The SEO blues
When I write, as I often do – some might consider me a serial writer, since I have a website closing in on 3,000 posts over 6 1/2 years – I do so for a number of reasons. First and foremost is my enjoyment of doing this, with a close second being the ability to educate on the benefits of conservatism.
And of course, there’s money involved too. I get a monthly stipend from one client, have another I have occasionally contributed to which pays me on a per-article basis, and there are other one-off deals as well as my Examiner page. I also sell advertising and have a tip jar here, so on rare occasions I find a little extra in my generally anemic bank account.
But I also know some who have a different style of writing based on the concept of search engine optimization, better known as SEO. Some do it rather well and some have a hackneyed approach, but all are after that elusive goal of standing atop Google when you do a search on a particular subject. Obviously my SEO is generally anemic as well – a quick look at my site analytics tells me that just 3% of my visits come from search engines. Yet my Alexa world rank hovers in the 280,000 range, which tells me people somehow find this site.
Where I’m going with this is that I had an interesting e-mail exchange with a person representing a company which “has leveraged the power of the Web to create a unique group of specialty e-commerce stores,” according to its website. I’d rather not divulge the company but if you Google the phrase (as I did) it naturally sits at the top.
Originally he wanted me to add guest content to my site, but when I told him that monoblogue works because it is in one voice (with a few rare exceptions) he changed his tactic. What he wanted me to do was to create a post which had three instances of a particular key phrase, one of which linked back to his site, and establish a permanent link back to his site on mine. In return I would get “a total donation of $150.”
That’s a nice chunk of change, but I told this gentleman that, for that amount, I could give him a prominent advertising link on my site as opposed to a post which would eventually both fade off the front page of my site and probably Google in a short amount of time. It seemed like a better solution for both of us, but this person wanted the post.
Could I have written it? Probably, and perhaps I could have made the content interesting and relevant with my point of view. But it’s one of those things where I believe the post would have come out flat and not up to my personal standards of integrity and excellence.
Moreover, does this really contribute to the quality of the internet as a whole? Obviously the World Wide Web has panned out to be a gold mine for certain types of e-commerce (just ask those who benefited from Facebook’s IPO) but it also has its seedy dark corners and people who try to use it for destructive purposes. I’m not naive enough to believe all is sweetness and light in this realm or that every writer of any sort of quality is entitled to riches and fame, but I often wonder if writing just for the purpose of being on top of a search engine – whether the content is really relevant or not – is contributing to the quality of the discourse or the internet as a whole. Search engines also have a way of pulling the rug out from under those who simply exist to take advantage of their system.
So I suspect this gentleman and I will part ways. I offered him the opportunity to advertise on my site and he turned it down, which is his right. I’m certain he will find a writer who will do his bidding – after all, $150 for maybe a half-hour’s worth of work is a pretty good deal, and souls have likely been sold for far less. But I like to sleep soundly at night and the quality of this website is under my control, so if I can’t do something to a satisfaction standard I can live with it’s just not worth doing for any price.
Resurrection
A couple years ago I spent several months moving back and forth between writing this site and working on two Examiner pages. But once I got a fairly regular gig at Pajamas Media (now PJ Media) I stopped working on the Examiner page – my last post there came in October, 2010. In the seven months the page was active I did about 90 posts, so about one every other day on the average.
Well, the Examiner folks have wanted me to come back and I think it’s time to do so. However, I am likely going to change from working on the Baltimore site to working on the Washington, D.C. site. It’s sort of a clunky title, but unless there’s a last minute change I don’t know about I will be the Eastern Maryland Political Buzz Examiner. (There was – it’s now Eastern Shore Political Buzz Examiner, which I like even better.) I look at it this way – to me, anything east of Washington, D.C. is fair game and Annapolis is east of our nation’s capital. (Technically, the title is based on where I live since Salisbury isn’t an Examiner base city.)
So why return now? Well, my audience is now larger and this gives me the opportunity to broaden my exposure still farther and hopefully make a little bit of coin while I’m at it. And since we have a number of great political races on this end of the state I think I can fill a political coverage need for those readers. Similarly to how I handle PJ Media stories, the initial headlines will be here.
And that’s not to say I’m not looking at or for other opportunities. But the words I say about economic development also apply to a great extent in the writing business: if you don’t grow, you die. The idea in this world is to maximize exposure in order to build a brand audience. I’ve noticed in the last couple years that Facebook promotion helped my readership jump as did more frequent usage of Twitter. But these techniques can only go so far, and the great advantage of having a vast body of work on local and state politics is the opportunity to drive new readers to my archives by proper linking to my relevant content here on monoblogue. It can be a win-win for both readers and myself.
