Blogiversary!?!??!! Who Knew!

So, on Friday, November 21, 2008, this appeared on the interwebz:

Newbie

I'm new to this blog thing, but I do love to talk and I do have an opinion—hell I have thousands of opinions—so I guess that's as good a place to start. Let's talk about.........Me!

I am a happily-partnered gay male, and I have been with the love of my life for the last eight years. We met online in an AOL chatroom—no, not THAT kind of chatroom—and became Instant Messenger friends, and then email friends, and then phone friends and then friends across the country and then I went from California to Miami to meet him, and that was that.

A few months later I'd left California and settled in Miami—talk about culture shock! We stayed in Miami for about six years until Carlos—the aforementioned partner—accepted a job in Smallville, South Carolina, and we loaded up the truck and moved to....well, not Beverly Hills, but Smallville. A small town. A cute town.

A town full of nice people who didn't seem at all peeved that the newest arrivals were a couple of mo's from Miami.

That's a start, I think. More to come.....I hope.

And that’s how it all started and here we are today some eighteen years and 11,600 posts and 96,000 comments later.

Who knew? But enough about me … thanks to everyone who follows and comments and blogs ... let’s keep going …

Jon Newman Has Passed

For those who followed his blog, I got word this morning that Jon Newman of Moran-Newman Farms passed away this week.  I was newish to his blog, and he to mine, but he was fun to read and hear tales of life in Texas and with his beloved Robert:

"It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Jon-Tomas Newman (Abilene, Texas), who passed away on May 24, 2024, at the age of 76, leaving to mourn family and friends. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Jon-Tomas Newman to show support.

In the echoes of fond remembrance, may a sense of peace be found, knowing that the memories held dear will continue to shape and inspire his loved ones, keeping Jon-Tomas' spirit alive in the hearts and actions of family and friends alike. While his presence may be gone, his impact lives on in the kindness shown to others and the joy found in the ordinary moments of life.

He was predeceased by : his parents, W. N. Casey and Pauline McCullogh Casey; his spouse Robert Moran; and his sister Latrice Casey. He is survived by : his pet Timmy. He is also survived by six first cousins."

RIP Jon 

source

It's Time ....

Well, F**kuary is over and I took an extra day to get past it since it threw an extra day at me this year. I have been home for a couple of weeks now, working and, most importantly, being with Carlos and the cats, and relaxing as I can.

Although my father went quite quickly, after being given the “six months to live” prognosis, he left things quite orderly so sorting through the estate and the probate and such should go quite smoothly. Dad was a lot of things and organized was high on the list.

I have stopped getting teary-eyed every time someone says, ‘Sorry for your loss,’ so that’s a step. I did get weepy when the death certificates arrived because, even though I was by his side when he passed, this makes it all seem more real. That and the fact that I keep telling myself things I have to tell my Dad on our phone chats we had before he left us.

And I want to say again that all of your kind thoughts and words really meant a lot to me and my family. The cards and such that arrived were very sweet and kind and appreciated.

My brother and I have made an agreement on how to split the state; he really wants to live in my Dad’s house—he and his wife love the area—while I, at this time, have little to no desire to visit there again.

In the last four or five years, except for a couple of times that Carlos and I went out for a visit, my Dad’s house was where I went because he had his knee replaced and needed help; he had his ankle replaced and needed help; he had heart surgery; he had health scares; he died. For me, the house doesn’t hold a lot of happy memories for me and I feel no happy connection to it.

My father was cremated and his ashes will be spread out to sea along the Oregon coast in the same area where my mother’s ashes were spread after she passed, so in my heart they are together as they should be.

This is a quick post just to say Thanks … again … and let you know that some semblance of posting will begin tomorrow … The Funny Papers … and though things will be haphazard in the coming weeks I am trying to get back into it. Sometimes I feel like I can’t do this any longer and other times I feel like I need to, so it’ll be a challenge.

