The Side Show Never Ends ( #BOTB Results )

 Old friends can be like a fine wine that we savor as pleasant thoughts linger in our memories or they can be like leftovers gone bad in the refrigerator leaving a bad smell.  I think it's time to clean out my fridge...

The Year of Side Show

                            Arlee Bird in Ottawa Ontario

      The yearly vacations that my wife have taken have been the highlights of the past decade plus-- those years since I lost the last job I had until being forced into retirement.   During those years we were able to spend quality time with family and friends, including those who have since passed on.  If I had still been working we would not have been able to take such lengthy trips.  Fortunately, my wife was still deriving a good income from her teaching job and with her summers off we had several weeks that allowed us to travel.  They were good times.  Some of the best.

       One of the most memorable summers was that of 2016.  We drove north from Los Angeles to British Colombia and then for several days traversed the breadth of Canada to Quebec where we veered back down into the United States via New England as we continued to stays in New Jersey, Tennessee, and Texas before heading back home to California. 

       It was a grand tour filled with so many amazing places and so many wonderful people.  And so so many good memories.  Part of those memories were in the music that served as our soundtrack for that remarkable summer trip. 

      Shortly prior to embarking on that journey I discovered a musical that latched onto my interest like few have ever done.  I have long been a fan of musicals and finding the Broadway musical Side Show was an exciting discovery for me.  As I recall, I first heard a song from the musical on some radio show and it so captured my attention that I began investigating this hitherto unknown to me musical.

        After discovering that two different Broadway show recordings had been released I then found that most of the songs could be found on YouTube.  As I listened to the songs on YouTube it was a quick decision for me to locate both versions on Amazon and order them before we would leave on our vacation trip.   We would have our trip soundtrack.

        We listened to both CDs daily, sometimes more than once and even repeatedly. I memorized every detail of the music.  My wife and I would try to decide which version was best.  Our preference would change from day to day, but the two of us fell in love with the musical.

         Part of the draw for me was the story--it was based on true life characters.  The Hilton Sisters were very attractive twins who performed in vaudeville and films.  They were hugely popular in Europe and the United States.  What made them particularly unique was the fact that they were Siamese twins conjoined at the hip.  Their attractive appearance made them all the more appealing to audiences.

          Gaining fame and popularity in side shows and stage show circuits, they caught the attention of Hollywood.  You may have seen them in their most well-known film, Tod Browning's Freaks. After that film appearance their popularity lessened and they struggled to keep working.  They starred in one more film in 1951.  Chained for Life was loosely based on their lives and the musical Side Show seems to have taken some ideas from that film.  After that it was tough times for the Hiltons.

           My late former boss Philip Morris from Charlotte NC used to tell stories about meeting them in the sixties when he was working as a theatrical agent. Morris related how he was in a grocery store and saw them bagging groceries.  Apparently the store manager had felt bad for them and gave them the job since they were now essentially destitute and nearing sixty years old.  Philip Morris befriended them and found them occasional jobs at movie shows and other appearances.

           The deaths of the sisters seems especially poignant in our time. Sometime around New Year of 1969 they had contracted Hong Kong Flu (the pandemic that killed millions from 1968 to 1969) and Daisy died.   No one can say exactly what transpired at that point, but the forensic investigation suggested that Violet Hilton probably lived on another 2 to 4 days with her dead sister at her side.  They were discovered on January 4, 1969 after the grocery store owner reported to police that they had not shown up for work and he feared the worst.

           It's a sad story, but we got a decent musical from it.  Granted the musical has never gained much traction with the critics or the public, but I think the subject matter was perhaps too politically incorrect for our times.   Despite that, at least the Hilton Sisters got some final recognition that will live on for many.  In 2018 the city of Brighton and Hove, England honored them with a plaque in front of the house where they were born. At least they have some kind of legacy.  

          If you're a fan of musical theater I recommend that you check out some of the recordings that can be found on YouTube.  I'd like to see a movie made of the show, but I doubt that it will ever happen.

