Tyler Colins's Blog, page 64

That’s Amore

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore . . .”

Written by Jac Brooks and Harry Warren in the early 50s, Dean Martin sang that catchy upbeat song like no one else.

amore = l’amour = love

As bloggers and writers, we have amore for our crafts.  It’s a drive, a passion, something we can’t imagine not doing.  As such, we should endeavor to make it the best we can.

And to make it the best we can, we need to constantly be editing, so that our:

  words are fresh

   writing is readable (attention-grabbing)

   posts and books have readers wanting to come back for more!

Writing is like building a pizza pie.  You have your basic layer with tomato sauce and cheese: the plot/storyline.  Then you build.  [image error]

Add characters and complications (tension, conflict, quests).  Throw in complexity (twists and turns, enemies and frenemies).  Boost the “flavor” with logic and resolution(s).

If the ingredients don’t quite come together, that’s okay.  We build another one—the right one, the perfect one.

Rejoice in the final product, the appealing bouquet.  That’s amore.

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Foever Poi . . . Forever Happy

The cover for Forever Poi is ready—thank you, Creativia!

The purple and red work well . . . attention-grabbing in its simplicity.

How do the gals feel about this one?  JJ’s likes the lips—they speak to her.  Linda thinks the colors and font are hot.  Rey loves the lipstick (a shade she’d wear in a blink).  As an FYI, the tsking and sighs have ceased; she’s officially over the fact she and her colleagues no longer grace the covers.[image error]

When the last cover arrives, that makeover for The Triple Threat Investigation Agency Facebook page (and this blog) are gonna happen.

Speaking of happen, if anyone would like to help make this new book happen, I’d be very grateful . . . thankful, happy, delighted, grateful, overjoyed, stoked, grateful, indebted, and pleased.

. . . Did I say grateful?

Tags & Hash

I confess—readily—that I don’t know the first thing about tagging or hashtags.  Blame it on my “sheltered” time-constrained life. 

It’s okay.  My lack of knowledge is our gain.  It got me to research the basics of tagging and hashtagging, and this I happily share.

A tag, for the record, is a word/phrase that is preceded by a hash mark (#), and is used in a message or post to locate a keyword or topic of interest, and then expedite a search for it.  When you add a # to your message or post, social media/networking sites will index it; it then becomes searchable (“findable”) by others.  In simple terms, hashtags categorize content.

I’m a Facebooker, so let’s look take a look-see at FB—where you can tag a person, someone in a pic, and somebody in a post.

To tag a person (by name), start a post or comment on another post, pic, or vid.  Type the person’s name anywhere in that post or comment (FB offers suggestions when you’re typing, by the way).  Another option: type @ before you enter the name.  This informs FB that you intend to tag someone in your post or comment.  Select the name you want to tag when it appears and then select “Post”.  Ta-da.  Your post/comment will be posted and the “tagee” will be notified he/she has been tagged.

To tag someone or a page in a pic, click it to expand it.  Hover over the photo and type the person’s name.  Use the full name of the person or page you want to tag when it appears.  Click “Done Tagging”.  Be aware: when you tag a pic that wasn’t uploaded by a Friend, the person who uploaded it must approve the tag.

To tag somebody in a post, begin a fresh post by going into the box where your personal pic/icon is—where you see “What’s on your mind?” in faint gray font.  If you look beneath the post box, beside “Photo/Video”, you’ll find “Tag People”.  Next, you’ll see “Who are you with?”.  Type the name of someone (add more if you wish).  Write something and hit “Post”.  The person you tagged will be notified that you tagged him/her in a post.

What about hashtags?  You can make anything into a hashtag by adding # in front of a word or phrase.  (Seen it, not done it.)  Add the # and then start typing—you’ll see the #xxx highlighted in pale blue.  Once completed, post. The now bold tag will be in your status update; click on the status bar to have that hashtag automatically added to an update.  Sweet.

Once the post is up, you can click on your new tag to see who’s using that same phrase and what they’re saying.

The thing about a hashtag is to create one that serves a purpose—one that will be of use several times over.  As an FYI, you can learn which hashtags are trending (check out Hashtagify, RiteTag, and # hashtags.org, among others).  It’s advised, depending on the site, to avoid using several in one message or post.  Keep them simple and don’t use too many words.

Let’s end with a bit of trivia.  Did you know the first hashtag used in social media is credited to Chris Messina (a former Google employee)?  It happened in a Tweet—in 2007.  The word “hashtag” wasn’t added to the dictionary (Oxford, to be precise) until 2010. [image error]

. . . #happytagging.

Insta-Laughter?

