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Another SpaceIf you want a guarantee, buy a toaster. ~ Clint Eastwood
August 19 Windows Live Writer - Much More than Expected Early this week I had about Windows Live Writer on Amit Agarwal's Digital Inspiration. There had been the usual flurry of hype around the (early) release, but sometime's it's tough to cut through the fluff and hype when a new product comes out. In case you haven't heard, Windows Live Writer is a true WYSIWYG blog editor from Microsoft. When I read Amit's comments that it was "miles ahead of competition (from w.blogger, ecto or blogjet) both in terms of features and user interface," that was enough to interest me. When I read that is had "a very reasonable price - $0.00," that made it even more compelling to try out. So I did, and to put it simply, it works exceptionally well, especially considering that this is a Beta product. Right now I'm using it to write this on one of my Windows Live Spaces blogs. I know, one could say that the product was designed around Microsoft's proprietary products, then ramble on in another pro- or anti-Microsoft tirade. Simply put, it works like a champ on this Space. But more interesting, this is not where I tried it out to begin with. As noted earlier, I had read Amit's remarks, so I downloaded it at the Windows Live Writer site and promptly installed it. I had read that this product was compatible with a number of other weblogs, such as Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, WordPress, etc. So that's where I started. All this past week I've used Windows Live Writer to edit Lexidiem, which is Blogger-based. Really wanted to see just what it would do with graphics and embedded video. Check it out to see how it functioned with YouTube and Google Video, and it did quite well. If you want to see how well it worked, go take a look for yourself. I'm very pleased. It's not that I've forgotten my basic HTML skills, it's just that this product make it that much easier to focus on content, rather than technology. Quote Introducing Windows Live Writer It's a product that will surprise you in not only it's ease of installation, but it's pure functionality as well. There was only one point in the last few days that there seemed to be a small problem, but that was probably due to "user malfunction" more than anything else. Also check out the Community Plugins. There are a couple listed there: Flickr4Writer and Tag4Writer. Have downloaded both, but have only had a chance to try Tag4Writer, which is a fast and effective plugin that enables insertion of a list into a template for tags. Used it to effortlessly create the Technorati tags listed below. Microsoft has provided the blogging community with a superb tool... and how can you beat the price? Check it out for yourself. Technorati tags: Windows Live Writer, Web 2.0, Digital Inspiration, Lexidiem, JargonTalk, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, WordPress, WYSIWYG, YouTube, Google, video, blog, Flickr4Writer, Tag4Writer July 15 The reason I want to meet Dr. Scott RiceI want to visit the Department of English & Comparative Literature at San Jose State University for the sole purpose of meeting Scott Rice, Ph.D. in person. Dr. Rice is obviously held in high esteem on the academic front, since he’s the Department Chair. His research interests cover the range of satire, grammar, British & European novels and commercialism in education. Even more important, Scott Rice is the originator of the the world-famous Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest that we've mentioned here before, an annual competition for would-be writers that challenges them to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. The contest is named after a minor Victorian writer whose novel began with the now-infamous (or is it infamous) line:
In case you missed it before, go to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest site to see the creative listings and examples from past winners and runner-up entries. They’re well worth the trip. And maybe I’ll get to make my trip to SJSU someday, and shake the hand of the man who made this all possible. My progress to visit: Department of English & Comparative Literature on 43places. Technorati tags:
Talking about Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for 2006
Quote Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for 2006 July 05 Politically IncorrectThere's a Marine who was recently stationed in Iraq who seems to have a number of problems these days. It's not that he's a bad guy, and he hasn't been accused of attacking Iraqi civilians or anything quite like that. But if one were to take everything shown on the Internet as serious, then one might equate him with a sadistic guard or the like.
