Slapinions is Five Years Old!

Five years ago today this blog was born.

That was right after the 2004 election, and I'd spent many a month writing 600 word pieces and emailing them to friends and family (most of whom, I'm sure, deleted them unread). Then it dawned on me. I read a lot of blogs, I admired a lot of blogs, I enjoyed writing. Why the heck wasn't I blogging?

And so I did. There's not much more to say about the birth process, other than I give Lisa full credit for the blog's title, a combination of my last name and "opinions". Kudos on that hon.

A blink of an eye later and here we are,five years and 1468 published posts later. Five years - that's a respectable run for most marriages nowadays. Color me impressed.

Will Slapinions be around for a grand 10th celebration? I guess we'll just have to wait and see ;)

Oh, and to all those who've stopped by to say hello over the years, a sincere "Thank You". I could do it without you, but it wouldn't be half as fun.

A request

The father of longtime reader and  friend Mary of AlphawomansBlog passed away last night. She's written a touching post about him on her blog. If you can, stop by and give her your condolences.

A Request for Help for a Fellow JLander, Sorrow for a Departed Friend, and Thanks for an Award!

I've been perusing http://journals.aol.com lately, and despite its many flaws I like the 'recently updated blogs' list. I'll often pop on to a blog I haven't seen before and take a look. You'd be suprised - or perhaps not - at the many great blogs on AOL, and the few that are absolutely dreadful.

My favorites tho' are the odd ones, the 'my minister is sleeping with my grandpa and they are plotting to kill the mayor because he's a Republican from Jupiter' versions.  And these people seem absolutely serious.

Sweet.

One of the brand new one's I stumbled on was Roses are Read (a nifty play on words, I think). She's brand new to the web and I've tried helping her with a few issues she's had here in JLand.

The trouble is she's now attempting to add music to her entries. I've always been print-centric and loathe to include anything that couldn't eventually be printed out - even my Youtube entries make me squirm - so I have no clue how to do it.

I've tried to help but it's no go. If you know how to do this, please stop by her site.

* * *

While trying to help her I came across the help site of Pam from One Girls Head Noise, a woman who was very kind and helpful to me when I started out here. She passed away in '06 but even now she reached out a helping hand.  Her alternate site is full of hints and tricks, and worth a look whenever you're stuck. A link to her site even created the license plate at the start of this entry.

Man, I really do miss Pam.

* * * *

I was flattered to receive my first award or recognition here in JLand, and it came from across the pond. Over at Villiage Life I was put up for a Nice Matters award with the following kind words:

I have only been looking in on Dan's journal for a few weeks now but he sure has a way with words and has a lovely family.

Thanks for the kind words. As you all can see I've loaded the award graphic in the sidebar and will display it with pride.

* * *

Ok, I really don't care and probably won't even watch, but as an American I'm obliged to give my Super Bowl picks. My head says the Patriots (gag) by a TD or more, but the rest of me is hoping the Giants take it by 3.

Tags: SuperBowl

Pay a Visit. . .

Folks, I honestly suck at leaving/writing comments. It just doesn't come naturally to me. So I'm asking anyone out there to please stop by the journal of Slapinons regular psychfun. She was in an SUV rollover, although thankfully not hurt too bad.

Wish her the best and say a prayer for her (both of thanks for getting out alive and of hope there's no lingering effects). .

 

Best of the Best

 

While, ironically, I find most of the hallmarks of blogdom annoying (quizes and memes and assignments, oh my!), I think I'm going to start a new blogish feature here at the good ole U.S. of Slapinions.

Every once in awhile I'm going to feature a blog I actually frequent on a daily or near daily basis. I'll still have the blogroll on the sidebar, but consider this the Best of the Best.

The fine author of  (sometimes)photoblog has done me the honor of spotlighting me on two occasions, so the humble first offeriing goes to him.

His site (updated daily) features some beautiful photos, mostly of nature and the insect kingdom.

I respect his work and enjoy having the opportunity to view it. Please stop by and take a look for yourself (and tell him slapinions sent you).

*A word of warning though - if you are going to subscribe to his site, skip the aol alert feature. He updates daily - no really - and it can clog your incoming mail in a hurry. (I have the misfortune of having my alerts ring my cell phone. My phone bill is now sky high :)

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Check out http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Not to radically change gears here, but check out this site. The operators of the blog gave out over 3000 postcards inviting people to submit a secret of theirs (anonymously). The results are posted on the site.

It's an interesting mix of regrets, triumphs, humor

 and some very disturbing secrets:

Check it out and give me your opinion.

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