Highs and Lows ( #BOTB & #IWSG )

 

      Greetings to 2024!  What does your year ahead look like?  Will you sink to new lows or reach your highest heights?   I'm going to be a realistic optimist as always...

        As for 2023 mine was a pretty good year.  There was no sickness in our household and life went pretty smoothly for the most part.  No major expenses and no devastating calamities.  Calm before a storm?  I hope not, but I'm ready for whatever gets dumped on us.  Or whatever blesses us if that could be a thing in these times.

         One of my highest highs of the preceding year was a wonderful vacation trip back east to visit family in Florida, New Jersey, and Tennessee.  Everything went so smoothly and my wife and I had a great time everyplace we went.  Since that trip started in mid-May and our return was in the second week of June, it was a nice way to kick off our summer which turned out to be a very pleasant and peaceful season.  The year wrapped up with visits from family and good times in general.  It was the kind of year that I wish every year could be like. 

         I can't say what the year 2024 will hold for us, but I hope it treats us all well.  As of now I don't have any specific plans, but hopefully I will attack some of my dream projects with greater fervor.  There is much that I need to finish as well as so much that I yet need to start.  Hope the craziness that this year could be doesn't get in your way or mine.  We've got things to do!  Right?

         So with all this in mind let me continue with my first blog post of this New Year...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure 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. 
     The co-hosts for the January 3 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Olga Godim, Diedre Knight, and Natalie Aguirre.

January 3 question: Do you follow back your readers on BookBub or do you only follow back other authors?

          You can answer this question on your own if you want to, but as for me I've got nothing regarding this.  I'd never heard of BookBub until now and don't feel any great draw to look into it.  I can't even keep up with posting on GoodReads or reading reviews others have put up. Life is too full!

          Instead, I'm going to look at some of my own writing highs and lows of the past year and my hopes for the coming year.  As I mentioned, on a personal level my year was pretty darn good, but not so much true for my writing and blogging.

          My year started off with computer problems which greatly hindered my blogging activity.  I still have not solved those problems, partly due to financial issues, but also a lack of initiative to do anything about this matter.  I get by just using my wife's computer for the time being and finding other activities to occupy my time.  To the detriment of my writerly life, those activities haven't so much involved blogging or writing.

          However, on the up side, I've written some (what I think are) pretty good songs and have come up with some ideas that might have some real potential if I continue to pursue them.  I completed another Blogging from A to Z this past April and plan to do it again this coming April.  Hope you'll join us for that.  While we're waiting for that April event to come, we've got some time for another...

 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 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.

Highs and Lows

        In my state of California we have plenty of highs and lows that we could bring up, but for this Battle I'm going to just stick with geography.  When I was in elementary school in San Diego we were often reminded that Mt. Whitney was the highest point of the state.  I've lived in California for near forty years now (between my childhood in San Diego and the past thirty plus years here in L.A.) and I've never been to Mt. Whitney.   Nor have I been to the lowest point of Death Valley.  Been kind of nearby, but always opted for Vegas instead.  To be sure, my wife was having none of anything like Death Valley so that curtails any trip I'd be taking there with her. 

        Oh well, maybe I won't go to either place, but at least I've got a couple of songs about them. The first is by a prog folk trio I heard on the PBS show Song of the Mountains , which has inspired a few of my other Battles.  The second was chosen from other songs with the same name that after listening to all of them I decided on the one that I enjoyed the most.  Since both videos are live performances I think it also provides a nice contrast in similar formats.  Please listen and decide on your favorite...

Palmyra  "Mt Whitney"  (2021)

 My Jerusalem   Death Valley  (2012)

Time to Vote!

          Of these songs, for you, which is the high and the low.  In other words, which song version do you like best?   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. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Stine Writing

Results coming on Monday January 8

 

          Hope your year starts off well and gets even better as it goes on.  I'm not going to worry about what's going on.  I'm just going to try to enjoy the ride as best as I can.  What's the worst that could happen?

California and Computers ( #AtoZChallenge ) ( #IWSG )

       As you may know, my blog is currently involved with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 10th Edition.  I'm doing a lot of writing on the blog for this month and I'm a bit insecure about it at times.  Like am I going to finish well and on time?






The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure 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. 


The co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are  J.H. Moncrieff, Natalie Aguirre, Patsy Collins, and Chemist Ken.

