O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM...

Had your tea and stuffed your face with Christmas

mince pies?  Good!  Now kick off your shoes, rest your

feet on the back of a menial whilst she's down on her knees

scrubbing the floor, and relax to the dulcet tones of JIM

REEVES as he performs O LITTLE TOWN OF
BETHLEHEM.  ("Oi!  You missed a spot!")

BABE Of The DAY - JANET VAN DYNE...

Whose heart hasn't skipped a beat over

a MARVEL MISS from time-to-time?  Today,

JANET Van DYNE, The Wonderful WASP,

quickens our collective pulse and puts a spring in

our step.  This awesome artwork is by STEPHEN

LANGMEAD, who sure knows how to paint a

pretty picture to make everyone sit up and

take notice.  Schwiiiiiiinnngggg!!!

HAVE YOU GOT A BLOG? WHY?

Looking through my sidebar's Blog List, I'm reminded that I've occasionally deleted some sites which no longer regularly feature new entries or have much in the way of previous posts - though I've retained ones which 'retired' two or three years back if they contain a wealth of archived material which I consider are worth preserving a link to.  However, there are some blogs whose existence is a bit of a mystery to me - you know, ones which post about once a year, and then only to wish readers a Happy New Year before returning to a dormant state for another twelve months.

Now, obviously I'm not talking about ones where posting is sparse because illness has rendered the owner incapable of regular blogging, but those which seemingly exist for no discernible reason (that I can see).  It made me wonder why those people have blogs to begin with, and that led me to thinking that some of you are perhaps pondering the same thing about moi.  If so, good question.  There may not be a good answer, but that's never stopped me before from trying to squeeze out a post based on the most tenuous of excuses reasons.

I first posted on January 31st 2010 because someone (I forget who) suggested that I start a blog.  I promptly lost interest because I couldn't think of anything to write about, and abandoned the blog for almost six months until July 17th, until I felt compelled to confront what I perceived to be an injustice committed against me by another blogger whose site I used to visit.  We had gotten involved in a discussion on a particular subject, and he had resorted to mocking me and being, frankly, a bit too cheeky.  No need to go over every single detail (again) as long-time regular readers will be only too well-aware (and bored) of them anyway.

Suffice to say, I wasn't prepared to ignore continual digs in his blog's comments section (and elsewhere) so I revived my own neglected organ in order to redress the balance.  Whenever I felt he was having a go at me, I had one right back.  This led to him accusing me of being 'bitter, frustrated, and jealous' of him - ironic coming from one who claims to have no ego.  If I were going to be jealous of anyone working in British comics today, he'd be just one amongst many who wouldn't even make that list.

Having dealt with the situation, I then turned my thoughts to the original motivation for creating the blog, which was mainly to feature comics, although I very soon added collectable toys and other items of nostalgic interest (books, records, and the like).

So, there you have it!  If you're no longer in my Blog List, now you know why.  If you've ever wondered why I began a blog (and continue it), the answer has been furnished unto you.  There have now been close to 1,800* posts, and I sincerely trust that, amongst the inevitable dross, you've found at least a few posts which have been of some interest to you.

So let me ask you this if you're a blog owner - what got you started and what keeps you going?  If you find that a bit too difficult to answer, just leave a comment saying why you think me and my blog are so wonderful - he (half) joked.

******

*I originally typed 18,000.  Who am I kidding?  Meant to type 1,800.  The former might come true one day though.