15 Minutes with StorminNorman!

[Marx]

with....​

StorminNorman!​

Part 1: Your "real" life!

Spoiler

Where were you born?
Where do you currently live?
Age?
Height?
Hair color?
Eye Color?
Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so what and where? (Pics a plus)
Lefty or Righty?
Do you have any siblings?

Post a picture of your handwriting:

What is your job?
Do you have a car? What kind? (Pics a plus)
If you were a pro athlete, what would be your intro song?
What is your lucky number?
Any superstitions?
What kind of cell phone do you have?
What's your default ringtone?
What is the last movie you saw in theatres?

Part 2: Your Hype Life!

Spoiler

What is your current avatar and why?
How many posts do you have right now?
Congrats, you've been cast on MTV's the Real World! Which 6 Hype members would you pick to live in a house with you? Why?
Who is your Hype drunken duet partner?
What will you sing?
Have you ever met anyone from the Hype in real life?
Have you ever posted commando?
What brought you to the Hype?
What keeps you here?

Link us to a thread you enjoy:

You're going on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which member of the Hype would be your Phone-A-Friend?
Which two Hype Members would you like to compete against in Jepoardy?
Which two Mods?
Hype Crush?
Hype Nemesis?
What is your favorite Smiley?
Least favorite?
Take the opportunity now to clear up one misconception about you.
What is your Hype Pet Peeve?
What SHH event (that you not necessarily had to be a part in) has given you the most enjoyment?

The Official "15 Minutes" Sign Up Thread http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=350867

 

[Kane52630]

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

If you were going to shoot a mime, would you use a silencer?

If a word in the dictionary were mispelled, how would we know?

Is there another word for synonym?

Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

Do they sterilize the needles for lethal injections?

Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?

How young can you die of old age?

If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?

How many people does it take to change a searchlight bulb?

Is it still real to you?

If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?

Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines?

What do batteries run on?

If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?

If nobody buys a ticket to a movie do they still show it?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Batman & Robin or The Room?

Mayonnaise or Broccoli?

Have you really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

If I melt dry ice, can I take a bath without getting wet?

How do you like my nonsensical questions?




Do you have any infractions? If so, do you care to tell us how you got them?

If you could have one TV sitcom house as your real home, which one would you pick?

List 5 movie titles that associate with 5 hypesters.

Post 5 songs/singles you want us to listen.



What is your least favorite word?

What turns you on?

What turns you off?

What sound do you love?

What sound do you hate?

What is your favorite curse word?

What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

What profession would you not like to do?

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

 

[Godsfireworks]

What's the most exciting geological event you've experienced? (tsunami, earthquake, landslide, volcano, sinkhole etc.)

 

[Marx]

Do you believe in karma?

 

[Scarlet spidey]

What was the most frightening moment of your life?

How do you feel about rain?

Will you be my friend?

 

[Marx]

Do you believe that nice guys truly do finish last? Why or why not?

 

[Nevincer]

What's the meaning/origin behind your username? (It's awesome)

 

[Marx]

How do your political and social views compare to those of your friends and family?

 

[StorminNorman]

Marx:
Where were you born?
Panama City, FL

Where do you currently live?
Washington, DC

Age?
22

Height?
6'

Hair color?
Blond

Eye Color?
Blue

Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so what and where? (Pics a plus)
Nope, though there was a time when I hypothesized that a blue Dr. Manhattan atom would be a nice tatoo on my shoulder. Luckily I was too broke to test that theory.

Lefty or Righty?
Right

Do you have any siblings?
A brother, a sister and two half sisters.

What is your job?
Press Assistant/Blogger

Do you have a car? What kind? (Pics a plus)
Not since moving to DC.

If you were a pro athlete, what would be your intro song?
Prince Ali from Aladdin

What is your lucky number?
8

Any superstitions?
When I was younger I had a big superstition regarding Georgia Bulldog gameday attire. I've lost that for the most part over the years.

What kind of cell phone do you have?
Blackberry

What's your default ringtone?
Vibration

What is the last movie you saw in theatres?
Captain America

What is your current avatar and why?
Murray Rothbard, a personal hero and the greatest American scholar.

How many posts do you have right now?
Too many probably. I can't see from my blackberry.

Congrats, you've been cast on MTV's the Real World! Which 6 Hype members would you pick to live in a house with you? Why?
Matt
Hunter Rider
C Lee
Marx
Darthphere
CConn

I think that would cover all the essential personalities for a reality show.

Who.is your Hype drunken duet partner?
CMill216

What will you sing?
The greatest hits of LFO.

