Associated Content/Yahoo Voices - The End

Today is a very sentimental day, I'm sure not only for me, but for many of my fellow writers. Within the next 24 hours or so, Yahoo Voices, the former Associated Content, will disappear from the World Wide Web forever.  It's really hard to believe because it seems like just yesterday that the announcement came from Yahoo that they were shutting down the site.  And now the day has come.  It's going to be weird not to be able to check my latest stats (which have been good lately, too!) or see my profile page and all of my pieces...more than 600 of them, whenever I want.  I still haven't decided where to go from here, but I'm hoping something worthwhile will come up soon.

I've spoken many times before about the site and my background with it, so I'm not going to rehash all of that here.  I've had many blessings through AC/YV over the years, including the many interactions I've had with readers and fellow writers, being interviewed several times, getting one of my poems published in a textbook, being named one of the sexiest guys on AC, getting Ruth Buzzi to write a piece for the site, plenty of accolades and most of all, the friends I've made.  I tell ya, that old AC family of writers was...still is a great bunch of people.  Back in those early days there was a lot of camaraderie and support among us and many of us remain friends to this day, thankfully, via Facebook.

Since I'm feeling so sentimental, I just want to acknowledge some of the great people and talented writers I've been given the opportunity to get to know through Associated Content.  I've said before that it's amazing to be able to meet and get to know people you wouldn't otherwise have ever met via the Internet. These people and others have made me laugh, made me cry, and given me lots of support throughout my time there.  I only wish I'd had more time so that I could share their profile pages with you.  Perhaps in time on some other site, but for now I want to give kudos to the following people:

Abby Greenhill          Bridgitte Williams           Sherry Thornhill
Nancy Canfield         Patricia Sicilia                 Patti Byrd
Lori Lane                  Theresa Leschmann        Lyn Lomasi Evans
Rama Devi Nina Marshall                                Walton Tissot
Randy Duckworth     Roberta Baxter               Jennifer Wagner
Pat Bartels                Jennifer Waite                 Zachary Fenell
Sabah Karimi            Sheryl Young                 Victoria Miller
Becky Whitmore       Janet Hunt                      Lady Samantha
Michele Starkey        Langley Cornwell           Linda McCloud
Donald Pennington    Jersey Nana                   Rachel de Carlos
Bethany Marsh         Shelly Barclay                Jolie Du Pre
Bob Langham           Bobbi Leder                  Michael Segers
Nikki                        Brenda Vincent              Bridget Ilene Delaney
Tony Payne              Orchiolum                      Charlotte Kuchinsky
Malina Debrie          Mallory Collier                Jennifer Bove
Maria Roth              Mary and Mike Olberg
Julia Bodeeb            Christine Zibas               Crystal Ray
Marilisa Sachteleben                                      Maxwell Payne
Karen Bishop          Davida Chazan               Denise Larkin
Han Van Meegerin  Harriet Steinberg            Karen Gros
Kristen Wilkerson                                          Jack Aiello

Wow, when I started writing this list I hadn't realized how many people I'd come to know through AC over the time I'd spent writing there, and that's not even all of them.  But over the last 7 years, I've enjoyed reading their wares and interacting with many of them on a regular basis elsewhere, and I look forward to more.  From stories about a special black Lab in Tennessee to hysterically funny anecdotes about e-cigarettes, politics and more, co-authoring a very special series with a colleague, to sweet poems and helpful product, travel and movie reviews, countless useful how-to's, ramblings from a Byrd's nest and a wacky Aunt Lottie, personal tragedies and pop culture, I've done a lot of reading from some pretty talented writers, who like me, felt they had something to share.  And I love them all!


          

Two other names are missing from this list, two very special people who I grew to love and then lost.  Betty Malone was a good-hearted, optimistic person with a knack for speaking her mind through her writing and was always a big supporter of me when things got heated (long story!).  When she died suddenly on November 17, 2009, I was shocked and heartbroken.  It was the first time I'd ever felt so badly about the death of a person I'd never met face to face.  Betty, you are still missed!

Dan Reveal was another kind-hearted soul that left us way too soon.  He and I became 'fans' of one another early on, and through the site at first, and then via Facebook, we developed the trusting relationship of good friends.  Dan was not only a very talented poet, but a musician and songwriter, as well.  I remember once when he posted a video of himself at the piano, singing a tune he had written, I was literally in awe.  Such a multi-talented man! July 27th, this past Sunday, was a year that Dan lost his battle with cancer.  I couldn't finish this post without mentioning either one of them.  Rest in peace!

So that's it....I feel funny saying so long to Yahoo Voices, because I've always thought of it as Associated Content.  The website has been a constant part of my life for a very long time now, and it's hard to let go, but I have no choice.  Que será, será!


  

John's World on WordPress

It was just about two years ago that John's World had been put out of commission by Blogger.  In the end it was all a mistake, but for a couple of weeks there, I was scrambling to try and figure out what to do.  I ended up opening a John's World on WordPress, but I only posted about three items there before this blog was restored.  Though I haven't posted on there since 2012, I have kept it online, thinking that I might find use for it someday.  Since I am in a state of searching for how to post articles, and get paid, I've decided to resurrect the WordPress blog as a mirror site to this one, though I'm not really sure where that will take me. I've just exported all of my posts from here to there, and you can check the other site out here, or at the link towards the bottom right of this page.  I'm not sure where this will take me, but if it's easier to view me over there, please do so...

