The Story Behind this Site
It all began about mid-1996 with a single "homesteader" Star Wars related page I started on Geocities.com (in the area51 neighborhood,) and as time wore on - and the hints of a new trilogy were on the horizon - people started to gather online to talk about it all. TheForce.net forums and StarWars.com (sites/blogs) became the go-to places for like-minded fans.
By mid to late 1999 Nerf-Herders Anonymous became a catch-all of Star Wars information at fan.starwars.com, it was scattered but seemed to have a focus on the actors and any pop-culture references floating around. By late fall of 2001, Lucasfilm sent emails out to fansite holders which stated there would no longer be free space to house fansites.
A little disappointed, I was on the fence for a short while deciding if and how I wanted to proceed. I opted to start anew using info I'd started to collect outside of the internet (early '90s) and the info I'd collected at fan.starwars.com as my base.
Then... in May of 2002, the week after returning from Star Wars Celebration II in Indianapolis, IN, I learned that I was with child AND had a tumor. I was classified with an extremely high-risk pregnancy (about 20% chance that the baby would survive past 20 weeks), to have any hope of saving my child's life I had to remain in bed and not move.
Subsequently, not able to work or move, I passed time with books, radio, TV, and movies. I gathered reference after reference and piles of actor information until I could no longer function without being monitored and I was admitted to the hospital. Nearly a month later my son arrived - six weeks early. After a grueling two weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for my new son, he came through with flying colors, but I had a long road of recovery ahead - my muscles had atrophied, I was very weak, and I still had the tumor. More gathering and research took place.
As the months passed, I gained back most of my strength and I was able to take care of my son and myself without help. I acquired a domain name, pulled the bits of gathered info together, and got an incredible head-start on this massive project ...then... another two surgeries loomed (the tumor had to be removed, all 15 lbs of it - a record here, and an unrelated surgery) and...more periods of recovery.
As I recovered the site began to take shape - becoming what is now the largest source of Star Wars references and the only Star Wars Actors Database in the world. It was my determination, my family and friends, and this project that got me through the long months of 2002 (and parts of the next two years), and I am thankful for the small measure of relief it offered me...keeping my thoughts off the possibility of losing my child, off the pain, sickness, and exhaustion, and of what was ahead...the unknown. In the end, it all turned out splendidly...my son, my health, resuming my life...and this site.
Nerf-Herders Anonymous would not have existed without the unusual circumstances from 2002 - 2004.
I'm pleased to present and share Nerf-Herders Anonymous with you, my fellow Star Wars fans.
It's been fun, I've met great people along the way with an incredible outpouring of praise, support, and contribution from all parts of the world.
It's been fun, I've met great people along the way with an incredible outpouring of praise, support, and contribution from all parts of the world.
THANK YOU!
L. Battle - NERF-HERDERS ANONYMOUS
Enjoy!
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