Have you ever met anyone from the Hype in real life?
Yes Several actually..

Have you ever posted commando?
Not sober.

What brought you to the Hype?
I had a craving for Batmovie info after watching Batman Begins.

What keeps you here?
For a time I believe few sites on the web had the quality of material the Hype had on these boards. I think the quality has sense receded, but good conversation can be found.

Link us to a thread you enjoy:
I'll update when I get to a computer.

You're going on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which member of the Hype would be your Phone-A-Friend?
Paradoxium

Which two Hype Members would you like to compete against in Jepoardy?
Dnno1 and DACrowe

Which two Mods?
Matt and Marx

Hype Crush?
Matt

Hype Nemesis?
Matt

What is your favorite Smiley?


Least favorite?
The facepalm, which I won't even use to illustrate my dislike.

Take the opportunity now to clear up one misconception about you.
I'm not nearly as humble as most think I am.

What is your Hype Pet Peeve?
Insubordination infractions.

What SHH event (that you not necessarily had to be a part in) has given you the most enjoyment?
I loved Survivor when I had the time to really do it right, but again, there were whole years where I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent on the hype.

 

[Matt]

Matt: Great moderator or greatest moderator?

 

[StorminNorman]

Kane52630

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
You are three fourths dead.

If you were going to shoot a mime, would you use a silencer?
You don't shoot mimes, you hit them with impracticaly large mallets.

If a word in the dictionary were mispelled, how would we know?
Dictionary itself is actually a mispelled word.

Is there another word for synonym?
Bird is the word.

Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?
Yes, but vegans can't.

Do they sterilize the needles for lethal injections?
Government practices don't make any more sense to me now that I work in it..

Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?
That would explain why they enjoy the taste of Carlos Mencia.

If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
No, but he is without sandwich.

If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
The better question is whether they can negotiate with themself.

How young can you die of old age?
42

If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?
I would turn a cold shoulder.

How many people does it take to change a searchlight bulb?
Depends on which school they went to.

Is it still real to you?
To real.

If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
He is the 1%

Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines?
Comedic value.

What do batteries run on?
A treadmill.

If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?


If nobody buys a ticket to a movie do they still show it?
Can't discriminate against the hop-ins

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
Its rubber.

Batman & Robin or The Room?
I love Batman & Robin.

Mayonnaise or Broccoli?
Broccoli, though preferred if dipped in mayo.

If I melt dry ice, can I take a bath without getting wet?
Sounds like a question for Mr. Wizard.

How do you like my nonsensical questions?
I actually laughed at the parsley farmer one. Good show



Do you have any infractions? If so, do you care to tell us how you got them?
Haha, 7 I think? I would say two or three of them were completely valid, but most of them are insubordination. Two of the last three in particular were indefensible. One consisted of making a non-explicit joke about Obama being a Kenyan (after a year+ of dismissing "birthers") and the last one consisted of being infracted because a mod dubbed a conversation as off topic, deleted the post by fiat, and then hit the infract button when I reposted the content with explicit references to the subject matter.

If you could have one TV sitcom house as your real home, which one would you pick?
I hate the show, but would love the Two and a Half men place.

List 5 movie titles that associate with 5 hypesters.
Spider-Man
Batman
The Incredible Hulk
Captain America
A Journey to the Center of Kane52630

Post 5 songs/singles you want us to listen.
Hiroshima by Ben Folds
If I Could Do It Again by Corey Smith
Fear the Boom by Econstories
The Fight of the Century by Econstories
Gryffindor Party by Lord of the Strings

What is your least favorite word?
Gunk

What turns you on?
Ignorance

What turns you off?
Intelligence

What sound do you love?
Whale songs

What sound do you hate?
Songs about whales.

What is your favorite curse word?
The r word.

What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Professional football scout

What profession would you not like to do?
Anything in the medical field.

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
That will do, pig. That will do.

 

[StorminNorman]

What's the most exciting geological event you've experienced? (tsunami, earthquake, landslide, volcano, sinkhole etc.)

The DC earthquake was quite interesting. All the hurricanes I have endured have disappointed.

 

[StorminNorman]

Do you believe in karma?

I don't think I believe in a textbook definition of Karma, but I do think that good actions create good results and bad actions create bad results. Not instantly necessary, but in the long run. I have worked the last few years to broaden my understanding of economics, which I actually attribute to a renewed spirituality and an interest in Taoism.

