Why do we Blog? (part one)

I recently wrote a blurb about blogging. After reading the comments of that entry, some agile thought, and a bit of daydreaming, I decided to look into why blogs are becoming so apparently ubiquitous.

There are blogs covering most every subject under the sun, everything from the war in Iraq to cleaning your kitchen sink properly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Paris Hilton's dog soon has a blog.

The more I dug into what blogs were all about, the more the question arose, "Why do we blog?" I discovered that many bloggers use their blogs much like they would a daily diary, but their entries have suddenly become interactive.

When once we would have written our thoughts for the day down and just closed the book, tucked it neatly back into its safe place, and forgotten about it until the next day or the next time we felt inclined to write an entry, now as soon as we put our thoughts down, we are logging back into our pages to see what others think of what we have just written.

It is part of our nature to not only care, but to be curious of what others think. But for most of us, this also changes the entries into our little diaries, where we might have been uninhibited writing for our eyes only, we now sensor our writing knowing that others will be reading it and voicing their opinions.

Of course there are those who have something to say and simply do not care about what others think, then there are also blogs that do not allow comments. Each and every blogger has their reasons for spewing out words onto the pages that are peppered throughout the Internet; as for this author, I am still trying to figure out what that reason is.

The Lake District

She shivered under the covers, her thin gown not serving as much protection against the frigid air. He seemed to have been gone for an eternity; she picked up her watch from the bedside table and looked at it again, how long could it take to chop a bit of wood? Looking out the mullioned windows; she could see a few stars and the trees slightly lit by the glow of the nearly full moon. Just then the door to the tiny cottage flung open and she heard his heavy footsteps as he crossed the floor, she could hear him loading the wood into the stove. The banging and clanking persisted for a few minutes before all she could hear was the crackling and popping of the wood.

His silhouette appeared in the doorway; he ducked slightly as he stepped into the room. He tugged at the heavy woolen cable knit jumper, stretching it over his head and tossing it on the floor beside her. The illuminations of the candle light danced across his skin still glistening from the sweat of his labor. His muscles were swollen and taught, he looked like an Adonis standing before her, she thought to herself. He removed his heavy corduroy dungarees, she grinned as they fell to the floor revealing his naked body in its entire splendor.

He lifted the covers of the bed peeling back the blankets and downy duvet; he slid his body next to hers. She breathed in the heady aroma of smoke, wood sap and sweat, it was quite intoxicating. She no longer felt cold.

Tribute to my Readers

Thanks to all of you who have been visiting and commenting on my blog. I am very fortunate to have some readers who have been with me from the begining and now I am getting new readership.

I have promised (to some of my readers) to write a short story on here, we will have to see how that goes, maybe you can give me some ideas. I figured something a bit erotic is always a good read, what do you think?

Perhaps when I have a bit more time I will do something like Cedia did and thank you each individually. If you would like me to add a link to your blog or site, just let me know. Again, many thanks!

Sleeping is the Enemy?

I recently wrote an article on sleep and sleep disturbances, and was surprised at how many responses I got. I am a new blogger and don’t have many readers yet, but when I get 5 or more comments right now, I consider that a lot.

A huge number of people suffer from sleeping disorders. It is estimated that over 12 million suffer from Insomnia alone. There are many medications used for sleep, most are some type of anti-anxiety or anti-depressant. Even if the sufferer does not feel depressed these medications work well, because one of the side effects is somnolence. I am currently taking a medication called Remeron which seems to help me sleep through the night most nights, although I sleep longer than I used to.

Not getting enough sleep can also cause a plethora of problems, such as irritability, making mistakes at work and home, traffic accidents, and most recently scientist and researchers have discovered that lack of sleep can lead to weight gain. Naps taken in the middle of day can make a marked difference in a persons overall daily performance, although it is important to awaken refreshed each day so you can eat healthy and have the stamina for some exercise even if it is just a walk.

More-on Advertising

If anyone has been paying attention to this silly little blog, you will have noticed Cedia and I have been discussing new and unique places in which to advertise. We thought we had come up with some bright and new ideas, but it would seem that each and every one (with the exception of one) had already been executed.

My friend pointed me to EBay and showed me some of the auctions going on there. He also showed me some of the closed auctions where companies had paid as much as $37,000 to advertise across someone’s forehead, cleavage is quite popular as well. Currently this young lady is fetching the highest price. Have a look for yourself.

