I wrote a blog entry like this back in 2023 and 2024 (read here and here) and I shall do it again this year in 2025. Only here, I will focus on why 2024 was a fruitful year for me as a blogger.
1.) While it is true that I took too long of a break writing blog entries ranking the works of my favorite directors, I will be getting back to that anytime soon like I did during this month at this time last year.
2.) I wrote a ten-part essay on my number one favorite film of all-time (read here).
3.) At the same time, I discovered new bloggers and became a regular visitor to their respective sites.
4.) I actually composed a new Happy Birthday blog entry regarding an underrated actress (read here).
5.) I went to my beloved Music Box Theatre not once, not twice, but three times. On that third time, I got to watch a 70mm print of my number one favorite film of all-time on a big screen. I wrote about the experience back in September (read here).
6.) In October, I not only composed my annual Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time, but I also managed to compose one consisting of my Top 100 Favorite Horror Films of All-Time.
7.) In November, I posted a blog entry consisting of my Top 10 Favorite Film Noirs of All-Time.
8.) In December, I posted three blog entries. Though to be fair, the last one is composed at that time every year (read here and here).
9.) All of the above blog entries garnered positive replies from my dear readers 🙂
Btw, I will be posting a film essay on January 28 as part of a blog-a-thon by RealWeegieMidget (read here and here).
A shout out to fellow visitor Steve (check out his youtube channel here). If you are reading this Steve, you will be happy to know that I finally made it through the longer version of the 1986 crime drama Blood Ties and I loved that version of the film too.
Before I conclude this blog entry, two questions for all of my dear readers below:
1.) What are your accomplishments of 2024?
2.) If the answer is none (and do not feel bad If it is), what would you like to accomplish in 2024?
I almost forgot, as a blogger, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the victims of the recent truck attack that happened in New Orleans a day ago.
cinematiccoffee 
i released an ep with london rocker David Taro, whose father and uncle had fronted Grapefruit, the first band the beatles signed to apple publishing. also released an album of collaborations with spoken word artist fatboyjamz. and wrote, recorded and released seven solo albums of new songs, a retrospective album of 19 songs recorded between 1977-2023, , an album of songs written with my wife, an collaborative album with country artist nancy cunningham, an album of original compositions and performances by my daughter, estrella del carmen, a single with spanish singer and producer j.l. nelson, a christmas single with south african compoer, pianist, and vocalist marthie, a restored original master of the 1998 Manicure ep produced by ex soundgarden/pearl jam drum tech gregg keplinger, a remaster of the 1981 live album by The Vacations at Seattle’s legendary gorilla Room,, and seven albums of cover songs under the alias Whitey Black. Finally, the fifth album in the State of The Heart series, which are collections of collaborations with musicians from around the world.
Wow, you had quite a productive 2024 Bill 🙂 As for Nancy Cunningham, I read somewhere that she is also a gospel singer If I am not mistaken? 🙂 I also think it is awesome that your daughter performed a song as well 🙂 Nonetheless, I am still sorry that 2024 proved to be a tough year for you in the sense that your wife passed away 😦
i wasnt even going to make any music this year. i was such a mess. but i found it was the only thing i could do that took my mind off the unbearable reality. i have been recording an album a year of my daughters music since she was four. this is not nancy cunningham the gospel singer, but a country singer i discovered two years ago and have been mentoring. i have also finished two albums to release in february and march, one of my own songs and one in collaboration with fatboyjamz. i also have the lyrics finished for the next state of the heart entry, which will come out in march. hopefully by then i will be able to work on some other writing projects. ill be looking forard to your blog entries. they are always thought provoking, which explains why i do so much blabbing in response.
Gotcha Bill 🙂 Engaging in your hobbies always finds a way in helping one cope with a loss. The best of luck to you as well this year and of course, I look forward to you continuing to drop by this website 🙂
Btw, what are your thoughts on Thurston Harris Little Bitty Pretty One
Also, The Crew Cuts Sh-Boom
The above two questions might sound silly, but given your thoughts on music, I was just interesting in hearing what you have to say on the above two songs 🙂
i could write an essay on the contrast between white and black doo wop using these two songs as examples, but i dont think such an essay would be of much interest to enough people to find a publisher. in this case, i much prefer the thurston harris number. it has so much hunor and enthusiasm, while the crew cuts seem intent on making a hit record and the singing is too stiff for my tastes. by the way, my first band was a doo wop group called bill smooth and the velvetones (it took me over a decade to shake that alias) and i have been for the last two years involved in a doo wop album that will probably never come to fruition, as the producer who initiated the project is very slow with the proceedings. we have four songs recorded, but neither of us is satisfied with them. i did include this rough mix on my retrospective album https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/track/a-little-bit-of-lonely-2023
here is a rough mix of another doo wop song, this one doesnt have any backup vocals. https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/track/lulu-what-we-do-tonight-2021
what i think has been more sccessful for me are songs constructed in the doo wop style and sung witht haqt flavor, but not attempting to be real doo wop songs, which is why i think those others with the doo wop producers failed. this one, done in collaboration with a couple of guys who work primarily in the hip hop medium, comes off much better. the lyric is based on my moms experience as a teenager at pearl harbor during the japanese attack, https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/track/on-the-beach-2
My single accomplishment in 2024 was to continue blogging, increase my follower numbers, and manage to still enjoy blogging every day. I lost my beloved dog in February which broke my heart, and I have been ill since late September, with tests ongoing. So I would like 2025 to be illness free and less stressful.
