Blogkeeping At 20,000 Views

20,000 views, and counting. I would presume that nearly 1000 of these views have nothing to do with The Monkees or The Flashcubes, but I wouldn't guarantee it.

This silly blog's mission statement remains unchanged: to write, and to post at least one item on the blog every single day.  Some posts are long, some posts are short, and a lot of 'em are really, really long.  I can be a gabby sumanagun, can't I? And, silly or not, I take it seriously: I approach each post as if it were written for a vast audience.  That means the two or three folks who actually show up here on any given day will get the same show they'd get as part of a sold-out arena crowd. Yep, even the encores.

Mark Hughson, host of Everyone's Invited on Westcott Radio, and coming soon to SPARK!

Short-term plans for Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) will include fundraising efforts on behalf of Spark Syracuse, the near-future FM radio home of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. Before Spark! WSPJ can commence broadcasting The Kinks and Toots & the Maytals at 93.5 and 103.3 FM in Syracuse, we need to raise about $5000 or so, and rather quickly.  Toward that end, this coming Sunday's TIRnRR will be designed as a demonstration of why this is radio worth paying for, and we humbly (har!) ask for your support.



As previously promised, I have a four-part Monkees series coming up pretty soon, re-assessing the group's recorded legacy in the wake of their fantastic 2016 album Good Times! Rhino Records has already announced plans for three-disc and single-disc Monkees anthologies, but we're going to ignore those to come up with our own four-disc, three-disc, two-disc, and single-disc Monkees career compilations.  Our first entry, a four-disc best-of-The-Monkees, will be titled Rows Of Houses That Are All The Same. As always, please rest assured that I'm not too busy singing to put anybody down.

 

Say, speaking of putting everybody down, I've avoided political posts thus far on the blog. My politics are no secret--I'm a left-leaning Democrat, and I'll be happy to vote for Hillary Clinton in November--but I've resisted the urge to write about my political convictions here. I have many friends to my right, and even a few to my left; the right regards me as a hapless pinko nincompoop, while the left, I think, regards me as a well-intentioned but gullible apologist for Fascism.  If I could fit that all on a T-shirt, I would, but even my preferred XXL ain't quite big enough for all them words. There is absolutely no need for anyone to waste his/her time and mine seeking to alter my planned vote.

After a long hiatus and earnest promises to return, I'm pulling the plug on Singers, Superheroes, And Songs On The Radio, my de facto autobiography of reading comic books and listening to records while growing up in the '60s and '70s.  I completed the 1960s portion, and I posted one Monkees-centric bonus chapter about The Girl I Knew Somewhere as a high school student in the '70s. But so far, I've been emotionally unwilling to commit to re-living the '70s.  That may change, but for now, it's best to walk away. I am, however, considering a new series called Spain, which would be an emotional rollercoaster itself.  I dunno.  I don't know yet.



There will be at least one more installment of The Notebook Notions, discussing some of the half-baked ideas for writing projects I used to jot down in notebooks as a teen. The next Notebook Notion will focus on my nostalgia for the '30s and '40s while living in the '70s, and will feature such luminaries as Captain Marvel, The Lone Ranger, The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, The Shadow, and The Justice Society of America. Plus The Beatles, if only in passing.  I may follow that up with a Notebook Notions on Hornet Enterprises, the publishing company I planned to build, combining comics and heroic pulp fiction with photos of naked women.  Please note that the blog itself will not contain any photos of naked women.

Oh, Carl--you're such a tease!

Comics of the past will continue to be covered in Comic Book Retroview--I promised my pal Pete Murray that there would be a post about Marvel's Not Brand Echh humor book, so dammit, there will be a post about Not Brand Echh! Also, probably, about Vampirella, Detective Comics, The Scorpion, Marvel Super-Heroes, The Mighty Avengers, Inferior Five, DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular, and Daredevil Battles Hitler.  I should likely oughtta consider writing something about my love/hate relationship with The Brave And The Bold, too.





After my above-mentioned four-part Monkees series, I've also set myself the challenge of doing a major, definitive single post about The Monkees.  That should be a lot of fun to do. I'm still thinking of returning to "It Came From The Garage!," the examination of Nuggets and the rediscovery of '60s punk that I started and abandoned while still freelancing for Goldmine in the late '90s.  All things to those who wait.

And, of course, you should still expect many previously-published gems from the ol' CC archives. Most of those would need to be--gulp!--retyped in their entirety, since I discarded the digital files a long time ago.  I work my fingers to the bone for you people...!

Once again, I thank one and all who stop by to check in on whatever the hell it is I have to say.  I appreciate your time and attention, and will continue to try to reward you with groovy, worthy commentary 'n' stuff.  Tell your friends!  We are legion, we are Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) at carlcafarelli.blogspot.com.  No solicitors, please.

So.  Six months and change.  201 posts.  20,000 views.  Still here.  Every day.  The bop goes on.