It’s hard to believe that the Frog Pond opened a year ago. There is a lot to reminisce about. Below the fold I’m putting a list of all the members that signed up the first day. A lot of them are still here. What are your memories of the last year? My favorites involve the ways the community came together without any instruction or help from above to create the Froggy Bottom Cafe & Lounge, and the Photo Fair.
anachronarchrist
baba durag
southbeck
fly
OhLes
Frederick Clarkson
TXsharon
The Johnny
susanhu
Lavoisier1794
hoolia
Cali Scribe
B Rubble
murphy
Maryscott OConnor
chocolate ink
Yaright
Beamster
TracieLynn
santoriello
UniC
paranoidAmerican
UL
smashthesymbols
Chamonix
dchill
outlanddish
smash
MiCHAEL1104
folkbum
moiv
lapin
Kidspeak
auntdeen
jmelli
no3reed
alsauf
Mike Stark
ginatx
canberra boy
dorsano
sean mykael
Man Eegee
NCYellowDog
Chamonix1
ides
citizen
jeebie
shirlstars
radish
wontgetfooledagain
daria g
Smedley Hirkum
2care4others
Kapakahi
by foot
mentaldebris
Chance the gardener
Ckntfld
Ricardo
caneel
I loved the welcome wagons – tell us about you that ran just about 24/7 by Diane and Shirl and so many others.
It was a great way to form a community by learning something about each other.
Happy First Anniversary!
I remember that Diane101 used to greet every new member. And then she created the welcome wagon with shirlstars and somehow that morphed into the cafe. I missed the whole polling thing so I never saw the other options to ‘Froggy Bottom’.
Thanks BooMan and congratulations on this anniversary. Happy birthday to BT! Things I remember: Tossing the twine, the Spiderleaf clique, my shameless taking on “framing”.
did you ever get accepted into spiderleaf’s clique? I’m still waiting for the password.
I believe that everyone else received it. I’m sure that this was just an oversight, certainly not intentional. 😉
Aww damn. Passwords?? First I forget to collect dues as Oui so rudely pointed out to me & then I was supposed to issue passwords??
Man oh man. No wonder I haven’t seen anybody at the meetings. I really need to plan out my ideas before implementing them.
😉
I came over here because of the “pHOTO-PHAIR” & have since visited everyday.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
i’d love to have another photo fair and a painting fair too.
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary. Time flies fighting tyranny.
Have you ever considered pulling up a diary a day from a year ago to highlight any progress that’s been made?
Diane and Shirl’s contribution cannot be overstated. What a great idea to create the Froggy Bottom Cafe as a place to hang out and talk even if you’re sick to death of politics and just want to whine for a while or share kitty or pupdog photos.
Happy Anniversary everyone!
Congrats Booman on the 1 year anniversary. It seems like only yesterday that we were naming the Frog and deciding on which frog to use as the logo. A special thanks to Susanhu and Diane101 for their long, hard work during the past year that helped make The Booman Trib what it has become today. Long live the Frog Pond and may we see many BushCo criminals & cronies frog marched into the FedPen where I hope they rot. Their quest to destroy the Constitution, our freedoms and the good name of America will not prevail. The war criminal must be brought to justice.
We all went around and around on the frog’s name, didn’t we?
I remember liking the combination of the slower pace and excellent writing here, and how things really sped up after the pie wars. It was an adjustment!
And then (in no particular order) there’s the diaries about evenings spent with Jim Morrison, the Diane/Shirl Welcome Wagons, getting “pretty colored box” html pointers from BooMan and SusanHu and Ductape one afternoon…the photo fair, the book discussions, diaries about a trip to the barber…and meeting everybody else who went to the march in DC…
Looking forward to hanging out at the pond for another year!
did I wait until Day 2 to register and miss out on being among the Founding 100? I can’t even remember now. It certainly wasn’t hesitation to support BooMan and SusanHu who I admired immensely and still do. It wasn’t a lack of desire to find someplace other than the Other Place where I could freely express myself. Did I have to take the car in for an oil change or some other pressing mundane shit? Was I having one of my “I’ve been spending too much time on the internet and better go look at the sky” kind of days? Heck, I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter…
What matters is: I’m here, all my virtual friends are here, this is the hip-hoppingest place in the whole blogosphere and one of these days, paraphrasing Margaret Mead, we’re going to dedicate ourselves to doing something that really changes the world! Now if we could just decide on what that action should be…
Congratulations BooMan! Your baby is one year’s old and growing!
