Throwing It All Away: Sports Edition

Thanksgiving 2009: it was not a great Thanksgiving on a personal level, as it was the first Thanksgiving since my parents made it known to me and my brothers that they were separating.  It also came at a pretty low point in my life: a time which changed a year later once I received my first paying job.  None the less, 7 years have passed and Thanksgivings since then have been quite wonderful.  This is despite my parents not being together.  Thanksgiving 2009 may have been a bad day for myself and my loved ones; yet for someone else that day was a day of no turning back.

It is now the weekend of the Masters tournament, perhaps the most impressive PGA Tour event that takes place in the United States.  The weekend also correlates with my mother's birthday, who has now turned 60 years old.  So obviously, as was the case earlier in the year when  my father turned 60, I find it more important to celebrate a milestone for my parents.  Even so, there have been times this weekend that I have been looking at the results of this year's Masters.  And it looks impressive, as right now Jordan Spieth may be on his way to a second consecutive green jacket; an impressive feat for a golfer younger than me and quite possibly destined to become much like is golfing idol, one Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods.

I remember when he came onto the professional golf scene back in 1996.  Woods had been the most celebrated amateur and wunderkind in the game since Bobby Jones.  Seeing an opportunity after winning three straight U.S. Amateurs and the NCAA Golf Championship, Tiger Woods turned pro in 1996 at age 20.  Immediately, Woods became the dominant golfer of his time.  I can easily remember a Sunday in 1997 when my family from my father's side and I were watching the Masters.  It was a game for the ages, when Tiger Woods won his first of 14 majors convincingly. We were all impressed  with this budding and gifted athlete and an impressive beginning to a dominant and lucrative era in golf.

As the years went on, Tiger Woods went on to define the late 1990's and 2000's in athletics.  To list his accomplishments on this blog would take a while, and by now you already know of the accomplishments.  Yet, Tiger Woods has been in a professional slump after an impressive 2013 season where he had five PGA wins.  Injuries have taken a toll, along with a younger crop of golfers and several chokes on the golf course.  Right now, Woods has 79 PGA Tour wins, second only to Sam Snead with 82; and he has won 14 Majors, second only to Jack Nicklaus.  Quite honestly, Tiger Woods would have surpassed those records by now.  And yet, those records seem more out of reach than at any point of time in his life.

So what happened?  Well, Bill Simmons in his essay collection The Book Of Basketball (2009) had mentioned in his ranking of Chris Webber as the 72nd greatest basketball player a reasoning as to why Mr Webber did not go far in his potential.  Simmons believes that at a certain point, as early as the 1993 NCAA Championship Game when Michigan lost to North Carolina, Chris Webber felt the need to have a do-over in his approach to the game .  Well, life is not like a video game; there cannot be a reset button nor even a chance to shut off the console or computer when things do not go the way it is supposed to.  I feel that Tiger Woods would like to have a do-over or rather a mulligan on that Thanksgiving night in 2009.  In particular, I think he would like to go back and not get into that car crash just outside his house after arguing with his wife and mother of his children Elin Nordgren when she found out about Woods' affairs and sex addiction.

I know when news broke of the car crash that it just seemed so bizarre and unseemly for Tiger Woods.  Many those first couple of days were asking what happened.  Well, grappling with the separation of my parents I knew what exactly happened immediately.  And so indeed did many observers.  Relations he had fell apart, and Woods was in need of putting the needs of his children first.  It is to Tiger Woods' credit that he has become a doting and important father .

Yet in the golf world and the world at large, Woods' car crash and reduction to merely good golfer and for three years now a relic and cautionary tale was unprecedented.  Now, years before I and others saw something similar with David Duval winning the Open Championship in 2001 and completely collapsing in his professional career.  We felt that golf wise, Duval had it all and he threw it away.  Perhaps we now feel the same regarding Tiger Woods.  There is surprisingly a good deal of personal similarities Duval and Woods have; not least of which is them being doting and important fathers nowadays.  I suppose though golf without Tiger Woods is becoming more and more a reality that we may need to face.

An athlete's peak and winning streak will end eventually.  None the less, I would hate to be the one that says the best golfer in my lifetime failed to live up to his potential.  Yet, what do we expect when we see our athletic greats as real life superheroes. disillusionment is inevitable when the one who can do no wrong is found to be a mere flawed human not unlike ourselves.

