Happy Blog Anniversary

I almost forgot to note the first anniversary of this blog, which passed on January 2nd. When I started this endeavour a year ago I wasn't sure how this project would fare, although I had some obvious goals set out in that first post, "Start Your Engines." Now, 243 entries later, I've been pleasantly surprised at the response. Thank you to those who have been regular readers and commentors. Indeed, nearly all of the comments have been positive and insightful, and for many of you, I look forward to your consistent input. (And I still have to laugh at the one guy who called me an "idiot" after I referred to Billy Joel walking his pug in the neighborhood.) As I had hoped, this blog has proved therapeutic, and has allowed me to organize some of my ideas and memories more clearly over the last 12 months. Yes, on occasion I've been a bit "rabid" (my mother's description) in my attacks on the Bush administration, conservatives, and the "religious right." But that zeal is a product of my conviction that these individuals and their organizations constitute an insidious threat to our personal liberties and national security. (In the 1964 presidential campaign, Barry Goldwater scared Americans by uttering the now-famous phrase, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." At the height of Cold War paranoia, it's easy to see how those words might worry voters apprehensive about a possible nuclear holocaust. Unfortunately, we now live in a country in which those words seem to be the guiding principle for the president and his minions.)

In the second year of "My Tears Spoiled My Aim" I hope to continue with the same volume of entries, while increasing the proportion devoted to painting and photography. And as my younger son becomes more engaged in his drawing and painting, I may take the route of the typical proud parent and post some of his art on this virtual refrigerator.

Again, thanks for your input and encouragement, particularly in terms of my painting. 2007 constituted a turning point in this hobby, and I hope 2008 will afford opportunities to make it a more serious avocation.