Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2025!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are sixteen years old today!

Sixteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog by turns fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, enriching, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party! This year I am virtually serving Julian Angel's Blueberry Cake with Lemon Curd with a glass of iced rose-matcha from Emily Laurae! Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "OH, BY THE WAY!"

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2024!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are fifteen years old today!

Fifteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog by turns fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, enriching, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party! This year I am virtually serving a delicious pistachio cake from Jules at Bonni Bakery.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "OH, BY THE WAY!"

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2023!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are fourteen years old today!

Fourteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am virtually serving a gorgeous cake topped with incredibly realistic buttercream flowers from Atelier Soo in South Korea. Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2022!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are thirteen years old today!

Thirteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am virtually serving a gorgeous cake from Sigita at the fantastic Fern Cakery In Ireland...it's a pistachio sponge with homemade passion fruit curd and white chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. Help yourself to a slice...with or without extra crushed pistachios for topping!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2021!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are twelve years old today!

Twelve years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am virtually serving a delicious Rosewater Cheesecake. Help yourself to a slice...with or without strawberry-rose petal topping.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

IMPORTANT: Notice to Oh, By The Way FollowByEmail Subscribers

It looks like the Feedburner service FollowByEmail is discontinuing their daily email updates. If you have followed this blog using the FollowByEmail widget at the bottom of the page, you will no longer receive emailed updates to your email inbox.

Of course the blog will still be here, and I will still be posting. Please feel free to bookmark the address and visit as often as you wish!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2020!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are eleven years old today!

Eleven years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am virtually serving a stunning anniversary cake made over a geode studded with quartz and smokey quartz crystals by Sainte G Cake Company. Help yourself to a slice and a virtual cup of iced Double Bergamot Earl Grey tea.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2019!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are TEN years old today! A whole decade!

Ten years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

And what have people responded to the most over the last ten years? Here are the Top Five posts ranked by individual pageviews:

1) Our returning champion is a post about Nick Wooster at 57,784 hits

2) My essay about Kate Bush's awe-inspiring, profound musical song cycle "The Ninth Wave" is at 33,096 views

3) A post featuring men in interesting, artistic make-up is holding strong at 20,348

4) 12,432 people have ogled the lovely Aaron Taylor-Johnson

5) And a post on the beauty of mature men was celebrated by 6,667

Huh. Who knew?

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am serving one of talented cake-illusionist Leslie Vigil's cakes which look like succulents (all made from buttercream frosting) in a terra cotta pot. Help yourself to a virtual slice and a digital cup of herbal tea.

HAPPY TENTH BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2018!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are nine years old today!

Nine years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

And what have people responded to the most over the last nine years? Here are the Top Five posts ranked by individual pageviews:

1) A post about the sartorially splendid Nick Wooster is still king at a whopping 60,935

2) My essay about the spectacular sonic masterpiece "The Ninth Wave" by Kate Bush comes in at 28,475

3) 21,903 people have loved seeing Men In Make-Up

4) Photos of actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson have racked up 15,242 views

5) And gorgeous mature model Andy Lucchesi took over from last year's 5th place winner Jared Leto at 10,027 views Wait, Jared Leto is still 5th place winner at 10,356 views. So close!

Huh. Who knew?

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party.

Because I am Italian (well, half), this year we are serving virtual cannoli and zeppoles! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2017!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are eight years old today!

Eight years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

And what have people responded to the most over the last eight years? Here are the Top Ten posts ranked by individual pageviews:

1) Style master Nick Wooster is still the reigning champion of posts at 60,770 hits.

2) And my essay about the astounding musical suite "The Ninth Wave" by my darling Kate Bush (who taught me how to fly) holds second place at 24,239 views!

3) Just this year, a post about Men In Make-Up soared from low digits to rank third with 17,156 individual page hits.

4) A post showing the many looks of actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson shows up at a respectable 15,105 views.

5) And hot on Aaron's heels is another actor, Jared Leto. I showed him shirtless in a double wrap belt, images that were liked by 10,243 people.

6) Gorgeous silver-haired model Andy Lucchesi captured 9,200 hearts.

7) And 7,032 people still love a post from 2010 about Retro Holiday Wreaths made from antique glass ornaments.

8) Oddly, a post identifying the differences between the cookies Lorna Doone, Ladyfinger, and the tiny cake-like Madeleine is hanging in at 6,956 hits.

9) Still on the Top Ten list at 6,725 views is a video of the alternately funny and chilling Vatican Fashion Show section from Fellini's astounding surreal-celebration-disguised-as-a-travelogue-film, "Roma."

10) And garnering 5,967 hits for last place is an illustrated post about three traditional German Christmas decorations: Schwibbogen, Christmas Pyramid, and Angel Chimes.

Huh. Who knew?

