I figured a news update blog is in order. Some things have been delayed and other things have entered the pictures, so you should probably be aware of them. Anyway, here goes!
As we discussed on Episode 118 of Show Me Your News!, SwordHunter has purchased a house! Well, technically it’s a site condominium in a private residence area. But it’s a splendid three bed/two bath ranch-styled home. And the best part is that we don’t have to worry about neighbors sharing walls! I will remain as his roommate, since it’s a pretty good situation we have going. However, this means a few things.
First, we have to move. This apartment, which gave birth to two Game of the Year specials, the return of WTFP, and much more, has served us very well (random gripes aside). It’s a pain to pack up all the things we have have. It’s another to do this in a short period of time – we must be fully moved out of the apartment by October 10th at the latest. But when SMYN Network shows are being produced (plus work, plus grad school, etc. you know the deal), this can become overwhelming. Second, as some of you may know with recent Twitter activity, after getting the keys to the house, we are in the process of painting many of the rooms. This is necessary, but incredibly time-consuming as well. Seriously, it’s eating up all of this weekend and I have a paper to write by Wednesday. However, the most important aspect to consider about this is that this process is potentially a big time-suck away from other podcast activities. I’ll get to that soon, though.
Oh, random thought. We need a “community name” for this place. “Bangin’, Ballin’, Brawlin’” was one thing for the apartment with Panda and me. This place is on a whole other level.
Anyway, a new living environment gives us opportunities to try new things, especially when we aren’t bound by strict apartment laws. Allow me to explain. The three bedrooms in this house are intended as a master, a roommate, and a guest (in descending size order). Clearly, SwordHunter gets the master bedroom in his own place, but I have chosen to have my bedroom be the guest bedroom. This is because the so-called “roommate” room is being transformed in an interesting way because of my media work. You could call it a “production room,” but I am dubbing it the SMYN Studio.
My computer will be stationed in this room, but there’s much more. For example, there is an indented area in the wall to place a stereo microphone. We hope to add the future plan of soundproofing that area with acoustic foam. This gives a really nice location for specific voiceover work. Did I mention music production? That would be a really nice location to record instruments and sing, too. There’s a good amount of space and lighting in the room, which allows for some production flexibility there. Oh, and how could I forget – we’re painting one of the walls to be a green screen for future, potential video projects. Needless to say, my bedroom will solely be the place that I sleep. The SMYN Studio will be where I spend most of my time and it can lead to some great future ideas. Then, when you add in a retooled streaming setup upstairs and a planned entertainment center in the basement? Good things should be in store for the Network.
Yet, the Network is nothing without its fans – you, the SMYNjas. With that, I must say, it is incredibly exciting to think about Youmacon 2012 and all of you that will be joining us. If you are experiencing this SMYNja meetup (OK, technically an anime convention) for the first time, we hope to make it as worth your while as possible. Those of you returning…you know what you’re getting into – let’s make it even better! Like we also mentioned in SMYN 118, I am running two panels at this year’s convention. The first is one for WTF, Pokémon!?!, which SwordHunter will co-run with me and it will be similar to the 2011 panel. We’ll have a special countdown video of sorts, some Q&A, and WTFP: The Movie 2000. It should be a great panel, if last year’s was any indication. The second Network-driven panel will be one for Show Me Your News! – which is currently subtitled “The Year in Gaming.” Super and TonyTH will help me run this one, but we still have a lot of planning to do. If you know us, though, you know we’ll put it a lot of effort to make it as enjoyable as possible. The key is, however, that there is not a lot of time left. We all have schedule hindrances in our personal lives, but we’ll still try to make Youmacon as amazing of an experience as possible for those that are there. Hopefully we can capture some of that magic for those attending in thought online. And just think…after that, we start planning for this year’s award show. WOW. Time really does fly by.
This brings me to the SMYN Network. What can I say? Things have been ready to move on to the final “Stage 2” for the last three weeks now. Buzz can probably attest to how much of a nuisance I’ve been with text reminders, asking if he is available to help. Unfortunately for my impatience, the changes that have to be made to the front page are not incredibly difficult in concept, but they do require someone with knowledge of how things are currently laid out and coded. Schedule and life conflicts have also hit Buzz hard, as I’m sure you’ve noticed when it comes to his podcast recording availability. I only want to make the Network launch “official” once we get the revised front page up and running, because it completes the experience. So for now, we’ll keep releasing content as if we were under the SMYN Network, but we need to wait on Buzz’s expertise for now. Since I cannot put a time table on this, I can only promise you that I will try to make it happen as soon as possible, because I desperately want to make this concept a full reality.
But life is difficult sometimes. OK, a lot of the time. It is constantly moving and changing. At the beginning of the year, I certainly didn’t expect to still be working full-time, taking a grad school class, attempting to run a media network, and now moving into a house. Through it all though, I still do what I can to find time for this community. Each one of you makes it all worth it. All I can ask for in times like these is patience and understanding…and sure, even some excitement for the times ahead of us.
Thank you for reading.
