Time for another installment of 20 Questions, this time with staffer phalen180

1. How long have you been watching "The Simpsons"?

I can remember watching the "Tracy Ullman" shorts and being very excited to see a commercial for the Simpsons Christmas Special before a drive-in movie. Remember when you used to be able to drive your car into the theater? And you put the little speaker in the window?

2. Who is your favorite Simpsons character?

Lisa, hands down.

3. What Simpsons character are you most like and why?

Let's see, I'm a cross between Lisa and Professor Frink, with just a touch of CBG. Like Lisa, I am a vegetarian Buddhist and full of the worst kind of idealism. Some of the technical feats I pull off with websites and at work (I'm a programmer for a living as well) are Frink-worthy. And I have the social skills and razor-sharp wit of the Comic Book Guy... or so it seems, sometimes.

4. Are your friends and family fans of the Simpsons?

Not fanatically so, but yes, fans. That's not counting the friends I've made through the SCS who are by-and-large fanatical about the show.

5. What is your favorite quote from a Simpsons episode?

Hmmm... there are so many great ones. My favorite meaningful quote is Carl's "If I didn't have inner peace, I'd completely go psycho on all you guys, all the time." from "She of Little Faith". For sheer comedy value, a little Jasper with "You shot who in the what, now?" is pure gold.

6. What types of Simpsons collectibles do you collect?

I'm only collecting World of Springfield as of now, with the aim at simplifying my life as much as possible.

7. What item in your collection is your favorite?

If I told you, I'd have to kill you. The one with the most interesting story is probably my cell from "A Fish Called Selma", though.

8. What is the most outrageous (or difficult) thing you have done to obtain a Simpsons collectible?

Well, this isn't Simpsons, but I stood in line for the SDCC 2002 He-Man exclusive. People were actually TRAMPLING each other to get the figure.

9. What's the most you ever spent on a Simpsons collectible?

I spent $425 to get my cell. Not a bad deal, considering. I also have the C.C. Lemon lunchbox, which I actually use as a lunchbox (when I bring lunch to work) -- but that was only $200.

10. What World of Springfield figure would you most like to see (that has not been announced)?

Khlav Khlavash man (spelling?). He's just the most "out there" character that we'll probably never see in the World of Springfield line.

11. Are you a completist? An opener or a MIMP collector? Why?

I wouldn't consider myself "mentally" a completist -- I was THIS close to never getting the CCBG -- but the World of Springfield Database makes it more difficult to draw the line with any of the figures. I open 95% of my toys. The ones I don't open are usually due to sheer lack of time to play with them.

12. What are your favorite television shows (excluding the Simpsons)?

I don't watch any other shows regularly (as they air) but I am a fan of the Sopranos and Futurama. I will be buying the Futurama DVDs when they are released and I pick up the Sopranos DVDs as they are released as well.

13. What celebrity do you want to see guest star on the Simpsons?

Joseph Arthur and Elliot Smith. I'd say the band SWANS but they've broken up... maybe Julianne Moore and Emily Watson?

14. How and when did you find the SCS site?

Did you mean to say how and when did I FOUND the SCS site? ;)

15. In what ways do you think the hobby of collecting Simpsons has changed in the past few years?

Well in the last year, we've seen the World of Springfield line stabilize with much less scalping and hoarding going on and broadening of exclusive's availability. Playmates as a company seems fairly dedicated to listening to the collectors and giving them what they want from the line. That's a very good thing, and I am proud of the SCS that we have helped in creating that atmosphere.

As for general Simpsons merchandise, we've seen a broadening of the amount and type of merchandise out there, and that's pretty cool. Hopefully the quality will stay good and there won't be any backlash from the virtual "flood" we've seen on the market.

16. What was the first Simpsons item you ever bought?

I had a Bart Simpson t-shirt when I was in Junior High school (1990).

17. What is the one Simpsons item you want the most but do not have?

A Simpsonized pic of myself by Matt Groening.

18. What else do you collect?

I'm trying to break my librarian/collector mentality, but I still buy items related to the movies "Ghost World" and "Jump Tomorrow" and I have a large library of roughly 1200 CDs and about 200 DVDs.

19. Who influenced you the most from the show (be it character, writer, actor, etc.)?

I can't say that any particular person or character has influenced me unduly. Certainly I could see that the presence of a moral character like Lisa might have shown me that it is possible to be a good, upstanding person, even when surrounded by a bunch of boobs.

20. Anything you would like to add?

I did my 20 Questions once before, but Santa's Little Helper apparently ate it, because they never got posted!

People may not realize it, but there is a lot of work that goes into the SCS site, every day. And here are just not enough people there to do it all. If you are interested in helping out, please contact me at phalen180@simpsonscollectors.com and we'll talk about what you can do to help.

Other than that I'd just like to send out my thanks to the SCS staff and members, especially Mark and Jeremy, without whom I could not manage to hold the site together (and the message board would probably fall to pieces, too).