This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Monday, September 7, 2020

Words, Words, Words ( #BOTB Results )


Did words evade me when it came to writing this post?  Was I just kind of lazy?  Or were the words too many with every expectation that the words would end up lost in the pages of this blog?   I wonder sometimes, but my wondering doesn't consume me.  The words are everywhere, but nowhere all at once...


Words in the Wind

          A lot of words have gone into the blog posts of Tossing It Out over the past decade plus.  I have played with words and dallied with ideas.  At times I have attempted to inspire, inform, and incite.  Perhaps there have been some successes while at other times I've considered just putting all the words aside and forgetting about this particular writing platform.  And yet I remain.

         In my third post back in September of 2009 ( a post upon which no one commented so I'm not sure it was ever actually read by anyone), I presented this mission statement for Tossing It Out:
The "Tossing It Out" blog is here to entertain, stimulate, and inform whenever possible. The author will make every attempt to be accurate and fair at all times and will be open to the input of any readership the blog may develop. There is no set course, no absolute purpose, and the content, though at times random, will strive for cohesion and clarity.
      While I do believe that I have mostly lived up to this statement in my acts of writing, my goal of  "tossing out" ideas, controversies, and other contemplations has fallen by the wayside to a great extent.  Though I have managed to keep a fairly consistent participatory readership returning to my music posts and my monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group posts, there is rarely the level of engagement in the comment section like I had once envisioned.  Now, to be sure, there are still some wonderful comments that continue to come my way, but something still seems to be lacking.

       What it comes down to is that there is so much more that I'd like to say at times and yet I hesitate to let the words flow.  Maybe it's a concern of losing readers because of controversial ideas that turn some of them off.  It has happened on my blog as well as others I've followed over the years--maybe even some of your blogs.  People get offended--they get mad.  They go away.

         "It's only words and words are all I have to take your heart away" says the Bee Gees song.  And when I've tried and failed and instead of taking hearts away, I've sometimes driven them away.  But that's life I guess when you have opinions. 

          So now I perfunctorily write words in regular monthly posts about music and writing.  Just to keep the blog alive in one respect, but also on a precipice of wanting to say something and yet stepping back when I'm too close to the edge of the cliffs of controversy. 

          Does anybody really want my words?  Do they need them?  Do they want or need your words?  We go on writing.  Or posting pictures maybe.  Or perhaps sharing videos.  We write words, speak words, read words, listen to words.  Does it matter? 

         Missing Persons said it pretty well in their song "Words":
Do you hear me
Do you care
My lips are moving and the sound's coming out
The words are audible but i have my doubts
That you realize what has been said
You look at me as if you're in a daze
It's like the feeling at the end of the page
When you realize you don't know what you just read
What are words for when no one listens anymore

     Those are my words on this Labor Day.  What are yours?  Maybe you can leave some thoughts in the comment section.


Battle of the Bands Results




         The Battle at hand was a three-way match between Bee Gees, Neil Young, and Missing Persons all performing different songs with the same title of "Words".   I know all three songs well and I like all three almost equally well.  However, in the interest of the Battle I must choose one as my own favorite.

         I began listening to Bee Gees early on in their career and their song "Words" was a standout favorite for me in their early years.  This is a classic hit that I still enjoy hearing.  I couldn't recall the Missing Persons song by title alone, but when I heard it I realized I'd heard it many many times and always liked it. It was an MTV and radio mainstay in the eighties and hearing their "Words" again reminded me how much fun eighties music was for many of us.  Most of my music buying was in the eighties, though never did I buy an album by Missing Persons.  But I think their song is excellent especially after focusing on the lyrics which have maybe more to say in our time than four decades ago.  "Words" by Missing Persons in my view is a great song and I almost gave my vote to that one.

       Which brings me to the song that really inspired this Battle.  Back when Neil Young's Harvest album came out, the song that most caught my attention was "Words" even though there were other songs that got more critical attention and airplay.  "Words" had that spacey dreamy sound that attracted me to Young's music so much.  At the time I commented to friends on a number of occasions that even though being the longest song on the album clocking in at over six minutes, I wished it were even longer. I wanted it to last the entire album side.  From the comments some readers left on my Battle, their is some disagreement about my thought to the point that some even think it's one of Young's worst songs.  It is one of my favorites. 

        After the Harvest album had been out for a while, my dream of the long version of "Words" came true when Young released the double album Journey Through the Past with a version of the song that lasts sixteen and a half minutes.  A nightmare for some of you I guess, but for me I was in "Words" heaven.

