For once, Meador was the interviewee, and not the other way around. Meanwhile, Wolfie remained suspicious (graphic by Nick Meador).

Nick Meador sat down with Grimm Magazine recently to discuss his new website, Supraterranean.com. In our chat, we covered how the site came to fruition, what children's cartoons Meador still watches, and the ever-thinning line in the modern world between sanity and insanity. Since neither I nor that magazine actually exist, Meador offered to post this on his site.

RLS: So what were the forces behind the creation of Supraterranean.com?
NM: The Internet has given us a wonderful gift. Any regular person can explore their creative passions and participate in our greater culture. Supraterranean is an experiment to see how many people will take advantage of that.                 

I am fond of the ideals behind journalism, but not usually the practice of journalism. One of those ideals is to provide a public forum for comment and criticism. With the exception of The New York Times, most news organizations have been extremely slow to implement such tools on their websites. NYT has actually surpassed any moderate expectations, and they are now establishing the standard role of a newspaper in a digital world.

RLS: Why not work for newspaper or television station, and attempt to improve the situation from within?
NM: I've tried that. I think they can smell my stubbornness and determination emanating like a stench from my résumé. Additionally, most newspapers and television stations are now owned by corporations and conglomerates, who must honor loyalties to shareholders instead of to the audience. That's not the purpose of journalism. The spirit of journalism is a relentless search for truth, and journalists should act as an independent monitor of power. One cannot monitor power if one is an employee of it. In that case, one can get fired for truth.

RLS: Will there be any restrictions for what is posted on Supraterranean.com?
NM: The submission guidelines are basically just another desperate attempt to convey to the public what exactly I'm trying to do with Supraterranean. They are not strict rules. With that said, there could be some submissions that I feel don't belong on Supraterranean. It will probably come down to whether or not it is a sincere, original creative work.

RLS: Do you plan on paying those who submit creative works to Supraterranean.com?
NM: Not at first. I simply don't have the means to pay. I do plan on paying if and when the operation becomes sustainable. In the meantime, I will ask contributors and readers to consider donating to the site. We have operational costs like web hosting to worry about, and even the smallest of donations can help. Of course, this isn't required, but there is a potential for mass exposure and recognition on Supraterranean.com, and I hope that isn't taken for granted.

RLS: What does the name mean? How did you come up with it?
NM: It's partially a twist on Jack Kerouac's novella The Subterraneans. In that book, Kerouac carefully outlined the dismantling of a relationship that led to severe heartbreak. It was intended to demonstrate what he saw as the future of prose -- a harrowing work of self-analysis, a deep and unforgiving look into the subconscious, through the subjective view of one man.                 

I see a lot of value in that kind of introspection, especially in relation to writing. However, "subterranean" implies that these people were hidden underground away from society. They were also, with the exception of artists, hiding from their feelings, and had no outlet for personal expression. I thought "supraterranean" could imply above and beyond this world, while still pertaining to it. Not simply roaming the surface of the earth, as we do now -- but rising into the sky, toward the stars…into outer space even.                 

I think that, through a cooperative creative effort, humans can rise above our earthly existence, and edge toward our true destiny: to regain oneness with nature.

RLS: Don't you think all of this sounds a little…crazy?
NM: Well, I am having an imaginary conversation with a gold-spinning dwarf.

RLS: A gold-spinning little person!
NM: Right. Sorry. Anyways, all great developments are considered crazy at some point, because they challenge the status quo.

RLS: Where else do you get creative inspiration besides Kerouac?
NM: I wouldn't have gone to journalism school if I hadn't read the work of Hunter S. Thompson. The concept of self-documentation and involving oneself in the story is important in my mind not only in journalism, but also in fiction. As Thompson did, I think journalism and fiction are inseparable. For a while, I deluded myself into thinking that he was an actual doctor of journalism. Then I found out it was an honorary title.                  

I just finished reading Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. It showed me how much of an influence he was on both Kerouac and Thompson. He was the first American writer to really write everything that passed through his consciousness, and then dig even deeper into the subconscious. He also shied away from self-editing or -censorship of any kind.                  

I am a self-proclaimed music junkie. I have over 20,000 MP3's on my computer, and two crates full of vinyl records. I am really into film too -- especially the independent variety. Films like Fight Club, The Matrix, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Eternal Sushine of the Spotless Mind, and Donnie Darko were extremely influential on my thought processes, before I started reading on a regular basis.                 

Other than that, I watch children's shows.

RLS: Um…you mean like Dora the Explorer?
NM: What? No. I mean older cartoons and movies that I get off the Internet. I just watched Alice in Wonderland for the first time in about 10 years. It was incredible, and I was moved to purchase a used copy of Lewis Carroll's novel on Amazon.com. My favorite recent one would be Flushed Away -- but that probably has something to do with the actors. Kate Winslet does the voice of the leading lady mouse.

I watch adult cartoons, too. 12 Oz. Mouse is a work of rare genius. I find myself quoting it in conversations with people who have never even seen the show.

RLS: Don't you think all of this sounds a little…wacko?
NM: Oh, you insipid little dwarf. I don't care. I'd rather be wacko than whatever a baby-stealing dwarf considers to be normal.

RLS: Duly noted.