![]() ![]() ![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ads
Ads
Tip Jar
Applause
"[O]ne of my daily reads (it should be one of yours too)...."
--Erick Erickson "Bush campaign should hire The American Mind for the oppo research team." --Punchthebag Sean Hackbarth's The American Mind is a good weblog." --Glenn Reynolds "It’s good enough that I can forgive Sean’s Packers fandom. Almost." --Steve Silver About Me
Headquartered in SE Wisconsin, here you'll find comments on politics, economics, culture, books, and music. Not necessarily in that order.
E-Mail: sean at theamericanmind dot com URL: http://www.theamericanmind.com My Bloginality is INTP!!! Search
Archives
October 2006
September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 Browse by Category Recent Thoughts
Comments and Trackbacks Down
TAM Technical Issues Similar Web Hosting Problems Blame the Spammers More Proof that Webloggers are Geeks TAM's Back Donate to Dean Free from Blogger Ticket to Ride... er Weblog... er Whatever New TAM Features Conservative Weblogger Discloses a Little Late Weblog History Lesson: Robot Wisdom TAM is Sick I Do Have a Last Name Blogroll Down
RSS Feeds
Ads
Credits
Powered by Movable Type
Site Design by The Web Jones Social bookmarks created with the Social Bookmark Link Creator All original content copyright © 2003-06 by Sean Hackbarth. All rights reserved. |
October 16, 2006Comments and Trackbacks DownI've shut down comments and trackbacks in preparation for moving TAM to WordPress. When the new weblogging platform is in place (later today I hope) commenting should be easier to do on both your end (no more warnings about using words like "info" and blogspot.com will probably be kosher again) and mine (reduced spam). Just as important, I hope WP is more robust than the old version of Movable Type I've been using for over three years. My inability to quickly publish updates to the Cory Lidle plane crash last week pushed me to make the move. Publishing when I want to is one of the best aspects of weblogging. If you really have the itch to comment on a post send me an e-mail (sean--at--theamericanmind--dot--com) for my consideration. October 10, 2006TAM Technical IssuesThe lack of hard-hitting commentary is due to technical issues. I'm working on the new version of TAM (3.0 I think), and it's going slower than I'd like. I hope to get it all working soon so I can focus on writing and my special announcement instead of dealing with website design, moving megabites of posts, spam blocking, etc. etc. September 17, 2006Similar Web Hosting ProblemsJohn Hawkins uses Dreamhost to host his popular weblog. He hasn't been too keen on their service: My hosting company, Dreamhost, used to give good service. However, for the last couple of months they've been absolutely horrible and up and down like a yo-yo. I've been raising hell with them about it and they've moved me to a different, supposedly more reliable server, but my confidence in them is shot. Hawkins is harsher because his Right Wing News is his full-time job. September 15, 2006Blame the SpammersTAM has been getting hit so hard by comment and trackback spammers that comments had to be shut down. I'll get them up and running again in a day or so to see if this was a temporary situation. When I move TAM to WordPress I hope that really eases the problem. Sorry for the annoyance. September 11, 2006More Proof that Webloggers are GeeksThere's been way too much talk in the blogosphere about ABC's lame Path to 9/11 miniseries. Uh, guys, yesterday was Week 1 of the NFL. I watched my Packers get trounced. Sunday night, the Manning brothers faced each other for the first time and too many of you were watching a melodrama about a story you already know the ending to. Priorities, people. Priorities. "Video: “Path to 9/11″ Update: Side-by-Side Comparison" September 10, 2006TAM's BackDid you miss me? DreamHost finally got things fixed and TAM is up and running. This was the worst outage in the many years I've been with the host. They tell me they'll be doing some network upgrades Monday night. I hope that prevents future problems. I survived the quiet time without enduring the shakes. I now know I'm fully capable of surviving weblogging withdrawal without need too much methadone. September 07, 2006Donate to DeanWhile I'm on a donation kick think about sending a few bucks Dean Esmay's way. He's dealing with some unemployment insurance problems and hasn't "seen a paycheck in the Esmay household for over a month." Ouch! "Pledge Drive" August 29, 2006Free from BloggerChris