Through the Opera Glasses - 29 - Anticipation

Kim's year-long Blog Improvement Project at Sophisticated Dorkiness encouraged us to "look for blogging inspiration somewhere new.

There’s no real way to do this. If you’ve got a laptop, take it out of the house and write up a post somewhere different. If you don’t have a laptop, grab a pen and paper and do some brainstorming outside the house.

Go to the park, a local coffee shop, the library, a friend’s house, your backyard, wherever you feel like it. Just get away from where you usually blog to see what inspiration you might get from a change of scene."

I did this in a movie theatre while I was waiting for Gamer to start.

It wasn't hard to see that I was immediately drawing on sense memory for this exercise.


Many of you already know that one of my favorite places in the world - and favorite moment in life - is taking my place in a theatre seat, waiting for the show to begin.

It can be any kind of theatre, any kind of performance.

It can be a spot snagged among an outdoor crowd for the Busker Festival.

It can be a hardy sports stadium seat built to withstand drunken disappointment in a game, but serving me as a seat at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo.

The hockey arena can be tucked out of sight so I can sit in surging anticipation for Lenny Kravitz and an amazing night of music.

It can be a no-frills wooden chair on homemade risers, awaiting a Fringe Festival performance.

It can be a seen-better-days upholstered seat scavenged from a renovated theatre as I sit just feet away from Michael Mahonen (Road to Avonlea's Gus) as he shows his acting chops in Salt Water Moon, a play by Newfoundland-born David French.

But there are two types of theatre seats that thrill me more than any other.

The basic cinema seat - where I have willingly whiled away countless sunny days in a darkened theatre. No matter how far technology takes us, no matter that I can watch films in an increasingly sophisticated home setting, I will always cherish viewing films as they are meant to be screened - in a theatre surrounded by other film lovers.



And the other one?

Why, a seat at the ballet, of course.

Where the orchestra tunes up as the lights go down to a quarter...






Thomma Lyn Grindstaff says The best part is often the anticipation of the delight to come. :)

Claudia says I love live theater - of any kind. We grew up watching it from an early age.

Michelle Johnson says Yes, a change of scenery can inspire one to write something fresh.

Blog Improvement Project - 17 - Update Old Posts

I'm actually skipping ahead because Week 16 urged us to Blog Someplace New. Which I did, but I'm saving that entry for my next Through the Opera Glasses.

Week 17 focused on Updating Old Posts.

And because this was Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I took a look at my Book Reviews Archives.

With 32 reviews listed alphabetically by author name, I realized it wasn't as user-friendly as it should be.

So I split every review by genre, and created 19 headings in my sidebar. I also included the title of the book as well as the author's name.


















It was quite astounding to see the varied genres I've reviewed. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I realized I've reviewed more Contemporary Erotic Romance than any other genre.

Tying for second place is another shocker - Contemporary Romance - and two expected categories, Regency Historical Romance and Victorian Historical Romance.

This was a good exercise. I can see that there are genres I really enjoy reading but which I've been overlooking recently. I'm sure this is going to nudge me toward reclaiming some of my favorite types of books.

Susan Helen Gottfried says You review contemporary erotics in a way that allows anyone nervous about the genre to see it's not so scary.

VA Bookworm says I'd say about 70% on my bookshelf is Victorian Historical Romance and 30% fantasy.

Akelamalu says I just almost choked laughing - after reading you review a lot of contemporary erotics the word verification I have to type in is 'kinkie'.

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 14 - Highlighting Best Blog Content Through Sneeze Pages

For Week 14 of the Blog Improvement Project, Kim steers us toward creating a Sneeze Page:

"Create a Sneeze Page: This was Day 18 in the Build a Better Blog Challenge at ProBlogger. Basically, it suggests making pages with posts that will help drive people deeper into your blog. He also suggests not just making the page a list of links — give people context for why the link is interesting and useful for them.

8 Post Types to Expand and Highlight Your Blog’s Content: This post shows a lot of different kinds of posts that can highlight different parts of your blog. Only a couple apply to this task, but other ones might make great post ideas if you’re stumped.

Feel free to do this in any way you want. Write a new post highlighting past posts then put a link to that post in your sidebar, add highlighted posts to your About Me page, add a section to your sidebar with highlighted posts, or do something else I haven’t thought of." - Kim

I've already created Archives blogs that hold featured content from A Piece of My Mind, and are linked over in my sidebar.

If you've never visited my archives, here's what's on the shelves:


For book reviews, browse through my My Book Reviews.















For paintings, illustration and sculpture, stroll through My Cyber Gallery.















In addition to the Cyber Gallery, I have my Sidebar Gallery which features nine pieces every month. A new show goes up at the beginning of each month, and the show for August is Roses. An added feature of the Sidebar Gallery is a link to biographical information on each artist, which is accessible by clicking on the piece of art.





