State Of The Blog: 2021 Recap

STATE O' THE BLOG

2021 Edition

This year my "State O' The Blog" year in review post is a few days and about a week late. Because I really a lazy SOB. OK So for the 2021 blogging tally OH MY I  MADE THE QUOTA! Thanks to doing a huge bunch of Album Reviews that I had originally posted on Rate Your Music on a weekly basis. Yes that brings up the yearly average and makes me happier.

Here are the monthlies from 2021:

January: 2
February: 1
March: 5
April: 5
May: 6
June: 4
July: 4
August: 2
September: 1
October: 1
November: 1
December: 1

TOTAL: 33
Monthly Average: 2.75

This breaks the 6 year losing streak. 

Now lets look at how the 2021 blogging matches up with past years:

2006 - 32
2007 - 43
2008 - 36
2009 - 34
2010 - 18
2011 - 20
2012 - 38
2013 - 93
2014 - 57
2015 - 24
2016 - 29
2017 - 16
2018 - 18
2019 - 12

2020 - 17

2021 - 33
Yearly Average: 43.33

What a relief. 

As for my trading card blogs (CaptKirk42's Trading Card Blog and Curly W Cards) both of them I only did the bare 1 post per month minimum so they both only have 12 posts for the year 2021 just like for 2020. For those my only posting goal is to make at least the bare minimum of 1 post per month, 12 posts per year.

Happy New Year: Welcome 2022 Goodbye 2021

GOODBYE 2021 HELLO 2022

2021 was another COVID-19 Pandemic year. This has gotten beyond annoying and some of the powers that be seem to want to keep everything shut down and keeping the world in a mess. 'Nuff said about that I don't like being political.

Soon I will make my annual "State of the Blog" post to publish sometime early January. As far as my posting for 2021 went it was a bit more than just the bare minimum one post per month of most years. This was because of my catching up on my posted album reviews that I cranked out one a week to get them done. However I don't think my post quota goal was met. OH Well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Pop-Tarts Another Taste Test: Frosted Crisp Apple

 OK so here I am, well was a few months back, with another taste test of what I hope will be a restoration of childhood nostalgia. Once again I saw a different Apple of Pop-Tart on the grocery store shelves. This time it was FROSTED CRISP APPLE. Yum!

Now if you have read all my posts on this blog you might remember I have done a couple of Pop-Tart taste posts. One was for another apple flavor "Frosted Orchard Apple Cinnamon" and the other was of all things Fruit Loops. Back to this "Crisp Apple". On the surface it looks like another Kellogg's attempt to bring back the favorite "Frosted Dutch Apple". Right? Wrong. Well sort of. I don't know if they intentionally keep introducing apple flavors that are similar to the original Dutch Apple flavor or not.

As with many other Pop-Tart flavors this one is a bit dry due to the pastry part. The filling part was so-so unheated, but slightly edible when heated up (toasted). OH well.

I have come to the conclusion that due to the recipe changes of the pastry over the years, and the use of  dryer chemical sugar substitutes particularly in the frostings, they will never revive my old favorite flavor FROSTED DUTCH APPLE.

Ebay Reselling Update: September 2021

EBAY Reselling Update:
September 2021 Sales

My last Sales update April 2021 I had 1 sale and 39 listings in the store. 

So What Sold in Sep 2021?

1. The Heechee Saga: Heechee Rendezvous Bk. 3 by Frederik Pohl (1985, Paperback) $4.95 Plus $4 shipping

Total: $4.95

I sold just 1 item, been months since I've added new listings so no sales for a long time. I keep "thinking" of listing, wanting and plan to list but haven't done so. Anyway this book was bought by someone in Canada and with the prices of USPS first class shipping to Canada I lost a ton on this. In the faith of openness it cost me $21.25 to ship USPS First Class to Ontario Canada. I will no longer ship to Canada the only non US country I was shipping to. Now I will Only ship to US and US Territories that are part of the USPS system. 

After this shipping to Canada fiasco I went to edit an older listing I had and accidentally clicked "end listing". I immediately noticed and then had to go to my "ended" listings section and relist that older ancient listing. It's all good now.

I now have 38 store listings at a count of 48 units.

