Hi, hi, hi, beautiful Sunday
Daniel Boone and Rod McQueen:
This is my, my, my, beautiful day
When you said, said, said, said that you loved me
Oh, my, my, my,
its a beautiful day
Daniel Boone’s “Beautiful Sunday”
Reached #15 in 1972
It’s a 72 hour micro-vacation in the US! We welcome everyone to a the tnocs.com Weekend Wrap-Up!
Thank you for stopping by The Weekend Files! It was an exceptionally fun week hanging with everybody! I hope that you all have some waycool plans in the works. If you have a calendar, then you know: this is not just your usual “48-hour break, and then, it’s back to the salt mines.”
Me? I’m psyched, and I’m concocting a plan as we speak.
Many of us will have the chance to enjoy an extra day away from the humdrum slog of everyday life. 24 bonus hours! You know, an opportunity to think outside the box. Maybe try something new, and different.
I think I’ll play with a stick, take several naps, eat… chew on one of Dad’s shoes…”
“Wait…”
Oh, well. So much for a little variety…
In my ongoing effort to reliably deliver the arcane and superfluous, let me search for just the right fancy-pants term for…
So many people out there, searching for a way to expand their friendships, and –
– um… never mind.
Hmm. Maybe I should be more of a Gabriel Weinberg kind of a guy. No matter. We’ll just go with “tripartital.” It sounds kind of neat, and I figure that if it was good enough for him, then we can certainly make it work .
OK, web boy. Enough with the sesquipedalia. Bring on the news, in spiffy bullet point style:
• A very kind and beloved friend and tnocs.com member emailed to tell me that they were clicking the site’s advertisements like crazy, in order to try and help me pay the server bills. It was a very thoughtful gesture, but:
please don’t make random and high-volume multiple clicks or taps on an ad!
While I really appreciate the thought, this creates a huge problem in that implies that I’m cheating, and will result in being delisted by Google. Which would be… really not good. By all means, if something strikes your fancy, have a click – just not a bunch, on the same ad in a short time period.
Thanks in advance for your help with this.
• This week, we conducted a little experiment. We tried increasing our new article publishing scheme from two days a week, to a full Monday-to-Friday schedule. Eight new pieces this week. Yikes. The important question is: was it too much, or is it OK? Your thoughts about this increased activity are very important and most welcome. Please chime in.
• If we decide to stick to the more frequent publishing plan, it means that we’ll need even more of your awesome content. Everyone is welcome to be a tnocs.com author! Please send your articles, pitches, workshopping, and any other ideas – hit me up anytime at submissions@tnocs.com . I’ll bring the virtual coffee.
• From the vital statistics department: This past Thursday was our biggest day ever for site hits and individual article views… and this record was broken just one day later on Friday. So cool! And the comment sections are well into double-digits as well. Lovin’ the metrics!
• As always, a reminder to use the “The Weekend Files” comment section below for anything that you want to chat about, all weekend long.
And now, here’s our recap of the cool stuff that you may have missed this week…
This Past Week’s New Articles
Many of you know a certain commenter from his detailed and insightful opinions of the film world. We’re glad that he’s decided to join in the fun here. Contributing Author Chad “cappiethedog” Shiira made his tnocs.com debut with a powerful observation of an intersection of movies and music. It was exactly the tour-de-force that you’d expect. We love the movies. And we look forward to learning more from cappie.
I think that I could hang and listen to records with Contributing Author Chuck Small all day long. He always brings a cheerful point of view, and did so again this week with an article about a K-Tel box set from days gone by. I am proud to say that this time, I remembered every track. And I am also proud to say I concur with Chuck’s Entry Number One in the ‘Yuck.’ category. Even as a kid, that record always creeped me out a little. But, hey, what do I know? Back in the seventh grade, Maria Duratelli always used to say how much she loved it.
Oh.
Never mind.
Our second debut of the week! Good friend and newest Contributing Author Edith G wrote an opinion piece about the very sticky subject of songwriting attribution. She asked us to think about when and how, exactly, is the credit due? It’s all so complicated… but Edith gave us some salient points to ponder, to help us try to sort out the question. Siempre te apreciamos, Edith, y gracias por tu primer artículo.
A perfect example of how a short essay can be equally (or more) powerful than a long form piece. Contributing Author thegue took us back to the old days, to tell us what he had learned from his father at the the age of eight. 624 words, and not a letter or punctuation mark wasted.
