As it has done in the past, my computer suddenly returned to an apparent state of normalcy this week. It's only a matter of time before it actually goes kaput, but I'm delaying about buying a new computer. Hopefully my current machine will last until after my summer vacation and maybe up to next winter, but I'll just have to see what happens.
On the other hand, it's always amazing to me how much other stuff I get done when not distracted by time spent on the computer. Sometimes I think it might be nice to just settle down in some rural era and just dispense with being on line and dealing with the issues of modern technology.
Just dig a hole, plant some seeds, and watch them grow while I while away time beneath the shade of some grand old tree as I breathe some fresh country air. I can dream can't I? After all, I am a dreamer and have been all my life...
Battle of the Bands Results
My recent Battle was between two versions of the Psychedelic Furs song "Love My Way". My favorite version was the one by Grant-Lee Phillips which was what most voters preferred as well. I liked the Mineral version, which is very similar to the original version minus the wonderful marimba touch that Todd Rundgren added to his production of the Furs hit. A few of you preferred the take by Mineral, but not enough to give them the win in this Battle.
Final Vote Tally
Mineral 3 votes Grant-Lee Phillips 11 votes
*********** Next Battle of the Bands post on Sunday March 1st
Keep watching for more A to Z Challenge information. I believe the sign-ups for A to Z will also open on March 1st. Follow the A to Z April Challenge blog to stay up to date with any news.
Computer problems again so I'm having to whip this out at the last minute on a borrowed computer. But I think it's all simple enough. Hope you had a happy Valentine's Day...
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month. My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.
Mineral "Love My Way" (1998)
Grant-Lee Phillips "Love My Way" (2006)
Time to Vote! I hope you loved--or at least kind of liked--the song I chose for this Battle. I like both versions, but I'm going to pick one as a favorite. I hope you'll play along with us. Which song version do you prefer? Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
You never can tell for sure what's going to happen before it does, but when whatever is going to happen happens the whole thing probably gets quickly forgotten as you move on to the next whatever is going to happen type situation...
Battle of the Bands Results
Since my recent Battle featured very contrasting artists with one of them being quite out of the musical norm I figured this would turn out to be a shut-out. Especially considering I was going to cast my vote for the artist I felt most likely to win--Judy Collins.
Incredible String Band remains one of my all time favorite bands as it has been since 1970. Their version of "First Girl I Loved" displays the band's usual virtuosity and eccentricity. Their performance is pretty "far out" (as they used to say back in the day).
However, the Collins version is so sublime and ethereal that it lures me into the musical reverie. My favorite part of "First Boy I Loved" as rendered by Collins is the dreamy guitar playing of Stephen Stills--a fact that I learned when putting this Battle together even though I'd heard the song many times over the years. I probably had seen the credit on the album cover, but at the time maybe the name didn't register with me.
Final Vote Tally Incredible String Band 4 votes Judy Collins 16 votes
*******************
Next Battle on Wednesday February 15
Things have been stirring for April A to Z. If you're interested this year then be watching /www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ Announcements are forthcoming...
After I had spent over an hour in the art gallery staring at a painting that intrigued me, someone who had noticed that I had been there for a long time asked me what I was doing. "Writing a story inspired by the painting, " I said. Then they asked me where was my pen and paper. "It's in my imagination," I responded. But then again, this didn't really happen. I just made it up...
The Insecure Writer's Support Group
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh'sInsecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
February 5 question - Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?
When I was young I used to look through photos that my mother had taken over the years. Many were pictures of me and my sister while others were taken before we were born. As I would look through these photos I would often make up stories about what I might be seeing in the photographs. Whenever I would go back to those pictures the stories would come back to me or I'd think up new ones.
I never wrote down any of those stories although some of those stories in my head certainly influenced other stories I wrote. And other stories have been influenced by pictures I'd clipped from magazines and newspapers. In fact I still have a file of "photos for stories" in my idea file that I started compiling fifty or so years ago. They're there if I ever need them.
In more recent years I've become less interested in fiction writing to become more focused on memoir. Well, not actually writing, but I've been thinking about going back to my old favorite writing genre. Maybe it's a good time to dig out some old photo albums.
If you wouldn't mind taking a extra few minutes, I'd love for you to visit my Battle of the Bands post which has a February theme of first love.
February represents a number of things to different people, but Valentine's Day is kind of the real stand-out day for most of us. This being the case, my Battle of the Bands entries for the month will be songs about love. So many songs to choose from on a topic that so many songs celebrate. What better place to start than a song about first love.
For this first "Love" round I've chosen a song called "First Girl (or Boy) I Loved". Typically I would avoid using a first version as done by the original artist, but in this case that artist is so obscure (as is the song) that this first version wouldn't have much advantage on the voting (other than a certain strangeness to the sound of it).
The first time I heard this song was in early 1969 after my mother got the Judy Collins album Who Knows Where the Time Goes from the record club to which she belonged. I immediately took an interest in this album since it included the song "Someday Soon" which had been receiving a lot of airplay at the time. There are some outstanding songs on this album, but initially I was perplexed by the Collins recording of "First Boy I Loved"--it had an oddly unique quality to it. But as I listened to it more, the song took hold of me and I began to like it a great deal.
It would be over forty years later that I would hear the original version by The Incredible String Band (ISB) and I understood why the song had such a unique sound. After all, ISB has been one of my favorite groups since I first happened upon them in 1970. I had been initially baffled by their style and the sound of their songs, but me being drawn to weirdness as I am, I soon took a great liking to their music and began accumulating any album by them that I could find. The early album that contained "First Girl I Loved" was one that I never ran across back then, therefore missed hearing until I finally bought the album for my CD collection sometime in this current century.
In my Battle I'm going to start out with the more alien sounding version by ISB and then will offer the version by Judy Collins. I think I can predict how this Battle will go--likely very lopsided--but then I never really know how these things will turn out. So now it will be up to you to decide on the winner...
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month. My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action. Incredible String Band "First Girl I Loved" (1967)
Judy Collins "First Boy I Loved" (1968)
Time to Vote! I hope you loved--or at least kind of liked--the song I chose for this Battle. I like both versions, but I'm going to pick one as a favorite. I hope you'll play along with us. Which song version do you prefer? Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
