A FEW DAYS LATE AND MORE THAN A FEW $$$ SHORT, BUT ALL THE SAME HERE ARE THE RESULTS

My apologies to one and all for being so late. The normal plan is to post the results from BATTLE OF THE BANDS on the 7^th and 21^st of each month (about 1 week after the BATTLE).  Thursday, (the 7th) I just plain forgot. Friday,I was down in Reno all day, and when I got home, I was pooped. Then I had an out of town guest and the weekend just kinda got away from me. I hate when that happens, don’t you?

Ah, well, enough with the excuses. I hope some of you will still be looking for my results on this ‘Crazy’ BATTLE.

I had intended to talk a little bit about the artists in this BATTLE, but that pretty much got covered in the comment section. If you missed it, click HERE. In the end, that was probably a good thing, so I can get right to the final tally and my vote in this post.

I love Ray LaMontagne. He’s got that rough, throaty, gravelly, voice that I enjoy. His music leans to the folksy side. STMcC compared him to Gordon Lightfoot (whom I like a lot) and although I never thought of that myself, I would have to agree. Wiki/wacky compares him t Van ‘the man’ Morrison (whom I really like A LOT) and that may be the reason I enjoy Ray so much.

BUT, alas, even with my vote Ray was beat out by Gnarles Barkley (now you know his mother did not really name him that) by more than two to one.

The final Tally is:

                        Gnarles      13 votes

                        Ray           5 votes

This was a stellar BATTLE OF THE BANDS for me. Not only did I truly enjoy both versions that I published here for you, BUT we had eight (8), count ‘em eight (8) participants, this time out. There are even a few more folks considering joining up with this fun little venture in the future.

Also, I had seventeen votes counted up. Some of the old familiar faces were missing from this vote, but there were several newcomers, which really makes me happy. I appreciate all of your votes and support.

Come back on the 15^th for a little more ‘Craziness’ here at FAR AWAY SERIES.

             

IMPOSSIBLE DREAMS

Today I’m offering these words of encouragement from the man himself, Mark Twain.

Here are a few more sung by another ‘man’.

                        To dream the impossible dream

                        To fight the unbeatable foe

                        To bear unbearable sorrow

                        To run where the brave dare not go

                        To right the unrightable wrong

                        To love pure and chaste from afar

                        To try when your arms are too weary

                        To reach the unreachable star

                                                        The Man of La Mancha

                                                        “The Impossible Dream’

Isn’t that what this quest we call ‘writing’ is all about – dreaming the impossible dream? I know how important validation is, and everyone desires publication and phenomenal sales, but at the end of the day ­­- all you really have are your stories. Write good, really good ones, and if you only save them to tell to your grandchildren; be happy that you have passed a bit of yourself onto someone else.

This is my contribution to the Insecure Writers Support Group today. If one person finds some encouragement and hope in them, my job is done.

If you want to know more about the Insecure Writers Support Groups go HERE. If you want to leave me a comment, you’ll help and encourage me.

                                               

BATTLE OF THE BANDS XXV - What a Wild and 'CRAZY' week it's been!

Whew! I almost didn’t make it here today. This past week has been like a one-two, knock out for me. The first blow came on Monday, when I felt like someone picked me up and threw me against a brick wall. It seems that when you have an Auto-Immune Disease, you can be fine one day and the next you’re flat on your back.  Needless to say I spent most of this week in bed, and not having a bit of fun (for those of you who have very vivid imaginations).

The second blow was actually the week before when this ‘dumb blonde’, got a notice that I needed to update and download a new media player. I could have sworn the notification was a ‘Windows’ notice, but apparently it was just cleverly disguised to look like one. Anyway…along with this ‘new and not so improved’ media player came a ton of malware and my entire computer was screwed up. It (the computer) had to make a trip down to Carson City to the computer doctor to have its guts cleaned out. Now it’s working and much faster, but there seems to be a problem with my router, so I’m hard-wired into the modem with no Wi-Fi. In all honesty I have no idea what all that last sentence means, other than I have to be plugged into my printer and I can’t get my Netflix Streaming. Hopefully, that will get cleared up soon (but, it won’t be by me).

I do want to Thank You all who sent me emails worrying over where I was, and if I was doing OK, even if I couldn’t reply. They really helped to cheer me up. I was able to keep up reading your blogs from my phone, but the ‘dumb phone’ I own won’t let me comment, or maybe that’s just me.

So, enough of the whining. There are some exciting things happening with this BATTLE OF THE BANDS. First off, Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy, the sexiest man on the planet (he didn’t like it when I called him the smartest man I know, last time, so we agreed that this was more appropriate), has a new blog. This blog is strictly devoted to BATTLE OF THE BANDS. It’s called STMcC Presents ‘Battle of the Bands’ and you can find it HERE

Once you’ve finished up here, head on over to this Exclusive New Site and see what STMcC has cooked up for you this month? I can also trust that he will publish the links to all the other participants, so you can visit every BOTB going on for August 1^st.

The next exciting thing coming up is my theme. At the Results Post for BOTB XXVI I promised a theme for August and invited you to guess what it might be. I said that it was one word that might be used to describe me. Only two of you were brave enough to guess, and you were very kind also. The guess had something to do with BLONDE. Nope that’s not correct. Ya’ll know I’m not really a blonde, don’t ya. ‘Dumb Blonde’ is just one of those phrases that is kind of a catch-all for stupid human woman tricks. In actuality my hair color is much more volatile than blonde.

ANYWAY…My theme for August is: ‘CRAZY’ An extra special Thank You to all of you for not guessing correctly.

So let’s get on with it shall we.

First up Gnarls (you don’t suppose his mother really named him that, do you?) Barkley with 'Crazy'.

Next, Mr. Ray LaMontagne with the same song.

Now, you know what to do and how to do it. Leave me a comment with your vote and why. Then head on over to STMcC Presents ‘Battle of the Bands’ by clicking HERE and casting your vote there. THEN, visit all of the other participants. If you should feel that you want to post your own BATTLE, please let me know in the comment box and if possible leave a link, so everyone coming by here can find you also.

I’ll be back on the 7^th – ‘if the creek don’t rise and the devil doesn’t come for me first’ (just kidding), with my vote and final tally.