He Just Wouldn’t Stop Banging On
Those of you who keep track of these things will know that today is this blog’s fifteenth birthday. I started doing… this, whatever it is, on the same day that the original iPhone was announced, back when the Blackberry Curve was a desirable thing, and 200 million people had a MySpace account. After close to sixteen million pageviews, it seems I’ve joined the ranks of the Old Guard, at least as measured in internet years. Happily, I have moisturiser.
During those fifteen years, we’ve chewed on many topics, from Laurie Penny’s lifestyle advice for terribly radical leftwing women, and the assorted lamentations of that same demographic, to the London riots of 2011, and the Guardian’s oddly selective agitation about litter inequality. We also marvelled at Melissa Fabello’s somewhat neurotic guide to interracial dating, witnessed the mental contortions of the scrupulously woke, and pondered the claim, by a Marxist academic, that conscientious parents reading to their own children are causing “unfair advantage” and are therefore an affront to “social justice.” Oh, and then there was that time when two dozen leftist artists sailed to the Arctic, at taxpayer expense, bent on saving the world with their fearless, selfless creativity.
All of which is, of course, a tissue-thin pretext to remind patrons that this rickety barge, on whose seating your arses rest, is kept afloat by the kindness of strangers. If you’d like to help it remain buoyant a while longer, and remain ad-free, there are buttons in the sidebar with which to monetise any love. Debit and credit cards are accepted. For those wishing to express their love regularly, there’s a monthly subscription option. And if one-click haste is called for, my PayPal.Me page can be found here. Additionally, any Amazon UK shopping done via this link, or for Amazon US via this link, results in a small fee for your host at no extra cost to you.
For newcomers wishing to know more about what’s been going on here for the last decade and a half, in over 3,000 posts and 130,000 comments, the reheated series is a pretty good place to start – in particular, the end-of-year summaries, which convey the fullest flavour of what it is we do. A sort of blog concentrate. If you like what you find there… well, there’s lots more of that. If you can, do take a moment to poke through the discussion threads too. The posts are intended as starting points, not full stops, and the comments are where much of the good stuff is waiting to be found. And do please join in.
Oh, and for those that don’t know, I now have a Gettr account.
As always, thanks for the support, the comments, and the company. Now share ye links and bicker.
I do adore your blog, so I finally donated. And you are correct–the comments rock. I guess I should do more than lurk, eh?
Happy 15th birthday
chippy adolescents looking for ways to piss off Dad for attention Credit Mr Ream
Some pennies from my Tibetan singing bowl later when I can convince Paypal I don’t speak Chinese
Credit Mr Ream
Admittedly it is a bit long for a band name.
the comments rock. I guess I should do more than lurk, eh?
It is the general idea, and more fun.
I do adore your blog, so I finally donated.
Bless you, madam. When walking on icy pavements, may you remain a vision of grace and effortless poise. And not look like a pissed-up clown on defective roller skates.
Welcome to your fifteenth birthday, and Ping!
and Ping!
Bless you, sir. May downpours and haircut day never coincide.
As we’re all tearfully reminiscing, and throwing cash about, I’ll see if I can dig out some other personal favourites.
Leftist think tank wants to make you “better citizens” by making you much poorer.
When socialists misremember the 1970s sitcom The Good Life.
Happy 15th! And ka-ching.
And ka-ching.
Bless you, madam. When offering to make lunch while feeling somewhat fragile from the previous day’s excesses, may you successfully recalibrate any lofty expectations.
Fat-activist cites her random, screaming meltdowns as proof of her empowerment.
I have tinkled in your tip jar.
I have tinkled in your tip jar.
Bless you, sir. May crumbs never gather under your microwave.
Brooklynite lefties launch socialist-only dating platform. Things do not go well.
Woke poet is traumatised by the “violence” of people not liking his poetry.
Are you being served?
The Washington Free Beacon reported that … “pipes for users to smoke crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and ‘any illicit substance'” are being provided by the Department of Health and Human services to “underserved communities.”
I have tinkled in your tip jar.
Bless you, sir. May crumbs never gather under your microwave.
