A Tribute to Art and Artists ( #IWSG & #BOTB )

 

        Many of you have probably heard about the passing of Jeremy Hawkins--blogger, author, renaissance man, and graphic artist extraordinaire.  If you don't know who I'm talking about then just look at most of the art on my blog page as well as those of many other bloggers you likely follow.  Jeremy designed most of the artwork used by Blogging from A to Z April Challenge where he has been an integral team member almost from the beginning.

        Today has been designated as a special day of tribute to this wonderful man who left us far sooner than we ever expected.  Jeremy--you will be missed!   

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  February 2 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery!

February 2 question - Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn't around anymore? Anyone you miss?

        So many great people come to my mind with this question--from my parents, my former boss, and a long list of friends too many to list in a blog post.  But this day is in honor of Jeremy Hawkins.  As with many others, you were there when I needed advice and know-how about keeping my blog looking somewhat decent.  Thank you for all that you did for me and Blogging from A to Z.  Life goes on, but it just won't be the same without you.

         I dedicate the following to you and all of those who make this world a more interesting place to look at...

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.

 

Famous Art and Artists

       

         There have been many songs that have been influenced or inspired by artists and their works of art.   This Battle installment features two of the more famous songs of this nature.  They were written and released over two decades apart and both have become pop song classics.   I'm sure you are familiar with both of these or have at least heard them sometime in your lives.  Take a listen to see which you would name as your favorite...

Nat King Cole  "Mona Lisa"   (1950)

Don McLean  "Vincent (Starry Starry Night)"   (1972)

Time to Vote!
        
        No artsy snobbery involved here.  Just your opinion.   Which artist do you enjoy the most?   Of the two songs, which do you like better?  I hope you'll at least give the versions a listen to discern your favorite.    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.


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

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 



Winner of this Battle Announced on Tuesday February 8th

           Do you have a favorite creator of visual arts?  A favorite painting or other work of visual art?   Do you have any of Jeremy Hawkins' graphic art on your blog site?  

Miss You, Jeremy!

Writing Regrets? (or Regrets about Writing) ( #IWSG )

 

To vote on my January 1st Battle of the Bands please visit here.  Votes have come in on the low side so I hope you can take a moment to vote before results are announced on Friday January 7th...

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 5 posting of the IWSG are Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and Chemist Ken!

January 5 question - What's the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?

        Let me start by saying that I'm not one to dwell much on regret.  Whatever decisions I've made in my past have brought me to where I am today and I'm relatively content with where I am now.  Sure, there are some things that might be better in my life, but things could be a whole lot worse as well.  I'm thankful for who I am now, what I have, and where I have been in my life.  Life is good!

       But playing the what-if game for the purpose of this month's question, I regret most not writing more than I could have.  There are so many ideas that I have still to expand upon and pursue that none of them will see the eyes of any audience until I write them and put them out there.  Let's face it:  I'm lazy in respect to writing and so far I have not overcome it.

      On a sadder note, Jeremy Hawkins, the graphic design artist and blogger who was responsible for most of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge badges and other artwork passed away recently.  He will be greatly missed.  February 2nd has been designated a Jeremy Hawkins tribute day for bloggers who might like to express their appreciation and thoughts about him.  See more at Alex's blog.

10th Annual A to Z Reflections ( #AtoZChallenge )

   As another Blogging from A to Z April Challenge has passed, it is time for another Reflections post.  After having done nine of these already I'm not sure that I have much to say that hasn't been said on this blog many times before.  I will say that it was a very good year from my perspective.





          In many ways I've become a lazy blogger.  More precisely I've lost a blogging fervor that drove me in my first years of blogging.  In a sense this is good in that I've created more balance in my life.  For a while, blogging became my obsession. Now I've found some other obsessions that put demands on my time. It's all a good thing so I'm fine with all of this.




           The bottom line though for the sake of this Reflections post is that I survived another Challenge and I think I did a credible job of doing so.  My thanks to everyone who commented and especially those who kept coming back again and again.

           And my utmost thanks to the incredible job done by our Team Captain J Lenni Dorner and all of the A to Z Team:

J Lenni Dorner (captain) @ Blog of Author J Lenni Dorner

Jayden R Vincente @ J R Vincente Erotica Writer

John Holton @ The Sound of One Hand Typing

Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary

Jeremy Hawkins (graphics) @ Hollywood Nuts

Show the World You Survived!

Arlee Bird with the 2019 A to Z T-shirt--to get yours click link below

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins 




Watch the A to Z Blog for upcoming information about the next A to Z Road Trip!

Did You See It?