         And of course what this all means now is that my vote goes to Neil Young's "Words" even though I almost equally enjoy hearing any of these three songs.


Final Vote Tally

Bee Gees                  11 votes

Neil Young                 5 votes

Missing Persons         5 votes



      Next Battle of the Bands on Tuesday September 15th

       I've got plenty of words about plenty of subjects, but for now I'll keep them to myself.  When I vent these days it's usually on Facebook or Twitter.  Now those are places where words fly freely and I've only been placed in "Twitter jail" twice so far.  I'm trying to be careful.













  

29 comments:

  1. One of the things that has kept the Battle of the Bands interesting is seeing the differences in musical taste. After reading of your love for this Neil Young song, I just went back to listen again to see if I could glimpse why it does what it does for you.

    I am afraid I don't get it, but that's ok. As I said, there are some songs by Young that I really like. This one seems to meander around and never get going. It has a little Grateful Dead feel to my ears.

    I really enjoyed this matchup, though. VERY different songs so it had something for everyone.

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    1. 6-Gun, maybe our difference of opinion about Young's song comes down to you had to be there in my skin to appreciate it more. Same with all preferences I guess. Hard to say sometimes why things resonate with us. The Young song is in a style that I enjoy, but so were the other choices. As I've said before, I have very eclectic musical tastes and I enjoy a wide range of musical styles.

      I can see the Grateful Dead feel reference that you make. Young's "Words" is very loose and meandering. Not always something I like, but when done in a certain way then it resonates with me.

      I liked the concept of 3 songs from 3 decades. Very different.

      Lee

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  2. Be a little more controversial and you will get some interesting comments! Not hard to do right now with people so divided and on edge.

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    1. Alex, some interesting comments, but maybe not always productive. Besides getting comments obligates me to answer them and I wonder if blog discourse amounts to very much that is productive in the long run.

      Lee

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  3. I think people get more offended on Facebook than anywhere else.

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    1. L.Diane, FB gives people more space to leave a comment without chopping it up so when I've pushed buttons some people have jumped in to respond even though they never communicate with me otherwise. When they can't change my mind they seem to stop commenting.

      Lee

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  4. I was in Facebook jail only once so far, for 12 hours, merely for referring to someone as "Nikki W." A lot of my friends have been maliciously reported for "harassment" merely for naming people who disagree with our views on xyz. At least one was so obsessed she made a profile with the name "Boxed Wine" so she could report people using that phrase and claim harassment! And don't even get me started on how many women, and a few men as well, have been booted from Twitter for saying men can't become women.

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    1. Carrie-Anne, I've been more cautious on FB since certain family and friends can see what I say more easily so try not to upset them. Some people can get pretty weird on social media-also vindictive. The two times I've been blocked from Twitter for durations puzzled me because I'd seen far worse things said by others and I try to express myself with some degree of intelligence as much as I can.

      Lee

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  5. Politics and religion and too highly charged topics especially when one sees the calamity in the white house and many gun toting, bible thumpers think he is the man's man...heheeeee..sorry for that because I know you think he is great and I can't see how and why and you can't change my mind or vice versa. This is the reason why one loses people, web "friends" and so on because it is too highly charged. People think I live in a socialist country which makes me laugh because I have been to communist countries before the wall came down and socialist countries and we proud Canadians are far from it. My cousin, who lives in Michigan, just went through cancer surgery(seems like they got it all in time-stage 1) but now have a large hospital bill despite having insurance. Guess what, since I can recall, my family has had quite a few surgeries with the last being my hubby and the cost? Nothing! We just show our health card and we get great treatment and no waiting for years. When my dad had brain cancer surgery, he was in within 2 weeks. The few you hear on the media saying they had to wait years are very few and far between plus you don't know the whole story because maybe they didn't need surgery right away. See me go! Hahahaaa. Now, if one runs from these politically charged debates, I would love to know what you thought of the old style "freak" shows that used to be all over the country. It sounds disgusting but many were families within the circus. I would love to know more about your juggling and the time with your family. What about dreams? I have some freaky wild dreams and they can be movie length. Last week, I was dreaming of trying to run through these different rooms and wooded areas and these huge spiders some quite large and others a bit smaller were coming down on me and I was running to avoid them. So there is my lengthy rant...hahahaa.

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    1. Birgit, I guess what you said is what makes me want to express my point of view because I see the anti-Trump rhetoric based on Fake News info and illogical reasoning.

