March 21st, 2012 - Writing Wednesday

Holy Smokes! This blog has had an amazing 48 hours, receiving more than 3,300 page views and counting over the last two days! I don't think I'll ever quite figure out exactly who the totality of my audience is, and sometimes the posts that get viewed surprise me.

For instance, one of the hottest posts was one I wrote last year called Happy Mother's Day. I remember seeing that it was just Mother's Day somewhere in the world just the other day, though I can't for the life of me remember where. That post itself has gotten around 1,500 hits the past three days alone. No matter, the more people click on this blog, the better, so I'm pretty excited to see it doing so well and I thank you if you're reading this now.

As I mentioned last week, I was planning on getting some writing done across the board, and voila! I did! Check it out:

Gather

Madonna Reaches Record 41st Number One Dance Record with "Gimme All Your Luvin'"

Last Friday, Billboard had published that Madonna's "Gimme All Your Luvin'" was going to be reaching the top spot on its' Hot Dance/Club Play chart for the week of March 31st. It's the 41st song of hers to reach that pinnacle, which is by far more than anyone before her.



Examiner

Orlando's Fun Spot Action Park expansion to include new coasters

Any news of a new roller coaster is exciting to me, and a local Orlando amusement center is undergoing a huge expansion that will eventually feature two new thrill rides and a whole lot more!

John's World

As usual, it's been another busy week of posts here. Check out what you might have missed:


Apple-y Ever After, from Ben and Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's New Flavor Celebrates Gay Marriage

I thought this news was worth a mention. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream unveiled a repackaging of their apple pie-flavored delicacy in honor of gay marriage and in conjunction with ongoing legal battles in England and elsewhere. Go Ben and Jerrys!

Finally, The Wanted to release a US album

When I first heard the news, I had to share it! The new record, simply called "The Wanted," is due out in stores here on April 24th. Can't wait! They're also going to be playing here on Long Island this Sunday, March 25th at the Paramount in Huntington. The show's being sponsored by BLI and you can check out an acoustic version of "Glad You Came" in a promo for the show here. Anyone wanna go with me?

Battle of the Brit Boy Bands: The Wanted vs. One Direction

Just when I thought The Wanted were starting to gain some great attention here in the States, along comes this other boy band called One Direction stealing some of the former's thunder. Those newbies earlier today became the first British act to debut on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart at the number one spot with their album "Up All Night", making music history. Congratulations to One Direction and here's to some serious rivalry!


One Direction

Just Posted to Madonna's World: New Madonna Album Party at The Ritz

Madonna's World blog posted a flyer announcing the latest Madonnathon, which will hit The Ritz on Sunday, April 1st. Sunday, really? Grrrrrr....

The party's going to be called "I'm Addicted to M.D.N.A." and the new album will be out by then, so look for all the new tracks to be played that night. Again, grrrrrr!!!!!

Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild" Video

And speaking of Madonna, eonline premiered her new video for "Girl Gone Wild" and it is fierce! Check out the title for my take on the video.

A Katy Perry and Rihanna Duet in the works

I switched the names in the title, because these two are both very high amongst pop royalty these days. This one's gonna be major!



The Return of Missy...Kinda Sorta

This week Missy Elliot made an awesome singing cameo on a new song by hip-hop star J. COle. The song's an awesome mix of hip hop and R&B and I've already posted it twice this week. Check it out if ya like a little R&B flavor with your hip hop. Can't wait for her new album coming in June!

Back to the Personal

This was my first personal memoir in awhile and it recounts a Saturday night full of bowling and clubbing...

Repostings

I reposted a couple of older pieces I'd written in the past in the hopes of getting them noticed again. One was an old phonology paper I'd written on the unique language of gay men. Check out Gayspeak.

Another piece I republished this week is an old poem about the wonderful feelings that come with this time of year, especially in a place that's just experienced winter (though we really didn't have too much of a winter this year!). Please see Spring Awakening.

Family Matters

Finally, just this morning I posted another poem I had written a couple of months ago, but never published. If any of you have ever had to deal with someone in your life who's gone astray and feel helpless, then check out Open Your Eyes - It's Up to You.

