One Year of Ionarts

Amazingly enough, today also happens to be the first anniversary of the appearance of this blog, on July 23, 2003, with a post that is far from being the most interesting one I have ever written. (Note to anyone who is thinking of starting a weblog: make your first post something you will be proud of in a year.) This site has gone from those humble beginnings to a collaborative project I never imagined, thanks to all the contributors, now numbering four and sure to increase.

The arts blog is a juggernaut phenomenon, part of this developing medium, blogging, whose prominence continues to increase. One of our number, the ever-present Terry Teachout at About Last Night, has even been nominated to serve on the National Council on the Arts. We wish Terry the best of luck on getting confirmed: Tyler Green and I have your back covered here in Washington. When Terry is elected President of the United States, I will be happy to be nominated as Librarian of Congress or another cultural position. Perhaps he will send me as Cultural Attaché to the American Embassy in Paris. I can dream, can't I? When Terry gets to the White House, I hope he will get cracking on the Ionarts Proposal (March 28).

What good news came our way on our birthday? We thank Alex Ross, at The Rest Is Noise, for mentioning some recent posts by Jens and me. Alex is at work on a top secret summer project and leaves for Bayreuth today: we wish him safe travels and look forward to reading his notes from Wagner Central. We have also just learned of the Internet resurrection of A. C. Douglas, who is blogging again at sounds & fury. No matter what his new title may lead you to think, the last thing ACD will do is "signify nothing." Welcome back! Mark Sarvas at The Elegant Variation writes about Petrarch climbing Mont-Ventoux (actually from July 21). As Mark surely knows, Ventoux is also a peak sacred to cycling (see my review of Les Triplettes de Belleville). As you will recall, this is a 700th anniversary year for Petrarch (see post on June 1).

The bad news? As I discover every year, the worst drawback of traveling is the damage it does to your garden. I live in the city, so I am responsible for a tiny patch of land, but it has really gone to hell in the space of a few weeks. I'll be pulling weeds between rain storms today. If you are new to Ionarts, or if you are a regular reader, maybe you would like to take a walk down memory lane in the Ionarts Archives: take off your shoes and stay a while. Thanks to everyone for reading!