Like I said when I first started with Examiner, I have a hard time sometimes expressing gratitude to those who support me – certainly there are a few who have been fans of my writing since its humble beginnings. So thanks to everyone who has taken the time to drop by my corner of the blogosphere, and once I get re-established on Examiner you can bookmark the other page as well. But I’ll still be here, too.
New sponsor and new milestone
It’s an exciting day at monoblogue, made even moreso by the fact the presidential race came to Salisbury and I was there to cover the event. Yesterday I finalized a long-term sponsor to the site, so I encourage you to check out TEA Party Posters at rightposters.com. Welcome aboard John!
And late last night I found out that my site had finally broken through the 300,000 barrier in Alexa rank – when you figure this is somewhat of a regional website that’s pretty rarefied air. I’m just a little outside cracking the 50,000 rank for the first time insofar as U.S. rank goes as well. (Update: made it today!)
My rankings have been going down (like golf, lower is better) because people have been coming to my site of late. Readership has been surging with a number of well-read posts on Trayvon Martin, the Maryland presidential primary, and my U.S. Senate endorsement being just a few.
And look for more exciting stuff in the days to come!
Weekend of local rock volume 45
Just like I did for the first rendition, last Saturday I was at the Bands for Baby Ava II benefit held at the Pour House in Ocean City. (This time Kim tagged along as well.)
Unfortunately, I have to extend my apologies in advance to the three bands Kim and I didn’t stick around for: Slackjaw, Square Root Syndrome, and Witches Brew will have to wait for another day for me to see them. For whatever reason we were just whipped.
There were a few different wrinkles for round 2. First of all, there were fewer items donated so the auction was done as a Chinese auction where tickets were purchased and dropped into a bag so the winners were picked randomly.
Remind me to bring Kim along to the next Chinese auction, though – she won one of the items!
They also began the show a LOT earlier so that some bands who had performances later that evening could play. But first up was a band made up of up-and-coming youngsters who are taking advantage of their chance to get in front of an audience – this was Parental Guidance.
One thing I noticed (although it’s not in the picture) was the video cameras recording the show. Well, perhaps these guys are their own worst critics.
Obviously it’s a good learning tool, but the band was well received by those who came when the show first got underway.
The next band indeed had a show across the bridge later that evening but wanted to perform.
Normally I’m not a huge fan of rock/rap combos, but Bride Dressed in Black was quite impressive, performing both originals and a unique take on ‘We Are the Champions’ as a highlight of their show. I could see why they were in demand.
Lime Green was another band that had a second engagement and played early.
It had been awhile (far too long) since I had seen them, but I recalled at the time they were a three-piece. So obviously there’s been personnel changes, and they mixed a broad range of cover songs with the originals ‘Pemberton Park’ and ‘Psychedelic Dream.’
The tone changed somewhat as the lone acoustic act, Jason Lee, took the stage.
Lee is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for Crookedfinger, but stuck to covers for this solo performance.
I noticed that there was quite a follwing gathering around for the next band, the Justin Crenshaw Band.
With the possible exception of a cover of Poison’s ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ JCB played the part of a modern country band. Apparently they have a large following about their Charles County base, and several made the five-hour drive to see the band play their 45-minute set.
These folks up front liked them as much as Kim did, so I’ll give them a second picture. Me, I’m not a big fan of country music but they were certainly good musicians who put on a solid show.
Now I expected a definite difference when Dean took the stage, and for the most part I was correct.
The one criticism I would have of them may not have been their fault, but on the slow songs it was hard to hear the vocals. The first two songs and the last couple songs they did were definitely harder-edged than what they did in the middle, and I thought those came off better.
One other thing which left me a little disappointed but wasn’t completely unexpected was the smaller audience. The Pour House was packed for edition 1 but there was more elbow room this time. I took this while Dean was playing, about 6:00.
But while Dean was a new experience for me, I had a pretty good idea what to expect from Gravy.
Of course, they did not disappoint. And they are another band which made a personnel addition because I didn’t recall keyboards in their midst last time I saw them. It made a difference in what they could play, although they kept some of the other songs I remembered as well.
