R.I.P. Billy Graham, 1918-2018

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I’m Back, and Things Have Changed

Do I have your attention?

Good.  The fidget spinners have done their duty, and we can move on.

Do I know you?

Even better.

Are you a past Into the Dance reader?

Better still.

Does it seem to you that I’ve been gone for quite awhile?

That doesn’t surprise me.  It’s because I have.

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You’ll Like This One — Really…

…because I’m going to explain myself (or at least make the effort).

It’s been a whole 19 days since my last post.  As you might guess, I did not plan on this.  But I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I am working on building a for-profit blog, and you’d be surprised how much time, care, and work this requires.

Add to this the typical laundry list items like work, sleep, chores, interpersonal commitments, and small leisures (believe it or not, these are necessary in small doses to maintain one’s sanity), and you can understand why I haven’t been cranking out posts the way I used to.

But I do have a small number of regular readers whose disappointment I’d like to avoid.  So I’m going to make a small commitment that I think will be both manageable for me and reasonable to my readership.

Until otherwise noted, I will commit to a minimum of one post per month.  It’s not a lot, but enough to keep me active and you from drifting away.  Of course, I do like to post the occasional video or meme.  These will be “bonuses;” hence, you will want to keep your eye out even if I have already posted for a given month (not to mention that I always could put something else out there).

My next post — whenever it appears — will be a commentary on the Woody Harrelson character on season one of HBO’s True Detective.  So stay tuned for that — and if you’re not familiar with True Detective, maybe tell a friend? (Not that I’m begging or anything…)

In the meantime, I’ve missed several “Film Clip Fridays,” so on this Saturday evening I’ll leave you with a disturbing but engaging scene from Whiplash:

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For Regular Readers: What I Said, What I Didn’t Do, and What *May* Be Coming

Okay — the long and short of it is that I owe my faithful readers an apology.  You may remember that a couple months ago I published a post titled “A Preview of Coming Attractions,” in which I said I was going to be writing on the following topics:

The HBO series True Detective

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Testing the “Read More” Feature

Greetings all,

This is a feature I have not looked at very carefully in the three years of this blog’s existence.  If this works, then hopefully my homepage will attract more regular visitors through greater “user-friendliness.”

So here goes nothing:

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A Preview of Coming Attractions

Whew!  Ever wish life didn’t keep you so busy?  I sure do — if only so that I could blog more often.

I intend to get back into the proverbial saddle over the next couple months (especially since next month marks the three-year anniversary of “Into the Dance”), and I thought I’d offer a quick look at some of the post topics I plan to cover (not necessarily in this order):

1. True Detective

I recently “binge-watched” the first season of the HBO series True Detective.  While disturbing at times, the show is artistically excellent and very profound.  I have a lot to say about it, especially with regard its treatment of marriage, manhood, family, and existence.

2. The Rosary

October is the Month of the Rosary, one of the most beautiful and powerful treasures of the Catholic Faith.  Before the month is out I’d like to share a few things about this prayer, and hopefully answer questions people might have (feel free to leave some in the comment section here, if you’d like).

3. Drug/Alcohol Awareness

October is also when “Red Ribbon Week,” which is dedicated to drug and alcohol addiction awareness, falls.  I used to work in this field myself (in the prevention department), and I do have some insights I’d like to offer — not only for those addicted to alcohol or illegal drugs, but also for anyone who might be caught in the midst of addictive habits that may seem deceptively harmless in and of themselves.

Last but not least…

4. My New Blog

I intend to embark on the adventure of starting a for-profit blog in the very near future.  I will post a link and detailed description when the blog is up and running.  Until then, I won’t say too much about it…but here’s a hint: If you have children, relatives, pupils, friends, or other acquaintances on the autism spectrum — or if you yourself are on the spectrum — you may be interested.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for stopping by, and God bless 🙂

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Acknowledgements

1. “TrueDetectiveDVDCover” by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TrueDetectiveDVDCover.jpg#/media/File:TrueDetectiveDVDCover.jpg

2. “An Egyptian Rosary with a Coptic Cross, 2010” by Silar – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_Egyptian_Rosary_with_a_Coptic_Cross,_2010.JPG#/media/File:An_Egyptian_Rosary_with_a_Coptic_Cross,_2010.JPG

3. “Anal Heroin” by Psychonaught – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anal_Heroin.jpg#/media/File:Anal_Heroin.jpg

4. “Question opening-closing” by Vadmium – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_opening-closing.svg#/media/File:Question_opening-closing.svg

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C’mon guys…I really need your help

Preface: To anyone who comments on this post, I will commit to reading and commenting on at least two of your own blog posts before the end of the 2015.

Yesterday, I asked for some feedback on whether or not people would like read part 2 of my post on Cecil the Lion, Planned Parenthood, and related topics.  I did so because the first post, “Felines Over Fetuses: Thoughts on Cecil, Planned Parenthood, and Other Things — Part 1,” appears not to have received any views.

Please — I know your time is extremely valuable, but if you could just take a moment to offer a comment on this present post consisting of either the word “yea” or the word “nay,” (“yea” if you are willing to read “Felines Over Fetuses: Thoughts on Cecil, Planned Parenthood, and Other Things — Part 2,” “nay” if you would rather not), I would very much appreciate it.

Again, you will not be offending me or hurting my feelings if you say no.  In fact, you will be doing me a favor.  If I get enough “yea’s,” I will plan on writing the second post.  If not, I will know to focus my time and efforts elsewhere.

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A Question for WordPress Readers…

Okay — so it’s been three days since I posted “Felines Over Fetuses: Thoughts on Cecil, Planned Parenthood, and Other Things — Part 1.”  I have taken a careful look at my stats since then, and have found that the post has gotten no views.

I did have a “part 2” planned.  But before I expend the time and energy required to write the post, and to do it well, I would like to see whether or not this is actually going to interest readers.

So could I ask a very quick favor?  If you intend to read “Felines Over Fetuses: Thoughts on Cecil, Planned Parenthood, and Other Things — Part 2,” could I ask you to leave a simple one-word comment?  Literally, one word: “Yea.”

Or, if you will not be reading the post, I would appreciate it if you could comment “Nay.”  And please don’t think you will be offending me or hurting my feelings.  Some topics are of interest on WordPress, some aren’t.  That’s just the way it goes, and I’ve always understood that.  You will actually be doing me a great favor, because you will be saving me the time and effort of writing something no one’s going to read.

Just thought I’d ask.  Thanks for reading.

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Acknowledgements

“Question opening-closing” by Vadmium – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_opening-closing.svg#/media/File:Question_opening-closing.svg

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The First Day of the Rest of My Blogging Trajectory (Whatever That Is…)

Bless me Father, for I have sinned.  It has been 15 days since my last post…

Hey, I’m a busy guy.  You all know how it goes.  But things are loosening up a bit for me now, so I hope to get back in the saddle  a bit.

I’ve been working on a commentary on the movie Still Alice — anyone seen it?  I guess if this post gets any “likes,” I’ll know I have an audience 🙂

In the meantime, for the sake of blogging aesthetics, I need a visual of some sort.  Here is a Youtube compilation of funny baby videos for your enjoyment:

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Tomorrow, For Sure…

My reflections on the monastic retreat I made a couple weeks back have been, I admit, in the works for too long.  But I can honestly say at this point that they will be ready tomorrow.  I just have a little bit of tweaking left to do, and then the post is done.

Fair warning: It is a little long-ish — about two pages on a Microsoft Word document.  But I could not really communicate the depth of the experience in less than that, so I do hope you will bear with me.

May God reward you for being patient with me 🙂

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