Same here. I actually thought Monday March 14, 2005 was opening day (the day I registered) – but I guess it started Sunday 13th.
In any case, happy anniversary to BT and all posters.
actually anachroanarchist shouldn’t be on the list. He’s a friend that created his account around 1 pm.
baba durag was the first to sign up at 7:55 pm eastern time, after I posted the announcement at Daily Kos.
baba dropped by not too long ago.
I was here the first day, but too lazy to register until the second day.
Took me a while to register also, although I think I tried that first day but some glitch in the email prohibited me, but I’m no 382.
Congrats and Happy Anniversary- man, time flies when there’s so many things to outrage about LOL!
My favorite memory if I had to pick just one was the entire weekend in DC with the incredible folks from this sanctuary and all those from here who supported us on our journeys.
The friendships I have made here in this short time… have been the strongest, committed… and releasing I ever could have imagined.
I want to thank you ALL for believing in me when I was so scared about leaving my kids behind for the first time to cross the country and try to toss in my pebble into the pond against Bush.
((((((((((((Booman))))))))))))) I thank you for inspiring me and encouraging me to realize that my anger, rage, wrath… if channeled with support and love… can do some good. That opening up wounds can help with healing.
thanks DJ, and I couldn’t have become non-responsive in MT’s hotel room w/o your help…
arg, i’m sorry i missed all that. i was down in DC too.
you should do a photo diary of that. I bet you have awesome photos.
i have a flickr set up here, but a tighter edit could definitely be posted up here. i took almost 500 shots down there. would’ve been more if it wasn’t drizzling [the camera hates the rain more than i do]. but i have a set of 15 edited shots. i’ll put them up later tonight if i get a chance.
Hello Albert 🙂
Some of those photos you took must’ve meant you and I met. Or at least you met my brother, Ryan. The ones taken of Jesse Jackson and at CodePink startup.
definitely a possibility! several people have commented on some of the pics saying that the pics were of them!
photo diary is up here
Happy Anniversary!! I took the day off from work to celebrate (actually, the snow storm knocked power out at work – so hurray – three day weekend!!)
One of my first (and best) memories of the pond was diaries about and by vets that started with MilitaryTracy’s about her uncle’s suicide. They were so powerful. It was the first time I thought about the effect of the Iraq war on Vietnam vets – those whose only solace had been: “Never again.”
Sometimes I really miss leftvet, infidelpig and Ghostdancers Way. I know they drop in occassionally – but I miss them.
And, speaking of infidelpig – another “best” moment was his “The Two Wolves Within” – still on my hotlist.
remember when BostonJoe quit reading blogs for a month and only read the New York Times to see how stupid it would make him?
I’ve still got it on my hotlist, too. Here’s a link for those who missed it, and a snip:
Thanks, Booman and everyone, for this great place!
.
Thanks BooMan and SusanHu for great writing and inspiration making the pond the best place to be informed and meet friends new and old.
Around March 25th, I just followed the trail of tiny bread crumbs leading to a place of giants … 3,856 comments ago.
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary!
Wishing all well and good health to join us in 2007 for the 2nd anniversary. In the meantime, plenty of action to get our election result this midterm, and make BooMan’s a Happy Place by kicking Republican ass.
Recent joy when AP visited the Netherlands! But most pleasure here @BooMan by reading the excellent diaries and comments all around this community. Thank you all for just being YOU by sharing and caring.
(((((Hugs))))) to all BooTribbers and special thanks to Diane101 for making up after our “fight”. LOL
Not to forget Jérôme a Paris and the international flavor brought by BooMan and the creation of European Tribune community.
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
Ahhhh, Oui, I remember the fight with Diane. In fact I was on her side against you and Ductape. I think we have all forgiven each other since then. What a year it has been. Thank you for your enthusiasm and positive energy at this site.
My first ever diary appeared on these pages Mar.22, 2005.
Some 80 diaries later, most of them FBC ones, I wish I still had the verve for all the writing I used to do….now that I have intermittent writers blocknessmonster disease.
Congrats Booman for keeping this all together and going for a whole year, 10 years in blog years actually, I think.
And where is Susan, Susan, you better come back here, please…..
Diane, I remember the first day I joined and you and Shirl jumped right in and made me talk more and more and I was thinking “who ARE these crazy ladies, and can’t I just sneak in here and be anonymous, for pete’s sake?!”…..Well, uh…no you can’t.