For samples of my fiction writing, flip through My Fiction Excerpt Archives.














For original poetry, wander over to My Poetry Archives.





For a collection of my arts industry posts, settle in at Through the Opera Glasses Archives.


For a taste of something different, try out my collected posts from my group blog at My Popculturedivas Archives.


And a little more variety at the earlier incarnation of the same group blog - My Missmakeamovie Archives.


Travis says I did this with some original fiction I posted on my blog.

Kim says I like how you explained what each one was.

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 13 - Blog Post Bingo

Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness held a second Blog Post Bingo for most of the month of July.

This activity nudges us to vary our usual styles of blog posts, which I think is a wise idea. For the first shake-up, I did 5 of the different types of posts. The second time around, I managed 7 different types. Yay, me!


Kim's initial Blog Post Bingo was held in early February. These are the posts I was able to mark with my bingo dobber:

1 - A Link Post - share a series of links your readers might find interesting

* Here's a list of sites I frequent on the web. *

2 - A Short Post - less than 200 words

* This redirect post pointing the way to my missmakeamovie post clocks in at 19 words. *

3 - A List Post - simple as it sounds, a list of some sort

* My list of tins pictures for Dorte H fits this one. *

A second list post:

* My Favorite Female Film Characters From the Past Ten Years *

8 - A Review Post - self-explanatory, I think.

* My review of the HD broadcast of the ballet La Fille Mal Gardee at Empire Theatres across Canada, this past Jan. 31st. *

10 - FREE SPACE - a type of post of your choice (that is not the same as one of the previous posts)"

* My Second Blogiversary post is a once-a-year extravaganza, so I'll count that as my free space. *



These are the ones I posted during the recent bingo weeks, between July 6th and July 24th:

2 - A Short Post – less than 200 words

On my 17th wedding anniversary, I posted a look at my wedding party getting ready, which clocked in at 220 words - a wee bit over the limit, but still pretty short for me.

4 - An Opinion Post – take an event, news, or another blog post and share your opinion on it

I took part in Fleur de Lisa's Manic Monday post for the first time to ensure I was shaking up my normal routine. It included the question: Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?

6 - A How-To Post – You’re an expert in something; big or small, share how to do it

* My post on Using Collage to Unlock Your Story shows examples of collages I've made for three of my works in progress and links to a Jennifer Crusie article on how to create one. *

7 - A Long Post – more than 700 words

My transcription of a long-ago tape-recorded conversation post clocked in at a whopping 1589 words.

8 - A Review Post – self-explanatory, I think

On July 7th I reviewed Thomma Lyn Grindstaff's debut novel, Mirror Blue.

10 - NEW: A Personal Post – something that’s going on in your life, related to your normal blog topic or not

With the arrival of the Tall Ships festival here in Halifax, and especially with the return of the Kruzenshtern, I shared the tale of The Summer of My Sister's Russian Sailor.

12 - FREE SPACE – a type of post of your choice (that is not the same as one of the previous posts)

I joined Mimi Lenox's new meme, The Queen's Meme and this is my first post.

Travis says I sort of meander through ideas for posts as they come to me. But I do like the idea of consciously having a list of kinds of posts for those times when I'm not up for being creative from scratch.

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff says That's really neat, the idea of mixing up types of blog posts. Over the years, I've shifted so much in my blog's focus. I don't do the writing craft-oriented posts I used to. Perhaps I ought to get back to that, to a degree.

Sandy says I'm not sure what a different type of blog post would be, hum, I post places I've been and talk about what to do, what not to do, and show pictures. How would one alter that?

Through the Opera Glasses - 23 - First Kiss, Destiny and Meeting God

Michelle Johnson over at Poefusion takes part in Manic Monday, hosted by Fleur de Lisa - and for today's Through the Opera Glasses I thought I'd focus my sights on her prompt.

As you may recall, I'm taking part in Kim's Blog Improvement Project, and the latest challenge is to once again shake up our normal offerings. We're encouraged to post as many different types of blog posts as we can by July 24th.

"It’s easy to get into a pattern of writing the same kinds of posts over and over again," Kim reminds us. "But sometimes it can be fun to spice it up."

Here are Michelle's prompts:

When and with whom was your first kiss?

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?

What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

I'm going to put an arts twist on this prompt, since this is my arts feature.

First kiss - My own first kiss was with my first boyfriend, Philip. For more details, check out my story in my Naughty Meme of Firsts.


When I think of a perfect depiction of a first kiss, I can't help but think of the final scene in 1995's Persuasion.

It occurs at the 5:50 mark in the clip below.





But of course, I can't rule out the kiss in North & South.


Warning ladies - watching this scene may turn you into a puddle of goo...





Does everything happen for a reason? - Well, let's see. When I first moved to Toronto 23 years ago, I worked as a live-in nanny in the west end of the city. I went over to a movie theatre to fill out an application for evening and weekend work - at the Humber theatre - and began walking east along Bloor Street. Not west. East.

