Personal milestone: I've persevered for ten years!
After lurking and occasionally commenting for years at Jihad Watch, followed by a stint at Northern Virginistan, I established my own blog HERE at my original Always On Watch site, then moved HERE, and finally to the present location.
A special thanks to my dear friend Warren, who designed my avatar and the template for this blog and the previous one, and to my first cyber friend Mustang, who suggested that I add the Latin phrase Semper Vigilans to my blog header.
I also want to thank my friend Beakerkin, who introduced me (aka "the upstart") to "the whole gang" via the electronic bar. Those were the days!
Thanks to all of my friends — and, yes, even to some of my adversaries — here in the blogosphere. You deserve much of the credit for my having continued with this blogging endeavor.
Suggested as my theme song by more than one blogger:
CONGRATULATIONS, AOW!
ReplyDeleteYou really should be due for some kind of award.
I, who regularly entertain the idea of quitting, because blogging seems to be more of an exercise in futility than anything else, admire your PERSEVERANCE and STAYING POWER enormously.
As a devotee of serious, deeply expressive music, evocative and reflective of Beauty, Order, Complexity, Depth and Brilliance, I have to tell you I abhor the song, but do see the point of someone's having chosen it to characterize your purpose in blogging.
My unasked for advice?
Slog on, slog pn with hope in your heart, and you'll never slog alone. ;-)
FT,
DeleteSlog on, slog pn with hope in your heart, and you'll never slog alone.
I know that song (Judy Garland's version).
Has it been THAT long???? Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThersites,
DeleteHard to believe, huh?
No quitter am I!
Yesterday, a bad moon rose in Baltimore, Maryland.
ReplyDeleteNow the pundits are talking it to death. Sheesh.
Congrats AOW. Impressive staying power! Many times it seems like we might break through and things will get better "just around the corner.' We keep winning elections only to be let down. But I am game, I want to see how this whole thing plays out.
ReplyDeleteBunkerville,
DeleteWe keep winning elections only to be let down.
That is what is so disheartening.
Happy 10th, AOW. You're a shining light in the darkness.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne,
DeleteWhat a nice compliment you've paid me!
Congratulations, AOW. 10 years blogging is quite a feat. May God grant you the patience another ten and then some.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You have the patience of Job.
ReplyDeleteSF and CI,
DeleteI am quite patient on the web. But here at home in "real life"? Not so much! I'm a natural redhead, you know.
Cogratulations, AOW! You are as strong as any Rosie the Riviter ever was.
ReplyDeleteJim,
DeleteI miss your blog posts. Are you okay?
Congratulations on running a GREAT blog, and for having the guts to say what's on your mind an on ours.
ReplyDeleteSome people have referred to be as "blunt AOW." A fairly accurate statement. I'm not famous for holding back on self-expression. Heh.
DeleteAwesome accomplishment AOW. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteLate to the party as usual AOW...Congrats! Hope for many more!
ReplyDeleteLisa and Randy,
DeleteI'm hanging in for as long as I can, but there will come a day that I will have to cut back -- even more than I already have done, that is.
I no longer post every day most of the time, but I do try to post every other day when I can.
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed your blog for several years now and consider it a reliable source for information.
Tammy Swofford
Tammy,
DeleteI no longer try to cover as many different stories. So much to bring to people's attention, and I have to make choices.
I do remember a time when there seemed not much to blog about. But now? Stories come flying at me, and I can't keep up!
AOW, Beak, FJ...remember BLOG CENTRAL!? You guys welcomed me with open arms when Elmer's Bro helped me create my first blog....what fun!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm one year behind you...but my old blog's starter date was always wrong so I'm not sure.
CONGRATULATIONS on this great achievement...you should be SO PROUD of the quality and consistency of your work.
WE LOVE YOU! Z
Z,
DeleteI don't know that I'm proud, but I admit to a sense of accomplishment.
Happy Anniversablog!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ed.
DeleteLong may you run.
ReplyDeleteNina Simone - Baltimore
Best analysis I've heard was on today's "Majority Report" podcast.
Sobering, clear eyed look at the beast. It's an easy download from iTunes and well worth a listen.
Or we can throw stones, cast blame and get nowhere.
Duck,
DeleteLong may you run.
Well, well, well. Did you ever imagine that you'd say that to me? We did get off to a rocky start, now, didn't we? I remember it well. Do you?
Considering how opposite most aspects of our worldviews are, you and I could have become moral enemies. But we didn't. Do you know why? I have a few theories on that matter -- and my theories involve some good on both your part and mine.
It's been ten years. I am going to mention some forgotten names there are the obvious ones like Mr Beamish, TMW and Jason. I miss Florian, Kuhn Kat, Esther
ReplyDeleteand Justin Morris. Anyone remember Pagan Temple
Some of us have good excuses for not keeping in touch like Orange Ducks and Jams O Donnel who are no longer with us.
As a Grandfather I am mellowed.
Bernie Sanders is running for President? Is he seeking the zombie vote?
Hi, Beak....what was the name of that marvelous guy with a wife and two kids? Papa Something??? Remember?
DeleteI was thinking about Beamish the other day; you in contact?
Here are Beamishisms I had on my sidebar...the second one is my VERY favorite:
It’s sad, but it’s harder to come out of the closet as a conservative than as a gay communist necrophiliac serial killer."
the tally of positive things leftists and Democrats have done for ANYBODY's civil rights could fit in a thimble and still leave room for an air show....Beamish
The right remembers history and learns from it, the left revises history and blames Jews for gravity when they run off a cliff....Beamish
Utterly Beamish and utterly brilliant.