Yahoo Voices: Pffffttttt!!!!

Dear Contributors, 

You made the past nine years incredible. At Yahoo, we're focused on making daily habits more inspiring and entertaining. That means we're constantly reviewing our products and experiences and, in some cases, we have to make tough decisions to no longer support a product. As part of our ongoing effort to sharpen our focus, on July 31, 2014, Voices.Yahoo.com will be shut down; on August 15, we will make the final Performance Payment before Contributor.Yahoo.com closes. With the exception of content you provided to Yahoo under a work for hire license, or unless Yahoo arranges differently with you, we will remove from Yahoo all content published through Yahoo Contributor Network and rights for all of your Yahoo Contributor Network content will revert to you.

We know you have a lot of questions. Please refer to this FAQ for details.

It has been such an incredible privilege to share your talents with the world over these past nine years. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

-The Yahoo Contributor Network Team

That was the crux of the email I got on Wednesday from The Yahoo Contributor Network.  The subject of the email read "Thank You."  I'd already heard about the shutting down of Yahoo Voices from an old writer friend of mine, Abby Greenhill, who'd passed the news on to me via Facebook.  She, like many other of my writing friends, had stopped writing for the website when Yahoo first took over the old Associated Content in 2010.  I stuck with it, though my contributions to the site whittled down quite a bit because their conditions for publishing became a little stricter.

The news still comes as a little bit of a shock to me and has left me a little lost, too.  You see, this summer I had been planning on doing a lot of writing and Yahoo Voices was the place for me.  Just two days before this announcement I had quit my titles at Examiner and will no longer publish for them.  So now I've got nothing left but John's World, which is okay, but leaves me with no income from writing.  

So yeah, I'm a little sad, and a little angry, too.  Just another case of a big corporation gobbling up smaller businesses only to take them away.  Gotta love capitalism!  Even though Associated Content wasn't the first site I'd ever written for, it was the one where I wrote the most, and had the most success. In fact, the month of May 2014 had been my most successful month ever, with over 80K hits to my work.    

I first started writing for AC back in the winter of 2007/08, right after I had split up with my ex.  I'd done a few pieces here and there on innocuous things like recipes for zucchini bake and meatballs, a review of Michael Moore's Sicko, and random thoughts on Christmas and God.  Then in late December of that year, I started to open up about mine and Joe's breakup and ended up doing a whole series called Reflections of a Breakup. That series, which ended up being quite a few articles and put me on the map as a bona fide writer for the site.  I've written 611 articles and garnered over 770K page views in the six-plus years I've written for them.  Now there's bubkus!

At the moment I'm not sure how to proceed.  I've got a book in the works, so maybe I'll just work on that, along with more posts on John's World.  I've had a couple of offers to write with other sites, but I really have to think on them before I make any decisions.  In the meantime, I've got to make sure that I've got all of my pieces saved because it all goes away come mid-August.  So sad!  Stay tuned for more on this....


   

A Song for Dan - Rest in Peace

It is with a profoundly heavy heart that I write this post this morning. Last night I received some news that is very upsetting.  Another member of my writing family has passed suddenly and tragically too young.  Dan Reveal was one of the kindest and gentlest souls I ever met, and even though I've never met him face to face, I considered him a friend and I am absolutely saddened by his loss.

Dan is the third such person from my writing circle to have passed since I began writing six years ago, and like with any other family, his loss creates a void in my life.  Almost a full four years ago, another good writer friend of mine, Betty Malone passed suddenly and that was the first time I felt such a loss at the passing of someone I only knew through cyberspace.  Then came Dena Bolton two years ago and now Dan.  Sigh!  They were all good people and all way too young to leave us.

Dan Reveal was above all, to me and many of my fellow writers, a poet.  He had a special gift with words, and his poems reflected the thoughtful, loving and kind person that he truly was.  He and I first came under one another's radar through the comment section of our pieces on the old Associated Content, and we soon started corresponding privately there until becoming friends on Facebook, where we interacted every now and again.

Hello John...gotta tell you.. I had a dream about you last night..  I was driving in my car and you were sitting in a lawn chair drinking a Pina Colada..lol!! I wanted to talk to you, but I woke up too soon...hahaha! Just wanted to tell you!! Have a nice day!

Hey Amigo!!

How are you? Long time no hear.. Just want to extend best wishes to you always!! Remember, you're a special friend to us all!! I very much respect the work you do as a teacher--also, for sharing your feelings as a human being! We all benefit!!

Take care,

Dan

Greetings, my friend!!! How are you? Just a note of appreciation. I'm happy I know you! Thanks always for your nice comments on those poems/music.

I realize that you're a super human being! Thanks for being you and please never change!!!

Your friend,

Dan

These are just snippets of some of the messages I've received from Dan over the years.  I think that by reading them, you can see what kind of person he was.  In addition to his gift for writing and his treasured friendship, I only recently got to witness Dan's greatest talent, that for music.  I always knew he had that gift, as well, but in the past few months, he started posting some of his songs, and I was literally floored by his voice, and once again, his words.

