Happy Blog Birthday Number 11

11 years done, starting year 12.

A somewhat erratic and enthusiastic post launched this humble but lovable blog. Visions of multiple posts per day flew about my brain but pretty quickly I saw that would not be the case. Amid a cacophony of online voices and corporate blog productions, I realized I could take my time, my own sweet, sweeeet time. Not much clickbait here, no advertising, just me and you humble but lovable readers. 

I am still here, many are no longer publishing. 

Thousands of posts have been written and published by myself, thousands more never made the cut. For reasons I cannot offer, the most read post on this page has been this one right here. You are welcome to ponder on why that is so.

There have been many, many posts on politics - but sadly it seems Tennessee's governing bodies have successfully eliminated all but the voices of a single political party in Tennessee. Only Republicans dominate, all other voices are dismissed and demonized and most recently they have been flatly outlawed by the state legislature -- Tom Humphrey explains that every county election commission is forbidden currently from having a Democrat chair such a commission - no minority voices allowed.

"The cited law, enacted earlier this year by the Legislature to take effect on July 1, declares that all county election commission chairmen must be members of the political party representing a majority of the commission. Under separate state law, Republicans have a majority on all county election commissions and on the State Election Commission as well."

So, yay Freedom. I live in a state where a single political party rules and has ruled for some years. I'm not saying they are bad folks - I'm saying my views, my voice, and that of many more Tennesseans, are not heard, not acknowledged, not allowed and that reality comes at a price.

The other most common posts here over the years are about movies, and I recently watched again a comedy favorite which I shall share - it's called "The Impostors", a slapstick comedy following two dim-witted out-of-work actors forced to stow away on a luxury cruise headed to Paris. The cast is chock-full of great performers - Isabella Rossellini, Tony Shaloub, Allison Janey, Woody Allen, Steve Buscemi, Oliver Pratt, Billy Connelly and many more. Worth a look --

A Decade of Writing on the Web

I've been so busy I missed my own blog birthday - 10 years are done and I'm now on Year 11. Yay me.

Obviously The Regular Reader knows the posts here have been intermittent in the last year or so, but that's changing as a few new adventures are compelling me to become more prolific here. Details on that will follow very soon.

When I began this page, the Web was exploding with blogs, and many of those are now kaput. I am not kaput. That noisy proliferation has now turned into a far more vast cacophony of voices and images which get Tweeted and Pinterested and Instagrammed and Facebooked and far more names of platforms being created. I'm a long-form writer who abhors brevity. Except when I don't.

And still, our world is only just inside the doorway of what is possible with the Internet. If the Internet is the New Alphabet then we've only gotten 3 or 4 letters figured out. More is to be discovered and the new combinations possible are far too large to even imagine ... so far.

When I was a wee boy, knowing down in my bones that I wanted to be a writer, I think I saw a Writer as a process that ended with being a Good Writer Who Writes. Now these many years later, I see it's a process of creation that never ends.

What's been the best writing here? The most popular? 

The Google stats say "Dr. Evil Running Congress?" has been the most viewed post, with over 22,000 views is Most Popular, but that's likely because the image I used of Dr. Evil became a hot listing via image searches using Google. Also popular, pretty much all posts about Frightmare Manor, the haunted attraction located just down the street, have been huge hits on the Web. And they are getting ready to open up again for 2015.

I have various favorites, but here are two posts that I rank as my own best.

First, "Martian", a rumination on the planet Mars and the robots we've placed there. It's from the very first weeks of publishing, and I really like it. In fact, other than movies, I've probably written the most about my fascination with our universe, our solar system and how we do and do not explore it.

My next favorite is also from the early days, "Would You Like To Hear Some Stories?", a post prompted by my sister-in-law and the very real and astonishing experiences of her family during World War 2 and how the posting of those events led to the discovery after many decades of what happened to Katherine's mother's cousin, revealed in the comments of that post.

Happy Blog Birthday Number 9 plus Bonus Historical Event

This is post number 2, 281 of yer Cup of Joe, which first published August 3rd 2005. Stats show 6 people saw that initial posting. Since then, readers on every continent have visited here, either by accident or design. Millions have visited since 2005 and I thank all of you for that.

Constant readers here are used to the constantly shifting focus of my posts (I think they are used to it). I have always had an eye on political and cultural topics, however as both the Internet and myself have made our digital way, I've become slower to post and less eager to add my thoughts to the chaotic rantings and such one finds easily available. I've taken time off to ignore the digital world so that I could pay more attention to the actual physical plane, but the gravitational pull of all that is online is too strong to resist.

Perhaps, over the years I have angered some readers, amused some, challenged or depressed some, brought some measure of joys or sorrows. All of what one finds on this blog were at least items I considered worthwhile to share. Or at least odd notations on the events and experiences available on our wee planet.

I don't expect that to change. It might, but here on these pages I know I can present and provide my views and ponderings without meeting anyone else's measure of merit.

I am fond of the fact that I am alive and aging, but I know the Future belongs mostly to the young, who have no allegiances to Time or Age.

