Mocha Dad

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Mocha Dad, published by Frederick J. Goodall

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.mochadad.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Learning how to be a better father one day at a time.

MY REVIEW: I really enjoyed this blog. Mr. Goodall writes well, has a sense of humor, and so clearly loves his children. It helps that he also seems to have some pretty cute kids - well brought up and so well-behaved. These are stories that every Dad will enjoy reading. It's fun to see how much fun dads can have with their kids. I think moms, dads and even kids will enjoy this blog, and learn from it, too.

SAMPLE PARAGRAPHS

Rocking the Vote

Since my daughter, Nee, has been at her new school, she has really blossomed. I give most of the credit to her teacher, Mrs. Scott.

Mrs. Scott was the first teacher who has really nurtured Nee and pushed her out of her comfort zone. Under Mrs. Scott’s tutelage, Nee has done things that take courage, confidence, and determination.

I was shocked when she informed me that she had decided to run for Student Council. My eyes glazed over as “Hail to The Chief” started playing in my head.

“Don’t get all excited, Dad,” she said. “I’m only doing it because my teacher made me.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

The world would be a better place if all politicians were so adorable.

“She said that I was lazy if I didn’t fill out the nomination form,” she said. “And I don’t want her to think I’m lazy.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked. “Being on the student council is a lot of responsibility.”

“What will I have to do?” she asked.

“You’ll be the voice for your classmates,” my wife, KayEm, explained. “You’ll help to make your school a better place.”

Nee thought about it for a while and then agreed to proceed. As a former student council member, her decision made me very happy.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Rocking the Vote (Dad and his daughter, student council)
-Old School Hip Hop Meets New School Toddler (Dad and young son learning to dance)
-Freeway of Love (Dad and young son's love of cars)
-The Ultimate Player (checkers with 6 year old son and 8 year old daughter)
-25 Romantic Ideas For Men From Women

Weight Loss Jedi

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Weight loss Jedi: Lose Weight and Get Fit , by Exxponent Media Network

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.weightlossjedi.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Weight-loss tips, equipments, and fitness gadgets.

MY REVIEW: This is a commercial site. What the authors do is describe and rate the "best" in a series of some kind of fitness equipment from push up bards to fitness games, etc. You can then purchase what you like, or at least go via links to the company's home page, to check out each piece of equipment further.

For those looking to lose weight and get fit, I recommend this blog - it lets you know what's out there in the terms of equipment and prices.

RECENT POSTS:
--5 Best iPhone Pedometer Applications
--11 Pull up Bars To Get Fit At Home
--9 Pushup Bars To Re-Shape Your Body
--11 Best Adjustable Dumbbells For Intense Weight Training
--7 Best Fitness Games For Wii
--6 Best Fan Exercise Bikes with Air Resistance

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Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

New posting schedule

Now that I've got this new full-time job, I'll be posting in this blog twice a week - on Monday's and Wednesdays.

So the next post for this blog will be on Monday.

Thanks for your patience.

Posts resume this Wednesday

I'm a freelance writer and I am way behind on a job I have to do, so I won't be posting here until Wednesday..

Thanks for your patience!

Ancient Digger (archaeology)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Ancient Digger, by Lauren

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.ancientdigger.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: An interesting tour into the world of Archaeology and Science. My personal journey on the path to my Doctorate in Archaeology.

MY REVIEW:
As an archaeology aficianado, I really love this blog. The author is an archaology student, and so she is all over the time periods, from the Titanic to ancient British history, etc., but I like that kind of stuff.

The author writes well, and her choices of topic are interesting and well thought out.

If you're interested in archaeology or just history, this is the blog for you.

Sample Post

Medieval Mason's Marks The End of Boxed Furniture
Gone are the days where quality furniture was carved out of one piece of solid wood, or a swivel office chair was already put together, included in the price of course.That must be by I adore the architectural and structural forms of archaeology, whereas things were just built better, and meant to last.

Mason’s Marks refer to marks made on the blocks of walling stone and on moulded stone as part of the construction process, and have been in use for centuries. Academics studying the use of the marks at the University of Warwick claim self-assembly furniture manufacturers could learn a lot from the ancient system and save thousands of pounds in production costs.

The marks are a sophisticated series of symbols which operated outside literacy and enabled instructions to be transferred between the designers and the constructors of buildings across the building world . The system is universal and different versions of Masons’ Marks have been found in use at various sites across the world, over a 4,000 year period.

Read and Watch the Video about the Mason Marks and the end of Flat Pack Furniture@PhysOrg

RECENT POSTS:
--Monday Ground Up: Archived Photography of the White Star Line and Her Ships
--TITANIC Tablet Unveiled - Seaman's Institute, Bishop Greer speaking (LOC)
--Medieval Mason's Marks The End of Boxed Furniture
--Heinrich Himmler, Nazi Occultism , and Astrology
--Oldest Remains of English Royalty Finally Confirmed

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Cool Cat Teacher Blog

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES, with reservations

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Cool Cat Teacher Blog, by Vicki Davis

WEB ADDRESS: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Award winning classroom technology teacher, IT director and parent talks about education, technology, students, teachers, effective use of technology, and how to connect students around the world with projects in meaningful global collaboration using powerful social media tools.

More than just teaching and technology, Cool Cat Teacher also shares inspiration and motivation for lifelong learning and harnessing tools in productive ways to improve your life!

Blogs, wikis, ebooks, iTouch's, cell phones, and virtual worlds are all part of this blog with real world examples from the classroom and around the world. It is time to stop blocking these amazing tools and using them in the classroom to promote learning!

Vicki Davis has three children and has created massive global collaborative projects including the Flat Classroom Project, Digiteen Digital Citizenship and has been featured by bestselling books by Thomas Friedman (the World is Flat), Don Tapscott (Grown Up Digital) and Curtis Bonk (the World is Open.)

She loves to have fun and use technology but also believes in balance. Stay up to date on current classroom practice with technology.

MY REVIEW: The author seems to post twice daily. One half of the posts are education and technology news, and are links - too much of a hassle to get on the web and read them. But the other post is a normal one, you get the entire feed, and it's worth reading if you're a teacher or a parent with kids in school.

School starts in only a month? Wow, how time flies.



_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Retro Review: The Indie Spotlight

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: The Indie Spotlight

WEB ADDRESS: http://theindiespotlight.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: A blog dedicated to showcasing Independent and Self Published authors for readers looking for fresh, new content.

MY REVIEW: Before I get into my complaints - which are more on the website than on the blog, let me say that I heartily recommend this blog to anyone who is a writer, wants to be a writer, or wants to know what the writing life is like.

Having said that...I found the title of the blog/website confusing, because to me, "Indies" are independent movies, whereas self-published books are...well, self-published books. "Selfies" maybe?