      Since I used to frequently work in Canada I have some experience with the government system. I love your country and always enjoyed the people I dealt with there.

      If I wrote about dreams now they might be different than sleep dreams I used to write about. These days my day dreams mostly have to do with what I'm going to have for dinner later on and what I will buy at the grocery store when I get inspired to go.

      Oh, and I dream of a world with more logic. If more people used actual logic rather than relying on feelings, the world would be a better place. But that's what I like about our current President I guess and not some touchy feely wimp like the Democrats keep offering up.

      Lee

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    2. I like logic as well which is why Trump would need to go as he is a narcisstic personality who has no care for anyone but his own ego..hence all his rallies. just saying...

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  6. Back in 2009 I didn't f ollow you but I do now and here I am, I don't follow battle of the bands have to be picky at times

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    1. Jo-Anne, thank you for your grammatically inspiring comment.

      Lee

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  7. Lee,

    We live in America. People shouldn't be made to feel bad about their opinions nor should folks get offended because someone has a different viewpoint. The way I deal with it is if I'm on someone's blog and they aren't on the same page as me then I don't make any remarks pertaining to the subject but if our views line up then often I show my support on the topic. I'm sorry things haven't gone too well for you. It shouldn't be that way but humans are funny. Anywho, thanks for sharing the outcome of your last BoTB. The Bee Gees won big which is good because I picked them. :) Have a good evening, my friend!

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    1. Cathy, personally I'd like rational discourse with those who might not agree with me. Unfortunately my attempts have typically ended with me being called a racist, ignorant, or some other unproductive term.

      I usually deal like you with things I don't agree with. Unless a response is truly called for by the author then I will just move on to something else.

      Really, things have been going as well as can be during these dumb COVID & election year times. In reality, as far as my blog, I'd rather make money off of it than anything else. Tossing out ideas to a readership can be interesting, but I'd rather be able to have more income that I could use for things I needed or wanted.

      Lee

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  8. Ah, rats! I wish I could have voted, though it wouldn't have been enough -- I would for sure have voted for Neil Young!

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    1. Deniz, it would have been nice to have that one more vote for Neil since his song is my favorite. There's always next time. Come back on the 15th!

      Lee

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  9. I always read your "words" posts. And although I'm not into the music votes, I do sometimes listen to the recordings. I hesitate to comment on anything controversial because of the backlash I experienced a couple of times in the past on social media (never here, by the way). There's no benefit to my preaching to the choir (in my humble opinion) and those not in the choir are into putdowns instead of civil discussion. It's easier to go on my way in peace with puppies and cute babies. My head is not buried in the sand; I just stay off my soapbox and be my own little independent thinker in silence.

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    1. Patricia, the lack of civil discussion is what is sad in our world. If more of those who disagree could politely talk about things we might come up with better solutions.

      Lee

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  10. I've become sensitive in my advanced age, lol. I would have never seen it coming, but I'm battle scarred and I just want peace. That keeps my comments short.

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    1. Cherdo, I think I've become less sensitive though I still do care sometimes. Peace is an admirable goal and that's what I want, but the world (especially this year) keeps on throwing nonsense my way and I just want to cry out sometimes. I've tried to vent on this blog, but I'm conflicted at times about losing platform cred or readers. Recently my computer has crashed and I've resorted to a borrowed computer, so I've not been online as much the past few days Maybe that's not a bad thing. Vacations are sometimes what we need.

      Lee

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  11. I would never venture into the cesspool of woke cry-babies that is Twitter. I simply hate the idea of being censored and I no doubt would be censored/banned/abolished for utterly my honest opinions that roughly 3/4's of the country tacitly/implicitly agree with.

    To me, words are just that. No more and no less. Only people with weak minds, low self-esteem and overly inflated importance of self will find words offensive.

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    1. GB, in some ways I consider it a badge of honor to get kicked off social media. It's a place to vent and even legitimately say something or promote something, but most of my posts get unnoticed. Probably social media is more a distraction than I need, keeping me from getting other things accomplished.

      I think a lot of words are unnecessary and there are some that I'd prefer not to hear or read, but I'm not going to get all torn up about it. Still, I get especially annoyed by some of the words and phrases that especially come from academia. I think a lot of that thinking is what leads to division within society.

      Lee

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  12. PART 1:

    >>... What it comes down to is that there is so much more that I'd like to say at times and yet I hesitate to let the words flow. Maybe it's a concern of losing readers because of controversial ideas that turn some of them off. It has happened on my blog as well as others I've followed over the years--maybe even some of your blogs. People get offended--they get mad. They go away.