Battle of the Bands Results

          My most recent Battle used three different songs with the same title of "The Devil You Know."  Two of the choices were pretty standard modern rock fare by the artists Kovacs and Blues Saraceno" while the third came from the Broadway musical Side Show.  

         If you read my opening story then you can likely easily deduce that my own favorite tune was the one from  Side Show.   But I really liked the other two picks as well.  That's why I used them of course!  As I might have expected, my choice was the least favorite.  And Blues Saraceno's song sounded pretty good to me too.  Not a bad outcome over all.

Final Vote Tally

Kovacs                  4

Side Show             3

Blues Saraceno     5                 

Next Battle on Sunday November 15th

          Lord willing and I don't choke to death on my face mask, I'll have another Battle of the Bands installment on my usual 15th of the month appearance.  

   

        Do you have any Facebook friends that actually aren't friends and you really don't know?  Have you ever purged your friends list?   What has been your greatest benefit from being on Facebook? 

          

Not Exactly, Perhaps ( #BOTB Results )

Call me capricious.  Call me irresponsible.  Sure, I might vacillate at times--or even frequently--but that is our right if it comes to little things in life...

I guess I don't care about much these days

Battle of the Bands Results

       First off, let me get to the main point of this post--the results of my most recent Battle of the Bands match up which was between the jazzy duo Jackie and Roy and the psychedelic vocal group Rotary Connection.  As is usually the case, I liked both of my selections quite well, but one comes out on top for me.  My preferred pick is Rotary Connection.  Diedre Knight  summed it up well for me: 

Jackie and Roy were good, real smooth. I can imagine them smiling as they sing together. But the lyrics suggest an entirely different mood, one I thought was well conveyed in the somewhat cosmic background sounds and fetching vocals of Rotary Connection. A vote for RC from me, please.

        A dose of psychedelia is something I welcome in music and a few others seemed to agree. This was another back and forth close race.  It was what I needed to rekindle things for me and my blog. 


Final Vote Tally

 Jackie and Roy              11

Rotary Connection         13


Piece of My Mind

      Now as to the point on the periphery of my  recent thinking,  I had mentioned previously that I was pondering a decision.  Part of the clue was in the title of my song choice "Didn't Want to Have to Do It".   "Do what?" you might or might not say.  Respond to the frustrations and exasperations that I've been feeling of late is my answer.

       To expound upon this thought, I was strongly considering taking a blog break until at least September and maybe longer.  But then I was seeing where I was not the only one pondering these thoughts.  Maybe it's an offshoot of recent events and moods.  Maybe some of us have been blogging too long in a social media environment that isn't always very nice and frequently not very receptive to different opinions.  I don't know, but so much of the time I just don't feel so much like "tossing it out" anymore.

       Then I have a pretty dynamite Battle of the Bands with an excellent response (24 votes isn't too bad) and I get inspired for the next one to come.  I do enjoy these Battle posts.  Maybe I won't take that break that I was planning--yet, if ever.   However I am going to cut back for summer to just one Battle on the first of the month which will continue to be in tandem with my post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group along with my follow-up results post for that Battle.  That will keep my monthly posting to just two entries per month unless I get worked up enough to post something else in a month. 

       I'll see how things go and be flexible.  Right now I feel tremendously discouraged about our country.  Hopefully things will get better soon.  Sometimes hope is all that keeps us going. 


Next Battle of the Bands on Wednesday July 1st

        This post will also be for Insecure Writer's Support Group.  Hope you'll join me then--unless I have something that I feel I must say before that time.  I'll try to keep visiting your posts and commenting,  Seems like I should have time on my hands since I probably won't be going back East to visit family this summer.  That hurts, but I guess it's not as bad as a kick in the head from some irrational mindless idiot protester.   As far as I"m concerned, all of the people with their causes can take those causes and shove them where I don't have to see them.


        Do you still enjoy blogging as much as you used to?   Has producing new blog posts become somewhat of a chore to you at times?   Where do you think the world is heading these days?