That pushed the show past its halfway stage as 13 bands were scheduled, and unlike the initial show there weren’t the single-shot acts between bands, perhaps because Skip Dixxon and crew were trying to cram in thirteen bands in as many hours.
Next up was a band that played in the first rendition as well, Abbey’s Cage. (This time I apparently spelled it right.)
They did the heaviest set of the night, with songs by Tool, Linkin Park, and Drowning Pool punctuating their set. That’s why the bodies were hitting the floor, as you can see in the picture.
It slowed down somewhat for Asphalt Surfers, who played more of a blues-rock set.
It seems to me they played quite a bit of ZZ Top, too, which makes sense because they’re a three-piece group.
We were tired, but managed to stick around to see Semiblind play.
And because they’re friends of ours I’ll give them individual shots, too.
One thing which stuck out about the Semiblind set was Michele singing ‘I Will Always Love You’ as a Whitney Houston tribute.
Something else struck me as we listened, though. Obviously I’ve followed this veteran band for quite awhile, and there’s no question that a cover list has to be freshened up from time to time. What I noticed was that, because Michele is now becoming a sought-after DJ in her own right (she’s known in that profession as DJ Siren) the band’s playlist is evolving to more closely match the songs she plays a lot at those gigs. People want to hear ‘Red Solo Cup’ and the band learns it, for example. If nothing else, it goes to show that despite Semiblind being on their second bassist and probably sixth or seventh drummer since I’ve come to know them, there’s a lot of talent there.
I will grant that I don’t travel the world to see the various local music scenes, but the one we have right here has a pretty deep pool of good musicians who deserve our support – not just because it’s how they scratch out a living, but because they also unselfishly give their time for a cause. They didn’t charge a dime for doing the Baby Ava benefits, and between the two they raised almost $10,000 for the family.
But I think the well may be a little dry for the time being in terms of fundraising. Next week Skip will have his annual Spring Luau at the Pour House, with 10 bands on the bill currently. That should be a good show.
Charity begins at home, but continues onstage
I wrote this piece last month for a print venue, but the plans for it fell through. So I’m sharing it here with you today. But the nice thing about posting it here is that I can add the links.
Recent months have seen an enhanced awareness of charitable endeavors around the area. We always have the Thanksgiving food drives and the Salvation Army puts out their red kettles every Christmas, but what I’m referring to are the one-off events which galvanize a community – one case in point, the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition stops last fall in our local area. Thousands of local volunteers descended on both the Sussex County site and the Johnson-Goslee home in the small Wicomico County community of San Domingo to aid those chosen to benefit.
But there are always people and families in need around the area, and oftentimes it’s through no fault of their own – a house fire, crippling medical condition, or tragic auto accident place them in a perilous financial situation with little prospect for help. That’s where the community of local musicians steps up time after time, donating their efforts to the charitable cause. Need to find entertainment for a benefit? Put out the word and you’ll probably have a dozen bands beating down your door to volunteer.
I’ve attended many such events, but a recent one was put together over the space of a few weeks to benefit Ava DelRicco. The toddler was seriously injured in a December auto accident in Ocean City and has spent the time since at Johns Hopkins in a long, slow recovery process. While her prognosis is good, the family still needs financial help. Ten bands gave their time for “Bands for Baby Ava,” sharing the bill for nine hours in order to help the DelRicco family.
And it’s not always for local tragedies. After the Haitian earthquake and Japanese tsunami, benefit shows were organized and those proceeds donated to relief efforts for people who attendees will likely never meet nor receive thanks from. But they came and gave just the same.
Some of these one-off fundraisers have become annual events. After Terri Clifton’s son Chad was killed in Iraq in 2005, the next year two bands participated in a fundraiser to begin a foundation created in his memory. It was popular enough that another was scheduled for the next year in a larger venue with more bands, and the Concert for a Random Soldier has grown to become a popular Memorial Day weekend event. Similarly, after succeeding in her fight against breast cancer, Michele Hogsett began the Save the BreastFest to thank the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition for their help in her case and to give them financial support. After a rocky start in 2009 due to a forced postponement and change of venue, the event will celebrate its fourth edition next September as a opener to Delmarva Bike Week. In both instances, several of the bands participating return to play these shows year after year.
Yet the bands aren’t the only ones who should be given kudos, as local businesses step up to the plate and donate items like the food, the venue, or even door prizes in order to draw people to the events. But most of those who attend these shows are there to see the bands, and I thought it high time to use this space to thank them for their willingness to support the community. They should be appreciated as much as the businesses that also participate in making Delmarva a better place to live.
