Zephyranthes rosea ready to bloom in the morning.
Debbie has asked Cheryl and I to take over the maintenance of the Bread Crusts blog. I said ok. Hello Cheryl are you in for this too? We do not want to slow Debbie from helping change the course of politics in North Carolina and eventually the nation. Whatever I can do to help. Marilynn and her grandaughter Karen no longer seem to be with us. Hopefully Marilynn will return one day.
Currently I am only allowed to post new threads. I would like access to the control panel then I can make other changes if needed or wanted. If anyone has a wish or suggestion for change feel free to say so. Many may be dependent on the control panel. My first thought was adding links on the side bar to some of the progressive and news sites for our convenience.
31 comments:
Yes, I'd like to have some links in the side bar, and lots of pictures...
Christopher,
How can we find the blogs referred to in the August 27th Washington Post Article, where the Israeli citizens and the Lebanese citizens were commenting on each other's blogs to keep each other updated during the war? I'm wondering if English is the main "bridge" language between those two countries... I hope so, because I'd like to be able to see into their worlds.
I came upon it by way of Garden Rant.
This is the article I'm referring to:
Blogging Under the Radar
Well I just Googled the title of the first blog and there it was. Beruit Spring
I must have missed it at GardenRant. You are getting very good at this computer linking stuff.
Thanks for taking this on Christopher (and Cheryl?). I love the idea of having sidebar links. I hope you're able to gain access to the control panel to make that happen.
I ended up finding one of the Israeli blogs last night shortly after I published that comment, but I decided to put it in the blue thread, since that's where we were discussing the Middle East.
The way I ended up at that article through Garden Rant, was by clicking on the AmericaBlog link in the Pioneers in Gardenblogging post (another interesting comment from you;) BTW), and there was the Washington Post link to that article in the Blogging -- and Communicating -- Through War post.
I wonder if linking to Arab blogs qualifies us for being spied upon by the Bush White House... If you get the dashboard control Christopher, are you going to put in Technorati and a site meter?
I believe that Christopher now has access to the control panel. I haven't heard back from Cheryl.
I suggest that we see what everybody wants before changing the blog...this is such an awesome group that I don't want that to change.
I agree with Debbie. This is our blog not mine. I don't want to mess it up by getting all fancy.
Would everyone else be okay with having Technorati and a site meter here? Christopher, isn't one of the purposes of having Technorati to see who's viewing your site?
Sounds like some good suggestions to me. I'll be glad to help.
I've been reading some of the comments left at some of the Middle Eastern blogs. It looks like the "little guys" in those countries are just as fed up with their governments, as we are with ours.
They sound just like us.
So it looks like the same thing is needed everywhere: The masses need to have more say in matters that affect us.
It seems the whole Blogger system has been having a mini break down today. It started it seems with the comment problems I noticed a couple of days ago. I have only now gotten this page to come up.
Technorati is a listing of blogs by subject matter and a search engine for content on blogs. It would be a way to get some exposure and maybe some new people to join.
Sitemeter is a statistics and tracking device and many people object to it so I would not like that on this blog. I closed my own meter today to public viewing. Ellen wrote a bit on it at another blog she does in English for a French language paper. HatsOff
Any suggestions for links in the sidebar?
Glad to hear you will help Cheryl. Get Deb to plug you in.
If you open the site to the general public, I'd put in some of the monitoring utilities so that we don't get spammed to death and so that the truly disruptive can be banned. So far, we've been respectful an attitude the hoi palloi may not understand. Although it's a bother, I wouldn't mind your using the authentication routine that's offered - it eliminates automated postings.
I also had some posting problems yesterday. I'd write something, hit post, the screen got a black box for an instant then my post dissappeared. I just figured it was the ghost of the nun I had in elem. sch. who'd rap my knuckles with her ruler for my grammer mistakes...figured she still didn't like my writing. Maybe she's picked on Christopher by mistake.
I like the ideas that have been suggested for the blog. I think we'll all have some ideas for some links for the side bar.
Now if I can slip this by that nun...
Dan,
You went to Catholic school too? If I had first met you in person, I'm sure I would have known right away. How many years did you go there before escaping to freedom of thought? I attended our town's Irish Catholic school from first to eighth grade. Our parents let us choose our high schools for ourselves, so I chose to go to our public high school.