 

[StorminNorman]

Scarlet spidey
What was the most frightening moment of your life?
There was a night when police showed up at our house while a roommate was growing pot. A domestic dispute (nothing physical) led to the wife of our friend and neighbor to call the police and say she heard fighting in the house. The police claimed they had to search the house for "bodies", I said they couldn't enter my house. They came in anyway (which I knew was illegal) found the plants as well as pipes and scales and what not and confiscated it. Though I knew it was an illegal search, I was still terrified of the potential consequences.

How do you feel about rain?
I used to love rain, but I am less appreciative now that I walk to work.

Will you be my friend?
Sure! Send me a pm and we'll make it facebook official.

 

[StorminNorman]

Do you believe that nice guys truly do finish last? Why or why not?

I do not. I believe there are practical benefits to living life morally (I also fiercely reject moral relativism). If you do the right things, you will find success. Not instantly necessarily. Not to the extent you imagine, necessarily - but you will be more happy and successful than you would be if you deliberately acted immorally.

 

[StorminNorman]

What's the meaning/origin behind your username? (It's awesome)

My name is Norman (though I go by my nickname "Tho" - rhymes with Bo), so it was a good fit.

At the height of my interest in comics I started working on a story involving a young idealistic politician who earned the nickname StorminNorman for a campaign phrase of "Storming into Washington and shaking up the status quo". After a short time in Washington, frustrated by the roadblocks placed before him, he decides to go all Batman on corrupt politicians and special lobbyists.

 

[StorminNorman]

How do your political and social views compare to those of your friends and family?

I'm a lot more radical than my family. My father was a Goldwater Republican, though he was more of a campaign rather than policy guy (one of my favorite stories of his was a conversation he had with Newt, whose first successful campaign he managed, when after Gingrich finished talking about some policy proposal my dad just shook his head and told him "you take this [crap] seriously".)

Unfortunately, as a Cold War product and former military, he fell into the Goldwater trap of war hawkishness and "security before liberty" on issues like the Patriot Act.

My mother is similar, though I don't think she is as committed to the militarism. She is far from libertarian though.

My brother made me quite proud though. He is apolitical, but told me "you know what, I don't know why the government can tell me I can't do heroine. Yes, its a mistake - but its my body." He'll vote for Ron Paul lol.

 

[StorminNorman]

Matt: Great moderator or greatest moderator?

Greatest, and no one comes close.

 

[Matt]

Let me ask you this:

How much of current Norm is schtick? You've always been a fairly level headed guy, but I also know that you love attention. So how much of the soap box screaming, "fight the man," bull **** claim (like Ron Paul will be the next president) nonsense is really you and how much is it you hamming it up for attention?

 

[Raiden]

What do you think about the Detroit Lions this year?
Do you still think Matthew Stafford is an elite QB?
Would you have given Stu only 2-game suspension?

 

[Marx]

Why does ignorance turn you on and intelligence turn you off? That seems a bit backward to me.

 

[StorminNorman]

Let me ask you this:

How much of current Norm is schtick? You've always been a fairly level headed guy, but I also know that you love attention. So how much of the soap box screaming, "fight the man," bull **** claim (like Ron Paul will be the next president) nonsense is really you and how much is it you hamming it up for attention?

Little of it is schtick. I will occasionally argue a point to an end to play devil advocate (this is a very rare occasion). I don't love attention, but I do love discourse and debate. It is nothing about ego, but the art of the argument. I maintain that Hype debate has sharpened my intellect more than the entirety of class work.

I never claimed Ron Paul would be the next President. I think the closest I have said was that a win in Iowa would change the landscape. I may have once said he had a chance (which I would stick to, though this would require the perception that he has a chance - which Iowa could provide - and for him to improve his ability to message - which I find far less likely). I did say that I thought Gary Johnson had a shot, but that was before Paul entered the race. I believe that Gary Johnson, though less attractive in Iowa, would have had a much better shot nationally (especially in Florida and New Hampshire) over Ron Paul. His campaign, however, is competely incompatable with a Paul presence. If Paul had not entered, at least half of Paul's 8-12% would have gone to him, which would have qualified him for debates and forced the media to at least acknowledge him. I think his record of experience is better than Paul's, and I think being a new face would have helped with the media. He does have far less charisma in debates, however, than he does speaking to a small audience, so that was an unexpected weakness.

But again, no, "current Norm" is not a schtick - it is the product of intellectual growth. In 2008 my chief interest was winning and losing elections. Watching 9/11 in 7th grade, my chief policy interest, when I decided to look at the issues, was foreign policy - with my views changing as the true nature of war and military adverturism played out in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan. I think you will see very little difference in my opinion on war, immigration, the Patriot Act, etc. (I am still slightly more hawkish than Paul in this area, as I am not morally opposed to waterbording a known Al Qaeda agent - but intellectually opposed due to its ineffectiveness. I am similarily not morally offended by the assassination of Al-Awlaki - though acknowledging the need for checks and balances I would have a chief military officer go through a military trial using the defense that Awlaki was an enemy combatant).

