I am astonished to discover that six years have gone by since the first LH post. I wish I had time to mull that over and produce some wise ruminations, or at least count the new countries I've had visits from (Tonga! Dominica! Lesotho!), but I'm in full deadline-panic mode on the book I'm copyediting, so all I can do is note the fact, murmur about tempus fuguing, and offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has commented and sent me e-mails; without the feedback (and suggestions for post ideas) I'd have given up years ago.
Addendum. The Daily Growler, whose proprietor is an old friend and mentor (and the only boss I've ever had who kept my respect and affection), has a flattering post reminiscing about how we met and started working together (along with the usual unstoppable flow of memories and ruminations); I'll excerpt these bits on hats and computers:
And L Hat wore his copyrighted Panama straws in the summer, from Ecuador, where real Panama hats come from, and his copyrighted grey Borsolino felt skypiece in the winter! He also wore a Greek fisherman's hat, too, when he was being a wanderer--standard apparel for wandering individualists in those days--and boy did my staff have fun for several years--several lusty years...As I said in my comment to his post, "the internet was made for the likes of us. Every day I shake my head in amazement at my luck in living to make use of it." Posted by languagehat at July 31, 2008 08:46 AMAnd when computers came along, L Hat and I began discovering the Hog Heaven aspects of them--and then when we got hooked up to the Internet, forget about it! We'd found a library within a teevee set that we could access in nanosecond speeds...
Happy Anniversary! Congratulations and thanks.
Posted by: Angelo at July 31, 2008 09:15 AMI was wondering what the great Robert Irwin, American artist, was doing writing about Antwerp in the TLS, but it's apparently someone else. Congratulations on the sixty years of blogs. Now if you had become an academic (or a psychoanalyst, or were unemployed for that matter) you wouldn't have to work in the sunny months. Unemployment has the shortest retraining.
Posted by: Arthur Crown at July 31, 2008 09:27 AMTanti auguri!
Posted by: komfo,amonan at July 31, 2008 09:58 AMCongrats LH! Looking forward to many more years of informative posts.
Posted by: Jordan at July 31, 2008 10:05 AMSelamet deh.
Posted by: Ben Zimmer at July 31, 2008 10:14 AMMuch of what you write about goes over my head, without ever making me feel excluded. Thank you.
Posted by: zhoen at July 31, 2008 10:19 AMCongratulations! Onnes olkoon! Six years is a long time in blog years. Wishing you many more years..
Posted by: marja-leena at July 31, 2008 11:49 AMMange tak!
Posted by: language hat at July 31, 2008 12:44 PMLa multi ani, hat!
Posted by: bulbul at July 31, 2008 02:03 PMTop of the morning to yer, and the rest of time for the readers to enjoy more delightful informative blogs
Posted by: fimus scarabaeus at July 31, 2008 02:25 PMLucky, Pozzo, and all the gang down at Sam's Body and Fender Shop say mazel tov!
Posted by: rootlesscosmo at July 31, 2008 03:10 PMSto lat!
Posted by: AJ at July 31, 2008 04:56 PMThanks for six great years!
Posted by: dale at July 31, 2008 05:10 PMHartelijk gefeliciteerd!
Posted by: Martin at July 31, 2008 05:43 PMD'Oh! I swapped pronouns halfway through. That's what I get for suddenly deciding to neuter your blog.
Undskyld ...
Posted by: Sili at July 31, 2008 06:22 PMCongratulations on 6 years. I've only been reading your blog for half that long, but I have enjoyed every post, and while I agree with zhoen's words, "Much of what you write about goes over my head, without ever making me feel excluded." I have to add that your enthusiasm and ability to involve the amateurs, dilettantes and dabblers has meant that now a tiny fraction less goes whizzing over my head and that is a great feeling. Kia ora!
Posted by: Stuart at July 31, 2008 07:18 PMBest blog (and comment section) on the internet, if you ask me.
Posted by: John Emerson at July 31, 2008 07:22 PMDomo arigato! (I can't read Japanese, but I can fake it with Popjisyo.)
Posted by: language hat at July 31, 2008 07:50 PMMany thanks for what you've done, and many wishes for many more.
And here's a present: proof that Chaucer spoke Yiddish.
House of Fame Book I line 53
And shelde hem fro poverte and shonde
Bosnia (well, a Bosnian at least) represents!
Congratulations!
Posted by: Dee at July 31, 2008 09:27 PMMmm. Tempura fuguing! Sounds dangerous. Six years, and still got steam coming out of your old boiler. Good on you. And better for all of us who read you.
Posted by: Joel at July 31, 2008 09:42 PMHappy 6th Blogiversary!
Posted by: Frank at July 31, 2008 09:48 PMСпасибо за лучший блог в Интернете! :-)
Posted by: Map at August 1, 2008 01:56 AMCan't even speak me own language proper, so I won't even try to compete wiv wot's above. You've done a bluddy good job, me old china.
Posted by: Richard Parker at August 1, 2008 02:28 AM恭喜恭喜！能6年如一日般做一件事本身就很了不起，更何况你的作品如此精彩。
Posted by: Clark at August 1, 2008 04:33 AMZoli koze ! Nou ava rekoz tousala dan sis banane...
Posted by: Siganus Sutor at August 1, 2008 10:20 AMgrattis!
For your Iron Anniversary, I wish you many lithe jackies in white blouses.
Posted by: mollymooly at August 1, 2008 02:08 PMÄijän passiboi da kiitokšie Kielihatulla mahtavimmasta da mielenkiintozimmasta blogista netissä! :D Uon aina tykännyn lugie tätä blogie, da toivon šillä lisiä vuozie!
Posted by: Ryan at August 1, 2008 03:59 PMOT (cause it wouldn't be LH otherwise):
For those of you whose reaction to the Dave list was the same as mine, here it is.
Posted by: MMcM at August 2, 2008 10:01 AMpaldies, draugs! :)
Posted by: ubu at August 2, 2008 06:41 PMBelated congratulations!
Posted by: JCass at August 4, 2008 03:37 PMGo maire tú, a hata, agus go raibh míle maith agat as an sar-obair atá á dhéanamh agat le sé bhliana anuas.
Posted by: kelly d at August 5, 2008 03:24 PM