    LEE ~

    I have never cared one whit whether or not I "lost readers" because I turned "some of them off". I always speak the truth / Truth and if they choose to be willfully ignorant of that truth / Truth, then that is on them and, later, when it bites them really hard in the ass, they will be forced to blame their own stupidity and/or fee-eeee-lings for their butt-hurt!!

    If I were to respond thoroughly to this blog bit of yours, my comments would undoubtedly turn into a long-running 'series' extending for months and months. So, instead, I'll just try to be as concise as I can be right now.

    My own blogging began simply as a substitute for my brief, accidental blog at Amazon.scum. I remember that you "met" me there just barely before I got "disappeared" by Commie Bezos & his Commie Company. Amazon.scum removed my presence on their website for one reason and one reason only: I was too good at what I did...

    {*Politically, I was a 'Constitutionalist' (i.e., as far from a Socialist / Communist as a person can possibly get), and Spiritually, I was a Maverick Christian - I believe in God, Jesus Christ & The Holy Bible.*}

    ...and I destroyed liberals in countless debates in a unique fashion that had become highly popular at BigBitch.com. So, they did what any concerned Commie / Fascist / Globalist would do, and they erased my presence from their site - all my reviews, comments, & victorious debates were forever "disappeared" with the press of a button at Commie Central.

    [Link> MONDAY, JULY 7, 2008 -- AMAZON: JUST ANOTHER WAY TO SAY "BIG BITCH" [Part 1 Of 3]

    [Link> Dear Stephen,

    I had intended to write to you earlier, but never found the time.

    I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading your reviews on Amazon particularly on geo-politics, and especially on McCarthy which I thought was a detailed and very thorough analysis. I was shocked to see that Amazon had gagged you by deleting your brilliant ripostes to the comments aimed at undermining you and your reviews.

    I think it was inevitable, since all the detritus thrown at you failed to stick, and you kept demolishing the attacks incisively and often with good humour, which served to strengthen your argument, and undermined theirs – no wonder they cut you off. They were beaten. I hope you continue to post on appropriate forums to awaken the useful idiots and expose the ‘NWO’ agents’ lies.

    [...] You paid a price Stephen for your endeavours but in doing so provided further evidence of Amazon’s censorship of reviews which don’t conform to their ideology i.e. reviews that don’t expose too much.

    -- Edward


    CONTINUED...

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    1. Another epic commenting event from STMcC. Now my computer seems to have been revived so I guess I'll respond. Thanks for some great installments here.

      Yeah, I know you could go on at greater length and ramble with content. That's what attracted my attention to your Amazon thread. Yes, those were the good old days--I still had my job and regular income and I was younger. Not that I feel much different other than more recent aches and pain and a sad emptiness in my bank account where my regular paycheck used to go.

      But life goes on...

      Continued...

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  13. PART 2:

    Honestly, I didn't even really know what blogging was at that time, but when Amazon completely censored me, G-DogG, a guy whom I had built a rapport with at Amazon, suggested I start my own blog - independent of BigBitch.scum - here at Blogger. So, I did. And that's how I got started blogging.

    Although I have done quite a lot of writing on my various Blogspot.com blogs over the past 12 years - writings which I think were quite original, first-rate, well-informed, and which I am kind of proud of - I have come to realize that blogging was really just a fad. And most fads don't die completely, but they continue to survive in little fad-fan pockets. So, here we are.

    Just before satanic Bezos and his demonic henchmen axed me from Amazon.scum, I was very nearly one of the top one-thousand most popular reviewers at that website. But starting over, after four years of reputation-building on one of the most widely-recognized online platforms in the world, I was never able to again reach the large readership that I had before.

    8 years ago, you invited me to "hijack" your blog as a guest blogger. Here's the post:

    [Link> Become An "Educated" American Patriot: Guest Hijacker Stephen T McCarthy

    Several commenters expressed an interest in further researching what I had written about. And how many of them ever came back to say how much truth / Truth they had learned from those recommendations of mine? ...Right! No one, None, Nada, Zero, Zilch!!!! ...Why? Because the AMERICONNED SHEEPLE are just too dumb and lazy to invest any energy in researching the truth / Truth. (I have long since given up on trying to educate the mASSES. ...And we both know who the biggest ASS of those mASSES turned out to be. ...But I won't mention any names, so as not to publically embarass Andrew Leon.)

