch leads to really strange dreams.

Premise Guy: haha I bet.  So you OWN a poker room? I assume this is a much bigger deal than hosting home games for friends?

Poker Baron: Actually not much different where I live. The state that I live in has legalized gambling but kept in at fairly small stakes and what I own I compare to a lucrative lemonade stand all the time. The laws here really prevent big multi table card rooms and no open gambling casinos—only video poker/keno and live poker with a pot cap for each hand—it is sort of like an organized home game in some capacities.  I guess the only bigger deal is that you have to undergo a fairly substantial background check and license application process through the state Dept. of Justice which was designed to keep the criminal element out of state gambling; I actually think it works.

Kinda like this...

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Premiss Girl: Sure, I have the room to myself

GinDrunk: Sexy.

Premiss Girl: Quite.

GinDrunk: So, you and Premise Guy are an item – how the fuck did you end up this schlub anyway?

Premiss Girl: I like foreigners

GinDrunk: Ha! That he is.

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Clouded in mystery, an Other from a Strange World...

GinDrunk: Hi!

Mexual Healing: Hi!

GinDrunk: So, Mexual Healing, you have a secret you’ve been hiding from everyone.

Mexual Healing: hahahaha.

GinDrunk: You’re…part Mexican.

Mexual Healing: It’s true.

GinDrunk: What is it like being…mexican?

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Today at Interview With A Nobody we welcome Pool Hall Fugitive.  Another product of the East Coast educated elite, he enjoys his mind bending substances, travelling the world, and the fashion biz.

Paintball violence is the only sort of violence Pool Hall Fugitive condones.

GinDrunk: Ok then! First question.

Pool Hall Fugitive: Shoot.

GinDrunk: Not to start off with the obvious and all, but you’re gay, right?

Pool Hall Fugitive: The obvious and all?! I’m slighted. Yes, I am A GAY.

GinDrunk: How has that worked out for you so far?

Pool Hall Fugitive: I live in the gay mecca (san fran) and all these homos are useless tools. what do you think?

GinDrunk: Oh, well, this isn’t about me…but yeah, San Fran is kinda superfluous…Have you always lived in the Gay Mecca?

Pool Hall Fugitive: yes. born and raised, and damn proud. None of this palo alto crap for me, thanks.

GinDrunk: Were you exposed to gay culture as a youngster?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Not really. it wasn’t until I came out-to myself and eventually others- that I started exploring the castro and the gay subculture

GinDrunk: The Castro?

Pool Hall Fugitive: Yes. It’s where the recent movie, Milk, was filmed… The Castro’s where the modern gay rights movement started on the West Coast (vs Stonewall on the East Coast). It’s changed a lot since its heyday, so I’ve heard from many older gays.

GinDrunk: What was your process of outing like? Did you, and others, make it easy?

Pool Hall Fugitive: The process of coming out varied greater depending on whom I came out to. One of the most liberating moments in my life was witnessing and coming out to myself at my very first Pink Saturday, a street party in the Castro the night preceding the Pride parade. Other experiences of coming out varied greatly. It went smoothly with Mom; initial incomprehension aside, she actually took it really well for a Chinese mother.

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Vector Girl and Premise Guy have been friends for years and bicker like old hens! After graduating with a degree in AWESOME and showing up to a recent reunion event with a highly contagious disease, we decided to catch up and see where she’s at in life!

This is the only picture of Vector Girl we were able to clear with the State Department.

Vector Girl: Are we on, Premise Guy?

Premise Guy: Yes! Ok, first question: Tell us about being a confirmed vector for the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

Vector Girl: hahahaha ok. First of all, I was the CDC’s worst nightmare in that I’d been on three public transportation systems in ten days, attended massive crowded events, and had no idea how I got sick. But I did get sick, and I was feverish and flu-ish and my fever hit 104 and I thought my brain was going to explode. So, my mother forced me to go to the doctor. He tested me for type-a influenza and swiped my nose for the swine flu test. Then I was told since I might have swine flu, I could not travel, had to wear a face mask in public, and to avoid touching my parents (who were put on preventive tamiflu).

Premise Guy: I assume you took this advice to heart?

Vector Girl: I promptly flew halfway across the country to drink my liver into submission and share germs with all attending my college reunion! Turns out the whole “youth think they are invincible” thing is true. Alas, no one died, and I didn’t have to miss reunion, so it was a risk well worth taking. Though friends who came down with the fever/aches were not so sure.

Fortunately, Vector Girl bears no resemblance to our friend here.

Premise Guy: Oops. How many people did you end up infecting?

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Christopher Null, 37, is a true Renaissance man (and somewhat of a somebody). He writes about technology for Yahoo! Tech, Wired, and PC World, covers movies for Filmcritic.com, and posts his thoughts about all manner of booze on Drinkhacker.com. Basically he spends all day typing about something on the computer, which is good because that’s what he gets paid to do. He has commented on current events and culture for NPR, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and many, many other places with three-letter acronyms.

Christopher Null gets paid to drink, watch movies, and play with electronics. We're not jealous, really.

Interview With A Nobody: We initially contacted you about using an image of some very delicious gin, (Bluecoat American Dry Gin), and figured “Hey, a guy that blogs about booze every day. Probably a cool dude – we should interview him!” So our first question is obviously: what’s it like to blog about drank?

Christopher Null: Well it is tougher than I thought it would be. The drinking tends to interfere with the writing, you see. The more one drinks, the less coherent one tends to get… but potentially more entertaining.  That said, it is a dream job.

IWAN: I wouldn’t doubt it.  So when you get a bottle of wine in the mail for example, you’re not doing the whole take a mouthful and spit it out routine right?

Null: Depends on how bad it is.  But generally no – I usually drink like an average consumer would.  A glass before dinner and a glass during, enough to compose some thoughts.  The exception is going to big events.  When you have 80 wines being poured you have to spit or you’ll die.

IWAN: But what a death!

Null: Even spitting it’s difficult to make it through the whole battery… my palate gives out after about 40 wines. I’m working on that.

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Dezbaa is an old college buddy of the IWAN guys. She’s a colorful character (see photo) with a diverse background. Currently residing in Cambridge MA, Dezbaa is in her late 20’s and a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist.

Yes Dezbaa, it is ok.

Dezbaa: I’m naked is that ok?

Interview With A Nobody: …yes, that’s fine.

Dezbaa: Good! Let’s get this started, I’m getting cold.

IWAN: ha, ok: It’s our understanding that you’ve got quite the “exotic” background, ethnicity-wise. Tell us about your family history.

Dezbaa: My dad is Navajo and my mom is Mexican; she became a naturalized citizen when she was 19. My great grandfather was Spaniard-blue eyes blond hair and light skin. That’s why I’m also fair-skinned though my parents are dark. I consider myself Hispanic but I identify on paper and in general as Native American.

IWAN: Wait, you’re Native American and Native Mexican?

Dezbaa: I guess. I had an anthropology major friend tell me that I had Aztec features (as opposed to Mayan, he said). My mom looks more Mexican Indian than what most people think of when they idealize Mexicans. That great grandfather I mentioned married a short dark skinned beauty. They had kids with green eyes and very dark skin. Or so the story goes.

IWAN: You made the distinction between considering yourself Hispanic and identifying formally as Native American – why do you do that? Is it an issue of pride or a cultural statement?

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