My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2025 the theme is a random assemblage of things that are on my mind--or that just pop into my mind. Whatever! Let's just say I'll be "Tossing It Out" for your entertainment or however it is you perceive these things.
Showing posts with label Question of the Month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Question of the Month. Show all posts
If you haven't done so yet, please vote on my current Battle of the Bands post which can be found here.
Question of the Month
The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostinofrom A Life Examined.The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants.
What does retirement look like for you?
As one who is already retired I have some advice for those who aren't: Make sure you're financially prepared! My job history never provided for any type of retirement plan other than Social Security and in all honesty I never thought about it that much. Besides, my retirement was kind of forced on me--I didn't expect it when it came as I had planned on working much longer.
When I was last employed I was working as a manager of a wholesale costume company near Los Angeles. I'd been working there for 18 years when my branch was shut down due to economic situations and changes in the way the industry was starting to do business. In a sense, the internet had a hand in my job loss and the internet has had a control over my life ever since.
My blogging is an offshoot of being retired and not finding a suitable job replacement. When I hit 62 I went ahead to go officially into retirement phase and collect my Social Security benefits. I still keep an ear open for money making opportunities, but so far to no avail.
Thankfully my wife is still working as a teacher so that we've been able to travel during the summers and other times of the year. But when she's working, I'm pretty much holed up at home which is prime time for blogging activities or other endeavors.
Since I never thought much about retiring, I had not much in the way of expectations about retirement. It is nice to follow my own pursuits and not have to work for someone else all day. Still, I do miss the work to some extent and especially the paycheck.
When my wife retires in the next few years we'll have to figure out what to do next. Our children and grandchildren live back east, which means we don't see them much now. We might need to address that when she retires. It would be nice to be closer to them so we can see them more often.
To my thinking, getting older should include being with the immediate family more often and participating in grandchildren's lives. My mother was fortunate to have a lot of family nearby or who visited her frequently. That added a great deal to her life and I'd like to see the same for my wife and I.
No matter what happens though I believe that God will provide the best for what we need. My life has been rich with blessings and I feel that good things are ahead.
Where would you most like to go to retire? Do you like to be close to children and grandchildren? Did you plan (or have you been planning) your retirement wisely?
Why do you like what you like? This is not always an easy question to answer and sometimes there is never one answer that will be consistent throughout ones life. In my case I've gone through many stages of preferences. What we like can change throughout our lives. The quest in this post is to consider questions like "why do our preferences change?"
For this month's Question topic I'll be discussing musical preference. However, before you go on, if you haven't voted on my most recent Battle of the Bands post then I hope you will go back to do so. The song that I've used is one that I like a great deal performed in two styles that I also enjoy. Listening to this song doesn't answer the question of this month as it applies to me, but it offers a clue. Well, maybe it does, but then again maybe it doesn't.
After all, the question of preference can be a complex one that is not easily answered in a few words or paragraphs. I'll try to keep my answer somewhat brief.
Did you vote on my Battle? It's here if you didn't visit yet.
Now let's move on to the business at hand...
Question of the Month
The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostinofrom A Life Examined.The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants.
This month's question Suggested by Alex J. Cavanaugh, here is the question for this month:
“What kind of music best speaks to you?”