       If you missed the What Works...Online Marketing Symposium you can still visit the posts of the participants by clicking here, or on the badge on the right sidebar, or by just scrolling down to my previous post.  Alex J. Cavanaugh has culled the Linky List of non-participants and all of the links should lead directly to the Symposium posts.

        Don't be misled by the reference to "Marketing".   Many readers may have decided that marketing does not apply to them, but believe me it touches us all in some way.  And even if you aren't interested in marketing, there are some excellent posts here.   It's a treasure trove of information that may get you thinking.

         I'm still making my way through the list and like many who did visit the participating sites, I'm taking notes and bookmarking posts for future reference.   If you can't use this information now, you may want it later.  It's good information with applications that go beyond writing and publishing.

         Check out at least a few of these posts.  I think you'll be glad that you did.

          My thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to my co-hosts Yolanda Renee, Jeremy Hawkins, and Alex J. Cavanaugh. 

What's Next?

        Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2014 sign-ups open on Monday 27th.  Yes, that's next Monday!  The list will be open until start date April 1, but it's a good idea to sign up as soon as possible so others can start visiting your site before the Challenge begins.  A lot of networking will be going on over the next couple months so join early to be a part of the early action and make new blogging friends.

         Also on that same day the new A to Z Team will be announced.  You'll see some veteran Team members as well as a few new members.   Meet the Team and maybe you can sign up to assist those members.   We expect another big turnout so we'll need some help just like last year.

       Big things are coming as April grows nigh.   Be sure to visit the A to Z Blog regularly for updates and helpful Challenge tips.   

         Was the What Works...  symposium helpful to you?   Would you like to see us do something like this again in the future?   Are you going to be blogging from A to Z with us this year?   Why or why not?

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What Works?...and what doesn't

What's Happening?
         
        Anyone who has been following my blog for some time is probably aware of my keen interest in the topics of marketing and promotion and how the two can be used effectively in blogging.  I'm not going to delve too deeply into my own thoughts on marketing as you can do a search of my blog under the terms "marketing" or "promotion" and come up with plenty of posts on those and related topics.  

        In fact my A to Z theme in 2012 was marketing and promotion and those posts would be a good place to find out some of my thoughts on the subject as well as get an idea of what the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is about.   If you want to read the first installment of that series you'll find it here and then just continue on if you want more.

        The current blog event is about what you bloggers think and have to say about marketing, promotion, and related ideas.  There's no magic formula that I know of that makes for successful marketing.  Sometimes what works in one instance may fall flat in another.   Other times totally absurd ideas may work in a big way. Some ideas are fairly tried and true while others are just a shot in the dark.  Sometimes they work and and sometimes they don't.

       With What Works....and what doesn't we want to get some idea of what some of you may have actually tried or observed.   We hope to learn some of your philosophies, psychological insights, hard factual data, or your pipe dreams about marketing.   We want to try to figure out What Works...

Why What Works...?

     In November Yolanda Renée and I were having an email interchange about the guest post she did at my dream blog, A Faraway View.  We were examining stats and experimenting with different tactics to see what worked in drawing visitors to the site.  A Faraway View typically is a low activity blog, but our combined efforts brought considerably more viewers to her post than I usually get.   Though the numbers for that post are still low, through our combined marketing efforts the post garnered some of the highest views and most comments of any other post on that site.  Was it due to our marketing efforts?

          During the course of our exchange I came up with what I thought might be a good idea for a blog event.   The "blogfest" should have a wide range of interest among most of our followers since we all are promoting something whether we admit to it or not.   This would not be just a fun blogging exercise, but " a blogfest with information you can use."

        The premise would be for participants to tell about a marketing idea they've used that worked or one that didn't work.  Their post could describe a campaign that succeeded in a big or small way or one that failed drastically.  This wouldn't only be limited to authors but also apply to those who have gone into business,  observed in another business campaign, participated in an organizational event, helped their kids with a fundraiser, or anything where a bit of promotion was necessary.  In other words this is a blogfest anyone could participate in and everyone can learn from.  Posts can be informational, a personal experience account, or a funny marketing story.  Experience gained from a promotional effort in one area can have applications in other efforts.  

         The ultimate goal is to learn what others have done right that we all can use and what to avoid.  Hopefully we can get marketing stats like Yolanda and I were doing in our study and other hard data that might be compiled into specific or fairly decent conclusions.   We want to know What Works... and I'm sure many of you would find this type of information useful as well.

Also Brought to You By:

         Since I've had more than a few interchanges on the subject of marketing with my good friend Jeremy Hawkins, I contacted him to bring his knowledge to the table.  I know Jeremy is very interested in marketing since he has a number of ventures going.   His artistic expertise provided us with a super cool logo for the event.

