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Sunday, March 31, 2013
NathanC on The League's 10th!
I don't recall exactly when I met NathanC, but i recall seeing him play in a band called "Barnyard Commandos" at my high school's rockfest. I know I'd met him before he met up with my brother at Trinity in San Antonio when they were both Freshmen. And, not only have we been pals ever since, but Nathan knew Jamie separately from knowing me back at Trinity, as well. So, longtime pal.
No matter what happens with this blogging business, I know that Nathan will still be popping up at odd hours at my house until one or both of us goes.
Lovin’ the League
I’ve told the League (I cannot in any way refer to him as ‘Ryan’ in cyberspace) many times that he should be writing a column for the paper. Or a book.
I’ve know Mr. League for close to 20 years now, and always found him to be a bright boy. But something in his nut cracked when he moved to Arizona. The dearth of cultural activities in Chandler turned him inward, and then led him to spew his thoughts upon the interwebs with the classic-era blog “League of Melbotis.” The life and times of livin’ large in AZ were supplemented by remembrances of better (and worse) times in Texas, including some of my favorite stories about working for the Mouse at Willowbrook Mall, or the rat at Chuck-E-Cheese.
The League writes well, and continues to do so with The Signal Watch. His online persona is honest and not without a little humorous sarcasm. He speaks for the frustrated observer of life and culture. His takedown of Johnny Clambake’s is legendary.
And he brings people together. As many have said before in this spot, the League of Melbotis was a social network when Marc Zuckerberg was only...
Oh, wait a second, Facebook started in 2004?
Well, you were a little ahead of the game.
No matter what happens with this blogging business, I know that Nathan will still be popping up at odd hours at my house until one or both of us goes.
Lovin’ the League
I’ve told the League (I cannot in any way refer to him as ‘Ryan’ in cyberspace) many times that he should be writing a column for the paper. Or a book.
I’ve know Mr. League for close to 20 years now, and always found him to be a bright boy. But something in his nut cracked when he moved to Arizona. The dearth of cultural activities in Chandler turned him inward, and then led him to spew his thoughts upon the interwebs with the classic-era blog “League of Melbotis.” The life and times of livin’ large in AZ were supplemented by remembrances of better (and worse) times in Texas, including some of my favorite stories about working for the Mouse at Willowbrook Mall, or the rat at Chuck-E-Cheese.
The League writes well, and continues to do so with The Signal Watch. His online persona is honest and not without a little humorous sarcasm. He speaks for the frustrated observer of life and culture. His takedown of Johnny Clambake’s is legendary.
And he brings people together. As many have said before in this spot, the League of Melbotis was a social network when Marc Zuckerberg was only...
Oh, wait a second, Facebook started in 2004?
Well, you were a little ahead of the game.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Jamie has her say on 10 Years of Blogging
Jamie and I have been together for over 17 years, married for almost 13. Of that, 10 years has been spent online. She really never has to wonder what I'm up to or thinking because: there you go. Just check the post in the morning.
She's been a sport about her supporting role in this endeavor, and her level of joy at participation waxes and wanes, depending on what's going on. I will say, I found it pretty hilarious (and telling) that we essentially end our posts the same way.
I have been extraordinarily lucky to team up with a partner who is as patient and understanding not just about my hobbies, but about this endless blogging business of which she's been a part. She's the light of my life, my north star, all that jazz... Love you, pumpkin.
When Ryan sent out a request for reflections on his ten years of bloggership, I immediately thought - "what better way to toast the League than the League's own words?". I decided I wanted to go back through League of Melbotis and The Signal Watch and select the most memorable posts from his impressive run.
Holy smokes, ten years. Do you have any idea how much material that is? That's a LOT of blogging. I would have regretted this decision had it not been a joy to comb through the archives in search of my favorite posts. The hardest part was selection. My first pass through all ten years netted no fewer than 50 entries. Fifty seemed a little too much for a "best of" tribute, so I have narrowed it down to 10.
I am well aware that everyone has different opinions and some of my selections may seem strange, but I tried to nail down those posts which I immediately remembered or to which I had a significant emotional response. So without further ado, in chronological order, I present to you:
10 Posts of Note: A League of Melbotis/ The Signal Watch Retrospective
When Ryan fist started League of Melbotis in April of 2003, we had lived in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler for almost a year, had yet to make any friends aside from one of the guys I worked with, and were gearing up for another soul sucking Arizona summer. The blog was a great outlet for Ryan's frustration and talent for writing. Some of the more common earlier posts took the form of relaying our outings in and around the Chandler area:
1. The Chandler Jazz Festival
Birdemic 2 in Austin! Join us!
I have secured my ticket for Birdemic 2: The Resurrection for when it makes its Austin debut on April 18th, 2013.
If you would like to join me, I'll be at Lakecreek Alamo on April 18th in seats 5509 and 5510.
Buy your tickets now and do not miss out on this unique experience!
Birdemic 2!
If you would like to join me, I'll be at Lakecreek Alamo on April 18th in seats 5509 and 5510.
Buy your tickets now and do not miss out on this unique experience!
Birdemic 2!
League of Melbotis: 10 Years of Blogging
March 30th, 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of my blogging habit. Ten years, something around 5000 posts. That's just the blogs of which I've been chief proprietor. I also wrote briefly with other folks at Nanostalgia and at Film Fodder (a paying gig! I made, literally, about $1.25).
So, I've written and posted a lot. Big whoop. Sometimes I wonder if I've a small case of hypergraphia that's gone undiagnosed, but we won't dwell on that here today.
Pushing through the haze and trying to remember why and how... you start making up stories in your own head to make it sound better. But it's mostly right there in print. At the age of 27, looking down the barrel of 28, I kicked off the first blog, League of Melbotis.
