After six years, I’ve decided to take an extended break from running Poe Ghostal’s Points of Articulation.
I’ve been considering this for years now. I could provide a long list of reasons – or perhaps more accurately, excuses. But really it all comes down to two: interest and time.
First and most important, I just don’t have the same enthusiasm for working on the site that I once had. Over time, it’s evolved from being a way to enjoy my favorite toys to a bit of a chore. I still love action figures, but keeping up a daily blog isn’t the way I want to interact with the hobby anymore.
The second reason is the site, while often a source of pride and fun, has often prevented me from working on other projects. Over the years, my time has been increasingly taken up with my professional and family lives (as some of you may know, there is a little Ghostal coming in late May), and what little time and energy I have for creative pursuits is usually spent on this site. But I have other projects – dreams – I want to pursue. To do that, I need to step away from PGPoA.
To be clear, I’m only putting the site on hiatus – I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be interacting with the collector community on social media, and I may write the occasional review for CollectionDX and contribute articles to magazines like Cool and Collected and littleplasticmen.
One of those aforementioned dreams is to contribute to a toy line, perhaps writing some of the bios or backstory fiction. I’ve had some discussions in that regard with a few different parties over the years, and though none of them have panned out yet, I remain hopeful. If one ever does, I may just have to fire up this blog again to get the word out.
And it’s always possible that after a while – or after I’ve made a good faith effort on my other projects – I’ll find myself rejuvenated and want to return to PGPoA (or perhaps reshape it into something new).
PGPoA will remain right here for the foreseeable future, thanks to the good people at CollectionDX. There are even a few last Toy Aisle Trolls that will run under this post over the next few weeks. I’d like to finish by thanking all the people who have helped with or contributed to the site over the years: OB1, Red Kryptonite, Doc Thomas, Nemo-Eight, JoshB of CollectionDX, Paul Vincent, Ridureyu, Googum, Venenor, PrfktTear, Monte, Fengschwing, all the great people who have contributed photos to Pic of the Day, my family and of course, the love of my life, Dr. Mrs. Ghostal.
Tribsaint
I have been a fan of your reviews from OAFE and followed you here. It is both our bane and our joy that life happens. I'll miss the site, but I wish you the best. Thank you for increasing my love for the this hobby over the years.
regards and best wishes.
@StrongestMustac
very sad to see you go (for now)
keep it real, bro
seeya around!
John Rubik
Bummer! …For me.
Good for you. No one should continue on in something that makes them unhappy.
_RZ_
Thanks for all the love you've shown to me and others over the years. Congratulations on fatherhood! Your sensible honest voice will be much missed. Cheers!
drrampageo
Sad to see you go Poe. You will be missed.
pemberto82
We'll miss you in your absence, Poe! But thank you for so many years of such a great site. For as many years, it was my GO TO review site. Nobody reviews 'em like you. But congrats on the lil' Ghostal!
Nathan
That’s too bad that you’re hanging it up, but I think any blogger would understand. It’s difficult to maintain the same level of enthusiasm for blogging, especially when the blog hits its inevitable plateau (# of pageviews, level of audience interaction, whatever).
This has been an awesome site! Thanks for the years of fun and good luck with your future endeavors! Keep us posted! 🙂
Dave Harris
Sorry to read this, but congrats on starting a family!
@doubledumbass
Poe,
I really do appreciate what you've done here over the years and for the collector community in general. Personally you've been a sounding board for me several times and I really do thank you for that. As a parent to twins. which are three years old now I can say I'm finally getting back into the groove. Take some time off, you deserve it. Fatherhood is everything that you've heard and then some, enjoy this time as it truly is magical.
Shawn
I've enjoyed your blog, Poe. I've been visiting every week day for years and now there will sadly be one less site in my daily routine. I hope you do well with kid life and whatever future gigs you do. Stay frosty.
BubbaShelby
Good luck to you in all your endeavors, Poe! Sad to see the site end, but I understand where you are coming from.
And I am already looking forward to your triumphant return 🙂
Monte
Obviously, this was a long time coming, and speaking as someone who has created and then deleted or abandoned nearly a dozen blogs, I sympathize and empathize.
Thanks for hosting a few of my strange features and a few of my goofy photos over the years.
The highest praise I can offer is that you have essentially never covered a line I collect, and yet I've checked in every day.
Also, I reserve the right to resent you if and when you get a gig crafting packaging bios and such.
Congratulations on the imminent addition to the family. You'll have a blast being a dad, sir.
Cheers!
googum
I don't know if I ever told you, but when I was posting stuff here…it felt weird. Like sneaking backstage during a show, or monkeying around in those secret tunnels in Disneyland. You are one of the good ones, and I'm looking forward to whatever you do next. Best, period.
Doctor Mako
I just wanted to make my peace same as everyone else. You ran a great website, one I visited every day and genuinely enjoyed. I'll miss the place but hopefully I can get my fix on twitter and tumblr. Best of luck to you in future endeavors!
Robzy
Well, this sux. I, like many, check this site out pretty much every day, so it will be a big loss.
But in the end, family and life dreams are way more important than anything else – so you have my total support. You only get one life – you need to live it the way YOU want. Thanks for creating such an awesome site. It's been great to have it for so long. All the best.
Kevin
Poe, I'll greatly miss this blog. But I totally get where you're coming from, having also stopped a website project so I could focus on other pursuits. There is only so much time in the day, you don't do this for a living, and sometimes you have to make the tough choice. And it you're not excited about the site, no reason to force yourself.
Newt
Bout damn time! Just kidding… I'm kinda going through the same thing as of late. Hoping to come back soon. Hit me up if you ever wanna work on something.
TheDeathBot7000
Hey Poe, I’ve been coming to your site for years but never posted anything. You do great work, your reviews and news have made this place a staple of the toy sites I vistit dailey. Enjoy your well deserved time off and congrats on little Ghostal!
Geddy
Damn, now how am I gonna decide which MOTUC figures to cherry pick?!
But seriously dude, like everyone else, stepping away from the blog is a decision that I can respect.
It's never fun when a hobby becomes a job.
Good luck getting into the toy production field, I'm sure that would be a blast to work in.
Thanks for always being there with He-Man reviews when I was a young kid first getting into the Classics line.