We all have our idiosyncrasies and quirks, skills and strengths . . . failings and weaknesses.  Mine?  Technology.

I’ve come a long way, though.  I don’t cringe or sprint away when a new challenge or task comes my way.  Groaning and moaning, well, that’s another thing, er, things.

Facebook I feel fairly calm with.  Can’t tag worth , but I can post!  Pat on back to moi.  Twitter I no longer have panic attacks about.  Can’t Tweet to save my life, however.  What am I supposed to—expected to—convey?  I’m not a poet or photographer with regular “product” to show.  I’m not a disgruntled person with a bone to pick.  LinkedIn serves its purpose without a doubt but, personally, it leaves me cold; as such, it receives a visit maybe twice a year. [image error]

My last/latest “adventure” was with Instagram.  I signed up at the end of 2017.  Couldn’t figure out how to post anything—no laughing, please.  Didn’t return until a week ago.  Dang (as Linda would say)—double dang with an expletive (as Rey would shout)—I couldn’t remember or find my password.  Had to sign up again.  Then, of course, I found my old user name, but the new account won’t recognize the old one.  It’s a bit of a mess.  Do I erupt with tears or burst into laughter at the insanity of it all?

I always like to provide a little background re the focus of my post, so-o . . . did you know Instagram, which has been around nearly a decade, is owned by Facebook?  Among other things, “Insta” has messaging features, the ability to follow other users’ feeds, and you can add a whack of pics and vids in one post.  Kind of cool . . . if you’re into pics and vids.  One day, I suspect I might be but, at the moment, uh-uh, can’t/won’t happen.  That’s okay; everything in its time.

Project for the weekend: figure out how to get the accounts de-mucked.

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. . . I do believe I feel a few ROTFLs coming on.

Spam, Shmam . . . and Not the Ham

Okay, technically it’s canned cooked pork.  But the name Spam is a derivative of “spiced ham”, so-o . . . .  By the by, did you know it’s a Hawaiian favorite?  Indeedy-do.  So much so, there’s an annual Spam Festival (which I have had the pleasure of attending).

I digress again.

Recently, I’d planned to respond to a comment.  To the Comments page I went—and noticed [finally] that a number were in the Spam section.  OMG.  How had I never spotted that?  Not seeing for looking?

The plan: delete, delete, delete.  But as I started sifting through them, I realized half weren’t Spam (not the ham).  OMG.  I’d never replied and I should have (or, at the very least, liked).  How rude people must think me!

A few offered advice as to how I could/should improve the blog.  The suggestions were all valid—and appreciated.  Yes, one day I will apply the recommendations . . . when I can embrace Time as a close friend. [image error]

Thank you everyone.  I’ll be checking out Spam more frequently in the future (maybe even with a side of eggs and rice).

Nuts about . . . Coco’s Nuts

Ta-da!  The cover of Coco’s Nuts, my third Triple Threat Investigation Agency book, has received a new cover.  I ask again: how exciting is that?  (Not quite sure what happened to the second, but I’m sure Can You Hula Like Hilo Hattie? is hula-ing down the design trail.)

It’s eye-catching.  Simple yet magnetizing.

How do the gals feel about this one?  JJ’s loves how the coconut resembles a bomb.  Linda’s keen on the colors and font.  Rey’s dancing with delight (though she was initially nettled that she and her colleagues’ “pretty P.I. faces” are no longer being featured).

When the last two covers arrive, that facelift for The Triple Threat Investigation Agency Facebook page (and this blog) are still on the agenda.

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Back to the Beginning

. . . re starting a blog when you’re in a fog . . . about what to do.

  I’d actually thought of a cute little poem while lying in bed last night and—dang!—gone it was come the morning.  Goes to prove, when an idea pops into your head, write it down or lose it.

I digress [again].  Anyway, someone who readily admits to being non-blog-savvy, had asked me to check out an old blog, provide opinions and tweak, if necessary.  . . . Realization upon doing so: creating a new one would be the better option.

[image error]Are you in the same boat, non-blog-savvy, but considering becoming a blogger?  Quash the anxiety, my friend.  Move beyond the how-do-I-do-this daze.  You can and will be a boffo blogger.  Just believe and do.

You’re thinking: yeah, I could wrap my head around getting a blog going and belonging to the ever-increasing, ever-exciting blogging community.  But what do I blog about?!

Easy-peasy.  Blog about what:    you know          floats your boat—your passion.

Maybe you want to make extra money via a blog?  Totally doable.  Go for it; the WWW world is your oyster.  But let’s focus on the elementary steps: the beginning of the beginning blog.   Something like that.