        And of course no great blogging event would be complete without Alex J. Cavanaugh.   Alex has mastered the art of cross promotion, building his name, blog recognition, and brand by promoting others.  I owe a special thanks to Alex for being at the helm of this event while I was on vacation and during my subsequent illness.  That's why we call him "The Captain".

Be sure to check out all the blogs of the hosts.  And if for some reason the Linky List does not appear on my page you should be able to find it on theirs:

Arlee Bird - http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/

Yolanda Renee - http://yolandarenee.blogspot.com/

Jeremy Hawkins - http://www.beingretro.com/

Alex J. Cavanaugh - http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Now let's find out What Works...and what doesn't.  
Here's the list of participants!  

<!-- end LinkyTools script –> *****
Remember--if you don't see the Linky List here then check the other participating sites.  I've been having some computer problems.

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We've Had a Roast and Now a Toast!

     Thank You for the CheerFest Fun!


        Monday's Cheersfest was a great time and I want to thank all of you who turned up with posts and to those who left equally fun comments.  I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.  The whole event made me feel all warm and roasty.

         A special thank you to the Cheersfest hosts  Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King, Stephen Tremp and  Alex J. Cavanaugh. 

         This year I had about a quarter of the roasters that Alex had last year which actually was kind of a blessing to me.  It's going to be tough enough to judge the best roast entry out of those who put me on the spit.  I don't know how Alex managed last year, but I never know how Alex manages to do what he does.  I still say clones.

       There were plenty of commenters to make up for the lack of official entries.  It's a good thing I don't have to include them in the contest.  I'd be sweating over the decision for days to come.  I'll be announcing the winner next Monday--a day with more than one special announcement.

        I'll also have a special Ask Arlee follow-up post next Wednesday in response to Sydney Aaliyah's request that I roast myself and answer the questions.  That's when the truths will be revealed!

A Toast to Jeremy Hawkins

       Many comments were made about my new cute logo BlogMan guy.  When I first laid eyes on him I had a nice laugh and I still beam every time I see him.   My very special thanks to Jeremy Hawkins at Being Retro for designing the little fellow.   Additional thanks to Mark Koopmans for turning my thoughts into contacting Jeremy about this.  I think Jeremy did an amazing job.

Who is Jeremy?

        Many of you are already familiar with Jeremy Hawkins as one of the A to Z Challenge co-hosts for the past few years.  He designed the official Challenge badges for 2012 and 2013 plus many other banners and badges associated with the Challenge.   He also did much of the work on the A to Z Blog page.  He is a quiet behind the scenes guy who has played an important role in adding to the success of the annual A to Z Challenge.  
 
        But Jeremy's influence in the blogging community extends far beyond this.  The header to Tossing It Out was a custom design by Jeremy.   And that very cool animated header as well as other artwork on Alex J Cavanaugh's blog was also created by Jeremy.

        Some of you have Jeremy's artwork on your own blogs and rather than me just listing through them I'll let you tell about what he's done for your blog or other artwork he's done for you.

         A talented artist, graphic designer, ideator and renaissance man, Jeremy is a multifaceted dynamo who also designs book cover art, t-shirts, and promotional specialities.   He even has his own art related books that you should check out.  After all Christmas is coming and there may be that unique gift for someone on your Christmas list.

        For the full rundown on what Jeremy has to offer go to his main blog Being Retro and click around to see Jeremy's talent for yourself and find out some of the cool things he has on display.  Of course you'll be clicking on the link that says "Don't Look Here", but if you are one who is obedient this is one case where you shouldn't be.  Literally you could spend hours at Jeremy's site  

        If you have a Cheersfest entry you definitely want to visit Jeremy's site in case you are the winner of the prize he is offering to one of my chosen favorite roast posts.   Jeremy is going to be designing a personal graphic for one of you lucky folks.  Visit his blog and other sites so you can start dreaming about what you'd like to see him design for you.  Maybe you can have your own character logo like my BlogMan.  Or a new blog header?  The winner will be announced on Monday December 16th.

        So I hereby propose a toast to my friend and talented artist/blogger, Jeremy Hawkins!

         Thanks for everything my friend and may we have an ongoing friendship for many years to come!



         Be watching for a special announcement next Monday from Jeremy Hawkins, Yolanda Renèe, Alex J. Cavanaugh and me.   We've got something planned that you may find very helpful and fun.

           Has Jeremy designed anything for you or for your blog?    Tell us about it in the comments and provide links if you have them.

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BlogMan Is Here!

Logo designed by Jeremy Hawkins
 at Being Retro
and other places

       As if you haven't heard enough about me already.  You've seen my photo so there's nothing to hide there.  I've even made some public appearances and have met some of you in person.   And I've certainly rambled on about myself plenty on my blogs.