I wanted to start meeting people with similar interests to mine. I figured movie theatre people would be a good start.

Not too far along I saw a sign for psychic readings. I thought, what the heck? So I went up. I didn't keep going along the storefronts as I normally did.

The young woman read my palm, and among her observations she was adamant that my soul mate was very near. She mentioned that he wore a uniform. Since I was brand new to the city with only two friends from home also in Toronto, plus the family for whom I worked, I thought, don't know how that can be.

When I was done, I went down the stairs to the street. I kept walking east along Bloor Street until I got to another movie theater I hadn't even known about. It was the Runnymede Theatre. So I went in and applied.

I was called to start work there not long after. One of my co-workers was a very handsome usher named Brad Smith. To whom I'm now married.

I absolutely think everything does happen for a reason. In the same way that thousands of people gather for a performance at the same place at the same time, the universe arranges significant events in order to facilitate each person's potential for growth. The universe has the ticket with the date and time. It's our job to sense when the curtain is about to go up.


A wonderful film with this outlook is Serendipity.





What would I like to hear God say when I cross over? - I would like to hear: Rest, now.



A truly chills-inspiring meeting-up-with-God scene for me is the ending of The Fountain. The music really thrills me.



So... What about you?

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff says I had fun reading your Naughty Meme of Firsts. :-D

Ms Snarky Pants says I love how you met your husband! That's a great story!

Michelle Johnson says I can't believe you worked at a movie theatre growing up. I did too. But, I didn't meet my second husband there.

Summer Stock Sunday - 5 / Blog Improvement Project 9 - 10 - 11 - 12

How would you like to be mowing your front lawn, when this walks up the driveway?

It happened to me today. Of course, we have a shared driveway with our neighbours, Mack and Freda.

And this is Mack.

I'd never seen him in his dress uniform, though. I said, "Hey! Can I take your picture?" He of course thought I was kidding.

But I would never kid about a thing like that. So here, for Summer Stock Sunday, I give you Master Seaman Eric MacDonald, known to one and all as Mack. He was all spiffed up for a big ceremony over in Halifax:

"The Consecration and Presentation of the Queen’s Colour

For Canadian naval officers and sailors, this is a once in a career experience.















Photo by Mike Dembeck

More than a flag, The Queen’s Colour is a symbol of respect to military service, representing heroism and honour. Having been proudly displayed for thirty years, the current Queen’s Colour is ready to be retired and replaced by a successor.

Over 100 members of the massed band of the Navy comprising members from the renowned Stadacona, Naden and Naval Reserve bands will provide the musical backdrop as 400 sailors and officers from across the country march in a display of precision drill and pageantry. A 21-gun Vice Regal Salute will be fired from the ramparts of the Citadel, while a low fly past of maritime aviation will provide an air element to the event.

The formal parade will be presided over by Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada." - Dave Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen

For more Summer Stock Sunday, visit Robin at Around the Island.


As you can see, it's been awhile since I've written a post for the 2009 Blog Improvement Project. So let's catch up, shall we?

For Week 9, Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness - she runs the challenge - asked us to partner up with another blogger and give feedback on each other's blogs.

I was paired up with Suey at It's All About Books. We contacted each other through email, asked questions and gave feedback. This was a good exercise, I thought, especially since neither of us had been to each other's blog prior to this exercise. Totally fresh eyes for this one.

Week 10 concentrated on Anchor Text, which is the word or group of words used to create a link to another post/article/site on the Internet. I discovered the importance of anchor text and how it relates to Search Engine Optimization when I read Ian Lurie's For Dummies book on Web Marketing.

Search engines use the linked words to drive traffic to your blog, so using Click here - as I've often done! - isn't the world's best idea. I've been very aware of my anchor text since Week 10. Thanks, Kim!

Week 11 was an analytical exercise comparing bloggers' book reviews to those of professionals. My computer tower was in the shop for that one, so I have yet to do it, but I'll post the results once I get it done.

Some interesting trends Kim discovered when she reviewed the results were:

"Most professional reviews don’t include a rating system, but a lot of blogger reviews do.

The biggest difference between blogger reviews and professional reviews was something we already sort of knew — bloggers use a lot more personal references. From these reviews, bloggers averaged about 9.75 personal references per review. Professional reviews had only about .25.

One thing I noticed is that professional reviews are a lot more varied — some are just a paragraph, some are basically full-length articles. Blogger reviews tend to be a little more consistent — similar lengths, etc." - Kim

Week 12 is the current challenge. Kim wants a Mid-Year Review.

Find your original BIP goals post and take a look at what your goals were.

My very first goal - in starting my blog in the first place - was to design my day around sitting in front of the computer on a daily basis and writing. I figured that the habit of daily writing would eventually lead me to finishing my five in-progress manuscripts.