April 3 question: If you could use a wish to help you write just ONE scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be? (examples: fight scene / first kiss scene / death scene / chase scene / first chapter / middle chapter / end chapter, etc.)

           As I'm focusing on memoir writing for my A to Z theme--This Is Me--I am conflicted occasionally about what exactly to write about.  Theoretically part of my blogging theme would be a sort of forecast or speculation about the future--my future and maybe yours if you can relate to what I'm thinking.  So easy it would be to just wish the posts done, but then on the page it might seem like a bad idea blurted out without thinking.

            My move to California might have been like one of those blurted ideas.  That was over 25 years ago and I guess it turned out okay.  Like anything there are good sides and there are bad sides. Now I smile to recall those old song lyrics that stated "California's the place you oughta be" with the ironic thought that I had moved here from East Tennessee.

            Don't get me wrong.  I don't want to sound like a bad sport since I made my decisions in life and need to deal with them one way or another and accept the consequences as they are dealt. California is cool in many ways.  The weather is generally pretty nice.  One has access to a variety of options when living in an urban area.

           So I guess I shouldn't complain as long as I can get on my computer to keep up with blogging.

           But what if I didn't have working internet?  And no power?  That would likely mean that the power was out all around me.  Maybe the whole Los Angeles area and even all of California.  That would have to be the result of some major catastrophic event.  Food would quickly be gone from the shelves and fuel would be difficult if not impossible to find.  We'd be trapped in a major metropolitan area running out of our personal stores of food until we were looted and maybe even killed.

           I really shouldn't think about this kind of stuff, but my thoughts go wild.  It's California. That's what it is.

          Now I do feel a bit insecure about my writing.  The computer is still on, but for how long?  

       Do you feel secure in the community where you live?  How do you think your household would fare in the event of catastrophic infrastructure fail that left you without power and running water?    Would you consider California on your wish list of places to settle down?

Kansas (#atozchallenge)

Welcome sign outside Manhattan, Nevada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Manhattan Bar, Manhattan NV (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sidetracking from the Big Apple

         If you're driving I-90 between Bozeman and Butte, Montana you'll pass through Manhattan and likely never even notice.  I've been that way many times and not until looking it up on Google did I realize there was a town named Manhattan in that location.  It's such a tiny place you'd probably have no reason to stop there.  This blip on the map is but one of a handful of places in the United States named Manhattan.

        Have an interest in ghost towns?   Then you might find a reason to visit Manhattan, Nevada.  Otherwise it's a bit off the beaten path just to be dropping casually by.  There's a couple of bars and a motel there so you could stay a while if you were so inclined to do so.  It's definitely a place to get away from the hubbub of urban life.   However make sure you're there at the right time of year as during the winter things can be cold and miserable.

        Or maybe you'd prefer to be closer to the big city life while having the feel of a small town.  If that's the case you might want to try Manhattan, Illinois.  This small town is about 50 miles from downtown Chicago and there's a Metra station where you can catch a train to the heart of The Windy City of Chicago.  During my junior high school years my family lived just a short distance from this town, but I had absolutely no idea that there was such a town as Manhattan, Illinois.  Well, now you and I both know.  Actually it doesn't sound like too bad of a place for someone who wanted to settle into a Main Street USA existence with easy access to urban conveniences.

        These days I live not too far from Manhattan Beach, California.  Though I've certainly been there a few times, I can't say that I'm especially familiar with the town.  It's a nice place to visit and probably a very nice place to live if you could afford to live there.  Housing ain't cheap there, but if you've got the money to live there and you have children, rest assured that the schools in Manhattan Beach are among the most highly rated in the state.

        At this point you might be wondering why this post is called "Kansas".   I'll tell you if you didn't know already or haven't guessed it.  There is a Manhattan, Kansas.   This is a small city, but population wise it's the largest city named Manhattan behind the much larger New York metropolis.  In fact, the city bears the nickname "The Little Apple".

        Manhattan, Kansas has quite an extensive history going back to times before the settlement of European-Americans.  The land was held by Native American tribes long before the settlers arrived.  Now the city is home to numerous business and industries.  The primary employers are the nearby  Fort Riley army base and Kansas State University.