Weekend of local rock volume 44
You can subtitle this one, “the Bands for Baby Ava benefit.”
At some unknown future point in another venue, I’m going to point out all the good the local musicians do for the community.
That spirit of giving was on display last week – a full month after Christmas – when a number of bands and assorted one-off impromptu groups gathered to help raise money for Ava DelRicco, a toddler who was seriously injured in a December auto accident just a piece up the road from the Pour House in Ocean City. Since then she’s been recovering at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
So as the Pour House mascot looked on approvingly, we were treated to almost 10 solid hours of musical entertainment from the various bands and DJs Skip Dixxon and Bigler.
And the order of presentation was fairly interesting, as a couple of the bands already had other gigs planned for the day but felt in their heart they needed to come and participate.
So you had a more experienced group who would otherwise be one of the headliners leading off. Paul Lewis and Y-Not had an evening engagement across the Bay Bridge so they were the first band in this instance. They also made one of the more popular donations to the silent auction, which I will get to in due course.
They were one of the few bands who played some originals as well, which was a good touch considering many of the participants specialized in covers of various rock genres.
And by the way, the Sons of Patriots motorcycle club came in as a group right behind me as the event started – about a dozen or so to help fill the room nicely to start the show.
I think the next group has a collective mancrush on Sublime, since there were two of their covers I heard in their set.
Sunny Side Up began as half of the youthful group The Hooplas, which, as you may recall, made their debut at the 12 Bands of Christmas back in December. They picked up some vocal help for the latter part of their set.
The place was beginning to fill up quite nicely at this point, and it was heartwarming to see the community support.
That open mike feel to the event was a recurring theme. But I also learned an old musicians’ trick, thanks to Bryan Russo.
That guitar case isn’t carelessly laid on the floor. It’s by his foot with a microphone inside so when Russo taps his foot it becomes his bass drum. Very multitalented and smart.
Brian brought a bluesy feel to the event with his attire and his playlist, which also featured a number of originals. He also announced that he would donate a portion of the proceeds from the CDs he had for sale at the event to the cause.
He was the one-man band at the event. But we’re not quite done with Bryan yet.
As Russo was clearing out, Blake Haley made a request: to play a song. He wasn’t on the bill but wanted to make his presence known, too.
And since Bryan hadn’t completely packed up and left he helped Blake out with his song.
Next up was Easy Action, a group of classic rockers who reset the stage with a more traditional feel.
As I said above, it was an open mike night of sorts. So Witches Brew singer Susan Witchey stepped in to help Easy Action with vocals on a couple tracks.
Her band didn’t participate either, but she stayed most of the night to support the cause.
Then it was time to put the host to work playing his drum set.
Livin’ the Dream did their normal hard rock show, with the obligatory tribute to KISS as part of the set. And Susan helped out with a song or two on their set as well.
This picture is in there just because I like it.
I’d heard this lady’s name mentioned a number of times but last week was the first time I’d seen Lauren Glick play.
Her band dug back to the era of the late sixties and early seventies for most of their covers, with a country-tinged set.
But that’s what brought people to the dance floor.
After another one-song cameo by the Bob Blair Project (sadly, I have no photo of that) we next heard from Familiar Soul.
And they played some familiar songs that kept the party going, as the dance floor was filled during their set, too.
After Familiar Soul played, I saw an opportunity for a little calm before the storm.
This may be the only month out of the year you can take this shot at 7 p.m. on a Saturday night without a truckload of people in it.
I decided to do something a little different with the Phantom Limbs. Here’s each member of the trio separately.
In the frenetic manner that this trio plays their mosh pit of originals crafted from surf, punk, and rock, it was almost easier to get individual shots, although the group one came out okay as well.
Next up was the hard-rockin’ Dust n’ Bones, with a more modern rock playlist than most of their predecessors on stage.
The last three groups had more of an up-to-date playlist than the earlier groups. High Test came from across the bridge to play the show.
And the Prince George’s-based band probably made a lot of fans with an active show. I was sitting when I took this – the singer was standing on two chairs.
Closing out the show was Vivid Season. We know they bring the hard stuff.
But before they played, we had the conclusion of the silent auction. As I noted up top, Y-Not helped out with this PRS guitar and also donated several other items as a package.
Despite their playoff failure, Ravens items were in high demand, too.