at Spotting Horse 2 has thrown off the shackles (and occasional outages) of Blogger and moved to WordPress. I hope to be joining him in the near future. August 14, 2006Ticket to Ride... er Weblog... er WhateverIf Glenn Reynolds ever hosts an open house I know where he can get tickets made. ![]() August 07, 2006New TAM FeaturesIf you look closely I'm "uglifying" TAM with the addition of social bookmarking links to del.icio.us, Digg, Furl, reddit, Spurl, and Yahoo's MyWeb. If you have no idea what social bookmarking is let me give you the rundown. All these services allow people to share webpages they find with others. Furl (my fave), del.icio.us, Spurl, and MyWeb are all online bookmark sites where you can jump from computer to computer and always have access to your bookmarks. The services aggregate the choices of all their users and show you what's hot on the web. Digg and reddit are news sites where the users are the editors. Anyone can sign up and post stories. Other users vote on them and the ones with the most votes go to the front page. It's a way to glimpse what thousands, if not millions, of people are interested in. Both are ways to find interesting stories that might fall through the cracks of orthodox news sites controlled by formal editors. So if you like a TAM post you can now easily save it with something like del.icio.us or Furl, or you can submit the post to digg or reddit and see if other people like it. Behind the scenes at TAM HQ I'm preparing for some major changes. I'm moving TAM to new, up-to-date weblogging software (WordPress) and allow for easier design and feature improvements. I hope the software will help me combat the comment and trackback spam that wastes my time. I will have a new redesign to go with the software improvement. Let me know if you have any suggestions. July 27, 2006Conservative Weblogger Discloses a Little LatePatrick Hynes of Ankle Biting Pundits when he isn't posting is a political consultant. One of his clients is Sen. John McCain, and he's been Hynes' client for a few months. All this time Hynes didn't tell his weblog readers who was paying him. Jim Geraghty exposed him, and got Hynes to come clean. Hynes made a mistake in not being as open about his political consulting dealings. His blogospheric reputation took a big hit, especially after remembering how he bashed Markos Moulitsas for being paid to plug Howard Dean, M.D. on his weblog. His consulting career may be in good shape, but he'll need to put in some effort to fix his blogosphere standing. "Straight Talk, Unmarked Bills" "McCain Hires Hymes of Anke-Biting Pundits, but Disclosure is Delayed" [via OTB] July 15, 2006Weblog History Lesson: Robot WisdomEver heard of Robot Wisdom? Well it's back on the TAM blogroll. I'm guessing over 90% of webloggers and their readers have never read or heard of the weblog. It wasn't mentioned in Hugh Hewitt's book Blog so it's understandable if unfortunate. Robot Wisdom is published by Jorn Barger and according to Wikipedia will be nine years old in December making it two years older than TAM though with interruptions. Wikipedia also gives Barger credit for coining the word "weblog." That's a good and bad thing. What's good is "weblog" sounds better than "online journal." What's bad is from "weblog" came "blog," an ugly word that caught on and is forever attacted to this medium. Barger can be described as eccentric with refusing employment that violates his "gigantic psychological block against Mammon-in-general." He's also been strongly critical of Judaism. Robot Wisdom is one of the original weblogs. From this we've arrived at Instapundit, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Wonkette, and millions of others. Know your history. Respect your (weblogging) elders. July 07, 2006TAM is SickPosting on TAM has been frustrating lately. I've been running into server troubles when trying to publish. I'm not sure if it's due to spammers or the increased traffic load the weblog has been having. Behind the scenes at TAM HQ I've been planning some changes. I may have to make some drastic software changes soon if my problems continue. June 09, 2006I Do Have a Last NameA minor pet peeve of mine is being called only by my first name when I'm mentioned with my weblog--I'm talking to you Sykes. "Sean of The American Mind" bugs me. I have a full name that I want out there. Call it my small attempt at branding. Jessica McBride mentioned a New York article I e-mailed her about adults who try to remain locked into their 20s, and she used my full name. Now, we have to do something about her ever-expanding blogroll. June 05, 2006Blogroll DownAnyone know what's wrong with Blogrolling.com? My blogroll isn't up and there's an odd Tucows (parent company of Blogrolling.com) page up. June 01, 2006Return of TrackbacksLast year I had to ditch trackbacks because spammers were hitting TAM so hard my webhost complained. I've learned Dreamhost has ended their cpu minute restrictions. So I trackbacks have returned. If the spammers hit TAM again Dreamhost won't be happy and trackbacks would be temporary. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Much of the problem is I use an old version of Movable Type. Its spam-blocking capabilities are not state-of-the art. In the future I plan on upgrading to new weblogging software, but that will require a new template. Since my design skills are zilch I'll hire outside help. Putting a little something in the tip jar or buying a Blogad would speed up the process and be appreciated. May 27, 2006Happy AnniversariesThose youngins at Power Line are four-years old. Boots & Sabers turned three. Keep it up. Someday you might get as old as TAM. May 19, 2006Kos Jumps SharkIt's really, really weird (even "surreal") seeing Markos Moulitsas AKA "Daily Kos" peeking (stalking) into someone's house then charging in with a few of his Allahpundit is right. Ned Lamont, unintentionally, made a Mentos ad. May 06, 2006A Damn Expensive PostWhile not as expensive as the Power Line post that lead to Dan Rather's demise the CEO of Raytheon took a hit to his wallet because of this weblogger. "Chief's Pay Is Docked by Raytheon" [via Instapundit] May 01, 2006A Note About the BlogosphereEnglish isn't the dominant language. In fact, "English isn't even the primary language of one third of all posts that Technorati tracks anymore." Just blame the Japanese. "State of the Blogosphere, April 2006 Part 2: On Language and Tagging" April 29, 2006Vlogs as The FuturePamela AKA Atlas vlogs [and here] (UGH! A word uglier than "blog!"). Two observations:
Seriously, it's sort of interesting that people are playing around with video, but don't view the blogosphere as a place kick back and veg out like a couch potato. I can consume a lot more information via text and audio. On the production side writing text is easier than making a podcast. I can't imagine the complications producing a vlog entails. No, vlogs may be the "wave of the future" (great we'll have one million channels with nothing on), but I won't be surfing too much of it. More Spice Boys SlappingFolkbum delivered a solid smacking of the Spice Boys: Maybe covering the blogs (so you don't have to!) just isn't as much fun as trafficking in political gossip. Maybe they just don't have any respect for people like me (and Althouse) who don't get (or want) a paycheck for writing every day. Either way, their scorn couldn't be more clear. Thanks, Boys, for all your efforts to marginalize us. I really think the Spice Boys have no idea why webloggers spend vast amounts of time writing. They could be the good investigative reporters they are and ask us, but then their conclusion (before doing any research or serious thinking) that " These guys want to go mainstream" might not be true in all cases. We don't weblog for the chicks or the fame. We do it because we think we have something to say, and weblogs make it really easy for us to say it. I don't deny I'd love a professional writing gig. Before I die I want to have a few books with my name on it. TAM might help me reach that goal. But understand I've been weblogging over six years. If TAM was all about me going mainstream then I should have shut this place down years ago and tried something different like *gasp* journalism school. There's something very satisfying about getting an idea, stringing some words together, hitting "publish" and knowing the end product is available to anyone on the internet. "Spice Boys Almost Decapitated by the Point as it Whizzes Past" [via Badger Blogger] April 28, 2006Attacking WeblogsAll the "cool kids" use Hosting Matters to house their weblogs. And every few months the company gets hit by DoS attacks. Thus I'll never move TAM to their servers. Big-name weblogs are targets for crackers or politicaly-motivated script kiddies. I don't want to be collateral damage. I'm sticking to DreamHost. I've been with them since TAM got its own dot-com (the end of 2000), and I've only had two or three serious problems, none lasting longer than a day. The service has been good and the price is right. [Hey, Spice boys, this is more weblogging