The subject of preference is one that I've explored many times with no absolute conclusion ever drawn. Even when it comes down to the specific topic of music I can't name just one specific kind of music. My ears perk at just about any kind of music since I'm a musically inquisitive person by nature. Music was a integral part of my upbringing and has played a huge role in my life. Some of my earliest memories involve music and music has been a soundtrack of my life. Place, time, and circumstance play a role in whatever music I might be listening to. The company I am keeping or what I need to feel within me can determine what music I am listening to at any given time. Even an arbitrary intrusion of music will cause me to pause and listen--and ultimately decide if I like what I'm hearing or not. Rarely do I associate music with any bad memory. Taking for example, as referenced in my current Battle of the Bands post, I have an affinity for Latin flavored music--especially the music of Mexico. When I was a child my parents often played Latin style music around the house. I can recall often listening to an album of bullfight music. My mother used to do housework listening to Perez Prado. My father was on a continual quest to find catchy fast-paced juggling music which typically would contain lots of Latin style percussion. Part of my musical fabric was dyed with music from South of the Border and now hearing any of that style of music catches my musical attention as well as takes me to some comfortable emotion within me. Similarly classical and pop music is something I was weaned on from an early age to the extent that listening to either style is now a steady part of my musical diet. Years of listening to rock music has instilled within me a deep appreciation for all forms of that style and other related styles of music. Now I long for music in the same way that I feel a need for food, air, and a comfortable place to sleep. Sometimes the music sets my mood while at other times I decide the playlist. The music is almost always there. And when the music is not there in the physical realm then it is often playing in my mind. So what specific type of music speaks to me best? This is a case where superlatives are variables. The music that speaks best to me depends on me at the moment. There are times when I don't want to hear any music at all--a rarity, but it has happened. But then one might argue that this is when the music seeps through the silence--the wind, nature, street sounds, industrial clanking, or even the beat of my own heart and the blood coursing my veins. The music that speaks best to me is whichever music happens to be speaking at the moment. What types of music are you most drawn to? What is the most specific part of music that appeals to you? Did you ever or do you now play an instrument?
The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostinofrom A Life Examined.The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants.
Question of the Month
“What was the first book (or book series) you really fell in love with?”
If I were to include coloring books and the Little Golden Book series then those would be the obvious choices. Those do not seem to be legitimate book choices for a question like the one posed for this month. What kids don't like coloring books? I'm not sure if the Little Golden Book series is formatted in the same was as it was when I was a kid in the 1950's, but the stories were for the most part timeless. Too basic and innocent for today's kids? I can't say for sure, but I spent many hours of my early life looking at the Little Golden Books that I had in my collection.
But let's get book serious here. The first book of real substance that I fell in love with was the King James Version of the Holy Bible. I'd grown up fascinated with my father's giant sized Bible. He would sometimes read from it or quote from it. Sometimes he sounded like a preacher when he'd recite Biblical passages.
I received my own personal copy of the King James Bible in 1958 when I was seven years old. This Bible was given to me by Frank Van Valen, the pastor at the church we attended at the time. On a blank page near the front of the book he inscribed, "This book will not keep you from this book, but sin will keep you from this book." I still have this copy of the Bible. The cover is coming off, but the book is in remarkably good condition considering the wear and tear it has undergone.
Now, if we are thinking about secular books then I'll go with two series that were published by the same company and in a sense went hand in hand. The Tom Swift, Jr.books was a series of science fiction novels and the Hardy Boys series were mysteries. I had complete sets of both at the time I stopped collecting them, though I think more were published after that. Those collections were my pride and joy sitting on a bookshelf in my bedroom for many years. I've gotten rid of most of that collection over the years, but I've managed to hang onto a few of each. In recent years I've even actually reread some of those books and they weren't half bad even now reading them as an adult. I guess that's one reason why I loved them so.
Do you remember Little Golden Books? What was the first book that you ever received where someone inscribed a message to you? There were many books series like the ones I mentioned: Was there a set that you owned as a child?
The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostinofrom A Life Examined.The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants.
The question for this month is:
“Of all the places in the world that you haven’t yet been to, where would you like to go next?”
