HAHAHAHA

So I kid you not. I had this fake account on Robotech.com, Cparker. I've only posted on that account a few times, nothing major. Tonight I was thinking "screw it" and I was going to say "Oh by the way, I'm Darkwater!" for absolutley no reason other just to do it.

Well, I log in tonight, and the account's banned. I'm thinking...how? Obviously I didn't say anything incriminating - then I realized... they're tracking IP addresses.

If you want to wonder why nothing on Robotech's getting done, it's because of shit like this. If you took the amount of people who were exposed to The Shadow Chronicles and compare it to the people who posted on the website, I'm guessing the ratio would be like 5,000:1 . Now, compare that to the amount of actual time spent on the website vs. actually making a product, then I can guaranttee you it's drastically different.

What happens is all a case of ego. When you work in something that goes out to the masses, even though not every person in the f'in world is following what you say or do, it's really easy in this day and age of the internetz to only look at those people who do. And this isn't just my speculation, but my own cold, hard experience.

Remember, I work in the media, too! Are there people online talking about how I do my job? You better believe it - 24 /7. Literally. Do I follow everything they say? Hells no. Why? Because I don't want a small portion of people who actually see the outcome of my job to have the most effect. That's actually something I learned from Gary Dellabate (sp?) on the Howard Stern show. He doesn't read the Stern forums because he knows what he's been doing so far in his job works. If a vocal minority started influecing the way he did his job, he wouldn't be doing the job he knows is a good one. A lot can be learned from that.

I know it sounds convenient that I say the one night I'm going to reveal myself as Darkwater is the one night I find out I'm banned, but fuck it. It you don't beleive me, I honestly don't give a shit. In the meantime I'm laughing. Fans are wondering "why aren't we seeing more?" I can tell you exactly why.

And now, it's time I get back to work!

PWNAGE!

Time to own up. I had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the Lynn Kyle video!

What??? Why the hell would you trick up like that???

Because every year April Fool's jokes get harder and harder to pull. I decided to take it one step further.

Why wait so long to reveal it then, if it was just an "April Fool's" joke?

See above.

Who made the video, then?

Hell if I know. I no longer have any idea as to the internal ongoings of Harmony Gold.

So have you buried the hatchet? Are you still banned from Robotech.com?

Still banned. Still don't really care.

What can you tell me about the Shadow Rising or The Live action movie???

Not a thing. Because I don't know. Okay, maybe I do know some things, but it if they got out people would get in trouble. God I hate being the "I know something you don't know" guy.

Wait, who exactly is typing these questions? You're writing them yourself, aren't you???

I think we're done here.

It Finally Happened. I Crossed The "Fanboy" Line

When it seems like criticism has been taken far as it can be taken, what's there left for a guy to do? The answer to that is to put his money where his mouth is.

Call it redemption, a truce, or just plain geekdom, but at the end of the day I feel nothing but flattery and thankfulness that I've been able to contribute to this little 80's cartoon that we all know and love.

Being approached to do the Robotech.com April Fool's joke was something more surprising to me than it would have been to anyone else. Being given the resources I was given (like getting Eddie Frierson to revive his role as Kyle) was even more so. In the end, I like to look at is as a nod to all of the humor I poured into my sight and acknowledgement that it was just that - humor.

While I'm sure most people reading this (the few left) have seen it already, head on over to this page if you haven't. While I can't say it's exactly going to go down as Robotech legend, I can say that it'll allow me to be one in my own mind.

And I'd like to extend a big thanks to Tommy Yune, Steve Yun and Kevin McKeever. Thanks for burying the hatchet and letting us get on with our inner geeks!

Ah... what a difference a year makes

Yes, I am posting again. No, I don't expect anyone to care. But, I'm posting anyway. So there.

It's hard to believe that I only put two and a half years into reporting Robotech when the effort felt like so much more. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did it. But at the same time, when I look back at it, I see it like Dorothy as she peeked behind the curtain.

Like a lot of fans, Robotech was something magical for me. Why exactly? Who knows - there are a lot of reasons. Even though I was working at Fox studios at the time and being unfazed by seeing D-list to A-list celebrities on a daily basis, this little 1980's cartoon was holding a place in my heart.

Harmony Gold did something that not a lot of other franchises do, which is to avail their staff to their fans on a somewhat informal basis (well, they used to a lot more, at least) and I got really see the nuts and bolts of what went behind the scenes. What did I see? Real people. Real people making good decisions, real people making not-so-good decisions. I started to see Robotech for what it was, a little cartoon handled by a little company. And I don't mean "little" in a negative way, either. It is what it is.

But I have to admit some of the magic is gone. I can't look past the flaws of the MPCs, I can't watch the Shadow Chronicles without knowing how many things when wrong during the production. It's not that I want to see the flaws, it's just that it got so ingrained into my brain that'll be there for a while.

I remember talking to a South American fan via instant messenger recently and we were talking about the size of Harmony Gold and its influence. I didn't mean to be a dick when I was started telling him that it was a really small company and that it had to work extra hard to maintain Robotech as a huge corporate franchise (Tommy's own words, too). But he didn't want to hear it, he didn't want to have the curtain lifted for him. And I honestly can't blame him.

