IFTTT- Neat

It is always fun to discover a new and useful application.
Today's recommendation is if this then that  or IFTTT.  It is a fine way to create auto liking within the world wide web.  For example, with it this Make Good Mondays post will automatically be sent to my Evernote notebooks for archiving.
Check it out.

[Post date: 07/22/12 ]


My Other Blogs: My news and political blog is South by Southwest. Follow me at Twitter. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the home page for all my websites.

On writing about books and authors --

Writing about books is not the primary focus of my blogging.  For that I recommended, in a post in October of 2009, a literary blogger who maintains the Maud Newton: Blog.  Here is one of her posts about a reading of one of her essays in a published collection titled Love Is a Four Letter Word.  Newton is a great writer and a reviewer of books of all kinds.

Since I learned to read I have consumed and cherished good books.  As a reader I joined the popular website, GoodReads.  Over the years I have written a few reviews myself, nothing to compare, of course.  And I have written about authors as well, not formal reviews, but with a focus of what they had written that interested me.  As a blogger, my posts are generally about national politics and world affairs.  In that vein the first such piece, written on July 19, 2005 was about the book, The World Is Flat, by Thomas Friedman.  Luckily ". . . cliff notes" was in the post title.  It landed my post in position #10 of 104,000 in the Google search.  I was surprised and pleased by the popularity of my post, and have been writing about good books ever since.

My first formal book review was written on November 9, 2007.  I was offered a review copy by the publisher of Stone Cold, written by David Baldacci.  (Here is Amazon's current info about the book).  I have no idea how they found me, except that I have long blogged about the Middle East, national security and national intelligence subjects.  Stone Cold is a novel touching on those themes.  Being an anxious-to-please first time reviewer, my review was timely to the date of publication and, for a few days it remained in the top 20 of a Google search.  It has since disappeared from the first few pages in a current search.

What seems to make terrorists tick has always been an area of fascination for me.  After having watched a great C-SPAN feature on the subject I wrote a whole series of posts.  I concluding it March 18, 2008, with a post on Leaderless Jihad.  Forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman was the author of the book about Middle Eastern terrorists on which he presented so brilliantly on TV.   (This is the current info from Amazon about the book). Today my post remains at #17 of 5300 in a Google search.

Nonfiction is the literary form I prefer, and I remain fascinated by political biography and autobiography.  One of my (s)heroes is the first female Secretary of State, Madelaine Albright.  She served under President Bill Clinton, another of my heroes. Her memoir is entitled Madam Secretary, and I wrote at length about her fine book in a post on January 8, 2009. (Here is Amazon's info about the book).  Today, I often refer to her memoir when I want to find out about the background of the Camp David peace negotiations that happened just before President George W. Bush's inauguration.  I started blogging in March of 2005 in an oppositional reaction to the aggressive invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration.

The author of my most recent book review written on August 31, 2010, also had a negative reaction to the war in Iraq.  Barefoot In Baghdad, was written by Minal Omar, an American Muslim woman born in Saudi Arabia who came to the U.S. at the age of 6 months. Here is more about the book, a memoir  that tells of her living and working in Iraq on behalf of women during the early years of the war. It is now #56 of 103,000 in Google search.  I highly recommend this book, by the way.  Omar has returned to the United States.  We are on the way out of Iraq and the Middle East peace process is still stalled.  According to the well-respected Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erakat, Camp David still has a bearing.  However, Erakat recently stated that President Obama's midterm election losses will not affect  the current peace process.

Image via Wikipedia

My review was another case of being sent a review copy by a publisher, who somehow found out my areas of interest and my contact information.  I seem to be on a number of types of Email lists.  I get news releases from publicists who want my readers to know about expert speakers who are out and about. I still get a significant number of offers of books to be mailed to me for review.  I do not accept any books about which I am uninterested.   And I must confess that I do not always get reviews written about the books I receive.  Some I cannot finish out of boredom, some I find to be pretty inadequate and not worth the effort to write even a negative review.  It has been an interesting side benefit of blogging and one with which I always try to operate in good faith, even if imperfectly.

[11/7/10: Post date]

My Other Blogs: Check out my Amplify blog for synopses of current news stories. My creative website is Making Good Mondays. Follow me at Twitter. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the home page for all my websites.

