New Year Ramble

Happy New Year!

First blog post of the year.

Having the day off I decided I need to list more books on my website but got sidetracked.

Blog Talk Radio caught my attention with a Medallion Press Radio Show. Only caught the tail end live but had to go back and listen to the archives. Want to know about "bum glue" you have to listen to the Jan 1.2009 show. This is a radio show for readers and writers. Paul, the host and representative of the publishing houseMedallion Press, does a great job interviewing authors and should be used as an example for anyone thinking of using Blog Talk Radio for promoting their business. No matter the subject his style is a good example to learn from.

I signed up for a Twitter Account (prying1) and of course I have to see what the friends I'm following have to say, this, the first day of the year. I saw that Twitterer TribalRootz gave a link for a 'New' Marisa Bondy You Tube Video. Check her Winds of Liberty You Tube (link above) and also check the Marisa Bondy singing "Crazy" Video.

Then Stephen Dinkel comes on to Blog Talk Radio...

So much for listing books. It seems that the internet is a great place to make friends, get information, and spend a day not getting any work done. Well! It is a holiday...

On a more recent 'in the news issue':
I have noticed that concerning the Global Warming Crowd more of them are jumping off the 'Global Warming' Bandwagon and are climbing on the "Climate Change" Soapbox.

Once again Happy New Year!
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Self Promotion of Your Website

Trying to promote your website can be time consuming. I know because I haven't been working on it and my hits have dropped off. Part of that drop for this blog is my irregularity in posting. People come by for a week and see the same posting they stop coming by. Especially if your last posting was a poem on "The Hammer Throw".

Anyway. I was over at Bookshop Blog's Forum and posted the 'Self Promotion - Networking' thread the following piece. Rereading it before clicking 'post' I saw that this idea can be applied to websites and blogs other than just book sales.

Hope you can use this:

I listen to talk radio and on occasion call in. Only once have I had a chance to do it but ask the radio show host if you can promote/plug your website/bookstore over the air.

Don't just call in to plug away. Have a legitimate question or statement to make concerning the present topic being discussed on the show. Make sure it is legitimate because listeners can tell and you don't want them thinking you are just a self promoting jerk.

I find it best to make a couple notes with the show host's name, (don't want to mess that up!) any greeting the regular callers use, and your statement or question. - DON'T read off the paper into the telephone. It just doesn't work.

It also helps if the question or statement is semi-intelligent.

Weekends are a good time because they have shows of many topics and it is easier to get through when you call in. Find one that really interests YOU. You might find religious shows, computer shows, pet shows, cooking shows where you tie in your plug with some book titles you might have. You want to pick a show that interests you just in case the show host decides to engage you in conversation.

You might want to have a list handy of some 'tie in titles' just in case you get to talk books after the plug...

To make sure you don't get cut off before the plug and that you do get it in you can start the conversation with, "I've a question and if you don't mind I'd like to plug my website." (my business, my store, etc...) - Most show hosts will be gracious and let you do it.

- If you work it right the conversation might turn to books for a minute or so. You might want to have a list handy of some 'tie in titles' just in case you get to talk books after the plug... -

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Can a City Stop you From Web Linking to Their Site?

Please copy this posting and put it up on your blog. Please don't consider this a left or right posting. It concerns all bloggers. - It will only cost you a few minutes time. Spread the word and have your friends post it too! Originally from Publius Forum

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is an interesting question: Can a city stop a private citizen from putting a link on their website to a city website?

The question arises over a Sheboygan, Wisconsin case where a woman who is often critical of the town mayor was ordered by the city to remove a city website link from her own pages. Yes, you heard me correctly… ORDERED to remove that link. The Sheboygan Press posted the story a week or so ago and it got me thinking about the abuse of power indulged in by this small Wisconsin town.

In a move initiated by Perez, City Attorney Steve McLean sent a cease-and-desist letter earlier this month to Jeni Reisinger, who was among the leaders of a mayoral recall effort last year, officials acknowledged Friday.

