Wellp, it's been three years. Three long, strange years. I don't think it'll come as a shock when you hear that I had no idea X-E would go on for this long, and in fact, I'm sure very few people who get into this whole webmasterin' thing actually believe they'll still be doing it years later. For those who don't really know what it's like to do this - it's kind of hard to explain, but I'd bet it's very little like what you'd imagine.
I've definitely noticed one thing in particular: things change. Or maybe I've changed? The way I handle this site compared to years ago is a much different process, and I don't just mean that as 'I try much harder now.' Frankly, when I started, the net thing still felt very new to me, and getting attention and hits were probably the most important things to me. As I sit here now, I find myself pretty disenchanted with the Internet at large - in many ways, I try to make the site as big as possible without ever coming close to the microscope. I do this because I love writing, and more specifically, love writing when I'm not forced to play by someone else's rules. I guess an opus of many writers is to find someone willing to pay for their work, and while that's something I hope to nail down for myself someday, there's no way I won't miss the freedom of being able to choose what to write about, when to write it, and very especially how to write it. I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd pass by the site and write it off as a series of juvenile attempts to be funny. You know what, they're right - but don't ever think it's not a labor of love and effort. Trust me, I put way more into these articles than most would believe, and if there's anything I have over some of my contemporaries, it's true devotion to the craft.
I've also learned to never believe that I've hit a peak, or to ever think I'm at a level where improvement isn't necessary. Honestly, when I wrote even the most putrid, brain-frying crap articles years back, I thought they were top notch. It's very easy to be self-satisfied, especially if you've got a bunch of strangers telling you that they enjoy your stuff. Nowadays, I'm never satisfied. I can find fault with everything I've ever written, but the gratifying thing is clearly being able to see how much I've improved. I no longer consider writing some God-given talent a handful of people with marble notebooks get to enjoy - I know it's something you've gotta nurture, learn from, and take some risks with. In a way, you've all been guinea pigs for the process, and I'm happy to say that very few people ever died from reading an X-E article.
Aside from that, I take great joy in being able to show off junk a lot of people have forgotten. More so than anything else, the whole 'nostalgia' kick is a way to jump-start other happy memories. When I show you an old He-Man figure, maybe you'll smile, but you'll smile with more intense angles if the He-Man figure reminds you of the time your brother threw it at your sister's head, causing her to cry and bleed thoroughly. That's what I'm going for, mostly. I'm not looking to be your host of memoria - I'd just like to help by being a catalyst. If I can make you laugh a few times along the way, that's even better.
...which takes me to another point.
One of the reasons I've become less than enthusiastic about the Internet is because it's just way too chock full of jaded, miserable people who compensate for their loathsome lives by spreading hate and bullshit to every faceless stranger they come into contact with. Now come on, I'll be totally honest here - as people who spend way too much time on the net, we've all got to admit that there's probably something socially wrong with us. Me? I can't get through five sentences without stuttering. It's not as bad as the teacher from The Sixth Sense, but it's there. Plus, I'm always afraid that people wearing baseball caps are going to beat me up. My point is, I think the net has too many people who try to make up for their inadequacies by being overly negative to everything. I've got inadequacies too - a lined list of them would extend far further than most city streets. I just feel that trying to make something positive out of that will be way more fulfilling in the long run, and that's why you'll rarely see anything too malicious here on X-E. There's enough of that everywhere else - I'd like to provide at least one spot where the focus isn't on frowny faces.
That's about all I wanted to say, aside from sending out a huge, screaming, pink-fonted THANKS to everyone who's supported the site. And by 'supported,' I simply mean reading it. Those who've sent feedback get my once-in-a-lifetime super-special huge screaming ORANGE-fonted THANKS, because your letters fuel my desire to keep on keepin' on. Believe me, I've read every single one of 'em. They're like miniature Christmas presents every morning.
As for what's in store for the future - well, probably just more of the same. I won't see a reason to stop until I've written about the Star Wars Holiday Special for the seventeenth time, and by my count, I'm only at #6. We've got a while to go, folks. Thanks for the tremendous support, and for giving someone who has made a legacy of shunning any sort of purpose something to occasionally take pride in.
And click the ads, too. THANKS. To celebrate this grandest of occasions, here's a long list of some of my favorite articles. They're categorized for your convenience, and to give me an excuse to create stupid-looking headers very poorly. Enjoy, and eat well. If you'd like to e-mail me for any reason, click here.
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Very Special Thanks To Three Silly People:Robert Berry, the former X-E writer who went away because we disagreed over which way to serve clams was best. He likes them baked, I prefer Clams Casino. Aside from Rob's many contributions to the site on its way up in years past, Rob's been one of the very few people left I can really talk to without putting on the clown makeup. Just an all-around nice guy, too. Also gotta give thanks to Drew Curtis, of Fark fame. We don't get to chat nearly as much as we used to, but I couldn't possibly neglect to tell you how much I appreciate the help in both building an audience and grabbing some new readers. Not many people in the position you're in would ever be so gracious, and not that you'll need it, but I wish you the best of luck. Finally, Brian Jacks of Slush Factory. I'm not even sure how we started talking, but our candid convos have helped me get through a lot of the frustration associated with writing about Play-Doh. Oh yeah, and my girlfriend too. I'm still not sure how she lives with me.
Special Thanks To: Mike DeMarco, Eric Eckstein, Damian Bruno, Queen Latifah (see ya next Fall!), Alex L, Michael S, RoG, Rich Kayakawokka, Jay Stile, Kevin Day, Blacksuns, Dave Macchia, Tom Fulp, Sharkey, RD Reynolds, He-Man, Kwalzah of the Pythonians, my family and friends, and of course, Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine.