navel gazing. Have a problem with it?] "Blogs Down: Hack Attack" CluelessThe Spice boys are weblogging goofs. The Journal Sentinel should just shut them down for being such an embarassment. How long have then been zipping around the blogosphere? It must not have been long since they're surprised Ann Althouse would be posting on a weblogging conference she's attending at Harvard. Hello! Webloggers do navel gazing often. Part of it is webloggers are exploring how this new medium (which really isn't that new; it's just writing) intersects with society and institutions. Webloggers are curious folks. Another part is "Blogging: It's all about me." What, webloggers are the only ones who have egos? How about snarky newspaper investigative reporting duo? Another thing, when has Ann Althouse written deeply about gas prices, the war, or what goes on in Madison? She doesn't. She's a law professor who writes a lot about legal issues, Amercian Idol, and pop culture. If the Spice boys actually read Althouse enough they'd know that and not toss in those straw men. All they are are punching bags for webloggers who know what's going on. "Navel Gazing" [via Ask Me Later] April 21, 2006Podcast BlunderThe Pajamas Media gang goofs up again. The idea of a "Blog Week in Review" is sound, but there's no RSS feed available on the web page. Quick tip to PJ Media: There are podcast programs other than iTunes. April 16, 2006On-the-Scene Vs. Phoning It InJeff Harrell's coverage of a Washington, D.C. immigration rally was good enough to be quoted by Molly Ivins. Jeff doesn't mind Ivins telling her mass of readers he's full of "provincialism." In fact, he notes the irony: The irony here is so flagrant that calling attention to it almost makes me feel cheap. I went out, immersed myself in a large-scale event, witnessed it and in real time wrote what I thought about it. Meanwhile, a columnist sat in her comfortable house in her comfortable neighborhood and chastized me for my “provincialism.” Jim Geraghty goes off. April 13, 2006Weblogging NostalgiaLast week, Ann Althouse wrote, Don't cave into nostalgia for a Golden Age, especially one that got its golden glow from the horror that was 9/11. Things were bound to change and shake around, and some bloggers that you liked then may put you off now. But there are always a million new bloggers, and blogging is a beautifully fruitful format. The great power of blogging is the way it releases the creativity of the individual mind. That sense of not being able to predict your own opinions and observations -- that feeling of writing to discover your own ideas and interests -- is the great intrinsic value of blogging. Nostalgia is the last thing I want to do with weblogging. Reminiscing about the "old days," say 1999, when weblogging amounted to links to Wired News and News.com articles or some odd site on the net is worse than blogospheric navel gazing. There are some things about weblogging I'm bummed about. I don't like the desire of many to seek a "gotcha" moment. Power Line and Little Green Footballs got a rush and minor fame from helping to take down Dan Rather. Ed Morrisey had a blast publishing coverage of a Canadian trial that was banned to our northern neighbor. Being always on the hunt makes one anxious to not miss any news. One is constantly reading RSS feeds, refreshing Memeorandum, and scouring oodles of news sites. There's pressure to get be the first so everyone else can link to you. Real scoops are moments of serendipity along with the skill to adequately convey or analyze that moment's importance. Along with that is the need to get a trophy victim. After Trent Lott there was Dan Rather. After Rather there was Eason Jordan. When Jordan went down it felt like some wanted a Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Brett Stephens to go too. Destruction was the goal. Then there are the annoyances:
April 09, 2006Michele's BackIt was pretty smart of me not to take A Small Victory off the TAM blogroll. She's baaaaack!! March 25, 2006New FEC Rules on Online Political SpeechThe FEC's proposed regulations of online political speech do not look too draconian: The Federal Election Commission last night released proposed new rules that leave almost all Internet political activity unregulated except for the purchase of campaign ads on Web sites. Jerome Armstrong of Lefty weblog MyDD sees it as webloggers getting "the media exemption." On his weblog he wonders, "However, for a camapign, I'm unsure of the implications of their ruling. From the sounds of it, Google ads and Blogads are now going to have to carry a disclaimer. I can't imagine that even being practical for candidates to run disclaimers in their search-term ads." Here's the summary [PDF]. It appears I won't be shutting down only to have my Russian cousin (*wink* *wink*) start it up on servers in his motherland. "Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet" March 24, 2006Conservative Weblogger Doesn't Last a WeekBen Domenech didn't last a week as a weblogger for washingtonpost.com. It wasn't the bile-spewing Left or Intelligent Design critics that got him. It was his past. This post at Obsidian Wings is pretty damning. Such criticism must have been damning to Domenech. He resigned. Lefty webloggers may want his head on their trophy wall. If I were them I wouldn't. First, no body outside the political blogosphere knows who Domenech is. Second, he didn't last a week. That's far from taking down an institution like Dan Rather. Domenech has written far more than I have. Part of that comes from him being an ex-speech writer. When a young writer is cutting their teeth they will make mistakes. Is past plagerism unforgiveable? Does it have a statute of limitations? When writers are seeking a new gig should they admit the mistakes in their past and hope their recent track record can make up for it? TAM has existed since 1999. Before that I wrote occasional op-eds in my college newspaper. In all that writing I don't recall ever copying someone elses work, but I might have. Say the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wanted to take weblogs seriously and wanted me on board. How would I deal with a potential time bomb sitting in my archives just waiting for rabid partisans to detonate? UPDATE: Domenech (AKA Augustine) posted his explanation to plagerism charges and his resignation. The story made it on The Drudge Report so the RedState servers are under a lot of stress. They're reasonable explanations. More reasonable than the hateful responses of his Leftist critics. They are still errors of judgement, but being young (he was 17 at the time) is about making mistakes and learning from them. It makes me ask the question, "When does a writer's past mistakes no longer hurt him?" Here's something to think about: had Domenech been caught drinking at 17 he would still be writing Red America. If he would have been caught smoking pot he might be praised. Some youthful indiscretions are more forgivable than others. UPDATE II: National Review Online admits Domenech plagerized, and it wasn't for a college paper. "A side-by-side comparison to another review of the same film speaks for itself. There is no excuse for plagiarism and we apologize to our readers and to Steve Murray of the Cox News Service from whose piece the language was lifted." With that Domenech would have been booted from the Red America weblog had he not resigned. That's understandable for an institution like The Washington Post who has a reputation to maintain. I would like to know is Domenech scarred for life? Will editors reject job opportunities or even free lance articles when he's 40, 50, or even 80 because of what he did in his teens and 20s? With the internet as a permanent archive we all should wonder how long our past mistakes will haunt us. What's really disappointing is washingtonpost.com will be "likely to look for someone with a more traditional journalism background." Domenech's flagrant copying tarred the reputations of conservative webloggers everywhere. Thanks a lot, Ben. [via Michelle Malkin] March 22, 2006The Bile Toward Ben DomenechA few people don't like Ben Domenech writing a conservative weblog for The Washington Post. Instead of ignoring him or actually challenging his ideas some decide to play quote-pulling (some from as far back as 4 1/2 years ago), insult him (and all others like him) for being home schooled, and call him an idiot for believing God created the universe. At least Steve Verdon puts some real thought into his challenge of one of Domenech's points about intelligent design. Others should take notes from Steve on how a serious debate is done. James Joyner collects a number of Domenech-bashing posts and observes: And am I the only one who sees the irony in a bunch of 40- and 50-something bloggers with advanced degrees resorting to name calling and over-the-top rhetoric to attack someone on the basis of being too young, immature, and lacking in nuance to blog? Let them waste their time and energy. It's better than having this shreiking part of the Left doing things they think are actually helpful