HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

If you're a "regular" at this here blog, you know that things are simply not operating smoothly. Or, to say it better, my life is chaos. My blogging has been erratic and my blog reading worse. Between a week of vacation and "life," blogging was shoved out of the backseat and into the trunk. Not having the time to read your posts has put a serious dent in my HERE'S TO YOU posts. How can I dedicate anyone anything if I'm not up to speed????

Despite this, life has gone on. You've continued posting, and I've been semi-aware of it.  In point of fact, one of my favorite blogs, FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS (which is totally a pun, btw) closed its doors. Stephen T. McCarthy posted the last blog bit over a week ago. It wasn't until today that I even made it back there to give him a solid comment. Ugghh.

I took a look in my "favorites" to see what I'd saved since my last HERE'S TO YOU post. There was ONE video there for A Beer For The Shower. Frankly, I think that's an excellent summation of just how sorry my blogging has been. So, what to do????

I've decided to post that one video for the Beer Boys, a video for everyone, and a whole bunch of videos for my friend Stephen T. McCarthy to honor the closing of his blog FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS. You'll notice the plethora (one of my all-time favorite words!) of Joan of Arcadia videos. Anyone who knows me knows that I adore that show. Just love it. And miss it sorely. If you, too, are/were busy and unaware that F-FFF just breathed its last, don't worry. Stephen T. McCarthy will still be posting twice a month at STMcC presents Battle of the Bands. Next battle on 12/15/14. I hope to see you there.

Now, let's get down to it!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for The Beer Boys at A Beer For the Shower:


These are for Stephen T. McCarthy at FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS:

Battle of the Band Results and Tiny King

Hello friends!

I blogged about as well as expected last week. My brother and sister-in-law flew down from Ohio to Orlando for the week. Mom and I drove down and met them there. We hadn't seen them since last year (about this time). Even though we did NOT go to Disney, it felt like we never stopped. I'm not used to the stress of being scheduled up so hard, and my migraines crashed in with a vengeance about mid-vacation. (Just for the record, I find it horribly depressing that vacation is so stressful as to be migraine-inducing.) All and still, it was very enjoyable (migraines aside).

I totally missed the Insecure Writer's Support Group posting for Wednesday. I didn't have time to write one or to visit the other participants. So, if you noticed my absence... bless you. I'll be back at it in the New Year!

Battle of the Bands. I'm always a bit surprised by how these things turn out. Usually about mid-way through the battle, I think, "I really should have chosen this instead of that." I think the problem lies in that I tend to choose two versions that I like (the vote is usually difficult for ME), but not so much for you guys. I wonder if I should start picking something I don't like so much to give you more variety with your choice??? My mother's favorite version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel is Mannheim Steamroller. I listened to about two minutes (or less) of that before deciding I didn't like it all that much. I bet Stephen T. McCarthy could have given me an excellent Jazz interpretation of the song had I but asked (I didn't). Maybe I should start???? It's funny (to me) that I've been participating in Battle of the Bands for over a year, and I still don't have it figured out all that well.

Anyway, I tend to post the results (unlike some others who expect you to count up the vote yourself... or remember to come back and read the results in the comments... gasp!). ;) If you voted later in the battle, and read the comments, then it's no surprise that Enya won this battle handily with her haunting version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. She garnered 17 votes, while The Civil Wars only took 5. However, several said that you (surprisingly) liked the version by The Civil Wars, and one of you actually thanked me for posting it, even though you voted for Enya (Hi Liza!). I really liked both versions, and would listen to them both regularly, given the opportunity. I do think Enya's version was just so beautiful that it gets my vote (too). However, there was no wrong vote here!

Remember when I posted video footage of our first Ladies Trio song? Well... we worked up something for the Christmas season, and we sang it yesterday. It was dicey, though. I woke up with a migraine and my mom woke up with a strained back. Not sure that we made one good person added together. Despite that, the song came off pretty well, I think. This time, I wore pants. No more blinding white legs!!! Mom and I will also sing a duet at our Christmas Eve service. I will try to remember to post that on Christmas day....

Without further ado... Here is the Ladies Trio singing Tiny King.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS ~ LET'S GO A CAROLING

It's that time again.... Battle of the Bands! Christmas Edition!!!

Before I get down to the song, I want to take a moment and let you know that I will be on vacation this week. Internet is uncertain, but possible. I will try to get around sporadically, but I'm not betting on a lot of time sitting in front of this here computer. I will do my best to listen to all of the BOTB participants before the voting time expires. So, bear with me and REST ASSURED I will be back to all of your blogs... soon!

For those of you "in the know," this is the season of Advent. This is one of my favorite Advent Christmas carols. I'll have you know that I spent a great deal of time on YouTube listening to variations of this song. I hope that I found two choices that are both so darn good you have a tough time deciding. If I didn't, I'm sure you'll tell me in the comments!

So, let's get down to it, shall we???

Oh, right. Right. Right. What is the song, you ask???? Silly me. It's O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Now, we can get down to it!

First up is Enya:



Next up is a duo called The Civil Wars:




For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

• Far Away Series
• Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog
• Tossing it Out
• DiscConnected 
• The Creative Outlet of Strat Player
• Mike's Ramblings
• Curious as a Cathy 
• Book Lover
• The Sound of One Hand Typing
• Alex J. Cavanaugh (sometimes)

If you are participating in Battle of the Bands, and you are not listed here, leave me a note in the comments. Thanks!

Now, is the critical moment. It is time to vote for your favorite version of this song. I even encourage you to leave me long comment explaining all the ins and outs of why you voted as you did!