Welcome to all, as we celebrate the One Year Anniversary of tnocs.com!
A crowdsourced website for folks to contribute awesome writing about music, comedy, art, travel, and anything else that’s a “fun slice-of-life” in your world.
One year! How did that happen so fast?
I’ll try not to get too carried away. But I’m pretty stoked to think that we actually made it this far.
It’s been great first twelve months! From a random, silly idea…
.. to a place with great “regulars,” a lively and troll-free comment section, classic running gags within a true “canon”- and interesting articles that entertain and inform.
It all has been a wonderful ride, and I hope: worthy of your valuable time.
Although: I have heard the whispers. Some (cough) people (cough) around the water cooler have opined that this job is “aging” me.
I mean, it’s not like I took an official oath to serve, or anything.
But, I suppose it’s possible.
You have to wonder if it’s just an urban myth that people look older in the years after “assuming office.”
Hmm. It’s hard to tell.
Hey, Goodboy, that could be fun. Let’s see!
Wow. I sure had the hair thing goin’. I suppose that nowadays, I might look a little longer in the tooth. OK! Cool snap. Let’s move on to –
OK. Very funny. That’s clearly an imposter. Will whoever did that please find a real photo of yours truly? Maybe something that won’t scare everyone?
They say that the technology for a weapons-grade filter like we need for this is years away.”
Graphical frivolity aside:
Sincere thanks to everybody who has been participating: everyone from casual reader to lurker, to commenters, to authors. I’ve met so many great friends here, both new and old.
So many of you had very nice things to say this week in your emails. Your kind words lifted me up – thank you.
And while it’s technically the site’s birthday: I want you to have a present:
If you are one of the first 15 of our supremely fantastic Contributing Authors with at least one article published this past year, I’d like to mug you.
Whoa – wait – that came out all wrong – what I meant was –
This is exactly how he ended up on the No-Fly List.”
(You promised not to bring that up, Gary.)
Anyway, authors: just email me your address, and a spiffy new, full color and dishwasher safe tnocs.com coffee/tea/kombucha/whatever mug is all yours.
No strings attached. No cost. Just a tiny thanks for the wonderful content that you generously allowed us to publish over the past year.
BYOB, and enjoy. (The usual reminder: your privacy is assured. Your mailing address is for my eyes only, and after the shipping label is printed, your information will be dispatched to the virtual shredder.)
A special shout-out to Bill Bois for assisting with procurement logistics!
And a sincere thanks for our exclusive partnership with the US Postal Service™, and their gracious offer to absorb all shipping costs!
Must have missed something in the fine print. My bad. No worries- we’ll get it done.
And if you’re a lurker or commenter, or missed the Contributing Author First-15 and would like to purchase one of these collector’s items outright, they are available for $18 each.
And that includes the shipping.
*(Fake plant and questionable spokesmodel in the background not included.)
Again, just email me at submissions@tnocs.com and we’ll make it so.
So after a whole year: what’s next?
Really, this place is so organic, it’s amazing. The music articles are a staple, and we could use more of them. But that’s really up to all of you. I just hang the drapes.
I love how we get silly, and then we’ll speak seriously about how we cope with the wild world. As corny as it sounds, we have each other. And you have confirmed this over the past 365 with your great and loyal companionship.
So thank you all for joining me. If you told me 12 months ago that a semi-joke comment at Stereogum would have led to this, I would’ve thought that one of us was crazy. Probably both of us.
To say it loud and proud: we’ve got a fun website, and a great community going on. And if you are new around that’s parts, be assured: you are welcome here. We want you to join us.
Thanks for reading, participating, and being a part of tnocs.com.
Happy Birthday, to…
Us!
Good on you all.
-mt58
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
Happy Birthday tnocs.com! The amount of effort you pour into this, mt58, is impressive. The eclectic collection of articles has been impressive. May you be blessed with all the energy and stamina you need to keep chugging along! 🙂
Happy Birthday to the finest crowdsourced website for folks to contribute awesome writing about music, comedy, art, travel, and anything else that’s a “fun slice-of-life” in your world.
It’s been a blast and I’ve definitely learnt a few things along the way.
