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Do you sometimes look at your blog and find that you can’t stand the sight of it?
That’s how I feel right now.
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The recent Weblog Awards made me realize certain things about how I view blogging nowadays.
There are general categories floating around out there that most bloggers can identify with: personal, media, design, politics, religion. I have my own categories, and they don’t directly have anything to do with the ones I just mentioned: thought-provoking, pretty, photo-envy, word-envy, and opinionated. There’s also Family, Christianity, Fiction, News and Questions.
Now my blogreading preferences are changing once again, however, in terms of not only topics but also timeliness. Military blogs are probably my favorite sort of blogs to read right now – I just found Training for Eternity today – as are moderately liberal blogs like Michael Totten and Roger L. Simon. Also, food blogs like Chocolate & Zucchini are a daily stop; Instapundit usually gives me a good idea of what’s being linked or discussed right now in the blogosphere; the only photoblog I manage to visit on a semi-regular basis is Heather Champ’s. And Hugo may not realize this, but his is one of my favorite blogs to read, period, when it comes to thought-provoking content.
Okay, enough blog-whoring. As for this blog: I had originally wanted to gradually make Creative Slips a storytelling blog, because that’s what I do best, but it’s difficult to dredge up any inspiration on a regular basis when I have so many other commitments already pleading for attention. Writing a good story on a whim is much harder than it looks. But I’ll get to that, never fear; just because I don’t write the stories down doesn’t mean they cease to exist.
P.S. My blogroll also serves as my list of bookmarks when I’m away from my personal laptop. Just an FYI.
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I’m an editor’s editor and ain’t ashamed to admit it. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to grammar and spelling. (Disclaimer: I’m using “ain’t” in this post because my personal stylebook says I can.)
The first rule we learned when I was still a journalism major was that misspelling a source’s name in an article was a no-no, and the profs took this rule seriously. One misspelled name on an assignment was guaranteed to give the delinquent student an automatic F [on the assignment], no exceptions. When I make this mistake (by accident, usually) on something even as trivial as a journal entry like this or something visible to my reading audience, I’m pretty embarrassed about it and try to fix it right away.
So when I see people misspelling a blogger’s name in her own comments section, IT DRIVES ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY.
One L, people. Is that so hard to remember?
P.S. And I’m picking on Michele because it tends to happen on her blog more than any other website I read. If that makes me a “link whore” to some people, that’s their problem.
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The challenge deadline has been extended until tonight, 2359. You still have time to donate to Spirit of America.
All of the blog alliances have teamed up to reach $50,000 before the deadline. We’ve raised close to over $44,000 $45,000 so far, and I’m confident we can reach our goal before the day’s over. Check out the marketplace to see what’s being offered. Give, give, give.
(I’d make a very bad saleswoman with such a lame pitch, especially since I don’t have anything to offer [she’s too honest for this sort of profession –ed. Oh, quiet, you!], but I still encourage you to give what you can. So what’re you waiting for?)
Update: WE MADE IT! Thanks to everybody who donated!
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Citizen Smash has a nice roundup of how each blog alliance is faring and what each is offering to lure you to give to Spirit of America. The Victory Coalition’s donation page is here.
The fundraising challenge ends at 0001, Thursday, April 29. The race is on!
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Just a note: all comment sections to posts will be closed after two weeks. I’m tired of dealing with comment spammers.
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I’ve also been checking out Bloglines, which requires that all links have an RSS feed. That’s unfortunate because I know quite a few LJs that don’t carry a feed, and Kinja managed to pick up the LJs I did input, anyway. Ah well - here’s my Bloglines public profile. I can’t decide which one I like better yet.
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I’ve been fooling around with Denton & Company’s latest fandangled creation, which is basically a “man-on-the-street” RSS aggregator for amateurs who don’t usually care for such technical details. I had to take one link out because all the comments on that particular blog were p-linked, and then another link disappeared off the face of the blogosphere… Anyway, I only put in blogs that are updated on a defined regular basis (i.e. daily or every other day) - I’ll put in more once I’m used to the thing. Here’s my personal feed.