or productive to their political cause. March 21, 2006Weblog Addiction SyndromeBusiness Week's Stephen Baker joins me and thousands of others and admits their problem. We're addicted to weblogging. While Washington Post reporters wonders if they should be paid extra to post (and wonder if the newspaper can "compel employees to blog") Baker would do it for free. "Should Mainstream Bloggers Be Paid Extra? Should I?" March 17, 2006Blogger Bounces BetsyOne of my favorite webloggers (who I don't link to enough) Besty Newmark is having Blogger troubles. It's still not fixed even though Blogger says it's fixed. Blogger's problems was the reason I moved to Movable Type a few years ago. Their service wasn't reliable enough for me. When Google bought Blogger I had hopes their infrastructure and software would get fix and be stable. That hasn't happened. A company can't do everything well, but Google has had a good run. A stable, reliable Blogger/BlogSpot would get more people to write weblogs which would mean more real estate for their ads. Why the company never has gotten Blogger fixed is beyond me. My advice: go with weblogging software that's on your server. My host, Dreamhost, lets you install WordPress with one click so you don't have to deal with UNIX commands, FTP, or PHP. If you want free try WordPress.com. "Bloggers, Back up Your Work" UPDATE: Betsy's weblog is back, and she's not pleased with Google. I don't blame her. March 16, 2006Weblogger Protection Bill PulledMike Krempasky reports the House Rules Committee couldn't agree on how to proceed on HR 1606, the Online Freedom of Speech Act. "[I]t's been pulled until after the recess." We now have more time to put pressure on our Congressmen to protect online political speech. "HR 1606 Pulled for the Week" March 15, 2006To Protect Online Speech Call CongressIt's time to turn the blogosphere's albeit limited power onto meatspace. Tomorrow, HR 1606, The Online Freedom of Speech Act, comes to a vote in the House. As Mike Krempasky puts it it "simply puts into law the existing status quo. It preserves the system under which we operated for the 2004 elections - WHEN THERE WAS NO CORRUPTION OR SCANDAL. It's supported by bloggers left and right. " This is about maintaining lively, pointed, passionate political speech on the internet. Call these people who voted against the bill when it came up last year under special rules. For my Wisconsin readers that means making Rep. Tom Petri explain his stance on online political speech. Petri's Washington, D.C. office number is 202.225.2476, his Oshkosh office number is 920.231.6333, and his Fond du Lac office number is 920.922-1180. Stop reading TAM for a few minutes and get on the phone. "Get on the Damn Phone" Huffington Post DishonestyWant another reason to not read The Huffington Post? Arianna practices intellectual dishonesty. George Clooney's "post" about being proud to be a liberal and how weenie Washington Democrats are wasn't his post at all. Clooney's ticked: Oscar-winner George Clooney may make politically provocative films like "Syriana." But he doesn't write politically provocative blogs. All Huffington had to do was note that the post wasn't an original piece. Even better she should have wrote a post under her name using Clooney's quotes. It makes you wonder what other ways Huffington is manipulating content on her collective weblog. "Clooney to Arianna: I Did Not Blog" [via Alarming News] March 10, 2006For What It's Worth. . . Harrell's back. The Shape of Days is live, from Washington, D.C.—a town that is, for many reasons, dear to my heart. March 09, 2006A "Journalist's" Take on BlogsSteve over at Letters in Bottles has a great post up fisking a ridiculous article about blogs and the mainstream media. Check it out. March 06, 2006Wal-Mart and WebloggersProfessor McAdams has put together a string of interesting posts [and here] on how webloggers are getting pro-Wal-Mart information. He then compares that to how the MSM works. Webloggers are more transparent. March 04, 2006I Feel Better...Sort ofI'm not the only one to have been challenged this week by a WTMJ radio yapper. "A li’l backtrack…" March 01, 2006Best Weblog Post Ever?I only called Tom McMahon's beautiful post the best of the year. John Podhoretz declares it "might be the greatest blog entry ever written." February 28, 2006Weblog Post of the YearIf there was an award for best weblog post of the year Tom McMahon's would be on the short list. As a matter of fact, I'm declaring it already. It's touching, timeless, moving, and full of