Secrets Of My Songs #7 (Want Your Love)

I call this song one of my most baffling. The original (poetry) version was so long, but before I took it into the studio I decided to cut it down. I took out what would have been the bridge because, and quite frankly, it would have ran well into four plus minutes. (The fast version) And probably six minutes for the slow version. And this is about a fifty / fifty thing, editing songs from their poetry versions. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. Not to mention, the bridge part just didn't seem to fit and would have taken the song off track from the amazing tempo we put it to. 

But while this one was one that I did do a lot of editing with, it still was written for someone special in my life back when I was still in the navy. She came to visit someone in Virginia, from Michigan, when she was 16 years old. I was 19 or 20 at the time. She stayed for a week, visiting her aunt or something and she and I had a pretty good time together. I was heart sick when she had to leave to go back home. We kept in touch for a few years by writing letters. She wrote me more than I wrote her though. I always wanted to go to Michigan and see her, but I never did. I don't know why. I'm a dumb ass I guess. 

Twenty or so years later, I found her on the internet. Anyhow, this was definitely one of the poems I wanted to make into a song. With such fond memories behind it, there was no choice. To make things even better, where this song is concerned, I ended up with two versions. Originally, I wanted it to be a slow love song, but it was my producer, Brian Preston, who thought it would sound good more uptempo. He was correct! It did sound good uptempo. We still did the slow version too. And as an even extra bonus (for me) I was able to use the pics of another friend of mine for the slow version video. I will have to say that as far as this song is concerned, everything eventually just fell into place. Because of this, it has become my personal favorite of all my songs. 

And here is the slow version

Kayak Fun In Ohio - Salt Creek Kayak Adventures

Salt Creek Kayak Adventure

Hey everyone, if you're ever in ohio, around the Richmond Dale, Chillicothe area, and you want to go kayaking, then you have to go and check out

SALT CREEK KAYAK ADVENTURES

Owned by a good personal friend of mine, Jenny Blake. Just tell her that Carroll Bryant sent you and maybe she will give you a discount. If not, ask if mentioning my name will get you a free soda or something. I don't know, maybe you will be better off not mentioning my name. lol But mention it anyway and let's see what happens! It will be like an added adventure on top of the kayaking fun that you will surely have with your family. And if you don't know how to kayak, maybe she will teach you. If not, then maybe she will let you swim in the creek. Provided of course that you know how to swim. And if it's allowed there. I don't know, but maybe bring your trunks just in case, you know? lol 

But seriously folks, kayaking in Ohio is fun, but it's going to be a whole lot more fun at Salt Creek Kayak Adventures. This I can almost promise you. Almost because you never know, you could get stung by a bee or something and that wouldn't be much fun. Especially if you're allergic to bee stings. But that would be an act of god or something and my promises do not cover acts of god or nature. Or stupidity. I mean, let's face it, if you poke a stick at a bee hive then you're gonna get stung. Just don't poke a stick at a bee hive and I'm pretty sure you probably won't get stung by a bee. 

Now, getting mauled by a bear is something altogether different.

Just kidding, there are no ...... actually, there might be bears lurking around.

HA! Just messing with ya again. 

But seriously, I doubt you have to worry about bears. 

SALT CREEK KAYAK ADVENTURES

Just go for it ..... and have some FUN! 

TGIF (Born To Dance)

You know the drill. Play the video and slowly scroll down and enjoy the dancing gif's. The primary theme is "Napoleon Dynamite". When you're done, go out and have a great day!

Oh, and over 950,000 views!

50,000 views away from ... ONE FREAKING MILLION! LOL 

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND EVERYONE

Carroll's Journey: Carroll Who?

So on the 10th of July, 2015, I get a call from my sister shortly past seven in the morning. (I was up until three in the morning so I was refreshed with about 4 hours of sleep) "Mother is hospitalized again." She informed me. "She threw up, was running a fever, and she has a major headache."

"Give me twenty minutes or so and I'll be there." I replied groggily.

