     |
  |
|
Image Courtesy of the "Let's Photoshop RD and Blade" thread on the Official WrestleCrap Forum!Jed Shafer Explains His Hiatus
RD Reynolds: A quick note before I hand over the Ramblings this week to Jed Shafer. I want to state that I think Jed is one of the most talented writers out there, specifically with regards to fantasy booking. I've enjoyed reading every one of his Rewriting the Book columns, and if you've never read one, you are really missing out. Thank you, Jed, for being part of the WrestleCrap Team.
There are an awful lot of breeds of wrestling fans. Beyond the marks, the fair-weather fans and the smarks, there are a bazillion sub-sets: sportz entertainment fans, workrate snobs, puro elitists, blood marks, ROHbots, and on and on. Every one of them thinks they are the ultimate representation of a wrestling fan, but they all forget they have something in common, regardless of what self-invented schism they belong to: they all love this art form, this bizarre business.
But there is a group of fans who take it to a new level: those of us who write about wrestling online. It takes a certain kind of fanatical, borderline worrysome love of wrestling to dedicate spare time--beyond the spare time spent just watching--to putting virtual pen to digital paper, 99 times out of 100 as nothing more then a hobby. And then, beyond that, you've got guys like us here at WrestleCrap, whose hobby requires more then just wit and a keyboard; we have to do research. If this sounds like I'm patting us on our collective backs, I'm not; I'm merely setting the stage here.
You, the readers of Re-Writing The Book, have read my stories and seen the magnitude they can reach. It's hard to explain how much goes into the writing of every edition; there's the brainstorming phase, where I fashion a loose idea from a what-if starting point. Then, there's the research phase, where I make sure my idea fits in a timeline, and that I use period-authentic events and characters to move everything forward. Running alongside this phase is the outlining of the story; choosing the timeframe, aligning key events in the story with key plot points, figuring out what characters I need. After a refinement and expansion of the outline, I move into writing the story proper. If it sounds like a lot of work, it is. If it sounds like I'm putting too much work into it, well, go back and re-read those RTBs and tell me if all the hard work was worth it. I don't think I could've achieved any of them without putting in the hours I did.
And therein lies the new problem: my free time is now at a premium. It may not be the most common knowledge, but, like RD, I'm a dad. I have twin boys, who just turned 2 1/2 on the 8th. Keeping up with them, and keeping up with a marriage (twins put a special kind of stress on a marriage, moreso then just having two kids) is a lot of work, and with the computer behind locked doors so little hands don't do it damage, I try to not sit on the computer for long, so I'm not neglecting anyone. As such, I'd do 90% of the RTB work at work, as my job was one that I could easily do while writing in bits and pieces.
But a couple weeks ago, I was offered a new position. The new position has a lot more responsibilities, and requires 100% of my attention. That pretty much kills my one outlet to get RTB's out of my head and onto the website.
So, that leads me to where we are today. Until my kids are grown enough to trust around a running computer (we're hoping next summer), or unless I magically get a laptop (you all could pool your money and buy me one, if RTB means that much to you!), I have no spare time left on my calendar for RTB. So, at least until next summer, I have to put RTB on the shelf. I don't want to keep you guys stung along, waiting for me to chip away at a story 15 minutes a night here and there; you've stuck it out with me this long and you deserve honesty.
But fret not ... I still have two old archived stories left in the tank, for those of you who didn't cross over from my days at the old websites. Granted, I think both of them aren't worth republishing (one is the 2nd column I ever did and hooboy it shows, and the other is my InVasion story, which is a galumphing, lumbering, over-written clusterbleep), but stories I've thought less of have gotten great responses, so instead of doing my planned editing of them, I'll send them out, warts and all, over the coming months. And I'll try to keep in touch a little through the forums (and there's also my MySpace, and you can always email me). I hope you all understand; I don't want to do this, especially since I'd just started a new story, and it was hot as all get out. I just don't have a choice right now.
Thank you all for your continued reading and support; it's meant the world to me. Hope to see you all back here in a while. RD, thanks for giving RTB a new home and renewed life, and for your help and support in trying to break into the publishing side. Blade, hope to see you the next time you're in town. And I still have the egg. :) See you all around.
- Jed
(Warning: RD is about to SHILL. Click here to skip this section.)