          When I was touring with a theatrical group during the 1980's we frequently played Manhattan, Kansas and stayed there as well.   Actually I don't remember much about the town since it was but one of a couple hundred towns we played each year.  They all start running together after a while and few actually stand out in any big way.

           One of the shows we presented every four years was based on the Wizard of Oz.  When playing Manhattan we could have easily said something like, "You're not in New York anymore, Toto, we're back in Kansas."   I never said it and never heard anyone else on the show say it, but writing this piece made me think about it.  We could have said it after all.

           Where are some "Manhattans" that you've visited?   Have you been to any of these places that I've mentioned here?    Which of the non-New York Manhattans would you like to visit the most?
       

Walmart (Elements of Blogging) #AtoZChallenge

Walmart on Blogs

       Of all of the businesses that people blog about, Walmart might generate the most online chatter.  Beloved by many and demonized by others, the mega monster chain has blogs in it's favor and blogs of detractors as well as company blogs that promote Walmart from the inside.  When you start searching you can find many blogs focused on Walmart.

       Originally I had not intended on using Walmart as my "W" topic until a very suspicious thing happened with my local Walmart that is an anchor store in the shopping center across the street from where I live.   To me going to Walmart is somewhat of a hassle so I usually only shop there once or twice a month.  However they offer much cheaper prices on certain items so I tend to shop for these at Walmart instead of the higher priced grocery store where I do the majority of my food shopping.

Suspicious Walmart Incident

      Probably few of you heard of the situation to which I am referring, but I'll tell you the story and then let you come up with your own conclusions.   On Thursday April 16 I heard mention on the radio that the employees of the Pico Rivera Walmart were protesting at a nearby hotel where a labor meeting was underway discussing the status of our closed store.  Closed?   I had not heard that they had closed.

        Apparently on Tuesday April 14th with 5 hours notice to the employees, the store management announced that the store would be closing for an undetermined period of time in order to fix ongoing plumbing problems.   The estimate was that they could be closed for up to 6 months.  Some employees could have the option of moving to other store locations, but many would be out of work.  This all with only 5 hours notice.   They just happened to make the decision to start repairing the plumbing that quickly?

         Now curious, I began researching online for any information about this closure and what I discovered next amazed me and left me very suspicious.  Besides our Pico Rivera Walmart, the corporation simultaneously closed four other stores in the same manner--four stores across the U.S. in Oklahoma City, two stores in Texas, and one in Florida.  Looking at a map these stores are somewhat evenly distributed across the southern United States.   Some strategic connection could be construed by looking at where these stores are in relation to each other.   The plumbing alibi at five different stores across the United States doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

        Conspiracy theories abound on this story and anyone who has been reading Tossing It Out for a few years probably knows that anything conspiratorial catches my attention, especially when corporate America or the United States government is implicated.  When you add religious prophecy then you've really got my attention.  All of these things start coming into play with the Walmart story.

What Is Walmart Up To?

        The most immediate reaction to why these stores had closed was that it was a sort of punishment to labor and a warning to the unions to back off.   As I had reported here on November 23rd of 2012 in a post called Does Walmart Deserve a Whipping?, our local store was one of the targets of the labor movement against the Walmart corporation.

      The jabs at Walmart by labor have continued ever since at the Pico Rivera store and reportedly at the other stores recently closed for plumbing problems.  Using the store closures as a retaliatory action against labor seems like a feasible corporate strategy, but on the other hand a questionable one that could backfire in a number of ways.  The labor angle sounded possible, but I wasn't buying that explanation so I went further down the crazy rabbit hole of the internet.

A More Sinister Walmart Conspiracy?

       My next investigations into Walmart connected the current events to suspicious reports dating back over the past few years.  Google and YouTube are rife with stories about underground tunnels crisscrossing the United States for the purposes of troop movements and underground cities being built in case of some above ground catastrophic event.

       This tunnel theory starts sounding a bit fantastical, but there is somewhat convincing evidence that it can be done more easily than most of us might think and that it has actually been achieved to some degree and this work is currently underway throughout the United States.  When we consider the research now being done with  ETT (evacuated tube transport) that is developing super trains that could potentially run at speeds up to 1800 MPH, we can see how a vast tunnel system would be necessary for this type of technology to be practical.