You see, I think we have entered a new age with mother. After her life threatening experience a month ago, now every little sideway sneeze or wet fart will be grounds for hospitalization from this point forward.

Hey, I get it, she's getting old. Better safe than sorry and stuff, but, what kind of life is it when you become addicted to hospitals, doctors and medicine? That's not a productive life. Not one I care to venture in anyway.

Anyhow, by the time I got there, she had two male nurses tending to her and as I entered, I did so with a bang. "For someone who hates hospitals, you sure do seem to spend a lot time in them."

The two male nurses turned and smiled. (I don't know why I say "male" nurses, I should just say nurses, shouldn't I? I mean, their gender isn't important, is it?) My mother smirks. "Smart ass."

It turns out that yes, she did puke her guts out, but she wasn't concerned so much about that. "Sometimes my medicine makes me nauseated." She explained. Then she informed me that her arthritis was acting up fiercely and all she wanted was something for the pain. "I couldn't get to my feet or walk." She said. "I have this shooting pain in my hip on the right side."

While the doctor was working on getting something for her pain, they also took her to get a cat scan. (Bilking  the system?) lol Anyhow, I told her. "I hope you get some morphine. That shit is rockin."

Mother rolled her eyes. I then decided to break some late breaking news. "I got pulled over in Waverly on my here."

"For what?" She asked.

"For DWC" I answered. She made a funny face. "What is DWC?"

"Driving while Carroll." I answered. She rolled her eyes again. I continued. "He mentioned something about me not using my blinkers, but he was the only one behind me and he was like 100 feet back so, you know. And then, he mentioned something about being enough car lengths from the car in front of me. I was like, dude, I have been driving longer than you have been a cop and I haven't smashed into anyone ever! I think I'll stick with what works for me."

"You're lucky he didn't give you a ticket." Mother replied. I shrugged my shoulders. "he didn't have anything on me to write a ticket. He just wanted to pull over the great Carroll Bryant." I joked.

"The only thing great about you is how well you can piss people off. Maybe you shouldn't write blog posts about them and they won't pull you over to harass you."

"Oh," I jumped on that quickly, "they are not harassing me, they're just proving my point that they're idiots and criminals with badges."

"Whatever." Mother moaned. "I wish they would hurry up and get me something for this pain."

Sure enough, just as she finished that sentence, in came the male nurse, and she got the morphine! And mommy likey very much. lol

However, her heart rate was running wild and they couldn't get it to slow down to a preferable level so they kept her overnight for observation. Anyhow, during my visit, and around noon, another hospital employee entered. (They were entering all morning. About four or so employees who came in and introduced themselves to me and shook my hand and then left.) This employee though was a friend of the family from back in the day. Almost 20 years back that is. The last time I saw this girl she was like 9 or 10 years old. My little sister used to babysit her. But at first glance, I didn't recognize her. I thought she was some 50 year old looking employee. She is only about 28 or so. I felt bad about thinking that and when she left, I shared that with my mother. But while she was there, she gave mother attention. This woman saw my mothers name on some list, and according to her, she also heard that someone of notoriety was visiting her. Not only was she concerned for my mothers well being, she also wanted to meet this person of interest. Turns out, it was me that some of the staff was talking about. "Me?" I was surprised to learn.

"Yes." She said. "Some of the people here have read your books. You're writing Ted's biography too, right? They know who you are. I just didn't know it was YOU." She laughed off.

My mother shook her head. "I still haven't gotten used to your semi-popular popularity." She told me. (And the truth is, I don't think I have either.) A handful of the staff coming in like that to say hello to me is head scratching. Nobody asked for autographs though. Maybe THAT was against the rules. lol But it still makes me think sometimes. I really do forget that there are people out there who know who I am. And they still want to meet me? *Gulp* That's the scary part.

At least they took care of mother. That was the most important thing to me. Still, I hope this doesn't affect my future lunch plans. Sometimes I like to drop in and eat at the hospital cafeteria. The food is actually pretty good. lol My mother thinks I'm nuts. "Who goes to a hospital for the sole purpose of lunch?"