Catch up with you soon,

Robert

A tale of two Halls of Fame

On Wednesday, the National Baseball Hall Of Fame, dedicated to presumably honor the greats in Major League Baseball and American Baseball at the highest levels, announced the results of the vote taken late last year by the BBWAA.  The BBWAA are the organization of sports writers devoted to covering MLB and making their slack-jawed opinions known whether we want them or not.  Every year, a select number of recently retired ballplayers who have been inactive for at least five years are voted by these writers to receive this prestigious honor.  And in most cases, ballplayers that deserve the honor are routinely denied the honor of having a day devoted to them and a permanent plaque in Cooperstown, NY.

For 2016, only 2 ballplayers will receive a plaque.  These players are Ken Griffey Jr., one of the better center fielders of the 1990s and early 2000s who totaled more than 620 home runs and a slew of personal records; and Mike Piazza, perhaps the best hitting catcher of his era with over 420 home runs and 2600 hits.  Being from New York, most of the attention is on Piazza getting in; more so now since he will go in as a Met.  By the way, Junior Griffey is going in as a Mariner, but that was a given.  It is all well and good, until you realize the amount of ballplayers and off-the-field leaders who are not in the Hall of Fame, either still alive or since passed away.

I was going to provide a list of these oversights, yet that will be for another time.  Suffice to say, these oversights, brought forth by a collection of sportswriters and self-proclaimed moralists who think only the purest of pure shall be granted induction, have greatly delineated most people's interest in the Hall of Fame beyond a regional level.  I will have more to say about this one day.  It might though be a multi-part examination of the Hall of Fame which I know few of you have interest in reading about now, so perhaps in the summer this will suffice.

Now, onto a more lively and exciting Hall of Fame discussion.  One day after the Baseball Hall of Fame announced their inductees, the Pro Football Hall Of Fame announced the 18 finalists for their Class of 2016.  The 8 inductees will be revealed at the NFL Honors one day before Super Bowl 50, February 6, 2016.  Now right then and there, the reveal carries a lot more weight in the NFL than MLB cares to be involved with.  As well, the 18 finalists are of such great importance that any of these finalists could be inducted this year and no problems would be had for who went in and who did not.  The 18 finalists are:

Morten Andersen
Steve Atwater
Don Coryell (1924-2010)
Terrell Davis
Edward DeBartolo Jr.
Tony Dungy
Alan Faneca
Brett Favre
Kevin Greene
Marvin Harrison
Joe Jacoby
Edgerrin James
John Lynch
Terrell Owens
Orlando Pace
Ken Stabler (1945-2015)
Dick Stanfel (1927-2015)
Kurt Warner

With that in mind, discussion these next few weeks will turn to who gets inducted, when we are not following the playoffs and being armchair quarterbacks.  As I mentioned before, 8 of the 18 finalists are likely to be inducted.  4 of them are certain locks.  These would be Brett Favre, Ken Stabler, Dick Stanfel and Edward DeBartolo Jr.  Stabler and Stanfel made it to be Senior Committee nominees, and Debartolo Jr. is the Contributor nominee; that means three of the eight slots are to be reserved for these specialized candidates. I am certain all three will go in.  It also goes without saying that Brett Favre is a certain lock, and I need not explain why.

So that leaves 4 finalists to be inducted.  Here is how I see the direction this will go. From what I gather, the four I would choose to go along with the obvious locks are as follows:

Kurt Warner:  I do realize we are talking about inducting three quaterbacks getting in one year.  However, there have been no quatrerbacks inducted since 2006; so the Hall of Fame is in need of ending the quarterback drought.  Warner's backstory and accomplishments speak for themselves I believe.

Kevin Greene:  when Kevin Greene retired after 15 years following the 1999 season, Mr. Greene amassed 160 quarterback sacks.  Not only was it the third best total of that era; it was and still is the most sacks by a linebacker.  Only Lawrence Taylor came closest with 142 sacks.  Nine times during his career, Kevin Greene led his team in sacks, and had been a pivotal component in being a defensive leader for playoff teams.  It is often hard to pick which team Greene made the most impact for, though I think it was the LA Rams.  None the less, Kevin Greene was clearly one of the more consistent linebackers and defensive play makers of his time, and should finally get the long sought induction this year.