But it's a year later. Is Robotech a part of my life? It is, but nothing compared to what it was a couple of years ago. I'll watch the occasional DVD, talk about it with friends from time to time. But that's about it. I even found myself walking out of the Robotech panel at Comic-Con. Not because I bitter and wanted protest, but because I was bored and wanted to go see the tail end of a panel with Stan Lee. (and come to think of it, the dirty look Steve Yun gave me while working at my booth at Comic-Con should have been the perfect foreshadowing of my ban - lol).

So what's next for Robotech? I don't know, but I'll be happy to sit on the sidelines this time and watch everything or unfold. Or not. Because quite frankly, if nothing happens I'll be finding better things to do. Like blogging on a Friday night.

April Fools!

Yeah like you guys couldn't tell. Wasn't as funny as I thought it would be, but oh well, no one's reading.

All right, now I'm gone for realz...

Okay Now W...T...F!!!

Thought I was gone for good? So did I. But look above! Lookie at what I saw when I tried to log in to Robotech.com tonight!

I hope this is a dumb April fools joke. It would be consistent with every other joke that Robotech.com has done on April Fool's Or maybe some commander in the forums is trying to push buttons (figuratively and literally) in hopes to get a reaction out of me.

But if this ban comes from hopes that I can now be silenced permanently, someone is in for a huge surprise.

You know how I seemed to know everything about what was going on with Robotech? Its because I did. My contacts went from Funimation to DR Movie to ADV to Kickstart, Intersound and even DR MOVIE (helps having an old college roommate from Seoul).

I knew everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. As a professional courtesy, and as a courtesy to my sources, I remained quiet. But not anymore.

If this ban is for real, then I say its time I air out some dirty laundry. Like I said, whoever thought they could silence me is in for a BIG surprise. Only this will be one so big that they could have never imagined I was capable of giving it

And That's That...

It’s impossible for me to say everything else I’ve wanted to say in one post, nor is it possible for me to sum up my entire experience as a Robotech reporter.

A few years back, I tried to bring the news and updates that I felt, as a Robotech fan, were severely lacking. Little did I know just how far I’d be delving into all of it. From perfect strangers recognizing me at conventions to seeing Harmony Gold change the way they talk to the fans while being able to getting to know the cast & crew, it’s been an amazing ride.

While the readership on this site’s been dying down since I announced I was leaving, don’t forget a number of fan site are still going strong. There’s Captain JLS’s Roboblog III: The Odyssey, Justy Ueki’s daily Robotech talk show, Chris Meadows intermittent Robotech talk show, Juan’s Robotech Espanol, and “The Masters” Robotech Companion, which was around long before any of us, and will now be updated on more regular basis (plus I recently gave him a ton of pointers on blogging, so if he follows them, it's sure to be strong).

I know that’s nowhere near a complete list, so feel free to plug your site in my comments.

And to all of the fans who are still around – Hell, even the ones who aren't - Thank you for your support throughout the years. The appreciation from the fans was more than enough to make it all worth it. Now get the hell out of here. Darkwater out.

Lonely Soldier Boy CD - A Review

Being the blogger I am (for the next few hours), I have to be objective about this review. Would I have to put down all of the hard work I know Michael Bradley put into it? I mean, he’s a hell of nice guy, but if I don’t like something, I have to be honest (even if I have been displaying a banner for him for a while).

And it sucks.

JUST KIDDING!!! I’ve been trying think of how to best describe the CD, and I think I found the best way.

You know how certain things from your childhood are never as good you remembered? Kind of like how you pop in the old Nintendo game and can’t play it for more than 5 minutes. Well that’s how I feel the old soundtrack.

Truth be told, while I own the Robotech Perfect Collection and 20^th Anniversary CDs, I don’t listen to them at all. They’re great for their nostalgia, but it’s just not the kind of music I listen to.

Lonely Soldier Boy takes a bunch of those old songs and restores my childhood memories. When I picked up the Perfect Collection in 2000 after having not actually heard the music in around 7 years, I was little disappointed as I realized just how much my memories had idealized the music over the years. Had I been able to listen to the tracks on Lonely Soldier Boy instead, that disappointment would never have happened.

I think my two favorite tracks are “Look Up! The Sky Is Falling!” and “Flower of Life,” simply because they match my musical tastes the best. “Flower of Life,” is especially nostalgic since it was used repeatedly as Robotech’s background music in certain parts.

Is there anything not so good? Well, there is a 90’s flair to the whole thing, but I realize that comes from only being able to update 80’s material so far. Also, a track or two has sound effects added to the song which may be a little distracting the first few times you hear it, but you get pretty used to them.

The demos are a great add on for collectible purposes. They are demos, so they won’t even be up to par with what you have on the Perfect Collection, but it’s another version of Robotech tracks we wouldn’t get anywhere else.

As many of you know, Michael Bradley decided to make this CD after seeing the support fans were willing to give him, even if he couldn’t use the Robotech name. I’d like to say I can listen to the CD without that being a factor in my opinion of it, but I can’t. It just makes me respect the work all that much more.