300
Aaaaaaannnnnnndddddd CUT!!!
Fade to Black.
I did it. I made it to the top. 300 posts in less than 3 years serves as my own personal Everest even if there were days (make that weeks), when the tempest of thoughts raging in my head yielded to an unsettling calm and the endeavor proved Sisyphusian as I toyed with shutting it all down. This has been a labor of love and I have long clung to the belief that I am writing for one reader - ME - and if anyone else happened to amble along and page through a few volumes, well, then I’d welcome them with open arms.
Of course, that’s just what I tell myself so I can sleep better at night. At heart, I yearn for readers. I cry for attention. I don’t need to make dollar one at this gig but I do want to make some kind of impression. To touch someone. (And with that statement, I’m off to go door-to-door to introduce myself to the neighbors).
And that’s why 300 is a tribute to you, the close-knit community that has made The Ed Zone a frequent stop on your daily web spinning. With Big Brother by my side (embodied both literally and figuratively by this site’s Web God and my best bud (and surrogate bro) Sean a.k.a. OB1) we’ve studied the traffic coming to the site and see the same frequent flyers. Some of you have added your voice to the chorus, chiming in via our handy-dandy Comments feature, while others stop along their travels, take in the sites and then mosey on down to other destinations. You may not say much but we’ve seen your faces (and IP addresses) often enough that we know you’ll be back and we’ll set our watch to it.
Those of you who have summoned the courage to raise your hand and speak up in class are worth your weight in gold and well-worth celebrating. To mark this milestone, I decided to chase today’s tribute video with 10 days of entries documenting my 10 favorite posts of all time. I know, it sounds narcissitic but I am not lying when I say this is the only damn thing I’m good at. With everything else in this world, I toe the line somewhere between ’woefully inadequate’ and ’straight up suck’ so grant me this little measure.
Anyway, in pouring through the archives and doing the Time Warp all the way back to January 2006 - when we first optioned this piece of real estate - I found that your Comments really added to my enjoyment. My pieces were just half the fun. Your Comments Complete Me. Some of them would stretch into double digits, with many frequent contributors taking threads from the original post and adding their own unique touch, weaving a virtual tapestry. Call it free form scuplting. This is what I hoped the site would become when Sean first approached me to start a Blog - on a chilly day outside Gillette Stadium as we threw the most half-assed tailgate the world has ever seen (Sam Adams with no bottle opener, a grill with no lighter, meat with no spatula).
And it’s moments like that, which have provided ample fuel for the fire. My great friend, cousin and frequent contributor Jason (Poe) said it best.
“What you’ve got here, Ed, is a combination digital photo album/scrapbook/memoir. It’s pretty awesome.”
He nailed it. That’s exactly what this site is. The document of my life with major guest starring roles for all those wonderful people who have found their way onto the cast. I’ve mentioned that the site has become exactly what I hoped it would be - with particular attention paid to the commuity aspect. My other dream is that someday, Colin and Aria will pick up these bread crumbs and follow the meandering trail, seeing the sites as I documented (and embellished) them.
I started dropping those crumbs at the tail end of January 2006. I’ve come a long way through these dense woods but as I look ahead, I spy forest that seemingly stretches for miles. I have a ways to go yet. But with you by my side, I think I’ll slow things down to a nice leisurely crawl and enjoy the trip. What’s the rush? We have plenty of time.
It’s not the destination I crave - it’s the journey.
Enjoy the show.
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This post has 16 comments (now closed):
Joe
Monday, October 20, 2008 5:07 pm
Congratulations on 300!! (BTW: great video
)
)
Now on to another 300 - or the Great American Novel - “Musings of a Dumbguy” (or is that already what this is
Aunt Sharon
Monday, October 20, 2008 5:50 pm
TOTALLY AWESOME!!! I LOVE the video, and I’m in it!!
I’ve always enjoyed wandering this site, learning a little bit more about a kid who came into the family just about the same time I did.It is a daily stop for me, bookmarked right up there on my toolbar, sandwiched between ebay and gmail. Your gift for expression is evident in everything you write,brilliantly balanced depending on your subject. The family pieces often bring a tear ( umm…to Uncle RON, that is!), the stories of your past and present adventures with friends are always funny, I love the movie reviews and tolerate the gaming ones, and I simply wait not-so-patiently at my monitor for the next Lost posting. It’s a can’t miss read. OB1 has done a wonderful job on the site, and I’m guessing he’s the brains behind this outfit, and you are the heart.
And if Hell is where we are having dinner tonight to celebrate, I’m buying. I hear the hot wings are to die for.
Congratulations, Ed.
Juice
Monday, October 20, 2008 6:11 pm
Congrats on 300…..I do think you should ask for how you should celebrate your 500th post…something like you doing your best Frank Caliendo impression of hiim doing a bad John Madden impression….