But I will be commenting again and stopping in to say Hello …

Monday Bits ... And A Heartfelt Thanks To The Dog's Mother

Today, Carlos and I are off to Raleigh, North Carolina because we, and by we, I mean he — and a plus one, which would be me — have been invited to attend a cocktail party given by the Mexican Consulate in honor of Hispanic History Month.

Though his job Carlos met, and worked with, several members of the consulate and helped get some of the undocumented immigrants in South Carolina started on the path to citizenship.

And so, as sweet and as nice as I am, I have ordered Carlos to work the room tonight and secure himself a job with the Mexican Consulate … somewhere … anywhere. Europe, America, I don’t care.

He asked what I might be doing if he was offered, and accepted, a job with the consulate, and I politely responded that I would play the part of consulate wife, and have lunches with other consulate wives and have an affair with our pool boy.

Duh.

Oh ... and I'll be back Wednesday.

We are now just a little more than a month from Carlos and me getting married. We're going to keep it simple, with a couple of witnesses — my father being one — and a courthouse wedding. But I think we'll have some sort of reception after we get back home to celebrate with friends.

A new person started working with me this week, and was standing by my side when I was speaking to a friend of mine who was asking about the wedding. My friend and I talked about marriage and rings and all that jazz, and then this new co-worker chimed in that she was getting married, too, but that she wasn't a girly-girl so she wasn't into all the gowns and hoo-haw of a fancy wedding.

She asked me, Is your fiancée a girly girl?

I replied, Well, sometimes he is, and sometimes he isn't.

Asked and answered I guess.

Also on the news of wedding and dame-sex marriage, The Will of the People Fund will be marching in SC Pride this weekend in Columbia, so Carlos and I have our walking shoes lined up. We'll also have a tent at the festival and will be raising money for the lawsuit filed by Katie Bradacs and her wife Tracie Goodwin-Bradacs to have South Carolina recognize their marriage.

And so, on that note, I'll once again remind you all that The Will of the People Fund was created by fifteen gay men and women — including Carlos and myself, and some of our closest, gayest friends — to raise money for the non-attorney costs of the Bradacs lawsuit.

If you'd like to donate toward making South Carolina a marriage equality state, you can mail a tax-deductible donation, check payable to The Will of the People Fund, to:

The Will of the People Fund

P.O. Box 5006

Columbia, SC, 29250

And, on that note, a special thank you, and shout out to, The Dog's Mother, for the donation she and her husband, The Engineer,  sent, in Carlos' and my name, to the Will of the People Fund.

A lovely surprise, a grand gesture, a great gift.

ThankyouThankyouThankyou!

Outstanding Guest Comment Of The Week: Miss Ginger Grant

This week the competition was stiff......stiff...he he.....and the finalist were narrowed down to three.
Second runner-up is Allan, who commented on my inability to take one single picture at our Cinco de Never Festival:

Allan S has left a new comment on your post "I Didn't Get Raptured As Much As I Got Sangria'd":

honey, next time you go sip, click, sip, click. After a few drinks you will be making art. 


Stop in and say hi to Allan at The Adventures Of An Extroverted Wallflower, a "nuyorican-queer-b-boy-nerd."


And first runner-up, who, in the event that the winner cannot fulfill the obligations that come with this award, which means they have to read it, will take over the crown, is Stephen, who is as much a fan of Wisconsin politicians as I:

Stephen has left a new comment on your post "Wisconsin Doesn't Like the Gays":

I will take Bigoted Assholes for $1000, Alec. 


Why don't you take a moment, and head on over and visit Stephen at Post Apocalyptic Bohemian and read the "random musing of a mid-20th century gay man."


But the winner of this week's coveted....coveted? Seriously?.....ISBL Outstanding Guest Comment of The Week is.....Miss Ginger Grant!
"Miss Ginger Grant is a philanthropist, performer, and icon in the Houston, Texas community. And yes, she is a drag queen!"
But she is also an icon of the blogosphere!