David, before the blessing, you might want to check the jar.
Just as “pissed” has several meanings on your side of the pond, so does “tinkled” on ours…
May crumbs never gather under your microwave
It’s not the microwave plagued by crumbs, it’s the toaster.
… provided by the Department of Health and Human Services…
Under which OTSG, CDC, and FDA fall.
“Smoking, chloroquine, and ivermectin will kill you dead, have a puff of meth instead, don’t mind the fentanyl!”
Oh yeah, these guys too…Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
I am not sure handing out free crack pipes exactly qualifies as either treatment or rehabilitation, but someone cynical might notice it is one way to stay in business.
Cue theme song
it’s the toaster.
And the moment you move it – say, during its annual clean* – the volume of crumbs suddenly increases by an order of magnitude.
#FeelMyPain
*Estimates vary.
Dammit, your tear-jerking plea has loosened my purse strings. I shall double my existing PayPal contribution ASAP. However, a visit to Trip Advisor may put off prospective customers. Some examples:
“…mine host, a seedy ruffian flanked by two burly women – (I do not say ‘ladies’) – of the Sapphic persuasion…”
“…his customers, a choice bunch of Apaches, glowered at us on general principles…”
“A bowl of nuts, into which someone had vomited, along with a jar of green pickled eggs and a plate of suspiciously lively sausage rolls, seemed to be the only sustenance available.”
The large notice behind the bar: “Please do not ask for credit as a smack in the teeth often offends.”
Not very encouraging!
Dammit, your tear-jerking plea has loosened my purse strings.
I do love it when a cunning plan bears fruit. And bless you, sir. May your cheesy bread rolls be cheesier than expected.
today is this blog’s fifteenth birthday.
Soon it will have its own driver’s license. The world trembles.
Leftist think tank wants to make you “better citizens” by making you much poorer.
I’d love to see a deep investigation into the private lives of the people at the NEF: What are their salaries and net worth? What sorts of homes do they own? Where do they go on holiday? What sorts of luxurious lives do they live as they proclaim the benefits of forcing everyone else into poverty?
Soon it will have its own driver’s license. The world trembles.
Not yet. It is a British blog so 2 years before it become a danger to other road users.
Not yet. It is a British blog so 2 years before it become a danger to other road users.
Ah but there is the Provisional License to inspire dread. Can you imagine David taking it out on the road? The mind boggles. Or possibly croggles. [ Retires to comfy chair. Fans self. ]
15? Hey, here in Texas you’re a driv’n!
Oh, and looky here – a new(ish) ride, and Amazon (US) has goodies…
*clickage ensues with much thanks to our host*
I am now aware that “gender equality or justice” in German is ‘Geschlechtergerechtigkeit’. You may want to memorize this and update your spell checkers before you make a mistake and get taken to a stalag or something.
Not sure how I even stumbled on to this blog many years ago – back when it had a threatening baboon in it (not in the comments – I mean on the masthead illustration).
Good times, Bless you sir – fishes in pocket for small bills.
*clickage ensues with much thanks to our host*
fishes in pocket for small bills.
Bless you, sirs. May your enemies run out of kitchen foil at the worst possible time.
How to impress your boss, an intersectional guide.
Brooklynite lefties launch socialist-only dating platform. Things do not go well.
Okay that one made me laugh. Have a birthday drink on me.
Have a birthday drink on me.
Bless you, sir. May your undershirts dry with pleasing rapidity.
Brooklynite lefties launch socialist-only dating platform. Things do not go well.
The post (from three years ago) mentions Sarah Leonard’s dream of launching a glossy mag called “Rosa” after commie Rosa Luxenburg.
Three years later, that dream is a reality.
“underserved communities.”
With the recent stampede of government agencies throwing money and now, apparently, crack pipes, willy nilly at these “underserved communities” in the name of Equity and Reparations, how long and how much money will it take before these communities are not “underserved” any longer?