This changed, however, when the economy fell apart and no one in the mainstream had answers.

I have been accused of arrogance but it was actually an acknowledgement of my intellectual limits in the subject of economics that really changed my course. I had not, for years, felt remotely outgunned by anyone in the Political Forum on issues in my wheel house - but it was clear Paradoxium was leagues beyond me in economics. So I asked him for help. He pointed me to Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lessonwhich eventually moved me to Austrian Economics. The rest is history.

Now as far as the soap box and "fight the man bull****", it is what I genuinely believe. I think the world is heading towards crisis. And I don't mean 2008 crisis, but one of an unprecedented scale. I think both parties are dominated by faulty economic thinking (Keynesianism, Monetarism or, more typically, economic agnostisism). No one in Congress cares about Monetary Policy (Literally. My Committee deals with monetary policy and we are lucky if four members show up for a hearing on the subject.) Meanwhile Monetary Policy is driving the economy. We have the Fed waging a currency war against the world (causing inflation in China, while we have the gaul of accusing them for currency manipulation, and rising food prices across the world - resulting in Arab Spring). We have Geithner demonstrate a complete lack of tact in trying to dictate to other countries. It's all ****. Best yet? Both Obama's and Romney's economic advisers are Keynesians (google Greg Mankiw for Romney) while Newt has had so many positions that it is impossible to tell what he stands for. So we have no real chance of substantive change on that position.

And my position does not come from an Austrian cocoon. Outside of Paul's hearings, none of the economic experts that testify before my committee are Austrian (and my position requires me to attend every one). I have read books by Krugman and other non-Austrians. I daily read blogs from across the pantheon of economic perspective. My conclusions remain, and increasingly confirmed.

So think of it from my position, I am a 22 year old kid who is kept up all night with visions of a catastrophic collapse in civilization's economic structure who doesn't just think the government doesn't understand the problem but has first hand knowledge that they don't. And instead of discussing the real subjects that matter, the Political Forum is more concerned about rolling their eyes at a Rush Limbaugh quote or similar partisan dribble. Similarly I am working in DC, where anyone who is remotely associated with Ron Paul is laughed at behind their back (which is peculiar since I have many people come to me with economic questions...), so I have few places (outside of Ron Paul's staff) to vent to.

I have never denied being an *******, though I will deny the validity of several specific fractions. But my actions are the result of frustrations and a need to vent. They are genuine, not schtick.

But I also recognize that my behavior has served to deprive me of one source of venting, so I am trying to work on that. I hope I will eventually be readmitted to the Political Forum and hope to avoid infractions for a while after that. Hopefully that aspect of "current Norm" is temporary. But we shall see. I think if people look at my past posts, they will notice that my style hasn't really changed - simply the substance has.

 

[Hobgoblin]

George W Bush or Barack Obama?

 

[StorminNorman]

Raidan
What do you think about the Detroit Lions this year?
I think the Lions are as talented as I thought they were, but less discipline than I believed. I hate to say it, but Matt may have been right on that regard. Suh has demonstrated to not be nearly as mature as I believed him to be and that sets the team back. You need your biggest players to be leaders in the locker room. I think we are dangerous if we make the playoffs, but we have to tighten up and rally.

Do you still think Matthew Stafford is an elite QB?
Matthew Stafford with 10 fingers is an elite QB. Matthew Stafford with 9 fingers is not. If I had to build a team around any QB, he would still be number 1. Though Cam Newton could win me over with a good interview. Remember Stafford is less than a year older than Newton.

Would you have given Stu only 2-game suspension?
I think 2 is enough. I am against reducing the suspension.

Why does ignorance turn you on and intelligence turn you off? That seems a bit backward to me.

I like bimbos?

No, I was kidding on that. A (what appears to be failed) attempt at humor.

 

[StorminNorman]

George W Bush or Barack Obama?

Obama.

In a vacuum, I think they are about the same. The difference is that Bush's incompetency 1. tarnishes the reputation of the party I think better positioned to do the right things and 2. is ludicrously described as "small government", "capitalistic", "deregulation" sort of guy.

George W. Bush is a conservative progressive, a neoconservative ("compassionate conservative").

Obama is a secular progressive.

There is really little difference.