The website has more content then appears in the blog. For example there's an interview with Mark Jeffrey, author of the Max Quick series, that I never would have gotten to read if I hadn't visited the website as well as taken a look at the blog on Kindle. It appears that what gets fed to the Kindle is their "Features" section, and perhaps their "articles" section...

Truth to tell, I found the website poorly designed and confusing... although that just may be me. ; )

But, this is definitely another blog I'd prefer to read on the Kindle rather than at the website home, because it is just so much easier to take a look at the list of titles and decide which one you want to read, then to gaze at a bland and confusingly laid out website.

Each entry consists of a brief bio of an author, then an interview, and then an excerpt from the book in question. If you're interested in the writing process, and how writer's work, you'll enjoy this blog.

Here are a few paragraphs from the one article that fed through into my Kindle:

Logic vs Illogic – Hanging the Lanterns
by Edward C. Patterson

So you’ve finished your draft and have all your ducks in a row. You’re ready for the revision and, as you do your read-through, you begin to second-guess the logic of specific elements in your work. These logic flaws sometimes sneak up and stymie when you least expect them. Some are easy, continuity problems and relatively routine to fix. However, others are like quicksand. The more you try to resolve them, the more damage control you need to apply.

To my mind, there are four categories of logic lapses:

1. Continuity
2. Poor Research
3. Counter-active
4. Global

Continuity and Poor Research are the easiest to fix. They are also the elements most evident to editors, long before readers get their mitts on your book. Continuity is a lapse in memory. Simply put:

Paragraph one:

Tom inherited his wonderfully green eyes from his mother.

Paragraph two-hundred and eighty:

Suddenly, Tom’s eyes changed from blue to gold signifying the presence of Sydney’s spirit.

You might laugh, but I have in one of my novels a possession sequence, which has a blue-eyed character possessed by a green-eyed character. The effect was perfect, except I had the eye coloring wrong at two ends of the novel. Now because the continuity error was separated by nearly 200 pages, the reader may never had noticed, but never underestimate the reader.

The simpler paragraph-to-paragraph continuity lapses scarcely need mention. We all know that things that are pocketed are suddenly out in the open or pocketed twice. Characters leave twice, or never enter. However, in my opinion, the worse logic lapse is ignorance – the lack of proper research. Many times, we will make it up as we go along, and many times, we can get away with it. However, even if it is for short stretches, we, as authors, owe our readers a proper look and feel.

For example:

Sergeant O’Hara finished relieving himself in the muddy ditch, and then zipped up his fly.

Considering the above sentence is extracted from a Civil War novel, and the zipper wasn’t invented yet, it is anachronistic slop, which could have been avoided if the writer had taken some time to research Civil War uniforms in all their richness.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Gail Smith - The Cattle on a Thousand Hills (Feb 25, 2010)
-Kristen J. Tsetsi - Homefront (Feb 24, 2010)
-K. Raven Rozier - Last Door (Feb 23, 2010)
-J. Dean - The Summoning of Clade Josso (Feb 22, 2010)
-Logoc vs Illogic - Hanging the Lanterns (Feb 21, 2010)
-Dana E. Donovan - Abandoned (Feb 20, 2010)

Free Kindle Book!: The Sound of Many Waters

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009BT4336/

I just downloaded it today, and haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it's free only until December 6, so why not download it now if it sounds interesting to you? After that, the cost for the book is only $3.99 for the Kindle edition. It's also available on Paperback.

The Sound of Many Waters follows two interwoven journeys separated by four centuries.

Dominic, a ruthless New World conquistador, is the proud captain of a gold-filled galleon sailing home to Spain. But when a hurricane sinks his ship off the coast of La Florida and the native Timucuans take him captive, Dominic must fight to survive in an unfamiliar world.

In the present day, Capt. Zane Fisher--a recovering addict--cannot seem to escape the shadow of his tragic past. When a peculiar client charters his boat for what seems like a routine fishing trip off the coast of Palm Beach, they find a mysterious floating package and Zane is forced to flee into Florida's dark underbelly. Despite the four centuries that divide them, Dominic and Zane each discover the same extraordinary secret--one kept hidden in the wilds of Florida for eons--and their stories converge in an incredible way.

Bicycle Touring Pro

REVIEWED BY: Ms Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Bicycle Touring Pro, by Darren Alff

WEB ADDRESS: http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: BicycleTouringPro.com is a website aimed at those interested in bicycle touring and long distance travel.

Here you will find:

- A repository of useful articles for bicycle travelers. The articles are aimed to help you with all aspects of planning, preparing for and executing a short or long distance bicycle tour.

- A collection of audio recordings about long distance travel. You can listen to the recordings at any time through your computer speakers.

- Fresh content is added regularly. New content includes audio interviews with bicycle tourists and long distance travelers, how-to instructional articles and videos, as well as news and information from the world of bicycle travel.

MY REVIEW: Readers really get the trifecta with this blog - bicycling tips, bicycling gear and travel info.

The articles are well written, informative, and illustrated with photos. You get no-holds-barred reviews of new cycling gear, as well as reviews of travel destinations.

I enjoyed this blog a lot, every serious bicyclist will.

RECENT POSTS:
Kindle Readers – Get Free Lodging For Your Travels
You can now download The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging for the Amazon Kindle. Click...

The Bicycle Touring Pro’s 4×9 List
I saw this on Alastair Humphrey’s website. He saw it on Ben Saunders’....

Hybrid Backpack – The All Purpose Bicycle Carrier
The Hybrid Backpack is a product designed to help you carry odd-sized items on your...

The Village Of Arrow Rock: A National Historic Landmark
The tiny village of Arrow Rock is located 13 miles north of I-70 on Hwy 41 in Saline...


_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

The Lost tales of Mercia (web fiction serial)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: The Lost Tales of Mercia Webserial, by Jayden Woods

WEB ADDRESS: http://talesofmercia.wordpress.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: “The Lost Tales of Mercia” is a series of ten short stories set in England near the end of the Viking Age. Though fictional, they are heavily researched and feature many real historical figures as described in the ancient texts of the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.” They are intended to portray what might have and could have happened. These quick reads will entertain and educate at the same time. Read the stories in any order; though interconnected, they do not follow each other chronologically, and each tale stands alone.

The stories will be released every other Tuesday until October 5th. On that day the full book, "Eadric the Grasper," releases on amazon.com.
MY REVIEW: I love historical novels, and this is an excellent one. Well-researched and well written. Cost for the blog is only $1.99 a month (the cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks!) and for that you get a complete novel without having to wait until October.

Since you get a 2-week free subscription to decide if you like it, why not check it out and see what you think of the writing and the story?

