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Fan Interview: Eric Wirtanen

Copyright © The Simpsons Folder
This document is done
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Could you tell us something about yourself.

Yes I can. Right now I'm a 21 year old university student from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. If you want my home address, ask Jukka himself, since I don't want any stalkers hanging around me. As we know, there are obviously numerous people out there itching to stalk Simpsons webmasters. Anyway, at college I'm an Information Technology major, which means that a couple years from now I'll spend my week listening to people bitch about how their PC blew up.

Do you have hobbies off the net?

At the moment I'm working for a local Toys 'R' Us retail store in Massachusetts. The job isn't glamorous since I mostly work in their storeroom, but I get paid well and I set aside all the latest Simpsons merchandise for myself. I could be working at a software company right about now, but I'm still in college and I figure I spend enough time on the PC as it is. Aside from work, I spend a lot of time with my friends and girlfriend, collect Star Wars merchandise, add to an impressive collection of CD's and DVD's, consume milk and cookies, and stalk fellow Cape Codder Eric Hynds of Duffless.com. I also enjoy driving all around the New England region every now and then, since it's a beautiful part of the United States.

When did you start watching The Simpsons?

I probably got a glimpse or two of OFF before, but my first vivid memory of The Simpsons was watching the pilot episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," in 1989. Watching the first episode was a family affair, since each member of my family was intrigued by the first primetime cartoon since The Flintstones. And hell, my brother and I would watch anything that was animated. The first episode was a hit with everyone that I knew, but I remember that my parents didn't care for the second episode, "Bart the Genius." I continued to watch the Season One episodes though (remember, 10 year old boys watch any and all cartoons), and it's safe to say that I was hooked by then. Sometime during the spring of 1990, my mother asked me if I was "still watching that silly show?" I still am, mom.

Who is your favorite character and why?

My favorite characters would have to be Krusty the Clown, Ralph Wiggum, Mr. Burns, and the Comic Book Store Guy, since their characters have been consistently amusing and fun to watch since their first appearances on the show. Lisa's also a favorite, since she also hasn't changed for the worse and it's still humorous to watch her deal with her ignorant family week in and week out. When The Simpsons first debuted, my favorite character (like everyone else) was Bart the underachiever. And up until a few years ago, it was Homer Simpson. He's still an enjoyable character from time to time, but I feel that he has been dumb-downed too much during the last few seasons, and his whining, crying, and screaming are painful to my ears.

Are you also one of the people who collect Simpsons merchandise?

I sure am. I don't have as much as some people, but here's my list: A still from the Tracey Ullman show autographed by Matt Groening, two "Two Lips" CD's signed by Simpsons voice Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright's autobiography, a couple posters, a few keychains, an Itchy & Scratchy t-shirt, calendars, a few old Nintendo games collecting dust in my attic, several books, many of those comic book collection books, the Comic Book Shop and Krustylu Studios playsets by Playmates, and action figures ranging from Lisa Simpson to Vampire Burns to Ralph Wiggum. I own roughly 20 of the action figures, I suppose. And, I also have a Bart sticker on a purple piece of construction paper sent to me by a friendly Finnish webmaster. I forget who, though.

It was me, Eric. So, what is your favorite Simpsons merchandise item?

My favorite item would be my "Bart vs. the Space Mutants" handheld game by Acclaim. It's still working after ten years... God, I don't want to know how old its batteries are. Since I've owned it since I was a kid, that's one piece of merchandise that I would never sell.

What was first Simpsons you ever saw on the internet?

The Simpsons Archive at SNPP.com. I had just seen (and drooled at) the "Complete Guide to OFF" book for the first time, when a friend told me that "A website at SNPP.com has all this and more, man!"

Me: "What's the site, SMPP.com?"
Kid: "No, SNPP... you know, Springfield Nuclear Power Plant."
Me: "Gotcha, SMPP."

The other first sites that I saw included the Simpsons page at Hedges.org and the original Simpsons Sourcebook at Pixel-Fusion.com.

I assume Simpsons is big part of your daily schedule. How big?

I probably spend a good three to four hours a day searching for Simpsons news and browsing through the other major sites. I also receive 30 to 50 e-mails a day regarding the site, most of which are contest submissions. Even though I spend a lot of time on NoHomers.net, being a webmaster is still fun after all these years.

Who/what inspired you to start a Evergreen Terrace website?

When I first started out, I don't believe I ever intended to build a huge site like Evergreen Terrace. Back in 1998, ET started out as a simple, small fan site created by an inexperienced webmaster who had a desire to learn as much HTML as he could. My brother had created his own website in January '98, so I figured I'd give it a shot as well. Originally I had created a bunch of mini-sites devoted to several topics such as video games and Star Wars, and I easily could've focused on one of those themes instead of The Simpsons. But, my little Simpsons subpage turned out to be the most popular section, and I stuck with it. OFF was my favorite topic to talk about anyway.

You have tons of visitors everyday on your site. How do you think that the Evergeen Terrace gained such massive support and respect?

