The Numbers: Thriving in the August Heat
Sure I’m sitting here, chewing Rolaids as I drink my beer after a long day at the office, but hey man, that’s working life. Sure it’s been busy as hell and I’ve struggled even to get a review up every day, and the thought of the semester beginning (which it does tomorrow, Sept. 2) has horrified me to the point of lost sleep all week, but isn’t that what I signed up for?
Apparently yes, it is. I think about where this site was two months ago, or even one month ago, in that pastoral Vermont space that feels a hundred years away now, and take my solace in the fact that hits are up for the first time since May. And Yahoo‘s quoted 17,435 isn’t much more than July’s 17,053, but I’ll happily take it. Thanks for reading and for coming back.
According to the powers that be (i.e. Google) the site had 22,046 page views from all 50 American states and 112 countries abroad on all six inhabitable continents, including places as far away from my little river valley as Pakistan, Laos and Oman. Thank you all for visiting. I hope you liked what you saw.
If this last month brought tumult (and it did), September is going to be even crazier. Here’s a quick rundown:
The Maple Forum: The Kings Destroy record, titled And the Rest Will Surely Perish, goes to press this month. I’ve listened to the finished album and it’s seriously one of the best records I’ve heard all year. I don’t know what else to say about it than that. I can’t wait for you to dig on this band the way I’ve been digging on them.
In the meantime, I have one copy of Roareth‘s Acts I-VI left available for purchase. Anyone interested can hear and pick it up via this link. Ignore that headline though, because there is in fact only one left, and then my supply is gone.
Podcasting: That the Small Stone podcast was downloaded 57 times in its first two days live I consider a success and thank you for that. I have a theme picked out for October and it’s going to seem completely random when it’s executed, but I’m going to have fun with it and that’s all there is to it.
Facebook: If you have a Facebook page, well, me too. Here’s mine. Hit me up. I’ve gotten some very kind comments on there from people who’ve been reading the site and really, that means more than I can say. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Interviews: Oh, do I still do those? Yes, I do. Yawning Man goes live tomorrow, Friday at the latest, and there’s Man’s Gin and Masters of Reality in the can, plus, I spoke to Bob Pantella of Riotgod/Monster Magnet/The Atomic Bitchwax today, and that ruled, so it’ll be up in the coming weeks as well. Lots of good stuff to come there.
Reviews: Hard to see past my own typing hands as far as this goes, but on the docket are records from Kylesa, Del Rey, Poobah, Dusted Angel, BXI, Hypnos 69, Bibilic Blood, High Watt Electrocutions and more, so stay tuned.
I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can think of. If posts are light the next couple days, I apologize. The Aquarian is on early deadline for Labor Day and as I may have mentioned, class starts tomorrow, so please bear with me and understand I’m doing the best I can. The contact form works now. Feel free to get in touch.
Thank you as always, and as we move into the Fall, I’m gladder than ever to call this site my home.
Sincerely,
JJ Koczan
Heaping Potbelly Taskmaster
