Bleil Banter in Review 1/9/22

Review with Richard Bleil

Yes, BleilBanter.Blog just finished its third complete year.  I’ve published one article each day for the past year, which I have tried to do for the past three years, each article being at least 750 words.  This year, I’ve had 6,545 views, down by1,592 views when compared with 8,137 views in 2021, and by 3,571 from the all-time high of 10,116 views in 2019.  This year, my posts were logged as having reached people in 38 nations.  The top ten nations reading my work were the United States (5,199 views), Canada (621), Bahrain (138), Portugal (104), Kenya (88), India (65), Ireland (43), the UK (38), Australia (37), and Columbia (33). 

We have a tie for the most read article this year (34 hits).  First, we have Rejected Again.  What can I say?  People seem to enjoy my suffering.  This was a rather heartbreaking event for me as it deals with my favorite new crush.  She is so sweet, and I really don’t blame her.  She was kind enough to reach out to meet me for lunch when she was visiting my city, but we never managed to meet up again.  But that’s okay.  She was very kind to have met me at all.

The second in the number one slot was My Sexuality.  Considering the fact that I haven’t been sexually active since Biden was a vice-president, perhaps this article is a bit strange.  Through the years, there have been questions about my sexual orientation, and because of my sexual proclivities, I wanted to basically reach out and urge safe sexuality for others who might have similar tastes and interests.  And, yes, I’m talking about BDSM.  My games are only games when they’re games, so how do you make sure your partner is safe when she’s “not” safe? 

Coming in at number 3 with 32 views was Daughter Day.  If you read the previous paragraph, you probably recognize that I don’t exactly have great luck with romantic partners, and as such I’ve never had any children.  But, I’ve always wanted children.  This article might be pie in the sky since we obviously will never know the kind of father I would have actually been, but it’s a look into the kind of father I wish I had had the opportunity to become.

Interestingly enough, with 29 views the fourth most viewed post was Bleil Banter.  This was my year in review for 2021. 

The fifth most popular article with 25 views was Submissive.  A friend of mine has expressed her admiration for my openness and honesty about my life.  Honestly, the reason I enjoy being so open and honest is to contribute to the openness and conversations that, as a society, I believe we should be having.  This article actually talks about a “Fetish Ball” that I had attended, and, yes, again, BDSM.  I was surprised by the friend that had invited me to attend in the first place, and by the friends who I saw there, and I judge none of them.  It’s just fun people enjoying themselves, and ultimately, how can that be a bad thing?

Number six is again a tie with 24 views each.  The first on the list is Freak Flag, which actually discusses the second fetish ball that I had attended.  These two events were rather close, and I ended up spending far too much money at them, but I definitely had fun.  With this article, I tried to encourage my readers to just be themselves and have a damned good time doing it.  People are always quick to judge, so who cares what other people think? 

Ties for six was Friendless.  I’m not, but I am very lonely and isolated.  Certain triggers make me feel even worse, and I do like discussing events like this, and the feelings they bring up mostly so anybody going through similar feelings know that they’re not alone.  This was a very depressing article written at a time that I was feeling very depressed.  I only hope it helped somebody.

Coming in at the eighth most read article was again a tie with 23 views.  One of these was The Customer, an article of frustration that I’m sure we’ve all felt.  This was the story of dealing with my cable company, and the lack of customer service in this day and age.  When computers are answering telephone calls, and the lack of enthusiasm by employees feeling the pinch of the greed of their corporations, it’s just difficult to get satisfying service anymore.

Also at eight is The Bomb, a lovely little story about the time that my boss decided that my life was less valuable because I was single and had no kids.  It is the story of my adventureless adventure when a suspicious character was on campus with a suspicious box, and my heroic search for anything that could have gone “boom”. 

The tenth slot is, once again, a tie with 22 views, but this time there are three, count them, three articles in the race.  First up, we have The Wedding, a story about a friend of mine, and the decision of her parents not to attend her wedding out of protest.  In an effort to punish their daughter, they missed out on one of the most beautiful and elegant weddings I had ever attended.

Next, we have The Slide.  This was a difficult article for me to write as a friend of mine struggling with alcohol seemed to be backsliding into the abyss.  Because I cared for my friend very deeply, and because my then-wife went though the same slide (eventually destroying our marriage in the process), I really struggled with this article.  I hope my friend managed to find the strength to keep away from alcohol, but I don’t think she would admit to me if she is still drinking as this is one of the hallmarks of alcoholism.

And, finally, still tied for tenth is the final most frequently read article And She’s Married.  Well, of course she is.  This article was basically a lament about a young woman getting married.  While I certainly am happy for her (yes, really), it does seem to me that every time I’m interested in a woman (of appropriate age or not), she’s already with somebody else.  I’m always happy to see them in a healthy and strong relationship, but, it does bring up feelings in me that may be common among others.  As such, I like writing about these feelings and how I deal with them in the hopes of helping other lonely people.

And that wraps up 2022.  Many thanks to my readers, especially those who come back and read on a regular basis.  I write these for you (and my own therapy, apparently), and I truly appreciate your support.  May you all have a marvelous 2023.