Thursday, August 8, 2013

Shoreline Driftwood – The Five-Year Anniversary

On September 21, 2008, I typed in my first post for my blog, Shoreline Driftwood. So, I am approaching the fifth anniversary for this blog, though I know I am about 6 weeks early in putting this up. I felt this would be a good time.

In its first 49 months, Shoreline Driftwood received 18,856 page views on its 221 posts. Since then, the total number of page views has climbed to 28,108 viewings on 226 blog posts (including this one). Visits to my blog come from readers all over the world.  

I am extremely grateful to all the readers who have stopped by my blog, either to give it an occasional read or to become regular readers. I wanted to take this anniversary and use it as an opportunity to share with readers not only my gratitude (which is deeper and more heartfelt than I can state), but also some of the highlights as culled from the stats on page viewings which reflect your interests in my writing.

Readers of my blog emanate from nations all over the world. As of October 15, 2012, the top 10 nations in terms of numbers of page views was as follows: 
1) United States – 8839 
2) Germany – 1206 
3) Russia –1156 
4) United Kingdom – 781 
5) Slovenia – 592 
6) Netherlands – 348 
7) France – 308 
8) South Korea – 265 
9) Canada – 244
10) Ukraine – 198 

In addition to these nations, I know the blog had readers from Indonesia, Philippines, Lebanon, Iraq, and India, in addition to many other nations. As I write this today, the current top ten of nations is as follows: 
1) United States – 12,930 
2) Russia – 1856 
3) Germany 1653 
4) United Kingdom – 1191 
5) France – 709 
6) Slovenia – 592 
7) Canada – 428 
8) Latvia – 407 
9) Netherlands – 360 
10) Poland – 274 

As you can see, recent interest from Latvia and Poland has moved them ahead of South Korea and Ukraine. The blog has also gained interest in China, Taiwan, Sweden and Australia.

For my writing to reach such a broad and diverse readership is very humbling at the same time as it is extremely gratifying. I am amazed and surprised by the reach of the blog given it was such a small venture 5 years ago. I had no idea I could, or even any ambition to, generate the large and diverse readership which I have garnered over the past 5 years. As I say, I feel humbled by the response.

Indeed, at some point in 2010, I realized my readership had grown to a point that I could reach more people per month from my blog than I could from many, if not most, of the online literary journals in operation. Consequently at that time, I ceased submitting my writing to other sources for possible publication. For the entire 5 year period, I have averaged 469 viewings per month. However, over the past 16 to 18 months, I have been averaging more than 1000 viewings per month. Since I liked how I was able to garner so many viewings without contributing to advertising or feeling constrained by publishers and editors, I focused on publishing my writing here, solely since the time in 2010 when I ceased submitting my writing to publishers. I have experienced a great deal of freedom by not being limited by subject matter, style, voice, or genre (poetry, non-fiction, or fiction). As a consequence, I have grown as a writer, as a thinker, and as a person. I have to thank all of you as readers of Shoreline Driftwood for making this possible.

Next, I’d like to share with you a list of my top most viewed blog posts with a minimum of at least 50 viewings. I’ll provide the title, a brief description of the blog entry, the date it was posted (month/day/year), and the number of viewings. If readers find they missed something and want to go back to view it, you can find the link clicking on the title below which will take you to the post.