As word began to spread over his death, it became clearly evident that I was not the only one in cyberspace who's lives he touched.  Many of us share in the same heartbreak at his loss, and his Facebook page continues to fill up with thoughts and prayers for this special person.  It is still amazing to me how in many ways the invention of the Internet has great benefits, especially when it allows you to know people you might not otherwise have gotten to know.  I consider myself lucky to have known Dan Reveal the way that I did.

I am lucky too, to have met many wonderful people through writing and Facebook, wonderful, kind people like Dan, people like Bridgitte, Anna, Lady Samantha, Sherri, Janet, Donald, Nancy, Charlotte, Lyn, Jenny, Crystal, Rachel, Shelly, Theresa, Jolie, Bethany and many, many more. Like Dan, I treasure each and every one of you and I'm glad to know you all.  You are a part of my family!

It's funny, but I had often thought that maybe Dan and I would get to meet each other face to face one day, only now it won't be in his native Indiana.  So this is for you my friend!  I know that you loved Elton John and I find it appropriate that this song is named for you.  Daniel you're a star! Rest in peace my friend!

Daniel - Elton John (1973). by G80TV

Please check out Dan's Yahoo Contributor Page and see some of what made him so special.

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Writing Wednesday: Music, Restaurant Week, Gay Marriage, and New Coasters

It's Wednesday, and it's been a long time since I've written one of these babies, huh?  I've been writing quite a bit lately and I just figured now would be a good time to share some of the things I've been putting out there on Yahoo and Examiner.  So check it out...

Music

My favorite topic to write about, of course, is music, and I've done several music pieces for both sites:



Gaga's Eccentric Timing as 'Born This Way Ball' Draws to a Close

I penned this one a week before she was supposed to come to New York for the show and just a day or two before she cancelled the remainder of the tour due to her injury.  Nevertheless, I did have something to say about Ms. Gaga's timing.

P!nk's Top Twenty Songs: Revised and Expanded

Of course I had to do a new P!nk piece with all this new P!nk hysteria of mine.  Besides, she's got a new album since I penned the first one of her top ten.

What Are You Listening To? Winter 2013

After having trouble with my summer and fall installments of this series on Yahoo, I returned this winter with a not-so-great lineup of current music...except P!nk, of course!

P!nk Rocks MSG with 'The Truth About Love'

In the past, this type of piece would have gone on Yahoo, but since it is timely, I had to post it to my Examiner page.  This one is my official review of the concert.  Be on the lookout for another Yahoo piece on P!nk's show coming soon!  Also be sure to check out Basking in a P!nk Afterglow right here on John's World.

Jones Beach Theater - Check out the lineup for the Jones Beach Summer Concert Series 2013.  Always exciting to see who's coming!



Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week is always a good deal, and it's a great time to get out there and try some nice fine food at an affordable price.  There are two Restaurant Week's coming up on Long Island: Hamptons Restaurant Week and Long Island Spring Restaurant Week.  Check em' out!



If you're a denizen of the Internet, then you've probably seen this out there.  The red and pink symbol is for marriage equality and it's all over the place this week.  That's because the Supreme Court is hearing cases for the first time concerning California's Prop 8 and DOMA.  A Facebook friend of mine, my pal Dita's sister, asked me my opinion on the topic and it got me thinking on the topic...again!  Check out Same Sex Marriage: An Argument in Semantics.



New Roller Coasters

Finally, every new winter I pen articles on new coasters coming out for the upcoming season and this year I penned three of them.  When I started researching the topic, it appeared there would be a lot more new ones than Ii had originally thought.  Though there aren't many, and none are coming to any of my local parks, there are some things to get excited about.  Check these pieces out:

New Roller Coasters at Six Flags Theme Parks in 2013

More New Roller Coasters Coming in 2013

New Roller Coasters Coming to Theme Parks Around the World in 2013

Anyway, I hope you've found something useful here for your reading pleasure.  I'm not sure if this will become a regular thing again or not, but who knows?  And perhaps I'll have a few personal tidbits coming up in the near future for those of you who enjoy that kind of stuff.  As always, thanks for checking me out!


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Ya-hoo! I'm a Top 1000 Contributor Again

Ya-hoo!  

I just saw on my Yahoo Contributor page that I have been awarded a badge as being one of YCN's Top 1000 Contributors for 2012.  This is the third straight year I've received such an honor, and this was a little surprising because last year I'd written less articles than in any year prior.  Even though the new stuff still gets page views, a lot of what I've written in the past still gets read, which is pretty cool!

I wanted to copy the badge to post here, but the site wouldn't let me, so here's a screen shot of my page featuring the badge.  I know it's small, but the new one is the yellow one on the bottom right, preceded by the prior two years' badges and a Hot 500 one, which I've been awarded five months running now for being one of the network's top 500 most read readers.  Pretty kewl, too, huh?  

Any-who, since I'm plugging myself on what I still call AC (Associated Content, the site's old name), here are a few pieces that have been getting the most reads this past month:

The Top 20 Pop Songs of 2012

Top 20 Dance/Club Hits of the 90's

Top 20 Dance/Club Hits of the 80's

Diana Ross' Top 20 Songs

Yeah, so who would have guessed it?  Some of my best performing articles are about music.  They're not the only ones, though, that get great page views:

A Not So Gay Time in Florence, Italy

Weight Watchers: In the End, It's Still a Diet

Fag Hags and Gay Men: Hopeless BFF's

Kingda Ka: The Scariest Ride Ever!