Some related links:

My Ebay Store: CaptKirk42s Federation Trading Post
My YouTube channel: klandersen42
Up On Ebay Videos: Episode 01 | Episode 02
Ecrater Store: CaptKirk42 (AKA: Kirk's Knook)

Ranting and Blogging Or Just Ranting?

 

The original title for this post was: "Stop Blogging Time...  Can't Post This" OK OK so that post title could be a little misleading. I am NOT going to stop blogging and I don't plan on this post having material or ideas that can not be posted online. At this moment I am unsure of what this post will truly be about. I had a passing thought of the M.C. Hammer "Can't Touch This" song but changing the words to "Stop! Blogging Time" then thought of the "Can't Post This". Long story even longer, I once again thought about what can I post about this month. I also wondered why do I blog anymore? Mostly because in some ways I still like doing it. My blogging has never attracted a huge gathering mostly because I have never been one of those posting monster bloggers that crank out a minimum of 1 post per day. Some bloggers post close to half a dozen posts per day almost every day. Yikes. I  have always tried to have quality over quantity. I don't do enough blogging to have my blog monetized, and I don't have a consistent subject I blog about that I could spam advertise on my blog. I also don't always go with the crowd or the flow. For this regular personal blog sometimes it is very difficult to come up with a subject to blog about. I don't like to post too much personal info, yet sometimes I do seek a little bit of attention. 

Blogging just for yourself is a bit odd. When you think about it if that is why you are "blogging" you should just keep a diary on you computer without posting it online. That or do the traditional diary writing with pen or pencil on plain paper or in a diary type book.

Then there are times when I seriously think about giving up blogging completely all of my blogs. It would save me the hassle of having to come up with something to post every 30 days.

Well I guess this post will go nowhere. There isn't anything spectacular happening that I want to yack about.

Oh and to the 2 or 3 people who do read this blog as well as my two trading card blogs a big THANK YOU.

Album Review: 22 Nailing Corpus Christi

Album Review: 22

Nailing Corpus Christi

This review was originally posted on rateyourmusic. on their community forums. This version of the review has had some editing and corrections.

The Nails Corpus Christi

1993 Safe House Records SH 2110 2

**.5

"Bobbie joined a new-wave band,
and changed her name to Bobbie-sox."

I got this album because of the track I had heard on the radio "88 Lines About 44 Women", and this album has three versions of it as bonus tracks on the CD. Each version is slightly different and is even slightly different than the radio version (which was additionally edited to censor words not allowed on radio by the FCC). The other tracks on the album are OK but in my opinion are a little below average. On some tracks the lead singer sounds like he should be singing about Elvis Presley or some country western story song, and on a few has a hint of a Jim Morrison sound to his voice. A few of the tracks have a slight anti-Christian feel to them. It is a light mocking or poking fun of, not a full-blown bashing. I'm pretty sure that is the theme of the album thus the title.

Album Review: 21 Joe Cool Plays The Blues

Album Review: 21

Joe Cool Plays The Blues

This review was originally posted on rateyourmusic. on their community forums. This version of the review has had some editing and corrections.

Wynton Marsalis/Ellis Marsalis Joe Cool’s Blues

1995 Columbia Records CK 66880

*****

"Little birdie, why do you fly upside down?
It's amazing, at the way you get around."

Anyone who has seen a Peanuts cartoon will recognize the first track Linus & Lucy which is often mistakenly called Snoopy's Theme by people who don't know it's title, probably because it is often used as the music that the gang dances and parties to. This version of Linus & Lucy is in a lower key than it's usually played plus the horns are muted. This whole album is music from or inspired by the Peanuts television specials and movies. This is one mellow smooth cool jazz album. When not reminding me of the cartoons this music takes me back to another part of my childhood. My mother's Godmother belonged to a country club and twice a year, sometimes more often we would go there on holidays for brunch or dinner. The club had a ballroom and a cocktail lounge. Often in the lounge there would be a jazz combo, usually just a trio (piano, drums and upright bass) at the time I was too young to appreciate jazz, so I never hung around the lounge. Plus I think children were not allowed in it. Back to this album. Many of the tracks are the themes for the characters, track 3 for example is Peppermint Patty and track 7 is Charlie Brown. There is even a track titled Oh, Good Grief! Track number 6 Wright Brothers Rag sounds like something that would play during one of Snoopy's WWI Flying Ace fantasy sequences. Track 11 Little Birdie is the only track that has any lyrics, I forget which special or movie it was featured in, but obviously it references Woodstock.