wisdom. "What I Have Learned In 15 Years" February 25, 2006Weblog SnobCall me a weblog snob. When someone like J.B. Van Hollen is running for statewide office and their weblog is on BlogSpot I think a few things: 1) they haven't thought much about weblogs and wanted to get something up to make it appear they "get it;" 2) they're too cheap to integrate the weblog with the rest of their website which means they either have money problems or care more about tv and radio ads than an online strategy. There are a few big-time webloggers who have used BlogSpot for a long time. With my experience using it as a member of the Badger Blog Alliance I have to think Google has set it up so they don't have the same problems as ordinary, peon webloggers. Free places like BlogSpot are good ways to get your feet wet in the wild world of weblogging but serious people should move far away from it as fast as possible. February 23, 2006A Pet PeeveIt's bugged me when I go to a weblog linked by Glenn Reynolds only to find "Welcome Instapundit readers." I thought, "Act like you've done it before." Kevin Aylward had the guts to say it. I'm just the tag-along. "Our Baby Is Growing Up..." February 13, 2006*Blush*Thanks, Jessica. The Pioneers. Lakeshore Laments (http://www.lakeshorelaments.com/), the American Mind (http://www.theamericanmind. com/), Tom McMahon (http://www.tommcmahon.net/wisconsin/ index.html), Badger Blogger (http://badgerblogger.com/), and Jiblog (http://jiblog.blogspot.com/) were doing this a heck of a lot longer than the rest of us. They’re thought provoking. They are the true pioneers. "Blog on for Fresh Insights" February 08, 2006February 07, 2006Feel the BurnPeakah's Provocations... hosts this week's Bonfire of the Vanities. I don't think he's completely sane. February 04, 2006It's Alive...AgainAfter hours of Blogger technical issues the Badger Blog Alliance is up and running. Definitely check out Chris' post on making every state legislature race a state-wide one. January 28, 2006#1 Google SearchI'd like to thank the fine engineers at Google for this honor. I don't know what I did to deserve it. Really, I'm clueless, but I'm not complaining. January 27, 2006Dear Abby: Weblog-StyleMe thinks Wizbang's advice column, Dear VK, will be a winner. Read this Q&A: Dear VK, Excuse me. I was rolling on the floor laughing. "Dear VK" January 20, 2006SRLC Taking Webloggers SeriouslyWebloggers are still looked at as the red-headed stepchild of media, but they're being taken seriously. This year's Southern Republican Leadership Conference are treating them just like newspapers, television, and talk radio. January 12, 2006Help Out KevinKevin Holtsberry is asking for donations to get him to NYC for a National Review fundraiser. Give him a hand. All the money will go to helping NR remain the vital conservative institution it is. "Send Me to New York!" January 10, 2006Washington Times' New Weblogging PolicyLooks like I won't be writing for The Washington Times anytime soon. Their new non-work weblogging policy is pretty strict. You not only have to "request and obtain permission from senior editors" but you can't "report on or publish anything concerning The Washington Times itself." After six-plus years of having the freedom to write whatever I want whenever I want to it would be hard to enter an environment with any restrictions. "The Washington Times' Policy on Bloggers" December 31, 20052005 TAM Weblog AwardsAs the weblogs become more known weblogger's numbers increase. That makes for tough choices for the coveted (I would like to believe) TAM Weblog Awards. My criteria is simple: 1) it must be on my blogroll; 2) I have to think it's good for whatever reason I choose. It's the most subjective weblog awards in the blogosphere. Here we go:
Congratulations to the winners. December 18, 2005Why I Can't Rip on InstapunditNot only is Glenn Reynolds a weblogging superstar, but he's also a nice guy: CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY ADVICE to blog readers: Don't do this here, as I don't need it, but go to one of your favorite blogs and make a donation or send an appreciative email. Especially one of the smaller blogs, where the attention is especially likely to be noticed and appreciated. There are a lot of blogs out there, and the bloggers with low traffic often work just as hard as the ones with big numbers. Let 'em know if you like their work. I've met Glenn a couple times. What you read on his weblog is what you get in person: curious, thought-provoking, and generous to others. December 16, 2005Hooray!