That's kind of a crazy question for me. I get asked and my head starts flooding with places I want to go. Many of the places where I think about going I've already been to and many of those I have to go back to because that's where my family is. For me, travel to visit family precedes any travel I'd want to do for sheer pleasure. It's an issue of love I would say. I enjoy traveling, but I love seeing and spending time with family members. If doing this requires travel, then that's where my travel time will go. And of course my finances dictate how much travel I can actually do. Then there are those places that have fascinated me, but I'd be wary about going because of the situation in those places based on what I've heard in the media and elsewhere. One place that would be logistically easy for me to do and probably inexpensive would be a road tour of Mexico. A tourist can just drive across the border into Mexico and drive around. From what I've seen in documentaries and articles, there are some nice places to go in Mexico. I've been to Mexico City and that was interesting to take in the sights of that area. But there's that safety factor. I've known people who have gone there and had some bad things happen and I've read about worse. Not sure about driving around Mexico, but I'd sure like to. Good food, some fine people, and interesting places to visit. Since my wife is a native Spanish speaker I'd definitely want her along since my Spanish is not all that good. However she has no interest in going there--even if it were safe with little travel risk. She's from Ecuador and isn't interested in going to Mexico. Truth be told, she's said that she doesn't even want to go back to Ecuador. She probably would if I asked her to go and money were not an object, but if left up to her she wouldn't go back to her homeland. At least that's what she usually says. By the way, regarding this world travel issue, travel isn't all that cheap. At least not the way we prefer to do it. When I'm traveling I prefer to stay in nicer hotels and eat in decent restaurants. I'm not the roughing it adventurer that I used to be when I was younger. I've grown softer as I've grown older. My kind of travel takes a fair amount of money though not as much as a true luxury traveler. So Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin American will be places I might dream about visiting, but the closest I'll probably ever get will be someone else's vacation photos or travel documentaries I see on television. Also there are the places in my sleep dreams. I like to sleep in my own bed at night in my own house and I go to some pretty exotic places in my dreams. That works for me too. Do you enjoy watching travel documentaries? Did you travel much in your younger days? Are you able to travel much now? Battle of the Band results will be on Wednesday June 8th.
Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City 2009 on Pell Street, looking west towards Bayard and Mott. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Chinatown
The generic term "Chinatown" has been applied to areas of Asian influence throughout the world beginning in the early 19th century. Many cities in the United States have a district known as Chinatown--some of the most famous being those in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and, of course, Manhattan. In fact the metropolitan area of New York City has at least a dozen communities with large Chinese populations and Manhattan's Chinatown is home to the largest concentration of Chinese peoples in the Western Hemisphere.
Originally the Chinatown areas were transitional points for new Chinese immigrants or those of Chinese descent who were fleeing persecution in other parts of the country. Manhattan's Chinatown began developing in the 1850's in Lower Manhattan in the area of the Bowery and along the thoroughfare of Broadway.
With the arrival of the new Chinese immigrants came Chinese businesses and inexpensive tenement housing to house the newcomers. Chinatown became a city within a city with Chinese dialects spoken by the people and business signs written in the language Chinese characters. The exotic nature of that part of town made it a natural draw for tourists and curiosity seekers.
For many decades two of the main industries of Chinatown have been tourism and restaurants. Bus tours typically include a stop in Chinatown. Tourists flock to the shops and eateries to get a sense of what visiting China might be like. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in Chinatown--over 300--and they offer a range of the many culinary styles of China and other parts of Asia. If you're looking for Chinese food then Chinatown is a go to place for what you're craving. Then after you've eaten you can hang around visiting the many shops until you're ready for the next restaurant stop. It's often said that shortly after eating Chinese food you're hungry again and in Chinatown there's no need to go hungry for Chinese food for very long.