Hey, what can I say, I like their spaghetti, and other pasta dishes. They also make a great turkey sandwich. And their prices are competitive too. lol

Hopefully, mother will stop being so paranoid about every little ache and pain and what not. But, at least when I have go there to see her, I can also stop and get a bite to eat. And shake some hands with people who seem to think I am worth shaking hands with. I guess we all have our own way at looking at fame or whatever. They seem to think I am someone of importance. I can live with that. :)

The STGRB Conundrum

When trying to figure out if someone is an internet bully, it's usually easy to do. You see the evidence on your screen. It doesn't take much to figure it out. If someone is seemingly going out of their way to hurt you with words on the computer, repeatedly, then anyone with half a brain would know what is going on.

Such is the mystery of the website known as STGRB. A website, mind you, that proclaims themselves to be "an anti-bully website", yet no other anti-bully website endorses them.

STGRB also claims to be the defenders for those attacked by bullies. Yet, I have seen them attack people who have never bullied anyone. One of those people is author, Rick Carufel, a friend of mine.

STGRB has attacked Rick on many occasions, as well as myself from time to time, and recently, they blamed him for something that - from the evidence - Rick has yet to be proven to have done. But this didn't, nor does it ever, stop STGRB from making the accusations. Nor do they issue any apologies when they are wrong. Hell, for that matter, they never even admit they do (did) anything wrong when the evidence suggests that they ARE wrong!

Such is the conundrum that is STGRB.

Their latest exploits has them accusing Rick Carufel of creating a fake Twitter account of author, Anne Rice, and posting fake tweets - making it look like that Anne Rice is tweeting. Here, I have some screenshots to show you what I am talking about.

So it's obvious that someone created this fake Anne Rice account, the only question is who? Well, it didn't take long for STGRB and their supporters to start pointing the finger at Rick Carufel. Take a look.

Notice at the bottom of the comment where "Johnny" says he will make a note of accusing Rick Carufel of the deed. And he kept his promise too. 

The only problem is, "Johnny" was wrong. He lied. Yet again. (I know, shocker! lol) Anyhow, he says that Ricks Twitter account was deleted. There is even a link to it as proof except, it's not exactly proof. You see, Rick's Twitter account is still up and running. Apparently, it wasn't Rick after all who created that fake Anne Rice Twitter account. I clicked on the link they provided and this is what I saw.

It looks like his Twitter account wasn't deleted after all. There is the proof. But why would STGRB lie? I don't understand it. Even more so, why are they not issuing an apology to Rick Carufel for falsely accusing him of something that - to this point - hasn't been proven to be true? And why would a self-proclaimed "anti-bully website" bully people for? 

Nothing is making sense.

Anne Rice and STGRB have been accused in the past of bullying people while making the claim that they are trying to "stop" the bullying of others. (Most notably on Goodreads.com and Amazon Forum Boards) But as to why STGRB would not only accuse Rick of doing something like that, and make a claim that the proof is his Twitter account has been deleted, when clearly it has not, and then not apologize for their heinous accusations - is completely beyond me. 

It's a conundrum. 

Yet another reason, I suppose, to NOT believe anything that STGRB has to say. And proof that they really do "bully" people, make false accusations, lie, and do damage to people's image and reputation without any conscience about it whatsoever. I don't know how they sleep at night, then again, the devil found a way to get a good nights rest too. 

As for their followers, here is a comment that completely amazes me. 

Sorry "Lord Nurgle", but besides Anne Rice being a victim of bullying, so has Rick Carufel been victimized too. BY STGRB! 

Here is another interesting, yet disturbing, comment. Check it out. 

"Commenter With No Name" describing how to pull off a fake tweet with a fake Twitter account? Really? Maybe that is your culprit? Just saying. He or she sure does seem to know a whole lot about the process. 

Maybe this is why so many people are wising up about STGRB. Once upon a time, they did help people who were victimized by internet bullies who thrive on Goodreads and other major (and some not so major) book sites. But those days are apparently long gone. Now, it is nothing more than a cesspool of lies, bully attacks, deceptions, and just plain evil intentions. It's a free for all. Point your finger in whatever direction you want to point it. It's okay if you are wrong, just don't worry about it. 