ET was first popular among the many Simpsons webmasters, who fortunately decided to link to the site from their pages. Even though they're not popular anymore, the Simpsons web rings helped me build the site's first fan base, and of course I personally e-mailed several webmasters asking for links. Some of the replies were pretty nasty. =) I have to thank Justin Hess and Matt Schmoeckel for being two of the kindest webmasters I first met, who inspired me to create a nice design and to surround it with original content. After the early days, the search engines (especially Yahoo!) helped make the site extremely popular, and daily updates regarding anything Simpsons brought the people back day after day. The average Simpsons fan aside, I believe ET's fan base respects the site because they're aware of how much work is put into it on a weekly basis.

Do you feel there is any competition between the main Simpsons news sites?

No, not at all. Myself, you, John of The Simpsons Sourcebook, and Jouni of SNPP.com e-mail each other several times a week with links and interesting news regarding the show. As Jouni once said, we do this because we know the news interests all of us and because we all truly care about the latest happenings with The Simpsons. Personally, I feel that this exchange of information is fantastic since we reach a larger audience with several sites like ET, TSS, SNPP, and The Simpsons Folder all posting news about the show. Since the official site has slacked off (once again) ever since the Global Fanfest ended, I feel that it's our turn to step up to the plate and provide the online community with news 24/7, and I believe that the news sites are doing a damn good job of that. Sure, it's fun being the first person to post breaking news, but there's no competition in my mind.

What do you think about other Simpsons sites on the net?

I don't care what people say, 2001 is much better than 1999. The sites are bigger and better, several pages are updating daily with news, web news, and content, and webmasters such as Adam Wolf and Bryan Ludvigsen have pushed the envelope in terms of designing. The young sites of 1999 have grown up now, and most of the pages that were around then look so much better now. It's a shame that there's so much advertising on sites these days, but it's not affordable for webmasters such as myself to keep high-traffic sites online without any way to pay for them. As for my favorite websites, I visit The Simpsons Archive and The Simpsons Folder each day for news and information, Lardlad.com and The Simpsons Mainframe are two of my favorite multimedia oriented sites, and I feel that The Simpsons Channel, The Simpsons Tree, and The Simpsons Top 100 are the biggest assets to the online Simpsons community since they link to the best pages online. A list of my ten favorite sites can be found at NoHomers.net's links page.

Any favourite Simpsons designers?

Adam, since he consistently pumps out amazing new looks for his sites. Whether he knows it or not, he's always been an inspiration for myself and the other older webmasters. When I saw his "Aussie Simpsons Extravaganza" site for the first time, I knew it was an elite site simply because the design was so nice. His style remains the same throughout all of his designs, but his pages are always fantastic. Shannon Vieira's also an excellent designer in my mind, and Matty Jorissen's amazing work with Flash has to be applauded. Jeff Walker of Monstromart.com is probably the best new designer that I've seen lately.

And Jukka, you're one of my favorite designers since you're always so original and creative when you create a new look for your site. Never change.

Do you have any new projects coming up soon that you can tell us about?

Evergreen Terrace's new design should be online before Halley's Comet passes the Earth again. The new layout will be a big deal, obviously. A major site like NoHomers.net deserves a fresh look. Outside of that, I've always wanted to create a Krusty the Clown character site, but that's just a pipe dream. Two new character sites should be launching at ET's domain name this summer, and I hope to lay the foundation for a "Simpsons Video Game Information Station" this summer as well. Cross your fingers.

Describe your desktop. What do you see around your computer?

I see lots of stuff. If you *must* know, I usually have ICQ, Winamp, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, and WeatherBug running all at once. I also use AOL Instant Messenger, but only for about ten seconds a day, as people on my buddy list know. As for my wallpaper, I have about 30 different images saved to my computer, and they come from sites such as EndEffect.com, DesktopStarships.com, and DesktopGirls.com (featuring a Jennifer Aniston gallery, Jukka). One of my favorite pieces of Simpsons wallpaper is a picture of Homer and a shotgun made by AJ Doucett. You can download it at here. On my desktop there are links to random programs such as a DVD player, a CD writer, Adobe Photoshop, Netscape, etc. I keep it relatively neat.

And now, I will dare to venture outside of my desktop. This is a Simpsons Folder exclusive, Jukka... be excited. My Compaq monitor rests on an older wooden desk of mine, you see. Along with the monitor, you'll see a beige AT&T phone, a mug full of pencils and pens, and a coaster plate where you'll usually find a beer can. Behind the phone there is a black DVD rack filled with 30 movies in alphabetical order from Apollo 13 to X-Men. Can't get enough entertainment. Now, on top of the rack you'll see a Manny Ramirez rookie card (go Red Sox) which I recently found in a dark corner of my closet, along with four loose Simpsons figures (Barney, Flanders, Casual Homer, and Otto). And that is what I see around my computer, Jukka. You asked for it, buddy.

Any final words?

No, get me out of this interrogation room. Did you have to strap me to this lie detector?! And for the love of God, stop shining that light on me... this interview's over!

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