    Today, a great many extremely talented writers (such as [Link> Selwyn Duke) barely get any comment responses at all on their independent blogs. Only when their writings are promoted by universally acknowledged websites do they get any kind of attention at all (see [Link> Selwyn Duke at 'American Thinker').

    I have learned that expecting much of a response on serious matters (regardless of how creative, imaginative, and well-written the material may be) published at independently operated blogs (minus a big, brand name promotion) is just silly. And, make no mistake about this - the big, brand name promoted websites are nothing more than subsidiaries of the general Mainstream Media.

    In other words, in a nutshell, satan has gained control of the communication levers and, by and large, you and I are NOT going to be heard from by serious thinkers. Period.

    I have even seen evidence that some of my comments on YouTube videos have been "shadow-banned". Yes, apparently, I made a big enough small splash at BigBitch.com that other "gatekeepers" of the Information Narrative have put me on their 'Watch And Censor' lists. And I suspect that is why I almost NEVER suddenly receive comments on any of my MANY [Link> FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS blog bits from people "out there". I only get comments from people who have consciously decided to "follow" my blog. Somehow, almost no one out there - the millions of people who every day Google keywords that might lead them to one or more of my blog installments - find their way directed by Google to my blog(s).

    CONTINUED...

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    1. My blogging journey was a bit different from yours but we were always kind of on the same road. BOTB saw to that to a great extent. But we've seen lots of bloggers come and go and seen blogging go through certain changes--at least from our perspective.

      These days I often just want to vent, but I hate to do it at the expense of any followers who continue to read these missives. And I don't feel like I"m in the league of any of those "serious thinkers"--at least from the standpoint of a dedicated desire to communicate all that is on my mind.

      For now I'm content to be just an average blogger who has some audience for my posts. I guess if people don't like what I say they don't have to read. Still, I wish they would and banter with me a bit about some of it.

      Your point about the "shadow-banning" and other manipulative devices probably carries some cred and weird things do seem to happen. I don't guess I care that much though...

      Cont...

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  14. PART 3 OF 3:

    Yours is certainly a FAR less controversial voice on the "AlGoreNet" than is mine, and because of that, you have undoubtedly reached more readers than I have (plus, not forgetting the popularity of the 'A To Z' blogfest). But, truthfully, neither of us ever had any real chance of building generally popular blogs with a great deal of dialogue exchanges. The ONLY voices that are really heard on the Internet are those with plenty of buck$ backing them.

    Lee, it's a rich man's game... until 2029. Everything is going to change when *He* returns. And, God willing, neither of us will be executed by satan's minions before then. However... it ain't looking too good.

    Do NOT be discouraged by your (and my) lack of success in the blogging realm. Never, ever forget what our Holy Bible says: the ruler of "this world" is satan. God told us that in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ repeated the same thing in the New Testament. Brother Lee, *THIS* is not our Home. We need to place our lives in Christ's Arms - because Christ Himself is in the Hands of God - and let the Divine Father & Son determine our realm of influence. [Link> It will be to us according to our faith, and according to Their Will.

    I honestly believe that my Creator (aka God, Father) gave me a gift that, thus far, has rarely been recognized. Maybe, possibly, in another situation (here on Earth or maybe in the Heavenly Spiritual realm), I will be able to utilize the gift I was given by my Divine Papa. But, OBVIOUSLY, that is not going to happen in the blogosphere. Not here, not now. But no problem. God is NEVER, EVER early, but He's also NEVER, EVER late. God is *always* RIGHT ON TIME!!!

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

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    1. I'm not really discouraged about blogging really--it just hasn't reached any kind of financially rewarding point that I'd hoped for and for now there is nothing to promote on it. So I just write stuff and see who has what to say.

      Even the COVID crap isn't getting me down all that much although I wish I could feel comfortable traveling like I used to. I hate not being able to visit family in the East. I just accept it all with a realization that sometime in the future I might just be old and not able to do much of anything.

      Still, it's all okay. I'm in God's Time and it's all fine with me.

      Lee

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Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.
I normally try to respond to all comments in the comment section so please remember to check the "Email follow-up comments" box if you want to participate in the comment conversation.

For Battle of the Bands voting the "Anonymous" commenting option has been made available though this version is the least preferred. If voting using "anonymous" please include in your comment your name (first only is okay) and city you are voting from and the reason you chose the artist you did.

If you know me and want to comment but don't want to do it here, then you can send me an email @ jacksonlee51 at aol dot com.

Lee