If you caught sight of the “Doomsday” clock (as dubbed by Richard/Imatron) this past week, then you may have been wondering what was coming up today. November 1 is the anniversary of my first official article at Mask of Destiny, way back in 2001. I usually review my past year’s work at this time, but this year is different.
First, I am going to thank my long-suffering wife without whom I would be completely lost in life. How she puts up with me, I will never know. She does share an interest in all things LEGO though, which definitely helps. In fact, she has been very encouraging and an enabler (emotionally, strategically, and financially) when it comes to things like going to BrickFest, Toy Fair, or kidnapping the boys for a cross-country wild-goose chase looking for a BIONICLE van . She also reads just about every word I ever write for Mask of Destiny and lets me know whenever I make a mistake or leave a link blank.
Next I want to thank my two boys:
That’s TOA HORDIKA WHENUA, 5½, on the left and TOA HORDIKA VAKAMA, 8½, on the right. Last year they were Mario and Luigi. Next year we might go with SpongeBob and Patrick.
You might think being dragged off to go visit Toys “R” Us, comic book stores, and skateboarding tournaments an ideal life, but the reality is much darker. I can’t count the number of times I have had to say, “Please don’t touch that until I get a picture.” So I thank my boys for being such good sports, for joining me on my adventures, and for letting their dad play with the toys first.
Next I need to thank Richard/Imatron, who came aboard in May. I would have never made it this far without his help. Although Mask of Destiny has been run with only two staff members for much of its existence, it really is at least a four-person operation.
I also need to thank our benefactor, Philip Wise. Philip owns Mask of Destiny, but he has allowed me to run it as my own. He has always been very supportive of our efforts. I also need to thank Paul Pritchard, CHQ’s main programmer. He has often helped us out when we have technical difficulties.
Mask of Destiny is a very successful site on many levels, but financially it is something of a wash. I once read an interview of a blogger who was very successful financially. He said the reason he made money was because he wrote about very expensive equipment and therefore had good returns on his referrals. We’re writing about toys, principally under $10 and readily available at Wal-Mart. It’s hard to make any money that way.
Of course, I’m not in it for the money. I don’t get paid to write about BIONICLE and I don’t get any money for referrals. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I shudder to think how much money I have spent on BIONICLE sets, collectibles, books, movies, clothes, posters, CD-ROMs, etc., not to mention travel and shipping. Mask of Destiny is less a financial enterprise and more a labor of love.
Which brings me around to thanking you, the readers of Mask of Destiny. We have tens of thousands of visitors each week. Many of you are avid contributors too, sending in news and pictures. There would not be much point in Mask of Destiny were it not for you enthusiastic readers.
I have always had a great deal of support from employees of the LEGO Group. They have been very tolerant of me over the years, because I’m usually asking about something they don’t want to talk about. So thank you to Michael McNally, Melinda Carter, Brian Bowler, Leah Weston Kaae, Gary Moore, Andrew Azorbo, Jacob McKee, and Gregory Farshtey. I’m certain I’ve left some people off the list, and I apologize for that.
I can’t possibly thank everyone I ought. I’m thinking of people like my good friend James over in the UK who helped me obtain many BIONICLE goodies I would not have obtained otherwise without his help.
Lastly, I would like to thank Purple Dave for asking me aboard four years ago. I have no idea how different my life would be at this time had I not ventured down this path.
Mask of Destiny has always been run with a nod toward egalitarianism, with “Staff Member” as the only title. But there is no denying that sometimes somebody has to be “in charge.” I took the lead on our forums at the outset even before they came online, and for over a year now I have been “in charge” of Mask of Destiny’s news content, taking over for Purple Dave.
Having run Mask of Destiny as a solitary person, I was not about to ask Richard/Imatron to do so. It is an impossible task. Philip was quite willing to let me shut down Mask of Destiny; hence the “Doomsday” clock.
But Richard has independently volunteered to take Mask of Destiny’s destiny upon himself, reprieving it from the digital ax. So even though I am removing myself from an active leadership role at Mask of Destiny, Mask of Destiny will continue. If Richard gets a little bit more help in the form of some additional mature staff members, I am certain that it will even continue to thrive. So let me be the first to congratulate Richard on his new role, and also the first to say “Thank you” for keeping Mask of Destiny alive.
