I am curious to learn how my fellow Dharma Bums came to learn of Docudharma and why they enjoy participating here. What do you like and dislike about our little dysfunctional family? Where do you originally come from in Blogotopia and how the hell did you end up here.
I followed Buhdy over here after lurking on that Orange site for a year. At first I lurked, than I got more involved and started writing. Authors like Meteor Blades and Devilstower got me hooked, and I fell in love with the work of Buhdy, Ek and One Pissed Off Liberal, to name a few. I am still a bit of a blog virgin (1st year), but I believe my scope of ideas has grown tremendously over the past few months.
Ideas. Ideas are why we are here. Otherwise I could just let the TV pre program my multi-media reeducation and drink the cool aid with the rest of the sheep. Not me. I use the term sheep lovingly. Those people are still plugged into the Matrix. I hope that by Yelling Louder I, and together, we, might wake them up.
So, how did we get unplugged from the matrix, and how do we unplug others?
By sharing ideas.
Tell me your ideas. Share. It is how we grow and learn and Progress.
Why are you here?
What is your goal, your hope, what would you most wish to achieve in your time here?
Where are you going?
And, most importantly, how the hell did we all wind up in this place?
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Pull up a chair, grab a cold drink, it’s Friday night!
So, what brings you here, stranger?
after the recent “dust up” at the dkos —
arbitrary banning, playground tactics,
and the ever less interest in quality reporting there,
combined to motivate me to check out docudharma.
This place is much more progressive,
creative, and well-informed, than I could have imagined.
I’ve been blogging seriously since early 2007,
and occasionally going back to the late 90’s.
My motivation in 2007, was to help take our country back,
from the right wing machine. I was a blogger for Edwards,
and eventually was asked to write for EENR on dkos.
I still think we have a long ways to go,
to take our country back from the entrenched powers,
that run the place, so I blog on.
Lately, I’ve grown tired of the struggle,
but I’ve also grown better at my craft,
so I blog on. People need a little help sometimes
to get it. I need a little help too, on many days.
There can be a great synergy to a blog community.
The god-awful state of modern journalism, is also
a great motivator, for me.
In 1776, they had to use Pamphlets —
Today we can easily use the internet to reach our fellow citizens.
So we should use it. The People need a Voice (still).
Blogging IS the Free Press, given today’s corporate Media.
I keep posting on dkos, because some Pundits follow it.
and I recently discovered, that Google News has started
to “pick up” breaking news stories, off of dkos as well:
How cool is that?
So how bout you MinistryOfTruth?
Your writing style is very intriguing …
Why do you Blog?
And what it the story, behind your name?
thx, for your tireless efforts.
but I thought Id suggest this to MoT and anyone else new-ish to read
Its an Essay (that I hotlisted) by ek hornbeck, dated APR 30, about this place. a bit of a tour guide.
I find it amusing to retrace my steps that landed me here. lol. I signed up in late Feb (2009) after lurking a few weeks. Gotta think about it.
and I wandered over. I recall that it was sort of a high drama “panties in a bunch” meta time at GOS. What was it about? Who the fuck knows? It was probably bitching about cat dairies.
I don’t comment much here, but I do appreciate the effort that diarist here put into their work. However, I usually rec the work at GOS first then here. The “front page” here feels like the greatest hits of everyone else. Hell, I get FPed here (and at Congress Matters, FWIW) all the time for diaries that are lucky to get 20 recs on a Sunday night at GOS. That recognition keeps me coming back.
Finally, I like the lack of meta bitching here. We don’t have someone posting a meta/cyber/pixelated meltdown here and have it take over all discussion for days or weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good drama, but when the blog turns into a blog about the blog every few weeks, it gets tedious. Memo to GOS lurkers.
End of rant. Happy to be here.
lurked on the GOS for a long time, signed up, and noticed buhdy’s works.
You have since made me look un-worthy of my ID#. I should have put off my joining for a week or two.
Bwahhahhahhahhah!