Here’s a look at some of the other items up for bids. There were two other smaller tables, too.
You could even wear your support.
The really good news is that, between the $5 cover charge, the pair of 50-50 raffles, the silent auction table, the various other raffles they had, and straight cash donations, the event raised over $7,000 for the family.
Even better news is that there will be a “sequel” event on March 10, with a venue to be announced. With as many people as there were at the Pour House, they may need a bigger place.
Movin’ on out
As I’ve said from time to time on this forum and others, Maryland is the first place (besides, to a limited extent, my college alma mater) where I lived by choice. And the main reasons I moved here, as opposed to other prospective places where I could have worked like Jacksonville, Las Vegas, or Phoenix, were the somewhat rural setting and the idea that this area had plenty of room for growth. Needless to say, when compared to those urban areas, Salisbury was by far the smallest location I considered.
There are serious economic handicaps about living here which have always existed more or less, but at the time of my arrival they were held somewhat in check by the state government in place in the fall of 2004. Sure, Bob Ehrlich was no doctrinaire conservative but most of his ideas for revenue enhancement were limited to increasing user fees, and Maryland participated fully in the national economic boom which was taking place during the Ehrlich era here. Unemployment for the state was just 4.4% when Ehrlich took office and 3.6% when he left – the rate never exceeded 4.6% during his tenure. Obviously things are different now, and Maryland reflects the national situation in that respect. Oddly enough, though, the other three places I was considering were among the hardest hit by the recession, so while Salisbury never quite reached that exhilarating height this fact made the low point easier to handle.
And the winner is…
Someone finally uncrowned Ridgely Griffith and afterthegoldrush.
Until late Sunday afternoon it looked like the music-based website would cruise to its third straight title in my Best Local Blog contest. But supporters of Delmarva Progressive dropped well over a half-thousand votes on the poll and enabled that site to snatch away the victory.
With a record 1,001 votes cast, the results came in as follows:
- Delmarva Progressive, 788 votes (78.7%)
- afterthegoldrush, 205 votes (20.5%)
- Chesapeake Journal, 8 votes (0.8%)
Chalk it up as a rare liberal victory about these parts. In fact, the 1,001 votes ended up as a figure just a few tallies higher than the total of all nine preceding rounds (six first-round battles and three semifinals.) It’s a definite surprise given the fact Delmarva Progressive only picked up 10 votes in its semifinal – but it is what it is.
So congratulations to the crew over there for winning the contest, and moreso thanks to all who voted.
Drawing the curtain on this year’s contest does allow me to share a couple other thoughts, though.
First of all, the other day I was speaking to a blogging friend of mine from another part of the state who commented on the lack of websites in her area, particularly in comparison to the number of websites in this region. Obviously many of us deal with politics here but there are a number of other interests represented as well – just look at the contenders I had as evidence. If I were to classify the eighteen websites I selected this year, seven deal mainly with local news, three cover politics, and three could be described as personal journals. There were also blogs which covered sports, local history, music, food, and a fairly miscellaneous site as well. And I’m sure I don’t link to every single local website – there may be another couple hundred out there I don’t know about or just don’t get updated frequently enough for me to link to.
As for the contest itself, I based the original concept on the Mobbies, which is a similar popularity contest among Maryland-based blogs conducted by the Baltimore Sun. For the first two years of the contest’s now-three year run this site was among those nominated in the political category. (The political category disappeared in 2011, swallowed up into the formerly-separated news category.) For a site based on the Eastern Shore, I thought I placed rather respectively when I competed.
In my opinion we have a thriving local blogosphere, but one where civility and useful information is on the endangered list. Maybe a local media outlet needs to step up to the plate and have a contest similar to the Mobbies but concentrating on the Delmarva area. It would be a way to reward worthy websites and encourage the general public to visit them, and perhaps it would be an incentive for others to clean up their act.
Like it or not, the blogosphere is here to stay, and it’s up to all of us to determine its direction. Needless to say, I had my own personal favorites among the eighteen I featured but I left it up to the voters to decide who moved on. There’s a logical next step which should be taken, though, and it should feature those sites Delmarva can be proud of.
Pruning and polling
It’s spring cleaning a couple months early. Actually, we got outside to enjoy the nice weather and took down the tree and Christmas decorations.