Sample post:

History of the Danelaw

AKA the Danelagh, Seven Burroughs, Five Burghs, Seven Towns

The “Danelaw,” a term referring to the areas of ancient England in which the Danes ordained the law, originated near the year 880 A.D. During this time, King Alfred of the West Saxons and King Guthrum of the Vikings fought until both sides experienced severe losses. Most notably, Alfred defeated Gurthrum in the 878 Battle of Ethandun. But by then, many Danes had already settled throughout northeastern England.

The two Kings attempted to reach some semblance of peace with another. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states in its entry for 880 A.D.: “This year went the army from Cirencester into East-Anglia, where they settled, and divided the land.” The year the actual treaty took place is a matter of debate, but Kevin Crossley-Holland states it thus:

“… after he had beaten them at Edington, Alfred seems to have regained the initiative to such a degree that the Danes decided to make peace with him. As part of the new understanding between Alfred and Guthrum, the leader of the Danes agreed to be christened. In 886, the two men drew up a momentous treaty dividing England into two parts – Wessex and Danelaw.”

–Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Anglo-Saxon World, pg. 36

(more…)

RECENT POSTS:
--History of the Danelaw
--The Fifth Lost Tale: Alfgifu the Orphan
--History of Athelward the Historian
--The Fourth Lost Tale: Athelward the Historian

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

The Hessey Diaries

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: The Hessey Diaries, by Barnaby Capel-Dunn

WEB ADDRESS: http://hesseyfamily.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Middle class life in London and rural Essex, as depicted in the diaries of my grandmother during and after the Second World War.

MY REVIEW: This is an interesting blog that I think a history buff will enjoy. It's the type of blog that you'll have to read for a while to get to know the author, and I suggest you check out the actual website to view back entries. (By subscribing to Kindle you get several weeks worth, but I'd suggest starting even further back then that.

A fun blog if you're interested in what life was like in England in 1948.

RECENT POSTS:
Diary entries from 1948
_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:Seaborn: Oceanography BlogStar Trek Report: Space SciencesTopical Murder and Dated Death

This is Mamma's House (parenting)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: This Is Momma's House

WEB ADDRESS: http://thisismamashouse.blogspot.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: If mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy. Someone wanna run that by my crew?? This blog is a record of my life with 4 boys...3 being my children, the 4th being my husband.

MY REVIEW: Women with kids will probably love this blog.

It is well written, and the tales told are humorous. I don't enjoy these types of blogs as much as those written by dads, because of course mom's are supposed to be like this, where very few people think dad's do anything...or worse, should do anything. (I'm thinking to myself - what is this - your husband can't help you do the laundry? Your kids aren't old enough to help you out?)

Sample Paragraphs

I always let my kids have the best of everything. Whether it's the last piece of pizza, the last scoop of ice cream, the last glass of milk....I always give up what I want for them. Always.

(My mom used to do this when we were kids, and still does this, and drives me crazy! It's the last scoop of icecream, you have it! And in any event my brother, the eldest kid in the family, had and has no respect for her, just because she's so willing to cast herself as unworthy of having the final piece of pie, et al. When your mom doesn't hold herself in high esteem, how can you as a kid respect her? I had those feelings to as a kid, also, I expected her to give me everything I wanted because of how she treated us - and yes, I got it, but she got no respect for it - now as a grown woman of 48 it still infuriates me when she does this - she still does this. But she sees herself as a mom who sacrifices for her kids first, last and always, instead of a an individual with just as much right to exist as her kids, and maybe even more because she is the parent.

Okay, sorry about that rant.

Here's a better example of her writing.

It's no secret that I can't cook. I try, really I do. I want my kids to have delicious, balanced meals that they can turn their noses up at. But it seems that no matter how hard I try, I always fall flat.

Well, not always. There are occasions where I actually produce a great meal. Last night was not one of those.

I had planned to cook chili. My chili recipe consists of browning hamburger meat before adding it to several cans of different type beans and stirring. That's it. Simple enough, huh? Yeah, you would think.

I had fended off several thigh attacks from my younger two while standing in front of the stove when I realized there was an awful lot of smoke coming from the pan. I was browning the meat, so I expected it to smoke, but what I saw was excessive, even for me. I ushered the kids out of the kitchen, because in my head I already knew what was about to happen. I was right.

I slid the pan off the eye, and the sudden introduction of oxygen caused a hot orange flame to burst forth and threaten to melt my mounted microwave.

A sight like that should cause panic. After all, most people aren't accustomed to seeing flames erupting from their stovetop. Most people aren't me.

This is the sixth, yes I said sixth, time I've set my stove on fire. I'm so used to seeing flames by now that there is no panic at all. I remember the first time it happened. I freaked out and covered the kitchen in fire extinguisher foam. Not anymore. I laughed to myself and said, "Well, damn. The kitchen's on fire again," as I opened the cabinet below me and reached for a pot lid.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Passion vs Payday (an interesting post on her writing ambitions)
-Life's Moments (young son flunks a social studies test)
-Man am I HOT (Mom can't cook!)
-Mama's My Name, Laundry's My Game
-One Day With Chuck E. (Cheese - at the restaurant)
-You're Gonna Miss This (a song with foolish lyrics about raising kids)

The Mogul Mom (entrepreneurship)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: The Mogul Mom Blog

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.themogulmom.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Written by a seasoned mom entrepreneur, The Mogul Mom blog offers free coaching, camaraderie, ideas, information, resources & recommendations for mom entrepreneurs.

MY REVIEW: In these tough economic times, mom's have to bring in an income, as well as their husbands. (Or partners, or if they are single moms or divorced moms). This blog will help women with small kids learn how to run their own businesses.

The info here is important if you want to bring home your own income. Subscribe to it.

Sample post:

How To Clear Your Website Clutter In 3 Key Areas by Reese Spykermanby Heather Allard on July 21, 2010

You know that feeling when you walk out into the living room, and all the stuff is put in place, and your amazing bookcase looks orderly, and there’s a clear line of sight out to the porch to check out the yard in the summer? Yeah. That. That’s what we’re going for here, but on your website.

There’s peace in de-cluttering. Calm. A sense of empowerment. Order in the midst of chaos.

So imagine what it would be like if your site or blog felt like this. Not just for you, but for your visitors, too. Imagine them coming to your site and thinking, even if subconsciously, “ahhh” because it’s an oasis of clarity among millions of sites overloaded with too much stuff.

It’s possible. You, too, can have a website that Martha Stewart would envy. (if you’re into that sort of thing). When you declutter your website, your audience appreciates it. They’re more likely to read. To buy. To stay a while, soak up your goodness, and engage.