A Hot Race for a Hot Season ( #BOTB Results )

Summer is a-sizzlin' here in New Jersey.  If I could have brought my California weather here this would be darn nice weather-wise.  Otherwise it's still nice here with family...

Still on Vacation

      Maybe it sounds weird for a retired person to talk about being on vacation since it always seems like I'm on a bit of a vacation.  I guess it's just the different routine that makes it seem like vacation.  That and the traveling and the difference of scenery and people I'm around.  So I guess this is a vacation.

        Having a wonderful time!



Battle of the Bands Results

The "Fly Like an Eagle" Battle

         Keeping it quick so I can fly like an eagle myself, here are the results of my recent Battle between old artist Trini Lopez and newer artist Rus Reppert.   This was a neck and neck Battle right to the end.  It was a nicely matched fun Battle.

          I went back and forth with my thinking on who I preferred, but I kept going back to the version by Trini Lopez.  It was interesting to see this artist presenting his updated take on the song, which is pretty good for a guy who is now past 80 years old.   Trini's version had more going for it production-wise with more variety.  My vote goes to Trini.   What a race it was!


Final Vote Tally

Trini Lopez        8 votes 

Rus Reppert       10 votes

Next Battle on Thursday August 1st

       I'll be back on the road for this next Battle so I hope I can keep up okay.  I'll manage I'm sure, but I might be late making rounds.  Hope you're having a great summer without getting overly heated.


        Do you think of retirement as a sort of  extended ongoing vacation?   If you're not working in an employment sense, do you like to keep busy doing stuff?   What are your favorite things to do during summer?

Fly LIke an Eagle ( #BOTB )

Forget Waldo.  Where am I now?  No matter--at least I've managed some attempt at another band Battle...




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 blogs there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle on the 1st of the month.   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.


Fly Like an Eagle

         Since I'm out here on vacation all across America I've been doing a lot of flying with my wheels on the ground.  As this current Battle of the Bands round takes place, I'm at the midway point of my annual pilgrimage back East and then back again to wacky L.A.   Perhaps though not literally "flying" I'm still metaphorically up in the air in more ways than one.  So let's just fly into this Battle with that old song from Steve Miller Band...


Trini Lopez  "Fly Like an Eagle"  (2014)

        As I do, some of you might recall Trini Lopez from his sixties hit "Lemon Tree" which was his cover of a song that had been released a few years before his version.  I don't recall hearing much about Lopez since then, but it looks like the guy is still around.  Here's his version of "Fly Like an Eagle" set against some California scenery...






Rus Reppart  "Fly Like an Eagle"  (2016)

       With a video shot in Clarksburg, WV where my father was from, Rus Reppart takes the song with an indoor shoot and some fine guitar playing.   How does this compare with Trini's version?  Take a listen and decide for yourself...





Time to Vote!

     From the desert of California to a warehouse in West Virginia we have two artists flying like eagles in the musically metaphorical sense.  Which artist do you like best?   Pick one and have some fun!  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

Angel's Bark  

Debbie Doglady's Den

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside

A I Love Music


Winner of this Battle Announced on Monday July 22

        I should be able to manage this announcement post okay despite a busy activity schedule with family.  Ain't it fun being a grandparent?  I should also have no trouble making the rounds to everyone else's Battles.  I've been mostly offline while on vacation, but I do manage an hour or so each morning before the kids get up.  But it's vacation so I'm going to just do what I can.  Hope you all are having a great summer.

         Are you anyplace special right now?   Is where you live special?  Do you wish you could actually fly like an eagle?

Keeping It Simple (#BOTB Results)

    I can be pretty darn fast when my world ain't so slow...

Battle of the Bands Results

        A slow computer compounded with lots of vacation things to do means I'm not getting too much done in the realm of blogging.   Sorry for not making rounds to other blogs like I usually am able to do when I'm at home with my faster computer and not as many distractions.  Most would probably agree that my time with my daughters, my family, and four beautiful grandkids here in New Jersey take precedent to blogging for now.

