In case you missed it…
John’s birthday post this morning:
It’s Somebody’s Birthday Today!
By request, a much-loved photo that was missing from the photo array in that post:
Rosie Adores Dad, and The Feeling Is Mutual
…..
Oh, and this is classic Cole, don’t you think?
It’s from one of the posts below, but I’m not gonna tell you which one.
…
Subaru Diane wrote this masterpiece in honor of the blog master’s birthday:
I am the very model of a semi-centenarian,
My visage is curmudgeonly, my politics contrarian;
I mop my bathroom naked, and I shave my cat’s posterior
(He’s going to kill me in my sleep, for he is my superior).I rescued Lily, Rosie, and — oh, what’s his name? — that other dog;
I lost the mustard, broke my shoulder, made a top ten-thousand blog;
Because you jackals are a bunch of idiots and stupid fools,
I wish you all would email me in CAPITALS AND MAJUSCULES.(Chorus: He wishes we would email him in CAPITALS AND MAJUSCULES,
He wishes we would email him in CAPITALS AND MAJUSCULES,
He wishes we would email him in CAPITALS AND MAJUS- MAJUSCULES)I write a righteous rant, but I have made my home a place of Zen,
I chill out in my house, front porch, back yard, or living room and den;
And for the next half-century I’ll just keep calm and carry on,
For I’m the very model of a semi-centenarian!~
And for anyone who wants to take a trip down memory lane, here is a collection of birthday posts (and more) from over the years:
An Open Thread Dedicated to the Greatness of Devon Cole (2007)
I Am Aware Of All Internet Traditions (2008)
It’s the Thought That Counts (2009)
How Jack Russell Terrier Puppies Dry Themselves (2009)
You’ll Never Get this 21 Minutes of Your Life Back (2009)
Open Thread: Happy Birthday, John Cole (2010)
Snarky Post Title That Some Will Laugh At But Will Offend Others
For Our Very Special Angry Lady (2013)
Another Teeny Tiny Request (2013)
Tuesday Sorta Late Night Open Thread (2013)
Happy Birthday, West Virginia (2013)
Happy Father’s Day Everyone! (2014)
Healthcare, Birthday, and other Bullshit (2017)
Friday Night Open Thread (Shut Up I Know There is Already One) 2018
Mathguy
I’ve got to say that “Peak Wingnut” has not aged well. It’s appears that wingnuttiness is a bit like COVID-19, since we’re still riding the first wave.
joel hanes
Not birthday themed, but any list of the GOAT Balloon Juice threads IMHO must include BJ’s part in the three-way “I am aware of all internet traditions” event — the other two participating blogs being LGM, where it started, and Sadly, No!
LGM has lost that part of its archives. Sadly, No! is dormant.
Only Balloon Juice remains to remember and to tell the tale.
raven
Ten years ago I had a different handle.
WaterGirl
@raven: I know you made the change, but i don’t remember what it was before.
WaterGirl
@joel hanes: Do you know the timeframe? You can go to Balloon Juice Posts -> View by Month and Year and can find stuff pretty easily
I could add that one (those) to the list if you find them.
piratedan
@raven: and LBJ had yet to have been fucked… allegedly.
raven
@WaterGirl: stuckinred. I was a FDL refugee and didn’t want Raven following me at the time.
WaterGirl
@Mathguy: That’s what’s so funny about Peak Wingnut! It aged about as well as strong cheese sitting on the hot engine of a car.
p.a.
Damn. Lots of nyms that I remember…
Anyone seen a Corner Stone comment lately? Almost scared to ask.
WaterGirl
@raven: Right! I could have easily picked that as the right answer for a multiple choice question.
Tim F
The Peak Wingnut post was funny, but you have to balance it with this short piece from ’09, which is an excellent forecast of the Obama era and I believe it had one of the highest analytics ever while I was on the blog.
https://balloon-juice.com/2009/02/05/youll-never-get-this-21-minutes-of-your-life-back/
BGinCHI
@raven: Stuck!
BGinCHI
Anyone else remember a Soonergrunt post where we pretended to comment in a meta- way on commenting itself?
I often think about how funny that was.
WaterGirl
@Tim F: Thank you! Added it to the list up top.
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI: Maybe you can find it? This is a link to all the Soonergrunt posts, and there are only 22 pages. Maybe if you see the title, you’ll recognize the thread?
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
Happy birthday!!!
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI: Was it Soonergrunt’s TED talk post?
Nice/bittersweet seeing all these old nyms – muddy, Poopyman, Violet!
Eljai
@Tim F: The “tire rims and anthrax” line is probably one of my all-time favorites!
Tim F
@WaterGirl: NP! I’m going from memory about the traffic analytics so who knows if I got that right. But the tire rims & anthrax line was such a perfect distillation of what negotiating with Republicans actually would be like, and it got a lot of traction around the blogosphere.
raven
@BGinCHI: But not THE stuck.
