Sat 31 Jan 2009
Do you know what? This is the 1000th post to appear on this blog. Two years, one month and five days later.
I know, I know, if you check the URL for this one, it says it’s the 1005th, but I’ve written five that are still in limbo and have never been posted. They’re semi-ready, though; maybe I’ll get back to them someday and finish them up.
Some of the remaining 1000 have been deleted for one reason or another. I wrote one after I’d the flu for a day or so, and in it I described the dream I kept having over and over again — something about bricks in a wall — but I was still feverish when I wrote it and when I recovered, I decided that some things are best mentioned only once and then forgotten.
But not entirely. Even though you probably don’t remember it, I think it’s obvious that I still do.
I wish I knew when I started what I wanted to do with this blog, but in recent weeks I think it’s getting closer to whatever goal I didn’t have in mind back then.
I don’t know if that makes sense or not, but it does to me.
— Steve
January 31st, 2009 at 9:01 am
Steve,
Congratulations!
Your blog is a great source of all things mysterious.
January 31st, 2009 at 9:54 am
You mention, “I wish I knew when I started what I wanted to do with this blog…”. I can’t speak for you, but as someone who has observed your magazines and blogs from the very beginning, I think you simply wanted a forum to talk about “…all things mysterious”, as Mike Grost stated above. As a commentor to your blogs and publishing efforts, I also need the opportunity to talk about books, pulps, paperbacks, movies, etc.
Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads my comments, or if they really give a damn, and I bet you wonder the same thing, especially if you talk about a something that is important to you and receive no response at all. But many of us are addicted to reading and collecting mysteries, and we are enthusiastic about our interests.
I don’t think it’s possible for you to not publish or not comment on your blog. It’s something you are obsessed to do even if sometimes you wonder if it’s worth the time and effort. I don’t run a blog but I contribute comments to several because I have to, even if it takes time away from my reading. Before email and the internet I use to write hundreds and hundreds of letters to several correspondents. Now I email and comment on varous blogs. Is it a waste of time? Some might say yes, but as lovers of books and reading, we have no control over it; we must communicate, think, discuss, argue, agree and disagree.
January 31st, 2009 at 10:08 am
Congratulations, Steve. A great website with 1000 worthy postings!
January 31st, 2009 at 11:21 am
And given that your posts are more complex and research-oriented than the average blog posting, that’s a real achievement. It’s archival masterwork.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:05 pm
A milestone deserving of celebration, Steve. You’ve created one of my favorite sites on the web here.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Patti has it exactly right: “archival masterwork.”
Congratulations on #1000.
February 1st, 2009 at 6:50 am
Congratulations!
MysteryFile is one of my very favorite blogs and as Mike Grost says, a wonderful source for any mystery lover. Now en route for #2000! 😀
February 1st, 2009 at 11:58 am
Xavier and all
You have that right. Don’t know if #2000 is within reach or not, but it’s worth the try.
I posted #1000 just after midnight yesterday and took the rest of day off, except for some minor editing of Nicholas Flower’s piece on Charles Williams, at his request.
It’s a new day of a new month, and I have a huge backlog of material I can post. I’ll never run out, thanks to a slew of contributors, both past and present.
I think Walker’s right. I’ve challenged him many times in the past on many things, and he’s never been wrong. And on the nature of publishing and reading and commenting on fanzines and blogs, he’s hit the nail on the head.
If you’re reading this now, you can’t stop reading, commenting and blogging, can you?
Best
Steve