And now there’s merchandise!! Next up I reckon there has to be a tnocs hoodie in honour of our genial host.
https://youtu.be/6t1vaF50Ks0
Why stop at hoodies? TNOCS socks! TNOCS tape measures! TNOCSs dehumidifiers! If it exists, slap a TNOCS logo on it.
Gene Simmons has entered the chat.
Go all “NPR” and give us a TNOCS tote bag, dammit!
If they can have a Nina Totenbag, why can’t we have a … (insert jokey response here).
This is probably the greatest NPR-related swag ever:
https://www.nprwineclub.org/product/NPR-Nina-Totenblend-2018/4011218?
https://youtu.be/3nm37gzDnk0
(Weird Al’s highest charted single, and what Tom rated it, are canon.)
This has turned out even better than I expected. And I expected a lot. Much love to MT58 and all of the rest of this ever-expanding community for making this so much fun.
Happy birthday TNOCS and TNOCSers! Time really flies…
I’m glad to be part of a happy, peaceful and full of good vibrations place.
Community hug!
I got hooked to Tom Breihan’s column when Archie Leech responded to a post about “One Day in Your Life”. I can’t remember the context. I also enjoyed tleo breaking down the awfulness of “Honey”, which reminds me of the jerk in Neil LaBute’s In the Company of Men.
My favorite burn was how I mischaracterized the Starland Vocal Band to one commentor. I described their sound as “SoCal Abba.” His reply was: “Wrong. They’re four John Denvers.”
It’s been fun. I don’t have conversations like this in real life. I have musician friends, but they’re old souls. I’m not young, but they’re all Beatles fans, despite not quite being born when the lads dissolved. It’s impressive, actually. They’re pretty scholarly about it. They were the people in my original avatar. I changed it, because the mothership cropped me out when they turned into the AV Club. In the nineties, I would secretly describe them as “Gen X boomers”. Young me had an adverse reaction to classic rock. When they covered “Moondance”, I thought they were trolling me.
The Clarke Sisters. This is the greatest song-of-all-time! Why are you making a face?
That really happened.
Happy birthday, tnocs.com.
Hope Then Strife > The Clarke Sisters, but both are AWESOME!
This is what I’m talking about.
The quality control of The Go-Between albums(from Before Hollywood to 16 Lovers Lane) is a show of discipline I wish all musical acts followed.
Show us your ten best songs.
Karen, Lee Remick, Cattle & Cane, Bachelor Kisses, Spring Rain, Streets of Your Town, Hope Then Strife, Clarke Sisters, House Jack Kerouac, Built, Right Here…Your turn!
1) The Clarke Sisters 2) Cattle and Cane(any list that leaves this song out would be made by somebody trying to be too cool; that title, so much information is compressed in those three words) 3) The Devil’s Eye 4) Bachelor Kisses 5) I Just Get Caught Out 6) The Wrong Road 7) Quiet Heart 8) Right Here 9) Slow, Slow Music 10) Part Company
My favorite song from The Go-Betweens 2.0 is “The Statue”.
Thank you. This was cool.
[Skips through the group, throwing glitterbombs and confetti in the air, then stopping because I’ve now annoyed even myself…]
Excellent team effort everyone to keep the tnocs.com train chugging along so successfully for a full year now. Thanks to our gracious host mt for keeping the place so spiffy for us to hang out in. Thanks for the fun, laughs, and edu-ma-cation along the way.
And thanks for humoring my incessant need to make jokes and mention Duran in some capacity. 😁
It’s a very happy day!
Well done everyone. You done did it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKv1JPq3q5w
Happy Birthday, TNOCS – here’s a kind of annoying Beatles song in your honor:
https://youtu.be/dhdOPhTHeoE
It’s a 6.
Mt, I have a serious question for you…..
Is the hoodie part of your business attire, or do you pull a Mr Rogers when you walk in the door and you change into your Hoodie and sneakers after a long day at work???? And do you have a selection to choose from?
Coming up… “It’s a beautiful day in Mr. mt’s Neighborhood…”
I never leave home without it.
I’m traveling in real life this week for business.
To say that I was getting some strange looks whilst taking promotional coffee mug photos in the hotel lobby would be an understatement. Gary is right: this is how I get into trouble.
