Friday, April 02, 2010
It's Better To Burn Out Than to Fade Away
I've always liked that line. It suggests that whenever "it" ends, it's much better to do so with gusto and to make a grand, noticeable exit rather than to just limp off quietly. I used to think I wanted that line featured prominently at my funeral. Now I've decided I'd rather just not die.
The concept of "NotTheRock" started almost eight years ago now, in 2002. I wanted an outlet for the ideas rattling around in my head, and I figured that a Web site was a good repository for my nervous energy. I'd prattle on about things, I figured, and maybe entertain a person or two in the process. It might also be a place where I could direct people interested in seeing my writing.
I created way too many sub-categories. While not all THAT many, it was clearly more than I could keep up with. I did a few movie reviews, I put up a couple of op-ed pieces, etc., but I didn't do it with any regularity. And as anyone who writes -- especially in blog form -- knows, the biggest key is consistency. Write, write, write and then write some more. I even created an offshoot wherein I provided review and commentary of every episode of the TV Show 24, mainly because it was my favorite show and there was nothing like it on television.
Nearly everyone who read NTR was a friend who knew me, so I kept the info on there as anonymous as I could. I didn't want any of it to be about me -- I wanted it to be about my writing. Launching the blog portion in January 2003 was a way for me to pop my occasional thoughts on the world around me into a central location without the effort of publishing pages, editing html, etc. I started with Xanga, because it was one of the easier-to-use blog formats of the day. Before long, though, it became the MySpace of blogging, overrun with children and a feeling of complete immaturity. Yes, even more immature than me.
I was pretty good about posting all the time in those early years of the blog. I put up content nearly every day, hosted the Movie Quote Guessing Game, told stories of obnoxious people in my grad school program, etc. Eventually, a few things happened.
In November 2006, I co-launched a sports Web site primarily focused on Purdue athletics. Boiled Sports started small and humble (like me) but has grown to be fat and far-reaching (also like me). Last month, BS had more than 70,000 hits. Small-time in the world of big-time Web sites, but for a targeted Web site written by Purdue alums, it's pretty fun. And a lot bigger than we ever expected it to get.
In June of 2007, I got married.
In December of 2007, we moved to Texas.
In December of 2009, we had our first child, our son, Jack.
In addition, Facebook (and social networking in general) came about and changed things even more. People who spent time and effort on blogs were no longer unique. MySpace and Facebook allowed people to post their myriad thoughts (to their audience's detriment, in many cases) very easily, as well as share their photos and adventures and keep in touch about each other's lives. Blogging was no longer unique. While it wasn't the exact same format, it was pretty damn close.
I switched the site over to the Blogger platform in March 2007, thinking it would lead me to more frequent posting. It didn't. While I've always liked the statement that is the headline of this post, I think it's fair to say that NTR did wind up fading away, rather than burning out. And that's okay. Other ventures have burned out plenty to make up for it.
Writing online via NTR, however, has helped lead me to other online writing gigs at places as far reaching as Deadspin, Ranger Fan Central, Four Magazine (now defunct, but I got to do a cool interview with an aspiring Chicago photographer!), Melt Your Face Off and Sport Projections, to name a few.
As you likely know, I also write and edit professionally, which tends to take up a fair chunk of time. I've also had several book concepts rattling around in my head for a while, one of which I actually turned into an outline that I feel pretty good about. Sadly, it has languished (like this blog) in a folder on my hard drive for, literally, years. And now I've begun talks with someone to potentially ghost write a book for them. No word on yet as to whether this means I have the write the book with a flashlight pointed upwards at my face the whole time.
What does all this mean? I don't know. It's not to suggest that NTR couldn't continue living on. Just a fact that my life has changed in big ways. I'm not the same 26-year-old bachelor doofus sitting in my one-bedroom apartment watching ESPN all hours that I'm not at the office. Life changes, things happens, and so forth. It's a good thing that life moves along. Otherwise, it'd be pretty boring.
For those interested in the minutiae of my life, visit me on Facebook (or Twitter, for those so inclined), or you can always check out our family site (if you know it; if not, send me an email for the link). Or if you're simply interested in my brand of scathing sarcasm, you can also continue to check out Boiled Sports for the foreseeable future. Of course, if you're not a fan of Purdue, that might be a bit boring for you. Obvious solution? Become a Purdue fan.
Let's see, what else? Oh, the site name.... yeah, so I've always liked silly, 80s comedies (who among us who grew up then doesn't like them?) and one of the most quotable (and still very funny if you go back and watch) was Spies Like Us. Well, my friend Greg and I got into the habit of, when someone didn't understand what we felt was something simple (moms, sblings, friends, etc.), we'd say, "not the rock..." in honor of this clip. (Go to 3:10 into it.) And as for the tagline, "Instead of a stream of consciousness, more of a babbling brook," well, I always was proud of that. I thought it was pretty clever.
As you may have gleaned from this post, this is the end for NTR. I still see things all the time that could be turned into a post for this site, but it simply doesn't happen anymore. Whose fault is that? Mine. I always hated seeing half-assed Web sites or blogs that hadn't been updated in months or years. Well, while I've certainly not stopped writing in general, I have neglected this site, which is my original Web outlet. And while it's likely that nobody even cares anymore (only a few of you read this and you probably are connected with me on FB at this point, anyway), another thing many writers enjoy is providing some semblance of closure. And so this is mine.
If you've read my drivel from the beginning, well, thank you kindly. There aren't many of you and I think I know who you are. And if I don't know you, but you've been lurking/reading for eight years, well... hello, weirdo. You'll have to find someone else to stalk.
Sometimes when things end, people get sad. Whether it's a vacation, school, a job, a home you live in, or anything else -- even a silly Web site -- the end is only sad because it was fun. All of these things in our lives -- including our lives themselves -- are fleeting. You appreciate things more because they end. If they never ended, there wouldn't be anything special about them.