The letter, dated Oct. 19, states, "maintenance of this link could be construed as having been authorized or endorsed by the city and/or its police department" and should be removed “until such time as the city were to authorize such a link."

This has to be a joke, right? A city attorney who has the gall to attempt to force a private citizen to remove a link to public city website should be summarily removed from his position. Further, if he was put up to this outrageous action by Mayor Juan Perez, then this mayor should similarly be removed.

Of course, this city government is being run by a bunch of bumbling nitwits, here. Of that none can deny. But, the situation is galling none-the-less. If this city can prevent people from linking to a public service, then what else can they strong-arm the public over? Can the city decide that, forthwith, all people critical of office holders should receive a “cease and desist” letter? Maybe no one should even be "allowed" to run against them for office from this point onward? The arrogance of this is shocking, to say the least.

The next thing you know, every city will look like the mob infested city of Chicago, run by the criminal enterprise we call the Daley family!

In any case, if the City of Sheboygan is so afraid of people visiting their webpages then why have them at all? Now, if you’d like to go to their sites and ask a few questions, you can see them here:

The officious Sheyboygan Police are here –
http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/main.html

Give a shout out and a Sieg Heil to Mayor Juan Perez here — http://ci.sheboygan.wi.us/Mayor/MayorHome.html

Perez’ henchman, attorney Stephen G. McLean, can be visited here–
http://ci.sheboygan.wi.us/Attorney/AttorneyHome.html

Now, I hope every blogger adds these links to their websites. Let’s see if the "people's city" city of Sheboygan, Wisconsin can get all of us to stop linking to a public website?

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Blog Hijacked? Here's the Story!

Click here - Bold Interactive.com has the scoop! -
Buddy of mine (Cary Cartter - Write in presidential candidate) emailed me to let me know he was being redirected when he went to visit my website. I figured it was his browser's cookies and cache but it went much deeper than that.

Originally it seemed to be Blogmad.net was at fault but a company that was utilized by Blogmad has been taken over by nasty people at a place called Adbazz.

- Bold Interactive.com reports:

Some business owners got a shocking surprise today when their websites were being redirected to an Adbaaz.com URL. Former customers of Websourced (also known as Keyword Ranking and Marketsmart Interactive) are being redirected to this URL if an old tracking code still exists on their sites.

Websourced eventually abandoned the project but this code has remained on many of client’s web sites with no adverse affect until now.

Find the code (See boldinteractive.com's posting - Click on the link above) delete the code and you will get your website back. - Good luck! - I deleted my blogmad source code but that didn't quite do it. Off to find the problem and really fix it so you can read this.

Update: I found another little bit of Blogmad code on my sidebar. Cleared it out and no more redirect. Hooray!

Wrote to blogmad.net to direct their attention to the Bold Interactive posting (liinked above) and was told the address I have is no longer used or read. Have to go to the site and take a ticket on their complaint page. Went to their site and SHAZAMMMM! A redirect to adbazz.com - So it goes.
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Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008
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Visit Cary Cartter at
- "I'm Thinking of the "O" Word..." -

Where is prying1? He has a new life... Not to mention he has books

OK! It has been a few weeks since I've posted. I've been pretty busy. This is because of work and church and I bought A LIBRARY. Not just a run of the mill Library but one owned by a man that loved books just because they were books. - Just like me...

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- Those of you who know me are used to religious/political postings. That is going to change a bit. I'll still occasionally get my digs in on idiots like Polosi and Harry Reed (and those who vote for them), just not as much. I'll still extol the benefits of meeting and knowing the Living God on a personal level. I'm going to be centering this blog on books. - There are many political blogs out there who are able to cover the issues much better than I. Trust me, I'm not changing my politics. Just the direction of my postings.
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Dion O'Donnol, printer, poet and all around nice guy passed away at the tender age of 95 last February. I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to acquire his library. Since he lived so long and his friends passed before him he had collected the personal libraries of at least two of his friends. So besides the books he collected during his life I now own the books of at least 2 other personal libraries. I'm sure there is more than two but that is all that could be verified by his kids.