Concentrate on creating a blog that features you—your writing, recipes, photos, travels, family adventures, whatever it is you want to share.  Utilize an approach that’s “you”.  Look at other bloggers to get a taste of what’s visually appealing and well presented.  But remember: your blog should incorporate your unique voice (style, slant).  Sing out loud, sing out strong.

You’ll want to think of a blog name—something catchy, memorable.  Google.  See what others with your interest have named their blogs.  Look at items, people and/or products related to your interest; maybe they’ll inspire you.

Ensure that whatever the blog focus is, it’s incorporated into the name.  If the blog is about you, use your name or a version thereof.  Once you’ve selected the perfect blog name, see if it’s available.  (If it already exists, you can vary it or use a different extension—like .net instead of .com.)

Once the aforementioned is all set, get that blog going.  Pick a platform and webhost—software and services used to publish your blog content on the Internet (I’m partial to WordPress, of course, but there are many others to choose from).  Register it.

Just for the record, to be clear, a domain name is your website address that people would type into the URL bar of a browser when they’re looking to visit your blog.  A webhost serves as your file storage/service location.  When folks enter your domain name into a browser, that name is converted into the IP address of your webhost.  (Oof.  Anything technical and I feel a headache coming on.  ) [image error]

A webhost is pretty much a must, or you really won’t have much of a blog.  Yes, you can go for self-hosting, but there are limitations, such as not having your own domain name, not being able to access free themes or upload an abundance of vids/pics and the like.  Nothing wrong with that, though.  It depends on what you’re looking to do.  Investigate the pros and cons of self-hosting, and determine what’s best for you.

Use a template (theme) for the blog design/layout that speaks to you and tailor it accordingly.  Remember: you don’t have to stick with it forever.  The beauty of having a blog is that you can change the look anytime you like.

Once it’s designed and up and running, go for it—write that first post.  How exciting is that!?

Happy blogging!  . . . And, on that note, I’d better take a gander at that blog to be.

 

 

Pal, Buddy, Chum . . . Life-Long Friend . . . Confirmed?

150+ friend requests—in one day?!    T’is [astonishingly] true.

Some requestors had a mutual friend, others had six, and a few had none.  I’d mentioned this to an acquaintance and she said it could be a scam.  In what way could friending be “a scam”?  I lean toward naïve and prefer to believe the better of people, so when there’s a request to friend someone, I’m thinking it’s okay.

In retrospect, however, I do recall a couple of Twitter episodes—two guys instantly proclaimed their love for me.  Uh-huh.  I’m a decent/nice gal, but I’m not that lovable. 

Perpetually curious, I Googled about friending.  Research netted similar advice—do not friend:

   friends of friends that you don’t know (rather like selecting strangers, wouldn’t you say?)        someone you’re not comfortable with (he/she doesn’t transmit “good vibes”)        individuals who may not be interested in, or at ease with, your content.

Liveabout.com advises there are four types of people you should never friend:

   exes (perish the thought)       bosses, coworkers, clients (oh-oh)       strangers (makes sense—and obviously I have none)       acquaintances.

Incidentally, LiveAbout is a rather cool site.  The folks there believe that “free time matters”.  In fact, their site features “a lovable jumble of urban legends, sports history, and esoteric trivia that you can lose yourself in for hours” . . . with writers who are “experts and professionals in their fields”.

I digress.  Back to friending and following.  There is a difference by the by.  When you add someone as a friend, you automatically follow him/her (as he/she does you).  You’ll see each other’s posts.  When you follow someone you’re not friends with, you’ll see their public posts.

I still have 100+ potential friends to confirm (more arrive every day).  Before I do so, however, I’m going to do that due diligence I’ve often recommended.  If you’re in a similar situation, do the same. [image error]

When you receive a request, verify the mutual friend(s) by selecting the view [“see what you have in common with XYZ’s friends] button.  Check out the requestor’s profile.  If anything looks sketchy, do not confirm that friend request.

If you’ve hastily friended someone (like yours truly) and determine you’d rather not continue the “relationship” (like yours truly), you can unfollow the individual, as opposed to unfriending him/her.

And if you’re thinking of submitting a friend request, it wouldn’t hurt to send the person a quick message before you do.  Don’t be offended if someone doesn’t respond to your request.  He/she undoubtedly has a valid reason for doing so, such as wanting to keep the friend list small/manageable.

Given I enjoy researching and always learn a few new things, there’ll likely be friend/FB etiquette “reminder” post in the next wee while.

[image error]Until the next time . . . my friends.

Fairy Tales & Family Beads

Christabel Savalas—yes, the “Who loves ya, baby?” TV cop was a relative—is a multi-talented gal I got to know a few years back in Hawaii.  Her current project is creating tales, Beads from my Family Necklace, and I felt a need to share two stories—her personal one and one from the upcoming collection.