So. Here is a 13-year-old girl named Mo'Ne Davis, who can hurl a baseball at 70 mph (check out her blazing skills here) and her team, the Taney Dragons are heading to the Little League World Series this Friday as they face the Nashville team, the South Nashville LL at 3 pm eastern time, to be aired on ESPN. Her achievements will make a far greater impact on history than just about anything I do. Not many folks keep records, stats or stage playoff challenges for blog writers. I'm ok with that. If you are reading this, you too have just learned about Mo'ne and that was the point of my mention.

Oh, and keep reading, faithful followers. I'll keep writing.

Happy Blog Birthday to Me

August 2005 marks the creation of this humble yet lovable blog. And no sign of stoppage yet.

I'm moving into the 8th year of global digital publishing, noting that many a web site and blogging page has arisen and vanished, and I am, as always, simply happy to be here. Readers from just about every nation have made their way here over the years and I appreciate all of you so very much.

I must also thank The Google for creating this platform which allows me the ability to share my thoughts with the rest of the planet.

Here's a salute to all of you courtesy of Sam and Dave -

Starting Year 6 of Your Cup of Joe Powell

Five years ago today I started this humble but lovable blog, posting three times that day, which I seldom do these days. My final post that day noted that studies at that time indicated 15,000 web logs were being launched daily. That number has likely fallen too. (Though one poorly designed page I found claims some 35,000 blogs are created each hour as of 2009 but I doubt that.)

The goals from day one remain as the Cup of Joe Powell Guidelines -- writing about news, writing about politics, writing about writing and all of the arts, exploring the Internet, and one more goal: push Joe Powell's views and ideas into the global marketplace. The Internet has allowed me to move far beyond annoying people in my community, and I annoy globally today.

I take much pleasure in the fact that as the years have rolled past, many of the most popular posts I've created have been about movies and entertainment and music. I have a deep passion for movies which has now been shared with almost every nation on the planet. Thanks for visiting and come back often!

I've also been greatly supported by many news outlets, other bloggers and writers, and others who quite often share what I write here and I thank them too. And thanks to each and every reader!!

And I'm pretty confident that today, if you click on any random collection in my Archive list, you'll find a heap of stories worth reading and re-reading, tales which will inform and amuse and capture your imagination.

On to Year 6 and Beyond. And Happy Birthday to Cup of Joe Powell!!

BONUS GIFT: While I remain mostly opposed to offering current images of myself, here's one someone posted to Facebook from sometime in the early 1990s, taken backstage at the Morristown Theatre Guild as I was about to play the role of a 1960s hippie director named Ralph in the play "Butterflies Are Free." I look nothing like this person at all. Nice mustache, too. Enjoy!!

And The Winners Are ....

As I posted previously, I've been running a contest in honor of this humble but lovable blog's birthday, and now I am happy to announce that two readers have each won a set of six movie posters from Turner Classic Movies -- I'm contacting them both and the winners are Michael Alvis and Ann Lloyd. Congratulations!!!

And my great thanks to all who entered, to TCM, and to each and every reader who takes the time to enjoy the rich, aromatic blend always offered in this Cup of Joe.

And here's to year number FIVE!!!

A Month of Free Gifts For You - Win New Designs of Classic Movie Posters

Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Gene Hackman, Sidney Poitier, Peter Sellers, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn are all working together for the first time to thank you, dear readers, for having that Cup of Joe here on the internet.

As a part of the celebration of this blog's 4th birthday and in conjunction with Turner Classic Movies, August is full of stars, including you!! So, I'm giving away 2 sets of 6 movie posters, all newly designed and original creations based on some classic American movies. To win, all you have to do is enter your name in the comments section below this post before midnight August 31st, 2009. Two winners will be selected among all entries - and only one entry per household.

If you would like to peek at the 31 new posters designs created by the folks at Turner Classic Movies, then click here and you can zoom in and out on the images for close-up views.

Each day this month, Turner Classic Movies are highlighting the movies from some icons of cinema - like those listed above. Today, for example, they are featuring 24 hours of the films of Gloria Grahame, in great films like "The Big Heat" and "The Greatest Show on Earth" and "In A Lonely Place."

A full schedule of the films and stars are right here in a PDF format.

Also, check back here on this blog the rest of the month, and I'll have articles and info on these legendary films and their stars, and you can also see an easy-to-read widget which will have each day's featured performer. As shown below, the poster for Grahame is taken from the terrific crime thriller "The Big Heat", and for the daring scene where a cruel (and young) Lee Marvin hurls a pot of boiling coffee at her face, scarring her beyond imagination. I think the new poster design is pretty amazing and if you'll click around on the widget, you can learn a lot more about each star each day.



It's all a way to celebrate the start of the 5th year for this blog and to thank you for reading. So just enter your name in the comment section today and you could grab the gear. Thanks!

I'm Giving Away Presents For My Blog Birthday

Since this tasty, fresh, piping-hot and aromatically stimulating Cup of Joe just had it's Blog Birthday, turning into a humble-but-lovable 4-year-old -- I am giving presents to YOU this year.

Tune in tomorrow to find out how you can get this special present.

What is it?

It's full of stars.