Between June 7th and June 15th we got 526 new pie-war veterans.
I bet that brought in alot of Froggies.
Yeah, in 3 months we’ll have to have another anniversary celebration. NO PIES ALLOWED. Maybe we can live-blog Gilligan’s Island re-runs.
Just checking my first comment on June 8th in Welcome Wagon #9, looks like I’m a pie war vet. I mostly observed all the fuss from a distance, but I kept seeing some site called “Booman Tribune” mentioned again and again by writers I respected so I thought it must be a place worth checking out. That was definitely an understatement.
I, like NLinStPaul, have been very inspired by MT, infidelpig, GW, and many others. And I still periodically peruse bood abides’ “Bush Administration Frog Walk” diary to give my optimism a boost.
I am constantly impresssed by the quality of thought and writing here, and with the community that has evolved.
Thank you Booman, susanhu, and everyone who has contributed to make the site what it is.
6/8/2005 9:35 AM, blueneck was reborn as a frog!
My first diary got nailed for bringing the big orange garbage over here…but soon afterwards, I clicked into a Welcome Wagon – and the rest is history…
Thanks BooMan and SusanHu for the work of putting this together and keeping it together. Thanks to everyone who has made this place great….
Congrats BooMan! You know, when I first checked the Frog Pond out, I was really suprised at all of the people that I really liked were here. Remember when I posted my first comment, I got a few greetings from people–glad to see you here! The people here are the greatest, and the writing here is tops! How you managed to do it, attrack all of the better writers, create such a friendly and open atomosphere (where people are not hesitant about discussing personal things) says a lot about you. Really glad to be here. And congrats again!
we back each other up from time to time.
I can always expect to see your name when a diary involves health care 🙂
It was really great to see you in the replies when I had .. “had it” with a certain politician was in here making claims that they were this&that. It’s like we had each other’s back. Thank you 🙂
I noticed that too–how we’re always backing each other up. And thanks to you too for your writing re: your personal story. It was great and was the beginning of much that people were keeping inside themselves. 🙂
But, you want to know something? I started writing about Medicare D(isaster) because I was pissed off about the whole thing and getting no answers. Then it turned into single payer as a solution to the health care situation in this country, and, I find more info, and have so much more to write…
And what else is great is that if someone finds something that I have missed, they will link to it, and all of the info helps…
Like I said, so much to write, and I love to write!
It justs keeps getting better and better every day. Boo, I can’t thank you enough for all you have brought to my life.
As far as I’m concerned – You Da Man
Many congrats!
One year! Wow!
it’s a bootrib custom to recommend the first diary by a new member, isn’t it?
i don’t recall exactly when i started reading the Tribune, but i know that i lurked for a long while just reading. then i registered and lurked some more dropping ratings here and there. then it took another long while to start commenting and now it’s just really addictive. loved every moment here and i’m very glad to have met some of the members of this group in person.
oof… and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
This is a great place Boo, I hope you’re proud of your accomplishments, IMO you should be.
Too many good memories, special times all. It is truly a pleasure and a privilege and to be part of this community.
Thank You, and everybody.
Happy Anniversary!
Peace
Happy Anniversary, BooTrib! It certainly has been quite a year.
I remember naming the frog (the real totem frog, not the current younger, cleaner lined trophy frog!;). My favorite ,which I think was Jean Frogge Van Damm, didn’t get picked, sigh.
I really like that this has been a sort of ‘intentional community’. We’d have those conversations of what we wanted it to be, and what sort of atmosphere and, for the most part, that’s what it’s been. Diane, of course, was very instrumental in that. Prodding people to come to her diaries to talk conflict out, and also greeting everyone who came in, which turned into the Welcome Wagons, which then turned into the Cafe. I’ve still seen nothing like any of those in any of the other single or group communities I’ve visited.
And of course, the marvelous work of Susan and BooMan, with major stories, both singly and together (remember the collaboration on the investigative Gitmo article? Cited all over the place, that was). And one of my favorites was when Susan highlighted the most underreported stories from the UN, and with the community parceled them out to be covered.
The fall out from the Pie Wars was just amazing… at first having no clue what it was all about, but suddenly seeing all these brilliant (and hurt and very angry) women and men flowing over here and the community coming together to put into practice the principles we’d spoken about – helping to provide a safe and welcoming space, an ear and a shoulder if wanted, staying in the background if not. Reminded me a bit of those rescue workers that automatically go into crisis mode as soon as a major event happens.