Here are three ways you can start:

1. Your sidebar: it’s like the space under the kitchen sink
Send your sidebar to Goodwill. This place is notorious for collecting unneeded junk. 10 badges for all the networks you’re in? (Never mind that 80% of them either no longer exist or aren’t doing a thing to help bolster your brand’s perception). That specialty search bar you hope will bring in a few coins a month? Or how about 80 different ways to navigate through your blog (archives. categories. tags. fruit of the month club).

Here’s all that you really need on the sidebar:

Your email sign up list (and if you deliver posts by email, roll this into the same newsletter as whatever other newsletter you offer. Less for you to manage, and easier for readers to understand).Make this your topmost sidebar item, and see your sign up rates improve. (It doesn’t hurt to have a fun, non-smarmy call to action or small “treat” you give for free to entice sign ups)
A small RSS icon (seriously, this doesn’t need to be massive)
Neat and clean social networking links (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin). Don’t include 80 of them here. just 2-4 of the ones most people visit.
Category links (to allow people to browse archives by category)
A search box (just the factory default one that came with your content management system or blogging software, please. Or powered by Google works, too, in a pinch. Generally you look more professional when you aren’t pimping out other company’s things in a sponsored search bar).
An additional call to action (This serves as a small graphical promo or something you want people to see/know about. Completely optional but use it to promote one or two of your best things (product, service, etc))
2. Clean up your home (page)
If you have a blog on your home page, don’t put the entirety of each entry on there. Yes, some people do like to read the whole shebang of each entry down the home page, but cutting your excerpts to small blurbs helps:

1. keep reader’s attention
2. improve search engine happiness
3. showcase more of your awesomeness on the home page
3. Navigate your way to happier readers
Recently I had to live in someone else’s home for 4 months. I couldn’t find a damn thing. Tongs? Knives? Paper towel? All up in the air. Now we’ll forgive this home because I’m sure she knew just where everything is. But if this home had been a website, I would have left.

Your people need to know where to go in a matter of a nanosecond. You can make this easy for them by having a strong, easy-to-read navigation placed high and prominent on the site.

Avoid things like mystery meat (I know. The kitchen analogies are getting old). Mystery meat is when you don’t use words for your navigation, but just images that are all clever and goofy and leave people wondering if they’ll get dancing chickens if they click on one of them. Avoid uber-fancy fonts (script faces are hard to read) and drop-down menus. (Yes, I use them at times, but only when the client really begs). Make the verbiage concise, like our own dear Heather does here on her site. (It’s both attractive and clear).

Do these things as best you can, and you’ll be well on your way to a clutter-free website that gives you a sigh of relief, and makes your readers more endeared to you.

Question for you, lovely reader:

What things do you find most helpful on a website, and what cluttered stuff annoys you the most?

Post by Reese Spykerman
Reese Spykerman is a designer and quasi world explorer. She lives part time in SE Asia, where she sometimes succeeds at keeping her home clutter free. Reese recently created a course called “The Great Name Claim” that teaches you how to claim your name through various online profiles and look awesome in places like Yelp, LinkedIn, and Facebook. As a special gift to The Mogul Mom readers, she’s giving 15% off the course until July 31, 2010, when you use the coupon code mogulmom to check out.

RECENT POSTS:
--How To Clear Your Website Clutter In 3 Key Areas by Reese
--Trade Shows
--Marketing To Retailers
--Video: 3 Ways To Find Out Who’s Talking About You On Twitter
--Bring The Spa Home With Infused
--

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Somebody Dies (mystery fiction reviews)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Somebody Dies, by Craig Clarke

WEB ADDRESS: http://somebodydies.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Somebody Dies is the premier multi-genre book-review blog, covering crime, horror, and Western fiction (with the occasional digression into other arenas). From the obscure to the mainstream, from forgotten "classics" to the newest releases, everyone can find something to enjoy.

MY REVIEW: This is an excellent book review blog. The author reviews crime, horror and western fiction, "with the occasional digression." His reviews are thorough, covering all aspects of the book in question, something many reviewers don't do. When he reviews audio books, he also gives opinoins as to the quality of the narration, so that's a plus if most of your "reading" is done via audio.

The author averages one review a week, two at the most.

Sample review:

Trail Drive to Montana (Gunsmith #69) by Gary McCarthy writing as J.R. Roberts
Regular readers of this repository of reviews will likely know that I am a big fan of The Gunsmith, which is the only long-running adult Western series still primarily written by a single author under a pseudonym, in this case Robert J. Randisi under the moniker J. R. Roberts. However, he has not written all of them. Randisi stated in a 2007 interview with Saddlebums Western Review that his publisher early on wanted more books than he could turn out on his own. Thus, around 30 of the first 100 were contracted from other authors to fulfill the twelve-a-year quota.

Later, I learned from an interview on Western Fiction Review that author Gary McCarthy, who had written a book I had recently enjoyed called The Pony Express War, had been one of those writers. (He reportedly wrote four Gunsmith novels.) As I enjoy cattle-drive novels, I chose McCarthy's first for the series, Trail Drive to Montana, to see if I could detect a difference in styles.

Actually, it was easy. From page one of Trail Drive to Montana, I would at least have known that it was not from the usual author. Randisi has a fast-paced, easy reading style that utilizes punchy dialogue and short, sharp paragraphs. The first paragraph of this book has 20 lines of small text, and there's no real conversation for five pages. This is not a criticism of either style, merely an illustration of how different they are.

McCarthy shows you the whole picture, and this slows things down a bit compared to the norm for this series, but I must admit to the appeal of seeing ex-lawman and professional gunsmith Clint Adams being genuinely articulate instead of simply a man of action. Even the heroine remarks, "You got a fine way with words, Mr. Adams."

She is Mandy Roe, whom Adams discovers after her horse is killed and she is left stranded underneath it. Her father is Bart Roe, the former outlaw pardoned by the governor and now an innovative cattle breeder in his 80s, who still has as fiery a temper as ever. Or, as Clint says, "He's the craziest old son of a bitch I ever saw in my life." (Having a way with words means you sometimes get right to the point.)

The Roes need to drive their herd of special crossbreeds up to Montana, away from the vengeful Moffit clan, seeking revenge for a 25-year-old transgression. The Gunsmith, in no way a cowboy and actually quite proud of the fact, agrees to accompany them on the journey. Unlike typical Texas longhorns, who are known as "rainbow cattle" for the variety of their hues, the Roe herd is exceptionally uniform in size and color, selected for those attributes in the breeding process.

Dr. Thomas Thom, Bart Roe's brother-in-law and an equal partner in the breeding, makes a connection between the longhorns and Americans. As he puts it, "Crossbreeding almost always results in a more vigorous strain of beef. It accounts for much of the American drive and energy. You see, this country is the greatest bunch of crossbred people in the world.... We are not in-bred like many of the old-line European families. We have greater vigor. So does this herd."

