Well, it’s officially 2012 here on the East Coast and officially “G.I. Joe: Retaliation year”!
That’s right, from here on out, I can say “when G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits theaters this year”… I know, I’m a freaking geek.
As I look over where the site was at the beginning of 2011 and where things are now, I can’t help but extend a warm and gracious “thank you” to everyone who finds time in their busy schedules to read my prattling about little plastic men. I receive emails, Tweets, comments, and messages from folks who are often way kinder than I deserve, and I sincerely thank you.
2011 has been great…it’s been a wild ride, but something tells me we’re in for even better times over the next 12 months. I look forward to sitting in the roller coaster next to you all. Bring on G.I. Joe: Retaliation!
I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of my readers, both new and old, for making GeneralsJoes one of their stops in their Internet surfing habits, and to also wish each and every one of you a Happy Holiday season.
Collecting is a very materialistic adventure, I will admit to that up front, so many times we can forget the truly important parts of the holiday season.
However you choose to celebrate and whomever you celebrate with, I hope you have a Happy and great season, and best of wishes for 2012.
It’s that time of year where hopefully we can take a step back and look at our lives and find something that we can be thankful for. Over the past few years, I’ve seen GeneralsJoes grow considerably and as the feedback comes through, I’m exceptionally thankful for everyone’s support and enthusiasm.
I’m also thankful for my family and that my life situation puts me in a place where I can spend time on a daily and weekly basis updating the site and spending time doing things that I love.
I hope you have a fantastic start to your 2011 Holiday Season and can find much to be thankful for.
As we run down 2011 and make our way head-first into 2012 and what is likely to be a dirty-fighting, mud-slinging, exhausting political campaign year it’s important to step back and reflect on what (and who) really made this country what it is today.
Without our veterans, there would be no republicans or democrats. Without our veterans, there would be no 1%, and there would be no 99%. There would be no liberals, no conservatives, no independents, no right-wingers, left-wingers, or in-betweeners. There would be no us.
When politics comes into play it’s easy to take sides and to turn against your closest friend just because they have the nerve to disagree with you, but it’s important to remember that without veterans, none of it would be possible. Hopefully on this day we can step back from an “us” vs. “them” mentality and all remember together who the truly important people in this country are and how much we owe to them.
One day is not enough, but at this point it is what we have, so let’s use it wisely.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with the history of Veterans Day or what its true meaning is, I strongly encourage you to check out this link. It’s a great look into the rich history of our great nation.
So, my wife has planned a nice little vacation for the family…or a weekend out of town at least.
Of course she schedules it for the same weekend as the G.I. Joe: Renegades series finale. I need to train her better. :shifty:
So, this weekend, the Renegades review will not go up Saturday evening as usual, it will probably be late Sunday instead. Which also means I have to wait 24 hours to watch it. ARGH. Just wanted to give folks a little heads up so they know what to expect.
I know a short while ago, I posed a few questions about what would make the site better. I got some terrific feedback, and of course, I’ve been too busy to act on much of it, but I did decide to take some suggestions about the commenting system and implemented the Disqus comment plug in through WordPress.
Now, I will say that it doesn’t play all that nice with my theme, so it doesn’t look especially polished, but full functionality is there. Some perks are as follows:
Login and remain logged in under a Disqus profile
Threaded comments and replies
Individually “Like” comments through Facebook
Pass through login under your Twitter account
Go back and Edit your previous comments
Respond to comments via e-mail (not perfect, but kinda works)
So kick the tires. Tell me what you think. I feel like this is a pretty cool community, and I’d like to explore the community aspect a bit deeper. Any ideas anyone has to do that, I’m open to them.
Hope you all enjoy, and I look forward to any feedback.
So, yesterday when the What’s on Joe Mind podcast aired, folks who listened heard us announce the winner of the free RAHC Guide…well, here is the official GeneralsJoes announcement!
The winner of the guide is… Sidewinder!
I wanted to post video as proof of the random pick, so I’ve embedded it below. I apologize in advance for the strange one-sided conversation…you should listen to the Podcast simultaneously so you can hear what I hear.
Anyway… congratulations to Sidewinder!! I will contact him and arrange a shipment out to him of the free copy of the RAHC Guide. Congrats!
I announced this contest early in the week, but figured folks might want a reminder.
James Kavanaugh, Jr., the writer of the RAHC Guide is giving away a free copy to a lucky GeneralsJoes reader! All you need to do is hit up this thread and tell us your favorite birthday memory about G.I. Joe! It can be from the 80′s, it can be from last week…heck if you don’t have anything, make something up!
I am extending the contest just a little bit, too…I’m giving everyone until the end of the weekend to get their comments posted. Hurry up and get them in, and I will announce the winner on next week’s Whats on Joe Mind Podcast (then will reveal it on the site shortly thereafter).
As collectors get absorbed in the latest information and details about their favorite 4″ action figure toy line, it is easy to forget who the Real American Heroes really are. In real life, there is no Snake Eyes…no Duke or Storm Shadow. There are only real men and women like you and me who have consciously made a decision to risk their own lives to defend our very freedom. The sad fact is, way too many of them never come home.
Instead of devoting today to remembering them, make a promise. Remember them every day. Don’t wait until the last Monday in May. Frankly, they all deserve better.
Never forget.
Thoughts and prayers go out from GeneralsJoes to everyone serving their country today, everyone who has served their country in the past, and all of those who will bravely elect to do it in the future. Special thoughts go out to those many men and women who never returned.
Thank you all for everything you do. I will never forget.
So in my never-ending quest to further streamline, speed up, and make the site more appealing, I’ve been thinking long and hard about all of the widgets I’ve got scattered throughout. My attention right now is focused on the YouTube embedded players on the left hand side
Granted I have to take blame first for not updating the content in there as often as I should, but I also have to wonder just how often people those things. Ever? Do people use the Tag Cloud?
Are there any functions or features you would like to see? I’m far from a web design wizard, so I cannot promise anything, I just want to get some input before I start deactivating some of these things that are taking resources and quite possibly not adding anything to the enjoyment of the site.
What do you think? Use the comment section to share your thoughts and shape the future of GeneralsJoes.