       Yes, that's blogs plural.  My name shows up on eight blogs, but I don't post regularly on all of them.  In fact I only have regularly scheduled posts on three of them besides Tossing It Out.   My other active blogs are Wrote By Rote, A Faraway View, and A Few Words.  If you don't know about these blogs and are curious about them you can click on the links.  Those are my neglected children and they love having visitors.  

       Why so many blogs?  It came as a result of my wanting to cut back on the seven day posting I was doing here on Tossing It Out.  But I had so many things I wanted to write about that I instead started more blogs.  A totally self-defeating move by some estimations I suppose.  Others may consider it a good marketing move or SEO strategy.  Personally, I think it's kind of wacko, but here I am.

       And that's how I became BlogMan.   The nickname came from the post My Brain Is A Blog. You can go back and read it if you're interested.  Just more silliness from me.

       And to think I could have named myself anything at that time.  I could have proclaimed myself "King of the Blogs".   A bit pretentious I guess.  BlogMan is more generic.  More of an "Everyman" title.  After all, you too can be a BlogMan, BlogWoman, BlogBoy, BlogGirl, BlogDog, or BlogWhatever.   I am Blogman!  We are all BlogPeople!

        So I'll keep it simple and end there.  After all we need to see what you have to say on this special Cheersfest Day.

        Enough about me already--from me at least.  I'm ready for a roastin'.   Now excuse me while I go hide under my desk.

Visit CheersFest Sites:

        For the Linky List of participants and a few words from our sponsors, be sure to visit the blogs of  Mark Koopmans, Morgan Shamy, David Powers King, Stephen Tremp and The Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.  The fun has already started!

 
      Oh, and not to forget the next Battle of the Bands post coming Sunday December 15th, there are some clues in today's post as to which Christmas song I'll be using in the next match-up.  Can you guess the song?

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Ask Arlee: How Do I Know When It's Time to Stop?

Persistence (Photo credit: Vanessa Pike-Russell)

 The Dilemma of a Dream

        How often have you become so frustrated, tired, or bored with something you've been working at that you just want to give up and walk away?  

         I'm sure this has happened to many of you more than once.  The dream could be something that's gotten you fired up like a business idea, an endeavor you've poured your creativity into like a novel, or a  course of action like an educational pursuit.   For a while it's the thing that is the passion that consumes your being and then one day you stop and wonder if you're chasing fairy tales and trying to catch moonbeams.  Have you ever been riding on the wind and then one day find yourself blown into a corner that seems to be a dead end?

Ask Arlee:

         This may be the question Jeremy from  Being Retro (among other places).  Then again knowing Jeremy the question might just be a fun rhetorical question.  But of course knowing me I'm going to take it all serious and not only answer the question, but also I'm going to add clues to my Battle of the Band song pick for this coming Friday.  Have you caught any of the clues so far?

Jeremy [Retro-Z] said...

how to know when it's time to stop?

         Yeah, that's what he said--or asked.  Or whatever he did.  

         And my thought is this:  Even if you're walking with your head in the clouds, a dream still has validity.  If today things aren't working the way you were hoping, stop and reassess your goals.  What is it that you really want to achieve?   Have you been going about it the right way?   Maybe you need to refocus.  Or maybe just put things on hold for a while.  

         A worthy dream is not an elusive butterfly that takes wing to fly away when you lose hope.  Even good strong powerful dreams can lose momentum, but that doesn't mean they need to stop totally.  Reevaluate your progress along the road to your destination.  Park that dream car in the garage if need be and drive a different car for a while.  You can go back to the first car when you're ready for that one.

          Whether you end up on a stage before thousands burning a wild guitar with a famous rock band or in a quiet country pub playing Irish fiddle tunes, remember that it's not so much the magnitude of the dream you achieve as it is having achieved the dream in a way in which you can feel a sense of satisfaction.

           Your dream may not be a shining star exploding in the heavens, but a twinkle of hope on the horizon that you must patiently aim for in a slow trek forward.  Don't forget those who would be happy for you to reach your dream even if they don't know what that dream is.  There are a thousand smiles and nods of encouragement waiting to propel you forward.  You may not see them or know who they are, but I believe that there are many who want us all to succeed in what we dream.

         Yeah, take wing and fly to your dream destination.  Sometimes you may have to wait, change course, or sleep on it.  But don't stop.  Not completely.  Don't let a good dream die.  

         Have you ever given up on a dream and regretted it?   Did you ever persist at a dream that seemed to be dying to see it eventually revive and succeed?    What is the dream that you would most like to see come to fruition?    Can you guess what song I will be competing in Friday's Battle of the Bands post?

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