If you like jazz and you like the Peanuts cartoons then you wil love this album.

Album Review: 20 Flat Out Sounds Like Blue Oyster Cult

Album Review: 20

Flat Out Sounds Like Blue Oyster Cult

This review was originally posted on rateyourmusic. on their community forums. This version of the review has had some editing and corrections.

Buck Dharma Flat Out

1982 Portrait Records ARR 38124

***.5

"On the night I was born
They had the radio on
The countdown survey
From numbers forty to one
They played number thirteen
Mother was feeling fine
The station kept a rockin'
I was born on number nine"

For those of you who don't know Buck Dharma is the lead singer for Blue Oyster Cult. This solo album could almost be considered a BOC album except it doesn't have the band's symbol on the cover, I haven't checked the musician credits carefully enough to see if any other band members contributed to this album. It totally Rocks. My favorite song from the album is the first track on side one Born to Rock. When I first got this album, I put that song on a mix tape or two, I probably still have those tapes somewhere. As I said this album sounds as though it could be a regular BOC album. The only real surprise of the album is the cover of Come Softly to Me it just doesn't seem to fit well with the other songs, but it is still very good. If you are a fan of Blue Oyster Cult, then you should add this album to your collection. I don't think it has seen the digital light of CD yet and I'm pretty sure the vinyl version is Out of Print.

Note: Since my original reviewing of this album back in 2007 a CD release has been made. I need to find a copy. I think there is a bonus track.

Album Review: 19 Head Over Heels For Paula Abdul

Album Review: 19

Head Over Heels for Paula Abdul

This review was originally posted on rateyourmusic. on their community forums. This version of the review has had some editing and corrections.

Paula Abdul – Head Over Heels

1995 Virgin Records 7243 8 40525 2 2

**.5

"Now you tell me since you've been away

There was something you've been dying to say

Yes, I thought you had eyes for me

But I never was quite sure

Might funny that you never called

Ain't it funny now that you're gone

That you say you're in love with me

Now that's hard for me to believe"

A big disappointment. My least favorite Paula Abdul album. it's not bad it just doesn't have anything special to make it memorable. It basically killed her singing career, or at least de-railed it enough before she shifted gears to be a judge for American Idol. What is it with women who marry and then divorce those Sheen/Estévez boys? Other than the opening track Crazy Cool this album's only single, there is nothing that is particularly memorable. One thing is the video for the song is one of her sexiest videos (maybe because of the Pole Dancing), I think Promise Of A New Day is her sexiest video of all time. Track 2 My Love is For Real begins with a Middle East sound. What is up with that? Maybe a concept that went bad. Track 7 The Choice is Yours the lyrics are poorly enunciated at first, I thought she was singing something in French during the chorus. Track 8 Ho Down starts with an old 1920s style muted trumpets sound, which is either simulated to sound like an old vinyl Victrola disc or an authentic old recording, probably the former, and changes with scratching sounds that jumps into modern dance type music.

Album Review: 18 A Duo Of Broadway Babes

Album Review: 18

A Duo of Broadway Babes

This review was originally posted on rateyourmusic. on their community forums. This version of the review has had some editing and corrections.

Emily Skinner/Alice Ripley Unsuspecting Hearts

1999 Varese Sarabande 302 066 07

****.5

"Pretty women
Silhouetted...
Stay within you,
Glancing... stay forever,
Breathing lightly...
Pretty women,
Pretty women!"

For fans of Broadway "Show Tunes" this CD is super. Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley are two Broadway stars that have two of the sweetest and beautiful voices around, and they are beautiful to boot. They are best known for their roles as Daisy and Violet Hilton the Siamese twins from Side Show. In fact track two She's Gone sung by Alice was cut from the show.

Highlights from this album and some of the tracks I bought this CD for are Pretty Women (Sweeny Todd),I Don't Know How To Love Him (Jesus Christ Superstar) and one of my faves from this album The Alto's Lament sung by Emily. That song is a funny but true song about the types of roles that altos are given to sing in shows. Musicians and musical lovers will get a kick out of that song. OH there is a bonus track at the end that contains a rehearsal for an audition tape, some of the track is just plain silly. I don't think it should have been included. As much as I like this album, it is difficult to listen to more than two maybe three times in a row.