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Posted via email from Make Good Mondays

Pick up this book --

You may not be able to lay Barefoot in Baghdad down for a while.  This book will capture your interest.  It is a memoir that will take you to a place and time in Iraq that, for some years, was the life of Manal Oman, an American woman of Middle Eastern descent.  Actually  I had difficulty with my day to day responsibilities because it was such an intriguing read. To quote from the book's back cover, 

[she] moved to Iraq to help women as she could to rebuild their lives.  She quickly found herself drawn into the saga of a people determined to rise from the ashes of war and sanctions and rebuild their lives in the face of crushing chaos.

Written by Manal M. Omar and published just this month by Sourcebooks, the author explains in her subtitle that it is "a story of identity -- my own -- and what it means to be a woman in chaos."   And it is very timely, given that August 31, 2010 is the official end of U.S. combat in Iraq.

This new book is in paperback.  It and has exceptional readability, with an enthralling narrative style.  To quote another Iraq war writer, Christina Asquith, the book is: 

A fascinating, honest and inspiring portrait of a women's rights activist in Iraq, struggling to help local women while exploring her own identity.  Manal Omar is a skilled guide into Iraq, as she understands the region, speaks Arabic, and wears the veil. At turns funny and tragic, she carries a powerful message for women, and delivers it through beautiful storytelling.

Though I am a great deal older than this author, I found Omar's book about her work with Iraq's women oddly familiar.  The author knows both East and West because she grew up in the United States, arriving with her Saudi Arabian parents in Texas at the age of 6 months. Having spent her summers in the Middle East, she calls multiculturalism "my own secret super power." 

I have  also straddled two cultures, having grown up in a western state, and going back to visit there from Texas almost every summer.  Much of my adult life in Texas (both professionally and as a volunteer) was spent working on behalf of women's issues. My little culture shocks can never compare to the life changing experiences of Minal Omar, and the women she came to know,  and with whom she connected, as she went barefoot in Baghdad.  We all share the same gender, but  what I came to understand more deeply through this book is this.  As far as women experiencing cultural uprooting, our sisters in Iraq suffered incomparably more during the past decade than did most of us.  

Manal Omar's multicultural identity is, in my opinion, one of her key strengths as a writer.  Readers will learn immeasurably more about the country of Iraq and its wonderful people than could have been learned over the past decade from consumption of news from the mainstream media.  We now know all too well, that view can be risky.  For example, in the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, we took our reality from the powers that be, and we were dead wrong to do so.  

The author had a great deal of ambivalence about the invasion in 2002.  Omar said in her introduction, "As an American I was speechless.  I could neither attack nor defend my country, although I found myself desperately wanting to do both,"   But she was not deterred by her mixed feelings.  Shortly after the United States went to war in Iraq, the author went to work for a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in London, Women for Women International (WWI).  Its CEO and founder, Zanaib Salbi, whom the author characterizes as "an adrenalin junkie," was an important mentor to Manal. Their work together began with a wild road trip to Baghdad.  To quote the head of Omar's NGO, Salbi summarized the book well: 

Manal Omar captures the complex reality of living and working in war-torn Iraq, a reality that tells the story of love and hope in the midst of bombs and explosions.

The author's time in Iraq, which she called in an opening chapter "a place of fantasies," was from 2003 to 2005; it was only rarely calm or peaceful.  Her WWI NGO work was about helping Iraqi women who had been marginalized by the Saddam Hussein regime and the subsequent U.S. occupation.  Through an amazingly courageous WWI effort in a country that eventually became too dangerous for the NGO to remain, almost 2000 women received various kinds of NGO program assistance, support and training towards self sufficiency.

The author and her WWI staff made themselves homes as best they could, and always lived out of the Green Zone. With unflagging support from her Iraqi core staff members (4 males and one female), Omar recounts a moving story of loyalty and bravery in the midst of the country's descent into full blown civil war.  It is also a wonderfully told love story.  However, my lips are sealed.  I can reveal that the mystery of how it unfolded was threaded through the book and very effectively handled by this talented author in the 245-page book's final chapters. 

I encourage you to read it all for yourself.  

Barefoot in Baghdad will not disappoint you. 

Reviewed by Carol Gee, 8/31/10.