Can't Sleep?

I have had difficulty sleeping in one way or another since I was a child. Not only do I have insomnia but I have also been told that I stop breathing briefly while sleeping, this is called sleep apnea. Contrary to popular belief, sleep apnea does not only affect the over weight, although most of those who suffer from the ailment are over weight.

I recently underwent a sleep study where I was connected to approximately 20 electrodes which monitor heart rate and rhythm, chest and abdominal movement, airflow through the mouth and nose, and blood oxygen levels.

I have not yet received the results of the study, but I may have to wear a CPAP machine while I sleep, alternatively there is surgery and I just recently read about a pillar procedure where they sew small pillars into the soft palate. Neither option sounds like much fun to me.

To Blog or Not To Blog

Most of us using blogger.com have become well acquainted with the format and subjects upon which we discuss, review, rant, and even rage about; however it would seem that unknown to many of us, we are being watched and perhaps even studied.

According to Charlene Li, blogs are quickly becoming a source of influential information. Forrester Research believes that blogging will grow in importance, and at a minimum, companies should monitor blogs to learn what is being said about their products and services.

This being said bloggers are going to have more power than they realize, not to mention some moral and ethical obligations to report information that is true and accurate. Obviously if you use your blog as a diary of sorts, or a means to track your travels through Europe, these obligations may not be as important as say, reviewing the latest hybrid car.

My brother Robi, a long time blogger, has been threatened for content on his blog. He enjoys discussing and writing about political subjects that people tend to have very strong feelings about. In his words, "You just have to ignore the comments of those who are way out there."

If you intend to take your blog to the next level (get a publishing deal, take a position at a magazine, or even take a position blogging for a large corporation) you should probably mind your Ps and Qs, but if you just enjoy blogging, then by all means continue to blog about whatever tickles your fancy.

Book Reviews - Change Your Life In 7 Days

According to Paul McKenna, in order to attract abundance into one’s life, it’s important to keep a positive outlook and maintain a particular “can do” psychology. This seems like common sense to me, but in our busy world it is easy to lose sight of this type of thinking. We have all been told to have a positive outlook at some time in our lives. McKenna shows ways in which we can make this routine a daily process.

The book also contains a mind programming CD. At this point I have not listened to the CD enough to give a fair review of it. However, I feel that the book can definitely help anyone, and would recommend it. The book is an easy read for those who can't find enough time to read with their busy work schedules, I am now reading it for the second time.

Simple Programming For Your Home Confuser

I started low level programming back in the mid eighties. (Yes, I am that old). At that time I was a kid and it was very uncommon for people to even have home computers, I had to suffer a bit of ridicule from my friends about being a "computer geek".

I continued to dabble in computers for years, but never really got to be an expert in any area. Over the years I studied a bit of C, C++, Java, and Pearl (just to name a few) and worked with mulitiple platforms including UNIX, Linux, Windows and others.

Although I competed a certification in HTML in the late 90s, I have used it very little. Just like a spoken language, a written one (including programming languages) is easy to forget when it's not being used.

As I continue to blog, I am finding that I need to re-learn some basic HTML, which can be confusing when you are used to other programming langauges, but it's just a matter of practice. There are multiple sites available for HTML if you need help such as htmlgoodies.

If you really want to trick out your blog, you can use your own editor such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver, but many of the sites such as blogger.com have made it easy for most anyone to create a blog in just minutes.

More on Adverts

As previously discussed, advertising is everywhere today. When I was a boy English football teams wore jerseys with their name and number on them, nothing else. I can even remember a time when the Grand Prix cars had nothing but a number and usually the drivers name below the cockpit, but look at all the ads out there today, even the football pitches have ads on them!

A very clever lass indeed, had another brilliant idea. She thought of advertising across one's cleavage, but once again this idea was taken.

Hmm, back to the drawing board...

Ass-vertising?

After all the posts yesterday to do with ads, I had a bit of silly banter with my friend and fellow blogger Cedia. We thought we had a great and original idea (seems there are few left) and then I found this!

You be the judge, what do you think?

More photos here.

Contradiction

Okay, I realise that i have been contradicting myself. I am ranting on and on about advertising, yet I have several advertisments on my blog. I just clicked on the Amazon one, and what came up.... those wristbands!!!