Check. I'm closing in on my gardener story and plan to type The End by the end of the summer.

I had to define what my blog was for, and this is what I came up with:

A Piece of My Mind is a blog that celebrates the arts, encourages the creative, cheers the artist on and revels in the wonder of life.

My new goal was to showcase art work in my sidebar. I've had a new art show every month for the past six months and have really enjoyed putting them together. I love the fresh update it gives to my blog on a monthly basis.

Check.

I set myself onto this challenge knowing I'd be pushing myself out of my comfort zones.

Sometimes reading the new challenge makes me realize I will have to stre-e-t-ch in order to do it. Writing posts with different sorts of content than I normally do was a bit difficult. The Blog Basics was harder than I expected, as I really enjoyed having a piece of art work at the top of my sidebar, but switched that for a picture of myself along with the About Me section. I realized that I personally enjoy 'meeting' a blogger by having that info at the top of the layout, so I moved the art work down a bit.

The Social Media Carnival got me a Twitter account, and I enjoyed Twittering. That really pushed me out of my comfort zone! I don't tweet very much, but what I do enjoy about having my tweets automatically linked to my blog is the added spiciness of short bursts of new material for the blog. I actually found a few new bloggers through Twitter, so it's all good.

Look at the ProBlogger list of 69 questions to review your blog.

This will make a post all its own.

Reset your goals. Get rid of goals you’ve accomplished, and add new ones that make sense.

After I look over those ProBlogger questions, I will do just that.

Answer the following questions:

1. What BIP task have you liked most? Least (including ones you have skipped)?

To be honest, the very first one where I had to take a look in the mirror and define what my blog was for gave me the most pleasure. It lead me to my monthly art show, to creating my new Through the Opera Glasses arts feature which appears on Tuesdays, and to inserting my word counts for each of my works in progress into my sidebar. A daily reminder for me - to get cracking.

Least - I haven't had a least favorite. I have skipped the analytical book review one, but only until a later date.

2. Which tasks have been the most helpful? Least helpful?

Most helpful was the Blog Basics one. Having to rethink my sidebar set-up and my blog intro was really good for me. Least helpful? Hmm. Perhaps the Leaving Good Comments one, as I already quite enjoy commenting on other blogs.

3. What are the top three things you still would like to work on this year?

I'm not much of a techie. Things which come easily to some leave me all adrift. Like widgets that measure visitors, for example. I don't have any way of tracking my blog traffic at the moment.

Increasing my commenters and increasing my traffic in general appeals to me, strangely. I know, I know - write great content, and they will come...

It would be kind of cool if my book reviews gained some cache. How awesome that would be.

4. Are there any blogging-related topics you feel like you know a lot about and would be willing to write a BIP guest task on?

Hmm. I'll have to get back to Kim on that.

5. Any other comments about the BIP?

My biggest comment is a huge THANK YOU to Kim for coming up with this idea in the first place. And for putting in the time to run this year-long challenge.

*applause*

Ms Snarky Pants says I use google analytics for tracking my blog traffic. I can get kinda obsessive with it. LOL

Heather says Very interesting about The Queen's colour. As for the 2009 Blog improvement project. Good for you for continuing the challenge.

Robin says What an honor that he gets to be part of such an important ceremony.

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 8 - Making Your Blog More Comment-able Wrap Up and Third Row Center Seats at the Halifax Comedy Festival

The Blog Improvement Project focused on comments for our last assignment. Upon reading a few articles on the subject, I decided to start responding to everyone's comments here at my blog, as well as continuing to return the visit of everyone who comments here. I also decided to hoist several comments into the body of the post to get the conversation started. And I've tried to incorporate a question towards the end of each post, to encourage readers to answer it by commenting.

Hoisting the comments has been fun. Responding to the comments artificially inflates my comments numbers, so I have to spend some time subtracting my own comments before I can tell how many comments I actually have.

In taking stock of my comments before this assignment and afterwards, there was actually no discernable change in the comments level.

The two weeks of posts prior to the assignment resulted in an average of 11.7 comments.

The two weeks of posts following the assignment resulted in an average of 11.2 comments.

Perhaps two weeks is a little soon to see real changes in the habits of readers who normally lurk. But I'll continue on with my new responding and hoisting.

And I'm just back from a taping of the Halifax Comedy Festival at the Dalhousie Arts Centre. My mom's friends from New Brunswick sent her two tickets - they'd been planning to come to Halifax for the show but couldn't make it. After a week at work where things built up and I nearly blew a gasket, tonight's performance was a godsend.

We had amazing seats. Third row from the front, right in front of the mike. There was a camera on a crane shooting the audience, plus a camera operator onstage shooting past the comedians - so I'm fairly certain we'll be visible at some point once it airs.