Author of:
Southwest Postings, a political blog

Make Good Mondays

, a personal blog

Member of Twitter, a social network

Posted via email from Make Good Mondays

Going paperless

(Illustration: Free Images)

Relying on having access to only digital archival information necessitates adopting a very different mindset for me.  I have been used to having the information I need stored in my file cabinets.  Yes, I have more than one, even though I am retired.  Or it is in a set of office sorting trays, or a cardboard file box, or even in a stack. There are several advantages for me to go digital. Plagued by procrastination, I seem to be much more motivated to keep my digital files cleaned out and organized so that my computer runs faster.  I also love the magic of the "search" box.  I prefer typing and editing on a computer keyboard (using ScribeFire in the Firefox browser), to composing on paper.  I do not know how I got along before I discovered cloud computing on Evernote.  My computer is even preferable for simple notes and scribbles, signified by my reliance on a nifty little application called Note Mania.  Therefore, the trick for me has been to have fun and useful tools - applications - that work better for me than the old way of writing.  But writing is not the only thing associated with retaining information.  Reading is equally important.

Giving up the local newspaper means we will not have the paper delivered to our front porch every morning.  We will not read today's headlines, articles of local interest, wedding announcements, or obituaries.  The files I am going through these days include lots of old newspaper clippings  associated with my history.  And I cannot throw some of them away.  They had value then and they have value now. How could we discard the obituaries of our forebearers?  The reason is emotional attachment, which is the core driver of hoarding, by the way.  As with preferring hardback books to reading lengthy pieces online, I still prefer reading the paper form of our local news organ.  But we cannot afford it any more.  So I get all my news from television or online like everyone else.  And I will have to figure out something else to use for mailing packing material, for protecting the floor when we paint the walls, for training the puppy or for lining the birdcage.  There are definitely some ways we cannot go paperless.  More importantly, I am fully aware that news organization reporters (predominantly print journalism) are responsible for gathering and publishing the original news items to which we bloggers so casually link.

Trashing old paper files signifies literally not being able to get your hands on a piece of information you thought important enough to save at some time in the past.  My question is always, "What if I need (or want) this in the future. I am a keeper of information, not someone who would qualify as a hoarder, though some might disagree.  And I love to read from original materials.  It is that emotional attachment thing again.  What can compare, for example, to the original halting letters and spacing of my granddaughter's first grade penmanship blue book?  She is now well into her 20's and long past blue books.  What could be more precious than a mushy yellowed 1955 telegram from my boyfriend, now my husband of 54 years?  You can begin to see my problem.  But I am making progress.  I now know that I neither need nor want 1986 United Way training handouts on how to be a manager.  I have no regrets at being retired from that kind of activity.  And those old handouts would not tell me how to manage our Corgi dog who wants to run the household.  They are now dog-eared and faded copies that should go into the recycling bin.  Recycling, by the way, has helped me more easily make trash.  Stuff is not "wasted," another of my mental barriers to going paperless.

Forgoing extra copies implies the risk of losing the original document. The rule is that if the documentation is easily available elsewhere, do not keep the original or even a copy. I must remind myself that not every piece of paper is a valuable document.  Throwing the extras away gains valuable storage space for those essential originals the IRS wants us to keep for a time, or those identity documents that mark for your heirs your passage through this life. Yes, I am at the legacy stage of life, age 73.  I have provided my fair share of original recipes for those family or local club cookbooks.  My old scribbled pencil copy can go away.  The cookbooks are now all digitized, even if they show up in spiral notebook or paperback form.  I can always order another one, such as the Junior League club cookbooks that I collected as travel souvenirs for many years.

Getting off mailing lists indicates that I could miss out on potentially important information from outside sources.  It also means accumulating less paper to throw away.  Remember the advent of the lists offering to help remove your name from junk mail lists bought and sold for the purpose.  I did that but the effort must be maintained.  Rarely is it now that merchandise is not available online.  I do still enjoy beautiful slick catalogs.  However, they are rarely free. The thrill associated with the arrival of the Sears or "Monkey Ward" catalog goes back to living in the country in Wyoming as a child and looking forward to the free Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog coming in the mail in November. These days the mailing lists from which I remove myself are those unending press releases that all proliffic bloggers receive.  Even when I am trying to live paperless, I still get junk Email I must handle/delete.  Spam filters do not work when mailers acquire your name legitimately.

Posted via email from Make Good Mondays

Regarding a journal.

For as long as I could read or write I have been keeping a journal.  When I was a young child I called it writing to "Dear Diary." Now I use the computer or a beautifully decorative small book with plain paper pages.  In all cases I pay attention to giving it good quality for when I reread it.  My words matter and I should honor myself by making the writing the best I can. 

