Come Back after I Go (#BOTB Results)

       
Et Tu, Arlee?

      I'm soon going to do that which I never thought I'd do regarding this blog.  I'm going to take a break.  Seems like a lot of bloggers have done this or will be taking breaks for the summer.  And now me.

        No big deal really because I guess it's not really that much of a break.  After all I'll still post for #IWSG on July 5th and August 2nd.   And in July and August on the 15th I'll still take part in Battle of the Bands with results posts for each posting a week after each Battle.  So it's not like I'll be disappearing and actually I'll be posting pretty much as I have in the past month or so.  However I will presumably be back in some expanded form by September and hopefully that will be my blog and not my waistline.

         So I guess I'm not really going to be all that inactive on this blog. But I will be offline a lot more than I have been.  After all, it's summer.

         What kinds of things are you doing this summer?   What is the longest complete blog break that you've ever taken?    When it's raining where you are, does it feel like it's raining all over the world?

Battle of the Bands Results

       Last week's Battle was Aretha Franklin versus Barbra Streisand singing their renditions of "Lover, Come Back to Me".   I've grown to dislike Streisand in recent decades, but not because of her singing.  Listening to her version of this old standard I recalled how much I used to like her singing.  On the other hand, I've never been a big fan of Aretha Franklin.  I had no idea that she sang more in a jazzy style before she started singing soul.

       Like some voters also expressed, Aretha's delivery of "Lover" was a pleasant surprise.  Although I liked both versions a great deal, I thought Aretha edged out Barbra for my vote.  The total vote outcome came out much the same way with Aretha taking a few more votes than Barbra.

Final Vote Tally

Aretha Franklin            13

Barbra Streisand          10

I'll Be Back

         My next appearance here will likely be Wednesday July 5th with a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.  That's my plan at least.

Lover Come Back to Me (2017) (#BOTB)

Lover Come Back (I Kind of Miss You)

         I'm missing an old lover of sorts.  It's not a person, but partly a state of mind.  Of being.

          In a sense I'm missing the internet while it's also blogging the way that it used to seem.  Is it just me who's lost the magic?   Or is it because the community and the participation is shrinking that some of the excitement and novelty has worn off?    Several bloggers who were very active a few years ago are not so much now.  Some just don't blog any more.
           Best if I let summer pass before I start back into blogging full steam.  And that's assuming that I can get stoked for full steam.  Besides, the internet has become a stranger, meaner place that it seemed like it was when I first discovered the magic of being online.  Maybe I've just found out for myself a darker part of social media that was always there and I just hadn't fallen into the mire.

         Don't get me wrong, but I'm hooked.  I'll be checking in on email and other social media things at least up until mid-August, but I just might not be on as much.  And I'm not going to disappear over summer, but I'll be doing other things.  And when mid-August arrives then we'll see what will happen next.

          Does the "magic" of the internet seem different to you in recent years?   How did you first stumble into the cyberworld?   Do you still have hope for blogging? 


Battle of the Bands

   Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens twice each month on the 1st and 15th.   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.

 Lover Come Back to Me

     Holy déjà vu, Batman!  (R.I.P. Adam West)

     A year ago on this same date I used this same song in a Battle of versions done by Gaucho and Brenda Lee.  It's such a great song with so many outstanding recordings done by numerous artists that I thought it was worth revisiting.  In fact, considering the multitude of great versions of the song, I could make this particular Battle a yearly event for years to come.   So bear with me as I revisit this lovely song in a couple of jazzed up versions by two very well known female vocalists.  If you want to refer back to my first Battle using this song in order to learn the background of the song then please click here.



Aretha Franklin   "Lover Come Back to Me"  (1962)








Barbra Streisand   "Lover Come Back to Me"  (1964)





Time To Vote!

       Do you have a preference between these two choices?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. Which version do you like the best?  Do you prefer "The Queen of Soul" or the other singer?     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.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 
  


Winner of this Battle Announced on Wednesday June 21st.

       That announcement post could be my next post unless I get a hankering to do another one before then.  Gosh, I guess summer's really here!   Whatever I do I hope you'll try to stay with me.  And I guess you'll probably want to see who comes out the winner of this grand battle of two iconic divas of our time.  

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Where Do Ghost Stories Come From?

It's that time of year once again, Halloween ushers in the best holiday of the Holiday season! Taken at La Mesa Oktoberfest in 2007 but still relevant every Halloween. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        This post did not turn out like I had planned.  I was putting together a post about evil, but when I started correlating the concept not only to Halloween, but to the world in general my mind began to drift to more pleasantness.  Then I started thinking back on the Halloweens of my past.  I have some interesting memories if not totally fun ones.  Maybe the real evil can wait until another post because it's out there whether we can name it or not. No, not in this post.

        And sorry if my title led you here to read ghost stories.  I don't have any special chillers to tell you, but I just wanted to ruminate a bit on memories.  As some of you know I also have a memoir blog called Wrote By Rote which posts every Saturday (except in unique circumstances perhaps). Coming to that blog on October 31 (tomorrow on the day of this post's publication) I'll be discussing the impact that memories can have on who we are and how those memories can be channeled into writing memoir.   In other words I'll be tossing out ideas to the readers just like I do on this blog you're reading now and then hopefully we have a conversation about the topic.

        Think about how "ghosts" are often a metaphor for our memories of bygone people, things, and events.   When I think of it that way I kind of wonder how many ghost stories are actually allegories or symbolic representations of things in the author's own life.

          Oh, if you want to think on that a moment then here's some background music.   "Memories" from the musical Cats is even more beautiful than I remember.




        If you really got into that song like I did, you might want to hear it again.  How about the following version by Barbra Streisand.   I must be in some strange mellow mood tonight as I write this post.  Anyway, here's Barbra.





          Gosh this is almost like a Battle of the Bands post!  I guess you can vote on one of these if you want, but for my real official Battle of the Bands be sure to come back here this Sunday November 1st.   My song for this next round will be another one about memories, aging, and ghosts.  The song will be a far different style--and a bit scarier--than this song from Cats.  It's a song by one of my favorite rock artists.

          See you Sunday!

         What kinds of memories tend to haunt you the most?  What are the most tangible and sensate memories that you hold?    How do your memories communicate with you?