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.
As you may know, my blog is currently involved with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 10th Edition. I'm doing a lot of writing on the blog for this month and I'm a bit insecure about it at times. Like am I going to finish well and on time?
The Insecure Writer's Support Group
Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh'sInsecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
April 3 question: If you could use a wish to help you write just ONE scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be? (examples: fight scene / first kiss scene / death scene / chase scene / first chapter / middle chapter / end chapter, etc.)
As I'm focusing on memoir writing for my A to Z theme--This Is Me--I am conflicted occasionally about what exactly to write about. Theoretically part of my blogging theme would be a sort of forecast or speculation about the future--my future and maybe yours if you can relate to what I'm thinking. So easy it would be to just wish the posts done, but then on the page it might seem like a bad idea blurted out without thinking. My move to California might have been like one of those blurted ideas. That was over 25 years ago and I guess it turned out okay. Like anything there are good sides and there are bad sides. Now I smile to recall those old song lyrics that stated "California's the place you oughta be" with the ironic thought that I had moved here from East Tennessee. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to sound like a bad sport since I made my decisions in life and need to deal with them one way or another and accept the consequences as they are dealt. California is cool in many ways. The weather is generally pretty nice. One has access to a variety of options when living in an urban area. So I guess I shouldn't complain as long as I can get on my computer to keep up with blogging. But what if I didn't have working internet? And no power? That would likely mean that the power was out all around me. Maybe the whole Los Angeles area and even all of California. That would have to be the result of some major catastrophic event. Food would quickly be gone from the shelves and fuel would be difficult if not impossible to find. We'd be trapped in a major metropolitan area running out of our personal stores of food until we were looted and maybe even killed. I really shouldn't think about this kind of stuff, but my thoughts go wild. It's California. That's what it is. Now I do feel a bit insecure about my writing. The computer is still on, but for how long? Do you feel secure in the community where you live? How do you think your household would fare in the event of catastrophic infrastructure fail that left you without power and running water? Would you consider California on your wish list of places to settle down?
Books and Blogging--of course! What better words to use for my "B" entry...
Since my early childhood I have always been fascinated with books. Reading was one of my primary activities when I was growing up. After I started high school I began thinking about writing books of my own. I started a few and jotted down ideas for others. Other than a couple of almost-finished books, I haven't completed anything yet.
My discovery of blogging was a great find for me as far as blowing off writing steam. Once I actively started blogging I began to think of making money from the activity. Not much happened for me on that angle. But I didn't particularly pursue monetization of my blogs with any active vigor. I began to turn my thoughts to books.
Books and blogging. I'm not the only one, you know. Many of us are blogging about books or the like. I mostly blog about music these days with my Battle of the Bands, which if you missed my Battle for the letter "A" you might scroll back a day to vote on it.
The way I blog might change in the future, but for now I'll keep doing my Battles and monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group posts (there's one of those coming up in my next post). Writing my own book and making my own music might become more my focus in coming months. My blog is likely to evolve if things start looking productive in the realm of writing and music--or something else for that matter.
I'm not planning to stop "tossing it out" to readers as long as readers remain with me and my heart and mind are still engrossed in the activity. Let me say simply that if I manage to start making progress in reaching some of my current life dreams, then I'll blog about that if I keep blogging.
That's the way I guess it has been all along and so it shall continue. For now blogging is a part of my life. Like books are a part of my life.
Why did you start blogging? What was your original focus for your blog? How has your blogging changed since you first began?
Love it or hate it, The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is here for the 2019 edition--the 10th year! Try to at least enjoy the ride for the next month and since you're here on this page why not keep on reading...
When I started this friendly little Challenge in 2010 with around 100 other bloggers assembled in about a week's time, I don't think any of us thought it would still be going ten years later. But here we are still going strong! So to kick off my A to Z posts I offer A as in "Arlee" (that's me!). If you haven't read the A to Z story you can find it here.
Actually this first post is merely my introduction to me. All of the April posts will be essentially about Arlee to some extent. Something those who follow this blog already know is that I like music a lot and because of that my primary activity on this blog in the past couple years has been the Battle of the Bands posts. That's how I'm kicking off this month (and every month on the 1st). I hope you'll be willing to play along. This post and the one on April 15th will be the only ones during the month that will feature music videos so don't be scared off by what's happening here today if you don't like listening to music videos.
I hope you play along and enjoy the songs...
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bandsisthe blogging event started byFar Away Seriesand now hosted byStMcC 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.
Two Hot Latina Favorites
In addition to music, I also have a great admiration for women. I am especially fond of Latinas. Now, to keep myself out of trouble in the improbable event that my wife is reading this, I should state here that my absolute favorita hot Latina is my wife, Betty, who is from Ecuador. I think she won't mind my musical crushes on the artists I'm featuring in this Battle. I'm a fan of the music of both of these lovely singers and I hope you'll enjoy hearing their music as well. If for some reason the embedded videos don't work, you can click on the song titles in the headers of the two selections to find alternate versions of the song. Take a listen and let us know your favorite...
This artist was the lead singer of Grupo Límite, a Norteño style band, before departing on a solo career singing primarily in the Ranchera,style. I first saw Alicia and the Grupo on some concert show on Spanish language television station back around 1998. I fell in love with her immediately-- (and the group's sound). I particularly like this song "Capricho Loco." The structure of the song is interesting to my musical perception. Then there is that flow of the melody with the percussive punches throughout. In a sense--to me at least--this is almost a perfectly constructed song extremely well executed in accordance to its genre. I love it, but see what you think...
This Mexican pop music artist is literally star of stage, screen, and television. She's one of the most well-known stars of telenovelas (Spanish soap operas) and has appeared in a number of films and television shows. In 2000 she married Tommy Mottola, a music executive who had previously been married to Mariah Carey. She remains active in the entertainment business.
I used to hear Thalia's "Sangre" often when I started listening to Spanish pop stations in L.A. back around 1996. The song haunted me for a long time before I finally discovered who sang it. The following is a video version that I've been listening to for a long time and still haven't tired of it...
Time to Vote! This is a tough choice for me because I like both artists a lot and these are two of my favorite songs. But I'm going to vote for one of these as my preference. What about you?--Vote for your favorite version! Have some fun with us. What's your favorite between these two choices? 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.
Are you a fan of Spanish language music? Do you ever listen to popular modern music that is sung in a language other than English? When did you start blogging?
