Oh How I Miss You!

         Of all the bloggers you read  who would you miss most if they stopped posting?   Or what about the blogs that have gone dormant with the bloggers silenced for who knows what reason?  Who do you miss reading?    Today is our day to tell about those bloggers inactive or still heartily chugging away who somehow touched us or made a dent in our world with their writing.                  



 November 8, 2013 - hosted by Andrew Leon, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and Matthew MacNish

The bloggers we really miss…and the ones we would really miss! 

Do you have a couple blogger buddies who aren’t posting as often? Those who’ve pulled back and seem absent from the blogging world? Do you have blogger buddies you are grateful they are still around and would miss if they vanished? Now is your chance to show your appreciation and spotlight them!

On November 8, list one to three bloggers you really miss and one to three bloggers you would miss if they stopped blogging. Then go leave a comment on those blogs.

Our blogger friends are special – time to let them know! 

Gone But Not Forgotten

         My bad memory tends to obfuscate people and things that don't stay on my mind.   If I don't seem to comment on your posts as much as I used to it's only because I'm trying my best to keep up with visiting those who have commented on my most recent post and I must apologize for not even doing so well at that.   I am trying to do better.

          There are several blogs that I know that haven't been posting.  It would take a bit of research to think of who they belong to since because they have been out of my sight they are in the deeper recesses of my mind.  And I probably need to invest my mind in some other things besides trying to remember those blogs.

           One blog does stand out since it is frequently on my mind.  The Saga of the Concrete Jungle was from a blogger whom I helped get started with his blog.   He had a number of interesting posts and then left as he was going in a good direction with his subject matter.

            This blogger is hindered by the fact that he is a prison inmate who does not have internet access.  His half-sister managed his blog for him using post material that she entered for him.  In turn she would print out comments to send to him so he could respond.  It was a slow process that fettered any effective social media interaction.   His half-sister has since had a couple of kids and a job that keeps her too busy to manage the blog.  Hopefully one day new arrangements can be made for this blogger.

Don't Stop!

          Last year I did a post that mentioned the commenters I'd miss.   There are plenty more and if you are a regular commenter at Tossing It Out then you know who you are.   I just want to say a big thanks to all of you for keeping me motivated.  But as I mentioned in times past, I appreciate all commenters who stop by my site even if it's just once a year.    The comments keep me posting.

         Don't think it's copping out for me to say I'd miss all of the bloggers I follow, but I would and I do.   Sadly for me there are so many great blogs to visit and not enough time to see every post.  Some of those blogs might be out of my mind at times, but I'd miss them if I went to visit and they were no longer there.  It's very sad to visit a site only to see that the last post was months ago or more or even worse that the site is no longer even there.

         However, in the spirit of this blogging event, I will mention a few bloggers who deserve attention from more readers because of some of the excellent content they deliver.  Good writing combined with topics that make me think more comes from Larry at DiscConnected, Andrew Leon at Strange Pegs and Stephen T. McCarthy at Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends.  They often leave some good comments on my blog and I'd especially  miss those.

         But let me reiterate--I'd miss all of you!

  Battle of the Bands Winner!

       

        My most recent contest was two versions of "Iron Man" (click link to compare the versions).   First was the original by Black Sabbath and up against them was the mellow Cardigans version.  It was not even close in the final tally.  Even the votes for the Cardigans were half hearted as Black Sabbath easily swept the contest 20 to 3.

        Who did I vote for?  I always loved the Sabbath version, but now I'm more of a Cardigans guy.  They did a rather daring and unique interpretation and it makes sense to me.   Change that Cardigans to 4 votes and they still lose big time.

          Next Battle comes next Friday November 15th.   What will I pick?   Hmm. 

  

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My Plan of Attacking the Challenge

          Some of you have your strategies in place for the April Challenge.  That's great!   To have an organized plan of posting, visiting, and commenting should be of great help in making the Challenge less daunting and more efficiently approached.

          On the other hand, those of you who plan to just dive in and write as you go and visit blogs as whim takes you will undoubtedly have fun and find the Challenge full of surprises.  There's nothing wrong with that approach either.

