May you find what you need

Thanks to StatCounter.com, I can tell who's visiting Restricted View and how they got here. Each day, I have a pretty steady number of regular visitors -- hello and thanks for reading! -- and an equal number of newbies, who find me in all sorts of ways. Some come through blogrolls and referrals: if you're linking to me, thanks, and if you've followed a link, I sincerely hope you'll come again. But most interesting are those who end up here as the result of an internet search. (Let's be honest: a Google search.) Through the magic of StatCounter.com, I can see the search terms that led such people to my blog, and the list is always entertaining. Some Google searches that led to me this week:

lawrence welk show removed without warning

I'm sorry I have no information on that topic, but allow me to offer my most sincere condolences on your loss.

talking captain feather sword

As you know, I am always up for talking Captain Feathersword! But if it's a doll you're looking for, I can't help you.

shirley maclaine dance routines

Again, sorry. But let me know if you find anything good!

At least once a week, somebody lands here in their search for the lyrics to and/or a clip of Jennifer Hudson singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." Of course, they usually don't get the title right (yesterday somebody was looking for jennier hudson singing your gonna love me). But half the fun of that song is not getting the title right. I recently overheard someone talking about a contestant on American Idol who performed "that song Jennifer Hudson does in Dreamgirls, you know, 'I'm Not Going Away' or whatever it's called."

I also get frequent visitors from the UK who I assume are looking for information/advice about purchasing "restricted view" seats. Many include The Sound of Music in their search -- are there lots of bad sightlines in the Palladium? I don't know, but my advice, as someone who has occupied many a lousy seat, is only make the purchase if the tickets are heavily discounted.

My favorite search-engine hits are names of (not-very-famous) actors I've mentioned. I imagine that they are conducting these searches themselves, or else I'm playing host to their proud parents. Either way, I'm happy about that, because that's why I mention them by name in the first place. I like you, nonfamous actors, for what it's worth! This week, someone ended up here after googling Steven Sutcliffe Actor 2007. Was it Younger Brother himself? Or a fellow member of his small but discerning fan club? Regardless, I hope s/he will return. In fact, I hope all of you wayward searchers will find me worth bookmarking, even if I can't supply the information you need.

I worked briefly as a fact-checker for a columnist who did not realize that you can put quotation marks around a search term for more efficient Googling. I was surprised that this could be news to anyone who had ever used a search engine, and then I was kind of sorry I told him, because I think he was much more impressed with my accomplishments before he learned about that trick. Anyway, if some of you people used quotation marks in your searches, you'd find what you want a lot faster. But then you wouldn't end up here. So regardless of how you got here, welcome, and don't be a stranger! And, again, sorry about the Lawrence Welk situation. I can only imagine what you must be going through.