IcE IcE IcE IcE IcE IcE █░██   █▒██ ▄▀▄     ▓█░█   ██▄ NFO NFO NFO NFO NFO NFO

1.  Welcome to another installment of "iCE and the wacky computer art scene."
It seems iCE is the only big name group who DIDN'T undergo a merger or
split this month. Unsurprisingly, things here in iCE were pretty stable,
with the exception of Lord Soth's arrival at his homecoming dance WEARING
his date. ;)  Oh, and Friar has started a new entrepreneureal venture with
his new line of plaster of paris undergarments for hermaphrodites.

2.  Many iCE artists are becoming known in commercial circles as dependable
sources of quality art. One of our VGA lords, Mascot, did a picture for
"The Computer Paper"'s December issue, where the pic was used on the
cover. ImageX, Tonedef, Visigoth and Devastator have strong webpage
businesses, and Borian continues his many professional contract services.
In addition, Necros and Basehead continue to offer their musical skills to
such gaming giants as Origin, and Force Ten is still trying to get his
escort service started in Botswana.

2a. Blazer is rumored to be running a Tilt-a-Whirl off I-20 in the suburbs of
Memphis, TN. Look for the guy in the Jerry Garcia T-shirt with a pink
goatee.  Take him some elephant ears, he might let you on for a quick
spin.

2b. Syntax Error has bought stock in Jolt Cola, after hearing that they'll be
offering Diet- and Caffeine-Free- versions of their product. Better living
through chemistry! =)
(Guys, that's DOUBLE-caf Jolt.. DOUBLE caf. :) - syntie)

2c. Rumour has it that Lemonade is living vicariously through newly returned
iCE persona Toxic Marshmallow's insane party habits.  But, the two plan to
get together sometime soon and create a new malt beverage for all to agree
on, called Toxic Lemonmallow iCE-Cooler.

3.  Heretics, an australian demo group, released their "Halloween" intro this
past month. It features VGA art by our own Squidgalator ][. It can be
found at ftp.cdrom.com as /demos/incoming/weener.zip. Friar is still
wondering just what the hell a "weener" is, anyway. I guess they didn't
have that term when he grew up in the Great Depression.  Slothy knows what
a "weener" is, according to impartial sources at the New York Times who
also wish to say they never molested those animals. Syntax keeps wondering
why Neurotic keeps asking him to send a picture of his "weener".  Force
Ten prefers not to discuss his "weener" anymore because it causes certain
Senior Staff-type people from other art groups to call him a lot.

4.  Some new faces showed up on the block this past month. Cold-N-Ugly didn't
want to go with the Integrity merge with ACiD; and Venom, Obsidian,
Amorphis, and The Night Angel came at us from somewhere over the rainbow.
When Saga then merged with ACiD without asking their artists, a number of
them found themselves headed for a group they didn't want to be in.  This
brought us Tetanus, Apox, Parasite, and Kadaver.  Welcome guys!  It's
great to have you as a part of our family!  Cat also managed to introduce
us to his partner in crime, Icto.. needless to say, we liked what we saw.
This really doesn't have anything to do with "weeners", you know.

4a. A bunch of corpses were resurrected this month by Syntax's continued
display of medical miracles. Welcome back to Leonardo, Isosceles, Aphid
Twix (also known as Aphex Twin, Ephex Trix, and Latex Twin), Shaggy,
Juice, Elminster and Toxic Marshmallow.  Shaggy, Aphid Twix, and Toxic
Marshmallow are all former staffers, all of whom still proudly display
their iCE Tattoos, which we have had redone by Catbones.

4b. Devine Styler changed his handle to Tical. In an effort to prove that we
aren't all robots with no imagination, Lord Soth, Friar Tuck, Syntax and
Force Ten all changed their handles to Bob.  Borian changed his name to
"Pepe the Lonesome Outlaw," although he wishes to be referred to as
"Master of all Creatures Great and Small and even the ones in between that
are Cute and Cuddly and Furry with Long Sharp Claws that I didn't really
Bury Alive, Officer."

