At this time of year, I get a bit giddy with blogging excitement as I wait for the email from WordPress. It’s a kind of end-of-year gift and — at last — it’s arrived: a compilation of Nitty Gritty Dirt Man’s year in review.
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2013 In Review & Auld Lang Syne (Mairi Campbell)
I know I said I would see all of you in 2014 — and it may already be that in some parts of the world — but I wanted to share this post, compiled by the WordPress.com stats helper monkeys. It’s the annual report for this blog and the data is fascinating — from a listing of the most popular posts to the most frequent commenters to the global location of commenters.
Not only do I thank the statisticians for keeping this info, but I also thank all of you — because without you, there would be no statistics to keep.
Following the stats are my plans for 2014 and one more tune to end the year.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 41,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 15 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
Plans for 2014
I’m not one for resolutions — they don’t last very long — so I’ll stick with a to-do list. Here are a few highlights:
- I’m currently compiling the posts from this blog into a book. My dilemma is which self-publishing platform to use. It’s a bit overwhelming. So far, I’m debating using Smashwords or publishing straight to Amazon, where a book could be distributed to Kindle or print-on-demand. There’s also Blurb, which creates coffee table books. If anyone out there as any experiences/opinions/ideas — I would love some guidance.
- I was also nominated for a blogging award, and the acceptance post is on its way. As with many of these awards, there’s a place for seven random facts about me — so if there’s anything you would like to know about me, please leave a question and I’ll choose some of those (or at least those that I can answer).
The Tune
Just when you thought I had exhausted the December with yule tunes, I had to share one more — one of the most beautiful renditions of “Auld Lang Syne” I’ve ever heard. This is Mairi Campbell.
Happy New Year!
Return To Planet Claire
I know. I know. This is a gardening blog, but WordPress has issued a Daily Post Challenge , a writing prompt that spoke to me — or rather, that sang to me. The task was to pick a song — any song — and write about it.
My first impulse was to select “Autumn Leaves,” by Nat King Cole, and add a few leafy photos — and although I love the idea of being wrapped in the velvet of his voice, it almost seemed too obvious. Another time, perhaps, because this music post begs to be more personal.
For months now, Joe and I have been trying to simplify our lives, but there is one area of my own life that remains a hold out. It’s my vinyl record collection, which now sits — alphabetically, of course — in crates that are stacked in my closet. I’m having a very hard time parting with my records. I’ve been talking about it for about 10 years now.
My records, you see, are important to me. They are the records I’ve carried with me for decades, the records I used on countless mix tapes, the records I uploaded onto my computer and burned onto CDs, the records I now listen to on my iPod. Yes, these albums, 12” singles, and imports can tell a story of me better than any diary.
2012 In Review
This post, animation and all, comes courtesy of WordPress — and a good thing, too. Joe and I arrived home last night after a 21-hour drive from Florida, stayed up even later to watch the ball drop in Times Square, and are now trying to organize our lives for the upcoming work week. Words are definitely not at the top of the to-do list. Nap, yes. Words, no.
So my thanks and gratitude to all of you for making 2012 extra special. Happy 2013!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 39,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 9 Film Festivals
Nitty Gritty Dirt Man 