         Some wild theories now abound that the closure of the Walmart stores have nothing to do with plumbing, but the Walmart Corporation is in league with the U.S. government to use the locations in conjunction with work currently being done on the tunnel systems.  This is all far-fetched sounding and even impractical from the standpoint of why they would need tunnels that intersected Walmart locations.  Then again Walmart is known for their highly efficient supply chain management strategy (Vendor Managed Inventory) that requires an intricate web of transportation and warehousing.  The Walmart model of operating has certainly not gone unnoticed by the U.S. government.  Besides how much do you trust the U.S. government or any corporations these days?

       I won't go into too much detail in this post since I want to keep what is turning into a long article from becoming even longer.  If you're interested you can do your own searches about the tunnel theories.  But there is another sinister report that has come out that I think is worth a mention.

FEMA Detention Camps!!!

       Either there are some people with wild imaginations out there who are trying to scare us or there is some element of truth to the story.   Some of you have heard the rumors of government sponsored FEMA camps being organized around the country to be ready for some future event that will require rounding up large sectors of the population and placing them in camps or detention centers.  It's happened in other places throughout history.  Could it happen now in the United States of America?

       There have been plenty of scenarios related to epidemics, natural disasters, civil unrest, foreign invasion, or the collapse of the power grid that could be motivations for the government to move populations into controlled areas to establish control and order.  Any of these threats could potentially cause a chaotic state among the populace to the point where government would feel compelled to avoid the chaos that would likely ensue from any of these disasters.

        The temporary closings of the Walmart stores have caused some to speculate that these sites might be getting retrofitted to act as detention centers that might be needed in the near future.  In the event of the collapse of the infrastructure in the area where I live, I believe that this as well as all urban areas would be especially frightening as people struggle to survive.  A detention center manned by government control officials might be seen as necessary to stabilize the societal deterioration.   Has Walmart become complicit in helping to organize authoritarian rule of the people?

         When you think about it, the Walmart machine is highly efficient at logistical movement of supplies, management of labor, crowd control. and organizational structure.  A nation governed by a corporation or network of corporations is not unforeseeable and probably is in place already to some extent.   Are you looking forward to being moved into a control center managed by the U.S. Government/Walmart?

Shmita!

       No this is not some profane utterance, but a principle of Judaism that I will not go into detail about here.  You can look it up.  And why am I bringing this up in relation to the Walmart Conspiracy?

        A few days prior to the Walmart closing and my investigations into all the crazy sounding conspiracies, I happened to flip the television on to some show about Bible prophecy where they were talking about things like "the Blood Moon", Shmita, the Rapture, and the Tribulation. (Again I offer these terms with no explanations but Google can explain to the uninitiated.)

       The guy on TV was telling about how the next seven year cycle culminating in Shmita would be coming this September of 2015. He said at the end of every seven year cycle there is an economic downturn, the most recent being 2001 and 2008 which some of you probably recall as being somewhat bad economic years.  The TV prophet added that this year the Shmita would correspond with a blood moon, which some of you might recognize as something with prophetic implications.

        The upshot of all the prophecies was that in September we will be seeing the biggest economic collapse ever and perhaps the collapse of the U.S. as we know it.  There will be chaos and martial law will be declared with government troops fanning out across the nation to take control of every community.

        Okay, I know that now some of you are thinking I'm heading into Crazy Town, but I'm just telling you things I heard and observations I have made.   One thing that did come to mind when the Walmart story emerged was that if the stores open in six months as projected, that would be in September just in time for the Blood Moon, Shmita, and martial law being administrated due to a chaotic state resulting from everything falling apart.  They would need dentition camps and strategic networks for movement of troops and supplies.

          Yes, wild sounding I know, but could it happen?   If anything I think there is some great material here for some dystopian fiction.   I hope it's fiction.

          Have you heard about the Walmart closures, the tunnel network, or Shmita?   Why do you think the Walmart stores have been closed for an approximately six month period?   Do you read any of the Walmart related blogs?

Blogs about Walmart (can you believe it?):

Walmart Is Pure Evil

Walmart Watch

Walmart Blog  (official company site)

Walmart Sucks

I Heart the Mart  (coupons and deals)

The People of Walmart  (hilarious and at times unbelievable though true)

...And the list goes on...