       One consequence of not being able to make more blogging rounds is fewer reciprocated visits to my own blog.  Of course, as many of you have noted, summertime is a time when blogging activity is down so like everyone else the voting on this Battle dropped considerably in comparison with my usual turn out.  Oh well--it is summer after all and we probably shouldn't be spending all our time indoors on the computer.

       That being said, I'll keep it short and just stick to my Battle results.

        My long familiarity with the group Clear Light and many years of enjoying their great album leaves me with a big bias for the pairing of Cliff De Young, lead singer of my favored group, and Rob Zabrecky, lead singer of Possum Dixon.   And I prefer the musical style of Clear Light though I thoroughly have enjoyed the music of the newer group.  Therefore my vote goes to Clear Light and Cliff De Young.

          It was a close one with my guy coming in second.

Final Vote Tally:

Cliff De Young                 8

Rob Zabrecky                   9

Next Battle Tuesday August 15th

         I won't have many posts until that time.   I'll try to put up one post for Insecure Writer's Support Group on August 2nd, but other than that this blog will be pretty quiet.  Ah, peace and quiet on lazy summer days.  Or maybe not so lazy.  Either way I hope you are all having wonderful summer days.





     

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.

Begin the Beguine (#BOTB)

Begin the Summer

           For many of us, Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning to summer even though the first day of summer is still a few weeks away.  Schools that have not already began their summer breaks will start doing so in the next couple weeks.  Some of you might have already started making summer vacation plans.  Or some might be starting summer jobs.

 Really early wake up on summer vacation in the Vysoké Tatry mountain (Slovakia). Havran (highest peak of the East Tatra - Belianske Tatry) on the shot. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         As has become a summer tradition for my wife and I, we'll be traveling back east to see family.  My wife's vacation will be shorter this year therefore our travels will not be as extensive as the past couple years.  Nevertheless we'll still have about a month making our rounds.

          We won't actually be leaving until after July 4th, but my summer blogging schedule will begin now.  Ironically my summer blogging schedule is essentially the same as what my blogging schedule always is which doesn't amount to much of a predictable schedule for the most part.

          I'll keep doing my Battle of the Bands posts on the 1st and 15th of the month although that might cut back to just one a month.   There will also be results posts for whatever Battles I put up. The Insecure Writer's Support Group posts will likely appear according to that schedule.  After those posts it will be a matter of me posting according to whim.

          This all goes against what is considered "good" blogging.   My recommendation to bloggers who want to retain and build readership is to post regularly according to a predictable schedule.  Whim should not enter into that equation.   But it's summer.  Let us begin the summer fun!

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.

Begin the Beguine

       This Cole Porter song was written in 1935 and used in the stage musical Jubilee.  "Begin the Beguine" has been recorded many times as well as having made numerous film appearances.   A beguine is a sultry ballroom dance style with French and Latin influences.  The song is a standard classic most often associated with big bands and pop song stylists.  For my Battle I have chosen versions by two rock artists that one might not have expected to sing this song.


Pete Townshend   "Begin the Beguine"     (1987)





Sheryl Crow  "Begin the Beguine" (2004)





Begin The 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?   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 7th

      Next Wednesday will also be #IWSG day so I'll have a short combined post.

        Has your summer started yet?   What has been your favorite summer job?   Do you have a special blogging schedule during the summer?

Where's Arlee? (#BOTB Results)

Asbury Park skyline 2015
By Lhcollins (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0
 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

      Where am I now?   I'm in New Jersey, my ultimate destination on this trip, and I will be here for a week or so before I head back home with another week in East Tennessee after which it will be a beeline back to Los Angeles.  All good things must come to an end, but for now I've got some good times in the weeks ahead.   Come to think of it, life is always pretty darn good for the most part so I guess wherever I am things are just fine.

        Our journey across Canada was amazing and everything went according to schedule.  We especially enjoyed the cool weather we experienced while we were there.  Looks like 90 degree temps in the upcoming week, but that goes with summer I guess.  

         Now on with my BOTB results...    