As always, thanks for checking me out!

Image Sources:

rollercoasters.org

John's World

sonicnation

SEMTEX



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January 13th, 2012 - Crappy Friday; Change in Writing

What a lazy day! I took a day from work today because I had a lot of things to do, and out of a list of about 15 things, I did maybe 3 or 4 of them. Many of these things involved making phone calls which I hate to do and as always I found a way to keep myself from making them. I am NOT happy about it!



Crappy Friday

I guess one of the biggest reasons for being so lazy today is because I haven’t been in a good mood. I’ve got a problem that I won’t get into here, but it’s been weighing on my mind all day. I just hate it when these things come up and seep into my general mood, disrupting my life. I know it’s my own fault and that I need to be more disciplined (mental note: go back to reading “The Life You Were Born to Live.”). I just wish I knew how to do it.



A Change in Writing

I have not been in a writing way these past couple of weeks either. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been thinking of how to narrow my focus in writing down to a place where I can be more effective, have some extra free time, and enjoy my life more in the process. For far too long the enjoyment I used to get out of writing has been minimal, and I find myself spending more time in front of the pc writing about things I wouldn’t have written about when I first started. It’s become more of a chore than a pleasure.

I want to start writing again about the things I love to write about, and I have made one decision that I hope will get me there. If I keep on doing things the way I’ve been doing them, then nothing will ever change, the results I get will be the same. In order to effect real change in my life I know I must make some big adjustments and the first thing I’ve decided to do is to resign from Gather.

Gather is a really nice site that does pay well in the short run, but after 30 days, the earning potential is a goner. The eight-article per month minimum they have was too much pressure for a writer who writes only part time, especially since he writes for other places and tries to have a life, too! I know that if I choose to stay at Gather and focus on that I would definitely earn more money, but I’d have to give up something else like Examiner or Yahoo or this blog, all of which I’ve been doing longer.

I love the possibilities I have with John’s World and Yahoo. The topics for me to write about are endless, especially with this blog and to a certain extent, Yahoo. Examiner is a place that I can always find something to write about, and it’s gotten me noticed here on Long Island, too. Their pay scale is pretty good, and so I’m going to stick with them, too, for now. Yahoo is still a potential place for me to stay. I’m contemplating applying for a featured position in music again, and who know what’ll happen this time?

So resigning from Gather will hopefully allow me to concentrate on more writing, and at a more leisurely, stress-free place than before. We’ll see how that goes. In the meantime I hope to spend more time on this blog and see where it takes me.
I’m formulating plans for John’s World and in addition to streamlining the site, I hope to be adding more, shorter posts on news items and stuff I find interesting. I already started earlier today with a video of an older black gentleman whooping it up to the Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy.” The video made me smile and I hope made you smile, as well. Look for more short stuff like that on here…

Well, that’s all I have for now. Since there wasn’t much writing today, Writing Wednesday is a no go for this week, but you can check out my Yahoo Voices feed to the right to see that piece that finally got published a few days back. As always, thanks for visiting!

Image Sources:

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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 28th, 2011 - A New Year Approaches; My Students, My Family; Writing Wednesday

It’s Wednesday, the “Hump Day” of Christmas vacation week. It’s been really nice having these past few days off and even though I haven’t accomplished as much as I would have liked, it’s nice to just kick back and do nothing every once in awhile. It’s especially nice not having to wake up early in the morning…I’ve found that it’s quite easy to get into the habit of being a night person again, so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts…




A New Year Approaching

Well it’s almost the New Year and it’s time to start assessing my life and formulating some new goals for 2012. I’m not one to make resolutions…they only end in disappointment, so I plan on just getting myself together once again and moving forward hopefully in a more productive and positive way. I’ve got another few days to really plan things out and get stuff done, so I’d better get going…

Of course I want to get back once again to reaching for my goal of moving into the city. My house is just killing me financially and unfortunately I think the only way for me to get comfortable again is to rid myself of it, if only I knew how. Other things I need to think about is writing, of course. I’m contemplating narrowing down the scope of the sites I write for in order to get more bang for my buck, so to speak, though I’m still not sure which sites to give up and which ones to keep.

