The State of Blogging

I started this blog in 2005. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bolivarian Revolution, the state of the arts, Iran and other disruptions have been debated over the years.

In the time since this blog started, several blogs came and went. I was lucky enough to meet some of the commenters in real life.

With social networks as Facebook and Twitter, being the prominent form, where does blogging fit in the mix?

RENEGADE EYE

The State of Blogs and Blogging/Open Thread

I'm curious how people feel about their personal blogs, in this period when Twitter and Facebook are so popular. Potentially you can reach more people than with your blog.

I think it is a hard period to just start blogging. I think if you have a new blog, you should visit other blogs, and recruit an audience.

I think trading links is important. The more you are linked to, the higher you are on Google. I try to plan ahead my posts. If I know an event like elections in El Salvador are coming up, I'll post on the elections. People will be Googling the elections.

Is debate important to you?

This is an open thread. Ok to raise any topic.

RENEGADE EYE

More Food and Blogging

Another episode of this blog's nod to blogs and good food.

I asked several bloggers, to send me recipes; preferably easy to prepare, common ingredients, ethnic etc. In addition if I print the recipe, I'll plug your blog. Send recipes to me at the email address at my profile. I was going to print them all in one post, but I acquired too many. Political agreement doesn't matter. Atleast every month I'll continue this series. Leave comments about food, the blog, restaraunts etc. Everyone who sent recipes, will eventually have them published. I'm going in random order.

Who'd expect this revolutionary socialist to plug a recipe and blog of a Christian conservative? Nanc has two blogs, one is It's Curtains For You..., and the apolitical OH BOO" moments.... During a certain bitter political clash I was involved in, where I was attacked personally, Nanc stood up for me. Nanc is a good cook, except for anything involving tea bags.

Now The Main Event

Poor People's Dolma (vegetarian)

1. prepare and set aside one-two cups cooked brown rice (be sure to salt water)
2. chop one small onion and set aside
3. chop one cup of whatever type mushrooms you'd like

in a skillet, saute in two tablespoons of olive oil #2 and #3 ingredients - just before they turn brown, add a quarter cup of raisins and a quarter cup of craisins (cranberry raisins) - as they're about to plump, add your prepared rice and you may now add some garlic powder and cayenne to taste - mix well, turn off heat and cover.

ahhhhhhh, the grape leaves - you can buy them prepared in a jar - take about 20 of them and layer them out flat on paper towels to soak up the liquid on them. in the middle of each leaf place approximately one quarter cup of the cooked mixture or less depending upon the size of each leaf. fold two sides toward the middle and then roll one end over and continue to roll up until it looks like a short green eggroll.

make as many as you have grape leaves and mixture.

place these fold side down into a shallow baking dish and drizzle with a mixture of a half cup of your favorite vinaigrette and a quarter cup fresh lemon juice. place into 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. remove from oven and eat warm or place into sealed container in the refrigerator and have as a cool appetizer - me, if i eat all 20 - i call it a meal!

if you're wondering why i call this "poor people's dolma" it's because true dolma is made with bulghur, lamb and currant filling.

RENEGADE EYE

The Thinking Blogger Award and Other Blog Notes

When I'm tagged, I do my best to get out of having to respond. There is nothing I hate more than disclosing personal information. Less is known about me on a personal level, than even Sonia- Belle. My blog was honored by New Lines from a Floating Life with the prestigious "The Thinking Blogger Award",is not to be ignored. New Lines from a Floating Life is a real thinking person's blog. I was sold on it at my first visit. It is highly literate, concentrating both on literature and activism. The notes explaining why my blog was picked read,"Renegade Eye is one I have been visiting for quite a while, and sometimes comments come this way from there too. This is one very substantial blog. From Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. This blog is secular and socialist; influenced politically by Leon Trotsky, musically by Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, and the tango music of Astor Piazzolla and Carlos Gardel, artistically by Pablo Picasso and Carlos Paez Vilaro. That gave me a few things to look up in itself! Much more Marxist than I am, but well written, well informed, and often refreshingly different". I think New Lines from a Floating Life is the refreshingly different blog that should be visited.


Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. I thought it would be appropriate to include them with the meme.
The participation rules are simple:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote ([T]here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

My five picks in no particular order:


Wordsbody Molara Wood writes from the Nigerian diaspora, usually about literature and art of African artists at home and abroad. She gives plugs to many struggling artists unselfishly, while she is an artist with words.

Desert Peace This blog never loses its humanism or decency, in a land that is always on war footing.

State Street Lynn posts almost everyday. You never know what will be on his mind. Whether its the pretty woman in the pub or starvation in Darfur.

Black Looks Is a group blog that is highly readable, dealing passionately with issues of African women.

A Poetic Justice Mark is the hardest working man in blogdom, with his several artistic blogs, speaking for the suffering.

Again thank you from my team on this blog.

I have a counter on my blog, that tells me where people are on the internet before coming to my blog. I have discovered key words are importrant to get traffic

ROLEX

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Again visit, comment and link to others blogs. Explore what others say.
RENEGADE EYE