Battle of the Band Results!

       My most recent Battle of the Bands pairing was between two what I thought might be similar sounding versions of a song that possibly has only been recorded these two times.  Fortunately many voters caught the differences  "Can I Go" is a pleasant song in a genre that is typically labeled as psychedelic or sunshine pop/rock.   But the song could also be easily categorized in the same genres as the music of Burt Bacharach or Sergio Mendes.   It's the sound of that peace and flowers late sixties.

       I happen to enjoy this style of music, but perhaps it sounds a bit dated to younger listeners.  I've had this song in my "someday" line-up since almost the beginning of my participation in BOTB and now seemed like an appropriate time to use it.  Either version suits me.  This is one of those "my favorite is whichever one I happen to be listening to at the moment" types of songs.  But since this is a battle that calls for choosing a favorite, I need to come up with a preference.

     Being a fan of orchestral music with big arrangements, the Collage version is in a style that I enjoy.  However, the more urgent pacing of the guitar work throughout the Roger Nichols version along with some very cool orchestral arrangement makes me lean more toward that version.  My vote is for Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends.  Most of the voters agreed with my choice.

     This race pulled out of the gate at an even pace, but Roger Nichols and his Small Circle of Friends quickly took the lead and never looked back after that.

Final Tally

Roger Nichols         15

The Collage              5

Next Battle Monday August 1st

      My next Battle of the Bands match will be similar to this previous one with an obscure song that to my knowledge has only two recorded versions--one by a band who by name might seem to by very well known and the other by a band that in its heyday was very popular, but not often heard now.  It's another sunshiny psychedelic genre song from an early "rock opera" concept album that predates The Who's Tommy.  

      Next Friday I'll have a Flashback Friday post that will be a lead-in to my BOTB.  In the meantime, I'll be doing my best to visit your blogs in whatever downtime I have.  Bear with me--my road computer situation is not always the best.

       Are you at home or on vacation?   Are you beating the heat?   With clues I provided, do you have any ideas about my next BOTB song choice?

And We're Off and Running...

         Or to be more precise, we're off and driving.  As this blog post goes up on site we'll be heading north toward Seattle and then in the days to come we'll arc across Canada as we wend our way to New Jersey.   We have a long route mapped out ahead of us, but within ten days we'll be enjoying a visit with our daughters and their families and especially our grandchildren.

          What this means as far as blogging goes is that I might be a bit more scarce at times.   I still plan to post my Battle of the Bands posts on the 1st and 15th of the months as well as hopefully timely BOTB results posts.   And I hope to have a few other scattered posts for #IWSG, Flashback Friday, and Question of the Month--those might be integrated into other posts if necessary.

           I'll still be trying to visit blogs as much as I can, but if you don't see me then you know what's up.   Things should be back to normal schedule after August 15th.

            Something of interest that caught my attention and might be of interest to some of you over age 50 is the announcement of Karen Walker's anthology on aging.  She wrote about it here if you'd like to submit something for consideration.  Sounds like a project that I might participate in if I can find the opportunity timewise after my trip.   Check it out to see if it might be of interest to you as well.

           Hope you are all having a safe and happy summer.   See you around!

          Oh, and if you missed my previous Battle of the Bands results you can find those here.

   

And Now the Intensity Begins

Eternal clock (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Part One is Nearly Done

      My first three weeks of "vacation" have been relatively computer friendly.  Though I've not been able to visit all of your blogs as much as I might when I'm home, I have nevertheless been able to make reasonable rounds in keeping up with many of your blogs.  Sorry to those of you I have missed, but I think you might understand.

      So far I've been able to keep up with the Battle of the Bands posts reasonably well and I've managed to continue posting on my blog Wrote By Rote where I've been attempting to report on my vacation activities and reflect on my trip in general.  Things are about to change I think.

        First of all I need to wrap up as much as I can here in Tennessee. My time is running out here and there's much to do.  I will not get it all done, but I'll focus on the main things.  For more on my thoughts about this you can read my most recent post at Wrote By Rote.