TAM didn't win, but she wasn't last. (Sorry Gary at Ex-Donkey Blog.) Thanks for all who voted. Next year, I hope TAM gets creamed by some Top 250 weblogs.* *That's a subtle hint to tell other weblogs to link to TAM. December 14, 2005More BleggingMy goal of catching Meryl Yourish is fading. I'm again worrying about falling into last place. Give this poor weblogger a hand and vote today, then tomorrow, then the next day. I won't cry if you don't support me, but I will be very disappointed. A Tight Web They WeaveHere's some quick inside "Pajamas Media - Building A Better Echo Chamber" December 12, 2005It's That Time AgainI'm asking for your votes again. I'm not getting any closer to Meryl Yourish, but TAM also isn't getting closer to last place. Your vote would be just lovely. PJM Isn't FastWhen you think of weblogs you think of ordinary people who can quickly comment on a breaking story. That's what I did when I heard about the Hemel Hempstead fuel depot fire. I quickly put together weblog, Flickr, and Technorati links. I kept that up with further updates. I did this without any funding. Pajamas Media with its $3.5 million in venture capital didn't have anything up until later Sunday morning. If I were operating a weblogging company I'd have someone awake at all hours of the day waiting to pounce on breaking news. Let's face it, they got scooped by the MSM. That shouldn't happen to a company that wants to outdo them. "Sleepwalking In Pajamas" Ho-HumMichael Crowley's NY Times Magazine weblogs article is out. That tiny thing garnered too much attention. All Crowley says is the conservative blogospheres uses uses weblogs for "eliciting strong emotional responses from their supporters" while the Left supposedly "air[s] ideas and vent[s] grievances with one another" and is too busy "examining every side of every issue." Crowley offers nothing to support that statement. If he's comparing Free Republic, which isn't a weblog, to Crooked Timber that would be unfair. Looking at the big boy of the liberal blogosphere, Daily Kos, we have this "interesting" post: pictures of four Republicans with them labled "bad guys." is that "examining every side of every issue" or "eliciting strong emotional responses from their supporters?" How about calling Iraqi elections as "The Myth of the Purple Finger?" Then there's the assertion that conservative webloggers are part of the right wing media conspiracy. Well, I'm still waiting for Karl Rove's orders. Crowley's piece has no point and no evidence. He's just using the pages of a major American newspaper to smear conservative webloggers. Here's Michelle Malkin's response as well as Captain Ed's and Glenn Reynolds'. "Conservative Blogs are More Effective" December 10, 2005The Blegging ContinuesTAM is solidly not in last place. I thank you all for that. The next weblog infront of me is Meryl Yourish's. The unemployed Jewish writer (help her out) is a great writer with a distinct Israel angle to many of her posts. She's good. That's why I want to beat her. Help me out, ok? Conservative Weblogs RockMichael Crowley will be arguing in the NY Times Magazine that conservative weblogs are more politically effective than liberal weblogs. That's quite debatable. What may be making conservative weblogs politically effective is how other conservative media, especially talk radio, use weblogs for ideas and to comprehend future political currents. "NY Times Sunday Preview: Conservative Blogs Rock!" [via JustOneMinute] December 09, 2005Ouch"The Twelve Days of Things that Make Baby Jesus Cry (#2)" [via Hog on Ice] UPDATE: Earlier this week Moxie put PJM into perspective. I Might Have to Stoop This LowLucky me. I don't have to compete with Jane Galt in the Weblog Awards. She's threatening to cry if you don't vote for her. And it's working. Remember for vote for TAM. You can vote once every 24 hours. December 07, 2005Vote BeggingVoters can vote once every 24 hours in the 2005 Weblog Awards. I'd love your vote. TAM is not dead last just second-to-last. It's progress. Thanks for all your support and tell your friends about TAM. December 06, 2005Vote for TAMIt's Weblog Awards time. TAM is in the running for "Best of the Top 251-500 Blogs." As of this moment my little hunk of cyberspace is running dead last! I guess that makes me the 500th best weblog. At least I know of one reader who loves me. I'd like to say be like someone in Chicago and vote early and often, but I think Kevin Aylward got that bug fixed. I'm happy to be a finalist. With the likes of Austin Bay, a real journalist, and Betsy Newmark, one-time TAM Award winner, competing with me I'd be shocked if TAM won. Still, I'd love your vote. While you're at it give Nick Schweitzer (The World According to Nick) some love too December 01, 2005At PJM's Expense"Flannels Media" is the new competitor to Pajamas Media. Their had their first "Flogjam" a few days ago. "Flannels Media: Flogjam #1" [via Jiblog] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||