Mom and I laughed so hard we were in tears. My favorite performers:


Host Mark Critch

Had us all in hysterics while he ribbed the young stage hand who fixed the mike stand between comedians. Critch pointed out how pubescent the stagehand seemed - then just started calling him Pubes.




John Beuhler

The first comedian of the night to make me cry with laughter. He riffed on taking his cat to be spayed or neutered - how should he know? - and perhaps tattooed.





Sean Cullen

I saw him at a comedy club in Toronto, once upon a time. He was surreal and instigated more tears with his tales of parenting and his song dedicated to his man child.





Steve Patterson

This guy was my favorite, though. His tale of attempting to use Ontario classroom conversational French in his new city of Montreal - and his need for winter tires - was the winner of the evening for me.



Travis says I think you'll find that answering comments is reward on its own.

Apprentice Writer says Scientific research on your blog! Very cool, yet unnerving.

Isabella says I would love to go to a comedy show!!

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 7 - Making Your Blog More Comment-able and the Keeping it Real Tag

Here's what's up for April's part of the year-long challenge:

"April is going to be focused on comments. The interaction between bloggers and readers via comments is, to me, one of the best things about blogging, so I think this month will be fun.

Week #7 is going to be all about making your blog more comment friendly. I think it’s vital that once you get a new reader at your blog, it’s easy for them to engage with you by commenting on your posts.

Take an inventory of your blog comments. Write down how many comments you have as of today, then track how many comments you get per day over the next two weeks.

Pick 3-4 of the techniques from the articles (on ways to improve commenting at your blog) to implement over the next two weeks.

Spend these weeks trying to make your posts more comment friendly."

- Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness

Here are several of the article ideas I'll be exploring in the coming weeks:

"Only 1 out of every 100 readers comment on your blog. Jakob Nielsen’s study finds that 90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing) with only 9% of users contributing ‘a little’ and 1% actively contributing. The vast majority of readers leave a blog without leaving a comment or contributing to it in any way.

I find that when I include questions in my headings that it is a particularly effective way of getting a response from readers as you set a question in their mind from the first moments of your post. If someone leaves a comment interact with them. This gets harder as your blog grows but it’s particularly important in the early days of your blog as it shows your readers that their comments are valued."
- Darren Rowse, Problogger

"Berkeley Economist Brad DeLong was one of the first to use the term hoisting to describe highlighting user comments. His hoisted comments often inspire users to comment even more, and hoisting comments is another strong community building technique. Kent Fischer, education blogger for The Dallas Morning news, hoists comments to the level of their own posts. He looks for comments that deserve more attention, then makes a separate post for those strong comments that users can comment on, furthering the discussion."
- Patrick Thornton, BeatBlogging.org

In looking back at my two years of blogging, here are my highest-comments posts:

* the first time I received comments that went above 10 was my 3rd Thursday Thirteen post

* 30 comments for 13 Things For Which I Am Grateful

* 32 comments for 13 Favorite Things About Halifax

* 32 comments for 13 Reasons to Read Julianne MacLean

* 32 comments for 13 of My Favorite Peace Globes From Last Week's Blogblast For Peace

* 33 comments for 13 Works by Nova Scotia Artist Holly Carr

* 33 comments for 13 Ways to Enjoy Gerard Butler in Honor of His Birthday, Nov. 13th

* 36 comments for 13 Ways to Celebrate My Grandmother's 93rd Birthday

* 37 comments for 13 of Heath Ledger's Films

* 40 comments for 13 Paintings By My Sister-in-Law, Anna Baccin

* 42 comments for Introducing 13 of My Ancestors

* 43 comments for My Very First Contest

* 47 comments for 13 of My Mom's Paintings

* 56 comments for Rhian's Blogiversary

* 83 comments for My Second Contest

What can I see straight away?

2 of the highest amounts of comments came from contests.

1 came from a party, which generated a lot of back-and-forth conversation.

2 came from posts featuring actors - Gerard Butler and Heath Ledger.

4 came from art shows.

9 came from posts where the subject matter was very personal to me.

Nearly all of the highest-comment posts were Thursday Thirteen posts. The power of the popular meme!

All good to know. I have made it a basic part of my blogging routine to return the visit to everyone who comments here, and leave my own comment there. Recently I've begun responding to comments in my own comments section, which has been recommended for the April assignment.

Something new I'm going to do is the comment hoist. Claudia from On a Limb With Claudia does this regularly. Also, I'm going to try asking questions to stimulate discussion. This is what I love about the Blog Improvement Project - the constant pushing past my comfort levels.

And now - onto the Tag! You're it!

VaBookworm from Confessions of a Bookworm nabbed me for this one earlier in the week. Ever the honourable blogger, I answered her challenge - and had my husband immediately take my picture as-is, as soon as I read the tag.

