« Defining War Discourse | Main | Grant-ing Words »
April 01, 2003
A Modest Farewell
Well, this is it. The end of the line. It’s been fun, but now it’s time to hang it up.
There were no real objectives in mind when I started this site---a few friends have of mine who now have defunct blogs themselves got me hooked on the notion, and like Chris Rock in ‘New Jack City’, I was hooked. Same thing happened in college, when personal webpages became the ‘in thing’ to do amongst my friends. Not one to be left out, I visited an online HTML tutorial and boom, my first web site existed.
Milestones were initially had to come by, mostly since, again, I wasn’t thinking in terms of such. I was just trying to throw up a bit of content on a mostly daily basis. Readership consisted of about 10 friends, a half dozen fellow bloggers, and people who found me through creatively lewd Google searches.
Around Labor Day, things started to change---at article about the Video Music Awards got picked up by Jan Herman at MSNBC, who’s since linked many of my articles and is directly responsible for a large part of my current readership. The first real flow of traffic was a rush, and forced me to up the ante on my own writing and on the concept of my blog in general.
It was both thrilling and shocking to see that someone else in the world appreciated my sense and sensibility, to put it in Austen-ian terms. Quite a few, actually. So, it emboldened me to write similar articles, one where I wasn’t so much catering to what I thought people might like and just write stuff that I myself liked. Traffic steadily grew, I popped up on people’s blogrolls and side links, and life was good.
I’m not sure when it all turned sour---really, it hasn’t turned sour, per say, just a souring of perspective. I often sit, sweating, in front of a blank MS Word screen, trying to come up with something publishable. I worry if people will like/link the essay. This isn’t the point---the freedom I had bestowed upon myself last September was ebbing. I knew what Pete Townshend used to feel like, playing ‘Tommy’ night after night, and having the crowd love what you do, but inside feeing hollow. Yea, I'm up to 101 comments on one of my articles, the length of which could fill a novella, but like The Police, I'll go out on top. Or something.
So, now I bid you adieu. But fret not. I’m sure my new lifepath will be quite visible to all of you in a short time. I am very excited about the things to come. New opportunities are opening up. New vistas to be seen. New people to bodyslam.
That’s right, I’m joining World Wrestling Entertainment. I’ve got the height, I’ve been working out, and I’ve been practicing my bumps by pulling off elbow drops from my third-story back porch onto the refrigerator that’s still lying prone in the back yard. Wish me luck.
Oh, and Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone.
Posted by Ryan McGee at April 1, 2003 09:12 AM
Comments
Happy april fool's day to you too ;-p
Posted by: Breyten at April 1, 2003 09:56 AM
Good-bye everyone! Me just want to subtract a comment or two. Ryan am the most unfunny writer me ever read. Me laugh with sadness almost every day. Him know nothing about pop culture. Me happy and relieved to see him go. Thank badness there am no longer reason for Bizarro to request more articles on the Lacanian definition of my ass. Me love war blogs! Anyway, hello Ryan's blog! Hello, everyone!
Posted by: Bizarro Foley at April 1, 2003 09:58 AM
Ah, the return of Bizarro. Lovely. :)
Posted by: ryan at April 1, 2003 10:01 AM
Ah, I was waiting for something to happen this April Fool's Day. And I'm glad it isn't another death threat at my school... :-)
Posted by: Lizbet at April 1, 2003 12:17 PM
YOU...dirty little man. You SO had me going.
Posted by: Susan at April 1, 2003 12:55 PM
It never fails. Every year I forget what April 1 is and every year I get taken in by someone/something. Man, you were really about to ruin my day.
Posted by: redhead at April 1, 2003 01:01 PM
Well done! I hope the joke is referring to the whole article and not just the WWE thing. Please say it's so!
Posted by: Malshep at April 1, 2003 02:32 PM
Yup, whole article. :)
Posted by: ryan at April 1, 2003 02:33 PM
Thanks for the smile.
Posted by: Heather at April 1, 2003 02:34 PM
Good thing you're joking cause I just found this place yesterday and immediately fell in love with it. By the way if you are into hoaxes you should visit www.museumofhoaxes.com. Just a little light amusement in these dreary days. :)
Posted by: Marién at April 1, 2003 03:01 PM
The funny thing is I have been pitching april fools jokes all day, and no one could get me back, then I read this article dearest ryan and you had me at adieu. LOL I thought what the hell now, what is he talking about.
Posted by: jada at April 1, 2003 03:15 PM
Heh. No offense, but it's kinda fun to be fooling people.
Posted by: ryan at April 1, 2003 03:37 PM
Okay, I was so freaking upset, until I read the bit about the WWE. Man, Ryan, you really had me going. Geez.
Posted by: Ellie at April 1, 2003 03:40 PM
Suddenly Ryan's eyes get all beady and black and the lights dim and he's in a corner rubbing his hands together laughing an evil laugh plotting his next delusion.
Posted by: jada at April 1, 2003 04:05 PM
Yes, I turn into Iam Holm in "From Hell". Excatly.
Posted by: ryan at April 1, 2003 04:20 PM
I didn't buy it for a second.
Posted by: moxie at April 1, 2003 07:03 PM
All hail Moxie, Queen of All Heretofore Unseen.
Posted by: ryan at April 1, 2003 10:09 PM
"I knew what Pete Townshend used to feel like, playing “Tommy” night after night."
Surely you jest. Comparing yourself to Pete Townsend? Self-absorbed?
Posted by: Roger Daltrey at April 1, 2003 10:40 PM
Whew, Rog, thank God you came along. I've been waiting to give out my daily "Utteredly Missed the Point" trophy!
Posted by: ryan at April 1, 2003 10:59 PM