Moderator of the Month

Each month, the DDR Freak population decides on a moderator of the month by a poll. The moderator selected is an example of the best our forums offer and go above and beyond the call of duty.

Name: Cory Alexander Evans

Age: 18

Location: La Jolla

So this is your second time (First Interview) winning Mod of the Month. How does it feel?: I feel bad, I beat Phrek by one vote. I am sorry Phrek. :(

You're big into chess. What is your favorite antecdote about your time playing?: Humorous: I once made an illegal move in Madrid playing the strongest young player in The Netherlands. It's the only illegal move I've made in tournament player in fourteen years. It was made worse by the fact that when I played it, in heavy time pressure, Stellewagen burst out laughing. When I saw it, I burst out laughing on stage in front of a bunch of newspapers and some chinese players on board one. Yeah... probably not funny, but that was the most humorous moment.

The best moment seriously was either 34...Qb1!!, the winning move against the then-Champion of North Korea Ngoc Quang Ngo (2480ish), in the winning game against him which won second place in my best tournament. 21.f5!!, the winning move against US Master Jerry Hanken when I was 9, the only game I ever played which won a brilliancy prize. 29.Ke4!, the move that I won my second US Championship Title or watching my father player 19. Re5!! against Strong IM Tal Shaked, winning brilliantly in the US Open.

How does it feel being one of the younger, newer moderators to the scene?: It's awesome, I love being able to do something concrete to help the community. I really like the SoCal and ITG communities, so I am really happy to be able to moderate them. I'm grateful to the assistance and training older moderators have given me, especially Jason Ko (J Dogg), Jessica (IG) and xVxJasonxVx (or whatever his name is now haha). I'm also really grateful to the understanding everyone showed when my Dad got sick.

Tell us about your philosophy background: My father majored in Philosophy, and I've known without knowing the name that Philosophy was my life's love since I was very young, like two or three. My father has a huge library, especially on Logical Positivism, Classics and English Philosophy, a lot of which I read when I was a bored spoiled little brat. When I was fourteen, I went to UCSD, and I declared my major when I was fifteen. I have 186 units now, (180 required to graduate), and I'm looking into graudate schools at NYU (by far #1 in the world), Oxford, Harvard and University of Texas to study with Literay Nietzsche Heir Bryan Leiter. I'm also excited to announce that I have a modestly approved disseration topic, which I hope to be pursuing obsessively over the next half a dozen years.

Who is your favorite philosopher? Why?: I can't answer that question. I don't have a favorite philosopher, I have a collection of iconic philosophers to whom I owe a great deal. There are what I call peripheral philosophers like Kierkegaard, Sartre, Kaufmann, Mill, Rawls and Aristotle; all of whom I owe credit too. Then there are internal philosophers, a select few I owe everything too. I am very strongly political and therefore strongly indebted to, and a loving student of, the philosopher Robert Nozick (Anarchy, State and Utopia), the academic founder of Libertarianism. I owe an intense and immediate debt of personal conscience to the man who I have tried to model myself after, Martin Luther (although I am an atheist). The philosopher/writer Albert Camus is the historical inspiration for the philosophy of my Brother, by which I am heavily influenced. The existentialist philosopher Fyodor Dostoevsky has almost identical metaphysical views as I have. I have, and always will have, a great debt to the author Ayn Rand, although I am not an Objectivist.

If I had to name one person, and I wish I didn't, it would be Friedrich Nietzsche. I say that with a Caveat, Nietzsche is complex and there are many things I don't agree with, unlike, for instance, in the case of Nozick, Dostoevsky and Camus. Neverthless, Nietzsche wrote with more fire and more verility and liberty then any other philosopher in history. Despite the fact that I am nowhere near Nietzsche on any major metaphysical or ethical issue, Die Froliche Wissenschaft (The Gay Science, Nietzsche's Philosophical Magnum Opus) is by far and away the best and most beautifull book of Non-Fiction I have ever read. Nietzsche is also the author of quotes which have defined my life, including my R'aison d'etre: "Become who you are."

Other impossible questions include: Favorite Author of Literature and Favorite Chessplayer.

Where do you see the future of the Dancing Game Genre going?: That's another rough question. Obviously, I think ITG is doing an excellent job, and I know that ITG3 is already in development. If In the Groove continues to produce new games, and all-importantly continues to expand the difficulty to meet the demands of competitive play, I'm confident in the future of the In the Groove series. At least for now, ask me again in six months.

Final thoughts?: Thank you to everyone who voted! Everyone vote for Phrek next time! Keep up the active community involvement and watch FLCL! Go Yankees!