There are plenty of other things to think about for the coming year, as well. Health is a priority once again. I made a promise to take better care of my health going into this year and I was definitely more successful than in the past. I just need to keep it going in 2012. I’d really like to pursue another relationship one of these days, too. I want to find newer and better ways of meeting people in the coming year. 2011 was a dud in that department, for sure. Any suggestions? Stay tuned…


Me and my extended family, from left to right Gerber, Mayela, me, Arnoldo and Jorge

I Love My Students!

I know I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it one more time. I love my job and the joy it brings me. For the past two nights I’ve spent some time with some of my former students and I appreciate all that they bring into my life. The Sandoval family and Max are some of my oldest students and although none of them are in school anymore, they each remain an indelible part of my life. They are my family!

Writing Wednesday

It’s been three weeks now since I’ve shared what I’ve written online. Now that the Christmas crunch is behind us, here’s some of the more relevant stuff that hasn’t been time sensitive:

Examiner

Fun ways to ring in the New Year on Long Island

I’ve got to say that these event pieces I do for Examiner are not really challenging to my writing skills, but they do get a lot of hits. For the past several weeks, Christmas and New Year’s event articles have brought in an average of 600 hits per week each which is phenomenal. In addition, researching them gives me great ideas on things to do, too! Good stuff!

6th Annual Outlook Awards: Best Nightlife Nominees

This January, Outlook Long Island will be holding their annual awards ceremony for the best of the best of LGBT stuff on Long Island. Since I’ve penned so many articles on nightlife, I thought I’d start off this mini-series on the nominees for best bars and nightlife here on Long Island. Stay tuned for more in this series.

Gather

New Music Singles from Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Drake and more

After the second week of December, the new music releases have really gone just plain boring. At least there were some exciting new singles being released last week that I could share with my readers.

Madonna’s Super Bowl set list

This one was fun to write. Madonna released the set list of songs she’ll be performing at this year’s Super Bowl. Click the link above to check it out.

The Latest Buzz on Madonna’s new album

This one is hot off the presses, with the latest exciting news that Madonna fans are hankering for. The new Madonna album is gonna be epic! I can feel it!

As for Yahoo Voices, there hasn’t been anything new on there since the last Writing Wednesday, though I just submitted the first of several music retrospectives I have planned to publish on the site. Boy, do I miss being a featured music contributor!

Well that’s all for now. Heading out to see if I can catch some clearance sales on Christmas ornaments to replace the many I lost last week. Wish me luck! I’m also going to be heading out to the clubs finally, starting with tonight at Circus. It’s my bud Ozzie’s birthday celebration and I’m looking forward to checking out the festivities, and then tomorrow night is Splash Thursdays, something I look forward to whenever I’m off on a Friday. Can’t wait! Have an awesome day everyone!

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Image Source: The Year 2012

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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Writing Wednesday...A Little Belated

I’m a couple of days late, but better late than never right? Ah well, the birthday celebrations have kept me from my pc for a couple of days...Here are some of the articles I’ve been posting since last time:


Source: covershut

Gather

New Christmas Albums 2011

There are lots of new Christmas albums out this year, from Justin Bieber’s “Under the Mistletoe” to Michael Buble’s “Christmas,” and more.

New Music This Week

This week’s entries include live sets by Adele and Kylie Monogue, plus a new one from Hot Chelle Rae and more…

Lady Gaga planning new tour, album

Yes folks, Lady Gaga is in the planning stages of her “Born This Way Tour” and she’s already contemplating material for her next album, including maybe a song or two with Elton John.

Examiner

LI Eagle and Veranda at LI Eagle

This is a long awaited review of the LI Eagle, as I see it…

Christmas Events around Long Island this weekend

The Christmas season has definitely begun here on Long Island and there are plenty of things to do to ring it in.


Source: The African American Lectionary

HIV and AIDS: Some Facts

I wrote this one in April of 2010, but since yesterday was World AIDS Day I figured I’d share this one today. Many of us in the gay community and the population at large has known or knows someone living with this terrible virus, and this article tells the real deal.

