Thursday, July 1, 2010

Ink Spots is a year old today!

Picture it: June 2009, five half-in-the-bag security nerds stumbling up 18th Street in Adams Morgan (seriously, I never go to Adams Morgan) late on a Wednesday night.

"So seriously, are we gonna do this blog thing?"

"Sure, why not. I mean, we definitely have plenty to say. Especially MK: look how much he writes in the comments section on Abu Muqawama! He'll surely be a prolific blogger!"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's do it!"

(Some random, drunk French guy walking past:) "SOLIIIIIIIDE!"

And so it was.

Here we are a year into this thing, believe it or not, and 400 posts deep. We were fortunate to get a lot of good pub from folks in our field, bloggers and academics and policy folks alike, back in our infancy last summer, and we've been fortunate enough to sustain a pretty good following over the subsequent months. I wish I had some flashy new initiative to roll out, some commitment to new platforms or concepts or even just to write more often to keep you interested, but alas... Same old Ink Spots.

Thanks though, to everyone who has read and commented over the last year, especially our stalwarts like SNLII, Madhu, Starbuck, Schmedlap, and Mike Few -- you've elevated the debate, and the vain hope that we're actually causing people to think is what keeps all of us writing. (Well, it's what keeps me writing, anyway. That, and solipsism.)

So here's hoping for another good year. Thanks again. And on that note, I'm going on vacation.

(No, seriously, I am going on vacation, but it's not a Blog Birthday celebration. At least, you're not sure it is.)

So you guys keep reading and thinking about security policy and whatnot. I'm packing a bag full of golf shirts, a box of cigars, and a long Delillo novel, and I'm not thinking about Small Wars, big wars, or any wars until I get back from Napa on Tuesday. Happy Fourth of July!

P.S. While we're talking about Small Wars, would you just go and donate some damned money to SWJ already? I want to have something to read when I get back!

5 comments:

  1. Long live the Ink Spotters!

    I thought I couldn't be more excited for the the weekend in Napa, but then I heard there's going to be no discussion of war. SOLIIIIIIIDE!

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  2. Keep driving on with your good works and words. If I may ask, then I would like for y'all to provide a thread this next year on your thoughts and feelings on working in Washington, DC. That world, the really BIG FOB, is so far removed from what I know. I'm curious to how y'all handled it all.

    Happy 4th of July. My hope for this year is that our neighbors will give a bit more concern to their Responsibilities as Citizens over their individual rights.

    Again, keep on trucking. I found y'all through some powerful comments at SWJ and a Schmedlap recommendation, and I plan on staying.

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  3. Joyeux anniversaire, joyeux anniversaire,
    joyeux anniversaire, taches d'huiles, joyeux anniversaire!
    Un bisou sur ta joue, une fleur sur ton coeur, un sourir pour te dire, joyeux anniversaire!


    Now if THAT doesn't win hearts and minds, I don't know what possibly could ...

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  4. Vous les gars avez un grand blog!

    You have kept it interesting for a year. Thanks!

    Happy 4th!

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  5. Now be honest Gulliver: there is no way I've elevated the debate anywhere.

    But I still like hanging out here.

    Happy 4th InkSpotters. You know I love this place.

    (The Adams Morgan story is funny. I've been there precisely once, and oddly enough, while on a resident "field trip" to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. That was back in the 90s. That's a strange town. Interesting, but strange :) )

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