It's been fun. Thanks for reading.
The concept of "NotTheRock" started almost eight years ago now, in 2002. I wanted an outlet for the ideas rattling around in my head, and I figured that a Web site was a good repository for my nervous energy. I'd prattle on about things, I figured, and maybe entertain a person or two in the process. It might also be a place where I could direct people interested in seeing my writing.
I created way too many sub-categories. While not all THAT many, it was clearly more than I could keep up with. I did a few movie reviews, I put up a couple of op-ed pieces, etc., but I didn't do it with any regularity. And as anyone who writes -- especially in blog form -- knows, the biggest key is consistency. Write, write, write and then write some more. I even created an offshoot wherein I provided review and commentary of every episode of the TV Show 24, mainly because it was my favorite show and there was nothing like it on television.
Nearly everyone who read NTR was a friend who knew me, so I kept the info on there as anonymous as I could. I didn't want any of it to be about me -- I wanted it to be about my writing. Launching the blog portion in January 2003 was a way for me to pop my occasional thoughts on the world around me into a central location without the effort of publishing pages, editing html, etc. I started with Xanga, because it was one of the easier-to-use blog formats of the day. Before long, though, it became the MySpace of blogging, overrun with children and a feeling of complete immaturity. Yes, even more immature than me.
I was pretty good about posting all the time in those early years of the blog. I put up content nearly every day, hosted the Movie Quote Guessing Game, told stories of obnoxious people in my grad school program, etc. Eventually, a few things happened.
In November 2006, I co-launched a sports Web site primarily focused on Purdue athletics. Boiled Sports started small and humble (like me) but has grown to be fat and far-reaching (also like me). Last month, BS had more than 70,000 hits. Small-time in the world of big-time Web sites, but for a targeted Web site written by Purdue alums, it's pretty fun. And a lot bigger than we ever expected it to get.
In June of 2007, I got married.
In December of 2007, we moved to Texas.
In December of 2009, we had our first child, our son, Jack.
In addition, Facebook (and social networking in general) came about and changed things even more. People who spent time and effort on blogs were no longer unique. MySpace and Facebook allowed people to post their myriad thoughts (to their audience's detriment, in many cases) very easily, as well as share their photos and adventures and keep in touch about each other's lives. Blogging was no longer unique. While it wasn't the exact same format, it was pretty damn close.
I switched the site over to the Blogger platform in March 2007, thinking it would lead me to more frequent posting. It didn't. While I've always liked the statement that is the headline of this post, I think it's fair to say that NTR did wind up fading away, rather than burning out. And that's okay. Other ventures have burned out plenty to make up for it.
Writing online via NTR, however, has helped lead me to other online writing gigs at places as far reaching as Deadspin, Ranger Fan Central, Four Magazine (now defunct, but I got to do a cool interview with an aspiring Chicago photographer!), Melt Your Face Off and Sport Projections, to name a few.
As you likely know, I also write and edit professionally, which tends to take up a fair chunk of time. I've also had several book concepts rattling around in my head for a while, one of which I actually turned into an outline that I feel pretty good about. Sadly, it has languished (like this blog) in a folder on my hard drive for, literally, years. And now I've begun talks with someone to potentially ghost write a book for them. No word on yet as to whether this means I have the write the book with a flashlight pointed upwards at my face the whole time.
What does all this mean? I don't know. It's not to suggest that NTR couldn't continue living on. Just a fact that my life has changed in big ways. I'm not the same 26-year-old bachelor doofus sitting in my one-bedroom apartment watching ESPN all hours that I'm not at the office. Life changes, things happens, and so forth. It's a good thing that life moves along. Otherwise, it'd be pretty boring.
For those interested in the minutiae of my life, visit me on Facebook (or Twitter, for those so inclined), or you can always check out our family site (if you know it; if not, send me an email for the link). Or if you're simply interested in my brand of scathing sarcasm, you can also continue to check out Boiled Sports for the foreseeable future. Of course, if you're not a fan of Purdue, that might be a bit boring for you. Obvious solution? Become a Purdue fan.
Let's see, what else? Oh, the site name.... yeah, so I've always liked silly, 80s comedies (who among us who grew up then doesn't like them?) and one of the most quotable (and still very funny if you go back and watch) was Spies Like Us. Well, my friend Greg and I got into the habit of, when someone didn't understand what we felt was something simple (moms, sblings, friends, etc.), we'd say, "not the rock..." in honor of this clip. (Go to 3:10 into it.) And as for the tagline, "Instead of a stream of consciousness, more of a babbling brook," well, I always was proud of that. I thought it was pretty clever.
As you may have gleaned from this post, this is the end for NTR. I still see things all the time that could be turned into a post for this site, but it simply doesn't happen anymore. Whose fault is that? Mine. I always hated seeing half-assed Web sites or blogs that hadn't been updated in months or years. Well, while I've certainly not stopped writing in general, I have neglected this site, which is my original Web outlet. And while it's likely that nobody even cares anymore (only a few of you read this and you probably are connected with me on FB at this point, anyway), another thing many writers enjoy is providing some semblance of closure. And so this is mine.
If you've read my drivel from the beginning, well, thank you kindly. There aren't many of you and I think I know who you are. And if I don't know you, but you've been lurking/reading for eight years, well... hello, weirdo. You'll have to find someone else to stalk.
Sometimes when things end, people get sad. Whether it's a vacation, school, a job, a home you live in, or anything else -- even a silly Web site -- the end is only sad because it was fun. All of these things in our lives -- including our lives themselves -- are fleeting. You appreciate things more because they end. If they never ended, there wouldn't be anything special about them.
It's been fun. Thanks for reading.
Labels: the end
