Wow, this is a whole lotta love. Thanks very much, everyone.
Since I don't come around here very much, let me just take this opportunity to address a few things...
First, the main reason I left is that I just didn't have time for this place any more. Between Facebook, Nebulae.com, Uvumi, T61, Last.fm, ALDJ, Mrs. Neb, Neb Jr., the job, possibly moving to New Orleans, possibly moving back to New York, making music, and masturbation, something had to give. Of course, it didn't help that this place got more and more negative. And of course, when there's a bad enough experience with someone you considered a friend, that was the catalyst to take a break. While I missed this place for about three days, I started to realize that it was a huge time drain with very little return. I had spent five years here, and I really didn't increase my listeners very much. Sure, I made some great friends, and those are people I stay in touch with via many of the aforementioned methods of IM and social networking. So at the end of the day, what was left was a negative place, lots of useless banter, bad experiences, no more or better music, and no real return on investment. It was time to go. Since I left about two months ago, I have increased my listeners by about 5000%, no joke. Building a relationship with people who like your music is a valuable return on investment, I'd say.
Second, I didn't build a forum for either my ego or my penis, both of which are absurdly large. I decided to go with a minimal site, no blog, and reverted to a forum as a way to post info about my songs and releases. I hated maintaining Wordpress, and I wanted the simplicity of forums which I was so used to. To that end, all my info became discussions. Then I realized that if people didn't want to discuss them but just read them, maybe they wanted to post useless shit somewhere. So I created the NSFW Unmoderated section. It had a nice run up, then leveled off, and now we have a few regulars. I check it several times a day, and I'm happy to get a nice LOL at least once a day, thanks to the absurd posts there. Just wanted to say that it's not all about me me me...it's a nice place to say whatever YOU want. Anyone is welcome to say anything
http://nebulae.com/bb (Honorable mention to the Tits, Ass, and Sex With Dolphins threads)
Last but certainly not least, you guys are all great people. Those of you who I've met in person, I've truly enjoyed hanging out with you. Those of you who I haven't met yet, I'd love to do so. The truth is that while this is just words on a screen, there are real relationships that have real impact on our lives. You can hide on the other side and say shit that hurts people, and you'd be successful. But if you take the next step, this global village provides some amazing friendships with amazing people. Hanging out with Beats and Sparky at NAMM: Epic! Fried ice cream with Roach: Creamy! Bourbon Street with ChiDJ: Skanky! Dinner at Cosmosuave's with his fam: Delicious! Multiple visits with ethios4 and his fire-juggling mrs: Awesome! Drinks with contakt321 and Hidden Driveways: Ableterrific! And then there are those who I haven't met yet, but I talk to on the phone or IM...the list is long. And in two weeks, Mardi Gras with Martyn and his mrs should be nothing short of outstanding!!!
If people here want to keep wailing on each other, that's their choice. But I feel like life's too short to spend in all that negativity. I'd much rather enjoy all of your brilliance and positivity with humor and fun. I'd rather listen to your great music and talk about it (I listen to Martyn's, Beats', and Angstrom's music at least a couple of times a month!). I'd rather help you guys when you need something, and get help when I need something. I'd rather punch all of you in the face and then buy you a beer
Until then, you know where to find me. Be well, and treat each other well. *hugs*