Someone out there may be wondering why I am leaving. (If you aren’t, then I guess you can stop reading, because I am going to tell you anyway!) The good news is, since Richard is keeping the site open, I may not really have to leave entirely. I can still poke my head in the door every now and then. I have always wanted to do things with Mask of Destiny other than toss up the day’s latest news, but I have previously never had time.
And time is the big issue. At any moment, I have at least 100 things I ought to be doing and another 300 things I would like to do. (I believe this to be a very conservative estimate!) I now cherish memories of days when I was bored and had nothing to do.
As you may or may not know, I am currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching degree so I can be certified to teach high school math and physics. That takes a great deal of time. Not only that, but it ends up piling up at just the wrong time in December when papers are due, finals are due, Christmas stuff is due, and more leaves than you can possibly imagine threaten to suffocate my lawn. Throw in the usual flurry of year-end BIONICLE activity and a possible Press Kit, and you have a recipe for a major mental breakdown.
And inside my house, we are of course overrun with BIONICLE stuff. I have countless items that have not yet made it up onto the site. And up in Makuta’s Lair (my attic), there is so much stuff in so little space that I worry light may not be able to escape, let alone the Mask of Light.
As my boys get older, I find they need more of my time. As I get older, I find I need more sleep! You may or may not be surprised to find out that most of the time stamps on my articles here at Mask of Destiny are way late at night or very early in the morning. I just can’t do that anymore. They say you are only as old as you feel, and right now I feel like I am 80. (No offense to you spry 80-year-old BIONICLE fans out there reading this.)
Well, I can’t let one of these reviews go by without bragging a little bit. Checking my story statistics, I see that I have authored well over half of all the articles here at Mask of Destiny almost 1200 in all. I quite possibly have written more about BIONICLE than anyone else other than Greg Farshtey.
And speaking of Greg Farshtey, I think the introduction of our online chats has been very successful. I even have a guest lined up for a future chat. We also had this interview with Greg.
Our ” How High Can You Build? ” contest was a great deal of fun for me. I was genuinely surprised by the entries. I never stopped to think about all of those long axles and how they could be put together. I’m working on something myself which I hope I might be able to take to a future BrickFest.
Speaking of BrickFest , attending was definitely a highlight of this year. We gave out over a thousand BIONICLE items during the Public exposition.
ROODAKA was probably my favorite set review. I don’t think I ever finished reviewing the VISORAK, and I know we still have KEETONGU and some battle sets left to review. So much left undone.
I never did post my reviews of the books Web of Shadows or Time Trap . Web of Shadows , the book, closely follows the movie (or vice versa) but adds in a lot of the introspective psychological background that an action-adventure movie typically ignores. The writing on Time Trap is very good, but you will either love or hate the plot. Either way, there is something in it that you need to know. Read it, or ask someone who has.
My Target still does not have these VAHKI toothbrushes . Other things I am still looking for: Quest for the Masks CCG card #197 (I know three people with complete sets except for this card, including me) and the “golden” CD-ROM in the initial 2001 BIONICLE Toy Fair Invitation.
I have tons of pictures from LEGOLAND California and various LEGO Stores around the country which have yet to make it up online, but I did manage to post these pennies .
I was particularly cruel this April Fools Day, so I won’t even link to it. I am surprised at the number of people who fell for at least one article. I warn you though, “dresstruction” is an idea whose time is coming. On the bright side, we did eventually get TOA HORDIKA flash movies.
Easter was fun.
Toy Fair was exciting. I only wish I had been in better health. I still have photos from Toy Fair too that have never been posted.
Did anyone ever post instructions for this fellow ?
Almost everyone who walked into the BIONICLE room at BrickFest would stop and exclaim “Oh, a turkey!” when they saw this fellow . I think they were shocked at seeing something recognizable in the room.
If you authored one of the 66 email messages to which I have not yet replied, I apologize. I won’t be sending you a reply. Similarly, if you are one of the 176 people still on my “Trick or Treat” list, I apologize but you will not be receiving a BIONICLE collectible. I am deleting the list.
I have so much more to say, but no more time. I have to study for a test. Thanks again to everyone for four great years!
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