Tony Dungy:  starting as an effective assistant coach, and then becoming a most impressive head coach with the Bucs and Colts; Tony Dungy had an impressive track record in turning around piss-poor teams and making them playoff contenders.  The results are impressive: 148 wins, 10 seasons of 10 or more wins, only one losing season, only two seasons not making the playoffs, three conference championship games, and in 2007 winning Super Bowl 41.  With that, Dungy became the first African-American head coach of a Super-Bowl winning team.  Not only that, Tony Dungy was and still is an important mentor and role model to his players and active in numerous charitable activities; not to mention his impressive transition to NBC's football coverage and analysis.

Marvin Harrison:  never the flashiest player, Marvin Harrison went on to become one of the better wide receivers in the game.  Along with perhaps the best wide receiver in Colts history.  To this day, Harrison holds the record for the most receptions in one season, set in 2002 with 143.  He also had nine seasons of 10 or more touchdowns and 1000 receiving yards, 4 seasons of 100 receptions, only one season in playing less than 10 games, 188 starts out of 190 games played, 1,102 receptions, 128 touchdowns and 14,580 yards.  Harrison is also part of the most accomplished quarterback to wide receiver tandem in NFL history along side Peyton Manning.  And yes, he did win a Super Bowl as well.

Once again, I presume these will be the eight inductees announced next month.  I do think there will be five finalists that could also get selected this year which would not surprise me.

Terrell Owens:  though having never won a Super Bowl, and not as consistent in his later years than his 49ers tenure; Terrell Owens was quite the good wide receiver.  Owens was also one of the best characters in the game as well, complimenting his 153 touchdowns and numerous records of importance.

Terrell Davis:  he only played 7 seasons, and then only the first four were fantastic.  Yet I keep mentioning this opinion:  the Denver Broncos do not win back to back Super Bowls without Terrell Davis, who came and went as if he were a bright comet.  Very comparable to the shortened career of Gale Sayers, whom by the way went in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot though never appearing in the playoffs.  If Sayers is in, Davis should go in one day.

Alan Faneca:  a great Steelers offensive lineman similar to Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson.  Faneca also had 11 fumble recoveries and started 201 out of 206 games played.  As well, for a retired player, Alan Faneca looks much better today than in his playing years.

Orlando Pace:  Pace was the leading fulcrum in guiding the greatest show on turf during the halcyon era of the Rams.  He started 165 out of 169 games played and recovered 9 fumbles along the way.

Morten Andersen:  the all time leader in games played, points, field goals, points after touchdowns, field goals of at least 50 yards, and holds the team records for kicking in both the Saints and the Falcons.  Andersen became the prototype for the idea of the kicker to be the deciding factor in not only a win for a team, but also an identity.

I think Steve Atwater may be waiting at least another year.  Don Coryell might get a posthumous induction, though Coryell not having been to a Super Bowl is a bit of a damper.  John Lynch will get inducted one day, though it may take a few years.  Edgerrin James will likely go in one or two years from now.  And Joe Jacoby is a candidate that could be a surprise inductee, though I am just not seeing it this year.

Well, those are my thoughts on the two different Halls of Fame.  Truthfully it is really only the Pro Football Hall of Fame that my focus was on; not a surprise since I am more interested in football than baseball.

I have also been informed that this marks one year since I started this weblog page.  To all that are continuing on this journey with me; I offer my heartfelt thanks and appreciation.  2016 is promising to be a very intriguing year and one full of newer possibilities and avenues to show my opinions.  I hope you will like what is coming next.

More coming; stay tuned,

Robert

An explanation for now

I do have a lot to tell regarding my ideas of a Joe Biden Presidential campaign, a Jim Webb run for the Presidency as an Independent, the growing new neo-conservative movement propping up, my thoughts on the Steven Spielberg new gem Bridge Of Spies, my definition of a Social Justice Warrior, and my plans for eventual video production.  However, I have been sidetracked by the New York Mets in the process of heading to the World Series; right now dashing fans of Back To The Future the hopes of a 2015 Cubs World Series win.  And this is coming from someone far more interested in Football, Soccer and individual sports.  Should the Mets go all the way, I think we may have a clear winner for Postseason MVP.