What constitutes "quality" in a hand written journal?  In my opinion, one could look at the journal, the object itself.  It should have a pleasing decorative cover and good quality paper.  It should be dated at the very front with what period is covered.  Each individual entry should be dated, and often I note the time of the day, also.  I use a pen rather than a pencil, as not erasing discourages too much self-editing.

My computer journal is also beautiful.  I carefully designed a private blog hosted by Blogger.  In honor of my quilter-mom, the background is a beautifully pieced quilt.  I use tags and, often, images as illustrations.  And I have a little piece of html "boilerplate" for each post that has helped my journal writing a great deal: 

• My feeling is --
• Biggest thing of the day --
• Contacts --
• Gratitudes --

Beginning with writing honestly about feelings is one reason that regular writing in my journal is so very therapeutic.  Noting the biggest thing of the day is a way of looking at my priorities.  Contacts-- helps me keep track of the most meaningful communications I had with other people.  Noting that for which I am grateful helps me keep my feet on the ground and my spirit uplifted. 

If you never reread your journal entries you will miss out on several unexpected psychological benefits.  You will not be able to gain the perspective that, "My, I have come a long ways since then."  You would not be able to give yourself credit for honesty, or perseverance or courage.  Nor would you be able to say to yourself with a grin, "Now, that was dumb," and forgive yourself.  This is what I mean about the therapeutic benefit of keeping journals.

I began keeping a journal when I was ten.  My first diary was given to me for Christmas, according to its front inscription, by my younger brother, N. I was 10 years old and in the fourth grade, he was almost 7, our sister D. was 5½, and our baby sister G. was just under two months.  The first two entries follow [brackets enclose my adult explanations to you the reader]:

1 - On Jan. 1, 1947:

[The first entry talks about what “us kids” played that New Year’s day]. N. and I "played house," I cleaned out N’s closet, and “found 3 old dresses, and I gave one of them to D., “and G. was our girl” [child].

2 – [My next diary entry reports that] “we went for a walk up in the rocks. Mama and G. went too. Mama and I went over to [her dear friend] J’s to see how she was.  

My first messages to "Dear Diary," clearly qualify as actual journal entries in that small black book from the Dime Store.  As I reread what I wrote in pencil in careful longhand, I now know that "playing house" was the biggest thing of the first day about which I wrote.  Going all together for a walk to a special place,  and going visiting were the biggest events noted in the second entry.  I also recorded my contacts on both days -- my siblings, and my mom and her dearest friend.  Back then I had not yet learned to regularly record my feelings or voice gratitudes.  But I still remember the warm feelings that going together for a walk in the country engendered in me.

Connecting times long ago with those of the present is one of the benefits of long term journal writing.  We begin to understand patterns and intuit continuity as the years are recorded.  I remember well, for example, the pleasure in a visit my sister and I made in recent years to another of my mother's oldest and dearest friends.  I learned how to be a friend from watching my mother do it so well, and for that I now have gratitude.  And I am grateful for my free weekend cell phone minutes that allowed my to have a lovely long distance visit with my dear brother, N.

In conclusion, you must know by now that I have high regard for the practice of journaling.  Whether you intend for anyone ever to read yours or not, it is never to late to start by saying on paper,
Dear Diary:


Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.
Technorati tags: journal writing

Killer Apps - Pros and Cons

People who have computers and spend time surfing the web develop a favorite set of applications to which we happily turn.  Today's post is about some of my old favorites among "killer apps," applications that run well, effectively do what we need to do, are beautifully designed and that are user friendly.  For me it also means they are all free. . . as well as mostly "bug free."  If you subscribe to the C Net newsletter, I have found that whatever apps they recommend are safe to download.

Browser - Mozilla Firefox***** features a stable and robust platform, with tons of add-ons for easy customization. I have added a bookmarks toolbar, as well as the other standards.

Email - My ATT.NET**** is powered by Yahoo! I have separate addresses for: 1) friends and family,  2) general web contacts,   and 3) social network contacts.   I also use Gmail** for regular newsletters and saved articles.

Pictures on the web - Yahoo! hosts my Flickr pics**** my web albums are hosted by Google's Picasa***.

Search - Google***** just cannot be beaten.  A healthy percentage of my readers find my blog posts as a result of Google searches.