As you can see, like my writings on this blog, my pieces on Yahoo run the gamut on topics I find interesting.  Music is assuredly my first love, as anyone can see from reading anything I put out there, but I've done stories on travel, commentaries on everything from news stories to politics and anything and everything concerning my so-called gay life.  I've done recipes and reviews, quotes and school stories...a little bit of everything to go around for people of different flavors.  

Some of my favorite pieces, though, are the personal ones.  Either poetic pieces having to do with moments in my life or personal anecdotes of interesting things in my life.  Here are a couple of them:

Invasion of the Men's Department: Who's to Blame?

I hate when I am in the fitting room in the men's department and wives, girlfriends and mothers feel free to just walk in...grrrrr!!!!

The Soundtrack of a Relationship

This was a tough one to write!  Enough said!

Experience and Prejudice

Oh man, I can go on and on and on...  It seems that over the past week or so I've got my writing bug back a bit, so hopefully my readers will have some new things to read from me soon.  The next milestone for me on Yahoo should happen within the next couple of months: 1/2 million page views.  John's World is closing in on that milestone, too, which would give me over a million altogether.  Hella cool!  

Thanks to anyone and everyone who reads me on a regular or even a once in awhile basis.  I really appreciate it!

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Yahoo Voices Spotlight: Gay Marriage

Since the subject of gay marriage has come up in such a big way this week, I thought that now would be a good time to highlight some of the pieces I've written on the subject.  I've said many times before that I myself am not a big fan of the institution of marriage of any kind, but I feel strongly that all people, regardless of sexual orientation or otherwise, should have the legal right to be joined together in the legally recognized union commonly known as marriage.

Why Same Sex Marriage is a Civil Rights Issue

The hotly contested issue of same sex marriage is a legal one, NOT a religious one as many would have you believe.  This piece lays out all of the rights that are afforded legally wedded couples that are denied to those unlawfully permitted to do so.  The consequences of the denial of such rights are far reaching in scope and affect many loving couples in sometimes heartbreaking ways, as you can see in Why we need same sex marriage: It could happen to you.

The Lovings and the Gay Marriage Debate

Here is a story of a time when another type of marriage was a hotly contested issue, that between people of differing races.  Yes, it's hard to believe, but one day in our history a black person could not marry a white person, nor a Latino, nor an Asian.  This tale of one couple, ironically named Loving, lived through that mess and found themselves fighting for their love all the way to the Supreme Court.

A Respectful Dialogue Resurfaces: Gay Marriage and the Traditional Family

A couple of years ago, a fellow writer and I published a series of articles arguing, in a respectful manner, all issues relating to homosexuality.  She, a Christian woman, and I, a gay man, had very different views on the subject,, and we went back and forth for weeks, making arguments and defending our stances, and the series was very well received.  This article came up after our series had concluded, but once again I had a lot to say on the subject.  (You can check out a synopsis of Becky Whittemore and my series, titled  "Understanding Homosexuality, A Respectful Dialogue Between Opposing Viewpoints," right here.

Some New York Pride as Marriage Equality Bill Passes

On June 24th, 2011, New York, my home state, became only the 6th state to legalize same sex marriage.  It was a joyous and proud moment for the people of New York, and the ensuing Pride Parade in New York City just two days later was awesomely well-attended and wonderful.   Also check out Walls Come Tumbling Down, my reaction blog post from that very historic day.

On a lighter note...

Music Suggestions for a Gay Wedding in New York

Once the Marriage Equality Bill had passed, I just knew that folks would be lining up to plan their weddings, right?  So since I'm a former disc jockey, I came up with some music suggestions for all of my LGBT brethren to play at their weddings.

Parity in Presents

This one is not necessarily specific to gay marriage, but a sort of comical rant on a condition that most gay people have had to live with since the dawn of time.  With all of those gift-giving occasions that straight people throw starting with weddings, then baptisms, showers, communions and the like, we gay people have always found ourselves at the short end of the stick when it comes to getting presents.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for....Ben and Jerry's?

I just had to include this blog post about those good old Vermont ice creamers repackaging one of their ice cream flavors, Apple-y Ever After, in support of same sex marriage.  Check out the post right here.

Well, that's all she, or rather he, wrote folks.  As always, I appreciate your visits to my little space here on the Web...have a good one!

The Lovings Image Source: blendeunity

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Yahoo Voices Spotlight: Gayspeak - Is There a Gay Language?

I thought I'd start something new today in an attempt to renew some interest in older pieces I've written and published on Yahoo Voices and other Internet spots. Today's spotlight is on a piece I published in January 2008. Gayspeak: Is There a Gay Language? was originally an essay I wrote for a phonology class back in Stony Brook University, and I remember it being an interesting and fun piece to write. Once I'd been writing for a few months, I decided to publish it and it's gotten more than 16K page views to date.

Language is something that is very fluid, changing all the time. Even some of the slang words that were used when I was younger have metamorphosized into something new. For example, once upon a time we referred to women who liked to hang out with gay men as "fag hags," which is sometimes still used, but nowadays the more common expression is "fruit flies."

Gay slang got its origins from a now-dead language, or slang, known as Polari, which was spoken in late 18th Century England. Words such as "butch," "camp," and "drag" received their first gay-oriented connotations through Polari. Of course, as time marched on, words and meanings changed.

