Wake Up and Smell the Changes!

I still have a hard time believing that I have kept this blog going for two years. And, in order to keep this blog fresh and current, it's time for the annual list of changes. Don't worry. It won't be that many. Truth be told, I'm kind of feeling a little bit tired and sore today, so don't be too surprised if this blog entry is a little bit shorter than normal.

Oh, and because it's a Thursday Diary entry, I am going to be penning these changes in the format of a diary entry! And, you might see a few songs about change popping up every few paragraphs or so.

Oh, look. There's one up above!

May 30, 2013

Are you ready for some changes in the format of this blog?

Every time the anniversary of this blog rolls around, I always feel as though I want to celebrate that milestone. I mean, granted, this blog has only been around a couple of years, but I always loved anniversaries. It's a stepping stone in the path to great things. I still have this belief that writing is something that I am destined to do with my life, and that working retail has just been a simple stepping stone towards that path.

(Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. That stepping stone is like a freakin' boulder as I've been in retail eight and a half years now. I still have to dream, can't I?)

I think that's why I love the idea of blogging my thoughts to the world. These days now more than ever, people are venturing into the self-publishing route. And, I'll be the first to admit that while I never really saw myself as a published author in “book” format yet...the fact that I have come up with a way to record my thoughts every day for a two year period (keeping in mind that 2012 was a leap year on top of that)...kind of makes me one, doesn't it?

Now, if only I could find a way to make money out of my writing skills. I've gotten some ideas on how to do this with this blog, but that's an ongoing thing that I'm still researching. You don't have to worry about pop-up advertisements, or having to watch a commercial on allergy medication before you have to read a blog entry. I am committed to keeping this blog ad-free. And, besides, since I bring up a lot of pop culture references in this blog, I don't really think that it is right to profit off of other people's successes.

Now, if you recall, last year, the changes to the blog were almost all cosmetic. The colour scheme changed to the now current purple/yellow motif (which is staying the same), the logo was polished and made in a semi-professional manner (which again, is staying the same), and the theme days were mostly kept the same (I've had the same theme days going on since January 1, 2012).

This year, the changes will be not as drastic. I've tweaked the font around, and I've temporarily placed a special 2-year-anniversary banner atop the blog.

And, there's a couple of changes to the theme days that you should be made aware of.

Yes...wake up and smell the changes, because a couple of this blog's theme days will be completely flipped around.

First things first, here are the entries that will be sticking around for another year.

I'm keeping the Tuesday Timeline feature in place. I think it's fun to go back in time to see what was going on in the world at any given moment in history, and I'll be the first to admit that I learn quite a lot from my Tuesday Timeline moments. Plus, the Tuesday Timeline is also a fairly well-received theme day as exhibited by all of you reading this blog. So, the Tuesday Timeline stays.

The Thursday Diary is also sticking around for the foreseeable future. After all, it was one of the only days in which I actually turned the blog personal, and shared with you some of my deepest secrets, my biggest regrets, and my hopes for the future. And, from what I can tell, you all seem to love this day as well, so who am I to get rid of it?

There are three days that I am also keeping on the schedule, but I will be tweaking them slightly.

You've already seen evidence of this in the Sunday Jukebox from last week, but let's just say that I will be keeping the topic up and running...but the song choices will become a little bit more personal. They're either going to be songs that have been a huge part of my life growing up, or they're going to be songs in which their lyrics or message will have some meaning to me...and maybe it will have some meaning for you too.

The Monday Matinee is also sticking around for now, but rather than have it being a garbage dump of trivia facts, I'm going to try and look at it through a different angle. Maybe we can learn some morals from the film itself, or maybe the film can act as a tribute to an actor or actress, or maybe it will be a personal memory associated with the film. Really, I'll come up with something to keep the Monday Matinee alive.

I'm also keeping the discussion for all things television on Fridays, but since we're now looking at talk shows, soap operas, reality television episodes, and other various television programs, instead of the day being known as TGIF, instead, the day will be known as What's On TV Friday Night? I figure that will cover all the bases.

So, this means that obviously, the Wednesday and Saturday theme days are going to be changing completely.

Now, initially, the Wednesday entries were known as the Wednesday Gift Shop, where I discussed books, games, toys, and other novelty items. And, Saturdays have included discussions on Saturday Morning Cartoons, educational programs, and other kid shows. But after coming to the conclusion that I am slowly but surely running out of topics to discuss, I have decided to combine the two theme days into one.

Saturdays will henceforth be known as the Saturday Smorgasbord. And since we have a whole bunch of topic ideas for the Saturday Smorgasbord, I will be designing it like this.

First Saturday of the month – Toy Discussions

Second Saturday of the month – Video Game Discussions

Third Saturday of the month – Cartoon Discussions

Fourth Saturday of the month – Book/Comic/Magazine Discussions

(On a month where we have five Saturdays, the last Saturday will be author's choice.)

So, since we have Saturdays up and running...that leaves us with Wednesdays. And, for what it's worth, I think I have come up with a way to make this blog as much your creation as it is mine.

And, that's why I have decided to make Wednesdays “All-Request”!

That's right! I'm letting YOU have the chance to control what you want to see in my blog. I love hearing suggestions from all of you on what topics I should write about, and some of them I have taken.

And, here's how you can take part.

If you don't know already, you can join the official Facebook page for this blog by clicking HERE. On that page, as well as my own personal page, every Tuesday, I will be posting a post asking for topic ideas. I will choose one at random, and write about that subject. If you want me to write about hockey, I'll do a hockey post! If you want me to write about bacon double cheeseburgers, I will do exactly that! If you want to me make a case against the wearing of bikini underwear, by gum, I'll do that too! Whatever you want, I'll write it! But you have to help a blogger out and give me the ideas! Sound good?

So, just to summarize, the new theme days are...

SUNDAY: SUNDAY JUKEBOX

MONDAY: MONDAY MATINEE

TUESDAY: TUESDAY TIMELINE

WEDNESDAY: ALL-REQUEST WEDNESDAYS

THURSDAY: THURSDAY DIARIES

FRIDAY: WHAT'S ON TV FRIDAY NIGHT?

SATURDAY: SATURDAY SMORGASBORD

We've had two wonderful years together. Let's make year number three the best year yet!