This makes a total of 4 Personal Libraries counting my own!

Lotta Books

The boxes above are all filled with books that have been packed for the move.

In the picture above there are three 4 foot books shelves empty. On the left side behind the stack of boxes. - These are (were) two double rows of 12 feet long by 8 feet high of book shelves. - Thats 24 feet! (I worked that one out by myself!) - Behind that are more bookshelves and a wall of boxes of books. To the right is a wall of shelves that extends another 8 feet. - This is just a portion because there are/were more inside Dion's house.

"What?" you ask, "Will you do with so many books?"

"Well!" I answer, "I hope to sell some on eBay and through Amazon. - Plus I'm going to set up my own website where I can list and catalog bunches of them. (Do books come in bunches? - I'll have to research that...)

What I really hope to do is find good homes for them where they will be appreciated.

That is, the books I do not want to keep for my Own Personal Library.

Today I Googled, "setting up your personal library" (with Quotes) and got three hits. - Not one of them addressed my need. So I changed 'your' to 'a', that is, "setting up a personal library" and got nine hits. - Again not one addressed my problem...

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Well. I'll be doing a bit of research and figuring out what rules of engagement will work best for me with the space I have and I'll be blogging on it.

One good thing from this is that I'm going to be cleaning out my garage which is something that I've wanted to do but never 'made time' to do.

This blog will be changing a bit. More of it will be dedicated to books and such as opposed to the political shenanigans of our politicians. For example L.A.'s mayor who is a jerk. Many more issues are covered by others and I'll link to them occasionally. The Dead Sea Scrolls issue for example is covered by Charles Gadda here and here.

I'll be posting on some treasures I've found and giving heads up on what I'll be listing online.

I'll be giving some reviews of books long out of print. Amazing how many poets Google doesn't even register. Some for good reason no doubt. - Included will be some classics and even more little known and forgotten books. - Poetry, History, Novels, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children's, Lost and Forgotten Authors, Book Trivia and Book Edition Mysteries. -

I'll try to keep the posts entertaining. - Wish me luck.

- I'll be using the tag "Book" for future postings on BOOKS... -

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Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008
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Visit Cary Cartter at
- "I'm Thinking of the "O" Word..." -

C-Span Changes Copyright Rules To Favor Bloggers

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, used a C-Span video in/on her blog promoting Democrats. It was against the law. She has been forgiven and C-Span is changing it's rules to give more leeway to the use of it's material.

Officials for the cable TV network that provides daily gavel-to-gavel coverage of House and Senate proceedings at first said the blog was in violation, then announced it wasn't. On Wednesday, they said that it was but that they're changing their policy so that it won't be in the future.

The new copyright policy will allow non-commercial Internet users to share and post C-SPAN video as long as they attribute it to the public service channel.

"Given our background and our history, an open approach is the most consistent with our mission," said Rob Kennedy, C-SPAN's president. "We are now saying under the new policy that that will be OK, for her or any blogger or citizen journalist" to post C-SPAN video online.

A C-SPAN statement Wednesday said the network is implementing a "liberalized copyright policy for current, future, and past coverage of any official events sponsored by Congress and any federal agency ... which will allow non-commercial copying, sharing, and posting of C-SPAN video on the Internet, with attribution."

both blockquotes from Yahoo News

Speaking of attribution. Hat tip and thanks to Warner Todd Huston for his posting on this subject.

prying1 sez: No telling how far this will go. Freedom of speech and fair use is on the march. - At least in the U.S. - Overseas it is a different story. Warner Todd Huston has another story posted - France Makes Effort to Criminalize Bloggers, Internet News Sites - which tells of a different state of affairs way over in France.

The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday.
- Macworld -

HEY! WAIT A SECOND! Who uses film anymore? It is all digital or tape.