           It comes down to what kind of adventurer you are.  Perhaps you study the maps so you'll have a good idea where you are going and you pack your supplies so you'll be ready for just about anything you may encounter.  Or maybe you just traipse into the wilderness, machete in hand, hacking your way through the undergrowth and surviving off the land and from what the inhabitants in the unknown territories have to offer you.   Be assured that in this Challenge the natives are friendly and the adventures are many.

 My Challenge Strategy

         I have formulated a plan for April.  I won't be held to this plan--we all know about how the best laid plans can go.   From my experience with last year's Challenge and with other blog events I think I've learned a few things about approaching something like this.  But of course I've never participated in a blog event as massive as this year's A to Z Challenge.  Any of my plans are subject to change.

   Here are my visiting "rules" for this year:

1.)      I will probably only respond to comments that call for a response. Otherwise I will leave blanket thank you notes for all the "nice post" and other complimentary comments.

2.)      I am going to try to visit all who leave comments on my blog and if there are too many then I will limit my visits to blogs that I am less familiar with or who have left me an especially impressive comment that has drawn me to them.

3.)        I am going to use the Navigation buttons that Marcus at Writing Investigated created.   At the top of my sidebar you will notice the "Next Blog" and "Surprise Me" buttons.  I am finding these to work quite well so far.  To read more about this follow the link below the buttons.  I will try to visit at least 10 to 40 sites per day with this button system.

4. )       I may also check out posts that appear on my sidebar or my Google Dashboard that sound especially interesting whenever I have time.


5.)     I'm going to attempt to visit 40 to 100 blogs per day.

      Here is my plan for posting:

1.)       I am trying to preschedule as many posts as I can before this Friday April 1st.

2.)       My theme will be "Alliterative Daily Doubles" with each day's post based on paired words beginning with the letter of the day.  For example, Friday's post is going to be "Ambitious April" in honor of the kick-off day. 
3.)       The subject matter and style of the posts will be random and varied.

4.)        I currently do not plan to do any motivational posts regarding the Challenge.  This could change just as it did last year when I revised some of my topics in order to cheer on Challenge participants.

A Few Closing Thoughts

           Don't forget-- the Challenge is yours.   You have your reasons for doing this, so I encourage you to stay true to yourself and what you hope to achieve.  At the same time don't forget to be courteous to your fellow bloggers.  Try to be fair in your visitation and comments.    And if you believe in the creed of following other blogs and wanting them to follow yours--do so.  Just remember that not all blog owners care about the follow, so respect that.  Be in this for you and for others as well.  We all want this Challenge to be a rewarding experience.

             Finally, I am going to give a plug for a blogger on the list who has a special circumstance.  The Saga of the Concrete Jungle is #525 on the Linky list.  Dan, the owner of this blog, is a prisoner who does not have access to a computer.  He has sent all of his posts for April to his sister, who regularly posts for him.  My understanding is that his posts for the Challenge will be a serialized story themed in accordance with the alphabet challenge.  Dan is unable to respond immediately to comments on his blog due to his circumstance, but he eventually does respond.   If you visit him and leave a comment, be sure to subscribe to the comments so you can see his responses down the road.   And realize that as much as he'd like to visit all of your blogs, this is not possible.    So if you're willing, check out his first couple of posts and see if it's something you'll want to stick with till the end.

              In parting, I wish all of you the best blogging event you've ever had as you head into the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge of 2011.   Let me or any of the other co-hosts know if you have any comments, questions, or problems concerning the Challenge and we'll do our best to address them.  Now let the fun begin!

          Have you devised a Challenge strategy for yourself?   
 
 
.

A Special Friday Request

Daniel Jackson --It seems ironic that the photos they offer the prisoners have the idyllic tropical backgrounds as though they were vacation pictures.

I encourage any of you who will to read the following post:

http://thesagaoftheconcretejungle.blogspot.com/2010/11/burden.html

Dan is calling out to those who will listen to him.  I hope that it might be you and that you might send him a word of encouragement in his comments.

Still Here on Saturday Today

          I fully intend to stop my Saturday posts like I had indicated a couple of weeks ago, but I received another award and I wanted to thank the blogger who honored me with this.  So since I'm here anyway, I thought I'd go ahead and make my official announcement about NaNoWriMo.

I do plan to participate in NaNoWriMo 2010!