    1)   Ekphrasis Exercise – three poems I wrote which interpret four pieces of art (one by Kandinsky, one by Picasso, and two by Chagall), 2/7/10, 2012 viewings
    2)   An Interpretation and Discussion of Charles Olson’s Poem “Maximus to himself” – an analysis of the poem, 1/21/10, 1823 viewings
    3)   A Critical Mass – my epic creation tale poem and poetic magnum opus, 12/15/08, 1014 viewings
    5)   On the Rise and Fall of America’s Counterculture (1967-1972) – an historical overview with commentary, 12/10/08, 638 viewings
    6)   On Reliving the 60s: The Conflict between the Old Entrenched Power Structure and the Youth Movement – an historical overview with commentary and analysis, 4/1/09, 517 viewings
    7)   An Analytical Introduction to the Poetry of Jim Morrison – a brief introduction to the poetry of Jim Morrison, 5/13/10, 500 viewings
    9)   R. D. Laing’s Radical Psychology and My Arguments with Contemporary Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment – an overview and analysis with commentary, 8/3/09, 336 viewings
    10) Seductively Satirizing Hollywood’s Seduction: Woody Allen’s Anti-Genre Films – an overview and analysis with commentary, 11/12/09, 231 viewings
    11) On the Organization of an Enlightened and Ecologically Sound Community – a philosophical look at two possible futures depending on humanity’s approach to Climate Change which includes detailed scientific factual findings, 2/14/09, 193 viewings
    12) On the Nature of Consciousness: Consciousness’ Relationship to Living a Life with Meaning – a detailed analysis which includes the latest neuroscientific research and findings and a philosophical interpretation of the information, 12/6/08, 193 viewings
    13) Understanding Classical Greek Mythology and Its Avenues for Enlightenment – an historical overview with interpretive analysis and commentary, 11/10/09, 192 viewings
    14) The Next Beatles’ Movie – A Band on the Run – my presentation of a project proposal and story synopsis for a Beatle movie which could be made and if one had been made in the mid-70s, it’s a farcical romp in the style of “Help!”, 10/13/12, 175 viewings
    15) On Reviewing the Realities of Reagonomics’ Supply Side Strategies and their Effects on the Current American Recession – an historical overview with critical analysis, 3/23/09, 171 viewings
    16) the firestorm of raging opulence – one of my poems (a short one), 6/8/09, 165 viewings
    17) On Death, Dying and Reintegration – The Transition from Life through Death into Reintegration with the All – a philosophical and spiritual view of the after-death experience, 7/28/12, 153 viewings
    18) On the Relativity of Reality: Perception-Analysis, Language, Knowledge, and Time  a philosophical overview of the trends in philosophy from the 1800s on with a critical analysis and author commentary on each of the topics, 12/9/08, 151 viewings
    19) Jung and Mythopoetic Thought – a brief overview with commentary, 12/7/09, 144 viewings
    20) On Choices, Actions and Responsibilities: Freedom, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness – a philosophical treatise which includes an historical overview and critical analysis, 12/12/08, 140 viewings
    21) On How George W. Bush Confounded the Wisdom of the Ages – an historical overview with critical analysis of Bush’s leadership and neocon’s ineffective strategies with regard to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 12/7/08, 125 viewings
    22) The Fifth Revolution in Poetics: On a Brief Overview of the History of Poetry withCommentary and Analysis – an historical overview with a contemporary analysis and urging for a 5th revolution, 3/23/10, 124 viewings
    23) Significant Word Exercise: Peace – a commentary from the personal point of view, 1/28/10, 107 viewings
    24) A Poetry Exercise and Prompt: From “Meeting the Mountains” to Amniotic Steps” – a poetry exercise which reveals the writing of my poem “Amniotic Steps” (a short poem), 9/7/10, 103 viewings
    25) On Taking Responsibility for One’s Emotional States – a psychological and spiritual study of the road to experiencing greater happiness more often, using the principles of Transactional Analysis, 4/8/13, 103 viewings
    26) Solaced Wistless Sighs – one short poem, 12/21/10, 92 viewings
    27) On Rejecting Arguments Supporting the Existence of God – a philosophical investigation into rejecting notions of a thinking creator who created with a plan, 12/20/08, 78 viewings
    28) On Seeking Balance in the Contemporary World – a philosophical and spiritual commentary, 7/10/12, 67 viewings
    29) On Suggestions for Reforming America’s Political System – a critical look at how the Constitution’s Framer’s intentions have been subverted with suggestions for repair utilizing historical references from various past Presidents including Jefferson, Lincoln, Wilson, and many more, 12/12/08, 64 viewings
    30) On Spirituality and Inspiration from the Higher Self – a spiritual discussion leading to an innovative view of our place in the universe and a spiritual value as beings, 12/24/08, 62 viewings
    31) She Sang in the Morning – a short poem, 10/30/10, 56 viewings
    32) By a Stream – a short poem, 7/12/12, 55 viewings
    33) Haiku-Koan Variation Study  short haiku/koans strung together, 7/3/12, 52 viewings
    34) The Approaching Age of Equality – an historical overview with contemporary analysis and commentary, 11/3/11, 50 viewings.

    In addition to these blog posts, my advertisements/synopses for my recent book releases have garnered a number of viewings as well: 1) the post (4/18/2013) for the link to purchase my first book of essays has received 504 viewings, 2) the post (1/12/2013) for the link to purchase my collected poetry has received 264 viewings, 3) the post (6/6/2013) for the link to purchase my second book of essays has received 82 viewings, and 4) the post (8/5/2013) for the link to purchase my novel, “Sitting in an English Garden,” has received 12 viewings.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by for a visit and to all of you who will do the same in the future. I am grateful for all of you. The purpose of my writing is to share my deepest thoughts, my most urgent feelings, my hopes and fears, and my unique perspective on our world. That sharing and communication has been accomplished is reflected by the viewing numbers I have posted. You give my life meaning and value by reading what I have written. I can never overstate how much that means to me.

Finally, if any of my readers enjoy reading books through Goodreads, you can find my first three books all available there at the following link - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6909913.Don_Coorough

My wish for all of you is for peace, happiness, good health, warm relationships, and a fulfilling life for all my readers.


Warmly, Don

"The Unraveling" - an outline for a screenplay

“The Unraveling,” is an outline for a proposed full-length feature film of entertaining fiction in the drama genre which tells the story of Jerry Farnsworth, husband to Marie and father of teenage son, Bobby, and Sally Evans, an exchange student from England. Set between September of 2008 and April of 2009 against the backdrop of the subprime mortgage crisis and several mass murders which actually occurred in the USA and which resulted from gun violence, the story tells how Jerry’s life and psyche unravel as he loses his job, takes a new position, and suffers excessive stress due to sexual dysfunction and mounting financial pressures. 

Monday, August 5, 2013

"Love-ism Volume III: Sitting in an English Garden - a novel" has been published

Dear friends and Readers,

My first novel, "Sitting in an English Garden," has been published and is now available for purchase. It is a 174 page quality paperback.

http://www.publishamerica.net/product53133.html
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Love-ism Volume III: Sitting in an English Garden - a novel

Love-ism Volume III: Sitting in an English Garden—a novel takes you to multiple worlds during multiple time periods. In this story, we encounter a man’s experiences in Southern California during May of 1972, in Amsterdam, Netherlands during a day in 2005, and in a place outside of time and space in a fictitious English garden. The book’s world combines hippies, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, out-of-body experiences, dream sequences, psychedelic trips on LSD, a visit to an Amsterdam koffieshop, a budding romance between an expatriated American and a native Dutch woman, and timeless encounters with John Lennon and George Harrison. This book will take you on a ride wilder than Billy Pilgrim’s in Slaughterhouse Five and more surreal than Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass. Destined to be a timeless classic, this book is a highly experimental example of storytelling which expands previous notions of the novel.

I hope my friends and readers will consider purchasing a copy. Please click on the link above to get your copy today. Also, please feel free to share the link with your friends.

Warm regards in peace and with love,
Don Coorough