A lot of what we may think of in gay language or slang is thought of that way because of the way gays have been portrayed in the media and in the entertainment industry. Depictions of gay characters have lent themselves to creating images of what people think gay people are, though we all know that's not necessarily true. To read more about it, please check out Gayspeak: Is There a Gay Language?

Image Source: the inspiration room

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February 8th - Writing Wednesday - Madonna, Gloria, Madonna, RiRi & Christina, Madonna

Today is Wednesday, Hump Day, and now we’re on the down swing towards the weekend, thankfully. It’s been a long week already and I’m so ready for the weekend to come again, if for just to dance and sleep late. Work has been crazy every day and I’ve already got my sights set on winter break, which is only one more week away.

John’s World




Madonna

Most of the writing I’ve done this week has been right here on John’s World. The big story I’ve been covering has been the triumphant return of my very own special diva, Madonna. A week’s worth of posting Madonna Songs of the Day was capped off, of course, by the release of her newest song, “Gimme All Your Luvin,” on Friday.

Upon watching the video for the first time, I immediately went into commentary mode, penning and posting Madonna's Give Me All Your Luvin': Commentary, Video, Lyrics and more, my take on the video, the song, and everything else to do with it.

Next, of course came the big show, the much anticipated and long awaited Super Bowl Halftime Show, which I just now watched over again for like the 4th or 5th time. When it first aired live on Sunday night, I really was in awe because it was even better than I expected it to be, but afterwards I was genuinely surprised at all the criticism heaped on both her and the performance. I had to say something about both the show and the reaction in Madonna’s Super Bowl Performance: Wow! Now let’s stop hatin’ and move on…

There was another big story which I failed to cover (time constraints, grrrr!!!) yesterday and that was the announcement of Madonna's newest tour. The MDNA Tour begins May 29th in Tel Aviv, Israel and makes its stop in New York on September 6th at Yankee Stadium, and guess who got his ticket already? Big smile!

Other Stuff

It Gets Better Project video for Lady Gaga’s “Hair”

When I saw this cute video done in Glee-style for the It Gets Better Project, I just had to share it, as well as a little bit about the very worthy cause it stands for.



The Return of Ferris Bueller

One of the best things about any Super Bowl, of course, is the commercials. There was one awesome commercial for Honda that recreated some of the magic of that great 80’s film.

A Christina-Rihanna Collab in the Works?

Word that Christina Aguilera may be joining Rihanna for a reworked version of her “Birthday Cake” just made me all oogey inside.

Extra Special Songs

Over the weekend I posted two very special Songs of the Day. Though I wouldn’t normally refer to these types of posts here, both tunes are definitely worth a listen if you’re reading down this far. The first is from a newcomer from the UK named Emeli Sande’ and the song is called “Next to Me,” from her forthcoming debut album, “Our Version of Events.” The next one is by Brit boy band The Wanted, and it has become my new favorite song, so much so that I keep listening to it over and over again. Please check out “Glad You Came.”



Examiner

I penned only one piece for Examiner this week and it’s for a very special event going on at Splash this Friday. Check out Gloria Estefan at Splash this Friday.

Yahoo Voices

How Will Madonna’s “Gimme All Your Luvin” Stack Up Against Her Previous lead Singles

With all of the excitement surrounding Madonna’s new song, I wanted to do a retrospective on all of Madge’s lead singles from her previous 11 studio albums. Good stuff!



Image Sources:

Third Age

New Paltz University

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February 1st, 2012 - Writing Wednesday

Happy February, though you'd never know it from the weather here in New York. Today was one of the most spring-like days you can imagine, warm and sunny and a day to just be outside doing whatever. I've been a really busy boy these days writing, but things are a little different this week. Check it out and you'll see...



Yahoo Voices Top 1000 of 2011


Yesterday I got a very surprising email from Yahoo telling me that for the second year in a row I've been named one of the Top 1000 Writers at Yahoo Voices for 2011. This was something I wasn't expecting at all, considering I've written less and less for them in recent months. I do have almost 400K page views, so I guess I really did alright. I am humbled and very grateful for the honor! Yahoo!

Examiner

Spring-like temps on Long Island a sign of the apocalypse? Nah!

The weather was so nice today I wanted to make a few comments about it on this blog, but when I did a little searching I found some interesting stuff about why we're having such a mild (to put it mildly) winter. It may be year 2012, but this is definitely not what the Mayans predicted.

Long Island Pride website readies for this year's Long Island Pride Event


The Long Island Pride Parade organizers are already getting ready for this year's event. It happens on Saturday, June 9th and they've got a new website to help them make it the biggest and best yet.



Gallo Restaurant of Patchogue: fine "comida Colombiana" at a great price


Gallo (pronounced 'ga-yo,' for you non Spanish speakers out there) is an excellent Colombian restaurant in my hometown of Patchogue. The food is fantastic, the prices great, and they've got an adorable waiter there by the name of Edgardo. Delicious yucca fritta, too!

Yahoo Voices

Tacosagne

Yup, for the first time in about a month I published a piece on Yahoo. It's a recipe I changed up a bit from a cookbook I've got and it is muy delicioso! You can also check it out on my food and recipe blog here.