I had originally put the Amazon ads up planning to promote books that I was reading, but I haven't quite fingered out how to do that yet.

Get A-Head in Advertising

This is a follow up to my previous post. BTW the title of this post is tribute to one of my favorite films starring, Richard E. Grant, "How to get ahead in Advertising. In my previous post I ranted a bit about how what was a great idea to raise money for Lance Armstrong's charity had become more about fashion, advertising, and financial gain than about charity.

To illustrate how advertising has really gone to extremes, I thought I would share this information with those of you that don't already know about it. Advertisers are now purchasing space on people's foreheads, yes you heard right peoples foreheads!

Gee, I seem to be getting political now, and that wasn't the original intent of this blog.

Rubber Wristbands

I would love your thoughts on this subject. I thought it was great when Lance Armstrong first introduced the "Livestrong" wristbands for his charity. But I think the makers of these things are going overboard and so are the consumers, because without buyers of course they wouldn't sell.

We are now seeing all kinds of promotions on these things such as, Freedom, Support Our Troops, Faith, Git R Done, and of course my favorite (insert sarcasm here) the Patriot band.

I am sure I am going to catch some flack for this post. Let me try to get something straight. I have nothing against patriotism, or supporting ones faith (as long as it is not violent toward others), it is the makers and distributors of these products that I have a problem with. They are trying to capitalize on anything possible or advertise anywhere possible.

We are very fortunate to have free speech in the Western World and sometimes we forget that, but this issue is, once again, a case of big corporations capitalizing on a fashion trends. We have taken advertising to rediculous extremes.

Commentary - New Music

You should really check out Keane, The Killers, and Athlete. They are all great bands and you can check them out on their own sites or try MSN or Apple. Happy listening!

British English vs American English

Once again the spunky Cedia has inspired me to write another entry. I was fortunate enough to be born to an English mother and an Indian father who had just emigrated from London when I was born. Although I have American Nationality I feel very English because of the fact that we spent 3 months a year in England. I have also been able to watch the progression of UK English as well as that of American.

Most notably in the past 10 years or so I have seen UK English adopt dozens upon dozens of American slang words that they pick up from the widely available American Television programs and films. However, it is nice to see what they evolve into at times, I recently heard a version of, “getting jiggy with it” which became, “getting cheeky with it”, and I love that!

You may notice from time to time on this blog I will spell a word the English (UK) way without actually intending to, some of the words just make more sense to me spelled the other way. Once again, I could go on and on about this subject, but I will try to give you some examples.

I love when the British say, “gagging for something” such as a shag, a cocktail, or a beer.

You have heard that fanny means vagina.

Also, rubber means eraser. I knew an English guy working in the States who asked his new secretary for a rubber, you can imagine how that went down!

At one time in the "old days" there used to be someone who would go from house to house knocking on doors to wake people, this person was called the knocker up. So if you were the recipient, you were getting, "knocked up"!

I will be adding more terms on here from time to time.

Please click here

We all gotta earn a buck, and if you check out these ads, I can earn a few cents.

So scroll down to the bottom of the page and please click on each link. Thanks!

Commentary - Grooming

I was reading one of Cedia's older posts where she was asking to be pampered with a massage etc. Guess what, guys like to be pampered too! In fact, men's salons are becoming a "big thing" these days. One thing about us guys though, we are still a bit sensitive about being perceived as effeminate.

Salons that cater to men exclusively are becoming very popular because the men that frequent them do not have to feel funny about being in a salon which might cater mostly to women, Also, they can get the manicure, pedicure or facial without feeling like anyone is really watching (just a bunch of other guys getting the same sort of thing). This phenomenon has become such a big deal that men’s salons are making money hand over fist. I am considering opening one myself.

Check out more about this subject here.

Cedia's original post that inspired this rant.

Commentary - Cedia's Blog

I have to agree with my new friend Natasha, Cedia has a very entertaining and enlightening blog. http://cedia.blogspot.com/

Commentary - For Natasha

Thanks Natasha for the nice words, sorry about the delay in posts, I have had a lot going on. I just watched Gross Point Blank again for only the second time. The last time I saw the film was at least 5 years ago.

I love when Minnie Driver's character tells John Cusack's character that he needs a Shakabuku ("It's a swift, spiritual kick to the head that alters your reality forever.")

I would highly recommend this film to anyone it has elements of comedy, action/thriller, drama as well as being a great love story.