Larvatus Prodeo

Via Helen, props to John Quiggin for five years of blogging. We’ve been reading (and listening) recently to Geraldine Doogue welcoming in the “age of online diaries and weblogging”. (Meh.) Since no matter how long blogs have been around, we always end up having to rebut the same old MSM talking points, let me observe firstly that I think that all that has to be said about the dumbness of comparing the US blogosphere with the Ozblogosphere has already been said. We shouldn’t forget though, that there’ve been some brilliant Oz political blogs going for years. When I came back to this country from America, where I’d been living for six years, one fabulous way of inserting myself back into debates about what mattered here was reading, and sometimes interacting (I was a bit of a shy petal at the outset I should mention…), with bloggers like Quiggin, the folks at the original Troppo Armadillo [before Nick Gruen re-founded it ], and Chris Sheil’s Back Pages…

I’ve had a few stoushes in my day, and some differences with Dr Sheil over the end of the Beazer and Mr Parish over L’Affaire Masson and some of the classic stoush memes are still around [how about that responsibility lefties have for the crimes of Stalin, Rafe and Rob?], and all that was long before Timmeh started updating his readers on TEH EVIL DOINGS OF LEFTY KIM and they discovered with great relish that if you disagreed with feminist bloggers, you could use the word twat over and over again, but hey, I hope it’s all been good natured and I hope people realise I just like to stand and argue my ground…

For my part, anyway, I love youse all.

And I’ve also made some very very good friends through blogging, and even had some very good bonks through blogging, and (I’ll not be forgetting this…) had some support when I’ve needed it, particularly when it looked like my cancer had recurred [I'd provide a link but since Troppo moved domains, searching the archives is a real bitch], and I think I can say, contra Geraldine’s talking points, that blogs are far more than just an alternative to reading the morning papers over breakfast.

So, happy blog birthday, John!

There are some big personalities in the weird and wild Ozblogosphere, but there are few of us who’ve been so consistently devoted to civil debate, informing and educating and discussing, and generally setting a very reputable tone for the show than John Quiggin, so charge your glasses, folks… here’s to Prof Q!