Blogging

My most favored spot for writing lately has become this very blog. Much of what I used to write for Yahoo or Gather I am now publishing here. Just this past week or so I've written pieces about a possible Spice Girls comeback, a new ABBA song, their first in 18 years, Lady Gaga's latest single, and the latest flare-up between Elton John and Madonna.

Music is definitely the crux of this blog, but I also take pride in pieces I like to call 'social commentary.' I used to publish a lot of these types of pieces on Yahoo, too, but nowadays I find myself interspersing it here, between Songs of the Day, music news bytes, and my life. There were a couple I've written recently that I think would have been worthy for a Yahoo piece, but I tackled them in shorter order in the hopes of generating more views on John's World.

Three of these social commentary pieces I'd like to share here again. They include a food shopping rant, a commentary on today's generation, and a little piece about one of the many wrong things going on in our educational system. Check them out if you haven't already. As always, comments are always welcome.

More Blogging

In all, I've got four blogs registered here at Google Blogger. The first one I ever started was one called Rants, which I've abandoned in favor of this one. Then there's the food and recipe blog, one that I am hoping to build up a little, not so much as a regular thing, but something I can add to when a good recipe comes my way.

Johnny Driver

Finally, I've got the Misadventures of Johnny Driver blog. If you don't know it by now, Johnny Driver is a fictional character who works as a flower delivery guy in the Hamptons every summer. It's loosely based on a real job I used to have at a place called Pennington Flowers in Southampton.

I started writing the Johnny Driver series for the old Associated Content a couple of years ago and I penned over thirty 'episodes' spanning two summer seasons. The story lines are often humorous, sometimes shocking and always a little crazy, with a cast of equally strange and interesting characters based on real life people. The series earned me a lot of readers on AC and I moved them over to a blog, albeit in bits and pieces, so I can have the whole thing in one, easy to read spot.

Recently I decided to revisit the Johnny Driver series, and I'm planning on beginning a third season of episodes soon. In the meantime, though, I've gone back to the beginning to re-work some of the story lines to make them what I hope to be more readable and more enjoyable than before. It's been rough going so far, but I've got the first two chapters done and posted and am currently working on #3. Stay tuned for that, but in the meantime, check them out, as well as a note as to where I'm going with the series:

A Note From the Author of "Johnny Driver"

The Misadventures of Johnny Driver: A Prologue


Chapter 1: Johnny's First Day




Music, Movies & Gaming

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January 4th, 2012 - Dream Duet?; Writing Wednesday

Happy Hump Day…the first of the New Year! The year 2012 has brought with it some winter during these first couple of days of January. The wind chills this morning were in the low to mid teens…now that’s cold! But I’m not complaining. By this time last year we’d already had one or two major snow storms and so far, nada. Besides they say it’s going back into the 50’s this weekend, and so our warm, calm winter continues and I’ll take it for as long as it lasts.


Image Source: CatwalkQueen

A Dream Duet?

Yesterday afternoon Twitter was all abuzz about an impending Kylie Minogue/Madonna collaboration. Though I sensed from the start it was a hoax, for a little while there I was hoping that it wasn’t. The tweets were literally flying every few seconds and I began to think of the possibilities. I’ve always thought of Kylie as the Aussie equivalent of Madonna, and it would be so awesome to see what the two would do together.

I suggested to one of my Twitter friends that the collab would have to be both sassy and sexy, a la “Slow” and “Erotica.” I could definitely feel that. Hmmm????? Well of course the whole thing turned out to be a rumor, much like I thought, but it was nice to daydream about it for a bit anyway. Ah, maybe someday…..that would be so cool!

Here's a cool Kylie/Madge mash-up I found on YouTube of "Love at First Sight" and "Holiday." Enjoy!



Writing Wednesday

So last week I had to scramble to get in my eight articles for Gather and I ended up falling short by one piece. I woke up Saturday morning needing to get two in before the midnight deadline and the first one I did, about the Winter Classic hockey game on Monday, got rejected at first because I didn’t have access to the site’s sports channel. Eventually it made it in, but having to rework a Yahoo Voices piece and other commitments forced me to stop there, short one piece.

So I have no idea what’s going to happen with Gather. This was the second time I failed to hit my monthly minimum. Like I said before, the pressure of having to get that many in while working full time and with a limited number of available stories is really causing me to rethink writing for them. I’m just not sure yet…anyway, here’s what I published this week on Gather:

Gather

New Music for 2012: What to Expect

I did one just like this for Yahoo last year and it got a lot of page views, more than a thousand. I expected this one to do well, and it has, though not as well as last year’s item. There’s plenty of stuff coming our way in the music world, starting off with an exciting one for me (and many others!) in the new Madonna album. Check out the piece and see who else is planning new stuff for 2012 by clicking on the title above.


Image Source: 5-hole

The NHL's 5th Annual Winter Classic: NY Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

I should have written this one sooner, but better late than never, right? I spoke of this game on Monday, which the Rangers won, and this story is a preview of that game. Please check it out!

Yahoo Voices

Yahoo Voices is another website I’m becoming frustrated with. In the past week and a half, I’ve written two pieces for them, only one of which has been published. The other, a look at my choices for the top ten albums of 2010, is yet to be reviewed one week after it was submitted. At this point, what types of page views will it garner?