Yahoo Voices

Effective yesterday, December 1st, the Yahoo Contributor Network has a new name, “Yahoo Voices.” I’m not sure what I think of it yet…it’s shorter and catchier than the last name, and so I hope it’ll be even better received than before. The one big difference, which I think is a good thing, is that all of the articles will now appear on one page.

What Are You Listening To? Fall 2011

This is my quarterly piece on what’s playing in my music folder currently. Check it out to see what I’m listening to these days…
Well, that’s all she, well, I, wrote, lol. As always, thanks for reading and have a great Friday and a great weekend! Here's Ri-Ri...





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November 23rd, 2011 - Writing Wednesday

It’s Thanksgiving Eve and time for an early version of “Writing Wednesday.” It hasn’t been too busy of a week, but here goes…


Source: R.U.Crazy

Gather

Will.i.am’s New Song

The Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am is working on a new album called “#Willpower,” and he debuted the first single from the set on Sunday night’s American Music Awards. The song is called “T.H.E. (The Hardest Thing Ever)” and it features Jennifer Lopez and Mick Jagger on vocals, and I like it!

New Music Mania

My weekly new music update features a big week in new stuff, with a little for everybody including Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Nickelback, Daughtry, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift and more.

Here's MJB's newest:






Examiner

Thanksgiving Eve happenings around Long Island

Thanksgiving Eve is one of the biggest nights of the year to for going out, and there’s plenty of hot happenings all over the island tonight only….too bad they’re all straight clubs, lol.

Y!CN

Thanksgiving Nuggets

I always post a Thanksgiving piece on Y!CN this time of year, and this year I did a little something different.

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November 16th, 2011 - Writing Wednesday

Well, I missed last week’s “Writing Wednesday” and so you might think I’d have a lot to share here for two weeks worth of writing, but it’s really not too much. Life’s been really hectic and there hasn’t been a lot of time for writing like I’d like, unfortunately, and so here goes nothing:


Source: gleehab

Gather

New Music for the week of November 14th

This is the one that got rejected, then put up on Y!CN for a spell, then accepted back on to Gather. This week’s new albums include Drake’s sophomore set, a R.E. M. retrospective and a new Christmas album from the Gleesters.

Mary J. Blige’s Streaming Live Event

Yes, MJB is back and she’s doing a special live streaming concert tomorrow night, November 17th, and for the special show she’ll be performing the entire, original “My Life” album. Should be awesome!

A New Thrill Park in Orlando?

This one was really exciting to research. Developers are planning a new amusement park in Orlando featuring 8 brand new world-class coasters, something which has been sorely lacking in the land of make believe. Plans are still tentative, but fingers are crossed!


Source: Orlando Theme Park News

Examiner

Long Island’s Farmer’s Markets

I work in Long Island Farm Country and I just love going into all of the special farm stands to buy fresh veggies, hoe-baked goods and lots of other cool stuff. Well, farmer’s markets are places where the farmer’s bring their wares to you and they are literally all over the island. Thanksgiving is a great time of year to get these goods while they’re out there, so check it out.


Source: Flickr

Extended Long Island Restaurant Week

LI Restaurant Week has officially ended, but five great restaurants around the island have extended their prix fixe meals for even more great dining bargains.

Let the Shopping Begin at Holiday Craft Fairs

I love a good craft fair! You can find all sorts of unique items for gifts or for yourself, and there are plenty of them to go around beginning this weekend.

Source: RoFoHeadgear

Y!CN

It All Started with Ruth Buzzi

I’ve only written one piece for Y!CN in the past two weeks and it’s the second in a series I hope to do on the Occupy Wall Street movement. The topic of the piece is eliminating campaign financing and it was inspired by comedienne Ruth Buzzi, who favorited it on Twitter and then wrote me with a complement and to tell me that my piece inspired her to write her own...hmmm, looking forward to that!


Source: I'm Learning to Share

Well that's all she wrote for now. I hope to be back on time next week with at least as many new pieces as I've shared for the past two. We shall see...As always, thanks for reading!