Social Media -  FaceBook**** connects me to personal friends and family, as well as web friends.  HootSuite**** organizes the lists of people and sources I follow on Twitter***** for quick and easy news headline gathering, status updates,  or well-written views.  Any included links will get me to the full story. 


Group blogs - RedGage*** pays money for all kinds of content from contributors, , but it can be a bit "clunky" at times.  The blog TPM Cafe***** attracts some of the brightest and most interesting thinkers on the web to its fascinating posts and comment threads.

Blogging hosts -  Blogger**** is my primary blogging "home" where I post regularly to South by Southwest (political), and Making Good Mondays (personal/creative).  Posterous***** and Amplify*** are quicker and easier to use, and they "broadcast" to any of my other sites I wish to specify#.

Aggregator - Bloglines**** is my favorite gatherer of feeds from a wide variety of websites.  I sort them into categories for reading or saving.  It is also very quick and easy to mail articles to my Gmail address for use in blogs, or just to read later.  I have used it for many years, and am thus habituated to it.

Organizers - Digsby**** loads when I first boot up, having collected all my IMs and unread Emails for scanning, reading, deleting, etc.  Evernote***** is a wonderful and powerful host site for my notebook collections of info to keep from my hard drive, archived blogposts, my daily journal, to-do lists, etc.  And Note Mania** is a great little organizer and sticky-note app that I just recently discovered.  Be careful of the RSS feed tool, however, as it might just shower you with little link notes.

Utilities -WinUtilities**** is an excellent maintenance tool for my computer, though its defragmenter is pretty slow.

DSL Modem - ATandT  Motorola**** is reasonably priced, easily installed, and with good support service.




#My Other Blogs: My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: technology internet blogging

Little Gems From Some Of My Favorite Tweeters

Many of us love Twitter.  We have all those we follow and we have our favorites, too.  I've collected some to share:
Jane Hamsher - Exxon generates $10.3 billion in pretax income, owes no taxes & gets tax benefit of $1.1 billion http://bit.ly/afzGsW, posted on 4/6/10.

John Dickerson - When a method for passing legislation sounds like the funds transfer process outlined in an email by a Nigerian banker, that's tricky, posted on 3/16/10.  Also, Palin referred to a list on her palm during an interview. Big deal. Helps explain why she said "The country needs butter, eggs, milk & o.j.," posted on 2/8/10.

Chris Hayes - Operating on the theory that if I ingest enough calories it will stop snowing. We'll see!, posted on 2/10/10. Also, I've been remiss in updating my archives, but thanks to @northlauren, everything I've written can now be found here: http://bit.ly/7k2xa8, posted on 1/21/10.

Catherine Fintor - A computer is almost human - except that it does not blame its mistakes on another computer, posted on 1/19/10.

Ezra Klein - I've routinely found that the worst analytical mistake you can make in DC is assuming people have some sort of plan. http://bit.ly/7jrQKY, posted on 1/12/10.

Richard Engle - "on embed.. in remote frontline afghanistan.. few roads.. but internet seems to work.. very odd feeling," posted on 2/2/10.  Also, "un-stuck off base.. its good.. funny.. was on the road yesterday dexter describes in nytimes today..," posted on 2/8/10.


Check out Twitter for yourself here.


Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Major legislative threat to civil liberties filed with Senate Juciciary Committee.

What's in a name? Changing what the government calls its enemies is not a fix for this proposed major over reach of presidential authority. The bill in question could potentially violate the constitutionally protected habeas corpus rights of U.S. citizens. Designating a person suspected of a terrorist act as an "unprivileged enemy belligerent," rather than an enemy combatant makes no difference to the person who might be erroneously and indefinitely held without cause. Glenn Greenwald is correct to be alarmed. We really need to keep our eyes on this situation. We absolutely cannot trust that the bill will not go anywhere because it is so outrageous. http://amplify.com/u/3fd8

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Wonderfully Personal Tweets from Faves

chrislhayes Uncostumed as usual. I feel little less guilty about never having a costume with each passing year. #gettingold (10/31/09).

"About to dig into Cheney stuff. Bad flashback," is from Matt Cooper (10/30/09).

jdickerson Under son's pillow: "Dear miss tooth fairy. I woud like a dog or a bunny becuse my frend got a turtle. Don't give me money give me a bunny" (10/29/09).

johndickerson On CBS Evening News tonight wearing my John Dickerson costume talking about Iraq bombing (10/25/09).

libbyspencer I keep my follow list small b/c I'm so OCD I read my entire stream every day-incl the links (10/25/09).

