I dunno the culture of this forum in particular, but I figured this'd make for a sufficient first post.

I found SydLexia.com sometime around the summer of 2008. I recall that I was sitting in my grandma's house in San Jose, California trying to drown out her racist tirades with some headphones and Nestopia. After googling the best NES games out of pure boredom, I stumbled upon the 100 Best NES Games article, and from there I was hooked. I was in 8th grade and attending a private Christian school in suburban Raleigh. I was also a hateful and cynical bastard, so I found a lot of solace in Syd's writing. I must have read every single article in one night and had some of the best laughs of my life. In a way, the site's offerings taught me how to take the raw frustration tumbling around in my head and turn it into something people would want to hear. One could say Syd is responsible for me finally having friends in 9th grade.

His writing style also influenced the tone I took in academic writing; teachers were so entertained (at least compared to the other coming-of-age-faux-philosopher shit that my classmates were handing in) that they completely overlooked my inability to understand the subject matter. I wasn't even very good at it, but surely it was a breath of fresh air when you work at a goddamn Christian high school in the south. It got me out of reading pretty much every book I was assigned from 8th grade all the way through graduation, and even my first two years of college. Syd Lexia is the Eddie Van Halen to my George Lynch, so to speak; I ripped his style off hardcore, and it carried me through the metaphorical Sunset Strip.

I have to say, I was a little panicked that the site was on its way to a slow death. I checked the front page about once a month and, to my dismay, I was still staring at "Syd Lexia on Abadox" at the top for well over a year. I'm glad the site's alive and well, because it's real important to me. I dunno why.

Anyway, I finally joined the forums after transferring to NC State and realizing I was surrounded by cunts in Realtree camo and cowboy boots made by some 12-year old in Taiwan. I hope my joining the community helps, at the very least, provide a beacon of hope for the future. It would break my fucking heart if this site petered out, it's been like a friend to me for the past 6 years.

Syd, if you ever read this, you helped me realize I wasn't alone. You helped me transform from the cynical bastard everyone ignored to the cynical bastard that people could sometimes listen to. But, more importantly, you saved me from reading "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", and for that I am eternally grateful. Cheers.