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Thanksgiving Thanks - Readers

Source: TheMiddleShelf

I’m thankful for my readers

Okay, so this one is especially for you, my readers. Over the past four and a half years I’ve been writing all kinds of things online, from music articles and such to social commentary and news items and a whole bunch of other stuff, and I’ve definitely developed some sort of a following from it and I am forever thankful.

I’ve had some really cool interactions with several people who’ve read my work, from Puffy at YourLI.com, who gave me a yearlong job reviewing restaurants, to my fellow writers at Yahoo Contributor Network, who’ve interviewed me and written about me themselves, and just recently comedienne Ruth Buzzi wrote me to let me know that I’ve inspired her to write a piece for Yahoo. How cool is that?

I’ve also got some friends who check me out regularly and I’d like to thank each and every one of them, from Nancy Lou to Dita and Terry, Ivan and Rita. It’s nice to know that, at least hopefully, they all find some value in this old blog and the sometimes crazy, off-centered type of things I write about.

Anyway, so that’s my thank you of the day today. I really appreciate all of whom visit my stuff here, at Y!CN, Examiner, or Gather, whether it’s every day or just once in awhile. Have a great Sunday!

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November 3rd, 2011 - Writing Wednesday

Hello all, today’s already November 2nd and before you know it, you-know-what will be here…Yikes! I don’t even wanna think about that just yet, though I’ve already been seeing that ‘décor’ in stores already… I'm dreading the music already!

Writing Wednesday

Well it’s Wednesday and time to share what I’ve been up to in the past week. I’ve had a pretty busy week overall, writing-wise, and I’ve got plenty more on my plate in the days to come. Hopefully, things will be fruitful (especially if any of you gimme a few clicks, wink!). Here goes:

Gather

Now Gather is the one place where no one can subscribe to me, and it’s the best paying site that I write for. It’s one of the primary reasons for adding these articles to Writing Wednesday and I really appreciate any reads of these pieces as I still try to get my groove on over there…


Source: AT40

Details emerging on new Madonna album

Like many of my fellow Madonna fans, the news that she has been working on a new album finally is very exciting, and some new tidbits came out this week about it, including some info on her first single which features rappers Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.

VH1 Divas Live celebrates soul music

The latest “Divas” show on VH1 features exciting performances by Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and more. The concert, which celebrates soul music and some of the places where it thrives, will air on the channel on December 19th.

New Music: Week of October 31st, 2011

This week spotlights new Florence and the Machine and a Christmas album from teen heartthrob Justin Bieber.

Here's "Shake it Out" from Florence and the Machine's new "Ceremonials":






Source: Pracktikel

Y!CN

After almost three weeks, I finally got an article out on Yahoo Contributor Network. It’s a piece I’ve wanted to write about the Wall Street Protests for awhile and I think it’s pretty good. Check it out and stay tuned for more to come:

Occupy Wall Street: Practicing American Principles

Examiner

I’ve been pretty busy with Examiner, too! Check these out:


Source: insidesocal

Cyndi Lauper’s “Home for the Holidays” to benefit NYC’s GLBT homelessness

Cyndi Lauper is a great straight ally, and this one looks like fun! I wanna go!

Fall Festivals this weekend on Long Island

Let the shopping begin!

Long Island Restaurant Week is back

Yup, starting this Sunday, November 6th, great restaurants all over the island will be serving up their best at an affordable three-course prix fixe menu for only $24.95. It’s a sweet deal and you can find links to all of the great participating restaurants within the piece.

NYC Up & Out

This is a review of one of my go-to websites for events of interest to LGBT’s in and around New York City. I get their weekly newsletter, which has given me plenty of ideas for pieces…one day, when I live in the city, I may actually get to experience a lot of the great things on this great website!



Well, I'd say that was a pretty productive week! As always, thanks for reading...