Well, lots of other memories. And new ones to come in the next year.
you know, you’re right…the pre-pie war members were able to accept in the huge influx of new people precisely because we had already created a culture that knew how to diffuse anger by listening, and the members fought to keep the culture in tact, and it somehow worked. The culture didn’t change all that much, although it did take on a stronger female flavor. But even that seems to have been somewhat pre-existing.
Boo, would you be willing to share some with us newer folks, about what your orignal vision for the Trib was and how that compares with what it is now at one year? And how you feel abut the strength of the feminine voice here? I’d like to hear from all of you BooPioneers on this too..
well, okay.
When I thought about the site and what I wanted it to be, I thought about the Congress and what was wrong with it. And even more than a lack of ethnic diversity, the congress suffers from a gender imbalance. I have been a supporter of Emily’s List for just that reason.
So, other than pastordan, every other writer I asked to join here was a woman. Ironically, a year later MSOC has her own site, page had a run at dKos, SusanG and Georgia10 or writing over there now.
But it worked out great with Susan and I creating a pretty much 50/50 balance. I’d really like to find some more great women writers for the front-page, but while I didn’t get all the writers I hoped for, fortune brought a female audience.
Most political communities are over 70% male. This one is the exact opposite. And that is fine with me. What I wanted was to give a voice to women to see what politics would look like if women had equal representation.
I just hope that we can find more men that feel comfortable in our altered little universe.
Well, OK, so here’s your “happy birthday” anyway. 😉
Quite a milestone, actually. Kudos.
Also interesting about this site is how much more diversity (of opinion and perspective, not necessarily gender-or-ethnic specific) there is in the “back pages”–i.e. the diaries, than there is on the front-page.
What I hear most people saying is that the BACK PAGES, tho, are what attracts them, and I for one would very much applaud seeing more of the “insider” diversity reflected on the front page.
My always-ignored, somehow never to be taken seriously (though I know not why) suggestion once again: promote DuctapeFatwa to front page status. And, if you’re looking for another woman writer for the frontpage, heck, ever considered asking Scribe?
I was thinking about this just last night (look out, BooMan!). I love Ductape’s writing (and that of others here) but am not sure I’d like to see him become a full time front pager. I don’t know if he would like that either, actually.
But… what about this? A front page rotation, but not for a year, ala kos. Maybe for a month or so… the community proposes people to be voted on, we can have the vote, and the top two vote getters have a rotation on the front page, either one at a time or both together, for a month or however long a period of time.
This way, not only does it avoid that dreaded “front pager dementia” that I’ve seen in other places, but also could work to explore the full diversity of thought in the community. Mind you, there are no doubt guidelines that would need to be followed, but once people know what they are, they can write within them, while still bringing their unique flavor into the mix.
What do you guys think?
good suggestion.
Appreciate the vote of confidence Stark, but I’m no front page political writer: that takes a lot of tech and search skills I don’t have and don’t care to develop. (Besides, I don’t want to work that hard anymore!)
Could you do it for a month? Not that I have anything to do with any of this, but I know that doing front page stories long-term requires a big commitment and am trying to figure out if shorter times might work, before I formally present my idea of bringing more diversity of all sorts to the front page, lol.
So, what about a month? Doing your sort of political/social issues/action stories?
Thank you. I often find things I start take their own road, if I allow them to, and often lead me to places I didn’t even know I wanted to go, but suddenly, there I am, at a sligtly different destination than planned. Often, it’s has ever more potential that the original plans I had.
The 70%, the women who hang out here, are gaining something essential if we are ever to make up one half of that congress: a place for out powerful voices to come together and be heard not just by other women, but my men as well. When women come together in such a place, our power is fed and multiplied many many times over, inside of each of us. Thus strengthened in places like this pond, we take that with us “out there” into our lives, and into the larger world.
Then we have all the men here who also take what they gain here out into thier larger worlds. Who can know how far the ripples are spreading from all of this spashing aorund we do here?
So it sure looks to me that at one year, your original vision is living itself out just fine. In terms of more front page women writers, well, sometimes we already have all we need and only need to use it.
As for more male readers, they’ll come, but more slowly. This a long difficult journey for men to make. They have to walk out from of the bell jar of thier own conditioning too, and it has been relentless and long.
When women walk into our own fully integrated selves, we are applauded and supported by other women and seen as courageous.