Just ask Mee Magnum, blogger from The Chinese Quest. When I posed the question about Manhattan in my January blog post, Mee commented, "Manhattan to me is home sweet home. Born and raised in the great City. Like no other place in the world. And home, of course, to some of the best Chinese restaurants on the planet! :)" Mee's not doing the Challenge this year, but last year he offered a great series about Chinese restaurants in the NYC area. If you want to know more about great Chinese restaurants and other knowledge about Chinese food Mee's blog is for you. I regularly read it and dream about places I'd like to eat one day. The Question of the Month The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostinofrom A Life Examined.The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants. Michael has made it easy on all of us who are participating in the April A to Z Challenge. Here is this month's question: What's your favorite thing that begins with the letter "C"? After all this talk about Chinatown, my first answer would be Chinese food. I've liked almost all Chinese food that I've eaten though I don't eat it very much anymore since my wife is not much of a fan of the cuisine. But given the chance I'll gladly go to a Chinese restaurant when the offer comes my way. Thinking about the letter "C" though I can't forget chocolate. I love chocolate in all incarnations whether it be for eating or drinking. Oh, and thinking about drinking I should add coffee. Reading my initial answer you'd think life was all about food. There are, after all, other things in life. As a blogger (or not) I do like my computer a great deal. For comfort sake I'd have to add chairs. Could we get by without chairs? Or my car for that matter? These days, especially where I live in Los Angeles, a car is almost a necessity though I do know a few people who get around without driving. Personally though I'm hooked on cars even though I officially drive a van--it's still essentially a car. These favorites questions are always tough. How do I pick just one of everything I mentioned here not to mention the things I didn't mention? My favorite "C"? I guess it depends on how hungry I am or what I have to do. My favorites in anything always seem to be changing. Do you have a Chinatown near where you live? Have you ever visited a Chinatown anywhere? What is your favorite Chinese dish?
TheQuestion of the Monthis hosted byMichael G D'AgostinofromA Life Examined. The first Monday of each month I answer a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants.
Here is the question for March:
“Have you ever met an idol/influence/someone you really admire? How did it go?”
Over the years, having worked extensively in the world of show business, I've met many widely known celebrities as well as niche celebrities who were notable mostly to a specific group of people. I've never been one to be overly wowed by the concept of celebrity so I've often tended to avoid too much interaction with well known people. Also, along with being innately shy, I often feel awkward when given an opportunity to make contact with a celebrity in that I don't want to bother them.
If there were a purpose in a celebrity wanting to meet with me then that would be one thing. But for me to reach out for little other purpose than to meet a celebrity in passing or have a photo op or anything of that nature, that's something I'd be likely not to do.
One of my biggest celebrity encounters (read more about it here) was with rock star Mark Farner. For those not in touch with the giants of the 1970's rock scene, Farner was lead singer and guitarist for the hugely popular group Grand Funk Railroad. The meeting happened because I promoted a concert in 1988 with Farner and his band as the headline act. Of course I met him! And what a nice guy he was.
Farner was working as a solo artist at the time I hired him and his band. He had embarked upon a new career as a contemporary Christian artist and was successful in that field of music as well, though nowhere like he was with Grand Funk. He and I had dinner together the night of the show and it was a great time of discussion between us. I was impressed by his humility and gentle demeanor. I wish we could have had longer to visit that evening, but he had a set to perform and I had a concert to oversee. Farner closed the show with a powerful line-up of songs. His fans, including me, were not disappointed that night. After the crowds had gone and the equipment was loaded, Farner said his farewell to me and climbed aboard the tour bus with his band to depart that night. The meeting was a memorable one for me and my time together with Mark Farner left me with a very favorable impression of a man who had been a rock icon and still wielded the legacy that is his part of music history.
Battle of the Bands Results
My most recent Battle was centered around the Leonard Cohen song The Future. Before going in I had sensed that this might be a tough call as Cohen's songs are not always appreciated by everyone. This song in particular is bleak and strange, but it's song that I happen to like a great deal.
Either contestant was fine by me. I thought the driving version presented by the Beggars was outstanding, but I also enjoyed the quirky version done by Glittering Kingdom. I found myself listening to both versions repeatedly over the past few weeks, enjoying each one for its own merits--I felt the versions both had merit.