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October 26th, 2011 - Writing Wednesday; Walmartian of the Week

Boy, Wednesday seems to come around faster and faster, doesn’t it? I’m trying ever so hard to stick to some kind of schedule with my writing, and Writing Wednesdays is one easy way for me to do so, as long as I do it! I seem to be following a regular schedule, too, with updated posts every other day or so. It’s funny, and par for the course, that this is my favorite place to write yet it’s the one place where I earn the least amount of money. Oh, well, there’s gotta be a way…

Writing Wednesdays

Writing has been getting very frustrating for me these days. I’m definitely spread too thin and because of it I haven’t been writing as much as I can, nor about the things I want to write about. Gather is proving to be the most lucrative of the sites I write for, but Examiner can be lucrative, as well. The tough part about Gather is that they have an eight article minimum each month and so there’s always pressure to get to the eight. I penned four this week:


Source: InnTheBasement

Gather

Mary J Blige is back with “My Life II…The Journey Continues”

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a big MJB fan and I am really looking forward to this one! It’s actually a sequel to her 1994 sophomore record, “My Life,” and it’s supposed to be a little bit of the old, hip-hop Mary mixed with some of the newer, happier and wiser Mary. This should be good!


Source: DisneyDreaming

Kelly Clarkson and Coldplay this week’s hottest new releases

My semi-weekly series on the newest CD’s to hit the market each week features two highly anticipated albums, one I’m gonna buy and one I’m probably not. Can you guess which is which?


Source: U.S. Rent a Car

Universal’s “Dragon’s Challenge” changes its ride

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Orlando has changed the way it operates its “Dragons Challenge” roller coaster after two incidents over the summer. I’ve ridden these twin coasters and they were awesome, but they’re not going to be quite as awesome anymore.


Source: LA Times

Record-breaking roller coaster to debut at Port Aventura in 2012

Another new coaster for 2012 was announced, only this time it’s located in Spain’s Port Aventura amusement park. Too bad, it sounds cool!

There have been no articles on either Y!CN or Examiner in the past week. It’s kind of sad to me, but Y!CN was always my favorite place to write until recently, and where I was once earning up to $100 per month, it has now whittled down to a measly $10-15. I guess I was one of the many writers who fell through the cracks after Yahoo took over. I still plan to stick with them, but obviously for the time being it’s got to be minimal, which is a shame.

I actually penned four other pieces which are all unfinished at this point, two each for Y!CN and this blog. I agonized over each of them and I’m still not sure whether or not I will finish and publish them. We’ll see…

Walmartian of the Week


Ain't she purdy?

Well, that's all she wrote for this evening! Thanks for reading and have a great Thursday!



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October 13th, 2011 - Writing Wednesday; Hats Off to Lisa; Walmartian of the Week

Source: Coventry Telegraph

Okay, well last week I published my “Writing Wednesday” on Friday, so at least I’m a bit closer this time. Once again, time hasn’t allowed me to do too much by way of the written word, and so I can use all the help I can get…

Gather

Rihanna tops Madonna as fastest female to reach 20 top tens

At just 23 years of age, Rihanna has broken a record set by Madonna for the fastest female ever to reach 20 top ten hits on the Billboard charts with her latest, “We Found Love.”

New Music for the week of 10/10/11

There’s lots of new stuff this week, including an innovative and interactive new set by Bjork, Joe Jonas’ debut solo album, a long-awaited Evanescence, and lots more.



Y!CN

Chicken Spinach Meatballs

This one’s a rare recipe from me, and it’s easy, healthy and delicious!



Hats Off to Lisa!

I had wanted to do a piece on my friend Lisa’s salon, Hats Off, which celebrated its second anniversary yesterday, but like with all of my other writing, time just got the best of me. Anyway, Lisa is my friend who I reconnected with recently since she recognized me from 2nd grade religion class, and I’ve been going to her shop for the past couple of months.

Technically, Hats Off is a barbershop, but only in name. The place has more of a salon look and feel to it than your traditional white-jacketed, barber pole kind of place, and Lisa and her crew do an awesome job doing men’s cuts. AllBusiness.com did a piece on the shop when it first opened, which you can check out here.

So if you happen to live in the South Shore Long Island area and are looking for a great new place to get your haircut, then give Hats Off a try! The shop is located at 606-B Montauk Highway in Bayport, a little bit east of Broadway Avenue.

Walmartian of the Week

And we finish off this post with our weekly Walmartian. I don't know about you, but I'd be afraid to run into this one in the middle of the night!