Men who somehow manage to bring thier own two halves together,bledning thier own male and female energies, they are see as less manly by thier own gender. It takes takes a hell of a lot of courage, and they don’t get the applauded or supported by thier brothers. Except in places like this.
I think you are a bridgebuilder, Boo.
Can you post the original frog for people who weren’t here yet?
Thanks big Boo. I came over from orangeland just a few months ago.
We’re very proud of you and I’m glad to be here.
Yay! Totem frog.
I went and searched out Alice’s diary about Frog Medicine and our frog. Here is part of it:
Yes, there was not only the female flavor and the listening culture from the beginning, but also the willingness to have a more holistic site, I guess you’d put it. So that it was nothing unusual, (and considered perfectly okay) to have the recommended list have diaries that spanned the range of politics, economics, world events, ghostdancing and breathing all at once.
I think also this sort of atmosphere has allowed room for the men to open up and explore other avenues of creative thinking and action without the fear that it will be dismissed out of hand. So, women friendly works out for all ;).
Also, what was neat was seeing the first pie war wave pick up on the culture of the site pretty much immediately, so that they then turned around and spread the word to the ones coming in next… “it’s different here, no need to flame people”, while some also jumped right into being the Welcoming committee. It was very cool to watch and be a part of.
You are so right, nanette!
Congratulations Booman and Susan and Diane, and so many amazing folks here, newcomers or oldtimers, just wow!
That any of you here, or in the greater blog-o-sphere welcomed and continue to welcome me to play in your yard is just stunning. I have been very kindly treated on blogs, although, even I have trouble figuring it out. When I fell into dkos in early 2004, it was sort of like being on drugs. . .hadn’t a clue what I was doing there or how I got there. I spent months in awe of the great writing and the all around sense of community that developed among many of us.
Signed up pretty early on for BMT, number 73, don’t ya know. It took a little while for me to get active, and it took Diane to get me activated over here. . .not that I didn’t want to participate, I just couldn’t imagine that anyone would be much interested in my drivel. When I cross-posted my Adopted Daughter series of diaries here, Diane accosted me and relentlessly “encouraged” my participation here. She is a very hard person to resist or to turn down, as I am sure many others of you know. I mean that woman was everywhere tracking down folks and inviting them here and encouraging them to post diaries and comments! A force of Nature!!!!
Once I got the lay of the Frog Pond and met more and more of you, I was hooked and I just felt far more at home here than other places. I’ve been very proud to be a member of this community ever since. It is the ONLY political site I recommend to other people. They will find their way to others if they want, but I know this is a most important first stop for them.
Some of my fondest memories are of the “Great Influx” (aka the Pie war refugees). We had so much fun welcoming all the newcomers or previously less active members. It was just amazing to get to know so many of you a little and to see what gosh darn awesome folks you are. And then to watch so many of you newbies jump in and become welcomers too as we “old foggies” tired out from the 24/7 attention to welcoming and needed some rest.
Booman and Susan have done a magnificant job in putting this place together and Diane’s attention to creating community has been unequaled. . .the brillance of the Welcome Wagons, the Tell us about You diaries and the creation of the Cafe, truly all only maintained, and created by her determination and encouragement.
Congratulations Boo, Susan, Diane and everyone here who has made this “THE” place to be on the internet. A very unique home and community. Proud to be one of the Froggies!
Hugs all!!
AND. . . .I forgot to mention . . .
How excited we all are for the SoCal Meetup coming up on March 31st in Del Mar California. Can’t wait to see all your adorable selves and meet you face to face.
Still Plenty of time to choose to join in with us! It is going to be some GRAND and endlessly FUN time!!! Everyone is invited no matter where you call home.
For more info you can contact Alohaleezy, or me or diane.
Can’t wait!!!!!
Some serious hugging for everyone.
Congratulations Booman!
Though I often feel like a stranger in a strange land here, I’ve come to appreciate the oportunity to be exposed to othe, intelligent, articulate POV’s, to learn from them (either new info/perspectives, or sharpening my own) as well as sharing the simple, human act of screaming: ‘This is BS!’ to the daily news.
Thanks to all who have made it possible.
Happy Anniversary
Ha! Maybe we should erect a Frog Bridge for the occassion as well. Wait, there already is one in Willimantic, CT:
Did you make that cake? It doesn’t look like a clip-art version kind of thing.