McCarthy fills Trail Drive to Montana with the expected level of action (of both types), and an additonal level of description that makes for a richer read than the typical series novel. He is quickly working his way toward an entry on my list of favorite authors, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

Further reading: For another adult Western series novel about a cattle drive, read Longarm on the Goodnight Trail. For more "respectable" novels on the subject, Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series, starting with The Goodnight Trail, is also a winner. And of course, there's the epic of all Westerns, Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize–winning Lonesome Dove, which also centers around a trail drive.

RECENT POSTS:
--Trail Drive to Montana (Gunsmith #69) by Gary McCarthy writing as J.R. Roberts
--Psycho by Robert Bloch (unabridged audio book read...
--Sea Fangs by L. Ron Hubbard (unabridged audio book performed by a full cast)
--Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker (unabridged audio book read by Titus Welliver)
--Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (unabridged audio books read by Ilyana Kadushin)

_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Bitesized Languages

http://www.bitesizedlanguages.com/

Bitesized Languages is not available for subscription via the Kindle, but then, it doesn't really need to be. You can subscribe to it for free and have it delivered to your mailbox.

All it is is one sentence a day, translated into English and... whatever language you've chosen. I've chosen Spanish and German (I get two separate emails.) The sentence is the same in both languages, so I"m learning both languages simultaneously, which is fun.

It's a lot easier to learn to read a language than it is to speak it. If you just want to be able to read books in the original, check out Bitesized Languages as a teaching aid.

Susan Katz Keating (Politics)

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Susan Katz Keating, by Susan Katz Keating
[Note that the blog is listed twice, one as $1.99, the other as .99. I've given you the link to the 99 cent version!]

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.susankatzkeating.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Sometimes serious, other times snarky: Author, national security insider, and Expert marksman Susan Katz Keating on PTSD, FUBARs, brilliantly executed missions, and much more.

MY REVIEW: Susan Katz Keating is the author of Prisoners of Hope:: Exploiting the POW/MIA Myth in America in 1994, as well as Women of the West, Native American Rivalries (Native American Life), and Saudi Arabia (Modern Middle East Nations and Their Strategic Place in the World).

She's a Republican, I'd wager, and supports the troops. Check out her blog, it's pretty interesting.

Sample post:

What Next From Saudi Clerics? Adult Breastfeeding Edict Boggles the Mind
Flat-out nuttiness from Saudi clerics: women should breastfeed adult male non-relatives. That way, the men become family members, and it's okay to mingle with the chicks. This is the sort of thing that makes me wonder if dangerous mind-altering chemicals from the oil fields have leeched into the Saudi water supply. How else to explain such lunatic ideas...

RECENT POSTS:
--Courtney Keating on Restrepo: A Guest Post
--Response on That Michael Yon SOS...
--Danish Med Team Needed STAT to Field-Triage the Ranting Michael Yon
--Resisting the Impulse to Hog All the Web Traffic on Chuck's Post: Teaser on Solution to Israel Situation
--What Next From Saudi Clerics? Adult Breastfeeding Edict Boggles the Mind

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Gawker (arts ad Entertainment)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Gawker, by Gawker

WEB ADDRESS: http://gawker.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Gawker is the group's flagship title, a mix of pop culture and media gossip, updated more than a dozen times a day. Gawker is compulsory reading for New York editors and reporters, and often sets the agenda for the entertainment weeklies, gossip columns such as Page Six, and the soft sections of newspapers such as the New York Times.

MY REVIEW: I enjoyed this blog. It doesn't get that political (as a reviewer on its Amazon subscription page said) and has interesting comments about events of the day.

The blog is updated by several authors each day.

Highly recommended.

Sample post:

Love Means Not Knowing Anything About Your Partner
Love is... commitment. Love is... compromise. Love is... not giving a shit about what your partner likes. A new study indicates that people in long-lasting marriages know less about their partners than people in shorter relationships.

The study, conducted by University of Basel psychologists Benjamin Scheibehenne and Jutta Mata alongside Indiana University psychologist Peter Todd, asked participants to rate their and their partners' preferences in food, movies and kitchen designs. The young couples, aged 19 to 32 and in one-to-two-year committed relationships, were able to correctly guess their partners' preferences 47 percent of the time, whereas the older couples, aged 62 to 78, were only 40 percent accurate, proving that basically no one knows that much about their partners, but old people really don't know that much. According to researchers, the biggest gap came with food.

Why does this gap arise? It could be that older couples don't pay as much attention to their partners anymore now that they've "got that shit locked down," to use the scientific terminology. It could also be that your husband so goddamn boring, how on earth are you supposed to keep track of how he wants the kitchen to look?

The older couples also tended to attribute "their own food, movie and design preferences to partners who had different opinions." The most telling finding, though, is that more long-term couples said they were satisfied with their relationships than the younger couples. That's right: The secret to a lasting, satisfying marriage is just assuming your partner likes all the same things as you.

RECENT POSTS:
--YouTube Comments Are No Longer Safe for Mean People on the Internet
--Did Someone Lose the Nuclear Launch Codes?
--Love Means Not Knowing Anything About Your Partner
--Chilean Miners Already Sick of Media Attention
--Anti-Rand Paul Ad Basically Accuses Him of Being an Alien Shaman
_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Somebody Dies

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Somebody Dies, by Craig Clarke

WEB ADDRESS: http://somebodydies.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Somebody Dies is the premier multi-genre book-review blog, covering crime, horror, and Western fiction (with the occasional digression into other arenas). From the obscure to the mainstream, from forgotten "classics" to the newest releases, everyone can find something to enjoy.

MY REVIEW: This is an excellent book review blog. The author reviews crime, horror and western fiction, "with the occasional digression." His reviews are thorough, covering all aspects of the book in question, something many reviewers don't do. When he reviews audio books, he also gives opinoins as to the quality of the narration, so that's a plus if most of your "reading" is done via audio.

The author averages one review a week, two at the most.

Sample review:

Trail Drive to Montana (Gunsmith #69) by Gary McCarthy writing as J.R. Roberts
Regular readers of this repository of reviews will likely know that I am a big fan of The Gunsmith, which is the only long-running adult Western series still primarily written by a single author under a pseudonym, in this case Robert J. Randisi under the moniker J. R. Roberts. However, he has not written all of them. Randisi stated in a 2007 interview with Saddlebums Western Review that his publisher early on wanted more books than he could turn out on his own. Thus, around 30 of the first 100 were contracted from other authors to fulfill the twelve-a-year quota.

Later, I learned from an interview on Western Fiction Review that author Gary McCarthy, who had written a book I had recently enjoyed called The Pony Express War, had been one of those writers. (He reportedly wrote four Gunsmith novels.) As I enjoy cattle-drive novels, I chose McCarthy's first for the series, Trail Drive to Montana, to see if I could detect a difference in styles.