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Yes, Creative Slips is 3 - three - III - now. I forgot to note this eleven days ago because I was too busy getting ready for Spring Break. So Happy Blogday to myself.
Now we return you to your regularly scheduled dose of mundane silence on this Wednesdayesque morning.
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Beal.
Couldn’t they have given it something that sounded, I dunno, normal?
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Sometime yesterday, I ran across this post by Matt Welch that, despite the late hour, has gotten me thinking on the generalizations being made by both liberals and conservatives about “the other side.”
I’ve said this before, but I think it bears some repeating: on a personal level, this is why I get disgusted and upset everytime a right-winger suggests to my face that a nuke needs to be set off in the San Andreas fault. I, like Matt, am surrounded by liberals - I mean, this is San Francisco - but just because their political ideals and aspirations are completely opposite from mine does not make liberals any less human than conservatives. Not every liberal was against the Iraq war, and not every conservative supported it. Does that mean they’re not true liberals or conservatives? Of course not. There’s a lot more to the party platform than just national security and foreign policy. If you’d like an example, ask this dude.
So put away the paintbrushes and THINK before posting a sweeping generalization about a certain group of people next time.
P.S. I wonder if Matt’s comments apply to individual posts, as well? I only ask because a certain Christian blogger will now probably be notoriously known to the politically left side of the blogosphere as that “religious right wingnut who fantasized about assassins killing some Democratic senators because they opposed the war.” There is a lot more to Dr. Mark Byron than one dark fantasy, and as a commentator put it, “What is disregarded is that you ‘put such thoughts on the table in order to reject them.’ The ensuing discussion is ripped out of context and held up as an example of a ’stereotypical Republican/rightwing Christian.’” (And I think a certain rightwing blogger should be called on this for taking Dr. Byron’s post out of context for the sake of discussing conspiracies, the “other side” and national security. For crying out loud, read the follow-up posts. Here’s a suggestion: don’t rely on just first impressions to judge a person.)
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This is what I get for not paying attention more often.
I’ve long been aware of Diane Duane’s blog, but I didn’t know till recently that Peter David had a blog, too.
Two of my favorite Star Trek series authors have blogs.
This means t-r-o-u-b-l-e.
(In a good way, of course.)
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To everybody who emailed me at my regular e-mail address – and you can find THAT in the Menu section to the left – and to everyone who e-mailed me at the alternative account: yes, I received your entry.
The deadline is tonight at 12 am, Pacific Time. You still have around 5 hours (or less) to get your post to me. Just email me here or here.
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Jason, Jon and Priscilla are here! I met them at the airport yesterday, rode along with ‘em to their hotel, and got treated to Chinese for dinner before I caught the bus/train/bus home. I would’ve joined them for the day trip into S.F., but this Bay Area native needed to stay home and bake cookies and archive posts before she could have her bout of fun for the day.
Well, of course all that is fun! It’s just fun WORK!
And I’m still taking Carnival of the Vanities entries. The deadline is 12 am, August 27.
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DYL is back!
Need I say more?
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Just a note: this week’s Carnival of the Vanities is being hosted at Winds of Change.net. Check it out.
(Intermission: That’s Carnival #42. Forty-Two. Douglas Adams, anyone?)
I will be hosting the Carnival of the Vanities in August. Call it a birthday present to myself, because it will be going up on the 27th, anyway. Further details are forthcoming, but if you have any questions or would like to host the Carnival at your own blog, contact Silflay Hraka for more info.
That was your way-too-early announcement for the day. I’m going back to bed.
UPDATE: Here’s the current lineup of future hosts for the Carnival, in case you’re interested.
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RhiainGDI: it’s June 4 today, right?
L8NiteWriter2: yes ma’am
RhiainGDI: must post soon, I think
L8NiteWriter2: you think
L8NiteWriter2: it’s been a whiel [sic]
RhiainGDI: since I’ve thought or since I’ve posted?
RhiainGDI: wait
RhiainGDI: don’t answer that
L8NiteWriter2: LOL!
That says everything about my mental capacity for the moment, don’t it?
