We be partying here at the Psy! Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the blog! One year! I started blogging on 2 May 2016. It’s been a great year with all the thrills, chills, and spills that you might could imagine a first time blogger going through. But, ol’ CalicoJack faced it all with snark, sarcasm, and profanity. And, lord help us, what a profane year it turned out to be.

The Beginning

The blog was born of the 2016 election inspired by my amazement with the candidacy of the Ol’ Pussy Grabber, the ineptitude of the Keystone Kops who were running for the Republican nomination, and opposition to gun regulation. It was also born by my frustration of getting Wonkette to publish any of my articles. I had written four — the first four on the site — and sent them in, but they were never even acknowledged. Not even a no thanks, it’s not quite what we’re looking for; not even a quit sending us this trash! It’s tripe and not worth our time! I have to say, I was disappointed because I was and still am a loyal reader and if the internet in China were more cooperative, a commenter . They answered other email about typos and sending them money, but not my offer of articles.

Well, sir, when life hands ol’ CalicoJack a big old glass of lemonade, he turns it into lemons! I thought, why don’t I start my own blog? And, the Psy of Life was born: an outlet to straighten the world out! Just listen to me, I know what’s what! It hasn’t quite worked out that way.

First Posts

Just for prosperity’s sake, here are the first four articles:

The Death Paneling of America

In this very first post the themes that would populate the blog were present: the lies told by politicians, the reasons the electorate believes them, and the difficulty of changing them. I was so proud of this article. I thought the problem of lies in politics would draw readers by tens or dozens at least. Boy was I wrong. In a year of existence, it has had 13 views. Most of them by me.

Changing the Body Politic

The second post focused on the problem of talking to the other side of the political divide and having a chance of convincing them. And, it saw the birth of your favorite drunk uncle as a rhetorical trope. I liked that one a lot. Don’t use it enough. Again, I thought, who doesn’t want to convince the other side? There should be a good score of people clicking in to read this sucker. There’s been half a score or ten in the full calendar year of its existence.

Four Weird Tricks to Subvert the HeteroChristian Purist

At the time I wrote this post, there had been some criticism of President Obama for suggesting that BLM compromise now that they had gotten the world’s attention. So, I set out to set the world straight. The president was talking about the principles of minority influence, and it was smart. It is the way a minority changes the majority. I figured it was topical and smart. Everyone who criticized the president would want to read it because they were assholes and they’d want to fight with it or something. 22 views.

The Illusory Explanation of Wingnuts

This article was written at the height of the bathroom wars up yonder in North Carolina. The good old boys up there were explaining to all who would listen that they was just concerned about everybody or some such derp. It was topical. It was snarky. It was sarcasticky. It was profaney. And, it explained the success of the repressive right. It was marginally successful with 31 views.

By the Numbers

• 163 posts
• 28,202 views
• 19396 visitors
• 1,737 views on 18 September 2016
• 7,897 views in September 2016
• 712 tags
• 52 categories
• 711 approved comments and untold amount of spam
• 122 followers
• 11 email subscribers
• 534 Facebook and Twitter followers

Motivations

I’m fairly obsessed with these numbers mostly because I tend towards obsessiveness, but also, because I want the blog to be successful by which I mean thousands of readers a month. It’s egotistical. I like having readers and people praising my articles. One day, I hope to monetize the blog or get paid to write a column for another website. I think it is a realistic goal. But, now, that the Ol’ Pussy Grabber has been elected, the Resistance has become all important. I firmly believe that if you understand something, then it is easier to address. The best example is that of President Bannon. He’s a narcissist; he needs to be the center. President Bannon set him off. Not getting the credit he feels he is due for his super successful presidency is another. Keeping his abnormality and mental illness front and center is, perhaps, the single most important aspect of resisting the Ol’ Pussy Grabber. In its own small way, I hope this blog contributes to that.

I have written extensively about the Ol’ Pussy Grabber’s mental health, personality, and his motivations. It is through understanding him, especially the ways he tries to manipulate the public and those around him, that we will best be able to maintain some semblance of normalcy while he is in office. My articles on gaslighting have proven to be most popular and I think useful.

Is Trump Gaslighting America?

This is the single most successful post I’ve written. It was published on 18 September 2016 and has received 5,796 views to date largely thanks to the use of gaslight in the title — apparently gaslighting is very popular; all of my gaslighting posts have higher than average views — and thanks to a mention in Mike’s Blog Round Up over at Crooks and Liars. A special shout out goes to Tengrain over at Mock, Paper, Scissors because he has listed this blog several times in the column. It is much appreciated.

Plans for Year 2

To improve my efforts in pimping the blog. (1) Improve my use of Facebook and Twitter. (2) Learn to use Pinterest and Instagram to pimp the blog. (3) Get published by other websites. And (4) write a dictionary of political snark.

The Best Part

The absolute best part of the year has been making so many wonderful blogging friends! I really appreciate the WordPress blogging community. Suze, Lesley, Madelyn, Francese, Patricia, Usfman, Nsubbaraman, Shmaltz, Tengrain, Anna, Wendy, and so many more! Your support and comments and likes are so important to me. I am so blessed by each and everyone of you.