We have some sad news to report.
Chris Mead, who blogged for the TSL under the name Semtex Skittle, passed away on January 21st. Though Chris started out as our video game reviewer, he quickly proved himself to be just as adept at reviewing everything from anime to episodes of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD to Pierce Brosnan-era James Bond movies. His reviews were distinguished by his intelligence and wit and were always a pleasure to read. I was always so happy whenever I would see that he was editing a new review.
It’s hard to know what to say after losing someone like Chris. Speaking for myself, I will always be grateful for the invaluable help that he provided back in 2012 when I decided that, in the days leading up to the release of Skyfall, we, as a group, would review every single film in the James Bond franchise. Leonard Wilson often refers to the Bond reviews as being our Avengers moment and Chris was definitely our Captain America.
On a personal note, Chris and I once ended a long twitter conversation about gender stereotypes by making an agreement. He promised to watch the last Twilight film if I would buy, play, and subsequently review the latest Call of Duty game. I did buy the game and, believe it or not, I even played a good deal of it. Fortunately, Chis was always available on twitter to explain to me how to do things like … well, like how to actually play the game.
Chris was taken from us far too soon but I know we’re all thankful for the time that we had to get to know him. He was a Bears fan, a good writer, a good friend, and a good guy. He will be missed. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and family.
Chris Mead (a.k.a. Semtex Skittle), R.I.P.
Through the Shattered Lens 
Really sad news, his reviews had a lot of personality and heart, I didn’t get the chance to get to know Chris personally, but this loss will be felt well beyond the confines of this site. We lost a good one, my condolences and best wishes to his family and friends.
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When I first saw the news pop up on my FB feed I first thought it was a joke, but it quickly sunk in that it wasn’t. The news of Chris’ death really blindsided me and even with most of the day to process it I’m still in shock over it.
While I never met him in person we did have some fun gaming nights playing the latest Call of Duty and HALO title on Xbox Live with some of his friends. Chris was a cool and nice dude who always seemed to be positive of things.
I first met him through the gaming fan forum site SuikoX, but it was in that site’s mirc channel of the same name that I got to know him. When I first started the site he would be one of the first I asked to join and see about writing about the very things we had in common and that was video games.
He didn’t accept right away, but he finally caved and he has been a wonderful addition since. He had his own unique way of writing about the game he wanted to review that didn’t come off as dry and boring. He made sure whoever was reading understood why he liked or disliked a game. The fact he got Lisa Marie to play Call of Duty was an accomplishment.
We had always thought that it would be great if everyone who knew each other in chat and here at the site could one day meet-up (we always agreed the best place would be Las Vegas). I truly believe that while we never got to do that meet-up we always planned with others he had an impact on everyone he came across both in person and on-line. I hope that he understood that he had made friends here at the site. Friends who will miss his presence.
I will miss talking about video games with my friend. I will miss arguing with him about whether the ending to Mass Effect 3 was genius or crap. I will joking with him about him being a Bears and Jay Cutler fan.
I will miss my friend.
My condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace, Chris.
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To say this was a shock would be an understatement. I certainly didn’t know Chris as well as some, but even though we never had the opportunity to meet in person, I considered him a friend. Whether we were giving each other shit about our fantasy football teams, or about our actual teams, it always was a pleasure to chat with him. I only hope that Chris was aware of how many friends he truly had in life, and I feel honored to have been among them.
My condolences go out to his friends and family.
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I am very sorry to learn of the loss of this member of your online family. He contributed greatly to the quality, diversity and sense of enthusiasm that make this such a great site. My sympathies to all who knew him.
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I’ve always been pretty private about my personal life, and I think because of that I don’t have many windows into other people’s. I don’t use Facebook. I couldn’t tell you what Chris looked like, or where he worked, or whether he was married, had kids, or any of those important details that you associate with an individual. I just knew him as Parallax–a name on a video game forum and chat room, in a fantasy football league, on an entertainment blog. It’s probably a bit selfish of me to act like I knew the guy, because in a traditional sense I certainly did not. But in the eight years that “Parallax” has been on my list of names, it’s always been near the top. I thought of him as one of the smart guys; one of the people whose opinions actually mattered; one of the names I’d look for in chat to judge whether it was worth my while trying to start up a conversation. He stood out in that community for all of the right reasons. I remember the sense of satisfaction I felt when Arleigh told me he was coming to write for Shattered Lens, because I wanted to see this site thrive and I knew I could count on him.
Someone resurrected an ancient post Chris once made in response to “What do you want to get out of life?”, and I thought it worth passing along here. He wrote:
“I’d like two things. I won’t settle for missing out on either one, at least not without a serious fight. First, I’d like to end my life with a sense of accomplishment, of satisfaction. I’m terrified of being forgotten, and leaving an impression is important to me. It’s also important to me that I leave the right kind of impression…when you get right down to it, I’m a pretty moral person. The second is love…I’m a bit of a romantic idealist, and I truly believe that I can spend my life devoted to a single other person in this world. I will find that person.”
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Reading all the comments about Chris on FB, here and other places tells me that — despite him being gone far too soon — he did left an impression on a lot of people. He won’t be forgotten.
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