Could I just point your attention towards…
on Dec 08 in Uncategorized by DanJust as humans evolved from apes, blogging evolved from lists of links. And while it’s nice to have speech, art, and tools at our disposal; sometimes it’d be fun to shed all our clothes and swing about in the trees for a while.
There’s been something missing from my feed reader for quite a while now (since July of this year in fact). And that something is NYC Watchdog’s Sunday Smorgashboard. While there’s no way on earth I’d want to take up such a mighty mantle, I do think that there is value in pointing out things that you’ve enjoyed from within the blogosphere once in a while. People don’t link to each other enough any more in my opinion.
First up is Heather from Notes From Lapland who has made my blog reading about 300% less frustrating with her post 5 tips to make blog reading, commenting, subscribing faster and easier. Primarily by pointing out how to deal with reading truncated blog feeds while remaining within Google Reader:
Read and comment on blogs without leaving Google Reader – comment shows up on blog.With the FireFox extension Better G-Reader this is now possible.
- Add Better G-Reader FireFox add-on.
- Re-start FireFox
- The add-on pop up box will appear when you re-start. Click on the Better G-Reader add-on and click options.
- Under the general tab click on the ‘preview item (click button or headline)’ box, click OK and exit (the ‘preview item automatically’ option doesn’t work for me)
- Open Google Reader and click either on the little blue arrow next to post title or on the ‘preview’ button at the bottom of the post.
- The blog will now open inside google reader. You can read and comment as if you were on the actual blog and your comments will show up on the blog as if you were too!
Read the full post here
This is especially exciting to me as my new blog project (Lee and Dan’s Midnight Movie Club, opening this Wednesday) is going to have to have a truncated feed due to the unique way it’s formatted, and I’ve been feeling very guilty about it.
Andrew Collins (writer, 6 Music DJ, and co-host of my current favourite podcast) wrote a marvellous rant about the campaign to make Rage Against The Machine Christmas number one rather than the X-factor:
Others on Twitter seem to think that Simon Cowell’s “empire” needs “toppling.” Why not Google’s empire? Or Amazon’s empire? Or Microsoft’s empire? Maybe they think those empires need toppling too. I suspect not. Because those empires provide things that people on the left approve of, whereas manufactured pop music – eek! – is for idiots and plebs, who are too stupid to know how bad the music they like is, and the choices they make on iTunes or in HMV are in some way inferior to the choices made by Rage Against The Machine fans. (By the way, the #ratm4xmas campaign seems to have little to do with Rage Against The Machine, and plenty to do with the fact that the song has “fuck” in it, which isn’t magically going to be played on Radio 1 or the Christmas Top Of The Pops anyway.)
Read the full post here
Ian from Single Parent Dad wins my award for vaguest half hearted film review made by someone who can’t be bothered watching the film:
Santa Buddies has been on, but did not really engage us, we had visitors – including girls, aged four and two – and none of them appeared very enamoured for very long. And I was too busy roasting a gammon joint, answering the wishes of the little ones and nattering to our adult company to notice much about it.
Read the full post here
I had to sit through that monstrosity this week Ian. I demand you do likewise
Mrs W from Clinically Fed Up has some very interesting insights into the nature of grief:
When you’re 19 you also think that these things always happen at Christmas. At Christmas there’s always a house fire that wipes out a family, a new born baby found abandoned, a car crash. It’s only with the benefit of years that you realise these things happen all year round. They are, however, highlighted at Christmas, aggravated by their incongruous setting at this happiest of times. When we are so full of goodwill and joy it’s just worse. Which is why my tummy flipped and my heart grew heavy when I read a report on the BBC website on Saturday and I mourned the tragic passing of three strangers in a car accident in the Highlands. A mother and her two sons, here one day and just gone the next. Like that.
Only it turned out they weren’t strangers.
Read the full post here
And finally, my brother Sam, of Rabbit Confused With Raisins fame, has been out walking again, and took some pretty stunning photos too. All the more impressive when you consider he is a complete imbecile.