Sean
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 12:32 am
I wasn’t sure if this post, or rather, video was NSFW or not, so I had to wait until I got home. You know, I didn’t know if the toga might fall off or something and yeah, even though I am in IT, we just installed a new proxy server, so who knows what my boss is learning about all of us now via our habits on the work internets.
Anyway, I am obviously super happy that you have made it this far with this thing. I knew you had it in you and I am glad that those that do leave comments, or those that don’t but tell you in some other way, keep you pecking at that keyboard. You bring a style of writing and brand of humor that I really have never seen matched anywhere, but now we have the YouTubing, so that might become very dangerous triple threat indeed! (Seriously great clip.)
That said, I am looking forward to these next 10 posts. Re-reading your archives usually evokes a few great thoughts or memories. For instance, I forgot I cried during Wedding Crashers, so thanks for the reminder. I seriously hope I stubbed my toe going for a snack, but I somehow don’t think that was the case…
JFCC
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:30 am
Congrats, Ed! This is Caketown!
I’m happy to have given you a good mission statement (memo?) for the site.
I’m trying to think of more words of encouragement to add, but frankly it’s early in the morning and you’re doing just fine without such encouragement. If anything, you probably need less encouragement…
Aunt Sharon
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 3:19 pm
Any clue which post drew the most comments? Just curious…
Ed
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 4:55 pm
To be honest I think it’s one of the ones on this very page - the Netflix Notes: Living Dead edition.
BTW I have a new post going up tomorrow (a Cuckoo’s Nest flavored one) and then will start the Top 10 on Friday. I pulled an audible and changed my #10. You’ll see.
Jen
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:48 pm
This was classic.. thanks for including me in there. I love my pic
“It all goes back to Styx..”
Dennis DeYoung
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 11:52 pm
Jen, “It all goes back to Styx”?
That’ll be $262.18 in royalties.
Domo arigato.
Amy
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 12:21 am
Congrats on you 300th!
I new there had to be a reason I had 2 cups of coffee at 7pm! And not just to spend the evening slaving at the computer… it was all the divine intervention to see your status on Facebook, sending me hurriedly to The Ed Zone…
Here’s to 300 more!
Kerry
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 10:04 am
Congratulations, Ed…well done!
That song is Brian’s favorite piano piece…he plays it every chance he gets. It brings a certain gravitas, plus it impresses the girls.
Thanks for the mention and the smile.
~Kerry
Sean
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:45 pm
@Aunt Sharon: I saw your question about the most popular post, or rather, which one received the most comments. So, that inspired me to do a couple things:
Michelle
Monday, October 27, 2008 6:30 pm
Congrats on 300, Ed! The video was very good. OK, I have to ask… between your job, the play, spending time with your family, and the blog (which also involves reviewing all those TV shows, movies and video games)- when do you find time to sleep?
Ed
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 6:40 am
@Michelle - I’ve been cloned.
To be honest, I have no idea. I will say that literally the only TV shows I watch are The Office, Lost and Friday Night Lights so that may account for some of the time. And I only sleep 6 hours (midnight to 6 am). Plus, I write better earlier in the day so often, I’ll write a Post during my lunch break.
But the clone idea is more fun. For me anyway. Not the world.
Aunt Sharon
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 9:49 am
@Ed-Do you have Direct TV? FNL is coming back on THAT now, and for the rest of us it will be in January…If you DO have Direct TV, please feel free to email me anything that I neeeed to know, since I actually seek out anything that has the disclaimer ” Spoiler Alert”, and I rarely go into a movie unless I know how it ends…takes a little spice and suspense out of life, but I got bushwhacked with ” Old Yeller”, and that is just not happening again.
Ed
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 12:01 pm
@Aunt Sharon - I do indeed have DirectTV. We made the switch from Charter HD cable after they failed to fix pixelation issues following 8 home visits. Each time they would simply say “too much signal strenth” and then add another splitter. By the time my single strength had been split to the square root of pi, we ended up ordering DirectTV.
Well, it had to have been a sign. We’ve only lost broadcast once (for 10 minutes) during a vicious thunderstorm. Otherwise, the picture is crystal clear HD with more channels than we got before, cheaper and featuring Friday Night Lights four months before the rest of you plebes. (Kidding!!!)
And it has been fantastic - although sadly bittersweet. Let’s just say that some key characters are being written out in little mini-arcs. It’s admirable what they’re doing as the “reality” within the show dictates that certain characters would have to leave but it doesn’t make it any less sad. If you really want details, I’ll send you an e-mail. Just fly the bat signal.
I’ll close by saying this Season is Season 1 good. I really liked Season 2 but the strike killed it. Well, it’s back now!!!