Actually, it was easy. From page one of Trail Drive to Montana, I would at least have known that it was not from the usual author. Randisi has a fast-paced, easy reading style that utilizes punchy dialogue and short, sharp paragraphs. The first paragraph of this book has 20 lines of small text, and there's no real conversation for five pages. This is not a criticism of either style, merely an illustration of how different they are.

McCarthy shows you the whole picture, and this slows things down a bit compared to the norm for this series, but I must admit to the appeal of seeing ex-lawman and professional gunsmith Clint Adams being genuinely articulate instead of simply a man of action. Even the heroine remarks, "You got a fine way with words, Mr. Adams."

She is Mandy Roe, whom Adams discovers after her horse is killed and she is left stranded underneath it. Her father is Bart Roe, the former outlaw pardoned by the governor and now an innovative cattle breeder in his 80s, who still has as fiery a temper as ever. Or, as Clint says, "He's the craziest old son of a bitch I ever saw in my life." (Having a way with words means you sometimes get right to the point.)

The Roes need to drive their herd of special crossbreeds up to Montana, away from the vengeful Moffit clan, seeking revenge for a 25-year-old transgression. The Gunsmith, in no way a cowboy and actually quite proud of the fact, agrees to accompany them on the journey. Unlike typical Texas longhorns, who are known as "rainbow cattle" for the variety of their hues, the Roe herd is exceptionally uniform in size and color, selected for those attributes in the breeding process.

Dr. Thomas Thom, Bart Roe's brother-in-law and an equal partner in the breeding, makes a connection between the longhorns and Americans. As he puts it, "Crossbreeding almost always results in a more vigorous strain of beef. It accounts for much of the American drive and energy. You see, this country is the greatest bunch of crossbred people in the world.... We are not in-bred like many of the old-line European families. We have greater vigor. So does this herd."

McCarthy fills Trail Drive to Montana with the expected level of action (of both types), and an additonal level of description that makes for a richer read than the typical series novel. He is quickly working his way toward an entry on my list of favorite authors, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

Further reading: For another adult Western series novel about a cattle drive, read Longarm on the Goodnight Trail. For more "respectable" novels on the subject, Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series, starting with The Goodnight Trail, is also a winner. And of course, there's the epic of all Westerns, Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize–winning Lonesome Dove, which also centers around a trail drive.

RECENT POSTS:
--Trail Drive to Montana (Gunsmith #69) by Gary McCarthy writing as J.R. Roberts
--Psycho by Robert Bloch (unabridged audio book read...
--Sea Fangs by L. Ron Hubbard (unabridged audio book performed by a full cast)
--Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker (unabridged audio book read by Titus Welliver)
--Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (unabridged audio books read by Ilyana Kadushin)

_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

London Ccylist

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: London Cyclist, by Andreas

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: This personal blog run by Andreas is for commuters in London and everywhere. It aims to help you get the most out of your every day cycle.

MY REVIEW: If you're a bicyclist, or a cyclist, as they say in England, you'll enjoy this blog. If you're planninng on visiting London and want to be able to bike around, you'll love this blog.

Even though the author is in England, and some of what he talks about - accesories and so on, are only available in England, I think this will be of use to all cyclists everywhere, just to know what's out there.

Recommended.

RECENT POSTS:
--Continental City Contact Tyre i.e. Whoooosh!
--What is the best cycling accessory you’ve bought in the past 12 months?
--Barclays cycle hire arrives on the Android
--10 reasons you’ll love the London Cyclist newsletter
--The lessons London can learn from the Velo’V cycle hire scheme

_______________________
Ms. Cairo writes several blogs including:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Topical Murder and Dated Death

Hawaii Vacation Blog

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Hawaii Vacation Blog

WEB ADDRESS: www.blogcatalog.com/blog/explore-hawaii

BLOG DESCRIPTION: An adventure blog to guide you to all the hotspots on the islands of Hawaii. Hop onboard and follow the tracks of the Trailblazer Travel Book authors.

OUR REVIEW: Ah, how I’d love to be in Hawaii right now. It’s not in the cards however, so the Hawaii Vacation Blog is a nice substitute. It’s written by people who actually live in and have traveled throughout all the Hawaiian islands. (Just as a point of interest, the Big Island of Hawaii is not actually the one people think about when they think of Hawaii, that’d be Oahu, on which is located Honolulu. Just in case you don't know that!)

RECENT ARTICLES:

• Staying on Oahu
• Guide Me (uninformative title for an entry about the Big Island
• The Once and Present Place to Be – Mauna Lani Resort
• Lyon Arboretum – it’s grrreeat!
• Some enchanted evening article on the Fairmont Orchid Hotel

Tracy Thomas Photography

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes!

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Tracy Thomas Photography

WEB ADDRESS: http://tracyjthomasphotography.wordpress.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: This blog provides a glimpse into the creative process that exists behind my photography and describes the feelings that affect my subject choices.

MY REVIEW: Usually when I review a photography blog, I say, "Great blog, but unsuitable for the Kindle." That's because the photos are in color, and the Kindle of course gives them in greyscale.

But for Tracy J. Thomas' Photography blog, I take it back. The photos reproduce excellently in black and white. They weren't originally shot that way - they are in color at her website and look pretty good there, as well, but for whatever reason, they also make great b&w portraits... more so than those from other photog blogs I've looked at. (Perhaps it's the resolution at which she produces them?)

In addition, the author also talks a bit about the photo, andabout her creative process, which makes the blog doubly interesting.

The only flaw, both on the Kindle and at her actual website, is that she shrinks the photos too much. Oh, the impact is still there, but it'd be nice if they were larger. But I suppose since she is a professional photog (which means she sells these photos as prints), she doesn't want to reproduce them lifesize.

I recommend this blog highly.

Sample post

Photo: UFO Watchtower, Hooper, Colorado.

There certainly are a lot of mysteries in this world. Things beyond human comprehension that do not seem to fall into the realm of logic. Some of us toy with the possibility of a spiritual realm, using strange tools like EVP’s, IR illuminators and thermal imaging to try to capture evidence of the ethereal. For centuries now, humans have been praying blindly by faith without any concrete evidence whatsoever, that something greater than themselves actually hears their pleadings. If Christians can believe in a Holy Spirit and the resurrection, then why not believe in the existence of ghosts? Alternately, there are those on this earth who doubt the possibility of anything beyond the concrete and the physical. They choose to place all their faith in that institution called “science” to prove or disprove reality. So if one’s faith is in science, then what of Quantum Physics with its invisible units of energy? Our own planet is but a tiny grain of sand surrounded by a universe that stretches into infinity. How is it that we as human beings became so egocentric that we believe we are the only planet with any form of intelligent life?