I flew here with my feathers standing on end after gettinga good blast of birdshot, only to catch my breath and rest a bit. I was committed to staying a moving target from there foward, never pausing long enough in any one place for anyone to draw a good bead. I figured if I stayed here, it would only be a matter of time before that Booman character revealed his true colors (and the shotgun behind his back). So, no way was I going to get too friendly with native wildlife. No more online “attatchment” for this ol bird.
Well, hell. Here I still am. Not one pellet of birdshot to pick out of my hide in all this time no matter how loud I squawked. Not only that, but the wildlife around here is downright addicting. Not only that, but there they all all were, watching my back just yesterday, when I took a trip back to the old tree, to write a “finis” to that chapter.
I’ll be damned. Life is nithin but one long amazement.
Congratulations to Boo and to all the Mom and Pop BooCritters on the first birthday of your Boo Kid!
Scribe, you’re a big reason why I love this place. You inspire me so very often.
Yep SN – she does indeed inspire.
One of my personal favorite moments here at the pond was when Scribe and I realized we had posted the exact same comment to someone at the exact same time. We (virtually) looked at each other and said, “Wow – we both live in St. Paul – lets get together.” And its been a wild, wonderful, inspiring ride ever since.
Way to go Booman. I just looked back and I wrote my first diary 6/15/05. God, was it terrible but you all gave me love anyway. That’s the first thing that sticks out. The love and encouragement. Susan and Sallycat encouraging me on. I was so afraid to expose myself at first. Now you can’t shut me up!
Of course the Crawford gang and standing with Cindy was life changing. Tracy inspiring me to go down there. The blogging going on during, JanetStrange taking such good care of me when I got heat exhaustion, Brinnainne gearing me up in Austin. Then coming and home and writing diaries about my experiences and others adding pictures. I wrote two diaries about Crawford and there was suppose to be a third and then Katrina hit and nothing else mattered.
SusanHu, you are such an amazing writer and friend. Please come back soon. Diane101, your outgoing personality and efforts to get the Cafe launched. THAT is what made this a real community.
To each and everyone of you for contributing here and to my life, I thank you. I cannot wait to meet those of you coming for the SoCal meetup in two weeks. This is a special place and I am proud to be a part of the Booman Tribune family. Here’s to many more years of being a force to be reckoned with.
Just a quick note to say thank you BooMan. Thanks for being here. Thanks for all of this.
I miss you susan..come back
Happy anniversary
My user number is 186 so even though I apparently didn’t sign up until about the third day (somewhere in between SallyCat and alohaleezy, it seems), I’ve been here since almost the beginning. Oh sure, most of you know me as Omir the Storyteller now, but what does a user number in the mid-700s prove?
Seriously BooMan, thank you for putting this site together. It serves the same purpose science fiction conventions used to serve in my life; I can come here and hang out with people who I fit in with. Or in the phrase I used in those days, a place where weird is normal. And these days, it’s definitely weird to be a liberal and/or a patriot.
you briefly baffled me with your logging on with the old user name. I had forgotten you changed it. If you care about your user ID #, I could always change your redmond account to reflect your storyteller name and vice-versa.
Thanks for the offer. It would be nice if it doesn’t take too long, but it’s not that big a deal. To tell you the truth, it’s not something I really thought much about until today when you posted the names of the early adopters and I got to wondering how far behind them I was. (Not much, as it turns out.)
i just did the big switcheroo on you.
Cool! Thank you very kindly! (Somehow I don’t think that would ever happen over at Big Orange.)
Congratulations, Boo. Thanks to you and to all of the early frogs who did so much to make this such a friendly place for tadpoles.
…year, eh?
And don’t I get ANY credit for being one of the first hundred to sign up here?
I think I have the same user ID here that you have at dKos. Just wish I could write as well. But, I’m still young…
…writing. But, if you insist, we can trade. I get your writing skills and your age. You get mine. Deal?
hmmm. let me think about that one for a while. I think I smell sulphur. 🙂
Congrats Booman.
Thanks for making this a place where everyone is welcome.
Congratulations Bro!
You’re not as right as you think you are but are right more than you know 😉
Keep it up!
hmmm…thanks bro. I hope Mom had a nice party up there in Frogtown. And tell Nick happy b-day too.
As for your observation? It somehow reminds me of this: this.
Seriously, keep at it. It is much needed.
Totally off topic but I just read it so I have to share.
Maureen Dowd told the Sidney Australian that she hs always been attracted to Aussie men and that if the paper could find one who would take on a saucy, sassy, strong woman she would entertain offers.