I’ve been writing for the site for almost five years now and I’ve got almost 400k page views, yet I am no longer trusted to publish content without review. I don’t want to bitch about it, but it is frustrating especially since that was always my favorite place to write for. Now I contemplate…

Anyway, here’s the one piece that did get published there, after a couple of edits (sigh!):

The Top 10 Pop Songs of 2010

Well, that's all she wrote for today. Gonna get back to taking down Christmas from my house, though I'm going to save the tree for a few more days! As always, thanks for checking me out!

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December 7th, 2010 - Doing My Part; Writing Wednesday; Happy Birthday Grandpa

Today is Wednesday, December 7th and there are only 12 days left of school until Christmas break. Since Thanksgiving break came and went so fast and I’ve been so busy with both work and play lately I am definitely looking forward to having 11 days off. Woo hoo! Aside from the weekly hump being behind us now, there’s not much else going on except the daily grind. So let’s be off to writing Wednesday…

Jonah


Source: ibtimes

I’m going to be starting things a little different today, with a piece I wrote on Examiner just last night. The piece has to do with the video right below. The video is one that was made by a 14 year-old boy named Jonah Mowry and it was all over Facebook and Twitter on Monday. Not having much time for looking at it then, I didn’t watch the video until yesterday and it moved me to write the piece, “Jonah Mowry: A New Face Against Hate.”

I had a hard time writing the piece…I wasn’t really sure what my goal was, but I felt the need to spread it to whomever might catch it through my Examiner page and now through this blog. I told my friend Rich about it and told him to watch, which he did earlier today and his reaction was more like the naysayers out there than the sympathizers like me.

Of course there could be shades of doubt about Jonah’s sincerity in the video, and my good friend Dit is a very cynical old gal, but in my heart I believe that Jonah’s message was real, and even if it wasn’t, I still feel it puts a new face on what young gay people go through day in and day out. Even Rich agreed that he understood that , sincere or not, the emotions and experiences Jonah talks about in his video are real. He knows it and so do I, and that’s why I felt the need to talk about it on Examiner.

In addition to being a gay person (and a writer!), I am also a teacher, and I see and hear the types of things, hateful things, that are perpetrated by children on children constantly. The words “gay” and “fag” are commonly used to put down kids who are perceived as being weak or different, and it is so widespread that sometimes I don’t think it will ever stop. At least Jonah did something to show the world what kind of effect these things have on innocent children everywhere.

Luckily for Jonah, he’s come out of this relatively unscathed. His parents found out about his homosexuality through the popularity of the video and so have his peers. The tormenting has apparently waned, for even Jonah says in a post on the video page that things are better than they had been. Others are not so lucky.

Last year, in September of 2010, a Rutgers student by the name of Tyler Clementi leapt to his death off the George Washington Bridge after his college roommate posted a video of him kissing another man on YouTube. And just a few short weeks ago another young man, 14 year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, also committed suicide in Amherst, New York, after repeated taunting and ‘bullying.”

Back in July, I posted a video of my friend Ozzie, who spoke to his audience at Circus about growing up gay. He, like me and Rich and Jonah and all of my other gay friends, survived our own torment from growing up different, and this video is his way of trying to give back and help out those who follow. It is another moving piece that deserves to be seen and heard. Writing the piece about Jonah is my way of spreading the word in the hopes of helping out somehow. Check out the post with Ruby/Ozzie’s video, “An Unexpected Good Time,” right here. And please watch Jonah if you haven’t seen him already.

Here’s more of what I’ve been writing these days:

Examiner

Christmas Events Galore on Long Island this weekend

If you live on Long Island and enjoy the Christmas season, there are plenty of fun things to do this weekend to live the spirit, from lighting displays to craft shows, theater, dancing and lots more!

Gather

New Coasters for 2012: International Edition

Wow, I just thought of that title now, and I think it would have been much better than the one I gave it when I published it (New Roller Coasters for 2012 from Around the World). Oh well, the list is pretty cool and now I want to go to China!

New Music This Week

Exciting stuff this week, including the new Amy Winehouse set of old demos and stuff, Black Keys, T-Pain, Robin Thicke and more!

Yahoo Voices

Rihanna’s “Talk That Talk”: A Track by Track Review

I have been so digging RiRi’s new CD and I couldn’t wait to get this one out there! Check out the raga dub-step sounds of this one:





Happy Birthday Grandpa

In addition to being Pearl Harbor Day, today is also my grandpa's birthday. My grandpa, Joe Randazzo, passed away a couple of years back at the age of 96, I believe. Anyway, happy birthday grandpa, wherever you are! Here's my favorite picture of he and my nana when they were young and in love. Isn't it a cool picture?



Well, thanks for reading and have a great Thursday!

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December 5th, 2011 - Yahoo Voices; Giving Thanks - Relationships; Odds n Ends

I’m happy to say that today I am still riding the wave of a high that’s been with me now for almost a week. For whatever reason, perhaps bolstered by my birthday last week, nothing has been getting to me lately. Not that anything has changed in my life; I just realized that from all the love I got last week, I have a pretty darned good life and I shouldn’t let things get me down.

I found a post the other day on Facebook that I shared on my own wall:

Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.