"Anti-bully website?" ..... I think not! 

Anyone who thought STGRB was better than this, think again! 

The Largest Collection Of Poetry On The Web By One Person

Click on the link below

THE CARROLL BRYANT COLLECTION 

No one has written more poems than Carroll Bryant.

No one. 

Secrets Of My Songs #6 (Angry Birds)

So I wrote this song one day called, "Everybody Fights". I thought it was kind of cool and everything, but in my trusty notebook it sat. And sat. And sat. Until about six months later when I went to my nephews birthday party. The theme? Angry Birds.

But it never dawned on me then to change the name of the song, it took about three more weeks while I was skimming through the birthday photos and video. That is when the light finally turned on inside my head. It's really amazing how one simple line change / title change can completely change the whole landscape of a song. Do I think it was a good change? Yeah, I really think it was. It took something quite generic and turned it into something more theme-like.

The Unserious Ones

THE UNSERIOUS ONES - Written by Carroll Bryant 

This is not a world for the unserious ones 

This is my world

The united states of confusion 

I would wish a president would give me back my freedoms

Give me back my power 

Here inside my head

I am but a hostage to my government 

Their guns are on my children

For this air, I'm paying rent

I can't believe the sodomy of our politics

Split right down the middle 

For this pain, I can't submit 

Am I going crazy?

Have I gone too far insane?

Believing all the theories of conspiracies 

Playing all of these games

This is not a world for the unserious ones 

This is my world

The united states of confusion 

I would wish a president would give me back my freedoms

Give me back my power 

Here inside my head

Give me back my choices without the compromise or consequence 

Build me up with truth this time

Spare me all your lies 

Just let me smoke my cigarettes in peace and harmony

Quit telling me I'm the victim of my own insecurities 

Am I going crazy?

Have I gone too far insane?

Drowning in the mysteries of our repeated mistakes 

This is not a world for the unserious ones 

This is my world

The united states of confusion 

I would wish a president would give me back my freedoms

Give me back my power 

Here inside my head

I can't believe the scene on my television screen 

Tell me I'm not seeing this

I just can't believe it

Living in these modern times one would think that maybe

We would have had all of this figured out already 

Am I going crazy?

Have I gone too far insane?

Believing all the theories of conspiracies 

Playing all of these games

This is not a world for the unserious ones 

This is my world

The united states of confusion 

I would wish a president would give me back my freedoms

Give me back my power 

Here inside my head

Just give me back my freedoms .... without the compromise and consequence

Secrets Of My Songs #5 (Edge Of Eden)

So when I lived in Columbus, Ohio, I kind of moved around a lot. From the South side to North to the West, yeah, I bounced around for a while. One place where I lived there was this girl next door and she and mingled a few times here and there. Nothing serious though. The one thing about her though that kind of turned me off was how negative she seemed to be. The girl was always complaining about something. I always heard her say that -  "if only I would hit the lottery and win a million dollars" - and I would look at her with disappointing eyes. "You think all of your problems would go away if you hit the lotto?" I would ask her.

She would smile and nod her head. "Wouldn't they?"

You see, I have this theory, and that money is not a problem solver. It's a problem enhancer. A lot of people think they are a winning lottery number away from their "Eden". Or as some would call it, their happiness. trust me, if you are not happy now, then money will not make you happy. You'll just be a rich sad person. I also believe that everyone is always living their life in the edge of their personal Eden. Some of us do have to work a little harder to be happy. I know we look at some people and we think, "They have it good. They don't have to work. They were born with a silver spoon." But you know, everyone takes a different road to happiness. Just keep the faith. Keep plugging away. One day, you will reach your Eden. And it will be worth it too, believe me.

As for that girl next door, well, she was still complaining when I moved away. I hope she got to find whatever it was she was looking for. I hope she found her Eden. I know I finally did. Kind of. But always remember that even if you find your Eden, you still have to work like hell to keep it. It never stops.