“If she can answer one question, let her have me” came one response. “How many blokes does it take to open a beer?” Answer: None.Maureen should already have it open when she brings it to me.
But more to the point, I guess when the Left is left to Maureen’s mid life man crisis to carry their water, reasonable and serious people on the Left need folks like you.
thank you, and thanks for the tip on Maureen. That could provide me some frivolity in the near future.
Happy anniversary to you, BooMan, SusanHu and all the other BTer’s. What a special place this is! No time to chat, the campaign against the dark side is underway.
congrats to all the grown up tadpoles. Now ya are all big frogs…can handle just about anything that comes along, now. hugs to all and stay well and keep going after the big bad critter on the upper limb of the tree.
This site seems so mature to me, relative to others that have been around longer. Besides the predominance of grown-up and thoughtful voices, the pond just seems to have a grown-up atmosphere. My kind of atmosphere… fun-loving, feminist, humanist, artistic, smart, supportive, wacky, and serious by turn, with so many excellent writers I can never even hope to emulate. I’m mostly a lurker and learner here… . I just want to thank you BooMan and say that this community reflects very well on you. You should be proud of all you have accomplished here. And profound thanks to all you frogpond croakers. You are an endless source of inspiration. Happy Birthday!!!
Congrats Boo… I remember when I got uhh.. SEVERAL emails telling me about this website and I kept saying oh yeah, yeah I’ll get to it and thanks goodness I finally did.
You already know this, but you were on my hotlist back when you were over at the orange site, oh so many aeons ago.
And congrats to Susan and everyone else on the front page.
I heard your one radio interview and I hope you start doing many more media appearances!
Happy Anniversary!
Pax
Congratulations, Booman, susanhu, and everyone who makes BT a site that must be read!! I’m a lurker from Minneapolis, and I appreciate the thoughtful articles and diaries. Thanks to Jerome a Paris, Colman, and everyone at EuroTrib for giving me a better understanding of events and activities in their countries. soj, I can’t thank you enough for your work!
Congratulations BooMan on making such a nice pond out of the swamp of progressive political opinion. Keep up the good work.
As a relative newcomer & late to the party (as usual), I’d like to add my sincere thanks & hearty congratulations on Year One — to all those who’ve helped make BT a wonderful community & a fine place to learn, converse & lift the spirits.
Thanks again, y’all! Let’s have another.
Congrats Boo!
My fav memories/ moments for what its worth…
And many, many more so I’ll stop typing now. Thanks for having me around.
Cheers,
spide
That year certainly went fast!
Heh, Caneel-#87-was last to register on Day 1? I guess that makes me-#88-first on day 2! Whatever day it was, I ran straight over from DailyKos when I saw your announcement, Martin.
I may not comment very much, but I read here every day.
I also have a Boo trib t-shirt and mug. 😉
One more thing, I’ll be very happy when Susan returns. I followed her diaries at DKos and thinks she does a great job here.
Happy Anniversary!
And a big thanks to everyone not on that list.
Seriously, this is one of the most egalitarian places around. Its so nice to see the continuous stream of new members jump into the pond and make themselves at home.
Now if only that dreaded phrase “respected member of the community” would disappear… Folks who are don’t need it, and those who resort to it, well…
Wow – one year already! Way cool! (Hot?)
Congratulations to you and Susan for everything you’ve done to make this the place that it is (and hoping it will very soon return to that “original place” with Susan writing again.) What a warm, welcoming, intelligent, passionate community you’ve attracted and created. Many kudos to all who have contributed to making this site such a wonderful place to visit.
I’ll never forget my first “trauma” as a newbie – accidentally giving the site proprietor a “3”, in a friggin’ mojo thread of all places, and in response to a very witty remark. (But that’s when someone kindly pulled me aside and taught me how to change ratings)
For all the times Spide requested that I downrate her comments. Just, um, not on that particular occasion in question ;^)
Knowing full well that Oui is working undercover for the NSA, and that the dot at the beginning of his posts is anything but a harmless dot. (No matter how much convincing he tried.) ;^)
Diane and Shirl and Manny and Infidel and Ghostdancer and all the many others who worked 24/7 to welcome the influx of refugees from pie ala orange, and later collaborated to build the cafe.
Boston Joe and Manny and others successfully pulling off the multi-site Operation Chicken Feather. Wow!
