Cat on screen, cat on desk - big day for blog leaves me discouraged but not defeated; four studies of the tiny hockey player
Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 12:57PM 
In terms of numbers of visitors, yesterday was a pretty good day for this blog - and that kind of discouraged me a bit - it kind of made me feel like this whole blogging effort touches on futility. I must assure you that this is in no way a signal that I am going to retreat or quit blogging. No - I aim to go bull-headedly forward just as I have been. But still, yesterday was a mighty discouraging day for me as a blogger.
Saturdays tend to be my lowest visitor days of the week. Typically, on Saturdays, my readership drops off by more than 30 percent. But yesterday, Saturday, my readership soared to about three times the weekday average - somewhere between four and five times the usual Saturday average.
How could this be discouraging?
It happened because of one thing - these three words in my headline: "Sarah Palin's buick."
Actually, the word, "buick" was but a small part of it. It could have read, "Sarah Palin's dog... Sarah Palin's frog... Sarah Palin's duck... Sarah Palin's mop... Sarah Palin's oatmeal... ... etc. etc." The result would have been the same.
Oh well. Life is what it is, I am what I am, and will continue on as I have been until I find the time and means to do as I want and then I will all but ignore Sarah Palin, except as a teaser now and then to see if her name will still draw hordes of extra readers into my blog.
One good thing about this life is cats. Yesterday, I entered my office to find that my slideshow screen saver had been activated. Melanie's Diamond was on the screen and Pistol-Yero sat by the keyboard. When he visits, Kalib loves to watch all these grand cats scroll across my screen when I step away from my computer.
Also, please note the little contraptions sitting on my desk to the left. What you see is docks and harddrives. I can move harddrives in and out of those docks at will. I have more harddrives in the computer, and more harddrives stuck in old-fashioned enclosures lying here and there.
The three you see here are eacg two terabyte harddrives. There are several more 2 TB's sitting in a drawer beneath my computer.
A while back, I had an extremely bad hard drive nightmare and one of my good-hearted readers suggested that I pick up one of those little plastic-encased harddrives that can hold a terabyte and thus solve my information management problem.
I got a good chuckle out of that one - although I definitely appreciated the thought and concern.
I have a number of those little plastic hard drives. They are what I take into the field.
I shoot a lot, you see, and I shoot high resolution files RAW. I don't throw any images away, not even the blurry ones. It would take too much time. Plus, I have discovered that I can pick up a take a year or 20 after I first shot it and find that some of the images that I rejected are actually better than the ones I used.
I go through harddrive space like you would not believe. Tomorrow, I plan to buy two more two terabyte harddrives, but I really need to buy four or five more, if I could only afford to.
Yesterday, when I pulled into the Metro Cafe drive-through, it was Branson, the tiny hockey player, who came to greet me. He wanted to pose for a study. So here it is:
Study of the tiny hockey player, #242: Branson wears his Metro baseball cap as the young writer, Shoshana, prepares coffee in the background.
Then Branson decided that he wanted to do a study without his cap, so he took it off. His mom hurried right over to touch up his hair for the picture. So here it is:
Study of the tiny hockey player, #237: Carmen makes Brandon's hair look nice.
Study of the tiny hockey player, #239: Carmen admires the hair of her tiny hockey player.
Study of the tiny hockey player, #241: His hair looking good, Branson poses for Study #1.
Reader Comments (15)
Branson is too adorable. He's gonna be a heartbreaker later on in life.
Yesterday.. I was more stumped that Sarah Palin actually had a Buiick. I didn't expect that. I don't really care anything about her. But a Buick kinda threw me.
Bill, I love your blog. SP or no. Unfortunately, you are tied to her in a way because I found you via Gryphen.
I like you on your own though, much more.
Branson is worth the visit today.
i love coming here too...don't care one bit about SP
I also found you through Gryphen. Your blog is a breath of fresh air!
I figured you were doing a weekend experiment with that SP headline. Don't be discouraged, your loyal readers come here precisely because your blog is devoid of SP references. You provide refreshing insight into your state and its people, not the horrible stereotype created by Sarah Palin and her family that many uniformed wrongly take to represent AK.
Bill, just for your info, I try to avoid references to that woman. But I love your kitty picture and the wonderful portraits of Branson.
Cracked me up to see Branson's "hockey face" in between his "please take my picture" expressions.
Little hockey player is quite dashing with or without his cap!
I came here originally from a search about your book Gift of the Whale and stay because of your loving camera eye and tales about family, friends and neighbors.
Pfft on whatzername!
Bill, I was quite shocked to see what's her name on your blog. I come here everyday to see your wonderful family and cats! I don't comment much and sorry.....I really think you have the neatest blog on the sphere!!!! Keep on doing what you are doing. You keep our blood pressure down. It's like watching a documentary of real people we know and love. Not all that political crap. Love the babies. Don't tell Kaleb I called him a baby! He's a big boy now and has his favorite spatula and tongs to help! So cute. Margie has the sweetest grandma face in the world! Some days I'm just so overwhelmed I don't know what to say. Just that I love what you do and have the tears to show for it. You make my heart sing with your photography and words. Thanks!!!
Bill, your SP teaser pulled me in yesterday, but I have visited many times before. I will continue to visit. I always depart your site with something meaningful (sometimes sad). I just don't comment much. Perhaps I should.
Your post had me laughing out loud! You write as well as you take photos, which means you're an excellent writer!
Nope, not here ever because of SP headlines. Here everyday because I love, love, love your photographs & stories. You make me laugh, you make me cry & always you entertain me. Don't want to give you a swelled head, it might disturb the peace of the Kat Kids and make it difficult to get through doors, but Bill, you are an amazing and ultra talented man. Thanks!
Bill, I visit here every day without fail - my day isn't complete until I see what you've planned to share with us. Reading your blog is the last thing I do before I turn off my computer for the night, because your words and photos always leave me with many happy things to think about and relate to others the next day.
And I've been meaning to tell you this: I cry over each and every story you write! Yes, tears of sadness occasionally, but 99% of the time, tears of happiness for being able to see the details that form a real life in Wasilla and far beyond. From the cradle board, to Charlie's beard, to Margie's beautiful countenance, to Jobe learning to walk, to your handsome haircut and tall shadow, to the native dancers....it weaves a tapestry I feel lucky to have a chance to see.
I have no idea if "she" owns a Buick, and couldn't care less. But I do want to know if the guy at Carr's really did throw you a banana!
I should have left you a comment before - Bill, I love your blog! I found it reading about Alaska about a month or so ago, and now I check back just about everyday. It's hard to say what I like best about it, but I really find Native Alaskan culture amazing, and love your pictures from Barrow and kivgiq. I enjoy being "taken along" on your adventures in Alaska via your blog. Oh, and I just adore seeing pictures of Margie with her grandbabies!
I thank you all for your comments and encouragement. It does help make it feel worthwhile, as futile as it sometimes seems.
Branson, I am certain, thanks you all as well.