Hegemommy: (1)"OH FUN! One of my students is convinced the Obama election = end of days! And she's writing on it!" (2)"Okay, I am totally partnering up the rapture student with the student writing about getting Wiccan symbols on headstones for soldiers."

SCClemons Leaving Amman for Damascus to interview Khaled Mashal. Half the meeting is on the record and half is off. Going alone and a bit nervous (10/16/09).

libbyspencer For the record I think it would be great to #BeatCancer and big props to all the ppl out there who are battling it (10/16/09).

jeffjarvis This story is careening toward tragedy with the whole world watching. I am turning off the TV. It's unseemly. [regards "balloon boy"] (10/15/09).

"markknoller Notice Macy's has full-page ads in both the NY Times and Wash Post today of Cindy Crawford in her underwear. God bless the 1st Amendment. (10/14/09)

jdickerson Is there more or less kindness in the world than there appears to be? (10/7/09).

chrislhayes had an email forwarded to me just *shredding* the points I made in that video. Should be able to shrug it off, but can't quite. (10/6/09).

jdickerson Son wants a dog. He's up reading a dog care book learning to care for one. I'd make a bad president. If Iran did that I'd let 'em have nukes (10/6/09).

AlexGoodall RT @PierrePaperon: Goethe: A useless life is an early death. (10/5/09).

libbyspencer It's important to remember that every day about 295 million Americans get up and fail to tune in to Rush Limbaugh. ~Garry Trudeau (10/4/09).

"jdickerson I know the people at Seventh Generation want me to start a compost pile but making kitchen garbage bags that decompose on use is sneaky," (10/4/09).

pourmecoffee COOL: The oldest living things in the world (Photo Gallery, Map): http://bit.ly/JUJGh (10/4/09).

libbyspencer RT @WillendorfVenus Thinking abt callus on right middle finger. Used 2 B lot larger. Almost never write w/pen now.||Was thinking abt that 2 (10/3/09).

chrislhayes If I didn't have 600 pps of Ralph Nader's new book to get through, today would be a perfect Saturday. (10/3/09).

TheFix Henry the penguin on "Oswald" reminds me a lot of myself. Neurotic, hypochondriac, news addict (by Chris Cillizza, 9/30/09).

jdickerson "Shouldn't we be able to spell insouciant any way we please?," (9/30/09).

jdickerson These paragraphs seem to shoot from my fingers as if propelled by a benevolent and magic force. By noon I will delete them. (9/30/09).

SCClemons Is at the United Nations watching the sun rise over the East River. Excited to see Obama Security Council session this morning. (9/24/09).

chrislhayes Sometimes I think it'd be more transparent to just give major banks permnt seats on the relevant legislative committees: http://is.gd/3BAks. (9/23/09).

libbyspencer If only we had carried more commie/fascist signs + screamed abt crazy conspiracies, MSM would've *respected* us anti-war protesters too. (9/14/09).

chrislhayes Remember how in the days after 9/11 the whole country was united in wanting less government? Yeah, neither do I. (9/12/09).

libbyspencer RT @HoneyBearKelly RT @UtneReader: How Sept11 should be remembered http://bit.ly/10YM8g ||Great piece could only have been written by a NYer (9/11/09).

ChuckGrassley"Great Buy Danish Aebleskiver Dinner tonite at Fredsville Luthern at Dike. 5$ I went." (3/1/09).

They admired it so much . . .

What draws us to those who write or post online? What is it about the things we read that make us want to read words again from that writer?

So terrific they were re-tweeted -- A RT [re-tweet] is a compliment to the original author. The examples from Twitter that follow illustrate what it may have been about the original poster's words that merited posting it again, so others could also share it.

**********

Experiences with which we identify: Haven't we all done something dumb like this, regret it and vow not to repeat the mistake. Ron is willing to forgive himself, however, as the last sentence makes clear.

"RT @Ron: Note to self: Never become a professional rock landscaper. Muscles threatening divorce. Buy chocolates & apology card. | !!!," is from Alex Goodall (10/16/09).

**********

Ironic lament: Karen Tumulty has posted in the past about the threatened demise of newspapers. She picks up on the clever words of Wee Laura and The Onion, filled with irony that shows her concern.