WaterGirl
I was thinking how awesome it would be to be so close to a sister that you could write a post with a name like this!
An Open Thread Dedicated to the Greatness of Devon Cole (2007)
greenergood
Hippo Bird-day to Ewe, Mr Cole!! I only arrived at BJ after Tunch had crossed the rainbow bridge, so it was lovely to see photos of the feline overlord in all his glory. His feline and canine minions are worthy inheritors of his kingdom, esp Steve and that queen of queens-girl Lily!
Ben Cisco
@BGinCHI: I remember that thread. Epic, it was.
Tom Levenson
Missed the earlier thread so…
Happy Birthday, John.
A great blogfather you are. And, on the evidence scattered round the place, a better human.
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI: @Ben Cisco:
I bet it was this one! It was nearly a Tbogg unit. I added the post up top.
Snarky Post Title That Some Will Laugh At But Will Offend Others
BGinCHI
@WaterGirl: Nope.
It had a TON of responses.
BGinCHI
@WaterGirl: YESSSS
Whatever happened to Jeffrey and his food pics??
I nominate that thread for Top 10 Best Ever.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I see a lot of people I miss. I think I came to the blog around 2012 as Iowa Old Lady.
BGinCHI
@WaterGirl: I know this is self-serving, but I wrote this on that thread and it brings back all the feelz & memories:
ellie
Happy Birthday John Cole!
frosty
@WaterGirl: Yes, that one was a hoot.
prostratedragon
Happy Birthday, John Cole. And lovely picture of father and, is it Lily? And being the chorus in the verse is fun.
frosty
Wow, I have been reading this blog for a long time. And so have many of you /waves/. I don’t recognize any nyms from the earlier years, but there are a lot of regulars here who were commenting from 2012 on.
Like Raven, I changed nyms somewhere in there. fka Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason.
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI: That is a spectacular summary. Well done! I can’t wait to read that thread later.
Mathguy
@Tim F: That one is spot even today:
“I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax.”
OldDave
@prostratedragon:
I think that’s Rosie and Ur Father. John has mentioned how Rosie adores his father. That’s doggie adoration.
VeniceRiley
Happy Birthday, Jackal #1!
WaterGirl
@prostratedragon: @OldDave:
I added a caption: Rosie Adores Dad, and The Feeling Is Mutual
different-church-lady
You’re telling me he does this once a year?
WaterGirl
@different-church-lady: Who does what once a year?
different-church-lady
@Mathguy: I think it’s gotten worse: the date now insists she’s going to order the caviar and YOU must have the anthrax.
different-church-lady
@WaterGirl: Cole has a birthday. Seems kind of repetitive.
Martin
Happy birthday, John.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: OMG! I think I remember that one! >: >
Baquist
Happy birthday John!!
Spanky
@WaterGirl:
I was Poopyman until my nymsake died. Then it wasn’t so fun anymore.
Spanky’s not getting younger either. Sigh.
HeleninEire
OMG Subaru Diane. That is THE BEST!!!
Oh and Happy 90th birthday Cole. ?
Yutsano
Sigh. I wrote a long post about long lost nyms then my phone ated it. Just miss a bunch of peeps who used to post here. A lot of them bailed after the Tommy incident and I can’t blame them.
EmanG
Happy Bday blogfather! Thanks for making BJ such an oasis of semi-sanity. Long may you reign!
CaseyL
@WaterGirl: I don’t think that’s Rosie; I think it’s one of Mom & Dad Cole’s Jack Russells. They have two.
My god, that list of Birthday posts makes me feel old. OTOH, my… (counts on fingers)… 14 years of comments on this blog are probably as close as I’ll ever get to a personal journal.
I wished John a Happy B-Day this morning, but more never hurts: Happy Birthday, John!
BruceFromOhio
@Eljai: Agree, a frequently used and useful analogy when comparing contemporary political parties.
danielx
@joel hanes:
And so with The Poor Man. Loved the Kippie awards.
low-tech cyclist
@Tim F: The “You’ll Never Get this 21 Minutes of Your Life Back (2009)” post is possibly my favorite blog post ever. I have quoted it so many times. Tire rims and anthrax – yep, that one fucking nailed it, and it’s even more true today than it was 11+ years ago.
It is to blog posts what the “Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party” tweet is to tweets.
Baud
What happened to Cole in 2006?
joel hanes
@WaterGirl:
Found it in a few moments with google advanced search.
https://balloon-juice.com/2008/06/17/i-am-aware-of-all-internet-traditions/
WaterGirl
@different-church-lady: It’s a milestone! I thought folks might like to see the progression over the years, but it sounds like this thread may not be up your alley.
daryljfontaine
@Tim F: I legitimately still get mileage out of that quote on Facebook, as friends or friends of friends come to the dawning horror that These People Are Fucking Insane.