Shillville!
- Now this is one HELL of a deal. My Death of WCW co-author, Bryan Alvarez, is making a deal for WrestleCrappers that is flat out stupid cheap. Get this - a full month of Figure Four Weekly for NINETY NINE CENTS! Yep, for less than a DOLLAR you get all the audio updates, all the news, and all the archives of what is, without question, the funniest wrestling news letter you will ever, ever read for an entire MONTH. Get in on the action by clicking here. I can recommend nothing more highly.
- And, of course, here's the info on the crap I'm peddling these days...
WrestleCrap Personified: The Worst of RD Reynolds
Double DVD-R Set
Now Available!They say those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. But that’s never
stopped RD Reynolds, the curator of WrestleCrap.com, the site that pokes fun at all the worst in wrestling.You see, RD once worked on the independent wrestling scene himself, booking and participating in angles every bit as bad as those he ridicules on his site. And now, because his fellow crappers have asked for it, those events are now available in a double DVD-R set.
Disc 1:
Babyface RD in Championship Wrestling of America
- RD Shills Pizza
- RD Does Terrible Babyface Commentary
- RD Sings Happy Birthday to some dork
- CWA Champ Mike Samples wrestles the world's longest match (well, it felt that way), then proceeds to get run over by a car going 10 MPH, all with Good Guy RD calling the actionHeel RD in Pro Wrestling International:
- PWI Intro Featuring RD DANCING
- RD’s Heel Debut: the Uncle Burt Speech
- Trash Losagain Debut, in Which He Appears to have a GIANT DONG and looks to have pooped his pants
- RD: Heel Commentator Montage in which I talk about how much I hate the fans and tell really, REALLY bad jokes
- RD and Trash Get Biggum (translated: ZERO) heat by stealing a guy’s hat
- RD Heel Refs a Match in GIANT CLOWN SHOES (with commentary by RD, and his friends Casey (Trash Losagain) and Dan Garza (Diamond Dan)
- RD Promo in Hope, Indiana, in which I promise to kiss the foot of everyone in the building if I lose my match
- RD in a Blindfold Kiss My Foot Match (with commentary)
- Bonus: Radio Promo in Which I Pretend to be a Hillbilly Who “Milks Pigs and Shears Cattle”Heel RD Works Indy Shows:
- NWA Indianapolis snippet featuring me managing Mad Man Pondo versus New Jack (with commentary)
- RD and Trash vs. Diamond Dan on a LUCHA SHOW (with commentary)
- Elementary School Show Snippet featuring a guy who is now a HYOOOGE star in TNA (with commentary)
- Promo for Merle Vincent’s TV ShowDisc 2:
RD in CWA: Special Commentary with CWA Promoter Jeff Cohen, who teaches me the fine art of SHILLING!
RD Books PWI Into the Ground (All with commentary with me and Casey):
- PWI Roll Call: A Look at the Poor Guys We Booked Into Oblivion
- We make fun of RD & Trash's debut match
- Dissection of the Hat Stealing Angle
- RD on RD: RD Takes a Look at His Wrestling "Career"
- Special Bonus Match: Otto Bauhn (geddit? Like AUTOBAHN!) vs. Johnny Walker, Whom I Dubbed THE HUMAN CHIA PETSpecial Feature: Blade Braxton's Revenge of the Scorpion in Its ENTIRETY (both with and without commentary by the JOTW head honcho himself)
Believe me, this stuff SUCKS - you've been warned!
Cost for the set is $10.95, which includes free media mail shipment in the US. Foreign orders are also available, at a cost of $17.95. All sets come personally autographed (if you have a special request on the autograph, please let me know). Just use Paypal to send the money to thedeal@wrestlecrap.com, and be sure to include a shipping address! You can also snail mail a check or money order; for that information, click rightchere.
Note: DVD-Rs are playable in MOST newer DVD players, as well as DVD-ROM drives on computers. Also note this is in NTSC format. I cannot guarantee compatibility. If you have any questions regarding that, please contact me here.
Check out all the fun of WrestleCrap Radio rightchere!
Discuss this column and more at the Official WrestleCrap Forum; email RD your comments, questions, and suggestions rightchere.
And be sure to visit RD's Bookshelf and RD's Video Shelf to find out what wrestling books and DVDs are true crap.