"RT @WeeLaura RT @TheOnion Report: Majority Of Newspapers Now Purchased By Kidnappers To Prove Date http://ow.ly/15UTcC," is from Karen Tumulty (10/14/09).

**********

Inspiring wisdom does not grow old: British professor of history, Alex Goodall often does RTs of Pierre Paperon's work. These quotes are profound and timeless.

"RT @PierrePaperon: Anais Nin: 'Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.' + 'People living deeply have no fear of death.'," is from Alex Goodall (10/4/09).

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Maybe the best writing on the subject: The New Yorker article by Lizza is an excellent essay on the story of Summers and his rise to prominence in the current administration. It is also a wonderful history/analysis of what happened during the economic crisis.

"DC's buzzing about the article by the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza on Larry Summers and the Obama economic experience.http://j.mp/2RA4WR," is from Marc Ambinder (10/4/09).

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Wonderfully snarky smackdowns: This double RT is worth reposting. Another reason for its excellence is the juxtaposition of two current hot button topics.

"RT @chrislhayes: RT @Atrios early stages of potential flu epidemic prbly excllnt time to make sre illegal immigrants dn't hve #healthcare," is from The Nation Magazine (9/10/09).

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A clever editorial with focus on injustice: Yglesias is a writer who often posts similarly effective ideas. Evidently he wants to credit his peers for this piece of wonderfully pungent humor.

"RT @glenngreenwald: RT @markosm Michael Vick should have tortured people instead of dogs so Americans could forgive him and look forward," is from Matt Yglesias (8/19/09).

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Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: news writing blogging twitter

ProPublica: Two-Years-Old—and More Than 100 Stories Partnered - ProPublica

Two years ago today, the formation of ProPublica was announced [1] in The New York Times. Since then, we’ve published more than 100 partnered investigations, posted hundreds of pieces on our Web site and created tools for other journalists to use (such as ChangeTracker [2], our Bailout Guide [3], and Recovery Tracker [4]).

On this occasion of our “birthday,” we would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the newspaper, TV, radio and online outlets that have helped us in our mission to hold those in power accountable for their actions. We literally couldn’t have done it without them.

And while we’re celebrating our second year of life, we would also like to remind everyone that our stories can be used for free under the terms of our Creative Commons [5] license. All we ask for is proper credit, a link back to us, no edits and no selling it on your own.

via propublica.org

Happy Birthday to ProPublica. This great idea has been a special resource for my blogging since its inception. I especially like their spirit of helpfulness to ordinary citizens and their fiercely nonpartisan investigative journalists. Kudos and many more good years to come!

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Nobel Committee recognizes President Obama -- Peace Prize

(Image by Wordle.net)

Reference: The Nobel Committee announced that President Barack Obama is their selection for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. To quote in full:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”

Oslo, October 9, 2009

Posted via email from Southwest Postings

Mount Rushmore - I did not know you well.

I never got to see Mount Rushmore. But I know I would have loved it. In place of a visit, today I'll do a little post.

According to Wikipedia:

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941), located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).^[1] The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km²)^[2] and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.^[3] It is managed by the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial attracts approximately two million people annually.^[4]

Leadership is not always recognized during the person's lifetime. The leaders depicted at Mount Rushmore achieved their popularity only after the lessons of history were learned and their achievements came into more realistic perspective.

Related articles by Zemanta

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CBO Says Finance Health Reform Bill Will Save $81 Billion in a Decade « The Washington Independent

The Senate Finance Committee’s health reform bill will save the federal government $81 billion over the next 10 years, according to the much-anticipated Congressional Budget Office estimate released this afternoon. CBO found that subsidizing the coverage expansion will cost $518 billion over a decade, partly offset by taxing high-cost insurance plans ($201 billion), trimming Medicare rates “for most services” ($162 billion), and cutting subsidies to the private insurance companies that cover Medicare patients ($117 billion).

via washingtonindependent.com

Good news for several reasons: gives cover to moderate Dems who can now vote yes; gives others some funds to add to the bill where needed, cuts Medicare subsidies to insurance companies. However, it only reduces the uninsured by some 29 million people. But that is a huge start. Now on to the committee vote.

Posted via web from Southwest Postings

Geek or no?

"Killer Apps" available on my computer seem to be multiplying exponentially. Is my use of the phrase "killer apps" now outdated? If so what is the correct new one? When I find an application that seems safe and interesting I will sometimes download it, only to remove it shortly thereafter. Does this disqualify my "geekdom?"

