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Movable Type and I may be breaking up. The comment spam is getting to me and I've been tempted by the fruit of another, the younger, easier-to-use, Typepad. So pardon the mess, breakups are never easy, but in the end, it will all be worth it and everyone will be much happier.
So, in the meantime, while I transfer this blog on to Typepad, take a look at what's been occupying my time in my Typepad photo albums: RRJ and Friends.
+ Carl Wilson (aka Zolius) writes about the new Toronto blog, Torontoist put together by some young Canadian journos, mostly from the National Post. I like what I've read so far and hey, it's a pretty looking blog, (even with the advertisements,) which is more than I can say for the blogs of other journalists.
+ As Torontoist and many other blogs have reported, MuchMusic's last respectable VJ is no longer a VJ — not after Dec. 10th. George Stroumboulopoulos will work on CBC Newsworld. I really like George, I just hope he speaks SLIGHTLY slower if he's doing a real news report (MuchNews does not count).
+ Speaking of cool people and the CBC, former Smashing Pumpkin and Hole member, Melissa Auf Der Mar will be the next "advocate" on the search for The Greatest Canadian. She will be make her case for David Suzuki at 8 p.m. tomorrow night on the CBC. I already voted for Terry Fox, but I could be convinced...
I'm currently researching and writing about Alzheimer's disease and came across a Wired article from 2002 about people with Alzheimer's who blog to remember:
"AD has no known cure, and there is no proof that blogging, or any other form of cognitive exercise, can stem its progress. But AD bloggers say their journals have greatly improved their quality of life, by helping them to recall tasks completed and milestones passed."
I think it's an interesting concept for what it's worth, but not really revolutionary. Don't most bloggers who write about their lives, write to create memories for later?
It's a variation of Pop Wherry's weekend reading list for music lovahs. Here are my weekend website picks:
Sorry Everybody: Half of American apologizes for the election results. They tried. They look really sincere, I just hope the webmaster starts using thumbnails soon. [Via Carl Wilson]
Kinja: Make your own weblog digest of your favourite webloggers. There are still a few kinks, but a nice way to check blog updates.
Who won in Springfield?: Politics Watch examines what effect The Simpsons might have on the American election.
I have purposely avoided political discussion. It's mainly because there's more than enough of that on the Web now. Exit polls. Ohio. New maps of northern states joining Canada. Yadda yadda yadda. It's boring and I'm sick of it. I suppose if I was actually expecting or had hope that Kerry would win the election I would want to discuss my shock and awe, but the fact is I never had faith in the American population. I'm not anti-American, I'm anti-Bush and anti-Republican. Unfortunately that means I'm anti 51% of Americans. There's really not much to say two days after the election. It's simply four more years of Bozo the Clown. So here are a selection of my favourite election-related blog entries:
From Emm Gryner:
I take the results of this election personally.
The President of the United States sees a woman as a second-class citizen.
The President of the United States saw to the needless murder of thousands of innocent Iraqis and Americans.
The President of the United States has no respect or rights for you if you are in love with someone of the same sex.
The President of the United States has raped the words liberty and freedom for his own personal gain.
The President of the United States exploited and continues to exploit 9/11.
From Matt Good:
Prior to this moment I held the American people apart from the actions of their government, believing that if they had the chance to reverse what has been done that they would. Unfortunately, I now find that difficult to do.
My children will inherit a more dangerous world because of the outcome of this election. What am I to tell them when they ask why anyone would willingly support such a reckless, tepid, and bigoted man?
From the other side, Adam Yoshida:
The Democrats are now talking about how this is a signal that Bush should “bring the country together”. Translated into American, this means “now that you’ve won, you should surrender to us.” The hell with that. We’ve won. Winning means not having to say you’re sorry. Bush already brought a majority of Americans together: they voted for him. He doesn’t need to reach out to them: they need to reach out to him.
We at the Ryerson Review of Journalism decided to add a few more blogs to world wide "blogosphere." There's the Editorial Blog --- a group blog which discusses media issues, and my friend and colleague, Samantha Israel writes in Blog on Blog --- a blog about, yes, you guessed it, blogging. We're told that the title of Sam's blog is a witty play on some Dylan song. I guess we're too young (or uncultured) to realize its significance. I may also start a blog on the website, but this has yet to be decided. I'm not really sure if an in house production blog is interesting to anyone but a geek like me.
If you are reading this and your browser is distplaying the sidebar at the bottom of the page, instead of the right, please leave a message and tell me what Internet browser you are using.
Links of the day:
Canadian Postal Service has no sense of humour - they have convinced Pet Valu to stop selling Bark Bites, dog biscuits shaped like cats and mail carriers. At first I thought this was funny, but "earlier this summer, a letter carrier from Chatham in southwestern Ontario broke both her wrists and had part of her ear ripped off when she was attacked by two pitbull-like dogs." Ouch.
Hawkley to host CBC's Roundup - this Monday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST, you can hear Hawksley on CBC Radio One. See the Roundup site for details.
Over the past weekend, I've slowly learned the basics of CSS and Movable Type's template customization. Now we have a more personalized blog. Hooray.
I had my reservations about switching to blogging on my own domain, the main reason being that I didn't think I would get the same kind of readership here as I did on Xanga, which is more like a community of blogs and where many of you regularly blog. Of course, I will aim to provide quality content, but I'm also working on making this site as convient as possible.
My first step is to activate my e-mail notification list. MT has a notification feature built-in. I have decided against allowing surfers to automatically subscribe to the list, as the way it is setup allows for anyone to sign up any e-mail address. So, if you would like to be added to the notification list, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail at any of the e-mail addresses you have filed under my name. These notifications will not be sent out very often, at most, weekly, just to remind you of this blog and to re-cap the week's events/content.
Those of you who have read my Xanga blog might notice this weblog is fairly different from the old one. The content focus is slightly different and there's a heavier emphasis on images and photography. I'm still experimenting but the general idea is to make my weblog a more "professional" outlet for my writing, ideas and photography. That being said, I'd really like you as friends and as readers to let me know what you like and don't like in my blog. All constructive critism is welcome and encouraged.
Thanks for reading, Andrea
P.S. Don't forget to "sign up" for the e-notifications.
