Farewell, 1UP!

I am saddened to hear about the closure of 1UP, and seeing as everyone else is writing a farewell blog, I thought that I would do the same. I have been a 1UP member for so long, I do not recall exactly when I began, but it looks like I only started blogging there in 2006. For some of you, 2006 is probably still a very long time ago. One of the curses of getting older is that time seems to fly by faster. Oh, look, it has already been 30 minutes since I committed to writing this!



Throughout the course of this wild 1UP train ride, I met a number of wonderful people. Some of which I am still in contact with! 1UP.com was always my first stop for gaming news. The cover stories were always informative reads, and a blast to give feedback on. Most of all, I enjoyed seeing the positive feedback to many of my own blogs. It helped encourage me to continue writing.

Farewell, 1UP! I will be thinking of you every time I open my web browser for news... or gain an extra life in Super Mario Bros. Just for you, I am going to touch the very top of that flagpole!

Tributes Live Forever (Ancestry with the Haleys - Progress Report #2.5)

When it comes to personal tributes, I am certainly no stranger. In March of 2009, my cat of 14 years passed away, and to commemorate his life, I put together a somewhat elaborate two part photo tribute tied to graphics and sound. That same year, my dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, and within just weeks of that diagnosis, he too passed away. It was the hardest thing I ever had to deal with, and to this day, I feel that a part of me is still missing. That is why, in 2010, I began a video anthology series titled "...with the Haleys." Its aim, to collect some of my fondest memories of my dad in video; for myself, for my family, for anyone else that knew him, and for those that may not have had a chance to know him. Working on these videos, I have always felt an eerie sense, as if my dad is right there with me. It is why I continue to feel passionate about these projects. From Merry Christmas from the Haleys to Disneyland with the Haleys to Nintendo with the Haleys, it is like writing a beautiful sonnet that which echoes across time. It is my firm hope that others receive at least half as much enjoyment watching them as I do making them.


Disneyland with the Haleys


Nintendo with the Haleys

Space Ruckus? What?

Much time has passed since last we saw an update to the design of Space Ruckus: The Official Site. Earth presidents have been elected and re-elected, entire planets have come and gone, and Hostess stopped making Twinkies. In actuality, it was last revised on February 22nd, 2009 with some very minor changes to the design originally developed in July of 2008. I still think that the CSS, HTML and PHP code are robust enough for another go, so things have only slightly been reworked under the hood. The most obvious changes come in the form of a revised logo, background art by Micheal Cross (previously used with permission for The Grig Post), and an additional bar that includes Google Search as well as a number of links to social media networks in which the Space Ruckus project has touched base with. This update also makes a few corrections to the various media pages. Nothing spectacular. Just a few dead link fixes and updated embed code for YouTube videos. As you may have noticed, the forum is still in need of a face lift. That update will come at a later time.


Space Ruckus: The Official Site v2.5