My Questions of the Week this week concern comments, and I hope they will generate some! 1) Has commenting activity been slow on your blog this week? It’s definitely been quiet here, and I’m hoping it’s not something I said! Two out of four posts since Monday got no comments at all, which is always disappointing. But if I’m not the only one in the blogiverse who’s not generating much conversation lately, it will be […]
This post is to test my installation of the Intense Debate Comment System. I tried it back in 2008, but had issues with it – too many people told me that their browsers were crashing when they came to the blog to comment, which totally defeats the purpose! However, several blog-friends of mine have recently implemented the system and are loving it, so I thought I’d give it another shot. Feel free to leave a […]
No big announcements or overall theme this week – just links, and the questions a couple of them spawned… Question of the week #1: Do you share your blogging with your “real-life” family and friends? I always have, but I know they don’t always read it. Sometimes I’ve had mixed feelings about that; occasionally there’s something I’d like to work through in writing but not necessarily share with people who see me in person – […]
Buzz…buzz…bzzzz: If you use Gmail, you’ve probably seen Google Buzz show up there by now. Have you used it yet? What do you think of it? Considering that Google’s been making adjustments to Buzz since Day One – mainly in response to privacy concerns – it’s probably a good idea to be cautious about it. I’m not sure it does much for me at this point – it reminds me a lot of Friendfeed, but […]
Many thanks to Kathleen of Boarding in My Forties for sharing the One Lovely Blog Award with me! Kathleen and I are relatively new blog acquaintances, but we’ve got a good bit in common – books and blogging, living in California, our age group – and I’m glad to have gotten to know her. If you haven’t met her yourself yet, go visit her blog and correct that oversight soon! I’m breaking the “pass it […]
Are you ever afraid your kids will never want to leave home and be on their own? Are you afraid they won’t be able to leave home and be on their own…or that they’ll leave and have to come back? Back in the late summer of 2007, just a few months after my son had graduated university and obtained his first professional job and his own apartment (3000 miles away), I read a blog post […]
Four years ago today, Tall Paul proposed to me on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. I said yes. Weather permitting, we’re hoping to revisit the scene of the crime this weekend. What do you have planned? I heard there’s a big football game or something on Sunday. Dispatches: Links of the Week Making assumptions about parenting, whether they involve your kids or your pets; making decisions about your kids’ schooling when none of the options […]
I really can’t manage to stay away from this place very long, can I? But I did need that couple of days off last week. Thanks for not deserting me in the meantime! My “memorial” post about Gypsy went up yesterday (and her photo has become a fixture on the blog sidebar). I tried not to make it too much of a downer, but I wanted to do two things with it. I wanted to […]
Have you voted for a “Room of (Y)our Own” for Book Bloggers at BlogHer’10? It won’t cost you anything, and you don’t even have to be going to BlogHer’10 – I’m just asking for your support for a great idea! Will you help make it happen? I did this a few months ago, but can’t recall if I mentioned it here at the time; I’ve set up my “shared items” from Google Reader to go […]
Not too many distractions this week – the link round-up actually IS mostly links! Go forth and read, and have a nice weekend! New Arrivals in my Google Reader Books Blogroll Musings Dispatches: Links of the Week When the whole world is your community, compassion can be complicated “Real” kids, “not-real” kids, and “shiny happy stupid” ideas kids learn from their parents; parents may need to learn that “average” kids are all right So much […]
I touched on this in yesterday’s post too, but in case you missed it: You may recall that I promised to donate $1 per comment received on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday’s posts to the Red Cross for Haitian earthquake relief. You’ve helped me raise over $40, which I added to the donation my family was already intending to make and sent to the Red Cross yesterday. Thank you for all of your comments here over […]
When I mentioned this week’s Ten on Tuesday topic, “10 Songs You’re Embarrassed You Like,” to my family, I phrased it as “10 Songs You’re Embarrassed to Admit You Like.” My 15-year-old asked, “If they’re embarrassing, why would you tell anyone?” For a long time, I would have considered that a totally reasonable question. I’ve always been much more tentative about sharing musical tastes than almost anything else. I may have a hard time narrowing […]