To note, while my family and I have been Yankee fans; we are more prone to being fans of a region when that region is still in the postseason running; especially New York.  So, no bitterness here.  And with that, hopefully this is not speaking too soon:

Let's Go Mets!

Robert

A bit of a note

Well, I just was about to complete my Channel Awesome dissertation when suddenly I accidentally pressed the backspace key.

I am terribly sorry for the problems to have arrived.  The fourth and I hope final post on Channel Awesome will come fairly soon.  In the meantime, here is a picture I think sums up my abject blundering. 

Cheers,

Robert 

Channel Awesome forgetting to be Awesome (Part 2)

So, what pivoted Channel Awesome to where it is today?  In other words, how could the website go from awesome to wretched?  Well, I think there was a change every year after the anniversary specials that increasingly would show flaws and concerns about how its business and relationship with content producers was fraying.  Incidentally, every anniversary special began to be more elaborate than the one before.

2009: The One-Year Anniversary Brawl.  In this one, Doug Walker and James Rolfe end their feud once and for all at a Chicago conference center.  This turns in to a free for all with Channel Awesome critics against Channel Awesome gamers.  In the end, Ask That Guy presents to these people words denouncing senseless violence and ushers in the era of collaborations.  And darn if it is not one of the funniest works Walker did.  I and many others were completely surprised when this showed up without much warning one late May day. 

Now perhaps the family atmosphere had not yet taken shape.  After all, many of these web stars were meeting each other for the first time that weekend of filming.  None the less, a rather good time was had by all.  As I mentioned, this ended the Angry Video Game Nerd vs. Nostalgia Critic feud.  And it did provide a transition to have people new to the website look at many of their contributors.  Yet, changes started to come.  Not drastically, or even with a tinge of sadness. 

For one thing, there was one reviewer, Dan Rizzo (The Aussie Gamer) that many felt a pain in the rear end for numerous reasons valid and otherwise.  Rizzo was let go, or left depending on how one views it.  Also, a few of the brawl participants were mainly podcast people, such as Cat Thompson and Billy "Gonzo" Smith of Nerd to the Third.  Their contentment was to do their writings and podcasts in the future.  Also, there were many Channel Awesome people that could not make it to the filming; but were there in subsequent anniversaries.  So overall, nothing problematic on a overall level. 

2010: Kickassia.  A more lengthy movie like structure in which Doug Walker and others make attempts to overthrow the micro republic of Molassia.  It is located in Nevada, and is basically the living quarters of its President, Kevin Baugh and his family and his alter egos.  Without surprise, Walker turns into Raul Julia as M. Bison in Street Fighter and effectively loses the republic. 

This allowed quite a few Channel Awesome producers to show their alter egos, or some of them at least.  For instance, Noah Antwiler's Dr. Insano, Linkara's Ensign Munroe, Lindsay Ellis' exaggerated Gov. Sarah Palin, etc.  Also, the filmmaking improved and seemed more professional like.  Yet, many changes came afoot that started to affect the relationship of several producers and the Channel Awesome leadership.

The most immediate impact was when Lee Davidge of Lee and Dena aka Still Gaming became three dimensional.  I should explain.  Lee would do his reviews and public appearances as if he were a still photograph able to move and speak.  That was an important part of his trademark.  It would change after Kickassia, of course.  Interestingly, Lee would have to deal with health problems and later life changes.  While his girlfriend Dena Natali has done numerous web series for Channel Awesome since then; Lee Davidge has postponed Still Gaming indefinitely. 

Another change occurred with some producers not making it to Nevada for the shoot.  In one case, Sean Fausz had health problems.  In another, Kristina Diggs (That Chick With the Goggles) had her computer crashed; subsequently leading to a reevaluation of her web series work.  And then, although she appeared in one scene beginning Kickassia; this would be the last Channel Awesome project Lindsey Briggs would get involved with.  Soon afterwards, Briggs ended the Little Miss Gamer series and PBC Productions to focus on working in different entertainment fields with firms like The Jim Henson Company.  For a fair deal of people that were early viewers of the site, this was a huge blow.  There still has not been any program on the website that was quite like LMG. 