           This will be my second year of participation.  I made it past the 50,000 word goal last year--in other words I "won"--and I plan to do the same this year.  I have no idea what I will be writing about this year.  My plan is to do the same as I did last year, which is come up with my story on November 1 (or possibly during the weekend prior) and just start writing. 

            I enjoyed the challenge that this method presented to me last year.  I will be jumping into the project cold and basically improvising as I go along--basically seat of the pants write as I go.  Sure, I'll start with a basic story and at some point start keeping a timeline so I don't lose track of the action.  Last year I wrote a sort of spiritually based crime story based on the book of Jonah.  This year I believe I will go for some kind of science fiction story, but who knows what will pop into my head when it's time to start.

             Good luck to all of you who are participating and I'm sure we'll be keeping track of one another's progress.  Incidentally, my NaNo name is "Wordleeness"--don't ask me why, but it's just what I came up with at the last moment last year and I can't change it now.  Feel free to link up with me as a writing buddy.

And now for another Versatile Blogger Award!

         I received The Versatile Blogger Award from Madeleine at Scribble and Edit.   I've gotten this a few other times, but I guess we bloggers can never be too versatile--so my utmost appreciation to you Madeleine.  I will play by the rules Madeleine passed on since they are not too demanding.

Award Rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award and provide a link to their blog


2. Share 7 things about yourself. (Not compulsory)


3. Pass the award along to 5 other bloggers whom you have recently discovered and whose blogs you think are fantastically versatile/ resourceful/functional/adaptable.


4. Contact those bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about their award.

Seven things about myself (as though I haven't talked about myself enough already in this blog):

1)  For my social studies project in the 6th grade I did a report on Chile.  I was thinking about this while watching the miners being rescued this week.  Then, while I was working on some of my Tossing It Out Tuesday clean up, I happened to run across this old report.

2)  I've kept a lot of my old schoolwork.

3)  When I was in the 6th grade I wrote a story about a bridge being build from the Ecuadorian mainland to the Galapagos Islands.

4)   When I was 46 years old I married a woman who was from Ecuador.

5)   I once had a friend who was a circus aerialist and who came from the country of Colombia in South America.

6)   Earlier this year I did an internet search for my friend from Colombia and discovered that he had died in the 1990s.  He had fallen while doing his circus act.  He was in his 50s at the time.

7)  The year before I started my solo show business career I had contemplated walking from Tennessee to California and then eventually to Peru to discover the mysteries of the Incas.  At the time I believed that the Incan society was founded by aliens from another planet.

           And now for some other versatile bloggers who are deserving of this award and I don't think have received it yet:

1.   Jules at Trying to Get Over the Rainbow--  She is a very versatile writer whom you should visit if you haven't been to her blog yet.

2.   Ruby at Blabbin' Grammy --- Ruby is such a fine lady and those who read her blog tend to become endeared to it.  She recently pulled up stakes from living for I don't know how long in East Tennessee and moved to Texas.  What an adventurer!

3.   Andrew Green at Who Wants Taters??? -- Now here's a different sort of movie review blog.  Andrew posts a story or essay that is usually very funny and then relates it to an equally funny movie review.  This is a very clever and unique approach and I think you might enjoy checking out his blog.

4.  Marguerite at Cajun Delights -- Actually she has received this award once, but I just wanted to spread the word about her wonderful blog for those of you who haven't visited it yet.  She blogs about life in the Louisiana bayou country and food.   And let me warn you right now:  If you go to this site hungry, prepare to head to the kitchen to start whipping up something to eat after you read her blog.   She has some of the best recipes.

5.  Dan at The Saga of the Concrete Jungle --  Since one of the purposes of "awards" is to call attention to blogs that deserve some attention, I periodically like to direct my readers to this blog.  Dan posts poems and song lyrics on Tuesdays and essays on Thursdays.  He is a very fine writer.  I encourage all of you to stop by his blog as much as you can and leave your comments.   He will not visit your blog because he has no internet access.   Dan is in prison and is unable to use the internet.  His sister posts his articles for him.  If you comment he will answer, although it will take a few weeks since he must correspond with his sister through the mail.  He would really appreciate having readers for what he writes and getting comments about what he is writing.   I hope you will consider at least taking a look his blog and at least saying hi to him.  

Have a great weekend and be back on Monday.