It’s a good quote, don’t you think? Anyway, for whatever reason I’ve been keeping a positive attitude about my life these days, and I just hope it sticks around for awhile. It’s been too long since I’ve really posted a real blog post here, and there’s a lot to talk about…


Source: webpronews

Yahoo Voices

I mentioned the other day that the Yahoo Contributor Network has a new name…and a new attitude! It’s really a shame, but ever since Yahoo took over the former Associated Content, things have definitely gone by the wayside for many writers, including myself. Many of my fellow writers have gone off to other sites permanently leaving the old AC for greener pastures and though I still keep in touch with them, it’s not the same.

I can understand why they’ve left, especially with this newest incarnation. Though I knew of a couple of changes happening the other day, most namely the look of the articles (all on one page now!), I hadn’t realized a major change until I experienced it yesterday. After hours of penning a review of Rihanna’s hot new album, “Talk That Talk,” I realized that the ability to publish articles immediately was taken away. All pieces must now be reviewed before publishing and from my own experiences that can take days. That was one of the best things about Y!CN, and now it’s gone!

This latest change invariably caused another one of my best writing buds, Michele Starkey, to decide to quit altogether. She leaves with other old favorites such as Abby Greenhill, Nancy Canfield, and a whole host of others who left the site within the past year. It’s starting to feel a lil’ lonely over there, for sure. I don’t know, but I’ve been with the site for more than four years now and even though it’s changed so much and I’m making less and less money over there, I just can’t seem to break away completely. Call me sentimental, but I’m gonna hang for a little!

Oh, and they did publish my “Rihanna’s ‘Talk That Talk’: A Track by Track Review,” which you can check out here.


Source: Nights of Tra

Clubbing

This weekend was kind of a clubbing bust for me. I had been asked to go to Ritz on Friday for a birthday drink with my pal Ivan (they were having a special Kylie event, too!), but I had my work Christmas party that night so I couldn’t make it. I ended up hitting the Eagle once again, this time with my pals Blanche and Dita. It was fun, but after a long week of being out every night I was tired, and it definitely carried through to Saturday.

I had planned on hitting Splash and Ritz on Saturday nights, which I did, but stopping by my pal Bessie’s for a visit beforehand like I did a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, she had to cancel at a late notice and I found myself in the city before ten. I had told my friend Paul I’d give him a ride home later on otherwise I would’ve headed home right then and there. I was still tired and feeling like I was coming down with something, but I went.

Splash was okay and the Ritz was packed, and before long I was ready to head home, but I hadn’t yet met up with Paul. He was going to try a new place, Club 57, before Ritz and we were supposed to meet up there. I guess he was having a good time because he never answered my text until after I had left the city until around 2AM. It turned out alright, though, because he had a place to crash for the night. He told me the next day how great Club 57 was, so it looks like I’ll be trying out a new place soon!

Giving Thanks

Well, I’ve really gotten behind on giving thanks for the things in my life. Even though Thanksgiving is long behind us now, I’ve still got 8 more Thanksgiving Thanks to share and here’s one more for today:

My Relationships

For someone my age, I guess I haven’t been in too many relationships to date. Of course since I am single today I can say that none of them ended on a good note, well that’s because they ended, lol. But I do want to give thanks for the good memories associated with them, of which there were many. Aside from a few not too meaningful relationships in my life, there are two that I am especially thankful for, and those are my last two.



Joe

I met Joe on June 4th, 1987, and we ended up being together for over twenty years. For the longest time since our breakup, I spent a lot of time regretting our time together, which I now realize was foolish all along. Joe and I shared many happy memories together, too many to recount, and as I’ve looked through a lot of old pictures these past few weeks, many of them gave me smiles thinking about them. Joe is a special guy with a good heart, and he was a great partner in my life for twenty-plus years. I am grateful to have had him in my life!



Him

I feel really silly saying ‘him,’ but I haven’t used his name here to date and since we don’t speak often I don’t feel right sharing it here now without any kind of warning. The ‘him’ I’m talking about is, of course, the last meaningful relationship I had which ended earlier this year. He came along in my life when I least expected it, and he brought back those great feelings you get when you’re in a new relationship with someone. For a few weeks there, I was as happy as I’d ever been.

Things didn’t go the way I had hoped with him, and a lot of the hurt I felt over it was painful, but I realize that perhaps I was a little selfish about a very adult decision he had made with his heart and that it had nothing to do with me. Last Tuesday night, right around midnight, he’d sent me a happy birthday message on Facebook. Though we’ve had contact here and there since the summer, it was the first time he made me smile in a very long time. His message presented with it a personal gift, and It just reminded me of how special a person he still is. Even though it still hurts sometimes to think back on that time, I can remember the sunshine he brought into my life even for a little while and be content in the knowledge that I got to experience it, and for that I am grateful.

Odds n Ends

It’s getting late…way past my bedtime, but there are a couple of things I still wanted to share:

There’s a lot of Madonna news out there today. Besides a new song being leaked today (“Masterpiece”), it was confirmed that she will in fact be playing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show this year. My sometimes sick friend Dita has been all over the story, finding a strange enjoyment in the equally strange commentary on it. Check it out here.


Montmorency Falls, Quebec, Canada

I got some exciting news earlier today. It looks like the French club in school will be making another trip to Canada this February and guess who just may be chaperoning? I went to Quebec with the group two years ago and it was awesome! I’ll be posting some pieces I wrote on that trip in this week’s "Writing Wednesday."

Well, it’s been real! As always, thanks for reading and have a great Tuesday!

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