Happy birthday, Cole. May you have another 50, if you want them.
D
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: I miss a lot of peeps, too. Now that Tommy has passed on, I hope that some may feel like they can put that behind them.
Ann Marie
I missed the earlier post — Happy Birthday, John! Please stick around and have many more so we can keep enjoying your blog.
WaterGirl
@Baud: His birthday was apparently double-secret that year! It also means that while I was looking for the birthday post, I didn’t see anything else around June 22 that jumped out at me.
realbtl
Happy birthday John and thanks for this place. I still miss BIRDZILLA of the all caps.
Miss Bianca
I forgot that godson’s Frenchie, Tulip, is possibly the cutest dog in the mapped universe.
WaterGirl
@CaseyL: I updated the caption to add some uncertainty. I know Rosie does adore Dad Cole, but I can’t actually vouch for who that is. thanks.
Roger Moore
@low-tech cyclist:
“Your Mumia Sweatshirt Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” is also a classic.
joel hanes
@joel hanes:
It turns out not to have been so epic without the Sadly, No! and LGM components. I think the second S,N! thread ran over 1500 comments.
Here’s the first SN! thread …
http://sadlyno.com/archives/9690
MomSense
@Yutsano:
There are lots of people I miss. Mnemosyne and Ruemara haven’t been around lately.
Dog knows I’ve felt like leaving many times. Oh well.
Yutsano
@Tim F: I only have one question for you meester!
…
How’s Maxpuppeh?
Yutsano
@MomSense: Rue is active on Facebook. Not sure why she’s only doing the occasional pop around. Mnem is on a break but hopefully will be back.
Yutsano
Well that was entertaining! Got an error message saying bloghost could not be found. Site came up after reload. Oddsfidh.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@MomSense:
You’ve probably been answering this all day, but how are you feeling?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Yutsano:
What happened with Mnem? Just taking a break? Or was there incident?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I think she’s just taking a break.
Roger Moore
@MomSense:
I miss AsianGrrlMN. It would be great if we could convince her to come back.
MomSense
@Yutsano:
I see her on insta but I miss her perspective here.
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Mostly really tired, but I’ve got some other symptoms fortunately in the milder side.
piratedan
@Roger Moore: and this is not a ding against you, but I also want to say that I still greatly appreciate interacting with the people who are still here. while still appreciating those that have left us by either shuffling off this mortal coil or those who have found a need to depart for reasons unknown. The constant education and entertainment that I find here offers respite in finding new pursuits, creating beloved snark and shared outrage and disdain.
Simply thankful its still here and populated by so many good folks.
HeleninEire
Here’s the funniest thing about turning 50…I made the same mistake that I made turning 30. I thought I would know everything. All would be exposed. Certainly now I’ve lived enough to know.
Yeah, no. Just live your life. Do what you want.
SiubhanDuinne
I often wonder about Arguing With Signposts. I hope he’s doing okay.
lamh36
I def missed the morning post!
Happy Birthday old man! ;-)
MMM
Happy Birthday to someone who has always been there for me – on this special day I offer champagne wishes and caviar dreams.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: i don’t think ruemara has gone anywhere, she is super crazy busy.
WaterGirl
@Roger Moore: I miss AsianGrrlMN greatly.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I have thought about AWS many times, wondering how he is. (Arguing With Signposts)
Yutsano
@Roger Moore: Let me see what I can do here…
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: Tara the Antisocial Worker and shortstop struck me as two I miss. Which got me thinking about TattooSydney as well. And RedKitten. Sigh.
John Cole
This is a bit much, I didn’t fucking die. I just ate cake, ffs.
Omnes Omnibus
@John Cole: No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.
spudgun
@Yutsano: And Sarah, Proud and Tall…
HeleninEire
@John Cole: ? ? ?
Stop. People love you. Accept it.
Baud
@John Cole: You might want to turn off the computer before the West Coast birthday thread pops up.
OldDave
@John Cole: You might momentarily interrupt the festivities and tell us if that’s Rosie communing with your dad. There’s some uncertainty.
SiubhanDuinne
@spudgun:
And Dancing Around in Your Bones.
Darby'sMom
Happy Birthday Cole!
Roger Moore
@spudgun:
And let’s also think about the missing front pagers, like ABL and Soonergrunt. But not Freddie de Boring. Fuck that guy.
spudgun
@WaterGirl: It’s Rosie
spudgun
@Roger Moore: I used to hate Freddie and then I read about his subsequent mental health struggles that were bad enough that he had to quit his job or some such…then I just felt sorry for him.
ETA: Yeah, I do miss ABL and Sooner but they’re on Twitter, so that’s okay.
spudgun
@OldDave: It is, I found the related post
PaulWartenberg
Shit. 2002?! That feels like a different country now…
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: I know, I saw RedKitten in a few of the posts and I was looking for the birthday posts, and each time it was bittersweet.
