My Other Blogs... Yes, I Like Stuff Besides Horror!

Today, as Will Smith once said, just a bit of a break from the norm. I'm taking a brief moment to just plug myself a tiny bit, if you don't mind. I don't do it often, so indulge me. I'm also diverging a tad from the all-horror, all-the-time theme here in the Vault. Believe it or not, I do have other interests, and even though I don't think I've ever really addressed it in detail here before, there are several other blogs I write which are very near and dear to my heart.

I don't promote them as vigorously, or devote as much time to them as I do to The Vault of Horror. The Vault is my baby, and has been from the start. The other ones are labors of love that I quietly work on, more for myself than anything. But I thought I'd share them with you today. Maybe you've already seen them, maybe you haven't.

Standard of the Day
This is my second longest-running blog, currently approaching its 3rd anniversary. It's a music blog, focusing on the era of the Great American Songbook--the classic popular music of the 1920s-1950s, more or less. It's something I've been in love with ever since I was a kid, hanging around with all the older, Depression-era members of my family and soaking up their adoration for the music (and movies) they grew up with. With each post on SOTD, I spotlight a different pop/jazz standard, with a little random info, lyrics, and examples of recorded versions. If you're into songwriters like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Hoagy Carmichael, and singers like Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, then Standard of the Day will be something you might want to check out. I take pleasure in sharing music there that holds great meaning for me.

Proof of a Benevolent God
This is my Tumblr blog (or tumblog, if you must...), and is the most personal of all my online endeavors. I've been maintaining it for about a year and a half now, and I have to say, I really have come to love Tumblr--it's an easy, intuitive and addictive way to blog. At PBG, I randomly post an ongoing stream of what amounts to things that put a smile on my face; things that warm me up inside and bring joy to my life. You'll find anything from Laurel & Hardy, rainbow cookies and the Horsehead Nebula to Ava Gardner, Yma Sumac and the closing scene of Rocky. If you want to get inside my head, this is probably the closest thing. And if you have your own Tumblr blog, feel free to follow mine!

In addition, there are two other blogs I have taken great pride in putting together, but which I have since put to rest. Nevertheless, they were a lot of fun, and still exist out there in cyberspace, so I encourage you to check them out...

Lots of Pulp
My obsessive catalog of brilliant painted pulp novel covers from the early 20th century--the golden age of populist fiction.

Following the Equator
To my knowledge, the only blog ever devoted to current Mark Twain news and happenings.