What’s My Line?

A good name can get you far in life.  Apple.  Elvis.  Madonna.  Nike.  But, a great tagline can get you remembered.  I am not a crook.  You like me, you really like me!  I’m lovin’ it.   Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.

In the Blog-O-Sphere, you need to have a great title to attract readers to your sight.  Even with posts, you must be creative, witty, and informative when labeling each and every article.  “A Post About Doctors” is not nearly as fun and enticing as “Turn Your Head and Cough.” A great title can help or hinder a sight from rising to great heights.

When thinking up a moniker for your site, however, there is a sub-title which can be applied, as well.  This is called the tagline, and it serves to offer another label to define your blog.  The taglines I’ve seen have typically been humorous, or even straight to the point.  A blog about travel.  A site for mothers.  Straight from the horse’s mouth.  Over the river and through the woods. A few more words to leave you with to give the blog more character.  Simple and effective.

For the past 2 months, Miracle on 32nd Street has exhibited a very festive holiday theme, which was retired for the season this past Monday.  I also updated my blog picture, opting to also store away the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree logo until next November.  I’m beginning to take down the rest of the holiday remnants, which will be completed by the end of the week, but there is one item that leaves me scratching my head:  the tagline.

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8 Things I Did on New Year’s Weekend

1.) Baked white chocolate cranberry/cherry cookies with the help of my new Kitchen Aid Mixer

After a lively debate via comments and suggestions to moi, I have declared a name for my lovely new, knight-in-shining-armor Kitchen Aid mixer…and that name is Lancelot.

Bob came up for such a name, and expertly defended his idea:

“I’m going to go with the obvious and say that you should name your fabulous mixer…Drum Roll Please….Lancelot! Lance rhymes with dance and celot looks like it rhymes with zealot. If I had a mixer that is what I would be. A dancing zealot. Whirling and twirling and dancing and singing and baking cookies galore. My kitchen would be a Broadway musical.”

Of course, every knight needs a full title.  Fellow blogger Pegoleg also suggested a moniker of “Sir Mix-A-Lot”, so, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen:  please welcome Sir Lancelot Mix-A-Lot to the family.

2.) Travelled to Pottery Barn (no, an ACTUAL pottery barn…full of pots)

My highlight of New Year’s Eve Day was a trip out to a local potter’s warehouse, which comprised 3 floors of pots, pots, and more pots.  Most of his wares ranged somewhere between $100 and $400, so I settled on a nice, single flower vase for about $20.  And a $7 magnet.  I’m a big spender.

3.) Sang and played oboe in a New Year’s Eve Broadway Gala

At our local playhouse, there is a traditional New Year’s Eve Gala held every year.  For the 2010-2011 crossover event, they presented a concert full of Broadway music, presenting over 100 performers who were all volunteer.  The event featured a full orchestra and a 70-member chorus, as well as several individual soloists.

I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off between the hours of 6-10 PM.  I had served as vocal director for this event, guiding the chorus with their material, and also subsequently became a member of their ranks come showtime.  I also played my oboe in the orchestra (correction, I squawked on my oboe in the orchestra), and I was lucky enough to have a vocal solo as well.

If anyone is familiar with musical theatre, a few of the pieces presented in the show included West Side Story Highlights, Phantom of the Opera Medley, “Agony” from Into the Woods, “I Know Where I’ve Been” from Hairspray, and my song, “Astonishing”, from Little Women.

And there’s that line…

In the world of blogging, there is always a tricky line which we bloggers must choose a side on….

Pick a side...

Uncle Lewis: Do you mean choosing whether or not you’ll post nudie photos from last year’s Christmas party??  When you drank too much eggnog and lost your Depends?  ‘Cause I definitely know which side of that line I’m on!

Uncle Lewis, put down that 5th can of Yuengling!  You’re cut off for the night!  I will make you sleep on the couch again!

I, of course, was not talking about the nudity line, much to Uncle Lewis’ chagrin.  I was, in fact, referencing the delicate line of anonymity which exists in the blogging world…a line which inevitably forces all bloggers to answer the question:  will I or won’t I keep my blog a secret?

I have been commandeering the Captain’s Chair here at Miracle on 32nd Street for over a month now, and have upheld the decision to keep my blog private from friends and family members, save two people.  No one outside of these two people has any knowledge of my blog, my writing, or my RAC quest.  Trust me, it has been a decision that I’ve continually pondered over and over again.

I can obviously see the beauty of telling everyone  and anyone you know: site stats sky rocket, you have more comments than you know what to do with, and you receive recognition from those closest to you.  There have been many a web-browsing session where my mouse cursor lingered slightly longer over my Facebook status box.  It would be so easy to tell EVERYONE about my blog, I thought.  Just a few swift keystrokes, a mouse click, and boom…instant publicity.  Tempting, ain’t it?

Ohhh, Andy...

Thanksgiving-Palooza: Part Three

Our third Thanksgiving-Palooza post involves a recap of the past two RACs I’ve done yesterday and today.  Aunt Bethany here, and I will still be serving as your host for this post, and for the upcoming fourth and final entry to our Thanksgiving-Palooza series.

My Wednesday RAC was by no means anything spectacular.  It actually piggy-backed off of my Tuesday RAC, so, in many ways, it shouldn’t have counted.  Still, it’s an action I wouldn’t normally have done, so, it counts! RACs are kind of like horse shoes and hand grenades:  even if you’re close, it counts!

As I was picking up a Little Caesar’s Hot-N-Ready pizza on Wednesday, I was met by a rather pleasant and amiable cashier, who looked liked he had just faced a rather difficult rush of lunch orders.  Still, he approached the counter refreshed and with a smile on his face.  In fact, he even took the time mid-transaction to ask me how I was, a question which usually is placed at the front of conversation and without much thought.  “How are you today?” has become as normal as just saying “Hello” to someone…you do it without thinking, but just how much do you really wish to know how someone is?

So, hearing this question mid-conversation kind of threw me, in a good way.  I think I was so surprised to hear that come out of his mouth that I almost didn’t know how to respond.  I was able, however, to come up with something, because my hands eventually found their way to my wallet and handed $6.95 to the cashier.  “How are you?” goes” at the BEGINNING of the conversation, goddamnit!  Cannot compute, cannot compute, cannot compute…

I was just about to pick up my steaming box of goodness when I glanced down on the counter to spy a mostly empty tip jar staring back at me…

How can you say “no” to eyes like that?

I’ll take “S Words” for $800…

And now, ladies and gentlemen, here is your Final Jeopardy answer:

This RAC, costing only $5.55, counts as both a good deed for the day AND as a meal for the RAC’er.

Your answers, please!

Ferabeth wrote:

“Texas”….with a dollar sign…interesting, but not correct.  Contestant #2,   The Edmonton Tourist, wrote:

Although Mrs. White is a bright spot in everyone’s day, she is NOT the correct answer.  Our last hope….Contestant #3, SisterMerryHellish writes…

Pizza?!?  Although NOT the exact answer we were looking for—judges, am I allowed to?—yes!  We can accept pizza as the correct answer!  YOU WIN!

SisterMerryHellish, as our reigning champion, you get to pocket the $9.74 you earned this game, which adds to your total—wait, actually—your Round 2 score was negative, so actually, you owe us $42.57….

Also, as winner, you get to hear about Aunt Bethany’s RAC for the day!  Aren’t you a lucky bum!