Actually, my 'blogiversary' was yesterday. My inaugural post appeared on 4 May 2004. My mind drifts back to some of my earliest acquaintances in the blogosphere. I am happy to see that most of them are still at it. Here is a partial list: Keith Burgess-Jackson; Gates of Vienna; Mangan's; Bill's Comments; Laudator Temporis Acti.
The erudite Dr. Michael Gilleland of Laudator Temporis Acti credits me with getting him going:
I started this blog just over three years ago, on May 10, 2004. Bill Vallicella, the Maverick Philosopher, was my inspiration. When I look back at my posts for that first day, I see some themes which I have revisited over the years: Luddism, scatology, and solitude.
Like Mike, I am drawn to the callipygian, but have no interest in the scatological as such. I suppose every man has his wobble. One might argue that a blog that does not display a bit of a man's wobble is no blog at all. What we scribble here is loose and chatty and a little confessional. Ecce homo! warts and all. One debates with oneself as to the proper proportion of the personal to the impersonal. Mike strikes a nice balance. But I note yet another excursus into the scatological in his recent post, An Effect of Fear, which he introduces with a quotation from Pseudo-Aristotle.
And now to all and sundry: Blog on!
Congratulations, Bill, on your first quinquennium in the unquiet blogosphere. We are all better off for your efforts. Thank you.
Posted by: Philoponus | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 01:33 PM
I echo the sentiments of Michael Gilleland and Philoponus, Bill. Here's to 5 (or even 5 x 5) more years of you "gettin' all Mavericky," as Sarah Palin/Tina Fey might put it.
Posted by: Edward Feser | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 01:40 PM
Bill, you've got a great blog, and it's one of the reasons that I started blogging.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Posted by: Horace Jeffery Hodges | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 01:48 PM
Congratulations are in order. Thanks are even more so. A blog for serious ideas... Who'da thunk?
Posted by: bobkoepp | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 01:51 PM
Yes, thanks for a great blog, and I do hope you "blog on".
Posted by: Deogolwulf | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 02:34 PM
Congratulations, Bill. I am happy I found it back about a year and a half ago. It is a wonderful site and I don't know what I would do without it.
peter
Posted by: Account Deleted | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 03:10 PM
Congratulations on five years. Your posts are always of a very high quality, and equally importantly, so are the replies and ensuing debates. Your and Edward Feser's blogs are the only two I ever visit. Between the both of you, I've learned a lot about philosophy. Thanks!
Brodie.
Posted by: Brodie Bortignon | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 04:08 PM
And thank you Phil, for your support.
Ed, I have been enjoying your recent posts, and thinking it is time for another round with you on hylomorphic dualism.
Jeffery, Glad to have played some role in getting you started. Keep up the good work.
Bob, thanks for your support over the years.
Deogolwulf, Keep those fewtrils coming. The uxorial quotation from Eddington was much enjoyed.
Peter, And I'm glad I found you.
Brodie, You are very welcome. Your comments have been excellent.
Posted by: Bill Vallicella | Tuesday, May 05, 2009 at 08:03 PM
Congratulations from someone who has been reading you, off and on, for a good chunk of those five years.
Posted by: Ilíon | Wednesday, May 06, 2009 at 06:36 AM
Congratulations on your first 5 years, I hope there will be many more to come.
One reason why I follow your blog regularly is that you do a great job of balancing technicality and accessibility. Many of your posts are rather technical (which I think they would need to be if one is to do philosophy properly) yet they usually aren't so technical that they cannot be understood by us undergrads/mere mortals.
I'm usually content to lurk, leaving the comments to those who have more experience in philosophy than I do. But I feel as though I am learning much. As is the case with many things, if I want to get better at philosophy, I need to challenge myself. So thank you for challenging me, Bill.
I also want to thank you for answering a question on your blog that I sent to you a couple months back via email. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question in detail.
Posted by: Aaron Kenney | Thursday, May 07, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Aaron,
One of my goals when I started this project was to see if philosophy could be presented in a way that was both accessible and rigorous. Academic philosophy is for the most part read only by academics, and the stuff that is read by the general public is mostly very dubious, Ayn Rand, for example. I'm glad you think I have pulled off this project to some extent.
I'm curious as to what that question was that I answered here.
Thanks for the comments.
Posted by: Bill Vallicella | Thursday, May 07, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Congratulations and sincere thanks, Bill. Your blog is a rare gem of sense, and I hope to return to many of your previous posts again in the future, to refresh my memory and internalize what you've said on various topics. Please continue to do what you do; your efforts are very much appreciated and you do us all a great service.
Posted by: Steve T | Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 12:52 AM
You are very welcome, Steve. I will try to earn your continuing readership.
Posted by: Bill Vallicella | Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 12:37 PM