See the rest of the post here
And that’s all I have time for now, although there have been a multitude of other great posts this week. The “Letter to a 16 year old me” meme that’s been going round has been particularly facinating, although I wouldn’t like to pick out just one for praise.
I’m, not sure if I’ll be doing this kind of thing again, but I better make a sort of standard disclaimer: just because you are not listed here doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy your post or don’t think it’s as good as or better than the ones I have mentioned. it just means that I didn’t list you this time, that’s all.
Related posts:
- Twitter killed the blogging star?
- Blogging about blogging
- A Blog Recomendation
- If you would care to direct your attention elsewhere
- Wed 4th Feb. 1:09am
« « Star Wars: A Small Hope| Hurrah, its Lee and Dan’s Midnight Movie Club! » »
I’m playing with the G-reader thing via Heather as well – keeping up with commenting can sometimes seem overwhelming and it seems a like a big potential help.
.-= Dad Who Writes´s last blog ..The lost book =-.
@Dad Who Writes, it’s for the truncated feeds that I’m finding it most useful for. She’s done a real service by pointing it out.
Another one who’s made use of Heather’s tips here too.
That photo is STUNNING.
*must not think about wanting a new camera must not think about wanting a new camera…*
@Josie @Sleep is for the Weak, if it’s any consolation, that photo was probably a complete freak.
That photo is incredible. It looks like some sort of alien landscape. Wow, I’m sooooo jealous!
.-= notSupermum´s last blog ..The Single Life: The Long and The Short of It =-.
@notSupermum, I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t re posted it actually. I’m not too keen on my brother getting all this positive attention.
FANTASTIC post.
.-= Erin´s last blog ..No, Aunt Bethany, those are Christmas lights =-.
@Erin, is that because I didn’t write most of it?
I think everyone not listed should be highly insulted.
.-= Martin´s last blog ..Horizontal stripes =-.
@Martin, no – just you.
Do you have my written permission to republish that review? I mean, you even have the audacity to reproduce it in its entirety.
.-= SingleParentDad´s last blog ..Don’t have a cow man =-.
@SingleParentDad, I did consider asking you permission, and then I decided you were beneath my contempt.
@Dan, But you considered it? I must be moving up in the world of dredges.
.-= SingleParentDad´s last blog ..Don’t have a cow man =-.
Letter to a 16 year old me? Didn’t we all do that a year ago? Is it coming round again? Must be, I guess, because surly teenage Rol OBVIOUSLY didn’t pay attention to my first letter (I’m still stuck in this job), so I better write to him again.
@Rol, yes, it did go round a while back, but it seems to have made a resurgence in the UK parent blogging scene.
What a lovely post Dan. I love the way you have done it. DO do more!
.-= Rosie Scribble´s last blog ..Faking it =-.
@Rosie Scribble, I might do, although I worry about people feeling left out.
The G-Reader tip is awesome. Using it right now.
.-= Always Home and Uncool´s last blog ..Bloody I =-.
@Always Home and Uncool, it is rather useful isn’t it. i’m very glad I stumbled across it.
you are right, people dont link so much these days, I used to blog in a different place a few years ago and back then it was very much de rigueur. I guess micro blogging has pretty much replaced it.
Thank you for including me and I shall go take a look at the others. And perhaps take a leaf out of your book with a similar linking post later in the week. nice to spread the love around a little.
@Heather, I suspected you weren’t as new to this as your archives suggested.
I think linking is a great thing, but can also give the impression of cliques so it’s a difficult line to walk.
Blogging certainly has changed in the last four or five years, some of it good, some of it bad.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Hurrah, its Lee and Dan’s Midnight Movie Club! =-.
Your right.
We don’t link to one another enough.
Especially myself.
So thanks for sharing such great new reads!
.-= NYCWD´s last blog ..It’s Like Monster House… Sorta =-.