Until January 25 you can download The Beginner’s Guide to Business Blogging for free. Though it is a bit repetitive, the guide covers all the basics (including ‘what is a blog?’) and explains how a blog can be good for business.
Yearly Archives: 2005
Rocky Mountain National Park in 1912
The U.S. Geological Survey has put thousands of photos online from geological events like earthquakes and the Mount St. Helens eruption to National Parks. May favorite is Rocky Mountain National Park, the park my family went to every summer. The archive has 139 RMNP photos from the 1873-1921, including this 1912 picture of Estes Park. (link via Nick Ciske)
Hockey Time
I played hockey yesterday. Assuming you can call skating around by yourself and slapping the puck around hockey.
Someone asked the other day if a hockey season didn’t happen would anyone notice. In the culture at large the answer seems to be no, and in my personal life I haven’t noticed that much either. But there is something strangely lacking, something not quite right.
2004 Reading List
It’s time once again for the annual reading list. Well, actually it was time two weeks ago, but I’m just now getting to it. Yet again my reading list numbers are low. It seems not riding the bus to work every day really hampers my ability to read. And starting my own review blog hasn’t seemed to help abolish the need for this list. Meh.
This list is also full of business books, which are sometimes mildly interesting, and books I had to read for reviews, which often times aren’t as interesting.
So here we go.
Think Different
Kansas: As Big As You Think
The Kansas Brand Image Task Force came up with a new state slogan, “Kansas: As big as you think,” which is being criticized across the state. Alternative slogans have been suggested, including “Moving at the speed of Kansas.”
I’d like to recommend a few:
Kansas: Flatter than a pancake.
Kansas: Somewhere in the middle.
Kansas: You’ve gotta stop somewhere.
Kansas: What’s urban sprawl?
Kansas: Buy your Wizard of Oz t-shirt and get out.
There’s no place like Kansas. (or just embrace the Oz)
The Downtown Dandelions Blog
I’ve started a new blog dedicated entirely to my new novel, Downtown Dandelions. So if you’re tired of hearing me go on and on about it, I’ve moved that conversation. Of course I’m feeding the new entries to the home page of this blog, so if you come here for your updates, you’ll still hear about it.
I hope you’ll check out the new blog. I’ll also be asking questions about the novel, talking about the process and calling myself a novelist as much as possible. The whole process of writing, editing, publishing and now marketing a novel is interesting stuff (at least I think so), and I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks.
Santa Banned from Holiday Dance
Christianity Today’s weblog is reporting on what has to be the wackiest politically correct holiday debate ever. Here’s the story:
Seventh-grader Bryan Lafond dressed up in a Santa Claus costume to attend a holiday dance at his school, Hampton Academy Junior High. Principal Fred Muscara turned jolly St. Nick away out of concern for students with other religious beliefs. So the story goes. School officials later said they turned Lafond away for not meeting the “semi-formal” dress code of the dance. However, Lafond was later readmitted to the dance in shorts and a T-shirt. It gets even weirder as one student reports hearing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” at the dance, a song clearly associated with Santa. As the controversy continues, one of the biggest concerns is that Lafond left the building on his own, creating a safety issue.
Read it for yourself:
Ten Days to Blogger of the Year
ABC News declared bloggers People of the Year in 2004. As part of the story 11-year-old Dylan Verdi was featured as the youngest videoblogger.
She posted her first entry on December 20, 2004. The ABC News camera crew showed up on December 29. The Person of the Year story aired on December 30, leading off with her story.
Of course her dad tells the whole story in video. And you’ve got to love her video about getting a record player for Christmas–forget iPods! (link via Nick Ciske)
Do They Run When They See You Coming?
The new book from youth leader Jonathan McKee of The Source for Youth Ministry is now available: Do They Run When They See You Coming?: Reaching Out to Unchurched Teenagers
McKee presents practical ideas for youth workers to start conversations and connect with teens. Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share Ministries interviewed McKee about his new book and working with teens.
So go check it out. Oh yeah, Monkey Outta Nowhere helped edit the book.