Then came the first noted executive departure.  That would be when Mike Ellis left Channel Awesome. It would also be the first departure to not be explained by anyone.  I would think some rumblings came into form regarding financial matters within the company, and with whom was getting what in finances. 

2011: Suburban Knights.  In this movie, William DuFresne (Suede) returned after two years of missionary work.  Plot wise, Doug Walker led many Channel Awesome producers doing cosplay work to search for a MacGuffin.  In the process, they fight the Harry Dresden inspired Malacite (Orlando Belisle Jr.) and eventually save the world. In the process though, in plot and in filming, a mythos was created that would later be an albatross on the Walker Brothers.

You see, Doug and Rob looked at Kickassia as we look at Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Rather good, including its restored director's cut, yet with flaws.  Not surprisingly, they looked at Suburban Knights like we look at Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.  A game changer in the universe and perhaps its best film.  In this case, the Walkers effectively made their own Wrath of Khan. 

In the movie, Ma-Ti destroys Malacite with the power of Heart (as in the Captain Planet ring).  Ma-Ti was killed in the process, leading to a complete Wrath of Khan recreation.  And yes, a hint at the end for Ma-Ti's return. 

So in effect, Doug and Rob Walker painted themselves into a corner with Suburban Knights.  By basically lifting from Star Trek II, the next anniversary would need to lift from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.  Eventually, that is what would happen.  Several events would alter the original plans.

First, a noted personality from the website, Jason Mulara (LordKat) left Channel Awesome around the time Suburban Knights was filming.  Partly as a result of tiring from doing Until We Win, and yet also due to differences afoot with the Channel Awesome leadership (including the Walkers) in artistic and commercial expression, Mulara left not in the best of terms with the website.  Afterwards, Benzaie would limit his involvement with Channel Awesome while doing other films and projects.  His role in the next anniversary was filmed in France and was essentially a cameo role.

Another person to stop by that time was Game Heroes creator and producer Thomas Hanley.  Handsome Tom as he is called went from having an effective lead role in the Brawl to a smaller role in Kickassia to an even smaller role in Suburban Knights.  In that film, Hanley mostly only said "I'm Wiilow".  He would appear for perhaps 10 seconds in the next anniversary film reading in his office. 

And then a departure took place that I believed changed everything for Channel Awesome. Early in 2012, Bhargav Dronamaju left his leadership role at the website and with that ended his Coffee with Bhargav web series and his Ma-Ti character.  To this day, No One from Channel Awesome past or present will mention why he left, or for that matter really anything to do with Dronamaju.  I at the time found it to be of a most disturbing trend of departures that would create problems with trust and legacy within the company.

2012: To Boldly Flee.  The result of these events led to an interesting film that in and of itself altered Channel Awesome considerably.  In short, Doug Walker as the Nostalgia Critic gets messages from a manifestation of Ma-Ti (this time Rob Walker, who is also an expy of Palpatine from Star Wars) regarding matters of death, destiny and plot holes.  I am still not certain what it all means.  I do however know of the ending.

In the end, Nostalgia Critic enters a universe where he is a character created and effectively destroyed by Doug Walker writing an end for To Boldly Flee.  Helped out by Mathew Buck, Bennet White (Bennet the Sage), Brian Heinz (The Last Angry Geek) and James Rolfe, Walker says goodbye to Ma-Ti, enhances the plot hole (whatever that might be), and in short dies in sacrificing the Nostalgia Critic.

Now, at the time, a great deal of us thought this was a way to obscure and lessen the blow of another departure.  Sometime after filming To Boldly Flee, Noah Antwiler ended his association with Channel Awesome, while keeping his website The Spoony Experiment.  Whether he was let go, wanted to leave, had personal problems that only leaving Channel Awesome and relocating to Chicago would solve, or had gotten deteriorating relationships with other producers is a matter to discuss for another time.  Suffice to say, relations between Spoony and others in the TGWTG universe have improved.  Noah recently was interviewed for Doug Walker's web discussion series, Shut Up and Talk. 