Whether you believe in the possibility of little green men with advanced technology traveling from afar to visit our world or you guffaw at the notion that there is any entity out there with an intelligence far greater than yours, all must pay a visit to the UFO Watchtower in Hooper, Colorado at least once in their lifetime. Peruse the alien abduction books in the bookstore. Pick up a glow-in-the-dark Alien Frisbee for the kiddies, then stroll through the Healing Garden and leave your own quirky offering at the alien shrine. Before you leave you must stand for a while on the metal platform to soak up the breathtaking view of the Sangre de Cristo’s in the distance. Take a few moments to look towards the Heavens, and maybe if you are lucky, you might spy something otherworldly in the sky.

RECENT POSTS:
--UFO Watchtower…Really
--Abandoned
--For the Love of Birds
--In Search of Open Spaces
--Rusty Pier

___________________
Ms. Cairo writes two blogs of her own:
Winged Victory: Women in Aviation
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters

Drink of the Week

REVIEWED BY: Ann Currie

MY RECOMMENDATION:Yes

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Frink of the Week

WEB ADDRESS:http: www.drinkoftheweek.com/category/blog

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Drink of the Week is an enjoyable bar blog that offers delicious drink recipes on a weekly basis, in addition to advice and information about bar supplies.

MY REVIEW: Why didn't a find this in college. Well, that's easy, we didn't have the internet. Each blog, one drink, a picture, a little history (or lore), maybe a story or quote, then the recipe and directions. The rest is up to you.

It's a simple concept but well played. I'm quite sure there is some commercial sponsorship here. Who knew that in a Vesper one would want to use Tru2 organic gin, or a entire post is dedicated to Skyy vodka. Some posts, such as the one for Mint Juleps, describe several different brands of bourbon. But, it still works. Keep your kindle with you when you entertain and show off some new skills.

This is a well done blog on very popular subject. And, far those who enjoy adult beverages there is a lot to be learned and one can broaden their range. I personally found the history amusing.

Sample post:

Vesper
"I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made."
-James Bond, "Casino Royale"

The "one drink" that Bond is talking about is the Vesper--named after villain/love interest Vesper Lynd. Made with gin, vodka and Lillet, this martini variation, it is indeed very strong.

Vesper
3 oz. gin
1 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. You can shake or you can stir. A shaken drink will be a little colder. A stirred drink will be a little stronger. The drink is served up (with no ice).

Extra credit info:

Bond was very particular about the brands used in his drink, although the liquors he names have changed formulation in recent years. The vodka Bond was talking about would be 100 proof, and at the time Gordon's gin was 94-proof--both stronger than what we typically use now. Today's Lillet Blanc contains less quinine than the Kina Lillet of 1953, meaning it is slightly less bitter. If you want to replicate the Bond version using a high-proof vodka and gin, you can also add a dash of orange or Angostura bitters or quinine powder.

I think the drink is plenty strong as is and don't miss the bitterness. For our version, we used Tru2 organic gin, Rain vodka and Lillet Blanc. The Tru2 has a light amber color with citrus and spice notes more pronounced than in a London dry gin. Rain vodka is smooth and doesn't overpower the taste of the gin. Lillet Blanc, which is in between dry and sweet vermouth in character, compliments botanical and citrus flavors perfectly.

RECENT POSTS:
--What's up, Doc? Cocktail
--Vesper
--Lucid Frappe
--Sex and the City, 2 Cocktails from Skyy
--Nightclub and Bar Convention 2010

________________
Ann Currie writes two blogs:
My Life a Bit South of Normal
Silver Pieces: The Strange and Peculiar

Aboard Madrigal

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES, with reservations

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Aboard Madrigal, by Jenny Halteman

WEB ADDRESS: http://aboardmadrigal.blogspot.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Justin and Jenny live aboard a 35' Ericson sailboat in Boston Harbor with their dog Willie and cat Gollum. Follow their adventures and dreams and learn more about living aboard as they blog about their life.

MY REVIEW: Why live in a house when you culd live on a sailboat? Although why you'd live on a boat in Boston Harbor when you could be sailing the world... at least, those areas of it which are still safe, shrinking though they may be..

Anyway, this is an interesting blog, with a single problem, the authors don't post in it enough. A married couple, the wife is just now pregnant...how she is going to handle living on water and dealing with morning sickness I do not know.

It's an insight into a different way of life, check it out.

RECENT POSTS:
--Hurricane Earl
--Guppy
--Week 8
--Cruising World

_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Moving at the Speed of Creativity

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES, with reservations

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Moving at the Speed of Creativity, by Wesley Fryer

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.speedofcreativity.org/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Moving at the Speed of Creativity blog posts and podcasts focus on blended learning, digital literacy, technology integration, web 2.0 tools, authentic assessment, school transformation, digital storytelling, and educational leadership issues.

MY REVIEW: I'm giving this blog a recommendation of "Yes, with reservations" because, although it is an excellent blog, most entries have videos or podcasts that of course cannot be viewed or heard on the Kindle, so you need to go to the website to listen to them.

However, for getting an idea of what's going on in education, I think this is an extremely valuable blog.

Here's a bio of the author from his website:

Wesley Fryer is a digital learning consultant, author, digital storyteller, educator and change agent. With respect to school change, he describes himself as a "catalyst for creative engagement and collaborative learning." Wesley serves as a co-convener for the annual K-12 Online Conference and is the executive director of the nonprofit Story Chasers Inc., the lead partner in the statewide Celebrate Oklahoma Voices digital storytelling project. His blog, "Moving at the Speed of Creativity" (www.speedofcreativity.org) was selected as the 2006 "Best Learning Theory Blog" by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education, and is utilized regularly by thousands of educators worldwide. Wesley secured $1.3 million in grant funding for West Texas schools participating in the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot Project in 2004-2008. He was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2005. He was an elementary classroom teacher for six years in Texas public schools before serving as a college director of distance learning for five years. He worked for AT&T from 2006 - 2008 as the Director of Education Advocacy, and the Director of Technology and Education Outreach for the Oklahoma Heritage Association from July 2008 - January 2009. Wesley is completing his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at Texas Tech University.