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October 7th, 2011 - So much to write; Metro Fridays tonight; Writing Wednesday, two days late; Yankees sputter

TGIF everybody! It’s Columbus Day Weekend, I’ve got the next three days off and I couldn’t be happier for that. The tailbone is still smarting…I just can’t get comfortable no matter what I do, but we’re two days past where we were last time I posted and two days closer to feeling better. Here’s some of what’s been happening.


Source: Institute for Public Accuracy

So much to write, so little time

I’ve got so much to write and I’m still experiencing the frustration at not having the time to get it out. I’m afraid that I’m going to lose some of my ideas or that they’ll become too stale before I get to them, but I’m hoping that the weekend will afford me the time to get some things out there. I really want to get some points in on the Wall Street Protests and there are a couple of gay issues I’d like to address, as well. And then there's stuff on Mary J Blige’s new CD, Lady Gaga and Madonna….Ugh! Like I said, so much to write, so little time...we’ll see what happens.

Metro Fridays Tonight!

Tonight is the Grand Opening of Metro Fridays at the Lizard Lounge and I actually convinced my buds Rich and Bobby to come along with me. I'm hoping that it's going to be good enough so that I'll have a nice place to go to besides the city on a Friday night, so we'll see. If you want to know more about Metro Fridays, check out this piece:

Metro Fridays Comes to Lizard Lounge Friday, October 7th

Writing Wednesday, two days late...

Here is a two-day late version of “Writing Wednesday.” As you can see, I haven’t written too much:

Betty White a club singer?

Yes, last week 89 year-old actress and comedienne Betty White was the featured rap singer on a club song by British artist Luciana. There’s a link to the song in the piece…kinda funny!

More of the best Halloween spookfests on Long Island

This one’s an Examiner follow-up to a previous article about various haunted attractions around Long Island with several more cool places to get spooked for Halloween.

More Quotes to Inspire and Enrich Life

My latest collection of inspirational quotes taken from those I follow on Twitter. Great stuff!


Source: Daily News

A-Rod and the Yankees a bust

Well, last night we all found out that it just wasn’t meant to be for the Yankees this year as they lost the series to the Tigers, 3-2. The highly controversial and many think overrated and overpaid Alex Rodriguez struck out to end the game 3-2 in the Tiger’s favor. It was the second year in a row in which A-Rod ended the Yankees season with a whiff. Hmmm????

Ah well, a disappointment, but it's not the end of the world. We Yankee fans are spoiled…they’re virtually always in it and that’s a lot more than other teams, many other teams can say.

Well that’s all for the moment. I’ve got something else to share, but I want to address it in its own post, so keep an eye out for that. Until then, have a good one, and enjoy the longtime Yankees’ theme song to end a game or a season. Just wait til’ next year!




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September 28th, 2011 - Writing Wednesday; Smells Like Teen Spirit; Happy Birthday Nancy Lou

Happy Hump Day all! Actually, it’s already Wednesday night and so at the moment we’re all past that proverbial work-week hump, so hooray for that! It’s already been a long work week for me, with three long days so far, but tomorrow is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and so there’s no school. I’m going to celebrate by heading out to Circus for the first time since summer and I am really looking forward to it, but first I’ve got some stuff to share…




Writing Wednesday

Johnny’s been a busy little writer this week, with stuff on all three sites. Check out my latest:

Y!CN

Rihanna gains steam with “We Found Love”

This was an article originally penned for Gather, but another writer beat me to the punch, so I did the next best thing and posted it to Y!CN. It’s all about the singer’s newest single, “We Found Love,” which I posted here as Song of the Day the other day, but had to take down when her record company deleted it. The tune is from her upcoming album and it’s one of those songs that’s got a great chorus that stays in your head long after listening to it. The link to the iTunes track is still on Friday’s blog post here, so you can preview it and buy it there or you can just wait til it hits radio stations on October 11th.

Gather

New Music for the Week of 9/26/11

My weekly bit on Gather with new stuff from Blink 182, Lee Ann Rimes and a celebratory 20th Anniversary release of Nirvana’s "Nevermind."

Nirvana's "Nevermind" is a classic album and this is the song that started a whole new movement:

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana





Ten New Roller Coasters for 2011

After a slow summer of 2011, theme parks everywhere are adding new coasters to their rosters next year. Click the link to check out what’s in store.

