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The Last Blog Post

9 Feb

I’ve learned many things from my dad over the years, but the one lesson that’s stayed with me more than any other is this one: Don’t go to bed angry.

On more than one occasion, I’ve seen my dad get angry with someone, and then, almost without fail, before the day was up, he would apologize or clear the air.

Or, at the very least, he compartmentalized those feelings and didn’t let them affect his interactions with me or anyone else.

I haven’t always heeded that lesson, and too often I’ve actually done the opposite (with not so good results), but I’ve kept it in mind as the basis for what I should be doing. Continue reading →

Gimme Five!

1 Sep

I never thought this day would come.

My friends … today, September 1, 2010, marks the fifth anniversary of my very first blog post. That’s right: I’ve been blogging on Martin’s Musings for five years. Never thought I’d get past the first year or two, much less five. But here I am, still writing. And more impressive, I still have people reading my blog posts. So before I go any further, let me take a moment to say thank you for that.

I’ll accept your wood and silverware now.

If you’re a longtime reader of this blog, then you’ve no doubt noticed the changes that have occurred. And you’ve probably also noticed that in the last year or so, posts have gotten less frequent — and more often than not, they’ve been movie reviews. For that you can probably thank my activity on Facebook and Twitter and the blog I maintain for work for giving me other venues to do my thing. But I’m not making excuses. Rather, let’s spin this and say my blogging here has been so successful that I’ve branched out, and am now communicating in multiple places.

Or, let’s just say that passing the five-year mark is a good reminder that I should do what I can to keep this blog going strong. After all, this is where it began. This is my communications hub. So as I start my second half-decade, I make this promise to you, dear readers, that I will try my best to keep this blog active and enjoyable. I’ve written a total of 1,407 posts so far. If you keep reading, I’ll keep writing.

Four More Years! Four More Years!

1 Sep

So here we are again, another year later.

When I first started this blog, did you ever expect it to last four years? I surely didn’t. But today does, in fact, mark the four-year blogiversary of Martin’s Musings, and at least for me, that’s reason to celebrate.

Continue reading →

Happy Time

19 Mar

A funny thing happens when you’re happy … You have less to blog about, and less incentive to blog because you’d rather be living your life offline.

At least that’s how it has been for me lately.

And I know my “life is good” attitude runs counter to the general mood of the public (it certainly runs counter to that of many people I know), so I’ve also made a conscious attempt not to make too big a deal about it for fear I’d appear to be rubbing it in.

But I am happy these days, more so than I’ve been in a very long time.

And I just wanted to say that because, well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.

Give Me Some Leather

1 Sep

If the traditional third anniversary gift is leather, then what do you give someone for his third blogiversary?

I’ll let you worry about that.

Me, I’m going to give myself a big ole pat on the back. After all, when I posted my very first post way back on Sept. 1, 2005, I never once thought I’d have the discipline to keep this going a year — much less three.

I didn’t even know what I was going to write about. In that first post, I wrote: “Could be long, rambling entries like this one. Could be reviews of movies or TV shows, comments on albums I buy, rants about things and people I don’t like. Could be short, one-line entries, or they could just be a photo. Maybe I’ll need a gift idea and I’ll put that out to y’all for some suggestions. I don’t know.” I’d say I was pretty dead on about that mix, and the unpredictability of what topics I’d cover in the 990 some-odd posts I’ve written.

And so, here we are. I thank you for reading.

Continue reading →

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

31 Aug


It’s not quite the Day of All Days, but today is my two-year blogiversary. When I first started this blog on September 1, 2005, I didn’t know what it would become. But now, 640 posts later, it’s become a living, breathing thing that keeps growing by the post. And I thank all y’all out there — some folks I know, many I don’t — who’ve found the site and keep coming back to see what I’ll post next. Clearly you like what you’re reading, so I’ll keep it up.

Last year on my blogiversary, I counted down the top-5 best posts from my first year in the blogosphere. This year I thought I’d recall some memorable moments: notable life events, rants and raves, fun times, and sad times, all documented right here at Martin’s Musings. So, in no particular order, do you remember when …

… I hated Cambridge?
… I met Sam LaGrassa?
… I almost appeared in the Wall Street Journal?
… the Red Sox season ended so badly that I had to forgive the team?
… I lost both my friend Marc and my grandmother in a space of less than two months?
… Time voted me Person of the Year?
… I interviewed an Oscar-winner?
… I was a change-maker?
… my sister and my friend Andrew got married? (not to each other)
… Dice-K sucked? (actually, he still does)
… I rediscovered books and also loved Once and Amy Winehouse?
… I celebrated my 32nd birthday and my 33rd birthday in the space of one month?
… I considered moving?

Yeah, I remember all that. But according to my traffic reports, more people remember when I hated Best Buy more than any of the above things; the Best Buy post was the most read one of the past 12 months.

So, again, thanks for reading, folks. I’ll try to make year three of Martin’s Musings even better. Stay tuned, and keep coming back.

Making Ballplayers Cry

9 May

You know, I thought my blog was powerful.

But it seems my buddy Todd’s blog has actually upset Dontrelle Willis, a pitcher on the Florida Marlins.

Really.

In an article in the Press-Enterprise, a paper out in Los Angeles, Todd’s blog is actually mentioned by name. (And the story was picked up by the Scripps-McClatchy Western Service and also ran in the Knoxville News Sentinel.)

I’m totally impressed by this so I thought I’d post a link.

I’ve Got Nothing

2 Nov

I was going to write something about how Quizno’s sandwiches just aren’t as good as they used to be, and then I was going to lament how the fluctuations of the weather may be making me sick, and then I was going to celebrate how the end of Halloween marked the beginning of the Christmas season … but then I realized all these things were sorta lame.

As it turns out, I don’t have anything all that interesting to write about right now, and rather than continue with these short celeb-related items, I’m just going to go on a brief hiatus until Monday. Come back then, when I should have something really fun and worthwhile to say.

In the meantime, go see Borat.

Have a great weekend!

One More Time

17 Sep

Well, Adam Gaffin has done it again.

He’s gone and included me in his latest blog roundup article in the Sunday Boston Globe.

And of course, which posting of mine did he spotlight? My recent silly one about how I don’t like Cambridge, Somerville, or anywhere on the Red Line. This one has been popular ever since Adam linked to it a couple weeks ago on Universalhub.com.

You can read the Globe story here. Continue reading →

Happy Anniversary!

31 Aug

Anyone who knows me probably knows that I’m easily distracted and don’t always finish the things I start. (I’m also a bit wordy, so get ready.)

So it stands to reason that when I started keeping a blog, few people (including myself) thought I’d keep it going for very long.

But here it is, one year later, and Martin’s Musings is still going strong, with posts almost daily.

Happy Blogiversary to me! Continue reading →

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