I mentioned in the previous SUS that there would be a little time jump. Now we’re at about 5 years ago plus a month or two. Not too bad. And I’m sure another pause will make it even easier to catch up.
In the meantime, what was happening about five years ago. Curveballs. Yeah, life through a little chaos my way. It sucked, but the vague post is worse. I meant it as an explanation of the site going dark for most of December, but it reads like pandering. I hate it. I don’t hate the kind words others shared.
MMMM #64 is a weird one for me. I didn’t really remember the post, but I clearly remember being excited about the wooly mammoth at that time. I miss that infectious excitement that you can provide to little kids and they feed it right back to you.
AW #181. That opening paragraph still resonates with me. It’s the, not nearly as good, M.U.S.C.L.E. emotional equivalent of “the pool hall that I loved is now a 7-11.”
Five years later, I can 100% say UofM is not responsible for single figure eBay listings. MUSCLEMANIA or otherwise. There are only two types of single figure listings: (1) those driven by a combination of stupidity, greed, and misuse of information; and (2) M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors that love the hobby and start at $0.99. I wish we had much more of the latter and none of the former.
I don’t have anything to say about the #199 post. I have lots to say about the 2015 Year in Review.
The Year in Review goes all the way back to 2007 on Nathan’s M.U.S.C.L.E. site. I completely understand why he was happy to give it up. It is a shocking amount of work.
Well, it doesn’t have to be – like the one from five years ago. I put no work into it and it shows. That post is the definition of “going through the motions.” Take a look at the following year. My 2015 effort was an embarrassing joke.
I wanted to include the Year in Review as on the Oddities from this past TTT. I think it’s a really fun time capsule to look at…when available. And that’s why I didn’t include it.
I started a 2020 draft and abandoned it because it was too much work. I might really love the outcome, but the process is slow. It’s slow because I want it to be good. I hope you can see the effort following the 2015 failure – even if it couldn’t be mustered in 2020.
Seeing that Epilogue was kind of funny this week. There’s the big release of Snyder’s new Justice League. It is funny to think only five years ago I was filled with hope and enthusiasm for the DCEU.
It was also funny to see the Battle for Jakku endorsement. My boys did love it. I think it was their M.U.S.C.L.E. experience. They wanted to collect more and more ships; constructing all kinds of vehicle combinations and rules. And then, “Poof.” It was over.
MMMM #65 might be one of my favorite posts ever. I can hear Dr. M.U.S.C.L.E.’s voice as I read his words. It’s so clear and beautiful to revisit that it is almost painful.
Sometimes I wonder if people think I’m joking when I say how much I enjoy this site as a M.U.S.C.L.E. hobbyist. I wonder if they think I say it for some, unknown-to-me, ulterior motive. MMMM #65 might be the most well-formed and tangible reason I can share for loving this silly website.
I wish I could have ended on that note. Instead #198 and #197 wrap things up.
Maybe that is more fitting. As I look at this specific set of posts from five years ago it really encapsulates me and this site. There are ups and downs; successes and failures. But I’ll persist. I’ll keep trying. And the M.U.S.C.L.E. moments that I really cherish happen with my family. I need to keep that in mind more often. It makes me feel pretty lucky and pretty happy.