Keepin' it Real

Here are the rules:

Take a picture of yourself right now.
No primping or preparing.
Just snap a picture.
Load the picture onto your blog.
Tag some people to play.
NO CHEATING!

Okay. Here's my picture, taken a few days ago after work, in my comfies ready for blogging.














And now, a-tagging I will go, a-tagging I will go...

Dorothy
Dorte H
Ryan Ashley
Sheila
Shelley

Ladies...I throw down the glove.

Leah Braemel is trying to read the titles on the spines of those books. *squinting*

Travis says before I started my own blog, I lurked quite a bit.

Ryan Ashley Scott is amazed at the 1 in 100 visitors percentage.

Akelamalu says if I comment on someone's blog a few times and get no response I stop visiting that blog as I feel I am just wasting my time. Definitely with you on that one.

Dorothy and Dorte H took up the challenge!

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 6 - Taking My New Social Media For a Test Drive

Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness nudges us to explore our chosen social media tools for our next improvement quest.

"Week 6 for the Blog Improvement Project is going to be pretty simple: trying out a new social media tool.















1. Pick out a new social media tool, or reacquaint yourself with a social media tool you already use. If you’re new, sign up and create an account.

(Check! I joined Twitter.)

Make sure to include your blog URL in your new profile so you can connect across social media platforms.

(Thanks to Cathy at Kittling: Books for mentioning Twitterfeed. That gave me instructions to link my blog to my Twitter page.)



2. Update your blog to include your new social media contact information.

(Check! I've got my tweets in my sidebar with a link taking you to my Twitter page.)






3. Spend the next three weeks actively using your new social media. For example, set a goal of tweets per day or how many comments you’ll leave on GoodReads reviews to make sure you give it a good shot.

(Check! I've just learned how to use the @ feature, which allows me to respond directly to a tweet from someone I follow or one of my followers.)













4. Don’t be afraid to connect with other people. Find authors, publishers, famous people, or bloggers that are 'bigger' than you and connect with them via social media. Don’t be intimidated, just try it!

(Check! At the moment I'm following 50 people, and 26 people are following me. High profile people I'm following on Twitter:
Gerard Butler - he's got 7599 followers
Stephen Colbert - 114,159 followers
Jon Stewart - 6931 followers
Kevin Smith - 115,411 followers
Seth MacFarlane - 13,167 followers
Seth Rogen - 10,386 followers
Ellen DeGeneres - 12,041 followers
Quentin Tarantino - 364 followers)

5. At the end of your three weeks using more social media, write up a post about how it worked for you. I’ll do another Social Media Carnival post at the end of March wrapping up what everyone learned." - Kim

So far, so good. I'm enjoying Twitter far more than I thought I would. It will be interesting to see if I notice any more traffic here at A Piece of My Mind in a couple of months.

The Common Tea Bag and Its Uncommon Usefulness in First Aid

What the...? Have you stumbled upon the wrong blog?

Same blog, more change-ups. For the Blog Improvement Project, Kim suggested mixing up our usual fare. One of the things on the list was a How-To post.

Today I had the incredible pleasure of having an earned day off from work. How I love that concept. For just an extra half hour of work per day, you get an entire day off, every three weeks. Love it.

I got a good writing day in, which included some internet research on methods to treat cuts that my little laundry maid Helen would use in 1840's Van Diemen's Land. I settled upon tea, as it fit seamlessly with the preceding scene where three characters have a rather surreal tea party.

And I realized all the information I just gathered would make a fabulous post for my Blog Improvement Project. Et voila!

The Common Tea Bag and Its Uncommon Usefulness in First Aid















For the purposes of first aid, tea refers to black tea. This is the tea made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis. This includes:

Orange pekoe
Earl Grey
English breakfast
Irish breakfast
Darjeeling
Ceylon
Assam

Other teas will not work for the purposes of first aid. Teas that will not work include herbal teas and African red bush tea. The tea must be from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis.)












Black tea contains tannin, which acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. It encourages constriction of blood vessels and shrinks swollen tissue.



When my husband had two teeth out this past summer, the bleeding wouldn't stop well past the time described on the sheet with which he was sent home. A call to the dentist had us reaching for a wet tea bag, which he used as a compress. The bleeding finally stopped.



Tea bags are light and flat, very easy to pack into a first aid kit or backpack. In the wild, it can be used dry if necessary but wet is preferred. The blood itself will wet the tea bag, ultimately. Hot water will be impossible in an emergency - cold will work perfectly.

If your dog or cat is bleeding, the tea bag compress is a godsend. It's hard to get an animal to lay quietly when its instinct is to lick the bleeding spot. The tea bag will speed the process of stopping the bleeding.

For swollen, itchy, puffy eyes, place a wet tea bag over each eye for several minutes. This will reduce inflammation, pain and itching.

Wet tea bag compresses are good for bruising and swelling.