Sample post:
YouTube and iTunes fame paying off for Alabama family
The news article, "Internet Meme Turns Headline into iTunes Hit" shares the inspiring story of crime victims turned empowered entrepreneurs in Alabama. Antoine Dodson's angry rant to reporters following the attempted rape of a family member in his home went viral on YouTube, and he recorded a song about the incident which is now being purchased by thousands on iTunes. He hopes their family will move out of "the projects" soon with the extra funds. An inspiring tale well worth reading and sharing.
All of us are a YouTube post away from national media attention. Are your students equipped to make ethical choices with the power at their fingertips in our "publish at will" era? Remember to make discussions about digital citizenship a regular part of your curriculum this year. This would be a good story to share and discuss together.
[I dont' share the video]

RECENT POSTS:
--Best games for kids on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
--Cell Phone Computers or Mobile Learning Devices (MLDs)
--Free eBook: Henry Jenkins on Participatory Culture and Media Education
--Laptop Learning in Massachusetts: BYOL on the horizon?
--Why publish school updates on Facebook?
--Easily Sync Google Calendars to your iPhone

_______________________
Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

Improve Your General Knowledge in your Leisure Time

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: Improve Your General Knowledge in Leisure Time!

WEB ADDRESS: gklt.blogspot.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: It provides readers with information that people should know as their general knowledge; the knowledge that is well known or must be known by everyone. This blog is to help people establish their common framework in a social context to know general items in various areas of social life, science, business, technology, art, sport, universe, creatures, etc. It presents the information in an easy way to read, memorize (also to improve memory) and self-test. So readers could improve their general knowledge while enjoying their leisure time.

MY REVIEW: Each entry in Improve Your General Knowledge is simply a piece of trivia.

For example:

Jeopardy: The American quiz show featuring trivia in topics such as science, literature, history, music, culture, sports, etc.

Cold Mountain: wounded soldier, Inman, leaves the Civil War and walks home to his sweetheart Ada in Charles Frazier’s book: Cold Mountain.

The Falkland Islands: IN 1842, the British made Stanley the capital of the Falkland Islands of Argentina.

Well, the trivia is interesting, and it can certainly act as a spring board to do further research, should you find one of the trivia pieces is interesting.

I just wish that each piece of trivia would actually give a bit more information. Two paragraphs are better than one!

RECENT ARTICLES:

• Answer for Crossword Puzzle No. 2
• Crossword Puzzle No. 2
• Jeopardy!
• Cold Mountain
• The Falkland Islands

Hoystory

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Hoystory, published by Hoystory.

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.hoystory.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Commentary and criticism on media, politics and society.

MY REVIEW: This is a right-wing blog, which means that it's a conservative blog. I have no problem with that. Indeed, as I said a few weeks ago when I first started reviewing Democraft and Republican blogs, although I'm a Republican, I like reading blogs from "the other side" so as to get the complete story on any one issue before making up my mind. Perhaps I'm more of an independent than a Republican.

In any event, posts are driven by what's happening in the world on that particular day. It's interesting. Give it a try.

Some sample paragraphs:

Have you ever wondered why your flood insurance doesn’t pay off when your house burns to the ground?

No?

Well, then you’re smarter than that guy in the White House.

When I was young, just got out of college, I had to buy auto insurance. I had a beat-up old car. And I won’t name the name of the insurance company, but there was a company — let’s call it Acme Insurance in Illinois. And I was paying my premiums every month. After about six months I got rear-ended and I called up Acme and said, I’d like to see if I can get my car repaired, and they laughed at me over the phone because really this was set up not to actually provide insurance; what it was set up was to meet the legal requirements. But it really wasn’t serious insurance.

Now, it’s one thing if you’ve got an old beat-up car that you can’t get fixed. It’s another thing if your kid is sick, or you’ve got breast cancer.

This just in: the state insurance minimums, which is what Obama certainly had if he was driving “a beat-up old car,” cover liability. Not comprehensive. Not collision.

I can see it now. Everyone is required to buy liability, comprehensive, collision, towing by the federal government because we don’t want stupid people to be confused. Yes, they’ll pay more, but they’re getting better insurance – whether they want it or not. Driving a 1978 Ford Pinto that requires you to park on a hill because the starter’s shot? Is the floor rusted almost clean through? Well, you definitely need collision coverage on that clunker.

Was Obama paying attention in driver’s ed? They cover this stuff there.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Remember, He's Smart (pointing out Obama's errors on health care)
-Health care reform (comments on the health care debate between Obama and the Dems and the Republicans
-Don't bring a spork to a gun fight (Howard Friel and a book called The Lomborg Deception) on global warming) A post that necessitates you go to the web to download a PDF
-The right to be paid for what you create (complaints about uncompensated journalism, and appropriate of stock photos without paying for them - done from "liberal sites" like Huffington Post) [as an aside, if people are willing to write for free, even if it does drive down fees for writers who like to be paid for what they write...it's a free country. As for using stock photos - hey, that's what stock photo means! So many people use them on the web that eventually it's impossible to know who - if anybody - owns it. I'm willing to cut some slack on this.]
-This used to get people fired (MSNBC regular Donny Deutsch calls Republican senate candidate Marco Rubio of Florida as a coconut.) Hoystory points out that its analgous to calling a black person an Oreo. A coconut is deragatory slang for a Latino attempting to appear white. Although this did create some controversy, apparenlty Deutsch is still employed (and you know that had he been a Republican leaning reporter saying that about a Democrat, he'd've been fired the next day!)

How To Get Focused

and our final retro-review for the day! Rest assured new blogs will be reviewed starting Tuesday and it will be business as usual!


REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION PAGE: How To Get Focused

WEB ADDRESS: http://howtogetfocused.com

BLOG DESCRIPTION: How To Get Focused, by Scott Scheper, is an online book that covers a variety of topics which teach one how to get their life back and get focused in an age of distraction.

MY REVIEW: This may be one of those times when it is actually more attractive to read a blog on Kindle than at the actual web address for the blog. Each of the blog entries, at the web address, is illustrated by a photo, and so you've got a table of ten squares - two across and five down, each one with an article title, a paragraph, and a photo. Frankly, I'd rather see the list of entry titles, and choose from them which entries I want to read. Of course, that means that the entry titles have to be descriptive - which they are in this particular blog.

I enjoyed reading this blog, because what the author has to say makes a lot of sense. Life is simply too short to waste even a second of it, or even an "unforgiving minute" of it. By learning how to focus on your goals, you will improve your life, and this blog will help you to do it.

SAMPLE PARAGRAPHS

The secret history of flow
The concept of flow was recently proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, in which flow was characterized as a state of completely immersible, focused energy. Because of Mihaly’s inspiring work, many fell into the belief that the concept is modern–they think the concept of flow is new. A state that describes the zone athletes enter into. History makes it clear that the concept of flow is not new. It’s been described for thousands of years–and the concept has been explicitly defined over-and-over again. Below, we’ll look into different cultures’ descriptions of flow.

Taoism’s sacred belief of flow
Wu Wei is an ancient concept rooted in Chinese Taoism. Wu Wei is the belief that one is at its most natural behavior when he or she doesn’t have to think about acting, or think about creating. By definition, “Wu” translates to not having; “Wei” translates to action. Combined, this translates to not having to act.

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