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I’ll probably be playing catch-up today, if anything, since I haven’t blogged that much lately. I will add to this post if anything else catches my eye. So here we go…
1. Trent Telenko from Winds of Change says the Democrats will lose in the ‘04 presidential elections and provides a rather thorough analysis as proof. Lots of links to read through in this piece.
2. A journalist from L.A. recently started a blog of his own (last week this guy posted a leaked memo from the L.A. Times about liberal bias; yes, liberal bias - oh, say it ain’t so). Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Kevin Roderick.
3. Earlier this week, the folks at Samizdata examined a draft of the forthcoming European Union constitution - and weren’t very happy with what they found.
4. A lot of noise has been made about NYT reporter Rick Bragg, who was recently suspended for using unattributed copy from interns and freelancing stringers to compose his articles. Glenn Reynolds, Andrew Sullivan (scroll down) and Jeff Jarvis (to name a few) offer mucho commentary about this.
5. Before I forget, I must point out a certain blog to all of you: I have always enjoyed Dean Peters’s Heal Your Church Website, ‘cause Lord knows MY church’s website could use some work!
UPDATE: Numero Seis. Steve at Little Tiny Lies recently posted on the virtues (or lack thereof) of women and Connor Peterson, Laci Peterson’s unborn son - it seems like the mainstream press doesn’t know how to refer to him in their news stories (baby or fetus?). Both are good reads.
UPDATE: Nr. Sieben. This morning while surfing around the Net I caught wind of this commentary about President Bush’s bill that will raise the amount of money sent to Africa to help the fight against AIDs. Martin Roth offers a Christian perspective.
More later. If I feel like posting more later, that is.
Otherwise, it’s Friday. So unlike me, please detach thyself from the All-Knowing & Sometimes-Dysfunctional Apparatus known as the Computer and enjoy the weekend!
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Yesterday Steven Den Beste posted comments on the charges of war crimes that are now “flying thick and fast” in the wake of the war in Iraq:
The United States never came even close to actually ratifying the ICC [International Criminal Court], and the reason why was that it was viewed here (by leaders of both parties) as being a venue where disgruntled losers would harass and persecute Americans. Such concerns have been ridiculed, but are now shown to be entirely justified. The ICC has only been online for 2 months and already the fruitcakes are trying to use it to persecute their political enemies. The only reason that these lawyers are trying to indict Blair and not trying to indict Bush is that the UK ratified the treaty and we didn’t. If we actually had ratified that monstrosity, there can be no doubt at all that every American official down to the official dog-catcher in Washington DC would have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by now, just because they were American and were drawing breath.No doubt about that.
For the record, I used to advocate the idea of American participation in the ICC, but I’ve since rescinded that view. Den Beste’s above comments explain why perfectly. Also, there’s just something about national sovereignty that I like.
On a similar note: why in the world did Bush go back to the United Nations to get the sanctions on Iraq lifted when we skirted around ‘em to kick Saddam out? Isn’t that rather, oh, I dunno, paradoxical?
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Just an FYI:
The new design for ABA launched tonight. Five new authors, nice layout, more potential for blogging goodness - what’s not to like?
Be warned, though: Jason is still smoothing out the wrinkles. In the meantime, you can always go over to HIS blog and tease him about his recent adventures at Applebee’s: if I remember correctly, it’s something about flirting with a pretty waitress…
UPDATE: Now if someone managed to convince Mr. Wall Senior to start blogging (ahem!), we’d have one whole family posting away in the Blogosphere. I’ve added Jeremy, Julie and Read to the ‘Roll. You can find Priscilla Wall’s blog here. Enjoy.
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Donald Sensing, formerly a major in the U.S. Army and now a pastor, looks at whether military chaplains should bear arms in a combat situation when fired upon. A discussion worth reading follows in the comments section.
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Mike Sanders has posted the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers, modeled after Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He’s also commented on interdependence, World of Ends and habits. Some pretty good stuff. Also, Each Blogger is Really Four. Check it out.
And I know I’m over two months late in saying this, but I’m glad you’re back, Mike.
(via Brian)
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Steven Den Beste has an interesting post up on “The Silent Service” - the elements of our military who have in the past and even now carry out clandestine operations that aren’t (and shouldn’t be) publicized.