You might notice I’ve taken down a few links. I have a (somewhat flexible) policy of linking to sites which are regularly updated, but after they go about three months without a post I delete the link. I figure it doesn’t do either of us good to link to what is essentially a dead site. But if you have a site you think I should link to, let me know and I’ll review it to see which category it will fit into. Who knows, maybe I’ll make up a few new ones while I’m at it.
The other update I wanted to add this afternoon was that I’ll begin the semifinal rounds of my Best Local Blog poll sometime this evening. I actually had a tie in one round so I decided to add two wildcards; those two were the highest second-place finishers. So the seeding for the semifinals is set:
- Delmar DustPan (367 votes, won round 4)
- Right Coast Conservative (143 votes, won round 1)
- Sussex County Angel (23 votes, won round 3)
- Delmarva Progressive (20 votes, won round 6)
- afterthegoldrush (15 votes, won round 2)
- A Chesapeake Journal (4 votes, tied for win in round 5)
- Random Thoughts of a Citymouse (4 votes, tied for win in round 5)
- The Other Salisbury News (162 votes, second in round 4)
- Delmarva Shorebirds Blog (66 votes, second in round 1)
So I have the matchups set to be as evenly seeded as possible; as I said they’ll commence later tonight or tomorrow. As it lays out one of these battles will feature a rematch of the opening round with a new opponent tossed in.
And this time it will be win or go home, as each of the three winners advances. So bloggers better round up their troops and make sure to enlist their support!
Wishes for a Merry Christmas 2011
As always, I will take Christmas Day off to spend with my loved ones which are around. So this will have to suffice until Monday.
It seems like this Christmas has been more muted than past renditions, but maybe that’s just me. Sure, the economy is in the tank and a lot of people aren’t working but there have been times where the stores I’ve worked have been busy – and times where it seemed more like an average day in July based on the number of people walking around the store. As always, though, everyone is looking for the deal.
(By the way, thanks to those who used my Amazon affiliation to purchase their items. It’ll make me enough for a little stocking stuffer for myself.)
I couldn’t tell you if my perception is reality or not since I don’t add up the sales totals. I suppose if I see a lot of “Going Out Of Business” signs in 2012 I’ll know there was a lot of coal left in retailer’s stockings. Lord knows we can’t burn it anymore so there’s got to be some use for it.
Of course, a turning away from the material at Christmastime – whether caused by economic doldrums or not – isn’t all bad. We still have family and the original reason we celebrated the holiday to begin with as items to fall back on. Besides, the stuff we buy is generally of a fleeting amusement – things which may eventually find their way to the back of the closet, break down, or otherwise fall from usefulness in a short time. But family is hopefully much more long-lasting.
As has been the case over the last several years, for your holiday listening pleasure I bring you my friends from Semiblind doing ‘O Holy Night’. (You may have to goose the file and start Windows Media Player to get it to play, but it’s worth it.)
Merry Christmas to all of my friends and readers.
Catching up
In case you missed it the last few days, my best local blog contest continues in a relatively subdued fashion after the wild first matchup.
In the second first-round contest between three local sites, defending champion afterthegoldrush advanced with an overwhelming 71.4% of the vote, besting Lower Eastern Shore News (19.1%) and Atomic Donkey Brewing, which garnered 9.5 percent. It’s the only poll where all three competitors received votes.
The third opening round affair concluded last night with an upset: Sussex County Angel pounded its competition with 82.1% of the vote, with Delmarva Observer getting the other 17.9 percent. Salisbury News was shut out this time around.
So the blogs advancing to the semifinals so far are Right Coast Conservative, afterthegoldrush, and Sussex County Angel. The fourth draw is quite interesting to me, so I’ll be excited to see how it comes out when the poll ends.
Seedings for the semifinalists will be determined once polling is complete for the first round. I’ll take a holiday break from polling after my six opening rounds are complete, so the contest will then return after Christmas.
The calm
Have you ever had the feeling that something is about to break, and the dread you feel is the fear of the unknown?
I suppose it’s more of an attitude I sense than anything, but people are seemingly more on edge now than at any other time I remember. Sure, the holidays are always a stressful time, but the advent of the Occupy movement has shown that there’s a fairly short fuse out there and one helluva powder keg not too far away.
Now don’t start believing I’m turning into one of those survivalists who will stockpile seventeen months’ worth of food and water, building the underground bunker to ride out the unrest sure to come. I don’t think it will get THAT bad, but something just doesn’t feel right about society today. It seems there are too many desperate people out there.
And maybe that’s because we as a society have forced the hand of some of those people.
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