A Blog Was Born - a look into my amateur mind

Way back when, when I decided to start this silly thing called a blog, I really didn’t know what I would do with it. Mostly, I figured it was just an outlet for writing, spewing, ranting, holding forth and letting my writing flow without editorial effect (other than mine own…). I didn’t realize at the time it would become an obsession, a way to reach others, a way to find others and such an incredibly challenging, and yet rewarding “hobby” – and make no mistake, hobby it is. I’m an amateur by the strictest definition of the word –

1 : devotee admirer
2 : one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession

Basically, I do this for fun.

That said, there are times when it’s challenging to come up with content that is interesting, worthy of posting, etc. Sometimes I’m silly, sometimes serious, and floating around in various electronic places are snippets of posts started, thought processes began and monologues that went nowhere. Some are in desperate need of attention, and really should be taken out, dusted off and developed. Others deserve only the trash bin.

In that pile, however, are little bits of thoughts that I randomly jot down (I used to do that on paper – still do in fact but mostly it’s in my computer.) Along with those are bits and pieces of things past, memories more like a snapshot than a real memory – just the image of a single time, place or event – one image, nothing more. And let’s not forget the tidbits of trivia, random quotes and bits of songs and poetry lurking in those recesses of memory.

What to do with all of that? Where is this post going? Will it develop into something worthy of publication, or will it languish away, waiting for clearer thoughts, better words?

And what started this strange thing anyway?

This is the way my brain works…

Somehow or another, the little title “Rings-n-things” right here in my own space made me flash on the “rings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff” ala that magic dragon named Puff, which got me thinking of other “children’s” songs and poems that really were deeper than they appeared, which drove me to trying to recall that story/song/cartoon about Oblio, which started me thinking that I really need to update the movie quotes at the bottom of my profile on MommyMatter, which made me start wondering where I can find new material for quotes and my blog, which resulted in the starting of this post. And somewhere along the way, I started thinking monologues and soliloquies and Shakespeare, and all that tale told by an idiot stuff.

Whew! Nothing like a little stream of consciousness, now is there?

But now I have “Me and My Arrow” stuck in my head.

Things that make you go hmmm…. Searching is fun!

I’ve done some pretty strange Google searches in my day… Heck, I even recall back in the days of yore, before I knew better, using things like Ask Jeeves (when it still had that annoying butler type guy on it) and the aptly named DogPile (though I’m still known to hit that one up sometimes…)

And I’ve had some pretty surprising results – “huh, why am I getting porno results when I’m looking for a recipe for Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies?”

But, none of my strange web surfing has given me near as much pleasure – and confusion – as reading the list of searches that pointed people to my little space of the blogosphere.

Terms like the already mentioned: She stomped his testicles. Yeah. Okay…

Other recent ones of note?

How about – clown figurine Christmas tree? OK, that was pretty tame. But I can imagine someone was sorely disappointed to learn I do not do clown figurines on my tree. In fact, I think clowns are kinda creepy. OK, so I do have a collection of masks in my guest bathroom. They’re not creepy. Unless you’re a guy. Standing. Trying to do your business whilst being watched by the Comedy/Tragedy guys. Maybe then it’s creepy, or scary…

OK, what about the “how do I get my butt bigger” search? I want to hunt that person down and slap them. Just because. There are people who want bigger butts? Really? OH, alright, I admit, The BF is seriously lacking in the butt department. The man has no butt. Period. Again, somebody was sorely disappointed to learn that I do not give tips for enlarging one’s butt.

Sexy gun chick pictures – ooooo, now I like that search. But I’m quite sure that my odd little collection of images are not quite what the searcher had in mind. In fact, I’d put money on that one. Here’s one very lovely fellow gun chick, Susan Sledge:

Last, but certainly not least, the one that has me truly wondering what this person was searching for: Christmas penis balls+ribbons. Uhhhmmm…. Yeah. Well. Perhaps looking for neat little gift ideas for tying up the “family jewels” and presenting them as a Yule-time treat? Or, maybe an adult gag gift? Or some very interesting tree décor? I’ve debated putting those words in to see what would come up – I just have to remember to do it at home, rather than at work. There are some things I simply don’t want to have on my work computer. Nope.

PS - I feel the need to point out (thanks to a wonderful old friend who reminded me) - I have a long history of hanging strange stuff in my bathroom. At one point, I had a B&W bathroom - the art over the commode was a photo of some zebra. For some reason, my guy friends all elected to sit (thus leaving the seat in the Roxy-Approved “down” position). I can’t imagine why?

Though it was not this picture - by Chris Johns, and found at National Geographic (and I’m so getting this for my wallpaper) - it’s the same expression. Dang, wish I still had that picture!

