Interview by Rachel Gottesman

Wecome to Club Awesome, Tora. Steve. Tora? Where does that name come from? Do you have any other awesome nicknames I can call you?

Why thank you, I'm glad Club Awesome finally decided to take down those pesky "No Toras allowed" signs... You guys have really nice carpeting in here.

I really wish I had some sort of amazing explanation as to where Tora came from...Like I wrestled a bear for it or something. But my screen name goes back to the yesteryears of high school, taken from the Impossibles song "Widowmaker." Yeah, I'm one of those guys that names themselves after song lyrics.



I guess people around here got tired of the extra syllables and/or found kamikazes to be offensive, and one day I was simply referred to as Tora. I've taken quite the shine to it and kinda wish it would catch on in the non internet world. People out here usually just call me Dumbface or Lanky McLankerson.

So, Lanky McLankerson, are you more of a slogan man, or a design man, and why do text and design just not mix?

Well, I always considered myself a design man, even though I took a fairly decent hiatus from making art at one point. When I discovered Threadless, I was in my early inexperienced college years. I thought "Neat! Ill take 15 minutes to make some lame designs!" After those obviously didn't go over so well, I took a bit of a break and started focusing on putting words together and hoping they sounded witty. So it was pretty awesome when that paid off.

But after that, I pretty much ran out of slogan ideas, and started focusing on improving my design skills. I don't know if it's necessarily that text and design don't mix, I just think too many people don't know how to combine the two. For the most part, Id say it's unnecessary... Like when it comes to funny stuff. I appreciate good subtle humor. You don't have to spell the joke out for me in 24pt Impact!

Well how about 24pt Comic Sans? .... Kidding! Everyone knows Comic Sans is for jerks.

Did you know that every time Beethoven sat down to write new music, he doused himself with ice water? What do you do to prepare yourself to create a new design?

I try to out bark my neighbors Shi-tzu and see what sounds develop as my voice slowly diminishes.

...That didnt make any sense. I don't really have a system... I'm so bad at coming up with designs. Lately, I just start scribbling nonsense into my sketchbook until it vaguely forms something I feel could be developed further.

You'd be surprised how terribly that works. I just have pages of crap that looks like phone numbers drunkenly written on the back of a wet napkin from Denny's.



Where are you going to put your alumni medal? Rest assured, if it winds up in a junk drawer or pinned to a tack board somewhere I will hunt you down and pin it to your forehead!

Good luck pinning it to my forehead, when its already pinned to my forehead! I would really consider doing that if I weren't at risk of tarnishing my career as a forehead catalog model. I think I might let it go to my head...

I haven't done that in a while. I think Ill just start running up to people's cars exclaiming how great I am and demand they get out to polish it.

You're a member of the Hell-Raising Eyeless Angels of Death. What's so great about that game? Everyone loves it but it never ends, and unlike the board game Risk, you can't get angry and hurl the game board and all the little pieces everywhere.

I always need an excuse to constantly reference Seinfeld, so I saw this game as an opportunity to keep telling people "The Ukraine is for the weak!"

I've always enjoyed me some board game Risk, so when Jef started yelling at us to play (you know how full of rage he gets), I'd have been a fool to refuse. It's great cause it gives you the chance to turn on those you've e-hugged so many times in the blogs. I also like the word 'dominate'.



If you were a children's cartoon character from the eighties, who would you be?

I always thought it'd be cool to be Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget. I would spend all day looking in the mirror marveling at how good I looked, knowing that no one deserved to see my face.

Id also get to constantly pet a cat. And I like cats... they're soft.

Be honest with me here. Are you really a crazy person?

Crazy is such a myargaspeth word. Frankly, I find it truglambor and pwedtofus. And I am neither of those things.

Thanks for scarring us all for life!

No problem! Thanks for having me and allowing me to dispose of the Neosporin!

Interview by Rachel Gottesman

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