Always at odds with the thinking of ‘normal’ people.
I started out on Ebay of all places, was selling there and wandered into the forums one day. Got into it bad with some people just before the Iraq War and moved on to Democratic Underground, found Dkos and felt more at home until recently.
Docudharma feels right, one doesn’t get lost in the masses. My # is 1903, the year my maternal grandmother was born. She was an amazing woman, very unconventional and funny as hell.
What do I want?
Justice for all, Peace and a better life.
How do we archive this?
By getting the kitten of my keyboard and blog and talk to the ignorant like there is no tomorrow. Just what y’all are doing now. I haven’t written anything in a long time (I used to have a blog) and I miss it. I used to write before there were blogs, they called it a journal and it was pages and pages of paper.
My goal?
I want Whirrled Peas and help old ladies across the street.
Or health insurance, living wages for all and unions in every business be a good start.
Where am I going?
No idea! Usually I go where I’m needed, I still have some years left in me to make trouble for the complacent.
How did we all end up here?
We are all where we suppose to be at this time. Enjoy!
as “pragprogress” and was pretty offended when Toque got banned. I had been over here before, but that’s when I made the jump to actually register. My account’s still in good standing over there though. I’m still kind of in the middle because I like the traffic over there, but not the screaming banshees who try to shout down discussions of anything that they don’t like. I love the folks here, but it would be nice to have more people involved. I guess that’s why we keep building . . .
The reason DD is my first stop on teh tubes:
Quality.
Still waiting on that, though.
change they could believe in, instead of slogans…
Go team!
Seriously,
I like the civil atmosphere for all sorts. Microcosm.
And I really like the word dharma.
…for the smaller, less fitful place to read Buhdy and others from my dial-up, as it utterly impossible to read comments once they get over 100. Which keeps me from reading or participating in any Kos rec list diaries.
Then, after Obama’s win, things over there just got way too weird. Always took time off when the delinquent hall monitors took over, they’re incredibly boring. I blog for a living (have 8) and write freelance too, so have to keep up with all sorts of things. Then I got banned from Kos with no warning or explanation because somebody thought the truth about flu vaccine production is too CT to be known. Screw ’em! Plus, I got way burned out on the overactive narcissism, the whining, and the Ach Tung! enforcement of bland and blind support for Obama once he became Prez. I worked for that, but was always well to the left of him, didn’t ever expect anything but more schmaltz that would only bend to high pressure from the progressive camp. Which Kos no longer represents anyway.
So here I am. Still read the Kos main page for news, don’t bother with any whiney-ass narcissistic ME, ME, ME diaries. Ever. I like the vibe here better. §;o)
but almost always posted at DK because more people would read my stuff.
That place was getting pretty intolerable when they banned me the same time as Tocque.
So now I’m here.
I sure do like the people here better.
DK was going downhill FAST. Their traffic must be greatly reduced, because things sure seem to move slower over there now.
This place is a bit slow, too, though, it’s my only complaint. 🙂 Wish we had more people.
…starting with Bhuddy, and a few buddies from other blogs. Then after being here a while, finding more talented posters was a positive. Also, there is more freedom to express ideas here than at certain more orangish type places, and more civility toward each other’s ideas–for the most part.
and being a supporter of Sen. Clinton I needed a place where I did not feel like I was on the defensive all the time or that would make me feel like I had to constantly defend my candidate in comments.
Plus I wanted to write some stuff that was more personal. The Great Orange is fine but if you want to get noticed you have to either be a fire-breather or write serious policy all the time. Here I can be more me, if that makes any sense.
mostly because of ek and buhdy. Even when I stopped even reading GOS because of the flame wars and election rhetoric, I came here to read and comment. I was away a lot last year and at one point because other things were consuming a tremendous amount of time, I had put much of my personal life on hold. This was the first place I came back to in Jan of this year. Live from Gaza when we had intenet connections.
I like the pace here, not as frantic or “loud”, even though buhdy wants us to shout louder. And besides, I really like you guys.
because I saw a free beer sign.
