Welcome to the Froggy Bottom Cafe and Lounge!

Here is what the Froggy Bottom Cafe and Lounge feature is all about.

Congratulations, you’ve found the Froggy Bottom Cafe & Lounge! You’re probably wondering what kind of place this is and why it’s prominently displayed on the front page. Answering that question is going to take a little while, so why don’t you have a seat and order something to eat and drink:

To understand this place you first have to understand the name. It’s a play on the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington DC where the State Department is located, but it’s also a nod to Darwin the Frog.

From March 2005 to April 2019, this community went by the name of Booman Tribune. When I established Booman Tribune in 2005, I chose a frog in handcuffs as the mascot, and Darwin is the name this blogging community gave to the frog. The mascot was inspired by Ambassador Joe Wilson’s expressed desire that Karl Rove be “frog-marched” out of the White House for his role in outing his wife Valerie Plame as a covert CIA officer.

The motto of Booman Tribune was “We won’t rest until they’re frog-marched out,” and some people (raise your hands!) still have t-shirts and coffee mugs with the logo and motto printed on them.

Before there was a Cafe & Lounge, there was a Welcome Wagon. The Welcome Wagon was the invention of Diane Eller (known as Diane101) who sadly passed away in September of 2018. I wrote an homage to her here that explained her tremendous influence and importance in shaping the friendly culture of this community. Her basic insight was that people who were coming to the site for the first time needed some way to understand where they had arrived, how the site worked, how to post a comment or a video or a picture, and what kind of behavior was permitted or discouraged. Sure, people could read the FAQ, but they’d learn better and more quickly by socializing with other members. At first, Diane kept a watch out for new commenters and would invite them to come to the Welcome Wagon and make some friends.

Before long, the Welcome Wagon became a place for people to talk about things other than the war in Iraq or the latest outrages from the Bush/Cheney White House. It was really a kind of proto-social media environment where people talked about their children and pets and recipes and hobbies. The first Cafe grew out of the Welcome Wagon, and although much of the history is lost in the mists of time (or hiding in the archives), I imagine that someone offered a thirsty traveler a drink 🍺 and a bite to eat 🥪, and the idea for the Cafe sprung from there.

At first, the Cafe was so busy that the comments would quickly reach into the hundreds after a few hours, and new threads would be created several times a day.  The first Lounge was undoubtedly created when a new Cafe was needed at a time of day more suited to nightclubbing 💃🏻 than sipping coffee ☕ under an umbrella ⛱️.

The next step was people booking events in the Cafe. There might be a book club where people discussed their favorite novels, or a movie or music-themed thread. Two of the most popular offshoots were the Friday Foto Flogging stories and the painting diaries of user boran2. These traditions have been retained for Progress Pond.

The Cafe operates from 6am to 6pm (Eastern Time). Feel free to eat-in 🍔 or take-out 🥡. The lounge is open from 6pm to 6am. It serves wine 🍷 and spirits 🍹, although don’t forget to eat something 🌭 or you might pass out.

Every Friday, the space converts in the Foto Flog 📸, which is a place to share your favorite photographs and enjoy the photos submitted by other users. On Saturdays, the Cafe is often operated by longtime user boran2, who shares his progress with his latest paintings 🎨. You can enter the Froggy Bottom Cafe by clicking on the front-page icon, but remember that heavy political discussion is generally discouraged; frivolity is more the order of the day.

You can find the FAQ on the front page, but you’ll also find it here in the Cafe and Lounge. As soon as I’ve prepared a User Handbook, that will also be available in every Cafe. If you want help with something, put your question in a comment in the latest Cafe and someone will steer you in the right direction.

And, now, in keeping with the frivolous priorities of Cafe culture, let’s get the party started!

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.

29 thoughts on “Welcome to the Froggy Bottom Cafe and Lounge!”

  4. Booman, I’ve read you for years and you’re worth more than $5 a month. So thanks for the bargain subscription. I’m game. Keep up the great work.

      1. I got burned out on online discussions several years ago. Obviously, you’ve kept something going that I found worthwhile. I may dip my toe in the pond now and again, but I also know that subscriptions are the key to keeping good work afloat. So I will subscribe as long as I read your stuff, which will be indefinitely.

          1. And I don’t know if this will ever get to the point where you’ll have other writers, but I very much appreciate Nancy’s work at the Washington Monthly and on her blog.

  6. Looks great, Boo.

    One small suggestion, can you make the main body text black instead of gray? The contrast is hard to make out on a laptop screen.

    Thanks!

  8. Hi. Long time reader, occasional poster?? Anyway, just wanted to congratulate you on the new site. Very nicely designed. I do agree with the commenter who asked that the text be made black. Have read your articles/posts for about 10 years now. I’ve learned a ton of stuff from your scholarly yet readable posts. I’m thinking of subscribing as a paying customer soon.

    1. Thank you, and welcome to the Frog Pond, Squeeze! We’ve had only one main complaint so far and it’s about the text being too light. We aim to please, so expect it to get darker.

  10. Glad you did this Martin! I’m an annual Silver subscriber now. I also subscribe to the Majority Report (Sam Seder) and Talking Point Memo (Josh Marshall). This is the most important subscription I can do. I’ve depended on your writing since the Bush years. Thanks for making this happen.

  12. It’s been a very long but cool day. I actually have a bunch of writing ahead of me tonight and I need some good mood music. This jam is one of my favorites of all time. The keyboards are spectacular, the improvisation is off the charts, the synchronicity is otherworldly, and the uniqueness of the song selections and how they meld them together is precious. I just love this piece of music. Love it to death. I’ve loved it since I first heard it at 14 years of age on a clean crisp soundboard tape.

    The first song in the medley is about the father of one of the drummers who, while he was managing the band, split for Mexico with all their money.

    But you’d never know that from the lyrics.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY7H_T3MY00

  13. Taking a quick break before going back to the end of a very heavy work week. The new pond looks great, and I am glad to see everyone who’s dropped by today. Hoping to see a lot more familiar and new faces!

  14. It’s my first time visiting the lounge/cafe, after all these years, if you can believe it. I’m *loving* the music. But I have to get up early to deal with students. So I’ll catch you all later.

  15. More than excellent Martin and congratulations to the community. Thank you for those many years of political awareness and being a straight shooter.

    I wasn’t aware the loss of Diane101 … such a good friend and very fine lady … had a great heart, community spirit and excellent writings on what matters most for planet Earth.

  17. Did someone say mugs?

    I’ve long since worn through my two Booman Tribune t-shirts, but I’m always in the market for new shirts if merchandise becomes available 🙂

        1. Yep, I do actually. There is a little bit of tea staining on the inside, but it’s held up extremely well!

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