Related articles

• Suspicious! Closed Walmart Stores Haven't Sought Any Permits for Plumbing Work
• Are the nationwide Walmart closures connected to detention centers for American citizens? | Alternative
• Is Wal-Mart closing stores for 'repairs,' or to punish activist workers?
• A Green Beret's Guide To Planning Your Personal Posture: "First Things First: Always Be Armed"
• Former Presidents Warn About the "Invisible Government" Running the United States
• Workers say Walmart closed stores to retaliate against activists

BlogWorld Los Angeles 2011: A Report and Analysis Day 1

           The BlogWorld Expo and New Media Conference 2011 at the Los Angeles Convention Center is now a pleasant memory for those who attended this great event.   Talk about information overload.  My brain will be sorting out information gathered from exhibitors for the next several days.  I had some excellent tips given to me by other bloggers as well.

            Taking the Metro train was the ideal way to go.  My schedule went according to plan.  The ride was pleasant and I was at the Convention center at about 7:30 Friday morning just as I had hoped.  There's a Metro Rail station just a block away from the Convention Center so it's an easy walk once you're off the train.

          Registration was efficiently handled by a group of friendly folks hired for the event.  Some of those with whom I spoke were also bloggers and authors.   One of them was Adrienne Van Houten who has a blog called Adrienne's House.  Once I got my I.D. badge and my information package I was ready to go.

          The BlogWorld staff started the day off with an excellent networking breakfast that was free to attendees.  Here I met Jeffrey Powers of geekazine.com.   He was assisting in the booth for a podcast company called Stitcher where every time I passed their booth Jeff was interviewing one person or another.  He gave me some great tips during our conversation.

            The Expo doors opened at 10 AM and except for a brief lunch break, I was visiting booths and talking to people non-stop throughout the day.   There were nearly 100 booths to visit and I made it to almost half of them the first day.

  

         My first stop was the Blogger booth where I was assisted by a fine fellow whose name I unfortunately do not find in my notes at present.  He was of great help to me in answering some questions I had and showing me how to fix some problems with my blogs.  The entire Blogger staff was an energetic bunch and they seemed to be quite busy throughout the day.

          There are too many highlights to mention in this post without making it go on too long, but there are a few that absolutely stand out.   One is Zemanta--a content suggestion engine which offers links, tags, photos, and other helpful things that can be easily added to posts without having to do the research yourself.  This is my first post to use Zemanta and I can see I will have to get used to it, but after I do I think it will be a tremendous time saver.  

          Another cool thing was all of the swag I brought home with me.  There were all kinds of t-shirts, tote bags, pens, mousepads, and other useful items.  I also got free signed copies of hardback books:  The Hidden Power of Your Customers by Becky Carroll and No Bullshit Social Media by Jason Falls and Erik Deckers.   Looks like I'm going to have some more books to review in the future.  Add to that Chris Camillo's Laughing at Wall Street which the folks at his booth said they'd be sending me to review.

         At the end of the day I recalled someone in a booth inviting me to a product demonstration at 4:00 in room 404.  I remembered this as I was wearily trudging out of the hall to head home, but I couldn't remember what it was.  So I decided to check it out.  Pagelines, a drag and drop themes plug in for WordPress blogs, was demonstrating their product.  What a spread they had there!  They offered an excellent buffet and an open bar for the few who managed to make it.  Founder and product developer Andrew Powers and his associates were congenial hosts and they explained the product which I can't use on my Blogger blog, but I enjoyed my self anyway.

          At this demonstration I met a very nice fellow who is practically one of my neighbors.  Gregory McDonald is a video producer and president of Latter Rain Entertainment.  We had an excellent discussion and will be hopefully meeting in the near future to discuss some potential collaborations.

          After the Pagelines demonstration I was ready to call it a day at about 5:30.  It had been a long day with a lot of time on my feet and I was tired.  A bit achy but quite happy I returned home and shared my day with my wife as we sifted through my bag of goodies that I'd gotten at BlogWorld.    I only spent a few minutes on the computer before I turned in for a much needed night's sleep.   I still had another day at BlogWorld which I'll continue on Wednesday.

         Do any of you use Zemanta?   If so, what has been your experience with it?

         Tomorrow on Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Blog I will also be talking about some other aspects of my BlogWorld experience.

          On Thursday Yvonne Lewis from Welcome to My World of Poetry will be offering a special treat on my dream blog A Faraway View.

          Ann Carbine Best will be my guest on Wrote By Rote this coming Saturday.

. .