I’ve got some things that I’m bunching together, hence the second part of the title of Odds and Ends.
All of today’s words are sponsored by the website: Cool Stuff Inc.
Alright, not all of the words, but a good portion of them.
It’s like people only do these things because they can get paid. And that’s just really sad.
In the brilliant comedic movie Wayne’s World, there’s a scene where Wayne and Garth talk about having to do plugs for products, which they plug products ironically. Doing what they loved and now getting paid for it means they have to plug certain things and compromising their ideals to make sure it was profitable and didn’t offend anyone.
While I may not be Wayne nor Garth, I’ve pointed out before that I have no advertisers on this blog; it’s a personal choice that I do this (and 99EDH.com) for the love of the game. It was after I said that that I was approached by several websites who sell Magic product (and I think a dating one) to advertise on this site. I turned them down (and still do) because I want to write what I want on here without sponsors going “Really?” From fake conversations with Mark Rosewater to having Aaron Forsythe channel his inner Alec Baldwin, to just meeting and playing against really nice people, I want to control what content gets written on my blog.
While I’m sure most of the sponsors would be like “Yeah, just keep doing what you’re doing,” and I don’t swear all that much, I’d still feel that it wouldn’t be my blog anymore, it would be theirs. I know that isn’t how it works, but for the most part, I fell comfortable with my brand attached to my writings (unless I wrote something really bad, then I tend to stay away from it as much as possible). Not only would I be representing myself, but I would be representing them as well, which is some pressure to put on me when I want to do my own work.
Anyway, I soon got an offer from Cool Stuff Inc to write up a review of their site and they would give me a gift certificate to the store if I did or not. I was like “Hey, why don’t I be a really awesome guy and give that gift certificate away in a contest.” Seriously, that was my line of thinking (Due to FCC guidelines, I do have to say I got paid for this, but what they paid me doesn’t influence my thinking of them). And, because it was Cool Stuff Inc, I thought, “Hey, do a CSI meme.”
I’m glad the people who can read capital letters recognized that too.
So up went the contest. Yes, I was bad at dealing with the contest, and that’s completely my fault. I felt that I shouldn’t write up the winner and give out the prize without writing up my review of the store. Again, it was “Oh, I’ll do that this week,” something else happens and boom, there goes another week. So, now it’s the first of September and it’s taken me more than three months to declare a winner. Well, as you can see above, it’s @Twinblaze2, again. You’ve won twice now, you can’t win the next time I do a contest (which will go back to be on twitter again).
What does he win?
A complete set of Archenemy Schemes (minus the promos). They’ll be in the mail shortly.
Yes, much better than the signed Fungusaurs. I have a feeling these prizes might be getting better. Or not. You’ll never know.
So, what about the review of Cool Stuff Inc? While this isn’t as in-depth as I could have been, I wanted to get this done or it was going to sit in the queue for another month or two with Scars of Mirrodin coming up.
I had used them before I was approached by them and was happy at the service. They usually have some good competitive prices which is important in this internet era of buying cards online. You can find everything on their site pretty easily as everything is logically set up (at least for Magic, but I’m assuming for other games as well). They did e-mail me right away when something I was interested in came back in stock, so I was right able to go and buy it. Bonus: They even throw in a common or uncommon foil card with every MTG card purchase but don’t expect anything amazing; the best I got was an Angel of Mercy.
Cool Stuff Inc isn’t my go to shop online mainly for one reason: its location. No, I’m not hating against Miami Orlando (Which I like much better than Miami anyway, See Big Trouble), but the shipping is a little difficult when you live in Washington. No, the state. It’s not Cool Stuff Inc’s fault, it’s the downside of the internet business: shipping. While every once in a while you can find specials for cards that say “.99 cent shipping,” it’s not an everyday occurrence. I don’t fault them, it’s just one of those things.
Cool Stuff Inc really is one of the only places I go to online when looking to buy cards (not some paid advertisement, my honest feeling). Whenever I’ve dealt with them, they’ve been nothing but nice. I’d say go and give them a try.
Will this be the end of paid advertisements on MTGCP? Yeah, most likely. While I’ll never say never (James Bond didn’t), don’t expect me to do something like this in the near future.
Sometimes, art is just art.
I’ve created a Tumblr account called: Hell Yeah MTG Art. Once a day I post a piece of MTG art on the blog, and not like one of those small pieces, but good sized art. I suggest you go visit it, you know it’s updated more often that here (Hey, if anyone knows how to get the art to come up on an RSS feed, then we can actually get the art in the upper right corner of this blog. If you know how, give me a comment down below). Speaking of updating more often…
All work and no play makes Robby a dull boy…
I’ve decided to finally try and adhere to a schedule on both MTGCP and 99EDH. Remember, that most of the time it’s just me writing those (though I will make an announcement on 99EDH the want for more writers. Stay tuned). Most people write maybe a post a week (Save Kelly Reid and Mike Flores), and writing more often then that is pure torture with everything else I got going on in my life. So, I’ll try and see this through.
- MTGCP – Main post: Tuesdays
Slice of Pie: Most Fridays
Lotus Cobra is Evil: Sundays whenever possible
New Secret Project?: – Most Mondays - 99EDH – Main post: Thursdays
- HellYeahMTGArt – Everyday
Well, we’ll see how long that lasts. If I have a post that can go up before that, I will; I’m not sticking to the hardcore. I love guest posts. Slice of Pie will be shorter (most likely as they always turn into more research oriented than I thought they were going to be), and the new project will be easy to do once it gets going.
Also, an experiment that I’m starting today for the whole month of September: When I visit a Magic blog and read a post, I will comment on it. I know how a ton of people read blogs and not leave any comment or anything like that, and I want to show what I’ve been reading. Plus, it helps them know what they’re doing right (or wrong). Like how I have the rating system on here and 99EDH so I know if you guys want more of that type of post, or less. We’ll see how far it goes.
I’m off to see the Wizard…
I’m going to PAX again this year, which happens to be this weekend. If you don’t follow me on twitter (@mtgcolorpie), I would really recommend doing so. I’ll be going to the PAX Scars of Mirrodin party and be showcasing spoilers from the party there. I ran into Aaron Forsythe and Mark Purvis (who helped out with the FTV:R) there last year and got to do a quick twitter interview with each of them. Now, with a better phone that can actually use Twitter, I may do the same if I run into them again. Mark Rosewater even said he was going to do a puppet show, so we’ll see how that goes.
I’ll also have my video camera with me, and I’ll see what I put online.
If you’re going to be at PAX on Saturday as well, find me. We’ll say hi, and maybe some EDH. If you want to be be in on the secret project, let me know (You have to be at PAX in order to participate in the secret project).
I’m on a Boat…
There’s some commotion about PT: Paris being the same weekend as The Magic Cruise 3. Yeah, it sucks that the pros most likely won’t be there. But you know, a cruise with Magic players, still seems fun. @JayBoosh knows what happens on cruises.
The Great Designer Search 2
MaRo announced this was happening again. Yes, I will be writing about it before it starts on September 29th. Yes, I will be entering. Yes, I will be kicking ass and taking names. You’ve been warned.
So, I think that’s it. If I remember anything else, too bad. Yes, I will be talking about From the Vault: Relics and the new Duel Deck on 99EDH tomorrow. Until then…
MTG Color Pie 