As a matter of fact, his actions while he was stationed in Iraq have drawn the angry attention of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the premier Islamist front group in the US today. This organization is no slouch when it comes to using American rights to further their aims. As a matter of fact, the CAIR has begun filing complaints with the FBI about various blogs in the Internet, resulting is visits by agents about comments that were reported to the FBI by CAIR. It seems that the CAIR is being bankrolled by none other than the United Arab Emirates, and they have announced it on their own official UAE government Website. Sources say it will be enough to help CAIR finance the construction of a new $24 million office building and a planned $50 million public-relations campaign aimed at repairing Islam's (and the UAE's) image in America. Hey CAIR, want to repair Islam's and the UAE's image here? Stop supporting terrorism! But back to the Marine who thoroughly pissed off CAIR. His name is Corporal Joshua Belile, USMC, and he was stationed with his helicopter gunship unit at Al Asad Airbase (aka "Camp Cupcake") in Iraq until March 2006. Cpl. Belile is also a musician, and while there he happened to record an original song, Hadji Girl, a joke based on lines from the 2004 satirical film Team America: World Police , at the urging of some fellow Marines. The four-minute, 13-second video of Belile's performance told the story of a Marine in Iraq who falls in love with an Iraqi girl. It was then posted anonymously on the Internet at YouTube.com. In the song, the girl took the Marine to her family's house, but the family shot the girl and then pointed their " AKs" at the Marine. The Marine then grabbed the Iraqi girl's little sister and "put her in front of me." The lyrics go on, stating, "As the bullets begin to fly, the blood sprayed from between her eyes and then I laughed maniacally. Then I hid behind the TV and I locked and loaded my M-16, I blew those little fu*kers to eternity." OK, politically incorrect, inappropriate, and even a bit rough. But is it any more so that all the other songs (or politically-incorrect cartoons) that have preceded this one during time of war or national emergency? Did we ever hear the German government complaining publicly about the song that referred to Hitler's testicles? Have you ever listened to George Carlin, Chris Rock and many more that have regular HBO and MTV specials? What's one person't humor may not be that of another, but don't condemn them just because your neighbor does, people. Get a life! In any case, the video was strongly condemned by CAIR, which issued a press release which described the song as "Marines cheering a song that glorifies the killing of Iraqi civilians," and mentioned the audience "laughed and cheered wildly" at the lyrics. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad stated, "The inappropriate actions of a few individuals should not be allowed to tarnish the reputation of all American military personnel." Here's one of the ironic parts to this whole episode: CAIR thought they were doing a "public service" when they hosted a copy of Hadji Girl on their Website at http://www.cair.com/video/marine-hadji-girl.wmv. If you click on the link, you'll see that it is down, with a HTTP Error 404 - File or directory not found message. It has been rumored by some on the 'Net that they had done more to promote Hadji Girl (just try doing a Google search on Hadji Girl, then count the hits) than their actions to punish Joshua Belile. But their pressure on the government was intense. The Marine Corps announced an investigation into the incident, followed up, then exonerated Cpl. Belile of any charges. Marine Corp spokeswoman Maj. Shawn Haney stated, "The preliminary inquiry has been concluded. No punitive action will be taken against Corporal Belile. And there will be no further investigation." Maj. Haney noted that the inquiry ruled out any violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Another Marine (who asked not to be named) supposedly commented that poor taste, poor judgment and poor timing, not to mention offensive lyrics, do not necessarily amount to criminal conduct. OK, we'll accept that. But CAIR does have the power to exert some pretty powerful pressure when they want to. As noted earlier, the Hadji Girl video was originally posted on the Internet site YouTube.com, but if you go there, you get the following message: This video has been removed by the user. It has been alleged that this means that they were pressured into it, and other creative types have managed to insert half-hidden links to help people get to sites that still host the Hadji Girl video. Google Video has not given in to the pressure, and has kept at least a half dozen copies of the Hadji Girl video on their site so far. Thanks, Google, for understanding what free speech is all about. Josh Belile had some interesting comments that were posted on Michelle Malkin's site on 6/27/2006, a good reminder to all of us. At the end of his statement he noted: "If you don't want to listen to my music, I'm sure your volume knob works as well as mine." Well put, Josh. Words we should all remember. Corporal Josh Belile is now stationed with Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 (HML/A-167) near Jacksonville, SC. He later apologized to those who were offended by its content, offering an explanation. He plays with a group called the Sweater Kittenz in the Jacksonville, SC area. Here are the lyrics that have been considered offensive by some:
These lyric may be politically incorrect, but they aren't a criminal act, at least not in this country. If these words truly offend you, then don't play his video, and don't listen to his music. But (repeating myself here) remember the statement from earlier, and I quote:
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May 11 If you want a guarantee, buy a toasterIf you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.
~ Clint Eastwood Well put, Mr. Eastwood! Couldn't have said it better.
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