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. Help yourself to a slice of virtual cake and a glass of milk. Or an Iced Chai Latte!

Happy Birthday, "Oh, By The Way!" 2016

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are seven years old today!

Seven years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

And what have people responded to the most over the last seven years? Here are the Top Ten posts ranked by individual pageviews:
1) A post about Nick Wooster earned 60,367 pageviews
2) My essay about Kate Bush's phenomenal "The Ninth Wave" comes in at a whopping 15,401 pageviews (This post also has the distinction of receiving the most reader comments!)
3) The handsome Aaron Taylor Johnson was the subject of a post in 2012 that comes in at 14,922 pageviews
4) Visitors enjoyed seeing a shirtless Jared Leto in a double wrap belt to the tune of 10,123 pageviews
5) Silver-haired male model Andy Lucchesi was ogled 7,191 times...
6) ...and those who appreciate mature men with silver hair visited my "Silver Is In" page 7,120 times
7) A page featuring Sylvia Ji's artwork inspired by the Mexican Día de los Muertos festival racked up 6,921 pageviews
8) Oddly, a whimsical page about cookies (Lorna Doone, Ladyfinger, Madeleine) was seen 6,825 times
9) A post about holiday wreaths made out of old glass ornaments came up with 6,740 pageviews
10) And finally, a post about the Vatican Fashion Show segment from Fellini's amazing "Roma" film got 6,698 pageviews
Who knew?

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. I'm serving several virtual dessert choices this year: lavender ice cream...

...Meyer lemon meringue tarts...

...or chocolate soufflé. Please allow up to 30 minutes for the soufflé...get your order in early. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way!" 2015

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are six years old today!

Six years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. Instead of cake this year, we are having donuts! Grab a virtual glazed treat and a glass of milk and enjoy...

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way!" 2014

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are five today!

Five years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. The treats this year are blueberry cake and pie, since we had a bumper crop. Have a virtual slice and enjoy!

Happy Birthday, "Oh, By The Way!"

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are four years old!

Four years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. Help yourself to a virtual slice of mint chocolate cake and a nice frosty glass of milk!

Happy Birthday, "Oh, By The Way!"

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are three years old!

Three years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film ...or heard this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. Help yourself to a virtual slice of violet cake (I adore flower-flavored food)!

Stats

After a recent review of my stats for this blog, I feel compelled to share with you a surprising oddity. When contemplating what posts might be the most popular of all time, I can only imagine that it might concern one of the many artists I have written about, or possibly one of the fantastic songs I have posted, maybe a film or book...there are so many things to Google.

But no.

The single most popular post of all time (for the life of this blog)--BY FAR--is about fashion personality Nick Wooster. Who knew? As of this writing, he has garnered 24,935 single page views. How odd. Don't get me wrong, I like Nick Wooster, I posted about him to begin with. I like his sartorial sensibility. But nearly 25,000 hits? Really? I just did not think that many people know the name Nick Wooster...

What really surprises me about this is that it FAR exceeds the next most popular page view, which is my post about Fellini's Vatican Fashion Show from his faux-travelogue "Fellini's Roma." This is just as peculiar and surprising as the popularity of Nick Wooster.

And in a final non-sequitur, the third most popular post is about cookies! Again: who knew?

Happy Birthday, "Oh By The Way"

Two years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt. The idea was to post things that I would normally tell or email my friends: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/designer/model/singer/actor… or, have you seen this video/ heard this song/ seen this movie/ read this book/ seen this picture/ visited this place?”

I am dedicated to posting the positive (I post things I like, not things I don’t), the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, these things often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.

Anyhow, Happy Birthday “Oh, By The Way.” You are two years old and you consist of seven hundred and eighty-nine posts, not counting these wishes.

And followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog positive, fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. Help yourself to a virtual slice of rose or violet cake (I adore flower-flavored food!), a glass of milk, and enjoy the band!

Happy Birthday, "Oh, By The Way!"

A year ago, I had a dream during the night in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt. The idea was to post things that I would normally tell or email my friends: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/designer/model/singer/actor… or, have you seen this video/ heard this song/ seen this movie/ read this book/ seen this picture?” My only rule: I promised myself that I would not blog about anything overtly political, that I would not comment on current affairs (no matter how crazy or harmful the key players might be), that I would keep my blog in a positive space, not negative. Readers might spot an occasional veiled comment here and there, but it is always part of a larger posting about a film, a book, etc. I am dedicated to posting the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, the inspiring. And just like life, these things often have a bit of melancholy in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.

Anyhow, Happy Birthday “Oh, By The Way.” You are one year old and you consist of two hundred and sixty two posts, not counting these wishes.

The Feeling Begins...

Ray Fenwick, artist
http://coandco.ca/ray/