4c. Nobody quit the group, nobody was carried away by a herd of buffalo as
they screamed patriotic songs of love and the sadness of war, nobody was
treated for multiple stab wounds at a local intensive care ward, nobody
used the word "weener", nobody attempted to overthrow the government, and
nobody ingested 100 popsicle sticks and died.  However, we're glad to
receive the outpouring of art group telemarketing!  Nice to know you
care. :)

5.  Once again we feel the need to explain the numbering system iCE uses for
their packs. We number packs according to the date in which the art was
CREATED, not the date in which the art was released. This means that this
is the NOVEMBER pack. We know Lord Soth is good, and he collects art
faster than a speeding bullet, but even he can't have people draw all
their art on the first of the month for a release on the second. Amazingly
enough, ACiD follows fairly closely to this standard; they will name this
pack "acdu9512" meaning ACiD acquisition, released in 1995, 1/2 way
through the month... give or give a week.. or two..

5a. Actually, as a side note, this was the original intention for numbering
art scene packs way back as the scene came out of the dark ages and
started using packs (around summer '92).  A little bit of history for you
all.  The word "weener" was never really used much then, though.
- Force Ten [iCE Elder]

6.  Alanis Morrissette played at Friar Tuck's college this past December 2nd.
He didn't go; he knew she wouldn't go down on his "weener" in the theatre.
He also found himself preoccupied with some shaving cream, and a BIC
razor..  gosh, I wonder whatever for..  this needless to say, didn't leave
much opportunity.

7.  Friar Tuck went to NJ for Thanksgiving with his girlfriend's family, and
met Force Ten there. That means he's met all the current senior staff,
having met Lord Soth and Syntax Error previously. Amazingly enough, he
still wants to be associated with us.  We're contacting therapists now.

7a. Force Ten went to the mall to meet Friar Tuck during Thanksgiving break.
The hospital stay, passing out, blood, nausea, pleas for mercy, and
vomiting really had nothing to do with Friar at all.  Really.

8.  Hi Eggy!  Hope you're feeling better!

9.  IRC! #ice has officially moved from the netsplit-ridden, superlagged EFnet
to Anothernet, which offers channel security, 30-character nicks, nick
registration, no lag, and many other benefits, including our very own
Basehead is an IRCOp there, even though on this net it really doesn't
matter much.  Channel takeovers are a thing of the past.  You can find us
by switching to servers neato.org or irc.netnation.com and joining #ice.
If you persist in using EFnet, your parents won't love you.

10. iCE is no longer accepting applications for a resident Fish Trainer.  We
appreciate all those who applied, but it turns out Necros is already an
expert...  We also do not need help in the following areas:  Literary
Expert in Charge of Writing a Biography of God, Sculptor in Charge of
Doric Columns, Urinator in Charge of Writing the iCE Memberlist in the
Snow, The Pope, Poultry Seducer, Leader in Charge of Gaining the
Unwavering Trust of All Children, Euthanasia Expert in Charge of iCE's
New Community Nursing Home, Paris Mime, and Cheesemaker.  In an related
event, iCE has purchased a small continent just north of Australia and we
are in the process of mailing eviction notices to everyone who lives there,
as we continue our plans on making a true haven for geese.

11. We wish to apologize for the tremendous amount of round letters in this
month's NFO file.

12. Syntax here.. would like to take a quick second to send out my sincere
thanks to.. Aphex, Apox, Borian, CatBones, Rogue Leader, Slothy, Sober,
and The Green Hornet for your help in my art projects for this month..
I've never had that much fun actually drawing for a change. :)  We're
planning to do a lot more of these projects in the months to come, so let
me know if you're interested.. the ansi for this month: us-digpt.ice, and
the vga for this month: us-warhl.jpg.  If you're ready for something
different and creative, let me know.  I think the results speak for
themselves. :)

13. Also would like to congratulate all the artists for the onslaught of art
we had this month.  Could you imagine what would happen if we actually
tried? :)  Great job guys.. 3 megs of VGA, and like 700k of ansi?  Lord.

14. Look for a holiday treat coming soon, guys.. :)  Again, we'd like to point
out that it isn't, and has nothing to do with, a "weener".

Your iCE Representatives, Slothy, Syntie, Friar, and Forcie.