In actuality, Doug Walker, Rob Walker and Mike Michaud had planned this for a quite some time.  Doug had wanted to end Nostalgia Critic in order to devote more time to other Channel Awesome series filmed or planned.  In particular, A series he planned on was Demo Reel; long in planning and now with the funds to do it. 

\The results were not pleasing.  You know that episode of Rocko's Modern Life when Ralph Bighead becomes the successful producer of Wacky Deli and does whatever possible to end the show?  That in a way was what I and others felt with the Nostalgia Critic ending and Demo Reel beginning.  Demo Reel was not that bad; it could have used some improvement.  Yet, actions that the Walker Brothers, Mike Michaud, and other leaders at Channel Awesome would take these last three years would prove an irreparable damage would occur.

I only thought this would go two posts.  Yet, this may need to go for three.  The post-To Boldly Flee and post Justin Carmical era of Channel Awesome has altered the website with unforeseen consequences.  I will get to mention what I think has occurred during that time.  Feel free to comment on what your thoughts are for Channel Awesome; or even what I write here. 

Thank you again for letting me be able to post these opinions.  There will surely be more to come.  Remember to get a Google+ account in order to comment.

Talk to you again later,

Robert

PS.  Junior Seau (1969-2012), Jerome Bettis, Will Shields, Charles Haley, Tim Brown, Ron Wolf, Bill Polian and Mick Tingelhoff are now Pro Football Hall of Famers.  I was right on 5 of the 8 inductees.  Kurt Warner should go in next year, along with Brett Favre.

Channel Awesome forgetting to be awesome (part 1)

As many of you know, I am rather new to this blogging and web/social media apparatus.  None the less, I and many others have begun to use these tools to make our opinions known.  Also, for a select few, money could be made off of these ventures.  Indeed, I can remember a time when web media was just starting; and everything seemed new and exciting.

Some 9 nine years ago, I and perhaps many of you first encountered Youtube.  Initially, it was a way for me to watch a higher quality print of the seminal BBC 2004 documentary series "The Power of Nightmares".  Afterwards, it proved to be a fine resource for seeing as many Jim Henson/Muppets related works.  Seeing these shows after a long time not being able to see them was in one word magical.  It was around that time that I encountered one of the first important web series.  That would be James Rolfe and his alter ego, The Angry Video Game Nerd.  This was before Cinemassacre.com began hosting Rolfe's videos on their own. 

With that in mind, it was seeing installments of AVGN that propelled me to look at another website of media reviewers.  This occurred when Rolfe took on a dare to review "The Worst Movie of All Time".  For James Rolfe, it was Ricky 1.  Never heard of it?  Good for you; it is amongst the worst of anything of any sort of any field.  The review of this "movie" did prompt me to look at the guy daring James Rolfe.  It was Doug Walker; the business was named Channel Awesome; and the website was That Guy With the Glasses. 

Any person on the web that would come across Walker and his numerous characters (The Nostalgia Critic, Ask That Guy, Chester A. Bum, Lori Prince, Dominic, a fake Tommy Wiseau) would agree this was a actor, writer, editor and web personality that was doing things not seen before in original web content.  Channel Awesome, centered in Chicago, Illinois, appeared to have a number of leaders that seemed intent on bringing an approach to original content that would give the internet as much an influence as other media.

Rob Walker: CFO, older brother of Doug, and a noted character actor in his own right.  It is Rob that portrayed Santa Christ, for instance.

Holly Christine Brown: the web developer, team mother, and perhaps the most hands on leader.  Holly likely expanded Channel Awesome to heights beyond expectations.

Mike Ellis:  involved with branding and marketing approaches, particularly early on when the website was fledgling.

Bhargav Dronamaju:  a leading producer, editor, and perhaps the most interesting Channel Awesome leader.  His Ma-Ti became a story arc into and of itself.

Mike Michaud:  CEO, headmaster, and the one person to come up with the idea while an employee in the waning days of Circuit City.  Michaud still runs the website to this day.

What I think really made Channel Awesome shine in those days from 2008-2012 were the innumerable producers of original content that would become personalities in their own right.  Some of the more remembered include:

Lindsay Ellis:  a more sardonic and analytical reviewer with an interesting approach on media and an East Coast sensibility to matters.  Also highly eclectic at whatever ideas she has chosen.