In the end though my preference leaned more toward Glittering Kingdom. For one thing I thought the live outdoor performance recording was excellent. It would have been executed in a far more polished fashion if done in the studio, but the way it was done in the video was far more impressive to me. The ladies are unique and talented. With a nod of appreciation to Beggars, my vote goes to Glittering Kingdom.
Final Vote Tally:
Beggars 22
Glittering Kingdom 14
Something Big Ahead! My next Battle will be the start of series of Battles related to my Blogging from A to Z April Challenge theme. On March 15th I will be introducing my April theme with an appropriately themed music Battle. Later, in April, I will have two more Battles also related to my A to Z theme. I'll provide more details and the story behind the theme in my March 15th post. If you haven't signed up for the April event you might want to reconsider if you've decided against doing it. If you don't know what I'm talking about please visit The A to Z Blog for more information. There will be more between now and my next Battle--maybe a bit of controversy along with a lighter post with a musical theme. Nothing has been written yet so I can't tell you exactly what will happen, but I think something will happen. And if it doesn't then just be here for my next Battle of the Bands post on March 15th. Were you a fan of Grand Funk Railroad? Are you a Leonard Cohen fan? Do you dread when someone uses a Cohen song for a BOTB post?
This post is my entry for the Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition blog hop hosted by Guilie Castillo-Oriard, Alex J Cavanaugh, Denise Covey, Yolanda Renee, Elizabeth Seckman, and me. Be sure to visit all of the hosts for this event. To find the full list of participants visit the list on Tossing It Outor any of the host sites. I'm combining my Lost & Found post with two other blogging events--The Question of the Month and Battle of the Bands.
This month is a special one for Question of the Month – we’re joining forces with the the Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition. In honor of an upcoming Valentine’s Day, we want you to write about love lost or found. Share the highs and lows that only matters of the heart can bring. As such, our question for this month is just that:
“When have you lost or found love?”
Let me answer this way: In all my years I've seen love come and go on several occasions. In some cases that love seemed more serious at the time than it really was--I guess I could say they were more like infatuations or love false alarms. A few were marriages and those were the most significant found and lost loves. I'd always thought that marriage was a forever kind of love, which in some abstract way it is, but the reality that I've experienced is that sometimes love gets a bit derailed along the marriage journey resulting in that train wreck called divorce. I'm no fan of divorce, but sometimes things break and no amount of effort can fix that which has been broken.
I prefer love found, but love lost has had some upside in my life--especially when I consider what I've found after having lost a love. My Tossing It Out post for the Lost & Found blog hop is not a story. If you want to read one of my stories about this then check out my post at Wrote By Rote. Instead of a story, this post is about the impact that losing or finding love has had upon my own creativity. Love has inspired many a person throughout the ages. The ways that love has affected my creativity is probably similar to the ways it has affected some of you. For my Battle of the Bands song pick I'll offer a bit of evidence that I see in the lyrics of said song. On Wednesday my #IWSG post will deal with creativity with more specificity, but today I offer you a song with some lyrics that illustrate how love lost has affected me.
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event hosted byFar Away SeriesandStMcC 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.
"Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" ("My Story Between Your Fingers")
This a song that I heard frequently on the Los Angeles Spanish rock station that I was listening to back in the 90's. I was immediately captivated by the beautiful melody and plaintive lyrical content. Despite my limited understanding of Spanish, I was able to grasp much of the sentiment of this song and I related to it. This has become one of my favorite songs of all time. In fact I'll make a bold claim that this is among the most beautiful pop songs ever written. Considering the hit status of the song in Europe and Latin American countries I think many might concur with my statement.
Now here's a puzzling mystery about this song. It was written and first recorded by Italian artist Gianluca Grignani. However when it was played on the radio I understood the artist to be the popular Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. In fact I liked "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" so much that I went and bought every Ramazzotti album that I could find in hopes that my song would be included on one of them. To my disappointment the song was on none of those albums that I bought. In my recent research I cannot find the song on any Ramazzotti recording or any indication that he had ever recorded it. I might have said that I had misunderstood what I thought I heard on the Spanish language radio, but then I found more than one YouTube video attributing the recording to Ramazzotti. Somewhere a confusion developed not only with me, but with many others.