Here are more...enjoy!
DeleteOn Obama:
Now, I realize since Andrew Jackson it's been every Democrat President's goal to be the worst President America ever had, but damn – Beamish
But, when socialists and Communists are out campaigning for Democrats, perhaps you ought to rethink your "calling Democrats socialists is a right-wing smear" crock. – Beamish
You can't fix stupid. You can only stay to the right of it...Beamish
Hi, Beak....what was the name of that marvelous guy with a wife and two kids? Papa Something??? Remember?
DeleteI was thinking about Beamish the other day; you in contact?
Here are Beamishisms I had on my sidebar...the second one is my VERY favorite:
It’s sad, but it’s harder to come out of the closet as a conservative than as a gay communist necrophiliac serial killer."
the tally of positive things leftists and Democrats have done for ANYBODY's civil rights could fit in a thimble and still leave room for an air show....Beamish
The right remembers history and learns from it, the left revises history and blames Jews for gravity when they run off a cliff....Beamish
Utterly Beamish and utterly brilliant.
Beak,
DeleteI remember those names!
I still see Jason on the web from time to time -- usually at FPM.
As you know, I speak with TMW almost every day. We have long phone conversations. I also run into her over on Facebook.
Beamish seems to have vanished. He was on Facebook for a long time, but he's disappeared from there now, I think.
Ten years is quite the milestone. Congratulations! I hereby sentence you to ten more!
ReplyDeleteProof,
DeleteA sentence? Do I have to? **wink**
Although I'd haunted the message boards for years and administrated 3 or 4, the blogs were different and new. On message boards we shared our tech knowledge or just chatted. It was extremely informal. I started haunting FPM but I only commented a couple of times, I saw the posts of Z, Beakerkin and others but I didn't really know them until much later. I got to know Beakerkin over at Bad Eagle and we hit it off. We were a team for quite a while but situations change and I had to cut back my online presence.
ReplyDeleteI miss Nance and TMWs online presence. I made quite a few Avatars, I think the only two still in use are AOWs and mine and mine goes back to the message boards with their extremely low bandwidth limit. The original Axeman was only 80x80 pixels, (You try making a picture that small !)
BEAK, give me a call. I lost your newest number in a cellphone accident.
So its been ten years. It doesn't seem that long.
Happy Tenth my dear friend and as many more as you wish.
I'm hoping TMW starts her new blog she's talked about!
DeleteHI, WARREN! xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yes, those FPM days were gold.....until they changed the commenting format. Boy, did we comment A LOT there! What fun!!
Warren,
DeleteBlogging isn't as much fun as it used to be.
Ah, well. Time marches on, and personal situations change -- as you well know. A lot of us don't have as much time to devote to blogging as we used to have.
Still, over the years, several of us forged lasting friendships. Such a wonderful thing!
Forgot to turn on notifications!
ReplyDeleteThanks, all!
ReplyDeleteYesterday was an exhausting day at work, so I wasn't up to the the pleasurable task of responding to each of your comments. I did, however, read all comments as soon as the evening here settled down. Then I went to bed -- early. I must have been really tired because I overslept this morning.
I hope to have time to respond to each of your comments after work today.
I hope you enjoyed the Beamish quotes...I figured it was appropriate on your 10th since he was such a big part of 'us' back in the day!
ReplyDeleteI hope this day isn't as exhausting as yesterday! xxx
Z,
DeleteBeamishisms rock!
Today was another rough day at work. Tomorrow won't be, though! This school term's Thursday schedule isn't grueling.
Congratulations on hitting your milestone of 10 years.
ReplyDeleteCube,
DeleteWho knows? Maybe I'll make to the 20-year milestone? We shall see. If I make it that far, I'll be 73 years old. YE, GODS!
Congratulations! (And I loved the Beamish quotes, many of which I remember)
ReplyDeleteMy memory fails me on the guy with two children. I am remembering some of the really brilliant acts. Jeff Bargholtz was really good articulate and funny. Thee was Felis and the Editrix.
ReplyDeleteOf course there are the trolls. John Brown was the worst hands down.
Warren will call after work.
Beak,
DeleteJohn Brown! Good grief! The man was unhinged -- at the least.
Beak and AOW:
ReplyDeletehttp://blogbursttuesday.blogspot.com/
AOW: Look what I found. In re to the guy I asked you and Beak about in the post on your anniversary, I remember it was PAPA FRANKS and if you Google "Papa Franks Blog", you can find him, but a huge pop up takes over ...you see his blog for a split second and then the pop up with apparently no way to stop it....I tried ten times...no way to delete/cancel the pop up to read Franks.....darn!
Z, most likely Papa Frank left Blogger and started a blog or webpage under his own domain name. Then at a later time let that domain lapse and the domain owner put up that web page you saw.
ReplyDeleteHis old blogger domain has what is known as a "re-direct" imbedded in the code which is normal for people to do when they change domains. It has to be placed in the style sheet which requires a password/permission.
In other words, it isn't a pop up. Its a different web page in the same window.
You have the link wrong, replace the "tuesday" with thursday. I created that blog and the flash banner, everyone else contributed the posts which were the real work.
Warren :^)
Congratulations on 10 years of blogging. That's quite an achievement. So many people gave up blogging and now just post bumper stickers on Facebook it's a real shame. Nothing beats blogging for being able to explore an issue in depth.
ReplyDeleteHere's to 10 more!