Potpourri at 1200

Hey everybody! There's been a lot going on here at the blog and I thought it might be nice to catch up.

As you've probably guessed, you're reading post #1200 on MBS. That's a dozen hundred (or a hundred dozen). In any case, it's hard to believe we've lasted so long. Thanks to all who read, and especially to those readers who comment. Every blogger loves your comments. Even if it's just one sentence, your words provide treasured acknowledgment and affirmation.

I just published an In with the New post a couple of weeks ago. Already, I've accumulated eight more new blogs to share. Either adult spanking is more popular than ever or people who spank are discovering blogging at an amazing rate. Either way, our community is teeming with excellent blogs. The only downside to this embarrassment of riches is that some promising new bloggers never manage to find a stable core readership. I'm thinking about ways to get them some positive exposure before frustration sets in.

The mailbag feature always seems to have the effect of generating more mail. That's great. Keep those e-mails coming! If I haven't answered you yet, please bear with me. I will get to it soon.

I hope you voted in our recent reader poll. I thought the results were very interesting.

• Just over 60% of voters are male. That matches both previous polls and MBS's web demographics


• More than half of all readers are either male spankers or female spankees


• Overall, spankees outnumber spankers by a considerable margin


• The proportion of male spankees and switches (35% of all respondents) is higher than I anticipated


• Conversely, the representation of female spankers (2%) is lower than I expected

A reader asked me how I keep coming up with such wonderfully bizarre phrases for Keyword Chaos. The short answer is that I don't. Someone somewhere typed those words into a search engine for reasons that shall forever remain a mystery. All we can do is laugh and point.

I've received several excellent brunch topic suggestions recently. You'll be seeing them appear in the coming weeks. I'm always open to new ideas, so if there is a (bottom) burning question that you would like to see our brunch bunch answer, please send it to me.

I've been trying to audio record more of our spankings lately. Hopefully, we will capture something worth sharing.

I'm glad everyone liked the Simon and Garfunkel song parody. I find myself a bit conflicted when taking on a song of that magnitude. In one way, it's so historically meaningful that changing it, even in the name of fun, feels like painting over a masterpiece. On the other hand, if one parodies a song that is not well known, the result will surely be a head-scratcher.

The song itself was a challenge. Paul Simon's folk roots are clearly apparent in the lyrics. He was (and is) much more concerned with message than meter. The same line in different verses could have three beats, four beats, or even five beats. I preserved all of those quirks. I also retained a few of the original words where I could. I wouldn't presume to rhyme forming with warning, but he did and I kept it.

On a sad note, we bid farewell last week to our friend and colleague, Alex Birch. I didn't know him as well as some bloggers did, but we did have the opportunity to exchange e-mails a few times. Bon voyage and fare thee well, old friend.

It's interesting to note that my recent upsurge in blogging activity has been accompanied by an increase in spanking at our house. Coincidence? I doubt it. Anyhow, I have some more fun features in the queue including a return of an old favorite. Thanks again and please stay tuned...