Examiner

The best Halloween spookfests on Long Island

Ah, I love the Halloween season, and I love going to haunted houses and getting the bejesus scared out of me! This one’s a review of four of the best haunted attractions Long Island has to offer.

The 2011 Long Island GLBT Expo

I went to this one last year and ended up running into some old friends who hadn’t known my ‘secret,’ hehe. No, they aren’t PLU’s, but they were working the Citibank booth at the Expo and were in for a pleasant reunion and surprise when I walked by. Actually, this was a pretty good event, and I’m hoping to go again this Sunday.

Metro Fridays come to Lizard Lounge

We’re a little more than a week away from the Grand Opening of Metro Fridays at Lizard Lounge, home of Circus Wednesdays. I’m very excited about it because I miss going there every week and I think I actually convinced my buddy Dita to come with me to opening night. Let’s hope it’s a success!

Happy Birthday Nancy Lou!

Today is my pal Nancy Lou’s birthday, so I couldn’t let this go without mention. Here’s to you Nancy Lou! Hope you have a mahvellous birthday! Boop boop bee doop!



Well, that's all she wrote for today folks! Have a good one!

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Writing Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Well, it's Wednesday night and we're just about over that hump...I'm a little out of gas...been a long week, but I wanted to put up some links to what I've been writing lately. It's been too long since the last Writing Wednesday...


Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point - My favorite roller coaster and #3 on the list of the top 25 of 2011

Roller Coasters

Well, since I WAS going to go to Out at Night at Great Adventure this Friday, I've had coasters on my mind recently. I've done several pieces on roller coasters on both Examiner and Gather:

Out in the Park Events (at Six Flags New England and Great Adventure)

Halloween Fright Fests at Theme Parks Across America

This one got featured on Examiner's special Halloween page. Hoping for lots of page views! Besides, I love Fright Fest and I may just have to go this year.

Top 25 Wooden Coasters of 2011

Top 25 Steel Coasters of 2011

World's Best Amusement Parks for 2011

Fire Island

End of Season Fun at Cherry Grove

There are still a couple of parties going on at Cherry Grove before it closes for the season. I'm hoping to go to the Halloween Party at Cherry's on October 1st.

Gather Music

It seems I am now writing for Gather what I used to write for AC, or Y!CN. I kind of miss writing as much for them, but ever since they turned me down for their Featured Music Contributor position, things just haven't been the same! Anyway, here are some of those pieces:

New Music: Week of August 29th with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lenny Kravitz, Edwin McCain and Jill Scott.

New Music: Week of September 12th with Lady Antebellum, Bush and Blondie.

New Music: Week of September 19th with Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, Demi Lovato, Tony Bennett and new mega-super group Superheavy.

There were two articles on David Guetta's fantastic "Nothing But the Beat," a general review and a track by track listing:

Guetta On Fire

"Nothing But the Beat: Track by Track"

If you don't already have this one, get it!!!!

Tony Bennett's "Duets II"

I previewed this one because it's got Amy Winehouse's very last recording with Bennett on "Body and Soul." The rest of it sounds pretty cool, too, if you're into that, and besides Mr. Bennett made news today with his remarks about 911. Tsk tsk!

Miscellaneous pieces from Y!CN

I posted a few pieces here and there for Yahoo Contributor Network recently on different topics. Check em out:

Remembering 9/11

I've linked this one here before. It started as an assignment, and then I flubbed it, lol. I think it's a pretty good piece, though!

My Fitness Routine

Another assignment piece...on how I keep fit...dancing's the word, mostly!

Volunteer's Corner: Feeding the Hungry

My latest in the series, this time on food pantries where people can volunteer for a really good cause. My neighbor and friend Terry has been doing it for years and she rocks!

So that's about it! It's really not a lot for three or four weeks, right? Makes me want to recharge my tired batteries and do something more pointed and consistent. Anyway, I'm heading on out to the city tomorrow night, hopefully to meet with Kona (still don't know for sure!), but even if I don't, at least I have Splash to look forward to. I'm off Friday...woo hoo!

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