Imagine having this guy for a teacher? Lucky students. And I would say that statement includes us, as well. Thanks for sharing a very personal moment and family story with us. Good on Dad. And good on you.
Hail Britannia! And hail Contributing Author JJ Live At Leeds, who provided us with a hilarious insight to the sometimes tribal nature of our friends over in the UK. Frankly, it was relief to see that some of the divisiveness that we see in North America can be found elsewhere; there’s comfort that we’re not alone in our sniping at each other for purely territorial reasons. And, perhaps most importantly: I learned how to properly pronounce “scone.” See? I just said it perfectly. Trust me.
As of this writing, JJ has a huge hit on his hands, with a robust comment count of nearly 60. Thanks for a hugely fun ride. What’s next, JJ?
And, yikes y’all are crushing it– another debut! Contributing Author Ozmoe, who clearly knows how much we all love radio, hit us up with some interesting history, along with listings for this weekend’s upcoming Holiday Countdowns. Some backroom stuff: He pitched, researched, and submitted his excellent article, with a self-imposed deadline that would make your head spin – just so that it would be ready in time for this week. That’s what I’d call dedication, and kindness and respect for the readers. We appreciate you, Ozmoe, and look forward to more articles with your byline.
Speaking of dedication: It absolutely blows my mind to see how much work our beloved Contributing Author Bill Bois puts into his wonderful Theoretically Speaking: Music Theory For Non-Musicians series. Every week, V-dog explains concepts that enhance our gang’s collective love and passion for song.
I learn a bunch of new things with each posting. It’s really fun when a song comes on the radio, and I think, “Oh, cool! That sounds like it could be that chord thing that Bill was describing.” And, I’ll just bet that many of you are having the same moments. Good on you, good friend. We appreciate you, and what you share with us every week.
Site Stuff:
- Work on improving the “heart upvote” and comment edit tool coding continues. I’m on it. Let me know of any other weirdness and I’ll get to fixing it.
- (If you didn’t catch it above, it bears repeating: please don’t over-click on the ads. It’s pretty important.)
- How’m I doin? Is the site loading and responding fast enough? Any major fails? Looking good on desktop, tablet, and mobile? Please let me know what you like, hate or would like to see for your best viewing experience. Feedback is appreciated and respected.
- Want to see your byline Up Front? So do we! Please write for us! Old comment section veterans and newcomers are all welcome to join in the reverie.
We want to hear what’s on your mind. If you have an idea or just want to chat about stuff, PM me anytime at submissions@tnocs.com .
• Any suggestions for channels? Content? Cool features? General mayhem?
I want this to be your place. Tell me how to make it better.
Thank you so much for your support and kind comments about the site. I’m impossibly lucky to be able to hang with all of you. Have a great weekend, please be careful, take good care of yourselves and each other…
.. and good on you all.
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
Great work as ever mt, site looks good to me on mobile and all running smoothly. The five days a week schedule worked great. If there’s sufficient content then go for it.
No holiday weekend here (yet) but you guys enjoy yourselves. I’m not remotely jealous though as I’m not back at work til 8th June. Busy time planned, tomorrow night its Steve Coogan as his his comedy creation Alan Partridge live, Monday night its the thrice rescheduled Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Originally due July 2020 to tour their 2nd album but now coinciding with the release of their 3rd album. Then 2 nights with me and my daughter visiting my dad while Mrs J has to stay home and work.
And our week ends with a four day weekend as Queen Liz’s longevity means Thursday and Friday are public holidays to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. Our longest serving Monarch, 70 years on the throne. I’m not a royalist but on this occasion I have to say thanks Liz for the extra long weekend.
My daughter is celebrating that by having a friend over for a sleepover for the first time. They’re already giddy with excitement, not sure if we’ll be able to get much sleep Friday night over the sound of giggling. I offered to go out but my wife said something along the lines of there’s no way on earth I’m leaving her to deal with it alone.
Take care folks and have a good weekend.
From the “Alan Partridge” Wikipedia page:
“Vanity Fair described Alan Partridge as “a national treasure … as cherished a part of British comedy heritage as John Cleese’s Basil Fawlty and Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean”.
That’s a pretty great review. I don’t think I know the character, but I’ll dive in this weekend.
Have a great show, and good luck with the sleepover!
Umm…
Am I the only one not seeing anything of mt’s wise weekend words???
Woah.
Ok, I’m on it.
Really sorry everyone. Server crash… fixed.
