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Monday, June 18, 2007. I never thought that a day like that would be the beginning of something like this. More than 2 years ago I started this blog, and in those 2 years I never could see it becoming what it has.
I don't know how many times I've told people the story of how the blog started, but I'm telling it now at least one last time. In 2007, around June or so, there was a big announcement supposed to be made for Super Smash Bros. Brawl on their website. I stayed up all night hoping to see what it was and get some new information- and instead got nothing. Around this time, I was active on forums and specifically active on IGN. At some point in the night I had bleeped myself by saying sh!t. Apparently, they didn't like my use of the word "shit" even if it was bleeped and needed to be fully bleeped out. So they banned me and basically said if I wanted back in, I would have to email and ask nicely. To me, that felt like begging to be let into a community. I didn't want to follow their bullshit rules that limited my free speech. I wanted to be able to say "shit" because that's what it was- shit. So soon after, with no outlet to voice my opinion, I decided I would make me own outlet.
My original plan was to simply talk about video games and let it be my outlet for them, but I hit a snag: all the good names were taken. For some odd reason I was able to get one I wanted- The Gaming Catologue - but it refused to show up that I had gotten it. After many tries, I finally came up with The Review Digest and was able to snag the name. It flowed well, it worked, but I realized that with the name came more responsibility.
The summer of 2007 was dedicated mainly to editorials about video gaming. As my second year of college began, I started doing more. I wasn't on the college newspaper, because they didn't want me (as a commuting student, they literally shunned me away and didn't respond to my emails). And I had loved that outlet in high school, a year of missing it made me want to get a crew. I enlisted my cousin, TC, to write some reviews on movies and continued my editorials as well as trying to do better than other sites did on release dates.
Clav and me had become close friends in Nov. 07. I learned he had a background in journalism, and decided to enlist him. For months he did nothing, but that faithful day in November changed everything. We were smartasses by nature- why not be smartasses online? We made Jolly Jolly Jinglebeans and soon after formed MuCC Productions and began work on Jenga.
But that faithful day, the Daily Wrap Up was born. It was a simple name, but it worked so well that in December of that year we even did a top wrap up picks- only 2 months in. We were hooked.
We continued on with our articles, our Daily Wrap Ups. They were fun, they were our hobby. We did a few podcasts, enlisted some more people. Baritone became interested when he found out about Jenga, and Dos after we invited him to a podcast. As my plate was beginning to have more on it, and knowing they were well versed in video games- the torch was passed.
And we continued to do our podcasts, our stories. We continued to get better. But summers killed us. Our first summer saw our audience decrease by incredible numbers. Our second, which just finished, has probably killed off anyone still reading these.
But we continued. We enlisted more and more people, created a schedule, tried to keep people to it. But many of us were busy. We would forget. And though we loved doing it, we just didn't have the time anymore.
I had to make a choice. No one was writing. I was the head editor and Clav and Dos were my right and left hand men. I came to them this past summer, and told them I would retire. We had so many ideas for shorts, for our band, that we never went after and I wanted to head that. I told them they could go on without me though, but in the end we came to the conclusion that though we all loved The Review Digest it was time to let it go.
When I announced it, there weren't many in the room for the meeting. Helmet, Sketch, Bunny, Old Gregg and my left and right men sat in a semi-circle as we broke the news. I think Sketch was about to cry when I told him, as Old Gregg made his "yeah, I saw this coming" noises. They didn't want to give up what they were so used to doing. They loved it just as much as we did.
What started out as my blog, had become our blog. Our community of friends even from time to time suggested things to do. Baritone hated leaving and wanted to come back when he had something to say. It was our outlet in the difficult road of college. It was my baby I had shared with everyone. A part of me wishes I could keep it open for myself, in case I ever feel a need to write. But that would be selfish of me. It's time to let The Review Digest go.
But with every end, comes a new beginning. We aren't going to stop working with each other. MuCC Productions is not dead (though, Jenga is). We are simply closing down a section that we can no longer control. This was our baby, and now 2 years later- a remarkable feat by a blog's standards to be alive for so long and with so few readers- we're putting our baby on that bus to a boarding school to never see it the way it was as it left ever again.
So what do I say to end 2 years of writing? 2 years of blood and sweat and sacrifice we gave because we loved what we did. We loved every minute of it, even when it was stressful we loved it. There are no words to summarize how I feel right now ending this blog. There is nothing I can say to thank everyone for what they did. There is no price tag on the memories I will always hold in my heart from this blog.
I will always remember Clav complaining about having to update, even though I know he loved it. He once said to me he would write for The Review Digest for as long as he lived.
I will always remember having Dos ask me what to write about in video game news and helping him with ideas- and telling him that he had earned his place as third in charge and he could do whatever he wanted.
I will always remember Baritone's half-assed and reluctant responses when he worked with Dos, but always wanting to write after he left. And I'll never forget the surprise party we threw him as a goodbye.
I will always remember Helmet's random ass story about how much he was thankful for the readers of this blog and why it was great, because he had a test the next day and didn't want to miss another update.
I will always remember Bunny's first article and how I told her how to improve it, and how she did so well in doing so.
I will always remember Old Gregg's reluctance to write sports and claiming no one read it, when it was the most commented posts we had.
I will always remember Sketch getting his British accent on the podcast and becoming the evil scientist- despite originally just being the tech news.
I will always remember how our music writers (TC, Money, Okeana) always seemed to write one music article and then disappear.
I will always remember how we had CNN link to us because we linked to them.
I will always remember 79 times, dog deaths, and pancakes (again).
I will never forget this blog. I will never forget any readers, any writers, anyone that made this place special not just to me but to everyone involved. Thank you all. From my entire heart, and the tears I shed to write this- thank you all.
Goodbye, and good night.
2 months ago