Let’s begin with Helena Macree Tsavalas, Christabel’s mother.  This widely published author’s career began early.  Having taken a keen interest in children’s education, she created stories and games that both entertained and broadened children’s views of the world.  Her fairy tales were particularly loved and are still in print.  The ever-gifted Helena also created dolls that represented historical events and fictional characters, which won prizes in various competitive exhibitions around the world.  Her invention of finger-puppet books became an important part of Walt Disney’s children’s publications. 

Helena’s accomplishments were not limited to dolls and stories, but are too vast to provide here (fodder for a future post).  To learn more about this vibrant woman, check out the documentary Endless Creativity: The Life of Helena Macree Tsavalas. 

Suffice it to [happily] say, the apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Having studied—and applied—music, dancing, and acting throughout her career, equally talented Christabel possesses a fairly impressive resume: she’s an actress, producer, director, composer, and writer.  What you really have to admire, though, is her drive, that stick-to-itiveness, to see things through to fruition . . . to pursue dreams that can and do come true.

In addition to the current endeavor of adapting her mother’s fairy tales into scripts/films, she plans to see her parents’ enchanting [if not astonishing] love story grace the big screen . . . and compile the aforementioned collection. 

On that note, here’s a little taste from Beads . . . .

Great-Grandfather Lucas

In Turkey, during the middle 1800’s, lived a very wealthy Sultan.  This handsome, well-respected ruler had many staff members to help keep his grand palace in order.  One of my ancestors’ relatives, Thanassis, was his gardener, who tended his vast, beautiful [image error]garden filled with vibrant and exotic flowers.

 

One particularly warm and humid summer evening, the Sultan opened the window.  Contentedly, he gazed out onto a star-filled sky and inhaled the fragrant scents carried by gentle breezes.  Peering a few floors below, he sighted a young boy trying to teach himself to read under the shimmering light of the brilliant full moon. 

Curious, the Sultan watched for a long while.  The next morning, he inquired around the palace to see to whom this little boy belonged.  When he discovered that he was the nephew of his gardener, he summoned Thanassis to his opulent royal chambers.

“I am very impressed with your keen young nephew and his eager attempt to learn how to read.  I’d like to provide him with suitable schooling,” the Sultan informed the man with a hearty pat to the back.  “Won’t you please permit the boy to stay here with me—so I might raise and feed him, and provide the best?”

Thanassis looked thoughtful.  “You are very kind, Your Highness.  However, Lucas is not my son but my nephew. I would have to return to the small island of Chios in Greece to ask permission from his parents.” 

Nodding in understanding, the Sultan smiled warmly.  “I will arrange the trip so that you may request the necessary permission for Lucas to stay with me.”

A few weeks later, Thanassis returned from Greece with good news: the boy’s parents were honored with the request and would permit him to reside with the Sultan.

The great ruler took Lucas under his wings and made sure he received the best education.  He paid the fees for Lucas to study in Liege, Belgium.  Over time, the keen young fellow became an accomplished gold cutter. 

Great-grandfather Lucas grew to be a very wealthy man and returned to Turkey with lots of money.  In Constantinople (Istanbul), he met a strikingly good-looking woman as she descended a carriage.  She wore a long, beautiful dress that she had sewn and decorated herself. 

Eleni was her name (my great-grandmother) and she came from a very prosperous, high-class family. Talented, intelligent and highly educated, she was known to possess excellent cooking skills and creative sewing and embroidery talents.  Her dresses would sometimes would show off her ankles, something frowned upon during those times.

Lucas and Eleni married, and had three lovely daughters.  The eldest one, my maternal grandmother, Efrosini, was born in 1885.  The rest, as the saying goes, is history—at its most happiest.

. . . μέχρι την επόμενη φορά . . . 

New Look . . . New Book?

It’s been a wee bit of a wait—but we all know how very good I am at standing by—and the first cover of my first Triple Threat Investigation Agency books has received a new cover!  How exciting is that?

I’m a little sad to see the gals go, but—per feedback—they truly did have to.  As pretty as they are, they’re too doll-like to be appealing to the potential reader. [image error]

And speaking of the gals . . . JJ’s fine with the new cover, though she’d liked to have seen the mansion a bit more “creepy” looking.  Linda loves it; the colors, font/title are strong and have “oomph”.  Rey’s happy as a mussel swimming in saffron-wine broth.

When the three subsequent covers arrive, a face-lift for The Triple Threat Investigation Agency Facebook page (and this blog) won’t be far off . . . and that, my dear friends, is a promise!  So, please—hold me to it!!

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