I'm offering one of these recordings--although I'm pretty sure now that this is actually Grignani's recording--for you to listen to if you are interested in the version that enthralled me so much when I first heard it. Please don't vote on it! I think this is the best version out there so I feel like putting it up against any other version would be unfair. If you wish, take a listen to "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos". If you can solve the Eros Ramazzotti mystery I'd love to hear about it.
This Song Is My Story Too
Thanks to my Lost & Found Co-host Guile Castillo-Oriard here is the English translation of the lyrics of "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos":
I think they’re not so useless
the nights I gave you.
You’re leaving, so what?
I’m not trying to argue,
you know as well as I.
At least stay just tonight,
I promise not to touch you — are you sure?
Maybe I’ve begun to feel alone,
because I know that smile, so definitive,
that smile of yours that to me
became the gateway to your paradise
It’s said that for each man
there’s one like you.
But my place—later—you’ll fill with someone
just like me (or better, but I doubt it).
Why do you look away this time?
You ask me to stay friends.
Why friends, dammit?
A friend I forgive, but you I love.
They might seem banal, my natural instincts.
There’s something I haven’t told you yet,
That my problems, you know, are called “You”
That’s why you see me act tough,
To feel a little safer.
And if you won’t even say where I’ve failed,
remember that I’ve forgiven you, too.
Instead, you say “I’m sorry, I don’t love you,”
and leave, taking this story between your fingers.
What will you do?
Look for an excuse and go.
Because about me you shouldn’t worry,
you shouldn’t provoke me.
I’ll write you a couple of songs
doing my best to hide my emotions.
Thinking, but little, about the words,
and I’ll speak of the smile, so definitive
That smile of yours that, to me,
became the gateway to your paradise…
I've said these similar things in my partings with past loves. My times of loss have become times of great creativity when I'd write poetry and songs expressing my sentiments and desires. Maybe this was an action performed too late--my sad songs and poetry never resolved my break ups. Still I tried to fix the broken relationships with words such as those of this song. My guess is that the songwriter of "Mi Historia" went through one of those losses that inspired great creativity. There are many interesting recordings of this song to be found on YouTube (more evidence to why I consider this song to be so great). The recordings come in a wide variety of styles. I avoided the heavy thrash metal version (which I actually like especially because a violin is included in the instrumental line-up) but I thought it best to avoid that version. If you're curious check out Titanium for a rocking version of this song.
In this round my choices for the Battle are two live versions that are in similar performance settings, but quite different in their stylistic approaches.
This is a reggaeton/cumbia group from Paraguay. They give the song an uptempo flavor that makes me want to get up and dance.
Time to Vote! Even if you don't understand what the artists are singing you can still judge whether you like the sound of a song or not. If you're visiting a Battle of the Band post for the first time then let me briefly explain. Please give each song version a fair listen to decide which one you prefer over the other. If you don't like either then at least tell us which recording was least innocuous to you. This comes down to your preference and it's as easy as that. 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: ‘FARAWAYSERIES’ StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands ‘YOURDAILYDOSE’ 'MIKE'SRAMBLINGS' 'Curious as a Cathy' Sound of One Hand Typing DC Relief Battle of the Bands The Doglady's Den Angel's Bark Cherdo on the Flipside Jingle, Jangle, Jungle Janie Junebug Righting & Editing. J. A. Scott Quiet Laughter
Be ReInVintaged Results on Monday February 8th You've got a week to cast your vote, but try to do it soon so you don't forget! On Wednesday I'll be discussing the topic of creativity a bit more as I post for this month's edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. In that post I'll explain some of my thoughts on losing or finding love or any other circumstances that might cause our creative juices to flow.
The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined. The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants. 
