Blogging the Republican National Convention (RNC)

Unless you're a political blogger, blogging about the upcoming Republican National Convention seems sort of challenging.

I don't know if I have any plans to blog about it myself, but I have been peculating some ideas.

Here's some ideas for bloggers (political and unpolitical alike):

• If you were making a biopic, which RNC speaker has a life story that is most "film worthy"
• Weather with Hurricane Isaac is playing a role in itself. You could opine on how you think weather influences the conventions "story"
• One Liners: It seems like the rhetoric of these speeches often relies on powerful "one liners" pick a sentence that someone uses and talk about why it is powerful? Overstated? Meaningful? Meaningless?  Used out of context? etc.
• Look at what topics appear to be most discussed and relevant to the convention and ask "why" these are the topics discussed and whether that's relevant?

Silence & Blog About Bloggin

This blog has been silent for awhile, because honestly, it started as an experiment to see if there was an audience for people searching the net for relevant blog ideas.

To be honest, it seemed that either the interest wasn't there OR this blog wasn't really discovered. So I slowed down. Then I stopped.

That said, I occasionally still consider starting it back up again.

With that train of thought, here are some ideas to blog about blogging:

• When do you feel most inspired to blog?
• What are some blogs you started at one time but stopped writing?
• What encourages you to blog more? What discourages you to blog less?
• Where do most of your blog ideas come from?
• What influence (if any) do your "unknown" blog readers have on the frequency of your blogging?

60 years since the premier of The African Queen

The African Queen came out in Los Angeles December 23, 1951.

The film by John Huston staring Katherine Hepburn and Humphry Bogart would go onto receive 5 Oscar nominations. Bogart would win his one and only Oscar for this film.

50 Years Since the US Premiere of Judgement at Nuremberg

The film Judgment at Nuremberg premiered in West Germany on December 14, 1961. Then released in Sweden on December 18. The New York City premiere was December 19, 1961.

The film about the trial of Nazi war judges in 1948 was directed by Stanley Kramer and is a gripping and powerful film.

The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture.

The film would win 2 Oscar, best lead actor (Maximilan Schell) and adapted screenplay (awarded to Abby Mann).

Other acting nominations included Spencer Tracy (also lead actor), Montgomery Clift (supporting actor), and Judy Garland (supporting actress).

November 29, 2011

• 1 year anniversary of the death of Leslie Nielsen (died 2010)

40 Years Since US Premiere of Normal Jewison's Fiddler on the Roof

The film Fiddler on the Roof was first released in the US on November 3, 1971.

The film musical would go on to be nominated for 8 Academy Awards including best picture would go on to win 3 (best cinemotography, best scoring [to John Williams], and best sound).

Share Your Halloween Costume Past

Here's an idea for your blog. Why don't you talk about your Halloween costume past?

Here's some potential questions to get your thoughts going...

• Perhaps you can create a chronology of all costume's you've ever had?


• What's a favorite costume?


• What's the worst costume you've ever had?


• What was something you wanted to be as a child that you weren't?


• Have you ever won a costume contest? Share the story.

Steve Jobs

With the death of Steve Jobs today (at the age of 56) here are some ideas to blog.

• How did you respond to Jobs death?


• When was the first time you heard of Steve Jobs, what was the context?


• What was your first Apple product you used? purchased?


• How do you think Steve Jobs will be viewed 10 years from now? 20? 100?

October Quotes

All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers
to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the
hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.
-- Thomas Wolfe

October is a fine and dangerous season in America. a wonderful time to begin
anything at all. You go to college, and every course in the catalogue looks
wonderful.
-- Thomas Merton

Upstate New York in the middle of October. You can't get more beautiful than
that.
-- Paul Reiser

10 Years Since the Premier of Alias

10 Years since the American premier of the hit TV show Alias.

See where the cast is now.

Fall TV

All sorts of new shows on. What are you watching? What aren't you watching?

Do you watch live, DVR, Hulu, etc?

How is your TV watching changing?

September 19: Talk Like A Pirate Day

September 19 is Talk Like A Pirate Day.

September 9, 2011

• 55 years since Elvis Presley appeared on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time (September 9, 1956)


• 20 years since Tajikistan gained independence from the Soviet Union (1991)


• Adam Sandler turns 45 (born 1966)


• Statehood day in California

August 6, 2011

• 100 Years since the Birth of Lucielle Ball in Jamestown, NY (1911)

August 4, 2011

• Barack Obama turns 50. Born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

August 2, 2011 - Debt Ceiling Blogging

• Thoughts on the signing of the Budget Control Act


• Does congresses debates help put real thought into a political problem with real solutions or is it just politics?


• What impact will this debate have on you?


• What impact will this debate have on how you vote?


• If you live outside of the United States how do you interpret this event?


• Thoughts on personal debt - what if people had a debt ceiling?

August is...

• National Immunization Awareness Month


• National Goat Cheese Month


• Children's Eye Health and Safety Month


• Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month


• Audio Appreciation Month

Mid-Summer Blogging

As Summer reaches some midway points with July coming to a close, how about some mid-Summer blogging?

• Favorite Summer event so far?


• End of summer bucket list -- what haven't you done you want to accomplish?


• Favorite foods of summer?


• Reasons your looking forward/dreading fall?


• How is this summer different from summer's past?


• Summer recipes to share.


• Summer activities for friends and family.


• What makes summer special where you live?

Blog Post I'm Considering

Here's blog post I'm considering writing on StrangeCultureBlog.com. Feel free to use these thoughts for your own blog:

• Moral Lessons from Captain America: The First Avenger



• Considering the sequelability of a stand alone Captain America film as well as repeat roles by the cast of Captain Planet in a follow up feature.



• Book review on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close as well as a film preview



• Sandra Bullock's turn 47 this week (Born July 26, 1964)



• Food as an expression of individualism, potentially exploring ideas of isolation as well as the transition from choice/personal preference to conviction.



• The debt ceiling and whether or not it's appropriate to compare the American financial situation to individual household budgets.



• Response to the 30 Rock episode "The Bubble" (season 3) regarding attractive people.



• Further exploration on concepts of giving



• The "Christian" film industry in 2011



• Christmas in July

One Year Until: The Dark Knight Rises

The anticipated Batman Follow-up to The Dark Knight (and Batman Begins) will be released 1 year from today. The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan, can be anticipated a year in advance to be one of 2012's biggest films - if not the biggest.

Why not blog about it today!

The Dark Knight Rises is set for United States release on July 20, 2012.