I started way back in the days of dial-up BBS-ing and have moved along with the changes. I lurked over at that orange thingy for months before I made an account, which was how I learned of this place.
After lurking here for a while, I made an account. It happened to be during the recent Great Orange CT Panic, but my account creation was not spurred by that.
I read and post a bit in both places, but I find the atmosphere here much more rational and relaxed. I would post more, but I cannot log in from work and I have not yet found a way to post from my mobile phone (if anyone does know how to make that work, I would be grateful for some instruction).
I would like to start my own blog, but recently I have had a vicious case of writer’s block which I seem unable to break, and this week there was talk of eliminating my entire department at work, so for the moment I need to concentrate on finding work with a steadier pay rate.
After quite a few years of getting sucked in there–spun, smashed, squashed, and stretched–I popped through the hole and here I am. Staggering but still standing. Huh.
so far outside of the box I am always incoherent. Kind of like Yoda and the Jedi Knights. Places ban me for being outside the box but nothing starts the de-programming process better than an expatriot assignment. The complete removal from one’s own manufactured “culture” and the learning of another.
I was organizing a regular vigil for the Iraq Moratorium in the Fall of 2007, just a month after the start of dd.
After our first vigil in Septembetr ’07, I found a wonderful photo essay about our demonstration on the Iraq Moratorium report back web pages. It was put together and posted by On the Bus with a link to dd.
I followed the link, wrote OTB and met her at the next demo. I had never blogged before. In talking, I expressed my interest in the evolution of consciousness to OTB, and she asked me to submit some pieces to dd, and the rest is history.
I soon learned that several participants at dd are also involved with IM: Dennis, Alma, Xofferson, OTB, and more.
It is my firm belief that we, as a species must evolve in consciousness if we are to survive. We are at a point of evolutionary imperative: Evolve or Die. If we do not rise to this challenge of evolution, and we die as a failed thread of evolution, we will probably take many more species with us.
So this is the spirit from which I write and comment.
Here are a few words from my inspirational mentor, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:
From Chapter 1 of The Future of Man, “A Note on Progress”:
The synchronicity of the connection to IM, the names docudharma, budhydharma, and my own screen name made me feel this to be the right place for me. Then I read the One Rule: “Be excellent to each other or else,” and I’ve continued along as a happy member of this excellent effort to grow a better world.
is for everyone to collectively take a giant step forward in our political literacy. The below average need to move up to average, the average to above average and the leaders need to constantly work on their leadership skills. When I’m out canvassing, I remember the steps it took to improve my own literacy and try to recreate them in my conversations with others. We don’t need to create a new elite, we all need to be resoponsible for educating each other. Newbies need to be encouraged. There is nothing that sharpens your thinking more than trying to convey your thoughts in a diary. I feel this site’s credo fo “being excellent to each other” comes close to my way of thinking.
Kos is a great site, but the konstipated kos kops are in danger of turning it elitist.
for distributing Impeachment porn, for having insufficient respect for DHinMI’s patriotism, for consorting with attention whores like Cindy Sheehan, for inquiring why so many scribblers in Miss Elise’s 3rd Grade class at the Taylormattd Elementary School always made the recc list, and for various and sundry other offenses so shocking I cannot discuss them on a family blog like Docudharma.
I had taken a hit of 10x salvia divinorum (I don’t recommend it) and almost immediately found myself trapped within a San Pedro cactus. I looked all around and found… pooties. The pooties were calling to me and pointing. I wondered about that since I was inside a cactus. How did they get here and why are they pointing? I looked to where they were pointing and saw… ponies. And it scared the hell out of me, I mean I was trapped inside a cactus! I looked back to the pooties and they urged me to follow the ponies. Fearing I would emerge from the cactus maimed from being trampled by ponies I followed cautiously at first. The ponies circled a few times, all the while trapped inside a cactus, and moved in some direction. I looked back at the still pointing pooties and followed. They led me to Docudharma and out of the San Pedro cactus.