Maybe you need to try sweet-talking her into coming back.
WaterGirl
@John Cole: The first birthday thread was totally about you. This one was a fun way to share some of the posts I found as I was looking for photos.
Reminiscing with old friends.
edit: or, what Omnes said.
WaterGirl
@spudgun: That’s what I thought, I should have stuck to my guns :-)
different-church-lady
@WaterGirl: I’ma just wise-assin’. HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE! HERE’S TO A GOOD MAN!
different-church-lady
@HeleninEire: “The further on I go… Oh, the less I know…”
John Revolta
@joel hanes: Omagawd I remember that post! I was just discovering this place and a couple others………….I’d been hanging out at Salon and looking for someplace a little more “Outside” as the hepcats say, so I started following blogrolls and found this joint and Sadly No and LGM among some others. I remember all the furor here and at LGM about the Internet Traditions thing although I wasn’t entirely clear about what was going on…….
It’s like I was there for the first time Gary Coleman said “Whatchu talkin’ bout?”!!! Well okay, maybe not THAT big. But pretty big.
cain
@Tim F:
“I am starting to realize you are a Joe the Plumber kind of guy.”
Classic.
cain
@WaterGirl:
I still follow that guy on Twitter.. it’s too bad he doesn’t do any front page stuff anymore then again neither does Tim F. :D A guest post by ABL would rock as well.
cain
@BGinCHI:
He’s eating without us. :P
Steeplejack
@BGinCHI:
Balloon Juice meta post (October 2012).
cain
@Yutsano:
Er.. what was the Tommy incident? Link?
cain
@piratedan:
My favorite era was really in the 2005 or 2006 era – we had both republicans and democrats and the kind of fighting was epic. But the best was when some troll shows up and then everyone would stop fighting and then focus on the troll.
I don’t know if anybody remembers myiq2xu – otherwise known as ‘goat boy’ – it’s kind of the first instances of pie’ing that showed up. Although I thought it was hot grits or something.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack:
Oh, there you are. I thought episode 2 of Grantchester was a big improvement over episode 1. I’m hoping they get their mojo back.
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack:
Love this one:
Who remembers what this was about? But it’s so classic. Haha, it’s followed by:
mrmoshpotato
Damn that is good!
zhena gogolia
@Steeplejack:
JSF was funny. I miss him.
BGinCHI
@Steeplejack: So. Epic.
BGinCHI
@zhena gogolia: eemom was a baaaadass.
I have always loved & feared her.
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI: Maybe you can find a way to weave that epic thread into “Culture” and we can talk about it on a Medium Cool post? Assigned reading, as it were!
spudgun
This thread is probably already dead, but if there are some stragglers, can anyone tell me if Steve in the ATL is gone for good?
CapnMubbers
@CaseyL: …you have 14 fingers???
Birthday greetings to John, and much appreciation for this blog. Thanks to Watergirl for pictures and links to posts, and (sparkle) SiubhanDuinne for the song lyrics. Now you’ve done it! G&S for the win!
WaterGirl
@spudgun: I could be wrong, but I think Subaru Diane is the person who has a good email address for Steve in the WHERE THE HELL IS HE, so try to catch her on a thread, and let all of us know?
cain
@MomSense:
Ruemara is active on twitter a lot more these days.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
It’s been a while, but I’ll shoot him an email in the next day or two and see what’s going on with SteveInThe.
cain
Did anybody miss me? :-)
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: That would be great! So many of us miss him. Did he ever say why he hasn’t been here for months?
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: Update on the Asiangrrlmn front: she might pop in here soon.
spudgun
@WaterGirl: Thank you both! I don’t want to give him the impression that we’re hounding him – I mean, it’s only a top 10,000 blog, and I remember his wife was sick for a long time, so, you know…more important things for him to do.
But he was always a witty and easy-going commenter.
Martin
Gloves are coming off.
Police haven’t generally been the target of this kind of activity. Looks like they might be now. Gonna say the obvious – municipalities have WAY worse security than intelligence agencies, so any determined effort is going to turn up a lot.
Patricia Kayden
Happy B’Day to John!! Hope he was able to do something special for himself and enjoy his day.
WaterGirl
@Yutsano: That would be truly awesome.
mrmoshpotato
Oh my God! I’m just going to assume that person was awesome!
Gin & Tonic
@mrmoshpotato: She was. Hopefully still is, just not here.
catclub
@Yutsano: I remember Yatsuno!
stinger
I’m 5 hours late and 130 comments in, but THANK YOU, WATERGIRL!
stinger
I recall a while back Cole said there had been enough donations to pay for the servers through June. Just chipped in $50 to mark his 50th and to help keep them going a bit longer.