Of copyrights and things that make me go “hmmm….”

~ The search term that generated traffic to my blog: “she stomped his testicles” – ohhhhkaaay…. I don’t quite get how that pointed to me and my little space, but ah… yeah… Hope they found what they were looking for. Or, maybe I hope they didn’t. Hmmmmm…

~ That my most popular posts have been A View From a Fat Woman, Never Go To Bed With a Wet Head and Bikini Baristas – in that order. Hmmmmm…

~ The strange site that stole one of my favorite posts (jeans) and stuck it up with no link, no credit, no nada – all of which makes it look like it was authored there. And they nabbed it the very day it was written. Dammit. Hmmm…

OK, that last one was really the purpose of this post. Folks, Yours Truly here works for a publishing company and one of my job duties is to handle the copyright issues for our publications. Yep, that’s right. I do this on a regular basis.

As such, anything I write for my company is protected under their copyright provisions. However, being the damned possessive person I am, I also learned to copyright anything I do for myself. Anything I write that is not under contract – ie: not written for a particular publication, or contracted to a copyrighted publication – is mine, mine, mine.

That means, MY intellectual property. MY ownership. And it also means, in my case, that it’s been copyrighted to me. Copyright exists at the moment of creation, and does not require registration in order to exist. Yours Truly, however, takes it so far as to actually register her works. Why? Because I can.

Note – all of my work here is mine, and is copyrighted to me – that includes my writing and my photography. When I have used other photography, or quoted, I have noted the source when necessary/required and if permission was required for use, it was obtained.

I, like any personal blogger, am truly flattered that something I have produced would warrant quoting, linking, copying, repeating, etc. And I truly welcome it – within reason!

It is totally cool to link to any of my pages and to quote (in limited fashion and with appropriate credit) any of my work. If you want to copy the whole mess – it’s really simple. E-mail me, let me know what you’re doing, then make damn sure there is a link to the original (as in MINE) very visible where you have copied it.

In other words – don’t go copying my work without letting people know where it came from…

And yes, I realize this particular case was probably a splogger, rather than an individual committing an act of serious plagiarism, I don’t care. Like I said, I’m possessive.

Lots of cool info to be found at (noramlly, I would make cute names for each of these, but in this case, I’m simply giving the entire URL):

http://www.copyright.gov/

http://lettershometoyou.wordpress.com/category/copyright-theft/ 

http://www.blogherald.com/2007/11/19/5-content-theft-myths-and-why-they-are-false/ 

http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/04/10/what-do-you-do-when-someone-steals-your-content/ 

Nothin’ but love…

The Gunchick

(all rights reserved, dammit!) 

Finding Inspiration…

I’ve been reading a fabulous blog written by a woman whom I will come right out and say makes me envious! She’s a beautiful lady, married to an incredibly sexy looking man (and obviously deeply in love), and they’ve produced a quartet of incredibly cute children. Okay, so what, right? Well, she can also cook, takes incredible pictures and writes with such a charming style it all just makes me envious, okay? Hell, I’m purely green at the moment.

In my little online ventures, I’ve run into a few women who inspire me in some way. Just pick any of the ladies over at MFFO, and take a look at HeadMutha, and I dare you to say you’re not inspired. And the group at MM, headed up by Courtney, is enough to restore anyone’s faith in womankind.

Anyway, that lady I mentioned up there? She’s been blogging the “how we met and married” story and it’s practically romance-novel material. Hell, I take that back, it IS romance-novel material! Since discovering her blog, I’ve been swept away in the romance of it all, and I am not a fan on that genre.

Any woman who reads this stuff is likely to have to start fanning herself to cool off, and it’s not explicit, it’s just… well, steamy. It’s also funny. And cute. And silly. And sweet. And… yeah.

Meanwhile, it also makes my little writer-type brain start twisting and turning and thinking, “wow! I’d love to be able to write a ‘how we met’ type story!” There’s only one problem, no amount of license, creative, editorial, artistic or otherwise, could put such a sweet-romantic spin on my own story! (Errmmm… someday, I’ll write it up and you’ll understand…)

But, I can and will, enjoy her story.

And I can and will take inspiration where I find it – as I see yet another woman online who makes me sit up and take notice, and this one also makes me dust off my cookbook project (long lying dormant under the pressures of life), pick up my camera for something other than work and recall the intricacies of f-stops and shutter speeds (which I was never very good at to begin with) and perhaps best of all, to enjoy writing…

Not every writing effort has to turn out a socially motivating post, or bring focus to a major world crisis. Sometimes, it’s just about life, and I love that even the every day can be so very beautiful!