Although my page-counts are
going through their usual spring doldrums, my Technorati inbound blog
count is creeping up on the magic 1000 mark, and should reach that
level in the next week or two. This will be a first for anySalon
blogger, and I'll be the fourth (I think) Canadian to accomplish this.
Although the numbers tend to jump around as people add
and delete you from their blogrolls and as posts referring to you
appear on and disappear off blog home pages, I will try my best to be
watching for the moment I first
reach that level, and I will award a small prize to the 1000th inbound
blog, and also to one randomly selected blog linking to me already, and
one randomly-selected reader of my RSS feeds. I'll announce the winners
as soon as that happens. Thanks to all readers -- this is a truly
grassroots accomplishment, as the only 'A-list' blogger who links to me
is Canada's most-linked blogger, technowhiz and Tucows guru Ross Rader.
Also, on a technical note, I inadvertently posted by May 12 post with a
July 12 date, and since then, even though I deleted and reposted it
with a correct date, my RSS feeds are no longer going out, I suspect
because the RSS reader software is waiting for something more 'current'
than July 12. I'm trying to fix it, but in the meantime if you find
yourself on my blank July/05 page, please use the calendar to jump back
into the present.
[Update: May 16 -- RSS feed fixed, thanks to Aalia Wayfare and
Userland's Lawrence Lee! If anyone notices anything still amiss, please
let me know]
Here's
my usual Saturday assortment of interesting links sent to me or
stumbled upon in the past week, this week with a predominantly feminine
flavour:
The Real News from Iraq:
Kentucky photojournalist Molly Bingham, who has risked her life several
times in Iraq to get the real facts, laments the intellectual laziness,
unquestioned partisanship, cultural ignorance and outright cowardice of
media covering the endless quagmire of the Iraq War. Will Americans
ever hear the real truth? Thanks to Jon Husband for the link.
The Real News from Afghanistan:
The husband of fellow Salon Blogger Kate at Broken Windows -- he's a
National Guardsman -- has recently been drafted to serve in
Afghanistan, and Kate's blog is becoming a goldmine for information on
this forgotten war. The image above is from this site, and shows the
12-foot-high armoured vehicles used by German peace-keeping troops in
Afghanistan. Interesting contrast with what 'support-our-troops' Bush
provides to protect US soldiers in the region.
How to Start a Conversation: The redoubtable Meg Wheatley has put some essential information from her new book Turning to One Another
online. This particular link contains both new and ancient advice on
how to moderate a group conversation to get the most learning from and
for all participants. Thanks to another Salon blogger, Susan Hales for the link.
Trusted-Peer Review for Web Pages:
German grad student Stan James has developed a software tool called
Outfoxed as part of his thesis that will capture comments made by other
readers on your self-maintained 'trusted people list', and display them
when you visit those pages. Ingenious.
What Bush Really Thinks of Canada:
Ignoring critics on both sides of the border, North Dakota is about to
channel the entire contents of its toxic Devils Lake into the Red
River, poisoning the drinking water of the people and the habitat of
marine species in North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba. This article is
an appeal to the people from Canada's ambassador to the US in the NYT,
since no one in the Bush administration will do anything.
A Blog that Critiques the Western Education System:
Emily from the Strangechord blog has set up a sister blog Critical
Studies of Schooling to compile information for a course in education
studies she's taking where she lives in Oregon. An excellent source of
material critiquing the existing system and reviewing some of the
alternatives (Waldorf, Montessori, freeschools, charter schools,
unschooling etc.) If she's missing something important, let her know --
this blog could evolve into a permanent repository on the subject,
which is much needed.
Two Great Examples ofBusiness Storytelling:
Reader and author Hillary Johnson tells riveting stories with important
messages for business. These two are from Inc. magazine. The first
explains why there is so little innovation in business today, and the
second shows how much more valuable lessons from history and social
collaboration are for managing a business than the usual crock about
war, competitive advantage and leadership. Two great examples of how
much more effective and memorable good narrative is than bullets and
two-by-two matrices.
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
Here's
my usual Saturday assortment of interesting links sent to me or
stumbled upon in the past week, this week with a predominantly feminine
flavour:
