Several folks on the list have offered to help ... and while it was never my
intention to pawn my problems off on somebody else ... no matter how difficult
things became ... it now appears that this may be the only solution to resolving this issue once and for all ... with any kind of expediency.
Between continuing website operating costs, the expense of trying to
salvage ANYTHING off the old hard drive and the cost of a new computer ... not
to mention the steady ... and DAILY ... influx of new bills (both expected and
the ever-appreciated UNexpected) ... it's been impossible to move forward with
any efforts to save Forgotten Hits. Call it a pride thing, but I was determined solve this issue on my own. The reality remains, however, that thus far it has been impossible to do so.
Therefore, as a last resort ... and ONLY as a last resort ... for the first time ever in Forgotten Hits' nearly fourteen year history, I am forced to accept donations from readers to get back up and running again.
Thanks to the gracious support of a few of our readers, we are hoping to be "on the mend" soon ... and I can't wait to report the first of many, many new postings. Please know that I sincerely appreciate this contribution to our cause ...
and thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart. Even more so, please accept my thanks for
sending the message that Forgotten Hits MEANS something ... that all this effort
hasn't been for nought ... and for acknowledging that together we've struck a mutual chord (and enjoyed some
beautiful music and memories along the way.)
Long-time Forgotten Hits Readers can help, too ...
The old hard drive literally crashed and burned ... after crashing the old computer, a technician removed the hard drive and installed it on another unit in an effort to extract as much information as possible ... and within minutes it overheated SO badly as to literally burn itself up. As such, NONE of the old archives were retrievable.
Anything previously published on the websites remain intact. However the first ten years of Forgotten Hits sent "via email only" now ceases to exist. In the past, numerous readers have contacted me, saying that they saved many of these articles over the years. Ultimately, I would like to get as many of these back as I possibly can. The "email-only" edition of Forgotten Hits ran from 1999 - 2008 ... if you have ANY of these old articles saved somewhere, I would love to get copies from you (once we get a new computer and have a place to store them all!) Of particular interest is our month-long Bobby Darin article. (Frank B. will NEVER forgive me if I don't finally publish this damn thing on the website!!!)
In addition (as so many of you have pointed out), we're also investigating and investing in off-line sources to store some of this material as a back-up.
Any old archives you can send will be greatly appreciated. Ultimately, my intention is to set up some sort of a "Support Forgotten
Hits" link on the wesbsite ... hopefully we can avoid any future "interruptions" by doing so. Meanwhile, beginning August 1st, you can begin emailing material for our archives to forgottenhits@aol.com. If it's easier to burn these to a CD(s), let me know this as well, and I'll forward you an address where you can send it. Likewise, if you, too, would like to make a donation, please contact me via the same email address and we'll tell you how to do so.
Meanwhile, we hope to be back up and running soon. My "target date" right now is August 1st ... I won't know how realistic that is until we actually get and install the new computer ... but at least it gives me something to shoot for.
Thanks again to EVERYBODY for their patience and continued support. Forgotten Hits means SO much to me ... and I cannot even begin to convey how much it means to me to see that it has had an impact on YOUR lives as well. The power of music ... don't EVER underestimate it.
kk
Kent Kotal
Forgotten Hits