You brought back memories of my third grade nun... She wore the old-fashioned floor length habit with the long, black rosary beads (I'd like to wear one of those habits for Halloween, but that's probably sacrilege). Instead of a ruler, she'd walk around the classroom with her trusty pointer -- you know, one of those sticks that lecturers use to point to stuff on the blackboard... She must have been close to a hundred years old, but she was quick, so it didn't take long for us little seven- and eight-year-olds to learn not to be the next one caught staring out the window daydreaming...
It seems like our experiences with Catholic school in the Northern regions were a lot different from those of the kids who attended parochial schools in the South. Perhaps it's because the Catholic church was more firmly entrenched in the North in the 50's, 60's, and 70's -- and so people here never questioned their authority...
Getting back on topic...
Christopher,
For the links list, do you think we should include the good political blogs? Or do you think that would open us up to intrusion by some of the internet trolls?
This is a little bizarre on some levels. If you had asked me three years ago next month when I got my first computer ever if I would be a webmaster one day, I would have laughed and said “What are you talking about?” Granted this is kindergarten in the tech world but it is new to me.
When Deb asked if I would take over I said sure because there really isn’t much to it or much needed. I would actually like to keep it that way. I have no desire to monitor people and comments.
At the most when new threads are needed they can be posted. Last time I think they were so long the scrolling was bothering folks. I had already figured out to click on links to this post instead of #comments which opens the page at the bottom and then you can scroll up for the couple of new posts instead of scrolling down the long way.
At the moment this blog is %100 open. It is just so far under the radar that no spam (Blogger has been working on eliminating it) or trolls have found us. I did not use the word verification on my blog until the ever evolving and mutating new spam found me and just deleted the few I got until it got more frequent and bothersome.
A lot have us have learned how to do links here and by now there must be a couple hundred on this blog. Obviously outgoing links don’t bring in more readers and links in the side bar will just be more of the same. Incoming links are needed to get more folks in here. Exposure will draw attention. Ha Ha.
There are many ways of creating exposure. Technorati and all the other new blog services are one way, but you are still a needle in a hay stack at those places too. What has drawn the most attention to my blog is me going out there and leaving comments in other places. People can click on my profile and go to my blog and some, mostly in the gardening world, have liked it enough to put a link to me on their blog.
My profile now lists BreadCrusts as one of my blogs because I am an administrator. Now more exposure is guaranteed since I wander around a bit and drops pearls here and there. Even though I have had a link to BreadCrusts on my blog for a long time now without any newcomers, this is just a bit more exposure.
The real question is: Do you guys want that exposure and some new people to come in? The word verification can be turned on anytime if it becomes necessary.
Links in the sidebar were mostly for our own convenience.
I can also give more thought to new threads that are more organized than colored, but I recall when the long list of topics was thought to be too long. I like what Cheryl has been doing at her blog with threads. Since this is more of an ongoing conversation than an organizational effort that style seems more appropriate and more blog like in how they function elsewhere.
There is also the option to do nothing or next to nothing.
And for the record, not for one single moment Richard knowing a sketch of your career and current life would I have labeled you unimaginative. You have a style of presentation and a thought process for forming opinions which has nothing to do with possession or not of the quality of imagination.
Christopher, first I agree with your last paragraph completely. As far as the blog, I don't think we need drastic changes. I like the undefined threads because the discussions seem to flow like conversations do and drift naturally in related directions. When one of us wants to share some unrelated information or ideas, we can usually find a thread where the topic has run its course.
I'd like to some new people at our blog. Slow growth is fine with me.
Cheryl, thanks for helping out. I feel the blog will be in very good hands.
Christin, I attended Catholic schools through high school (also an Irish one, St. Patricks). My parents were pretty devout and it rubbed off on my older brother who became a priest. Many of the Catholic teachings didn't make sense to me so I just drifted away.
In elem. sch. I was afraid of the nuns who all seemed to be 6'5", have a scowl on their face and carry pointers the size of baseball bats. In Canada (3rd & 4th grade) they did carry and use leather straps for corporal punishment. The cracking sound from the hallway and the teary-eyed victim re-entering the classroom made a huge impression on me. Of coarse, as I remember, student behavior was not much of a problem.
Is there anyone in this blog that didn't go to Catholic schools? They are most definitely entrenched into New Orleans society, but my experience was different. The Church was fairly progressive in the 60s. Our school was more progressive than most in the area. We were taught to emphasize the spirit of the law, rather than the letter. The nuns were some of the most generous people I have ever known. Not grim in the least. Our parish priest on the other hand was greedy and mean spirited. He's dead now and I still don't have anything good to say about him.
I like the general conversation flow of the colors. It's nice to start a new one when the comments go over 200. My dial up takes a while to load the big ones. If we get tired of colors, we can go with some other group of four, compass directions, four horsemen, etc.