The main reason it caught my eye is because I’ve been reading one of Tom Clancy’s “tour books” - don’t ask me why, I’ve just been fascinated about military things for awhile now. Some good stuff all ’round.
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Curiousity stalks the cat and snags it by the tail.
Well, I’m not a cat, but curiousity snagged me anyway. (Sorry, I don’t have a tail, either.)
I Googled around looking for specific-area blogs, those that deal with different branches of science in particular, and found some kool sites for your perusal.
Bio Informatics
Pure Content
Seb’s Open Research
Kairosnews
Lagniappe
Literacy Weblog
Universal Rule
I’m not sure what prompted me to look these up, as science has never been one of my strong points, but it’s good stuff to go through just the same.
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My host, Dreamhost, moved my directory and didn’t tell me. This normally would not have been a problem, but MT relies on full paths to do its job. I would go to post an entry and everything would work right, except no files were updated, as I found out yesterday when my 2/13 post wasn’t showing up.
If you have this problem, you can retrieve the new full path by beginning to create a new blog, then take the new full path and change it in your other blogs by going to the “manage your blog” section of MT. Just an FYI.
Time to scout around for a new host…
(Thanks, Jason…)
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Josh Claybourn has posted a new column called “Lingering Questions: I’m Not Yet Sold on Iraq.” Good stuff, but it’s this part that I’d like to point out:
The principle, “Don’t fire unless fired upon,” can be traced back to our nation’s founding, but its roots go even further to Christian “Just War” doctrine and beyond. The question seems central to the debate - have we been fired upon?Josh goes on to say, “The Iraqi link to al Qaeda may very well exist, but the current evidence available to the public is weak at best.” In October, Martin Roth published his own commentary to refute the “just war” argument, and it’s worth a read, as well.
Too many variables are clouding this situation of whether or not our country will go to war, though war almost seems inevitable with the recent buildup of troops in Kuwait and an uncertain outcome with the UN inspections.
To be honest, I’m neither hawkish nor dovish about what could happen if we struck at Baghdad. I have my doubts about striking at Iraq, but if the U.S. actually goes ahead with military operations against Iraq, I wish we’d quit with the political wrangling and just do it already.
And as Collin May points out, the French and Germans aren’t making the situation any better. (Okay, bigwig European powers, sure, but since when did they suddenly represent the EU’s overall stance on the Iraq situation?)
Some further thoughts about this: as it is, nobody can accurately predict what will happen if we were to actually go to war with Iraq - because it hasn’t happened yet. Offer all the possible scenarios you want, but until the first shot is fired, we don’t know what the outcome will be.
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Poetry section? {Insert checkmark here.}
Short story section? {Insert checkmark here.}
Link Section? {Insert checkmark here.}
No checkmarks so far.
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…to Creative Slips.net! Get comfy and admire the scenery. (You may thank this man for the wonderful design. Personally, I’m glad he helped me set up CS.net and all the parts that go with it - else, this site wouldn’t've gone live for another two months or so.)
The poetry section is out of commission and I’m working to get it updated and live - that probly won’t happen for another day or two.
More delightful text and other stuff to come. In the meantime, I’m glad you’re here.
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Ken Layne’s blog parody of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is rockin’!
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Saved By Piercing is back! I dig his motto: “Actions speak louder than Jesus fish.” (via DYL)
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It’s 7:45 in the eve, give or take a few minutes, and it feels like it’s 11 pm instead. This is probly the only thing I hate about this time of year, the early setting and late rising of daylight. I may be a night owl, but I ain’t too sure about calling the night my friend yet.
On to the real reason for this post: lately I’ve been posting links to the pundits who’ve sprung up in the blogosphere since 9/11. They come from both sides of the political spectrum, and some of their views I agree with, but not all (that’d make me a confusing mess, wouldn’t it?). Here are some of my faves that are or aren’t on the blogroll, in no particular order - enjoy:
Instapundit
A Small Victory
Nick Denton
Unqualified Offerings
little green footballs
Jeff Jarvis
tacitus
Indepundit
No War Blog
Samizdata
Charles Murtagh
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