Sunday, August 10, 2008

Millennial Post

Happy 1000th post to me!

I've been a long time blogging and now it's time to mark this milestone! Herewith, HKC proudly presents a compendium of features selected or saved especially for this occasion!


ANIMANIAHKCS!

We kick things off with an example of that perennial favorite, the animated gif! This fine example was made by Lizzie in The Couv after she read the announcement that this benchmark was nigh:



I think that captures the spirit of this blog completely!

Current Events

Did anyone catch the Olympics opening ceremonies on Friday night? This photograph of one of the dancers in the artistic presentation has become my new desktop wallpaper:


Click the image for more wonderful photos.


Photorama

Speaking of photos and computers, since I bought this MacBook laptop at the end of last year and began using the built-in camera and the Photo Booth feature to take pictures, a copy of every photo has been automatically saved to a special file. I wanted to make an animated gif that riffed though all 99 of them really quick, but my skillz were not mad enough, so here's a slide show that's a bit more laid-back.



(Note: the quality of this video is really crappy, and I blame You Tube - I've uploaded it three times now. If you just can't live without seeing a nice, crisp, clean version, ask me the next time you see me.)


HKC Top Ten Posts

In honor of this 1,000 post, here are the top ten posts from the past three and a half years, ranked by number of comments generated:

#10: This invitation to attend the Fremont Solstice Parade was the first post to break double-digit comments back in June of 2005. (10 comments)

#9: My announcement of my tenure-track position in May '07 drew a lot of support. (10 comments)

#8: This "What're Your Politics" test generated a bit of discussion in November '05. (11 comments)

#7: The discussion following this Movie Round-Up created more heat than light in January '06. (11 comments)

#6: This collection of photos and links led to an unusually high number of responses for no discernible reason in May 2006. (11 comments)

#5: A post from January 2006 makes the top ten for the second time with this call for de-lurking. (12 comments)

#4: The most recent high-response post was the cannibalism quiz from January of this year. (12 comments)

#3 A third entry from the chatty month of January 2006 was the Find your Daemon quiz. (16 comments)

#2 Just two weeks later, in February 2006, this discussion of Google ethics tied the daemons' comment total. (16 comments)

And the number one comment-getting post in the history of HKC is....



This one!

C'mon, don't make a liar out of me now! Leave a pithy remark (or two)!


Random Image

I've been looking to post this image for a while: it's a depiction of all the main female characters from DC Comics - it was poster they used at the NYC ComicCon. How many can you name? (Hint: the central figure is Wonder Woman.) Even if you can't name any, it's still a great picture.

(Oh yeah - there are some artistic/symbolic clues in the picture, too.)


The Surprise Ending

So, I guess the big news on the occasion of this 1,000th post is that I am shutting down HKC.

I have had a real ball keeping up this blog. Over three and a half years, I have averaged more than five posts per week, and lately I have been posting every day. I have enjoyed playing with words in my own small way, I have enjoyed building a continuity of community, and I have enjoyed sharing links that might have been illuminating, fun, or otherwise engaging. What I have liked most of all, however, was when I got to list who did what and what fun we had together in real life; putting down those silly aliases in bold face, making someone "almost famous" for a brief moment and documenting my friendships, was the best part of all. But I think I am done now; my friendships are still as important as ever, but this particular expression of them seems less so.

Fear not, if you really want to keep reading my deathless prose: I have started another blog. Walakanet is my new site over in the WordPress universe. I imagine it will be a place for a different kind of writing; no more diary posts and funny links, a bit more exploration and contemplation. And no more daily entries; I need to get back to writing some more complex pieces, which will, by their nature, take more time, so posting will be an occasional thing. I'm still not quite sure of my audience (an awful admission for a writing teacher to make); perhaps I am more interested in the process than the product right now. Still, I hope you drop by and check it out from time to time.

I'll keep this site up, for a while anyway, but perhaps not all the ancillary sites that it has spawned. (On a related note, I Summer Humpdays may also go on hiatus for a bit; more on that via email.) I'll try to keep the links updated, too.