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 5 - Exploring Social Media - Scroll down for my review of Hugh Jackman in Australia

Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness is showcasing the social networking aspect of the internet and how bloggers can tap into this source to increase readership.

"Because I love alliteration, March is going to be Social Media Month for the Blog Improvement Project. For the next 31 days, we’ll be focusing on using social media to improve your blog.

I’m no expert in social media, and there are a lot of social media options to think about. There’s Digg, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Ning, and about a million other options I don’t even know about. In that spirit, Social Media Month is going to be about educating each other about social media. Our first project is the much-anticipated Social Media Carnival!" - Kim

The only social networking space I inhabit is Facebook. I don't have a cellphone, so Twitter is out. At least - that's how I've been feeling. I can't see myself Twittering much on my computer, but maybe it's worth joining as a what-the-heck thing. Technorati I joined last year and promptly forgot my password. But now Kim is giving me the carrot to look into that again.

The others are foreign moonscapes to me. But that's why I joined the Blog Improvement Project. I shall suit up and bounce the floaty space-walk into new territory.

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 4 - Blog Basics and Bloggy Bingo Update - Scroll down for Through the Opera Glasses

Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness suggested the following change-ups during the last challenge. I only managed to complete half of them, because my blog has a pretty set schedule and I could only manage those. But I was very pleased with how they did change things up for me, and I'll comtinue on with the other styles until I've got the whole list completed:

"1 - A Link Post - share a series of links your readers might find interesting * Here's a list of sites I frequent on the web. *
2 - A Short Post - less than 200 words * This redirect post pointing the way to my missmakeamovie post clocks in at 19 words. *
3 - A List Post - simple as it sounds, a list of some sort * My list of tins pictures for Dorte H fits this one. *
* A second list post: My Favorite Female Film Characters From the Past Ten Years *
4 - An Opinion Post - take an event, news, or another blog post and share your opinion on it
5 - A Poll or Question Post - post a poll or ask your readers a specific question for feedback
6 - A How-To Post - You’re an expert in something; big or small, share how to do it * My fiction writing research led to The Common Tea Bag and Its Uncommon Use In First Aid.*
7 - A Long Post - more than 700 words
8 - A Review Post - self-explanatory, I think. * Here is a review of the HD broadcast of the ballet La Fille Mal Gardee at Empire Theatres across Canada, this past Jan. 31st. *
9 - A Definition Post - show your expertise about a topic related to your blog
10 - FREE SPACE - a type of post of your choice (that is not the same as one of the previous posts)" * My Second Blogiversary post is a once-a-year extravaganza, so I'll count that as my free space. *

This week's challenge:

"Write (or update) your “About Me” Page — Make sure you can see your About Me from the main page of your blog because someone just arriving at the site should be able to easily see a little information about you

Update your contact information

Add some sort of picture of yourself (if you’re comfortable with that)

Update your Blogroll

Create a link to your Archives on your front page (there are a lot of widgets for this, or you can find other ways to do it — either way, it’s important to do so people who want your archives can find them to get a sense of what they can expect from your blog)

Add a link (or make sure a link is there) so readers can subscribe to your blog via RSS

Get to work on other basic blog maintenance you’ve been meaning to do" - Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness

I'm very, very interested in finding out how Archives widgets work. And a redo of my About Me page would definitely be in order, as well as perhaps moving it up from the very bottom of my sidebar...

Through the Opera Glasses - 2 - La Fille Mal Gardee - 2009 Blog Improvement Project - 3 - Bloggy Bingo

Welcome to the second posting of my new arts feature, Through the Opera Glasses. Today I have a review for the HD broadcast of La Fille Mal Gardee, a comic ballet performed by the Royal Ballet of England and shown at select Empire Cinemas across Canada, for one matinee only.


I am eternally grateful to Empire Theatres for starting this program. Having had the pinch-me-am-I-dreaming pleasure of working at a performing arts theatre in Toronto for eight years, I miss the access I once had to world-class ballet and opera.

And since I am a confessed ballet freak, it was a very, very long eight years after I left that job until Empire Theatres offered this fine arts program.












My mom remembered seeing La Fille Mal Gardee on one of her trips to see my sister and me when we lived in Toronto, so she joined me this past Saturday for the matinee. The ballet tells the story of young lovers Lise and Colas, who determine to outwit her mother. She plans to marry her daughter to the son of the local vinyard owner, but the townsfolk conspire with the lovers to ensure that true happiness wins out over a financial match.

Colas is danced by Cuban sensation Carlos Acosta. In the dance world, national companies are filled with residents from all over the world. Exquisite talent does not recognize borders. The particular style of each company attracts specific dancers who embody that style, and Carlos Acosta's magnificent technique fits beautifully into England's Royal Ballet Company.

Here's a variation from Act I that showcases his breathtaking virility, height and flawless technique.