Moving On

       On Thursday I'll be departing for a brief visit to Charlotte, NC where I'll be visiting my old employer's headquarters and catching up with some of my old work friends.  Friday night I'll head up to Danville, Virginia where I'll be seeing my son.    Then Sunday I'll start making my way to New Jersey where I'll be for three more weeks.  This is when my blogging time might get pinched.   I'll likely be doing a lot of  babysitting and playing the Grandpa role for my four grandchildren who live there.

        For one thing, a new grand baby arrived on July 8th.  Thomas John Z came into this world at 20 inches long with a weight of 8 lbs 10 oz.  Mama Ada Z has her hands full already with a four year old and an eighteen-month old.  She is going to have to have the patience of a saint in the years ahead.  Some of you might remember my daughter Ada Z as the designer of the badge for the 2012 A to Z Challenge.        

     

Thomas John Z born July 8, 2015

     Proud Dad Tom Sr had been starting to feel overwhelmed in a house full of females so now he has an ally in Baby Tom.  My son-in-law is a big Chicago Bears fan and an ex-football player himself and I'm sure he'll have his son in training with the pigskin as soon as he can.  Mama Ada already has reported that she calms the new arrival best when she hums the "Bear Down" song.  I don't know that song, but I guess I'll be learning it soon enough.

Proud big sister Lillee with new baby brother.

     Giving Ada ample time to tend to Baby Thomas I'll be spending time with the sisters Lillee and Grace and also my other granddaughter Marley who will soon be 7 years old.  I'm sure by the time my wife arrives from Houston on August 5th I'll be welcoming her relief in helping me with the girls.  And I know she's excited as well to see all of the New Jersey grandkids.

Time Flies!

       My month in New Jersey will fly by I know.   I've got granddad duties slated for that time, but hopefully there will also be some time for my blogging duties.  Maybe I'll still be able to meet with some bloggers if meetings can be arranged.  Also I'm waiting for word concerning a meeting in the Big Apple.  If I can swing this it could have some big implications for me.  I'm hoping, but I'm also prepared for it all to fall through.  Life goes on no matter what and I will simply make up a new strategy if that's what's necessary.  I'm not saying any more about this since right now there's not much to say.

       I've got Battle of the Bands posts scheduled through August so those will be appearing on the proper days.  I hope I can participate adequately for each posting--I will do my best.  The one that will probably pose the biggest problem for me is the BOTB post on August 15th.  I'll be in the midst of the most intensive travel days of all as we make our way across the country back to L.A.  Then my life will be back to normal--or maybe better.  Time will tell and that telling will come quickly.

        Be sure to come back this Wednesday July 15th for my next Battle of the Bands when I'll be featuring a song about the distance of a notable celestial body.

       Will I be anywhere near you in the weeks to come?   Can you guess what my song choice will be in the next Battle of the Bands?   Anyone want to come help me babysit? 

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Does Cutting Back on Blog Posting for Summer Hurt? (#!WSG)

Insecure Writer's Support Group

      It's the first Wednesday of the month which as most of you know means it's time again for another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the monthly event hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh.   This is the time when writers from all over the globe discuss writing and all of the conflicting good and bad feelings that come with the pursuit of the literary arts.  This is a forum for commiseration and encouragement.  Maybe things aren't going quite like you'd like or maybe you're a bit nervous about what the future holds.   You might even be riding the high horse of success and feel like you're winning the race.   Whatever your circumstance join us and tell us what you're thinking.

Summertime Blogging Schedule

      Most of us would probably acknowledge that our blog traffic tends to drop some during the summer months.  In fact, a good many of you might even cut back during the summer months or even go so far as to put your blog on hiatus until about September or so.  I've seen this and it does make sense in a lot of ways.

         Every year I tend to do some traveling which interferes to some extent with my blogging activities.  I've tried experiments such as focusing on using guest posts to minimize my own energies on blogging.   Last year I cut back on posting days and tried to keep my posts shorter.   That approach worked well for me and when something works it's probably not a bad idea to stick with it.

