How do you reply to controversial comments on your post or those addressed to you on the posts of others?
I do occasionally write posts about politics, religion, or other topics that some might categorize as controversial. My intent is not to be controversial, though. It’s just to express my opinion or perspective on some subject where other people may have different opinions or perspectives.
The fact is that any time someone decides to express an opinion, there are others who don’t share that opinion. And that’s fine. You know, whatever floats your boat, right?
I don’t often get comments on my blog posts that are rude or nasty. I do receive comments that present different opinions and perspectives and I will engage in a comment dialogue with those who post such comments — as long as they are respectfully expressed and stay on topic.
If it looks like such a dialogue is turning into a flame war, or getting nasty, I admit to, in the past, contributing to the escalating nature of the dialogue, wanting to have the last word.
But I’ve matured over the past few years, realizing that no matter what I write, I’m not going to change the commenter’s mind. Nor will the commenter change mine. Instead, I’ll probably try to cut it short by writing something tongue-in-cheek, like, “Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Yours is just wrong.” If that doesn’t stop further dialogue, I’ll probably just ignore whatever follows.
You know this girl, right? She has such a sweet face, a wholesome face. Doesn’t she? I just want to hug and cuddle with her. You recognize her, don’t you?
But then, if you pull back and look at the rest of her picture, it’s a whole different story, isn’t it? You know who she now, for sure.
That’s right. She’s the star of one of those obnoxious ads that are displayed at the bottom of posts that people who have the free WordPress plan.
This cute girl has washboard abs! Is that supposed to be attractive? Sexy? Alluring? Well, at the risk of sounding sexist, those abs totally negate that cute, innocent face. In my opinion, anyway. I’m sorry, but I have a hard time imagining any woman, no how desperate she might be about wanting to lose some belly fat, actually clicking on this ad.
John Steiner, the blogger behind Journeys With Johnbo, has this prompt he calls Cellpic Sunday in which he asks us to post a photo that was taken with a cellphone, tablet, or another mobile device. I thought this might be fun so I decided to join in.
Yesterday my wife and I got together with our son, daughter-in-law, and our two grandchildren to visit a small museum in our town.
What is now a museum used to be the town train depot and post office back in the day. It opened in May 1891 as part of a new Southern Pacific Railroad Line to serve the needs of local ranchers and farmers. Below is a photo of the depot taken in 1892. It’s obviously not a cellphone photo.
The depot was decommissioned in 1927 and in the forties the depot building was purchased by a local businessman and became a feed and grain store. After the owner passed away and the building became available, it was acquired by the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, which restored the main depot building, making it the sole survivor of the San Ramon Branch Line depots in an original form. It’s been open to the public since June 1999.
I took the photo below of a large model train setup in one of the large rooms in the museum. It’s quite impressive.
If you wish to participate in this fun cellphone photo prompt, please click on the link to John’s post at the top of my post to see his photo and to read his instructions.
I get some interesting spam comments on my blog, most of which are captured by Akismet, WordPress’ spam blocker. I generally do a mass delete of all of my spam comments after checking to see if any legitimate comments got caught up in Akismet’s spam-catching net.
I thought it might be fun to select a particularly interesting or unique or outrageous spam comment and highlight it each week.
I received only about 40 spam comments this past week. Most of them were repeats from the Dog God and the Keto Queen. I also got a number of comments from women of various ages who want to talk with me. My favorite was from a woman who wrote, “I’m a 48 year old mother and I really need someone to talk to.”
I was thinking of responding, “I have three suggestions: your husband, your kids, and a shrink.” But I didn’t. I just deleted the spam comment.
What about you? Have you read some catchy spam comments that you’d like to share with us? If so, put them ir #FSCW.
For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim Adams has asked us to find a song that is listed on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” I’m not going to do that today. Sorry, Jim, but a music icon, Tony Bennett, died this week at the age of 96.
Tony Bennett was a legendary and enduring New York City crooner who famously left his heart in San Francisco and melted hearts all over the world during his more than seven decades on the music scene. He recorded dozens of albums and sold millions of records in a career that seemed to stretch seamlessly through the decades and a changing musical landscape. So I’m dedicating this week’s Song Lyric Sunday post to Mr. Bennett and to what was to became his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
“I Left My Heart In San Francisco” was written in 1954 by two then-unknown songwriters, George C. Cory, Jr. and Douglass Cross. Cory wrote the music and Cross wrote the lyrics. The song was first released as the B-side of “Once Upon A Time,” which Bennett thought was the hit. When he went on a promotional tour, “Once Upon A Time” didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for. Someone at his label, Columbia Records, convinced him they had the single backwards, so Bennett agreed to let them flip it and make “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” the A-side.
The song slowly climbed the Billboard Hot 100, and although it peaked at just number 19 in October 1962, it remained on the chart for almost nine months. It was chosen as the title track to the album, which reached the Top 5 and went Gold. The song won Bennett Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male.
The song was originally written for the opera singer Claramae Turner, who started singing it in 1954 and often used it as an encore, but she never got around to recording it. Before Bennett heard it, the song was pitched to Tennessee Ernie Ford, whom Claramae Turner suggested Cross take it to. Ford turned the song down. Ultimately, the song found its way to Bennett through Ralph Sharon, Bennett’s longtime accompanist and friends with the composers.
In December 1961, Bennett was going to be appearing at the famous Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Sharon brought the music for the song along, figuring it would be fun to perform during their show at the hotel on Nob Hill. Bennett agreed and sang it for the first time at that show. It got a great reaction, especially from the bartender, who told Tony, “If you make a record of that song, I’ll buy it.” Bennett took his advice and recorded the song in 1962 and started performing it regularly.
Fittingly, this was the last song Tony Bennett sang in concert. He used it to close out his show with Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall on August 5, 2021, which he later said would be his last performance. Bennett, 95 years old at the time, revealed that, in 2016, he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
I know that the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list focuses on rock, which is why Bennett’s “I left My Heart in San Francisco” is not on that list. But I believe — and not just because I reside in the San Francisco Bay area — this song is absolutely one of the greatest songs of all time. Rest in Peace, Tony Bennett.
Here are the lyrics to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gray The glory that was Rome is of another day I've been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan I'm going home to my city by the Bay
I left my heart in San Francisco High on a hill, it calls to me To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care
My love waits there in San Francisco Above the blue and windy sea When I come home to you, San Francisco Your golden sun will shine for me
This, That, and the Other 