Best wishes, Pete.
I am sorry to hear about your dog, Pete, and am sending you the best wishes for a speedy recovery from your illness
Ultimately I endeavored to be a better Christian. That’s pretty much an ongoing theme of mine. I’ve drawn closer to God, studied His Word more often and applied it to my life. In all of these endeavors I fall short even as I make strides. Perfection is not the goal…to love more is.
Insightful as always Bill 🙂 Thank you for the link and may I say, you are extremely talented as a singer 🙂
Another fantastic song there Bill 🙂 As I said in the other one, you are an extremely talented singer 🙂 In addition, you are as expressive as all the other greats like Bob Dylan among others – now that is high praise 🙂
I hear ya Pam 🙂 As a Roman Catholic, I struggle with being the best that I can every single day 🙂 I could not have summed up your last sentence any better 🙂
That is wonderful Pete 🙂 I am glad to hear that you have an increasing number of followers to your website 🙂 I am aware that you lost your beloved dog Ollie in February and losing a pet is truly heartbreaking 😦 As with Bill, I too am praying that you remain illness free in 2025 and that your life will be less stressful. To me, you are a national treasure 🙂
Thank you Bill for that kindhearted reply to Pete 🙂 I am sure he will appreciate it 🙂 In fact, I pray that both of you have a less stressful 2025 🙂
Thanks, John. We both understand the struggle.
Cinematically, I accomplished something rather surprising–for me anyway. For the longest time I had silly aversion to Asian film. I just wasn’t interested. I guess I subconsciously thought of it as Godzilla retread…or Bruce Lee movies. No offense to those who enjoy either –I know cinephiles who love them, but I don’t. Never have.
I had watched Man from Reno, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil and Memories of Murder before and I enjoyed them, but that’s it. Well, I watched Memories of Murder again and I absolutely loved it. I think it’s a masterpiece.
Anyway, I started watching a lot of Asian noir and thrillers. Midnight. Oldboy. I Saw the Devil. The Man From Nowhere. I love them.
Awesome Pam 🙂 Speaking of Memoirs of Murder, that film is directed by Bong Joon-ho, who also directed the 2019 Oscar-winning hit Parasite 🙂 Both fantastic films and I am a huge fan of Joon-ho himself 🙂
I haven’t seen Parasite yet. I’ve read about it, but it didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t know about Bong Joon-ho. I’ll watch it tonight.
My sincere thanks to you and Bill for your kind words, John.
john, thanks for your comments on my current doo wop efforts. as my voice deteriorates with age, i have to be more careful with my singing. its not as easy as it was 27 years ago when i could belt them out without fear of my voice cracking or missing a note. i think this ten minute ep of six short songs is the best singing ive done. i cant believe 27 years have passed since then. i would be thankful if you would give it a listen, as all copies sold out long ago and i recently recovered the master had had it restored. https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/album/manicure-restored-original-masters
allthingsthriller i was a huge asian film fan so, when the editor of the videohound guide to cult films, to which i had contributed many reviews, wrote me that he was doing a book on asian films, i immediately signed on. after the book was published, and i read the whole thing, i realized how ignorant i was of asian film when i measured my entries against the others in the book. so from that moment, i watched at least one asian film a day for the next three years, during which i also had the pleasure of interviewing johnny to, moon so-ri. and Kaige Chen. through these and other conversations, i discovered the degree to which i had misunderstood and misinterpreted so much of the content of these films because i was unfamiliar with the culture from which they arose. today, after much research and study, i think i understand them better, and as they have become less foreign, my appreciation for the genre films has lessened some, while my appreciation for, and enjoyment of, the works of the masters, such as naruse, mizoguchi, ozu, kobayashi,ichikawa, masumura, and wong have deepened. i wish you the finest of travels as you discover the wealth of treasures in your journey through asian film.
I’m always fighting just to move up one more rung on the Spiritual Ladder. It ain’t easy.
Wishing you the Best going forward.
I hear ya jcalberta. 🙂