I can see it now. Youths rioting, looting, pillaging; the French police ignoring them and instead attacking and beating a bystander that is catching the action with a cell phone.

It is a topsy turvy world we live in.


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Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008
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What Can Be Done Regarding Children and Internet Porn?

I was tagged real good by Saboma of Mariannaville. I've been tagged before (as some of you know) but this is the first one I've replied to. I still have the roundtuits for the previous ones. This tag is simply a request to post about the "Blogger Power: Safeguard the Web for Children" project.

I imagine there are very few people that have internet access and web surf regularly that have not suddenly come across a porn site. Many, not all, but many porn sites work hard to get innocent keywords to place their site at top of Google and Yahoo searches. Words that even a child might type while searching for info on a homework project.

Blogger Power is asking the porn website owners to do something to protect innocent children (and, although not mentioned, by extension adults that don't want porn suddenly flashing in their faces.


Their front page states:

* this is not a campaign against pornography as a whole
* this is not about restricting legitimate free speech and legal commerce
* this is a common sense request to all the "adult site" webmasters: password-protected login on porn sites for all the explicit materials, no more 'free clips', 'free tours', 'free pics' without login!
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Blogger Power Mission statement is:

Nothing less than a global initiative to encourage sites hosting adult content to help keep minors out by adding a simple registration gateway and taking demo videos off the home page.
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And their open message to porn webmasters is:

"Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the "warning adult content" on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more "free tours" before a visitor supplies basic information."

You can do your part in this movement by blogging about this issue. An Open Letter to Bloggers Around the World will explain how. - The more blogs that participate the more notice the MSM will have to give to the issue. -

prying1 sez:
Most people have heard of the graphic differences between whitehouse.gov and whitehouse.com - This, to me, shows that the porn industry is not interested in keeping innocents from viewing their wares. - That is why I (NOT BLOGGER POWER!) endorse the idea that all porn sites be removed from the dot com and dot net extensions and be placed on a dot xxx extension. Browsers can be set up to accept or reject the .xxx websites and thereby correct quite a bit of the problem. Domains that do not comply can be placed on a 'do not trust' list browsers can maintain for those that would prefer blocking such websites.

This could all be done without laws being passed.

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Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008
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Say No To Crack Contest Winner Recieves WONDERFUL Prize

Those that follow my blog on a regular basis know that I entered a contest at "Say No To Crack".

Whooo Hooo! Guess who won???

The only prying1 I know about.

ME!!!

I hear my own horn tooting!

Wait a second. Perhaps that is not a horn but a reaction to the Taco Bell food I had for lunch...

I was offered as a Prize:

- $20 cash
- $20 gift certificate/card (or equivalent example: blogmad or blogexplosion, 2,000 credits instead)
- Our super secret gift

My reply was:

- $20 I can 'borrow' from the wife
- Gift certificate I can get for Christmas
- Blogmad/Blogexplosion credits I can have the wife blogsurf for 'em

I'll take the super secret gift!

All these years of watching Jeopardy have finally paid off!

Whoo Hoo! This is more exciting than watching repeats of Lucy,
Gilligan's Island or Green Acres!

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The Super Secret prize arrived BUT!
You will have to visit Say No To Crack - Announcing our toilet contest winner! - and check the comments to see what it is. I put a link in the third comment. I figger that the time and expense Anita B went through deserves mucho visitors. - Be sure to click HOME on the above linked page and see what is new on the site. Go back often. Comment often. Link to the site often. Quite a hoot! - I've had visitors to my site say they don't miss a day without checking what Anita is up to... - That sez a lot for anyone's blog...

AND if you win one of the future contest choose the Super Secret Prize!

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P.S. Another contest is ongoing at I'm Thinking of the "O" Word... (Easy to find a link for Baby Pool and even easier to enter...)
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T.L. IS BACK! With the Rosemead Herald

This is one blog you will want to put in your favorites. For those who know him, He's Baaaccckkkk! - For those who don't know him now is a good time to get introduced to him. Witty, insightful and an all around nice guy. Visit T.L. and leave a comment to let him know you've been by...

