The journey must start with Deathwish.

Did you see post below this one that wasn't by one of our new writers? That was more emote-ing than Zach's done about this site in months. One wonders what else he hides under his cap, aside from hair.

Regardless, I feel like I need to remind him, publicly, about beginnings and journeys. I will use an example, the record label called Deathwish Inc. (Former home to Modern Life is War, Cursed [Have you heard Three? If so, get in touch.] and Converge and current home to Life Long Tragedy, 108, Killing the Dream and Blacklisted) from whom a particularly large order for me arrived today.

They (and their long time brothers at Bridge Nine) didn't get to be the country's foremost hardcore labels quickly. It was through a series of hard work, excellent vinyl releases and signing bands they liked and were talented, regardless of whether the band would make money. Things slowly got better. They signed newer and younger acts, who toured voraciously. Though, it should be noted, being able to sell Converge merchandise may be the closest thing to a license to print money that this scene has, but I digress. These younger bands (Modern Life is War) steadily (but slowly) gained traction around the country, and as Deathwish tirelessly promoted the band on the internet, so too, did they gain more pageviews and more money, presumably, as evidenced by the tons of pre-orders the label now sells.

In short, the label has style and substance, though that didn't avail them for at least a couple years. Hard work, super fast shipping and having a good mailorder team pays off, and there is no question that Deathwish has been working at it, full steam ahead for a while. It is this same kind of hard work and verve we must emulate to deserve your time, dear reader.

I am not particularly concerned that after seven months, we are still in red ink, and have 20something readers. If we keep writing interesting things worth reading, word of mouth will raise our ship. Then again, this isn't a moneymaking venture, at least so far as I can tell. It was pitched to me as something that, if nothing else, is an outlet where I can continue to cut my teeth on the stone of longer form writing. If I see anything, a penny, a nickel, I will laugh uproariously until I am told, that no, this is our profit from the site, in which case, I will keel over laughing.

So Zach, if you want to do better, then write more. Let's see what you have to say about Gravel in 2012. Hell let's see what you've got to say about One Piece and speaking of which I should probably also check out the other five episodes of Baccano I haven't watched, because apparently, that's where it gets funny. This "either anime or politics" idea, I think, is crazy, because it assumes a zero-sum game that isn't true. We can write about both, it is simply a matter of working up the desire to take this place more seriously than we have when we started it.

As the introduction to Cowboy Bebop goes...

Let's do it.

Of Sailing Ships and Ceiling Wax, of Cabbages and Kings

Blogger informs me that this post is, internally at least, the one hundredth post to exist on this site. This includes any number of drafts that were never posted, sad forgotten creatures unlikely to ever see the light of day or to serve any purpose except to make me feel like we might have accomplished something here.

To wit: in the seven months (really?) and two days (really really?) this website has existed, we have written on it. Not as much as we should have (I am exceptionally guilty) or, perhaps, as well as we might have (there is ever room for improvement), but we have written.

And we will continue to do so as we pass this largely nonexistent milestone. We are living, as the chinese curse goes, in interesting times. In order that we might survive, I think it is best that we practice being interesting people.

I didn't really have a vision when I came up with the idea for this website, beyond perhaps getting my friends and I to write things that we enjoyed and maybe, one day, being able to buy a pitcher of beer at the Penny Bar with strange coins plucked from the aether. I still feel much the same day: we are here to write and have fun, and perhaps even to better ourselves or create some content worth consuming, if we are capable of such.

In any case, not-quite-nonexistent audience: thank you very much for joining us. Next time I update, I'll try to bring some actual content with me. Would you prefer the update about One Piece I promised you a millenia ago, or would you like to hear about how I want a t-shirt declaring my allegiance to Mike Gravel in the 2012 election?

I figure it will be the last election, coming at the very end of the world. We might as well get it right for once.

Alternately, we could elect him the second Emperor of America. Emperor Norton I has gone far too long without a successor.

I suppose I answered my own question there a little. Still, if you're out there, in the dark, with a keyboard and a working internet connection, consider dropping a comment here and telling me what you would like to hear more about: politics or nerdery.