Month: November 2017

 

End the attention; block Donald Trump on Twitter

I follow headlines not by way of Google News or an aggregation program but instead by way of Reddit. It’s driven by community in what gets posted and if it’s valid / worthy content or not. While seeing all the news content tied to politics at the moment in the United States, there is one ugly, ugly factor being repeated over and over again.

The sitting President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, does most of his declarations in a one-way sentiment via Twitter. Too often he crosses the lines of leadership and maturity and sinks into the realm of knee-jerking, assumption, closed-minded folly and other negative aspects. Too often this shit ends up dominating the headlines or news content from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Too often, by way of reaction, people are double or triple-exposed to the Dotard in Covfefe’s antics by way of retweets (which are often derived from negative reaction) and news coverage over and over and over again.

With all the crap Trump pulls in his unbalanced stances, he still has over 43,000,000 followers. No, they’re not all bots. No, they’re not all supporters. No, they’re not truly informing people when they retweets his rhetoric. It’s because of those retweets (being done by friends and media) that I’ve declared enough being enough:

Look, The Dotard loves attention and blindly looks at it as support or as an ego boost. The more people who interact with him (or try to) by spreading his stuff around or replying to his content gives his ego a boost (even if that content is all of profanity). It’s easy to understand how some people want to get their news from the direct source, but when the direct source is mired at so many levels and marred with corruption, bigotry, hate? He’s not exactly going to “Make America Great Again” via inability to talk to the press with honesty and tact, or refusal to interact with people unless they applaud him or pay a hefty price for the opportunity.

A lot of people denounce him, a lot of people have actively protested against him and the direction of the country under him. It’s not shutting yourself out of hearing the news by blocking him on Twitter. It does send a message if more people turned their back on him on this social media avenue.

November 29, 2017 , , , , , , , Politics, Donald Trump Presidency, interweb, Social Media Comments Off on End the attention; block Donald Trump on Twitter

What is time’s tale of Tampacuse with Lightning and Crunch fans?

 

The intention here was to write a blog post leading in to this poll regarding the Tampa Bay Lightning / Syracuse Crunch affiliation. The lead-in got sidetracked on major league/minor league (IHL and NHL) affiliations for the Bolts and gets too far away from the simple poll question I have for the faithful from both clubs:

[poll id=”3″]

It’s been five years now since Tampa Bay and Syracuse teamed up. Some may see nothing from the pairing as only one team matters — the one you’re exposed to. Others know there’s importance to the development pipeline but won’t necessarily agree that the affiliates matter as-so-much as how the organization overall handles operations at the player-personnel level.

Whatever the case, what say you? Are you happy or discontent with the Tampa Bay / Syracuse affiliation? Vote!

By the way, the title of this post seems a little awkward but “time’s tale” basically summarizes the length of the affiliation and the events (ya know, games, player movement, what not) with the clubs.

November 28, 2017 , , , , , , Tampa Bay Lightning Comments Off on What is time’s tale of Tampacuse with Lightning and Crunch fans?

Contribute to my Neurofibromatosis Network charity drive (via Facebook) and aid research into the genetic disease
November 26, 2017 , , , , , , , , , , , interweb, Medical Comments Off on Contribute to my Neurofibromatosis Network charity drive (via Facebook) and aid research into the genetic disease

Volunteer assistance sought by Tampa Bay community station Music Tampa Bay

There’s a special community radio station based in St. Petersburg that airs local music, to say the least. the 2016 Top 100 list and a Top 40 from this past summer.  EDIT: You can find the Top 100 page with each individual year of Music Tampa Bay here.

Yet Hurricane Irma did her damage and complicated things with the station that were already challenged in one way or another. The site representing Music Tampa Bay has long been in need of upgrading to improve accessibility and exposure for the artists and the station itself.

All that said Music Tampa Bay is looking for assistance of the high variety. Everything is voluntary but the open positions listed are basically everything. The MTB sit’s declaration shows it:

All Volunteer Staff Needed

​General Manager – Sales Manager – Business Manager – Operations Manager – IT / Website Manager – Program / Music Director – DJs – all shifts

Here’s the official statement off the site about volunteers and the station:

Radio Station Volunteer Staff Wanted

The music stream on this website is now in its 13th year of continuous operation.  96.7 FM in St Pete is now beginning its 2nd year, since the FCC issued a non-profit broadcast license in October 2016.  If these listening platforms are to continue serving the local arts communities as stipulated in the license, new management is needed in key revenue generating and operational areas.  A new general manger being sought to work with the existing team and eventually assume control once the original license period is renewed in early 2020.  Air talent is also needed to fill program positions and operate from the new live Radio Central in The Zoo Studios in St Pete.  All air positions are currently open, 24/7.  Interested beginners and professionals are encouraged to contact rick@musictampabay.com / 727-455-8848.

This is a great starter place for those interested in being part of the music business or working in communications; a prime opportunity for students. It’s also a great place for those who are embedded already in local music as performers to further expose themselves by working as DJs (or, if qualified, in one of the higher-up positions). Most importantly of all, it’s part of the community. While MTB isn’t available in terrestrial, traditional broadcast throughout Tampa Bay, the online stream is readily available for everyone to hear performers who were, and are part of music.

November 13, 2017 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Entertainment Industry Thingies, interweb, Music. & Lyrics, Tampa Bay Comments Off on Volunteer assistance sought by Tampa Bay community station Music Tampa Bay

Three noteworth Reddit groups for hockey and sports fans

Reddit isn’t just a message board. It’s also not a dump-all marketing destination either. As a long time blogger, I didn’t deliberately try to mine traffic from Reddit because I didn’t want to be the one who posted any of my written-content from my days at Raw Charge on major subreddits. That’s ethics, though. I’ve turned that around in my time moderating on a subreddit devoted to hockey blogs. The subreddit /r/HockeyWriters is devoted to what is basically blog content and hockey authors. I’ve been the one (by way of content submissions from around the hockey blogosphere) to give the group some life.

Yet I can’t do it all. By that I mean I can’t be expected to post everything on the group. Read More

November 8, 2017 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , hockey, interweb, Sports Comments Off on Three noteworth Reddit groups for hockey and sports fans

“Unity (We the People)” – a would-be song of protest

Late this spring, curiosity and recollection started pushing in my head toward music and what was going on in the political and social spheres. This isn’t the 1960’s but with how much upheaval has been playing out regularly – race attacks, propaganda, lies and distortions, pitting business and profit over the welfare of the country, and the protests tied to them all – I was left wondering what those in the music industry were doing about it?

I mean, really, with how much was produced that was just tinged with the social stuff from the ‘60’s, you’d expect 2017 to be filled with songs inspired in some way or another by what was going on – some offering calm, others decrying certain aspects.

In June I put down my own song lyrics of protest. My intention at the start wasn’t to directly protest as so much make a social decree or write something based off of what was ongoing… but it turned into a generalized summary of the status-quo of 2017.

What really leaves me in awe is how things have played out to make the words more relevant. This was penned before Charlottesville and other strife of the summer.

A key line in the chorus is still a truth here in mid autumn 2017: We must defy the great divide. We stand strongest as a society and as a country of the world when we stand together. When all sides come back to this truth, that will be when the course will plot in the right direction.

Read More

November 1, 2017 , , , , , , , , , Music. & Lyrics, Poetry, Politics Comments Off on “Unity (We the People)” – a would-be song of protest