Woo-hoo, crisis averted! Excellent recap mt.
On a site-related note, I’m having to log back in every time I return to my tnocs window – it seems to kick me out if I haven’t been active on the site for a certain amount of time. Only seemed to start doing that this week. Really not that big a deal, just something I noticed.
I always want to know about these issues so that I can fix them – thank you.
It’s likely due to a recent mandatory security upgrade by my host provider. They are pushing user timeouts and other things that might cause this.
If you have a moment sometime and want to PM me the steps that lead to the the occurrence, I will be happy to check it out.
Hope you are all having a beautiful Memorial Day weekend. It was supposed to rain all day but after a touch of sprinkle, it was a gorgeous day.
TCM is running its usual three day tribute to war movies but rather than comment on them, I would like to propose a remembrance of all our families contribution to this country.
For me, it starts with my grandfathers four older brothers ( he was the youngest of five). My great grandfather was one of the first mortercyclists policeman of Massachusettes( we have a picture of him on his Indian Red cycle)
But his sons were of the mischeiviuous sorts and were always getting into trouble (bar fights, etc.) with the local gendarmes. The rumor in our
family was that if great grandpa heard over the radio that there was a certain dispute at a local watering hole, he would tell his officers to wait fifteen or twenty minutes before responding as it was a usual night on the town and after awhile the officers would respond to said place, the male occupants, black eyes and bruises galore, would be arm in arm singing songs from the Old Sod.
When the war broke out and and America finally decided to join in, all four brothers signed on ( we have a document that shows one of them showed his place of residence as the local county jail!).
They were all dispersed over seas to France and they all, without fail, wrote letters home each week.
Each letter expresses optimism that the war would be over soon and they would prevail over the Krauts (that was the term applied to German military in the 1910’s).
At first, the were very confident and several letters expressed an interest into showing how American football was superior to European rugby and they had even gone so far as to matching the AEF forces against an European force in a match. But it rained heavily that day and it was cancelled. I often wonder what would have happened if either side had prevailed that day.
As the war dragged on, my Great Uncles missive became more and more desponded and were no longer bragging about being the great emancipators but just wishing to survive and come home.
My grandfather was about to turn 18 and could enlist but my great uncles implored my great grandparents to talk sense into him and deny any request to join.
When the Armistice was singed on 11/11/18, my great grandparents were overjoyed that heir boys would be coming home only to receive the next day two telegrams that heir two oldest boys had been killed in action attacking a machine nest the previous week and would be awarded the Silver Star.
The third son came home injured by Mustard Gas and lived out his life in pain and agony.
The fourth son came home sound of body but retreated to an another state and wasn’t heard from until my father made inguiries and found him safe and sound but not wanting to respond to any memories of the war.
During WW2, my fathers cousin, son of the mustard gas injury, was killed in action and a street was named after him in my hometown.
During the Korean War, my grandfather was asked why neither my father or uncle had enlisted (my father was married at the time) and he responded
“Our family has already given enough to this country. It’s time to find another way.”
As a footnote, my cousins from another side of the family served in both Korea and Vietnam in the “60’s.
Billy was killed by a drunk driver shortly after his return from Vietnam and Dickey ( thankfully) is still around after his service.
Here’s a think piece.
When I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, three of four families(75 percent)had a member of their families (close or relative)and 80 percent of Congress had served in the military.
Today it’s one in three (33 percent)for families and relatives and less than 40 percent of Congress.
You tell me what that means.
Dance,
Thanks for all your family has done! I can only answer the last part: the country’s population has grown drastically and we’ve stopped with the draft.
Why shouldn’t we click on the ads?? (thought I was helping!!)
I very much appreciate the intent. I know, it’s counter-intuitive, but…
Google uses a proprietary AI tool that determines whether ad-click activity is for the genuine purpose of inquiry, or for inflating the ad revenue for a site. They keep their formula under wraps, and have a, “it’s our deal, and we’ll decide if you are a violator” policy.
The will absolutely not respond to any appeal; what they decide is 100% final.
They won’t talk about it, but I have it on fairly good authority that there is a very small amount of wiggle room allowed for “accidental” multiple clicks.
However, this is weighted against overall site traffic. Since tnocs.com is only about 10 weeks old and we’re still building an audience and view counts, this math wouldn’t work in our favor.
Don’t worry about this. If can just ask everyone to refrain from making superfluous clicks, I’ll get it sorted out.