Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #63

Originally Posted on 04/27/2003 by Jeff Harris

So, what's been going on around these parts?

I had a lot of time to think about the future, and quite frankly, I knew that there was one conclusion. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

It's Low Sunday when I'm writing this, but I'm feeling everything but low. I haven't been online much last week because I actually had work to do. Real work, not the stuff that I do online. For some strange reason, I'm a fashion designer for this new firm around these parts, and I'm having fun doing it. This online thing is, believe it or not, a hobby, though for a while, this seemed more like a job. A seemingly fruitless job with no benefits whatsoever. When you have bills to pay, having your only occupation being a maintainer of a fansite hardly generates funds, especially if you have no legal claim to the names of your domain. The only reason why I never asked for funds around these parts is because I legally can't make money off of the name Toonami, because it's a name owned by the biggest entertainment company on the planet, Time-Warner. Yeah, I know the company's really AOL Time Warner, but for some reason, the thought of typing AOL kind of gives me an ill feeling in the pit of my stomach.

For that matter, the name CNX doesn't belong to me either.

When I started this site five years ago, it wasn't even called CNX, but rather CN2: Toonami Realm. It's original purpose was to inspire Cartoon Network to create a spinoff network dedicated to action-animation in the vein of the young Toonami format, i.e. a second Cartoon Network (thus the initials CN2). Boomerang was announced in '99 and launched in 2000, so CN2 changed into CNX. The only reason I called it CNX is because the name CN3 seemed pointless, especially if the third Cartoon Network would be something different like a Cartoon Cartoon network or something sickening like that. By then, CNX evolved into an outlet for the latest on Toonami news and information. Not bad, but I grew cynical and questioned everybody that wasn't Cartoon Network. Maybe subconsciously, I was sucking up to Techwood to convience them to launch that Toonami network.

When I moved to Toon Zone, some people felt that I lost a bit of my cynical self. They might be right because looking back at some of the stuff I posted around here, I did soften my blows towards folks. I even alienated some older fans, which, in retrospect, I shouldn't have done. That's probably why I got knocked for a loop when Cartoon Network UK launched CNX, an action-oriented network which was basically the first European-exclusive network. At first I was angry, but in the end, I felt, "Feh." I never had an exclusive claim of the name, and to be honest, they never told me that I had to give up the name of my site. The only person who would force me to change the name of my site would be the person in charge of the site, and that would be me.

And I'm about to do just that.

Effective right now, CNX: Toonami Revolution will no longer be known by that name. It won't be a stupid initial name either like N49 or anything related to Toonami. In light of recent events coming out of Turner Broadcasting, I'm not fighting anymore. I'm not CNX and CNX is not me. It doesn't define who I am and what I strive to be. It's just a network. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, for the inevitable questions. Is Toonami doomed? No. Is it dying? Hardly. Hell, in fact, it's in much better hands than it was this time last year. The network is no longer under the jurisdiction of someone with his own perverted agendas of just looking out for his broadcast baby than the cable network. Phil Kent's doing pretty well. More shows are coming later this summer and fall and right now, the block's in great shape. Yeah, more attention is given to Adult Swim and Saturday, but Toonami is still one of the greatest action blocks on the planet.

Is the Revolution over? No. The spirit of The Revolution didn't begin with me and it won't end with CNX's finale. My brothers at arms at Toonami Infolink provide the latest news and information about the world of Toonami. My brothers over at The Toonami Forum at Toon Zone help keep the peace as well as provide a strong community in a very cool arena. My brothers over at ANX basically have taken what was started with CNX and continuing this thing we call The Revolution.

I'm not going anywhere, but I've realized that I can't continue shilling for Cartoon Network anymore. They do alright by themselves, and they apparently don't need fansites to do their jobs anymore. Heaven knows they don't care what the viewers want anymore, from Cartoon Cartoon Fridays to Adult Swim, nor do they care what those who spend free time working on free ads for them think about what they're doing, good or bad. I've reached the Age of Reason, and I realized that I can't continue doing CNX the way they want me to.

It's time for evolution, for real this time.

The Bridge, the home of classic heroes and future classics, will take over CNX, so if you want to stick around, please do so.

For those that have stuck around with me so far in this strange journey, thank you. For Toon Zone, who has hosted me since September 2000, thank you for dealing with me and my drama, and I hope I still have a home around here. For my friends and TICA brothers that keep me grounded, thank you so much. And for the million-plus visitors over the years from around the globe, especially that influx of British visitors over the past year and the fans that braved the three boards I had over the years from InsideTheWeb to The Revolution Board to the Toonami Forum at Toon Zone, thanks for coming over to my little neck of the woods, and I hope you stick around for the coming of the unseen behemoth I call The Bridge.

Well, that's that. The last update from CNX as you know it. I'll still be on the boards. And you're always free to e-mail me. In the meantime, I'm shutting down the old control room and fixing up the new one, making alterations to some things and adding a whole lot of newness. Thanks for all the memories, and I hope we'll make new ones with the new site.

We are one.
Jeff Harris
CNX/The Bridge Creator/Webmaster
April 27, 2003