Hi Everyone!

As a new Shakesville soapboxer, I would like to take this opportunity to prove that evolution does exist, by way of my introduction. I’d like to call it my “blevolution.”

Amoeba
The first political blog I ever came across was Crooks and Liars, sometime in 2005. This opened up a whole new world for me, since I was not yet familiar with there being places on the net with tons of people who felt the same way I did. Fancy that!

Tadpole
After getting a better idea of how it all worked, I dove in and started Pure And Easy in August of 2006. There were no earth-shattering compositions, just stupid shit to pass the time and keep the feet in the water. One day on Mike’s Blog Roundup on C&L, I saw a reference to this post on a blog called “Shakespeare’s Sister.” Cue the sunlit angelic voices, because from that point forward I was hooked.

Quadruped
There was something about flashcard visual aids for “President Shirky McShrugsalot” that got me all giddy. That giddiness continues to this very day when Melissa adds any kind of written embellishment to anything. It’s crazy, it requires therapy, but it’s true. I loved the unapologetic content of everyone who posted, including Matilda and Olivia, and eventually felt comfortable enough to start commenting. I truly found my blog-home, a place where I could really interact with a like-minded community.

Biped
Melissa was kind enough to trade e-mails with me and express interest with what was going on in my life at the time (two words: wedding planning). In short order, I had to arrange a conference call with me, my fiance, Melissa and the caterer to make sure that there was plenty of kugel and matzah ball soup for all the guests, otherwise we’d walk (<– Working negotiation technique of my future bro-in-law). It didn’t end there. Mr. Shakes jumped into the fray to make sure I was reading good stuff. Hi, my name is Space Cowboy and I’m a Discworld addict.

Shaker
When we brainstormed the idea for the mosaic, Melissa thought it was time to kick my ass onto the stage to start my first guest post. After reading more topical stuff I was writing, she told me to get my sorry ass back on the stage again. (“OK! OK! No more indian burns!!”) I’m really grateful that she took me even further to the soapbox. Shakesville is my favorite place on the planet, and I’m so thrilled to be a part of it.