Miss Ginger Grant has left a new comment on your post ""I Can See Mexico From My House"":

At least if we consolidate all the asshats into one state, perhaps they actually COULD successfully secede from the union and no one would miss them. I volunteer to help Rick Perry pack his shit! 


Visit Miss Ginger at:
The FABULOUS Blog of Miss Ginger Grant! AKA The Royal Blog of Queen Ginger Grant!
Countdown To Ball XLI
The Low Salt Cajun Queen

Welcome.....

...........to Dyl, from across the pond, owner and author of Gecko Echo. Dyl describes himself a "friendly, strongly anti-censorship, atheist, post-humanist, left-wing, lactose-intolerant, bearded geek." I say he'll fit in quite nicely here. If you get a chance, check him out.

Welcome......

...........to Michael Mattison of Spice Of Life.

Michael is an American living abroad.....No, not as a broad, but abroad, as in Europe. Sheesh! Of himself, he says, "I think of life's pleasures as spices: the charm of that picture-perfect Parisian café; a Santorini sunset worthy of the gods; a soprano's voice of liquid gold; a fragrance straight out of paradise ... Together, these spices make life the zesty experience it should be."

Sounds delicious, so stop on over and say Hello.

Welcome!

Brahm has joined our little ISBL family!

He hails from Alfred Lives Here, which, in his own words is a place for "[r]andom thoughts, big gay opinions, sarcastic observations, shared stories, political musings, quote collecting, and lots of love for Alfred the adorable Havanese."

That's Alfred over thataway. Check him out!

Welcome.....

......to the MadTexter, another mo from next door. Um, well, not right next door, but the next state over and well, oh.......He's quick with a bon mot and some rapid-fire repartee; he's got an opinion on just about everything, a way with words, and a husband who, may occasionally, drive him insane.

He's...................me?

No, he's the MadTexter, aka Corey James, check him out.

Welcome......

...........to Larry, a Great Lakes Guy. Larry's blog is what y'all might call a little NSFW sometimes, but if you like a little NSFW, then check him out!

And Another Welcome.....

......to Ron, the Mad Professah from The Mad Professah Lectures! he calls himself a "Black Gay Caribbean Liberal Progressive Moderate Fit Married College-Educated NPR-Listening Tennis-Playing Feminist Atheist" and if that isn't enough to get you going over to his place and saying Hello then I don't know what will.

Seriously, get over there!

Welcome......

...........to Bob, from Bob Out. Bob's a 'mo from Georgia who ponders about life and love and, well, hunks, because....you know....that how we roll. Plus, he recently featured Rodrigo Santoro and, well, Mr. Santoro gets my motor running. So, say Hello to Bob, and stop by and check him Out.

Welcome.....

....to Don Joe from WorkForced. This is him, in a nutshell, so to speak: "Ruthlessly enrolled on a graduate recruitment program several years ago, before being passed over for promotion and stimulation, I am the jaded progeny of marketing brochures. Stuck inside the multinational from purgatory, this is a case of one man fighting against a machine, and not inflicting any damage in the process."

Check him out. Funny stuff over there.

Welcome....

....to NewLeaf, who seems to be blogless as of now, but is a welcome addition to the ISBL family at any rate. Hopefully, we'll get NewLeaf blogging like mad........until then, Hola!

UPDATE: NewLeaf does have a blog, though it didn't materialize on his profile page, but here it is: My Travels Out Of The Closet.

Now....check him out.

Welcome.......

........to Nelson G, of NGblog, where you can get all the news about the LGBT community, and what's going on within, and without, our community.

Check it out.

Welcome......

....to Jeffrey Dunn, from I Was Half In Love By The Time We Sat Down, which is, in his own words: "....just some of my random thoughts about myself, my family, dating and love and my ideas of sweetness. I suppose the whole point is to reveal things I would never otherwise say out loud to anyone. Sure, bits and pieces here and there maybe, but never all at once like this. So, at times, it may get uncomfortable and childish and so not sexy, but without that element, this would be pointless, really. Most of the times I really do know better, but where is the romance in that? and just for the record, I am not a writer and I like knowing who is actually reading this."