If someone new wanders in, let's see how it goes. Hopefully, they will contribute to the conversation. If not, I'm sure we can do something about it.
The technical problems at blogger seem to have inspired a lot of writing today.
They did something clever at this web site. Every time you leave then return a new quote appears.
Dan,
Going by the spelling of the name of your grammar school, I can see that it wasn't located in a French province. What part of Canada are you from?
Cheryl,
Even at the school I attended, not all the nuns were like that. My first grade nun was my favorite. She was always happy and made learning fun for us. It seemed that the old regime was phasing out during the years I was attending. For the most part, the younger nuns were pretty cool, but the older ones apparently had been trained to instill fear to maintain control. Most of our parish priests were pretty good-natured and, as far as I know, none of them were named as pedophiles. Although, one of them did seem to be preoccupied with how much money people were donating to the church each week. He would even raise the issue during his sermons.
Yeah, they preached to Catholics to be fruitful and multiply. They wanted us to give birth to lots and lots of future donors...
I'll never get tired of having colors for the threads, but I'd like to try some new colors -- like maybe white, gray, black, and brown.
Just kidding -- but I do happen to like those colors.
How about Earth, Wind, Fire and Ice?
Are you ready for new threads?
Maybe one should be The Mysterious or Metaphysics.
Christin, I attended school in Belle River Ont. Canada only until 4th grade (maybe 70 miles from the Detroit area). I don't recall the name of the school there. St. Patricks was the name of the high school I attended in Wyandotte, Mi.
The size and temperment of the nuns is probably mostly a distortion based on my unwarrented fear of them. I sure they didn't really bite the heads off of live lizzards.
Christopher and Cheryl,
In referEnce to bringing in new bloggers and viewpoints. Be open to the fact many already visit this site and just do not post. I for one have referred many in the NASA and university systems to this blog. Although they did not post they have expressed amazement at some of the groups postings and referred their own acquaintances to visit. Anyway, you folks are already famous beyond imagination and Richard you are a favorite...
Christopher's quotes I am certain are now hanging in a few cubicles and labs...what a diverse and talented group. I am honored to have been welcomed in and allowed to express my views while learning a wealth of knowledge.
Thanx again, J.G.
Yes Christopher -- one for Metaphysics is an excellent idea.
Also, that list of the four elements is almost exactly what is used in astrology, where they are represented with Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. In the Tarot -- Pentacles, Wands, Swords, and Cups correspond to those elements.
I do like the idea of having some undefined threads too, because I enjoy the free thoughtforms our conversations take.
What about having a small select group of specific topics in addition to a set of open threads?
Note to JG's friends and daughters: Please sign up and join in!
Judy, I don't want to assume you were raised with an organized religion -- or that you weren't. Did you belong to a church when you were growing up, or were you agnostic? Or was there some other spiritual practice you followed?
Judy,
You reminded my of something a nun told us in 8th grade. It was pretty open-minded for a Catholic school religion teacher.
We were asking about other religions and she told us that all religions have some partion of The Truth that the others don't. No one is capable of understanding the whole Truth. Of course she had to end it with stating that the Catholic Church has the biggest part of the Truth.
For a time, I was engaged to a schoolmate who eventually became a Catholic. Long before that, she had friends in a couple of the orders that have facilities in Los Angeles. As a non-Catholic somewhat in awe of the stern stereotype that both Monks and Nuns present, and in thrall of my fiance, you'll understand my discomfiture when I encountered these two situations.
1) There used to be a restuarant on the beach in the northern LA basin. Even if you never saw it in person, you will be familiar with it. It had a private bridge that crossed old Highway One. During Prohibition, it was notorious for its fine cellar. When it came on the market in the early sixties, the Paulists bought it, not for the building or the bridge, but for its still well stocked cellar. Pat was friends with a priest in the order and so I was invited to go with her to a party. Well! The wine flowed, and the grass was fragrant. The conversation was wonderful, but then so was the non-conversation. It was the first time I encountered nuns and priests with their hair down. I had a wonderful time once I figured out that it wasn't a test.
2) Pat also had a dear friend who was a nun and who taught in the art department of her order's college. Pat, enthusiastic about my meeting her friend the artist (I was a pretty good sculptor and potter), dragged me up the hill. I blundered into a life drawing class and had to shake hands with the sister litteraly over the reclining, naked, body of the largest woman I'd ever seen. As a guy just barely at 20, I had no idea how to react. Whether I disgraced any of us, I have no memory.
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