A Few Thoughts Plus A Few Photos Doth A Blog Post Make

July 18, 2013August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 16 Comments

I REMEMBER YEARS AGO when I started blogging someone said to me that he didn’t like blogs because all people did was take photos of things in their homes and talk about them. He found this boring and pointless and stupid. Even though I thought that he was wrong, I shrugged it off without a comment.

His point of view seemed uninformed and mean-spirited to me.

– • –

THEN A FEW YEARS AGO when I was in a blogging slump someone suggested to me that I take some photos of the stuff in my house and share them. Again, I was back in a conversation about photos in a blog, although this time the conversation was helpful, not hurtful.

This woman suggested that when you’re at home you are who you are. Unvarnished. Authentic. Free to do what you want to do with the space that you have. So why not start there in your home, and write about it or whatever it brings to mind?

Her point of view seemed practical and kind-hearted to me.

– • –

SO IT IS AT THIS POINT that I find myself today. I have the photos. I have knowledge necessary to post them. I have nothing profound to say about each photo, nor do I have a cohesive theme to this post that makes them noteworthy.

But I believe that when you commit to being a personal blogger sometimes showing up and posting something is what needs to be done. This means that if sharing three photos from the last few weeks is what keeps this blog keeping on– then so be it.

And that, my friends, is all I have for you today.

– • –

In Which I Staycate & You Questionate

May 21, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 11 Comments

This week Zen-Den and I are taking a staycation.

We are planning on doing projects around the house [paint stair railings + bannister] and around the yard [replace perennials that didn’t survive the winter]. Plus we hope to go out to eat a few times… maybe go to the zoo… perhaps check-out the deals at an outlet mall… see a movie.

You know, do stuff.

So this week instead of writing about anything in particular, I thought that like Carol Burnett I’d turn up the house lights and take questions from the audience. Then next week, on a subsequent post, I’ll answer your questions making sure to let the world know who asked me each question.

Deal? Okay then, let’s get things started in here.

Just remember that the success or failure of my next post rests on you, my gentle readers. I’m counting on you to questionate like a pro! Please leave your questions in the comments below. And thank you in advance for your kind attention to this matter.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Updated late in the afternoon to include…

HEY! Look at this:

“Carol Burnett, who became famous for playing a variety of characters in sketch comedy routines on her namesake television show, was named the winner of the nation’s top humor prize on Tuesday.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said Burnett will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington. “

AND WHO POSTED ABOUT CAROL BURNETT TODAY BEFORE THIS PRIZE WAS ANNOUNCED? Could it be me? Why yes it was. Is that a trippy coincidence or what?

[Source article here.]

I’ve Looked At Blogs From Both Sides Now

April 25, 2013August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 25 Comments

A few weeks ago I wrote about having been around the blogosphere for nine years. As I said then, I’ve seen and experienced many good things during my blogging career. But as you can imagine there have been weird things that have happened to me, also.

So, in the interest of full disclosure, and as I have nothing else I really want to talk about today, I thought that I’d share some of the less-than-friendly experiences I’ve had while blogging.

Life ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, now is it?

# # #

1. Years ago a woman with a public blog asked me to remove her blog from my blogroll because she did not know me in real life. She told me that she only allowed people who she knew in real life to put her blog on their blogroll. I did as she asked and sent her an email apologizing for any distress my connection might have caused her.

To this day I have to wonder how she’s doing at keeping strangers from connecting with her. If you don’t want people to take an interest in your life, then don’t keep a public blog. Seems logical to me, but then I’m a pragmatic person, so what do I know?

Kind of trippy, that one.

# # #

2. I’ve always included some photos in my blogs. At one point someone liked my photos so much that he or she set up a Flickr account using a version of my name. Then he or she stole some of my photos off my blog, and placed them in this account. Under my name.

This was one of those “to what end?” experiences. I was given credit for my work– which was good. The account was public– which was good. However, I never determined why someone would do this. Was it supposed to be flattery? I don’t know. It was harmless, but really?

Just a little too weird, if you ask me.

# # #

3. As many of you know, I like to leave comments on other people’s blogs. I only comment if I have something to add to the conversation. Never anything rude or disruptive. So one day I read a post, complete with a photo, that spoke to me. Consequently, I left a short heartfelt comment based on experiences in my life.

I returned to the blog a few days later to see if this blogger had responded to my comment, only to find that she had taken down the photo that had sparked my comment. And that she had deleted my kind, non-confrontational, positive comment. I was shocked at first. But then it slowly dawned on me that this woman was a diva and she might have felt that my comment upstaged her [?], so she got rid of the photo– and me.

Flip city, huh?

# # #

So, tell me, what weirdnesses have you experienced while using social media? I know everyone has a story to tell– and what better place and time than here and now?

Hmmm? ‘Fess up.

I’m Twinkling Here, Said The Crow

April 4, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 37 Comments

~ ~ • ~ ~

“Twinkle, twinkle little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.”

~ traditional English lullaby [from a poem by Jane Taylor (1783-1824)]

~ ~ • ~ ~

“Twinkle, twinkle little bat,

How I wonder what you’re at!

Up above the world you fly,

Like a tea-tray in the sky.”

~ Lewis Carroll [or the Mad Hatter, if you will]

~ ~ • ~ ~

“Twinkle, twinkle little crow,

How I wonder what you know!

Up above the deck so high,

Like an ominous evil eye.”

~ Ally Bean [blogger extraordinaire who likes to rhyme]

~ ~ • ~ ~

PLEASE NOTE: It has been brought to my attention that the stupid birds in these photos are not crows. These birds are something called TURKEY VULTURES. So, with the help of Zen-Den, I have rewritten my verse to accurately reflect this fact. Here goes:

“Twinkle, twinkle turkey vulture,

How I wonder what’s your culture.

Up above the deck so high,

Like an ominous evil eye.”