The theme of 'ties' abounds in Sir Frederick Ashton's charming choreography. Ribbons are used to great effect to join the many relationships in this rural setting: family ties, romantic ties and the ties of the townsfolk to one another.










In the first act pas de deux (or dance for two, one of the main choreographic forms used in ballet,) Lise and Colas entwine themselves in the ribbon she left for him as a love token. They end up creating a cat's cradle after several intricate steps.

Osbert Lancaster’s original 1960 designs echoed the ties theme, mirroring the crisscrosses of the cat's cradle by having front-lacing bodices for Lise in all three costumes. The windows of Lise's home also have an X design, and the townsfolk gather in Act II to form a maypole dance.

Here's the first act pas de deux with the lovers delighting in their irresistable connection to one another.



Lise is danced by Argentinian marvel Marianela Nunez. She has a lively, flirtatious rapport with Carlos Acosta, and matches his bravura dancing with strength and fireworks of her own. Yet she never loses a delicacy that is somehow never at odds with her power.

She absolutely shines in this wedding pas de deux from Act III.



If you live in or near one of these Canadian cities, I invite you to join me later this month for Manon:

Bolton, Ontario - Empire 7 Cinemas

Burlington, Ontario - Empire Showcase 6 Cinemas

Calgary, Alberta - Empire Studio 10 Macleod Trail

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - Empire Studio 8

Edmonton, Alberta - Empire City Centre 9 Cinemas

Fredericton, New Brunswick - Empire Studio 10 Regent Mall

Halifax, Nova Scotia - Empire 8 Park Lane

Kingston, Ontario - Empire Capitol 7 Cinemas

Kitchner, Ontario - Empire Studio 12 Gateway Park

London, Ontario - Empire Wellington 8 Cinemas

Mississauga, Ontario - Empire Studio 10 at Square One

Moncton, New Brunswick - Empire 8 Trinity Drive

North Vancouver, British Columbia - Empire Esplanade 6 Cinemas

North York, Ontario - Empire Empress Walk 10 Cinemas

Ottawa, Ontario - Empire 7 Cinema

Richmond Hill, Ontario - Empire Elgin Mills 10 Cinemas

Saint John, New Brunswick - Empire Studio 10

St. Catharines, Ontario - Empire Studio 8 Pen Centre

St. John's, Newfoundland - Empire Studio 12

Sydney, Nova Scotia - Empire Studio 10

Vancouver, British Columbia - Empire Granville 7 Cinemas

Victoria, British Columbia - Empire Capitol 6 Cinemas

Winnipeg, Manitoba - Empire Grant Park 8 Cinemas



Painting - In the Box - Mary Cassatt


Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness has suggested the following change-ups for those of us participating in her year-long challenge:

"1 - A Link Post - share a series of links your readers might find interesting * Here's a list of sites I frequent on the web. *
2 - A Short Post - less than 200 words * This redirect post pointing the way to my missmakeamovie post clocks in at 19 words. *
3 - A List Post - simple as it sounds, a list of some sort * My list of tins pictures for Dorte H fits this one. *
* A second list post: My Favorite Female Film Characters From the Past Ten Years *
4 - An Opinion Post - take an event, news, or another blog post and share your opinion on it
5 - A Poll or Question Post - post a poll or ask your readers a specific question for feedback
6 - A How-To Post - You’re an expert in something; big or small, share how to do it
7 - A Long Post - more than 700 words
8 - A Review Post - self-explanatory, I think. * Scroll back up to the top of this post for a review of the HD broadcast of the ballet La Fille Mal Gardee at Empire Theatres across Canada, this past Jan. 31st. *
9 - A Definition Post - show your expertise about a topic related to your blog
10 - FREE SPACE - a type of post of your choice (that is not the same as one of the previous posts)" * My Second Blogiversary post is a once-a-year extravaganza, so I'll count that as my free space. *

We've got a two-week time frame to give these posts a try. The gauntlet has been thrown. I shall meet you at dawn.

2009 Blog Improvement Project - 2

Brainstorming Ideas

Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness posted the second installment of her Blog Improvement series. This is a year-long challenge, and I've already reaped benefits from it even in its first month. Her first challenge to set goals and define my blog resulted in this definition for A Piece of My Mind:

This is a blog that celebrates the arts, encourages the creative, cheers the artist on and revels in the wonder of life.

I found myself really latching onto this idea from Kim:

"Use your brainstormed ideas to come up with a new, regular feature for your blog.

There are a lot of memes and stuff out there to participate in, but I think it’s cool when a blogger has a feature that is unique to them. Think about what makes your voice different, then come up with a feature that reflects that. There aren’t any 'rules' about the feature — just be yourself."


I can feel a new feature percolating already. An arts feature that will likely find its home on Tuesdays. I've had wonderful feedback on arts-related posts I've done, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on Through the Opera Glasses, debuting soon at A Piece of My Mind.