Check him out.

Welcome to......

FDeF from Reluctant Rebel: "I am a semi-retired (by default) boomer. I was born in 1948. I grew up Catholic. Everything was a sin. You get the picture. While my peers were dating, courting and marrying, I was struggling with my sexuality. I began my gay adolescence at 35, dated, courted, and now have a kind, loving and wonderful helpmate, companion and partner. We have been together for over 21 years. We own a house in the woods. We pay taxes. We recently lost our 15 year-old Victorian Black Lab with recessive genes whom we loved dearly. We own an RV and like to travel. We are sometimes apprehensive about the future. "

Stop in and say Hey!

Welcome............

............to Daniel, from Up and About, and, in his owns words it's "... yet another random rambling whining personal blog about basically nothing. All and nothing. It's about what goes on in my life, what bothers me, what makes me happy and what makes my life worth living. I'm not trying to make a point here, nor am I aiming to change the world with some cleverly thought out purpose. This is just a fairly creative outsource of my thoughts and ideas. Some well considered, some not. Typos and weird grammar should be seen as an entertaining bonus.

I'm a lazy Scandinavian 40+ bi-ish conspiracy minded suspicious control freak guy with diagnosed mood disorders scared of flying trust issues and a rollercoaster life behind me. Proud dad of two. Fairly unsocial, yet loyal. Soft for red wine and Sci Fi, I seriously and honestly suspect I'm a horrible person to live with. But on the positive side (?) I enjoy cats a good book my friends travel wasting my money technology music art photography railways interesting people and anything shiny appearing in front of my eyes. And caring about the ones I love and life for. This blog is probably not worth the time spent. You are now officially warned, don't come say I didn't tell you."

Check it out.

A Special ISBL.......

.....welcome to Malcolm McLachlan AKA Old Midhurstian.

Now, why the name old Midhurstian, you ask? Well, because Mac "attended Midhurst Grammar School in West Sussex between 1964 and 1971" and so that makes him an old Midhurstian.


Anyway, Mac lives across the pond and he writes some very interesting things. Check him out HERE.

....and let's say Hi ya'll to Biki, from c-c-c-cold Alaska. She declares hersefl "Gloriously alive! Loud, excited, interested, info input junkie, female. Married to my best friend, children. it doesn't matter in the end what you name me, just what you think of me."

Check her out HERE and HERE

It's My First Blogiversary!

One year ago today I started blogging

.....yes, I'm still a newbie.......

and I haven't shut up since!

It's been a blast and I want to thank all of you who stop by here every day, to leave a comment. I would also thank you for all your blogs--especially La Grande Duchess of Dust Bunnies, Her Royal Highness David Dust, who inspired me to give this bloggery a try--because I find such great things, stories, pictures, jokes, factoids, and trivia in all your blogiverses.

And so, in honor of this :::cough cough:::: momentous occasion, here is a repeat of that first thought-provoking, hysterically funny, pensive, erudite, cogent, concise post.....such as it was:

I'm new to this blog thing, but I do love to talk and I do have an opinion--hell I have thousands of opinions--so I guess that's as good a place to start. Let's talk about.........Me!

I am a happily-partnered gay male, and I have been with the love of my life for the last eight years. We met online in an AOL chatroom--no, not THAT kind of chatroom--and became IM friends, and then email friends, and then phone friends and then friends across the country and then I went from California to Miami to meet him, and that was that. A few months later I'd left California and settled in Miami--talk about culture shock!

We stayed in Miami for about six years until Carlos--the aforementioned partner--accepted a job in Smallville, South Carolina, and we loaded up the truck and moved to....well, not Beverly Hills, but Smallville. A small town. A cute town. A town full of nice people who didn't seem at all peeved that the newest arrivals were a couple of mo's from Miami. That's a start, I think. More to come.....I hope.