I have more questions. Wasn’t it a rumor during the Bush, or maybe Reagan years that the government got teh blacks hooked on crack to keep ’em down, committing crimes, and in jail? That crack was a racist wypipo conspiracy? And now Brandon is giving free crack pipes out? And why is the BLTGEAH++ community “underserved” and in need of free drug paraphernalia? Won’t the black racialists get a little angry that these rich wypipo with interesting sex lives are stepping on their victim grift turf? They aren’t too keen on Hispanics and Asians stepping in on it as it is.
And Happy 15th! Time to get all those things I’ve been meaning to buy at Amazon(US), with many thanks to our host!
Brooklynite lefties launch socialist-only dating platform. Things do not go well.
LOL. *Hits Paypal button*
Time to get all those things I’ve been meaning to buy at Amazon(US),
Shop ye like the wind.
LOL. *Hits Paypal button*
You have to marvel at how, despite all the clues being right there, they can’t quite fathom why no-one is getting any dates that they’d care to repeat.
And bless you both. May your other halves know how to cook a damn fine brisket.
Leftist think tank wants to make you “better citizens” by making you much poorer.
The comment thread is great, as always. I particularly enjoyed the lengthy blatherings by commenters Sandwichman and Dr. Westerhaus. The Robert Anton Wilson pseudo-profound jargon was a bonus: Reality-tunnels? Bio-survival tickets? It’s been a very long time since I’ve read anything by Wilson, but I do recall that the enthusiasts I met were a kooky lot.
You have to marvel at how, despite all the clues being right there, they can’t quite fathom why no-one is getting any dates.
Victor Davis Hanson, in a very recent podcast, described his encounters as a young Classics professor with campus hippies.
I particularly enjoyed the lengthy blatherings by… Sandwichman
We mustn’t forget that ‘Sandwichman’ is actually a pseudonym of Tom Walker, who, at the time, was a lecturer of Labour Studies at Simon Fraser University. Allegedly an expert in “the history of economic thought” and “alternative economics,” Dr Walker was quite annoyed at being repeatedly corrected on points of fact and logic, and seemed to have difficulty with simple reading comprehension. That’s before we get to his bare-faced dishonesty, the hilarious vanity, and what seemed to be a particular dislike of being corrected by women.
He is, of course, a self-described “peace and social justice activist.”
Meanwhile at “Screen Daily”, there appears to be some confusion.
*ping*
I love how you slice and dice the idiocy, David.
Socialists who talk about only working 21 hrs per week and such obviously live in fantasy land. Check E Germany under communism. People worked hard but were still poor. Russia same. There is no communist state and never was one where people could just garden and write poetry most of the time. It is the opposite. With your free time you can stand in line for bread. Bernie Sanders tried to spin this as a positive as did Brandon spoks who said empty shelves reflect strong demand. So many contortions they should be in a circus sideshow.
*ping*
Bless you, sir. May your stylish nose-hair trimmer come with a tiny, built-in torch, so you can really see what’s going on up there.
He is, of course, a self-described “peace and social justice activist.”
I suspect that I would not experience much peace in the ideal future that he envisions.
Hopefully Screen Daily is just confused and Ed Diezzard is playing the part of Mr Hyde?
There is no communist state and never was one where people could just garden and write poetry most of the time.
As I recall (am I correct?) Karl Marx himself wrote eloquently about that glorious socialist future in which a man might farm for a few hours in the morning and then do culturally uplifting things in the afternoon and evening.
pst314: of course Marx was a 100% grifter who lived off of Engels family fortune (Engels owned a factory ironically enough). I knew lots of hippies back in the day (my own status back then is a closely guarded secret) and their thing really was not working much and doing small useless things like patching their bluegenes by hand and making bread. But the ones I knew just took this as their personal choice and did not want to force everyone else to do it. All of them were young and single with few needs.
haha bluegenes–> bluejeans coffee is not working this morning.
What I like about your blog is that you can write things like “PalPay” and nobody corrects it.
today is this blog’s fifteenth birthday.
Monday was the 25th anniversary of James Lileks’ The Bleat
What I like about your blog is that you can write things like “PalPay” and nobody corrects it.
Heh. Bugger. You will never know how much my own typos chafe my ass.
[ Hurriedly corrects blunder. ]