Mathew Buck: a younger impressionable movie goer nicknamed Film Brain with a unique approach to how movies are seen, both current and amongst the bad .  Buck also has the best theme song, "Ready To Roll".

Benjamin Daniel (Benzaie): one of the more entertaining and offbeat reviewers.  He has to be seen to be understood.

Allison Pregler (Obscurus Lupa): an enthusiast of horror, cheaply made action films, and some of the more oddest movies and television shows out there.  Also a very forthright and honest person with a great fanbase.

Todd Nathanson (Todd In The Shadows):  you never see his face in full.  Yet, a piano-playing music enthusiast and sometimes movie reviewer that has possibly helped viewers better understand the current music industry climate.

Lewis Lovhaug (Linkara); a breakout reviewer, writer and actor that has garnered such a mythos and intricate story with Atop The Fourth Wall.  There are times when the story is more interesting than the comic book being reviewed.

Brad Jones: a reviewer and filmmaker of interesting ideas and some odd ones as well.  Also very knowledgeable in current trends in movies.

Noah Antwiler (Spoony): equally adept at reviewing games and movies, obscure and mainstream.  Also encompassing an intricate storyline; and some of the most important video rants to have been posted. 

Kaylyn Dicksion (MarzGurl): highly knowledgeable in Anime and Japanese related pop culture.  And a reviewer willing to try new things.

Hope Chapman (JesuOtaku): the breakout of the Desu Des Brigade with an adept analytical mind when it comes to Anime, Manga, and movies.  Pretty honest and forthright in her opinions.

Kyle Kallgren:  the reviewer of artier films and culture with some interesting ways in presenting these reviews.  Great repeat viewing value.

Lindsey Briggs (Little Miss Gamer): an early reviewer on the site that not only had a review of a game; but also did things very different and unique to what others were doing at the time.  Some of the better moments in Briggs' videos were her answering e-mail at the end.

Mat Williams (Welshy): a thoughtful person with a keen interest in filmmaking.  Also helped to create some of the most bizarre web series to date.

Julian Diaz (Sad Panda):  the yin to Welshy's yang.  To explain in a short post would not do him justice.

Phelan Porteous (Phelous): one of the more interesting reviewers of various different genres and ideas.  And a unique personality to add for good measure.

Joe Vargas (Angry Joe):  a very interesting gamer and movie reviewer that is either truly enthusiastic on something or outright hates something.  Some of the best blue screen usage online too.

Justin Carmical (JewWario): the host of You Can Play This.  Also the oldest of the producers and perhaps the nicest one. 

There are of course others current and present that have been involved with Channel Awesome; those I will get to at a later time.  I ended my list with Justin Carmical because of a rather sad fact.  You see, for those not in the know, last year Carmical killed himself before turning 43 after battling with crippling depression.  Suffice to say, JewWario's death, and prior to that his late 2012 departure from Channel Awesome, have changed the website and its impact or lack thereof immeasurably. 

A lot has changed, and not for the better I should say.  Now, just to let it be known: James Rolfe, Mike Mattei, Kyle Justin and the others at Cinemassacre.com have not been official producers of Channel Awesome; so this does not affect their endeavors.  All the same, what in the heck happened that turned Channel Awesome from being hip and trendy; to now being one a bit out of the times and with a shoddy business record to boot. 

To mention what I think happened in this one post might prove a lot to digest.  I do think changes came afoot every time an anniversary special was completed.  Thus, in order to explain what I think is Channel Awesome's downgrading value, and its shoddy business practices; I should give you all an idea of what transpired in these anniversaries.  Each one of them more consequential in real life than the prior one.  My next weblog entry will go through my ideas on the decline of Channel Awesome.  As well, my opinions on what the future holds for web reviewing and we series will come into print.

Do bare with me as I attempt to figure out how to properly present these weblog posts.  These may also turn to videos and/or audio podcasts.  More on that will be forthcoming. 

Thank you all again for the feedback and I hope to talk to you again shortly,

Robert

PS.  This album, in response to Greece in the late 1960s and early 1970s, is relevant and strange today as it was then.  In memory of Demis Roussos (1946-2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcAnMTHuNNk