Blogiversary™
Like it says on the sidebar, I started putting my opinion out there for people to criticize eight years ago, after annoying other people on their blogs.
I missed the cut as a paleo-blogger because I didn’t start until after the disaster of the 2004 election. My anger over the stupidity of the US electorate in re-electing the Shrubbery needed a release and this was it.
Things were a lot more collegial back then, as there were almost no “professional” bloggers, and a blog roll was manageable, but you can’t live in the past or people will assume you’re senile [if you have gray hair] or a Republican [if that “past” never existed].
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who stop by, as it helps me maintain the belief that I’m not talking to myself [although cell phones and pets can serve that purpose].
22 comments
Ach by comparison I’m just a blog sprog! Many happy returns Bryan
Bryan, we’re glad you’re out there… although, compared to the right-wing nut-jobs, you aren’t reeeeaaaally “out there” …
Thank you, Jams.
Steve, I have been doing this for 8 years, which is not exactly sane, but I have avoided being ‘fair and balanced’.
happy blogiversary!
and thanks for keepin’ on keepin’ on, too. i find that dropping by other people’s blogs and being annoying keeps me sane.
Thanks. Hipparchia. I’m down to annoying Steve, Rook, Corrente, and occasionally Badtux.
Yeah! Happy Blogiversary m8! With many more to come (I hope!!) 😉 😀
I started blogging at Loaded Mouth in 2002. I blogged daily for over 2 years during what was an insane time. It was exhausting and I had to quit. I am happy to say that I did get a few win’s, but I am not really sure in hindsight if it was worth it. *shrug*
Anyway my friend, thanks for giving me a very cool and sane place to hang out, and to vent my spleen as needed! 😉 😀 You have (all) helped keep me sane, especially the past year which has been very tough. Heartfelt thanks (which aren’t enough).
With deepest respect, best wishes and good luck. 🙂
PS. You can annoy me anytime! You’ve definitely earned the right. 😉 😆
Thanks, Kryten. I do try to be an equal opportunity annoyance as everyone is capable of making bad decisions and they need to be pointed out. The US, especially its political system, is a ‘target-rich environment’.
Many thanks to you for all the time you spend on your blog. I don’t get to drop by as often as I would like, but when the rest of my world gets way too crazy, I stop by here for sanity and a dose of humor. Craziness in my world is in great supply as I spend a good portion of my day trying to make sense of my loved one and Alzheimer’s disease while at the same time running a business.
Thanks for keeping your island of common sense and abstract humor up and running.
P.S I especially liked the “unresponsive and pupils dilated” on another post. Feel that way myself some days…
You are always welcome here, Juanita. Alzheimer’s is sometime many here have personal experience with among family members. It is a hard thing to watch someone fade away. I wish I could give you some brilliant insight on dealing with it, but I didn’t find one. All you can do is take it one day at a time. Hopefully there is some way to get respite to rejuvenate yourself before returning to the task.
Bryan,
I’ve not had much to say lately, hence the radio silence, but I’ve been reading along — Happy Blogiversary!
BTW — do read Stonekettle Station?
http://www.stonekettle.com/
Best
Jim
Thanks, Jim. Vets do prefer long form and are subject to rants. It’s from having to suppress opinions while you were in, that tends to burst out when you have a chance.
I’ll need to dig a bit deeper into the place, than just the current page.
Thanks! Those kind words were really appreciated as it has been a couple of tough days. And you’re right, I need to find some way to get breaks for me, but since I won’t be retiring for about 10 years yet, it’s challenging right now.
And it’s not as if I don’t have some light comedy in my life. About a month ago, it had been one of those days with endlessly repetitive behavior, and I was FRAZZLED and not a little crazy myself. Right after dusk, there started all these explosions and what sounded like huge firecrackers. So, out to the front yard. Nope, no fireworks, just loud explosions punctuated with these huge booms and strange lights over the hill from my house! I’m standing in my front yard with my eyes rolling around like an out of control pinball machine trying to process this end to my already freakazoid day.
Then it hit me. Earlier in the day, I barely noticed the plastic push signs for a Confederate re-enactment. And after dark. While my mind was trying to absorb this strange fugue state where Alice has definitely drank the potion, and not only cultures were clashing but time was bleeding through as well, it occurred to me that perhaps I should hightail it back in the house.
Although traffic is sparse on my street, it still wouldn’t do to be caught laughing and hooting in the front yard.
I live in Romney land and these people are bound rather tight.
I also wish you all the best Juanita, and I also wish I had an answer. All I can give you is my understanding and whatever support is possible. And maybe a few laughs along the way! 🙂
I don’t have to deal with Alzheimer’s or Dementia (though I do occasionally wonder about that one), I do have some mental health issues and sometimes feel so fatigued I struggle all day, and I sometimes get crazy mood swings. I hope these anti-depressants I’m now on will help somewhat, so far all they seem to have done is make me feel more lethargic, but do seem to have taken some of the edge off the anger and other things. *shrug* 🙂
Sincere best wishes, and best of luck!
I’m glad I could help, Juanita. Every case is different, so I won’t say I know how you feel, because that would be presumptuous, but I know I feel when having to deal with it.
The lights are usually on at this place, and we have a friendly crowd. As I said before, this blog helps me dealt with anger management issues. It is a release.
Reenactors are one of the things that have gained popularity in my lifetime, that I don’t really understand. What is so interesting about finding out what it felt like, to a minor degree. what military life was life in the 1860s. Military life in the field sucks, and when you throw uncomfortable uniforms, bad footwear, leaky tents, and lead sealed canteens and cooking utensils, the ‘fun’ is not noticeably increased.
I assisted an acquaintance with his research for his role, and I’m really surprised he is still married. He tasked his wife with a lot of hand-sewing to prepare his ‘uniform’. I was really amazed that she actually agreed to do it, but I suspect that his clothes are as uncomfortable as they can possibly be.
Well, it’s better than operating a meth lab, and you can hope they will grow out of it.
I don’t see how they can claim it’s a *reenactment* unless they use live ammo and suffer the same casualties. then it would be a real reenactment!
It’s just a bunch of wannabes who never grew up playing soldier in safety. maybe they should all sign up and go to Afghanistan, then they might find out what it was really like.
And from what I’ve seen, most of them never grow out of it, or grow up.
Kryten you see a lot of powder burns and bruises among them because they don’t seem to remember that even without the bullet, anything in the barrel gets expelled at high speed. The newbies slice and dice themselves setting up camps and using edged tools.
If they weren’t playing war, they would be out in the woods bothering the animals, or shooting someone’s cows, so this is a good way to keep them occupied that doesn’t endanger the public at large.
You will rarely see any cavalry units. It isn’t easy to train a horse to ignore loud noises. People may not have gotten any smarter, but horses have. I shutter to think what would happen if one of these events actually had a cavalry skirmish.
I shudder to think what would happen if one of these events actually had a cavalry skirmish.
ooooh!! I like that idea! With real sharp Swords and pikes too! 😈
*sigh* Yeah, I guess you have a point. At least they are only a danger to like minded fools. That’s something I guess. Small mercies yadda…
(Most animals are smarter than most humans just BTW). 😉
Actually, I’m more concerned with what might happen to the horses, as the humans deserve what they get, but the horses didn’t volunteer and would probably be embarrassed if they knew what was going on. 😈
Bryan, strangely it helps a lot, and yes you do have a friendly crowd. Isn’t it odd that communicating to people you’ve never met can get you through a tough moment? But it does.
I agree with both you guys that reenactments are hilarious. That’s why I almost lost it in my own front yard the other night. I had just hit my saturation point for insanity that day. Actually, I was kind of grateful for the comedic release.
And Kryten, with everything that you have going on, it’s very generous of you to offer words of encouragement for someone else. Thanks, and I hope things are getting better for you “down under”.
If anyone has a black sense of humor and needs a laugh, here’s a video that someone emailed me a few minutes ago. Apparently, it’s a Brazilian reality show. Without giving too much away, the lights in an elevator go out and a ghost appears to unsuspecting victims:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HoJveRDptDs
Actually, because you are in complete control of the situation, i.e. you don’t have to react unless you want to and can edit your words until you press ‘print’ reduces the normal stress of communication. It is also generally done at quiet times of the day.
There is a long history of letter writing. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson got along a lot better in their written correspondence than they ever did in person. There is also the fact that you don’t have to deal with accents. Mine would be familiar enough, but Kryten’s would take some concentration. The whole crew around here has lived long enough to know the good and bad in life, which makes a difference. We don’t need to ‘Google’ problems, we just need to think back in our own lives.
As for the video, their lucky no one had a heart attack. I can see the humor, but I have also dealt with too many pranks that have gone wrong. That is the curse/blessing of living a long time.
You are very welcome Juanita. 🙂 You are one of the reasons I like it here, it’s the only blog now that I visit at all regularly. It annoys me that all I can give are words, even if they are quite sincere. Still, if they help a little, they are not wasted. 🙂
I find that the relative anonymity of commenting here helps because there are few if any preconceptions. When you meet someone face-to-face, we all make some assumptions and have preconceived ideas about that person. Of course, we still make a mental image (not necessarily a physical image, more of a personality image), especially after many comments. 🙂
We don’t need to ‘Google’ problems, we just need to think back in our own lives.
Amen to that! It one reason why I think these re-enactment people are total fools. They want to glorify war and death, and in reality they have no clue at all!
Actually Bryan, you wouldn’t have much trouble understanding my accent. I was trained to be a very quick study of local accents, and had plenty off opportunity to practice when I lived there. 🙂 I can even do a few authentic Russian accents if it would help m8. 😉 😆 The biggest problem is that Aussies generally speak a lot faster than most American’s, but that’s not an issue for me. “When in Rome, be a Roman candle!” as one trainer put it. 🙂
Hey… whatever happened to that moronic troll you had for awhile? I guess he finally gave up huh? 😆
and thanks for the vid Juanita! 😀
Thanks to being a military brat, in addition to my own military service, I can understand the variations in English that occur throughout the world. When I think about it, I speak a fairly unaccented version of North American English, but if I’m tired or down in Florida I return to the coastal drawl I heard when I was going up in Okaloosa County.
As a linguist I can acquire local dialects, but I keep that in check, because some people think you are making fun of them when you do it, rather than attempting to communicate effectively.
When people stop offering their opinions and attempt to simply disrupt the conversation, they have a tendency to disappear from the comments. I have no problem with people disagreeing with anything that is said here, because that is what happens in life. I do have a problem when someone attempts to restrict others from expressing their opinions.