         So for the summer of 2015 it's gonna be less posts and posts that might be a bit shorter than normal.   My schedule plan will be to essentially post Mondays only.  However there will be a few times when this will vary.  Since I will still be participating with Battle of the Bands posts on the 1st and 15th of each month and also the #IWSG posts on the first Wednesdays of the month there will be a couple of Wednesday posts in July and two Saturday posts in August that might essentially replace my normal Monday posts.   I might throw in a couple odd posts now and then, but for the most part my schedule will be as I've described.

          There will be summer cutbacks on my other blogs as well.  On my spiritually themed blog A Few Words there has already been the post Temporary Hiatus announcing my summer plans.  Since this is like my mission blog in a sense, I almost feel like I should keep that one going over the others, but averaging less than 50 visitors per post and typically receiving only a couple comments at the most, I feel like taking a break on that site won't be a drastic loss to the blogging world.  

           Tomorrow an announcement post will appear on my dream blog A Faraway View telling readers about my intentions for the summer vacation season.  That blog too has a small number of visitors per post, but it does have a loyal readership who regularly leave comments on every post.  Last year I posted dream song videos which didn't do too badly, but still it took time to compile that.  This year I'm going to save the time and not post on that blog at all until September.

           My memoir blog Wrote By Rote will continue to post each Saturday as long as I don't run into complications doing so.  That blog does have a more solid reader base and I'll do as I did last year and tie in my summer travels with the topics I will be sharing on that blog.  I also often tie in my Battle of the Bands contests with posts on Wrote By Rote.   

           Now, some of you might point back to my A to Z Challenge Elements of Blogging post "UpDate!".   I stirred a bit of controversy by chastising "slacker bloggers" who didn't maintain their blogs regularly.  Take note though that I am following my own guidelines about announcing my intentions ahead of time and I will still be posting regularly unless some circumstance prevents me from doing so.  

         Of course, here is where the insecurities develop.   It might be argued that less posting might lose some of my existing audience.  I think anyone else who has cut back on posting days can vouch that all it does is give them more time for other things and give each of their posts more time for other bloggers to visit and leave comments.  I think Alex J Cavanaugh might agree with this point.

         A complete break like I'm doing on my lesser visited blogs might cause me to lose some of my audience so that I have to go back to build them up, but considering the few that could be lost I don't guess that's much building to worry about.  I've got minor insecurities about these blogs but I always do throughout the year.

        The biggest problem with the summer schedule is that I have less time and opportunity to make the visiting rounds that are required to keep visitors coming to my blog.   I have my regulars who I can usually count on--I thank all of you--but there are always those who need to be reminded to visit me by my visit to them.   If I use the past summers as an indicator, I know my comments will drop which is something that would happen whether I was keeping a summer schedule or not.  The fact is that a lot of people are busy doing non-blogging activities like I'll be doing.  If I don't visit your posts as much during the summer, I hope you will understand my situation.

       Really it's not a big issue--just a little nagging insecurity.  It's the old out of sight out of mind conundrum of marketing and maintaining a public image.  But it's only a blog.  But it's my blog and I've worked hard to keep it active and to have a relatively high profile.  It's my baby and I worry about my babies.   

        I may be slowing down for the summer, but I will be here.  I hope you'll be here with me.

        Do you see your summer blog traffic slow down in summer?   Do your blogging activities tend to slow down during summer?    What will you be doing this summer?

*************************

Arlee's A to Z Summer Road Trip

        I wonder if I might be able to meet up with some of you during my travels this summer.  I'm going to be all over the country and bound to have some time on my hands.   If we could set up some summer meetings that might be fun.  If you're interested, be sure to visit Wrote By Rote in my post upcoming Saturday June 6th and I'll give you some more details.    

Don't forget to vote on my current Battle of the Bands 

If you have not voted yet then visit Battle of the Bands and cast your vote.   I'll be adding votes up tomorrow Thursday June 4th to announce the winner on Friday June 5th.

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