Waterslide Season

           Here we are on the giant waterslide rushing downhill to the end of summer.  Sure, we're only a couple weeks in, but it's going to go fast judging by how fast the year's been rushing by already.   And it's been hot, hot, hot!  It's been hot across much of the United States-- that is from what I've been hearing on some of the blogs, but fortunately so far we've had a pretty pleasant summer in Southern California.

         It was pretty hot on Tossing It Out this week.  The week started with my list of my 10 Hot Latin Favorites.  If you like Latin influenced music you can still go check it out and tell me what you think.  On Tuesday I talked about hot, sizzling carne asada cooked on the grill--a great summertime cook out treat.

         I want to express a big thank you to all of those who responded so positively to my Wednesday post about Daniel Jackson's blog from prison, The Saga of the Concrete Jungle.  If you have not yet visited this blog I encourage you to check out my post first, and then go visit Dan's blog.

         Thursday and Friday were hot topic days for debate and thought.  You can still add your opinions, but read through the comments on these posts--I was very impressed by what many of you had to contribute here. 

          The upcoming week will hopefully be as equally interesting as the last.  Tomorrow (Sunday) I continue with my study of the book of Jonah--we find out what happens next after the big fish spits Jonah out on dry land.  Monday I will be eschewing the favorites lists and returning to a Blog Boggled entry where I will be talking about some blogging related issues.  I will return to another list format on the following Monday, July 19, as I invite all who are interested in posting the Soundtrack of Your Life. 

         This coming Tuesday I will be continuing a story that I started in March about products made by the Dolores Canning Company.   I had offered up my chili recipe using a Dolores Chili Brick at that time.  This past week I was delighted to receive a shipment of Dolores Pickled Pigs Feet and Pork Rinds.  During the weekend I will conduct a sampling of these products with a panel of family members and we will give our verdict and hopefully have some pictures.

        The balance of the week will be rounded out with some yet to be determined topics, including my traditional debate topic for Thursday.   Hope you will stay tuned throughout the week for all the fun.

  

            I wanted to mention a favorite post this past week and that was Marvin's Old Silly's Free Spirit Blog which had a nice post:  Does God Go To Your Church?.   This one really spoke to me this week.

          Oh, and one more thing, have you noticed any of the changes in my blog yet? Probably not. They've been pretty subtle so far, but I assure you that they have been happening slowly and will continue in the days and weeks to come.

And now some awards:

           From Carol at Under the Tiki Hut comes The Versatile Blogger Award.  I'm not sure how many times this has been passed to me now, but who's counting.  It's always a pleasure to be recognized as "versatile"--why what the heck, it's nice to recognized period.

            Carol made her customized rules for accepting this award:   List your seven most memorable moments OR new words to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

           Since I'm not feeling particularly creative in a songworthy way, here are seven memorable moments:

1.   My son's birth
2.  My first daughter's birth
3.  My second daughter's birth
4.   My third daughter's birth
5.   My birth-- well, I don't actually remember the moment, but it was memorable and my mother has reminded me about it my whole life.
6.   My and my wife's wedding.
7.   My lunch -- okay, okay--maybe I won't remember it that long but (ugh) I'm remembering it right now.

           And that's my duty done, so now I have to pass this on to five more Versatile Bloggers and they are:

1.   Lisa at 1 Wasabi Mommy
2.   Jessica at Alliterative Allomorph
3.   Sig at Beadedbears Nonsense and Complete Waste of Time
4.  Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs
5.   Marjorie at Everything Emerald

There you go bloggers!  If you want it then it's yours; if you already have it now you have another one; and if you don't want it then ignore it.  You can follow the same rules that Carol gave or make up your own.  And the rest of you make sure you stop by to visit them and let them know you saw their award here.

And Now Another Award:

            From Patricia at Patricia Stoltey's Blog comes the "Creative Writer" Blogger Award, formerly known as Lesa's Bald-Faced Liar Award.   I'm glad they changed the name cause I like to tell the truth, but of course sometimes I tell stories that aren't really true. 

I'm sure you've all seen this one and already know the rules, but here they are anyway:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to them.
2. Add the award to your blog.
3. Tell six outrageous lies about yourself and one truth. (Another variant: Tell six truths and one outrageous lie. YOU get to guess which variant I chose – and which statements are true, as well as which are lies.)
4. Nominate six creative liars–I mean writers–and post links to them.
5. Let your nominees know that they have been nominated.