Here are a few applications that have proven to be keepers. Posterous is a web hosting site that is unusually fascinating. People simply post via Emails. And a great feature is their distribution service to my other websites and my social networking sites. Their Posterous Bookmarklet is a dynamite tool, an amazingly quick and fun way to post on single subjects. TweetDeck is one way to keep up with Twitter and Facebook. It is powerful, freestanding and easy to use. Digsby is a way to keep up with Twitter, FaceBook and several Email accounts, all at the same time. It takes a lot of memory and can get clunky pretty easily, ho. But it is a fantastic way to keep up with tweets. It also will handle Instant Messaging, which I do not do. Does that disqualify me as a real geek?

My time on the computer also seems to be increasing. I have been spending a lot of time deleting unnecessary stuff from my hard drive and on my websites. It makes me crazy when my computer hangs up or gets what I call clunky. I am writing and posting at more locations . . . more but not necessarily more effectively, I fear. And I am feeling more tired. All this surely qualifies as a geek thing.

References: Mozilla Firefox is my standard browser, though Google Chrome is much faster and simpler. I use Google and Yahoo! for Email. I maintain blogs at Blogger and Word Press. Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites. I earn money by posting at RedGage. I use AVG AntiVirus Free 8.5 and Malwarebytes AntiMalware, also free. LastPass is an online password manager and form filler that saves me a lot of time and provides more security.

Technorati tags: computer internet blogging applications

Landscapes I love, a reprise

Myth is the public dream, and dream is the private myth. - Joseph Campbell

(Original date of this post - 3/10/06)

The Landscape Upon Which I Play

How blessed I am to have seen some of the earth's most beautiful places.

• The Tetons in Wyoming-Majestic mountains rising out of a rather flat grassy landscape. Newer than most ranges, they are the climbers' goal.
  
• The Grand Canyon in Arizona-Awesome chasm, myriad colors, almost unbelievable before your eyes. Carved by the Rio Grande way below.
  
• Northern California's seacoast-The blue Pacific plays against the rocky cliffs. Painters try to capture it. But you must see it to believe it.
  
• New England in the fall-Leaf colors so bright they make your eyes smile. Celebrate the end of the growing season with rustling sounds.
  
• Cozumel in Mexico-Ancient ones built a holy place by the quiet Caribbean. Stone upon stone, with paths worn down by peasant feet.
  
• The Capitol in Washington D.C.-Honor to our founders. Center for governance. Familiar architecture forms the People's Place to Meet.

Travel tourists Placeblog

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Visual musings: a fresh start

One of the categories into which I sort the Making Good Mondays posts is called Visual Musings. Only 7 posts made it there in 2009. I have gotten away from that format, and my creative writing has suffered as a result. Today's post is an experiment in going back to my old format:

1. Pick a picture to which you have an emotional connection or reaction
2. Figure out what that is about in your mind.
3. Write down those thoughts, either directly or obliquely as a post.
4. Edit the post so that head and heart match, making authenticity your goal.

For today my visual musing is about this image:

Point Lobos, south of San Francisco, California.
I started as a landlubber, born and raised on the sagebrush western prairies, with mountains at my horizon. The water-ific abundance of the Pacific ocean could not be more different than scarce-water Wyoming. However, some things are the same.
The blue Pacific mimics the brilliant blue of Wyoming skies. Also there are mountains at the horizon in this image. The rocky coast is very akin to the Rocky Mountains, my original horizon markers.
It is also about the rocks. I grew up with a rocky outcrop not far from our place in the country. Though we had to watch out for rattle snakes, many of my fondest memories are about going to play "at the rocks." They represented a castle, a fortress, a house, an adventure. And today I take pictures of rocks, collect rocks - both tumbled and rough, and decorate my landscape with rocks. Here is a 2007 picture taken in Wyoming. It is called "Granite Fragments."

It is a picture that gathered several comments when I posted it on Red Gage. In fact shared photographs play a big part in the fun of social networking on the Internet. I have collections on Flikr, FaceBook, Picassa and several slide shows on most of my web pages.
Keeping these sites maintained takes a bit of work, but the results are worth the effort. It is a great way to share photos with the public and with friends and family. . .
. . . and to go back and enjoy them yourself.

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites. See "Behind the Links." for further info.
Technorati tags: internet images creativity