The joy of witnessing so much personal growth and achievements of so many members – such as Boston Joe’s introduction of his new book, and the discovery that so many members are accomplished authors and artists (which, in turn, left me feeling not quite so bad that my writing wasn’t up to par with their words).
Being fearful of anything diaried by Rosee . . . never knowing what would be lurking around that corner . . . waiting to become the source of nightmares in my upcoming slumber.
The wonderful blending of cultures – with members from across the globe and from such diverse walks of life. What a fabulous pool of talent from which to learn.
The foot soldier activists who gathered in Crawford and DC. The live blogging from the events, to make us all feel as though we too had participated. (And being particularly moved by Leezy’s unadulterated joy leading up to and during her trip to Crawford.)
Tracy, Tracy, Tracy. Woman, you have touched me in so many ways, I wouldn’t know where to begin. (Although, I think I once posted a comment to you in which half the diaries I thanked you for writing had actually been written by Damnit Janet. . .oops.)
Getting the inside scoop on Jim Morrison, while learning advanced gardening techniques from dear sjct. (Makes me wonder whatcha might be growing in that meticulous garden of yours. :^)
Jane 2000, being the first to make me feel welcome in this strange new world I had entered.
Nanette, in teaching us all a profound (and heartbreaking) lesson in diversity.
The wisdom of the years, as shared through the eyes of Alice and Janet Strange and Scribe and Diane and Shirl and sjct and all the other wise souls out there who have fought for our civil rights and are damned if they’re going to let them be taken away. Ever.
All the dear, new friends who have been so supportive, caring and inspiring – sharing in the daily joys and sadness, personal triumphs and tragedies alike.
Recent members such as High5 and idredit – jumping right into their new surroundings and sharing their stories so we can continue to learn and grow.
And a very special thank you to a very special someone who set the foundation for me to start trusting in humanity again without looking behind my shoulder with each step. Bless you.
‘K – I think I better leave some stuff for others to mention. (Sorry for the long post, I just got on a bit of a roll there. Well . . . plus . . . I wanted to make sure that I’d be enshrined in the archives of this birthday celebration – seeing as I missed out on being in the above-mentioned “Top 100”.) ;^)
Wishing BooMan Tribune – and everyone affiliated with the site – a fabulously successful and joy-filled second year.
Good night, and good luck.
And dear Anom who has graced these pages with her wonderful and sweet words from the very beginning has put a smile on this one bloggers face many a time.
Hi, I’ve missed you, how are you…dare I say stop over at the VB sometime, lol….
Ah, but I do stop by . . .you just don’t see me. :^)
(And I’ve been very impressed with your readership numbers at VB – well done, m’dear!)
In the words of John Prine:
I’d like to tell you
that I’ll see you more often
but often is a word I seldom use
Thanks for the kind words, Diane –
g’night!
Happy anniversary! I’m so glad that I wandered into the pond.
Thanks for filling the pond and letting all of us splash around in it!
Most fun I ever had on the internets!
Late to the party, but I had to comment in this thread and thank you all for a year of laughs, learning and growth. Muchisimas gracias.
Friday BUD Blogging!! Heart be still! (Got that on my calendar as a recurring event, cause there’s nothing like Bud – and his wonderful daddy – to cheer up a person’s day!)
your comments more often around here, Anomalous. Hopefully I’ll see them at my blog too when you lurk there 🙂
Crazy year, eh?
Heck, without even knowing it, you started my day with a smile. When I logged onto my computer . . . there it was . . . on the right hand margin of the screen. “3/17 Friday Bud Blogging”. :^)
Good day!
Can’t believe I missed this thread today, but I got knocked for a loop this morning with a virus or something and I’ve been in a funky altered state all day. Loopy really :0)
Happy Anniversarry, Birthday Booman. You’ve done a hell of a job and a hell of a service for us all. I can honestly say that my best friends are to be found here and the future looks full of new best friends too :0)
Special thanks to SusanHu. Especially for being available for support when I went out to Crawford.
Object Boy hopes she returns soon :0)
When I glanced at this thread briefly this morning (my time) I didn’t get a chance to post a comment.
FWIW now, thank you BooMan for the cration of this wonderful site and your HUGE tolerance as the host this past year.
One question, should you read this comment: what caused the peak in site visits last October? The great pie wars influx was in July. Was there a second migration or other upheaval? Katrina was at the end of August.
You’ve managed to create a great community. May your froggy flag fly proudly for many moons to come.