Here are 5 lies and 1 truth:

1.  I was once a roadie for the Marshall Tucker Band (a popular country rock band in the 70s)
2.  I was the salutatorian of my graduating class in high school.
3.  I have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.
4.  I performed in a circus that featured Ted Cassidy and Jackie Coogan from the television show "The Addams Family".
5. While rafting down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon, the raft I was in capsized and I broke my leg, necessitating a helicopter rescue out of the canyon.
6.  In the late 70s I spent one season working as a featured magic act in a carnival sideshow.

There you go -- which one is true?

Now here are my nominees:

1.  Fatherhood and other Common Terrors
2.  Welcome to my World of Poetry  (I don't think you have this one yet)
3.  Alex J Cavanaugh
4.  Falen Formulates Fiction
5.  Creepy Query Girl
6.  Unedited

         There you go -- that's six.  Hey! Somebody want to run over and tell them I gave them this in case I forget?  I do tend to forget.  

          Have a great week end one and all!

What Would You Do?

            What would you do if your written work was being posted on your blog on a regular basis and never got any comments?   What if you did not have any internet access to visit other blogs upon which to comment and open up the possibility of having them come back to visit your blog and comment on it?  What would you do if you wrote and wrote with the hopes of being read, but nobody ever read what you were saying?

              Most of us have options in our writing endeavors.  We may have different reasons why we write.  We may be seeking different results.   The fact remains that most of us can go to our computers whenever we want and write our own writings or go to the blogs of others to read what they have to say.  We can establish online friendships and communicate with one another.  We can seek advice or receive encouragement.  But what would you do if none of that were available to you and you could only write, hoping that eventually someone, somewhere might read and might have something to say to you?  Would you still write?

            There is a man by the name of Dan who has been writing for many years under just that circumstance.  He aspires to be published one day, but he does not have the same resources that most of us do.   He is in prison.  He has little contact with the outside world and is unsure how to get his writing outside of his world of confinement. 

             Recently, one of Dan's sisters encouraged him to start sending her some of his writing so she could start a blog for him.  He sends her several pieces at a time and she posts twice a week.  Sometimes he writes poetry or song lyrics while other times he contributes brief essays.  He yearns for his voice to be heard.  He would like someone to tell him what they think about his writing or just give a word of encouragement.

             A few weeks ago some of you may have received the following message from me:

There is a blogger out there who needs your encouragement more than most others do. He is a prison inmate who is attempting to have a voice. He has been writing for several years and would like someone to read what he has to say. He does not have internet access and his submissions must be posted by his sister, who in turn sends him comments for him to respond to. I hope you will at least take a look at his blog and then if you are moved to do so, leave a comment for him and follow his blog and tell others about it.

            I decided it would be easier to make a general post for all to read rather than try to send this to many people individually.  Some of you have already signed up to follow his blog and have been commenting.  If you are one of those I hope you will leave a comment here encouraging others to do the same.  Likewise, if you are just now reading this and would like to extend a kindness for another, perhaps you can link to this post on your blog so that others may see this or talk about it on your own blog.

            To alleviate any paranoid fears that some of you may have, remember Dan does not have internet access so he could not communicate directly with you.  His sister is a fine young lady who I'm sure would be more than happy to address any concerns that you leave in the comments of Dan's blog.  She screens everything before it gets to him.  I feel confident that communicating through his blog is totally safe and will not put you in any harm's way. 

            Please just look at his blog to give him a chance.   If you are willing, leave a comment.  And if you can, add your name as a follower.  Here are two sample posts that you might want to start with to give you an idea of who Dan is:

My Brother..... My Friend  --- This is a post from Dan's sister which will give a little more insight to the situation.

Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself -- this is Dan's introductory post


          Some of  you may want to read Matthew 25:31-46 to refresh your memory about what the Bible says about those in prison.  It's a small sacrifice.  I know that so many of you are like me and have a lot of blogs on your blog roll that you try to get to and time is so limited.  But Dan's posts are short and they are only twice a week.  Just a visit now and then I'm sure would be greatly appreciated.

          What would you do if it were a friend of yours, or a brother, a father, a relative, or one of your own children?  What would you do if it were you?   What will you do?  I hope you will at least leave a comment here to let me know how you feel about this.

            Thank you.