...or Ten Years On The Blog...
Holy Guacamole! It's hard to believe I've been ( sort of ) working on this 'ere blog for a whole ten years. Well, I say "hard to believe" but when I actually look back at my various, random drivellings over the years, it does kind of hit me how long it's been since that first rookie post...
At the start I wasn't quite sure what I was doing ( as in life, so in blogging ), treating the blog as a kind of journal and even worrying when I wasn't posting regularly. Imagine that! Over the years my output here has sloooooowed down to a kind of backwards crawl but I still enjoy doing it when the mood takes me. I did say to James the other day that maybe I should call a halt to TGW-S after this 10th anniversary post but he convinced me to keep on keepin' on. If anything, it's a good exercise in keeping the old grey matter ticking over, probably needed more than ever now I'm in my fifties - I was only 41 when I started the blog! A spring chicken! A youngster...
Although not as young as in the photo above. This is me and my much-missed dog Buxton ( aka Buck, aka Bucko, aka "where's that bloody dog gone this time" etc. ), some time in the late 1980s. I know you're more used to cat photos here, Dear Hypothetical Reader, but as I'm getting all nostalgic today I thought it would be good to give a canine the spotlight for a change.
( I am kind of hopping around from one subject to another here, but stick with it, I'll only have this tenth anniversary the one time. Can't imagine I'll be doing this in another 10 years. Or will I?... )
Anyway, back to the history of the blog ( Don't you find it fascinating? Hello? Anyone? ) - I began to suss out the things I enjoyed writing about - movies, music, Doctor Who, comics, all that stuff, with the occasional post about things my family and I were up to in the real world. I particularly enjoyed writing some semi-regular series of posts like Favourite Gig Fridays and Steranko Saturdays which gave the blog some kind of structure and also gave me deadlines, without which I'm pretty useless.
Of course, one of the greatest joys of blogging has been talking to fellow, like-minded ( or not ) bloggers, reading their often far superior posts and generally feeling like part of a community. That feeling has sadly waned over the years as so many blogs and bloggers have fallen by the wayside. Some retired from the scene and happily gave their friends and Followers a chance to say au revoir, some just disappeared from the Blogosphere without warning. I have to admit I really miss some of those guys... so, if any of the following are still out there, why not leave a comment?
Mickey Glitter, Wiec?, The Igloo Keeper, Momo, Richard Bensam, Mandra - it would be great to hear from you.
Luckily, there are still the faithful few ( and I do mean "few"! ) who still drop by, so here's a big TGW-S THANK YOU to anyone who finds themselves reading this drivel when they should really be doing something less boring instead. You know who you are...
( No, not those two, obviously... but some lovely people who are almost as cool... )
Oh, you want me to name names? Alrighty then. Many thanks to these wonderful folks for supporting this 'ere blog over the years: Tom Wiggins, Joe Bloke, Pete Doree, Steve W, Kid Robson, MD Jackson, Karen 'n' Doug, The Groovy Agent, John Pitt, Joanne Casey, Paul McScotty, Matthew Killorin...
and, of course, my Canadian brother from another mother, the mighty Calvin Heighton!
Aaand that's enough back-slapping for now. I wouldn't want anyone to get big-headed. So, while I start to think about what the hell I'm going to do with this blog after this millstone ( er, "milestone" ) ( answers on a postcard? ) I'll leave you with some random pics from the Visual Vaults of The Glass Walking-Stick.
Peace and Love - cerebus660 ( Simon )
8 comments:
Happy tenth anniversary, Cer. Hope to see you still blogging in another ten. Maybe by that time, we'll have the real Dr. Who back, not a transgendered stand-in.
Congratulations on reaching your tenth anniversary, Simon. Yours was one of the blogs that first inspired me to start blogging, and it's heartening that, after all this time, The Glass Walking-Stick is still going strong.
10 years is pretty impressive Cer so well done. I'm a regular reader of the blog which I came to for your "Favourite gig posts" and stayed through the death of my idol David Bowie and sadly,so many others (not that I'm blaming you of course). A very nice selection of pics Bowie and Debbie, Steranko's Capt America, The Clash, Steve McQueen and Three Eyes McGurk (I had totally forgotten about that early Alan Moore strip) but that Betty and Veronica panel presented as it was out of context, was my favourite. Apologies for the lack or comments in the last year mostly down to a PC on its last legs and VERY looong working days but its always a pleasure to read you blog on my days off.
Congrats as well, of course, fella. You and Groovy Diversions got me started in this blogging nonsense too! I especially like that shot of Agnetha, which is simultaneously hot and disturbing!
Here's another congratulatory message to add to the pile. I never miss a post here; I just comment rarely because I always imagine you rolling your eyes and thinking "Not him again, thought I'd finally ditched that guy at last!" But it's always a pleasure to read your observations and vicariously enjoy your experiences. I hope it continues for a long time to come!
(Still, I wish I'd thought to come up with a clever nickname all those years ago, like the rest of your devoted followers...)
Guys... many thanks for the comments, they're very much appreciated.
@Kid
Cheers! I really don't know if I'll still be blogging in 10 years time or, for that matter, if Blogger will even still exist. But I'm pretty sure Doctor Who will still be around in one form or another... male or female or whatever...
@Steve
I never knew I played any part, however small, in your taking up blogging. Steve Does Comics is always an absolute must for me, and I only wish I could write as succinctly and wittily as you do - so, please keep up the good work, and thank you.
@Paul
Ta very much. I miss writing the old "Fave Gig Friday" posts but I think I'd pretty much covered the cream of my pre-blogging gigs. ( Mind you, there were some crackers from Madness, Thin Lizzy, The Cure, Lloyd Cole and, er, Gary Glitter, amongst others that I never covered. Maybe I should revisit them. Except for the Glitter one of course... ) Alan Moore's The Stars My Degradation strip ( home to Three Eyes McGurk ) was where my old band nicked our name from, so it has a special, scuzzy place in my heart.
@Pete
Thanks matey! That's high praise indeed as The Bronze Age Of Blogs is such a wonderful site, an oasis of comic book goodness in the fetid swamp of t'internet. You summed up my feelings about that Agnetha photo and, in fact, by coincidence "simultaneously hot and disturbing" is what's printed on my business card. Heh heh. Hope all's well with you, mate.
@Richard
So good to hear from you. I wasn't sure if you were still inhabiting the Blogosphere so it's reassuring to know you're still around... and I'm definitely not rolling my eyes :-)
As for clever names - I sometimes wish I hadn't started this "cerebus660" thing and had just used my real name instead ( which is, of course, "Obsidian Steel Badger, Lord of the Cosmos" ) but it's too late to change now...
A bit belated but happy 10th anniversary, squire! Here's to another 10 years (then maybe another 10 more...)
And here's a belated "Thank You!" too...
Cheers for your support and it's great to see you back blogging again :-)
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