So, I've written and posted a lot. Big whoop. Sometimes I wonder if I've a small case of hypergraphia that's gone undiagnosed, but we won't dwell on that here today.
Pushing through the haze and trying to remember why and how... you start making up stories in your own head to make it sound better. But it's mostly right there in print. At the age of 27, looking down the barrel of 28, I kicked off the first blog, League of Melbotis.
 |
| this is no fantasy... no careless product of wild imagination... |
Friday, March 29, 2013
Horus Kemwer shares some words on the eve of the 10th Anniversary
In the way things go with Horus, I have met him officially once. We ate food, drank beer and then liquor. We swapped stories. I was given a comic series to begin to pursue (Dungeon). I may or may not have met him previously in a bar in Beaumont, Texas. Flash Gordon and Superman were involved. So was RHPT and JimD. It's hard to say what really happened.
Horus can be found at Against the Modern World. And sometimes in Hong Kong.
On the 10th anniversary of the League:
There's only one blog which I have consistently read since I started reading blogs 7 or so years ago. There's only one blog I check on a daily basis (sorry JD, shouldn't have gone corporate). There's only one blog I started reading for one type of content (comics) and yet grew attached to the rest (the noir, the family updates, the rants, the pinups). There's only one blog I've ever contributed guest content to.
There's only one person I've ever met first on the internet, then met later in person.
That person is the League and that blog is his - the best all round blog I know.
~ horus kemwer
Horus can be found at Against the Modern World. And sometimes in Hong Kong.
On the 10th anniversary of the League:
There's only one blog which I have consistently read since I started reading blogs 7 or so years ago. There's only one blog I check on a daily basis (sorry JD, shouldn't have gone corporate). There's only one blog I started reading for one type of content (comics) and yet grew attached to the rest (the noir, the family updates, the rants, the pinups). There's only one blog I've ever contributed guest content to.
There's only one person I've ever met first on the internet, then met later in person.
That person is the League and that blog is his - the best all round blog I know.
~ horus kemwer
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Steven Harms on the 10th Anniversary of my Blogging Endeavors
I didn't meet Steven until the fall of 2006. By that time I had already followed his own blog that he kept at the time, and knew roughly the cut of his jib. He'd met and fallen madly in love with Lauren. They'd decided to leave the cool climes of the San Francisco area for the sweltering heat of Texas. They beat us to Austin by a few months.
Somehow, our paths took some small amount of time before we did cross (I recall getting a note on our door from when Steven and Lauren attempted a surprise visit), and finally we met up for the most Austin of traditions: breakfast out.
Prior to Steven, the only other person I think I'd met who knew me only from my online presence was RHPT, so it was a bit odd. I didn't know exactly if I'd live up to their idea of who the man behind the pixels might be, and, I assume that - yeah, I have a lot of rough edges. They didn't run away screaming, so, that seemed decent of them.
At any rate, I was immediately fond of both Steven and Lauren, and until they decided to return to San Francisco, we spend quite a bit of time with them both, and, frankly, I miss having them around. They're good company. You should look them up.
Steven doesn't comment often these days, but he was kind enough to send in the following:
On the occasion of your site's anniversary
Most web site fashions are temporary, coming and going with a season or
an era: Huffington Post faded for me after the Bush administration,
memepool.com stopped updating, Reddit.com was overtaken by Digg.com
refugees, and in its turn I'm sure Facebook will one day be called old
hat. But The League's enterprises: The League of Melbotis and the
Signal have not wavered in terms of my visitation in, I'm surprised to
admit, nearly 10 years. In fact, as I just found out while typing this,
my fingers still have the muscle memory of the original URL
http://melbotis.blogspot.com.
What could make this small, personal blog so entertaining for such a
long time? As mentioned above, bigger, better-funded players have been
killed or committed seppuku in that same time span. What makes The
League's endeavors different? I think it comes down to this: his
site(s) have always been a nice, friendly porches with hot dogs and
spiked Dr. B in red solo cups. They've always been friendly, they've
always been positive and humorous in a vaguely James Thurber fashion,
and the content has always been coming (that is, there was something
new).
Somehow, our paths took some small amount of time before we did cross (I recall getting a note on our door from when Steven and Lauren attempted a surprise visit), and finally we met up for the most Austin of traditions: breakfast out.
Prior to Steven, the only other person I think I'd met who knew me only from my online presence was RHPT, so it was a bit odd. I didn't know exactly if I'd live up to their idea of who the man behind the pixels might be, and, I assume that - yeah, I have a lot of rough edges. They didn't run away screaming, so, that seemed decent of them.
At any rate, I was immediately fond of both Steven and Lauren, and until they decided to return to San Francisco, we spend quite a bit of time with them both, and, frankly, I miss having them around. They're good company. You should look them up.
Steven doesn't comment often these days, but he was kind enough to send in the following:
On the occasion of your site's anniversary
Most web site fashions are temporary, coming and going with a season or
an era: Huffington Post faded for me after the Bush administration,
memepool.com stopped updating, Reddit.com was overtaken by Digg.com
refugees, and in its turn I'm sure Facebook will one day be called old
hat. But The League's enterprises: The League of Melbotis and the
Signal have not wavered in terms of my visitation in, I'm surprised to
admit, nearly 10 years. In fact, as I just found out while typing this,
my fingers still have the muscle memory of the original URL
http://melbotis.blogspot.com.
What could make this small, personal blog so entertaining for such a
long time? As mentioned above, bigger, better-funded players have been
killed or committed seppuku in that same time span. What makes The
League's endeavors different? I think it comes down to this: his
site(s) have always been a nice, friendly porches with hot dogs and
spiked Dr. B in red solo cups. They've always been friendly, they've
always been positive and humorous in a vaguely James Thurber fashion,
and the content has always been coming (that is, there was something
new).
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