All posts by The Artist

Blogging

History In The News

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Although I run many blogs and read as many blogs too, I don’t purposely seek out History blogs to read. However, this afternoon, I was given the chance to review a blog called HISTORY IN THE NEWS which is authored by Hugh Graham, a journalist. This blogger says that, and I quote, “THE NEWS IS HISTORY. HISTORY IS THE NEWS.”

As a blogger with three Blogger.com blogs, I think Hugh Graham should get a new blog template instead of using one from Blogger. When I first started my blogs, I read that if we do not change the template to something a little more unique, if we do not have an ABOUT ME page and if we do not pay for our own hosting, then we are not serious about our blogs. However, if we are blogging for fun only then the third issue is not relevant.

If Hugh Graham decides to keep this template and implement AdSense and Bidvertiser, please blend in the ad codes as if they are part of the template. Just select the best color and use the same for all ad blocks.

Other than this issue with the template, I think that the blog is very easy to navigate and there is a structured Archive link, though I think that with skeletal content only, it would be better to set the archive to show posts on a month by month basis instead of weekly.

Hugh Graham has managed to keep to his niche; history and current affairs. Even though I do not like History, I find his articles on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto well written and well thought out. It is the kind of “information in a nutshell” perfect for people like me who have not been following Pakistani politics in-depth.

Check out http://blackdog2.blogspot.com if you would like to read journalistic commentary in an informal setting, on current affairs and how these events are shaped by history.

*** This post was brought to you by HISTORY IN THE NEWS ***

Computing & Internet

Maybe I Should Use AddThis?

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Just now, I was checking out a few blogs when I came upon a blogger who used AddThis. There is just one obstructive Bookmark button at the end of her post. Clicking on it opens up a new window with link out to all other social bookmarking services. Well, which services do readers want to us is perfectly up to them and they can select from the pop up window.

OK, so now I am of two minds. I don’t know if I would just use Stumble Upon plug-in or to replace it with Addthis, a full-fledged service to social bookmarking sites.

Well, what do you think? Which plug-in are you using? Do you prefer to have the social bookmarking of your choice available to you or would you be more comfortable having one service available to you only without having to decide?

General

Super Bowl Recipes

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My friends in America are all ready for Super Bowl Sunday. My sister, who has lived in the United States for six years now have also caught the Super Bowl bug. Of course, I can never understand WHY Super Bowl is more popular than other sports but then I am not an American and I do not live there. It’s like a culture to them, a huge once a year party and those who cannot make it to the live game MUST plonk themselves in front of the idiot box.

My sister will be having friends over to her house. She told me that it would be a good opportunity to show off her new house. My sister said that she would have to look for party ideas so I told her about the website that has mayonnaise recipes on video but she told me that those are not good enough.

She was adamant to search for recipes for Super Bowl so I told her about Celebrations.com which has lots of big game party ideas, articles and recipes on videos as well. They do have just the kind of Super Bowl recipes that my sister was talking about.

On Celebrations.com, you will find recipes for salad, chicken wings and pizza burgers. Wow they sure are delicious. I am going to let my friend know about this so that he no longer has to make do with popcorn!

*** This post was brought to you by Celebrations.com ***

WordPress Issues

Stumble Upon Me

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I am so happy that I managed to find just about the perfect social bookmarking plug-in for all my blogs. I tried a handful and you know what? If it takes me more than five minutes to figure out how something works, I give up. I don’t have time to learn or troubleshoot and I know that there will always be a good or even better plug-in that is easier to use.

And then I found this Stumble Upon plug-in. I know I mentioned a couple of days ago that I was looking for a plug in that has a row of little icons at the bottom of posts but now that I found this, I think that giving the option to Stumble to readers is good enough.

Either they stumble or they don’t. They don’t need to go into a little mental fight to see if they should stumble, Digg, Sphinn and what not. What they need to do is just ask themselves if an article is good enough to be stumbled. Yes/No. That’s all!

With this plug in, I just had to upload it to my plug-in folder and then activate it in my WordPress dashboard. That’s all. I didn’t even have to embed the code for the Stumble Upon icon to appear in my single post. It magically, automatically appears in just the right spot! What an awesome piece of plug-in!

Travel

Travel Store For Luxury Cruises

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Of all the holidays that I managed to take, come to think of it, not one of them was a cruise. I think it is because of my fear of the sea because I can’t swim. But my friends who have been on cruise vacations told me that I should try it out at least once for the experience of a lifetime.

Moreover, they told me that I should not miss the very popular Alaska cruise vacation that is currently being offered by TravelStore.

I was curious about the cruises that TravelStore have besides the Alaskan cruise. I was told that TravelStore is a premier company offering luxury cruises around the world and that surely piqued my interest! Luxury is the operative word here and god knows I need a luxurious break from work badly!

The image s of Alaska on the website of TravelStore are so inviting that I wish I could just pack my bags and leave. I may just do that one day!!!

WordPress Issues

Crossed Eyed Over WordPress Theme Search

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My friends and I have new blogs and we have been exchanging links on where to get the most suitable templates. If you know of my new personal blog, you will know that I spent months searching for the perfect template. Yes, I am that fussy!

After loading more than twenty WordPress themes, only did I managed to find one that I really like and that I could customise to my requirements. I already have upgraded my WordPress, plug-ins uploaded and activated, published an opening post and now I need to go searching for templates again.

Ohhh I am so lazy!!! Searching for four WordPress themes and a photo gallery template is going to take me months!!!! Meanwhile, I will continue to update my blogs with content. That’s the life of a blogger!

Computing & Internet

Free Web Counter

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I mentioned that I now have four new blogs and two websites and while they are still very new, I don’t have much traffic so I am taking my time to install traffic tracker. All my blogs have them because it helps me in determining what are the popular posts and keywords that people search for on the web.

Just now, I was told that I can grab counters for my blogs so I went to check and yes, there are so many designs and colors that would suit any blog layout.

These counters are free to use and there is no need to even register with the site. However, if you require professional statistics of your traffic, then you will have to sign up. The website says that there are no banners and visible advertising.

However, do note that each free counter comes with a link back to an online poker site. Some people are against this so these will not be suitable for their blog or website.