So, thank you, dear readers and fellow bloggers, for all the support over the past few years. When we started building this little corner of the blogosphere, it was new and exciting and we really didn't know what we were doing; now it seems blogs and blogging have become routine parts of our daily lives. I love the connections we have built, particularly with friends who are not local to us, and I hope never to lose that; nonetheless, the time has come to cover the furniture with sheets, turn off the utilities, fasten the shutters, and lock the doors of this particular structure.


The Last Post, for the record

The highlight of yesterday (besides tea with Dingo) was a visit from The Goddess and DeeDee, in town from The Couv. It was great catching up with them again and talking higher ed gossip and gamer geekishness. Before taking a walk around Fremont and coming to the RD to see the townhouse, we went to Silence Heart Nest for lunch. I had the Neat Loaf sandwich (hold the mayo), with a side of cashew gravy for my home fries.


Bye-bye

And to send us off in style, here's none other than that Swedish songbird, Miss Ann-Margaret Olsson:





Cheers, all.

10 comments:

Jon Myers said...

First, first, I get to be the first to post on the last post! Farewell and fare thee well.

"Yojimbo_5" said...

F...

DAMN!

Well, as the accident-prone Miss Olsson warbles, "Hate to see ya go!"

And--for the record--
Selina Kyle (Catwoman)
Barbara Gordon (former Batgirl)
Zatanna Zatarra (incorrigible mage)
Dinah Lance Queen (Black Canary)
Karen Starr (PowerGirl-no logo, lotsa cleavage)
Princess Diana of Thymiscara (WW)
Kara Zor-El (Supergirl)
"Kate" Kane (the new Batwoman)
Mari Jiwe McCabe (Vixen)
Pamely Isley (Poison Ivy)
Harleen Quinzel PHD. (Harley Quinn)

And on a note of sadness your slide show is saying it's Sorry, but it's not playing anymore.

But, if we're gonna increase the comment count, we need to say something controversial, so....

Games SUCK!

and so does "Fight Club" (actually it doesn't, I just contend that it violates its own story-telling logic that--eh-hem--brings the house down..where'd i put that asterisk?)

But I digress....

>proudaya< Congratulations on your achievement, Walaka! >/proudaya<

ReadyToShelve said...

Dude. I'm smacking my forehead over that gif. All this time I thought "hoodies" and "cons" were references to thugs and criminals. I never realized your blog title was three articles of clothing that you frequently wear.

So. The riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma gets solved. The little slice of heaven gets eaten. The dirigible tentatively exploring the blogosphere pulls into port. And what if I tell you to turn this around? HEY! *draws rifle* I'm gonna make it RAIN YOUR FACE if you don't turn this thing around!

I'm thinking that "Bye Bye Birdie" video is where Skates learned all her moves for "Green Vans."

Of course neither video holds up under scrutiny, and both were misrepresented by their respective trailers. The originals were way better.

Thanks for posting so much randomness, and on a regular basis even!

In the language of scrambled security words that you introduced me to, jfarrks iiem lwqoiu fhyitaz nvmbbw ywbpovls bsyckkx! And thanks for all the fish! :D

Venta Silins said...

Thanks for the blog and the memories. Good luck in your next venture. I hope you know where to go with research questions.

V

Anonymous said...

But...but...but... this is the only way I know what's going on with you. Does that mean I have to actually, you know, interact with you to keep in touch?

wheylona said...

Good luck on your new bloggy direction--I am eager to see how it all evolves! :-) I tried to leave you a comment yesterday at the new digs but didn't find a way to do it. It must be said, though, that I relied on you and HKC to keep me up to date with Teh Gang as you were postingest poster of them all--I will miss HKC and all that goes with it!

JJ said...

I'm sorry to lose your constant companionship on my Google side bar's RSS Feed. I'm suddenly feeling all alone... but, thanks for all of your blog-o-mentoring. It will take me three times as long to hit 1000 posts! I enjoyed it while it lasted. Cheers!

ReadyToShelve said...

It sucks checking this blog and knowing before I even start typing the address that nothing new is going to appear. :(

"Yojimbo_5" said...

"Wait a minute! That comment wasn't here a moment ago!"

WV: SROMBOG - GURPS antagonist

John said...

I believes that "Turn this dirigible around or I'm going to make it rain on your face" is my line.

In other news I heard someone at the park refer to someone else as "Soapy" today! Apparently Steve is NOT alone.