Friends like these

I make no secret that Hipster, please! wouldn’t be possible without the help of a very important group of supporters. Unfortunately, the majority of these men and women live well outside what you’d generally term “driving distance.” So, while I interact with each of them regularly via digital means, I seldom get to see them in real life. Tonight, thankfully, I finally had a chance to meet up with a pair of these fine souls.

Dennis and Denika, that dynamic duo from Vagrant who’ve done so much for me in the way of art for the site and its projects and never asked for a bit of compensation, recently relocated to Orlando, and they just so happened to be heading to Charlotte, NC – my back yard – to visit family this weekend. They actually drove well out of their way to share dinner with me and my fam at one of our favorite dives… er, I mean fine (semi)Japanese eateries. Not only did they trek well into the wilds of upstate South Carolina just to break bread with the Z. clan, but they even picked up the check!

Overcome by the holiday spirit, they also favored each of us with a delightful, handmade gift. My wife, Em, received a beautiful scarf and I added a custom-made ZeaLouS1 zombie to my growing collection of arcane and macabre plushies. Denika even spent her entire drive up here creating a special toy for Li’l X., an adorable robot that I have dubbed the Cuddletron 4000. (He’s the first automaton powered by love, and yes, I am aware that he bears a striking resemblance to the robot – I call him Geekotron 1337 – that Denika included in my new logo image.) And for all their trouble they received from me… a mixtape. Yeah. Pretty underwhelming. I know.

The Internet very often brings out the worst in people. It allows just enough anonymity for douchebaggery to run rampant. And yet, somehow, talented, interesting, genuinely nice people seem to convene here at Hipster, please! More than anything else I may have accomplished through my various hair-brained ventures, this is the thing I’m the most proud of; I’ve managed to carve out a tiny niche in which a few truly great people share their outlooks and ideas and talents.

I reckon I can sum the breadth of this post up in one simple declaration: Christmas is a time for friends, and mine are pretty kick-ass.

Also, Cuddletron 4000 needs your hugs. They are his food.