The hoodie the very same one that made its debut, along with the “life is good” T-shirt, in the salad days over at SG.
I’m not surprised about the strange looks with the size of that cake you were toasting. Hope you shared it round.
Next serious questions…..
Is your name tag sticker a permanent part of said hoodie?!
And does Goodboy have his own hoodie?!
😁
– Removable in case I should need to go incognito. I always carry spares.
– Thank you: A certain Christmas present dilemma has just been solved.
dutch, what you said just sent my brain on a weird tangent…
Presumably, the house on Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood is supposed to represent his real home (just ignore his original intro where he called it “this very special studio”). So… he comes home from work, changes out of his suit coat and dress shoes into his relaxing cardigan and sneakers, interacts with us (and any other visitors who stop by), and then 25 minutes later… gets dressed again and leaves? Was he on his lunch break and had to go back to the office? Does he have a seven hour commute each way to work, and sleeps on the way there and back? Meeting his wife at the restaurant? Or is he leading a double life and has to get home to his OTHER FAMILY?!?
Lunch break seems the most reasonable, since it happens five days a week. Actually, the most reasonable explanation is that I’m overthinking the premise (it’s just a show, I should really just relax).
Thanks Aaron, my inner 5 YO just got a complex wondering where Mr Rogers is going at the end of each show now and if his fish will be ok… 😟
Ha! I just noticed in the graphic at the top, mt is toasting the cake with a TNOCS mug. Details like that make this a several-times-a-day stop on my web surf routine.
There’s a minimum of one Easter egg in nearly every article or graphic.
I should run a contest, or something.
And give away TNOCS radiator caps as prizes.
I’m glad I have two days on TNOCS. I don’t like sharing cake.
I thought that I posted way earlier in the day. Gotta love computers. Or not. Could we get Gary over here? Anyway, happy birthday to all. Many thanks to our gracious host. This year has been way better than I expected. And I expected a lot. Love hanging out with all of you.
Congratulations, mt58 and all those who contributed to one of the most interesting and friendly places online. This is HERCULEAN accomplishment and all involved should be proud. Here’s to many more. All the best on this TNOCS’ birthday and beyond!
This is gonna be us in a few short years:
https://youtu.be/pdqdwwVwzC4
And yes I mean elderly, happy weirdo friends… we’re still not quite elderly yet, but the rest is down solid. 👴👵
If anyone is still awake:
Thanks so much for making this such a big day for me. I really appreciate all of you.
And tomorrow, we have the big Season 3 finale for Bill’s terrific “Theoretically Speaking” series.
If someone might consider promoting it over at SG, that would be great.
Ya know, it’s so much easier to write given a prompt and constraints. If I tell you to write 500 words about anything you want, it’s like where do I start??? But if I told you write 500 words, and the first sentence has to start with, “The first time I heard [fill in the blank] on the radio…”, it gets your juices flowing, the prompt creates ideas…
My point being, maybe someone needs to create homework assignments (hello Irish!) or writing prompts or constraints.
And something we really haven’t touched on much here is fiction writing. Maybe something someone would like to explore? A short story perhaps?
Regarding fiction; we had VDogs tinnitus poem a while back. Think that’s the only example of creative writing we’ve had.
It’s crossed my mind to try and do something. I’ve got ideas, it’s the execution that’s the problem. Coming up with 1500 words on pop culture is a lot easier than looking at a blank screen and figuring how to start a story. And end it. Not overly sure on the middle section either. Other than that it’s all good 😄
Happy birthday indeed! Interesting how this is occurring the same time Tom has to write an entry for a song he covered in his The Number Ones book (yes, I’m a nerd like that). And as I’ve promised previously, I’ll propose another blog/possible series to put here over this weekend. For now, congratulations!
Belated Happy Birthday to mt58 and the wonder has created.
The lyrics to “Yellow Submarine” have been running through my head the last week and they apply to this moment.
“All my friends live aboard and and many more of of them live next door”
To you all, thanks for being internet friends and reliving moments of your lives that have entertained us for the past year!
Back atcha, Dancey!
Full speed ahead, Mr. Fever… full speed ahead!
mt58. “Aye, Captain!”