- ROSEMEAD HERALD -

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Join Feedblitz To Get Updates From Friends

Over on the right side of my blog you can see the new "Subscribe Box" for Feedblitz. A friend/fellow blogger, Lee Warren of Little Nuances signed up and I recieved a notice from them that his posting update email was changing from another service to this one. Checking them out it looks like a pretty spiffy service so I figured to give it a whirl.

Now all I need are subscribers to really give it a test. Put your email address in the box and click on the Okie Dokie on the next page that comes up...

It is easy to unsubscribe later if you don't like the service. Each email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom.



You will only recieve one email a day (Sent out @ 1AM EST), spam free, and it can be truncated or complete for individual subscribers. As soon as you put in your email you will automatically get an account and a confirmation/password will be sent to you. You can change the password and set up on blog your own email updates for your friends and regular readers.

Free service with reasonably priced upgrades...

Is this a great country or what???

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eXlinks Is In Prelaunch Phase

I'm signed up with Blog Mad and have found their blog surfing services (Trading Blog visits with other bloggers) to be quite good. - The folks there are reputable. Good rate of exchange for your blog surfing time. Plus some wonderful bloggers reside there so you will most likely make friends.

PLUS!!! Customer service is quick! I always appreciate that in any online service. I've seen some outfits (Small Ones & Ultra Big Ones Too!) that don't answer emails for 4-5 days (if at all). Recently Blog Mad had various difficult issues (more than once - It is still in Beta) that were quickly and efficiently handled in such a way that, although there was temporary discomfort, service was quick to fix the problems and I believe the majority of folks were satisfied.

If you are not yet signed up with Blog Mad here is your chance. Simply click here to join!

Well Blog Mad is currently offering membership in a new program they are getting off the ground called eXlinks. Click Here to join in on the Prelaunch Signup!

Their advert says,

- quote - The basis of how it all fits together will become clear when we go Beta, but essentially we are going to go out and build small networks of friends, referrals, bloggers, website owners and basically anyone with an online interest who wants any of the following;

i) Readers
ii) visitors
iii) Traffic
iv) better search engine ranking

At this point we really do not want to get into how we plan on fitting it all together but we do promise that it will be worth it. Very much so. - end quote -

When they will go active is not revealed. They are working on getting enough people signed up then they will "Let 'er rip!"

If you decide later to join there is now a link on my sidebar that will give you easy access. - I'd suggest getting in early in case of extra bonuses they will give for the first folks to sign up in the prelaunch.

I dug a little deeper and this really looks legit. I'm still not sure what it is or what it does or how it works but the few minutes signup time may turn into something really good for you and your blog!



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Who is this O'REILLY character???

Ok, I'm not a big wig or smart guy compared to Bill O'Reilly but when I read the text of the Hewitt O'Reilly Transcript At johnny dollar's place I was amazed by this statement from the master of the show.
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O'REILLY: All right, so you're saying to me, I hope you're right, you're saying to me that there are far more honest voices on the internet than corrupt people. Is that what you're saying?

with Hewitts reply: Of course. There's a World newspaper, which is a tabloid, and then there's Brit Hume. There's a lot of difference in between. There are bad bloggers, and there are very smart bloggers.

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What I cannot understand is the mentality of O'Reilly. Is he of the opinion that most bloggers are unethical? I guess he really knows nothing of the blogosphere and doesn't blog jump around the sites as many do.. If he does I figure he must be hitting all the wrong sites....

Oh, One thing I noticed on johnny dollar's place - - - His 'Black Blog Ops' post has an update near the bottom of the page

-quote- Mis-transcribed dollar figure referenced by O'Reilly corrected. -end quote-

So how honest is that? Johnny Dollar made an error, corrected it and told us about it.

Thanks Johnny! You proved Hugh's point... and I bet you didn't get paid under the table for it...