The Curious Case of Benjamin Blogger

Why does time seem to be moving in the opposite direction? This blog turns five years old today, and yet it seems younger, knocked free of the constraints of its earlier years - a time when every other post (by statute) contained the term "President Bush." Yes, five years since I plugged my email address into Typepad and started to let fly in this little neighborhood. Sure, go ahead. Congratulate me! Hundreds of thousands of words have passed between us during this epoch, our new epistolary age. Oh, the conversations. I wouldn't trade 'em. Even got a book out of it. Now, "blogging" is a relative term. Some of us "blogged" vociferously on Usenet in the 90s. Some of the geezers I know were even known to hold forth on dial-in bulletin boards in the 80s. Oh, and a fair number of us started webzines approximately 37 seconds after the release of the first commercial web browser. Still. Five years is a time, for a blogger. This particular place is basically the blogging hub for this age-defying blogger - personal home base. I also "blog" (that is to say, write) here, and here, and here, and here. And oh yeah, here (with some of my more culturally adept pals). Oh, and here - if 140 characters or less counts as a post. Yes, and here, if social networks make the grade. So, five years gone yet things appear to be age-reversing in some strange digital alchemy. Perhaps it's the new national leadership and its freshening breeze. Or the spiralling economy and its effect of making every choice that much more simple. I'm not sure. But I'm blowing out the candles any way. Five years ago, I jumped into the blogging thing with both feet and started this little conversation. Thanks for coming along. But I was so much older then - I'm younger than that now. I'm sure you feel the same way...