And then I lurked some more. I liked the premise of the site — it seemed like a place where conflicting ideas would be tolerated. Here is a rare blog site where you can argue to gain understanding rather than argue to win. Be excellent to each other was an important part of what I found attractive.
I was doing some human rights work, particularly writing that advocates against torture. I decided at one point to not blog about that work, as I also write about it in other formats. When I changed my mind about blogging, DD seemed like a good place to post my stuff. It was then that I finally started writing here.
And I like the people who come here.
I came here thru dKos. Actually, I think I became frustrated one night in a diary there and buhdy, edger, and Lady L suggested I come over. So I did and basically this is the group that I could tell over on dKos were my kind of thinkers. I enjoy this blog, but my participation has been up and down as of late because I’ve become a bit frustrated with the whole thing. But, that’s called ups and downs and I never stay down long.
when i saw a diary by bd at dk, came here and realized most of my favorite writers were already here. seems like awhile ago now. it’s been good to see more and more righteous readers/writers here.
I don’t really recall what specific kerfuffle over at Dkos caused Buhdy to start DD, but whatever it was, that was it.
because I was tired of getting bashed at DKOS –and Rusty1776 said he was getting all the chics here– 🙂
not remember what Kossack suggested that I post here. I have done so since then, and crosspost almost everything at Kos as well.
The ambiance here is much more relaxed, and I really like that. I also appreciate the extremely touching support that this community gave me night before last when I was in despair. I have no words with which to express my gratitude for that.
On the other hand, as I always say in a humorous way in closing the Pique the Geek essays (and there will be one come 9:00 PM Eastern tonight, even though I was not sure Friday), I really do learn many things from comments, and that is where Kos has the advantage. Many more folks read and post there, so I get more oddball (and that is not a pejorative term) information on that site. And the Kos site has been very tolerant of my less than political posts, and I appreciate that.
I intend to crosspost most of my silly thoughts on both sites, and maybe some day I will even start one of my own. I have even thought of a name for it, but it would be premature to allow it to leaked just yet since I have to study the intricacies of running a blog, and hopefully one that will make money.
So, in summary, I love both places. I would not trade either of them for the other. Sometimes it is nice to have the best of both worlds.
Warmest regards,
Doc
not new, not a founder…. but truly, it is the lack of general assholery that tends to overtake other blogs that brung me to the peaceful dance here.
I stayed for the good vibes, decent bud, cold cocktails and will take a pony over the swarms of cat pictures any day. 🙂
Oh, and someone said you could get really good brownies here too. Or chocolate chip cookies. Or something.
I like fun and gentleness with my intellect.
was when I signed up here. I know it’s odd, but I don’t remember why I did that. I think somebody told me to check it out, so I did, and I liked what I read. I unrolled my sleeping bag and put it behind the couch, and I’ve been here ever since. I’m pretty sure that if I overstay my welcome, somebody here will tell me that it might be time for me to move on down the road. In the meanwhile, I’m just hanging out.
presented intelligently, criticized thoughtfully, and analyzed with care and respect.
It’s a nice change after being chased around by a pack of shrill hall monitors who constantly berate other people for “annoying” them or “being stupid,” or (horror of horrors!) not being respectful enough of our sold-out Congress.
Besides, my favorite DK posters show up here. 🙂
it bums me out too, because it has a hold on so many progressives. I think the goal of being a partisan blog and a progressive blog are incompatible, and kos has put too many centrist blue dog types on the front page and given them moderating privileges. I really think the blogger formerly known as dhinmi is a terrible influence. I also think community moderation is a sham! I also think the fight over public option and the bailout proves that the big tent is unworkable. Heck the whole two party system is.
blend together for me. You all were the cool people who had reccomended diaries. You were different and had fights? I mainly remember DHinMin and no 911 or voting machine diaries (except when he wanted to bait you in with one of his circular logic diaries).
threatened my life.