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Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Comments on Blog Explosion
Welcome to Slapinions!
I started Slapinions just after the '04 Presidential election, when I was still in full-throttle campaign mode.
In fact the first post wasn't even original, just a copy of an email I'd sent out to some very bored family members about the election results.
So it's understandable that the first few months of the site featured a strong political bent - I did articles on Colin Powell, Yasser Arafat, Time's selection of Dubya as Person of the Year, the Kerrik fiasco, and more.
It didn't take long for the focus of the site to shift more towards family based humor, but to tell you the truth I felt a little guilty when I didn't write about politics. Pompous as it may sound, I thought I was betraying my readers.
Thankfully neither one seemed to care.
So I settled into a comfortable routine of writing about whatever popped into my head.
There were articles on sports (the NBA brawl,the 2005 MLB season).
There were a few about books (my favorite authors)
There was a four-part summary of my trip to D.C. for the Inauguration (1,2,3,4)
There were posts on current events (the reserves, Chai Soua Vang, scandals in the Milwaukee Police Department)
There were children's stories (the coffin tale, Why Snow hates Cars)
There were posts that comically explored my philosophy of life (my ideology pt 1, pt 2, New Years resolutions, my birthday)
There were posts about my terrifying fear of mice (my neighbors have mice)
There were posts that confirmed my knack for writing tributes/eulogies (The Pope, my paternal grandfather, Artie Shaw, Kurt Cobain)
There were attempts at photoblogging (billboards, snowstorm, lights, storm)
And then my son was born.
Part of me is ashamed to say that his birth turned Slapinions into an occasional daddy blog.
The other part of me just thinks my kids are cute.
Whereas I'd always written about the family and/or kids, after March you could find posts about prepping for the newborn (nursery, bunk beds), my son's birth and intro to his sisters,family outings (zoo, Domes), events (baptism, dance recital) and plain boring details about our daily life.
Of them all I'd rank the following as my favorites:
The One about GOP - yes, my children's initials spell out GOP. A humorous post about the paranoid reactions to my 'conspiracy' to brainwash my children . . .
The One about the Mouse - 6'3" tall, 300 pounds - and I'm cry like a ninny when I see a mouse.
The Tsunami - reproduced in full on another site, I think this post on the disaster is worth reading
Fr. Yaniak - the passing of an old family friend
The Swingset - the dangers of having me and a screwdriver in the same zip code
Jason Giambi - my favorite sport, and a post that for whatever reason generated the first real reaction from readers
The One about the evil work of Donnie Osmond - the title says it all
I'm glad I started this blog. It's been an occasional pain in the keister, but by and large it's been a blast.
I hope you enjoy it too.
Dan
ps. Some of these posts were written before I added comments to the site; if you wish to comment on any of them, click here.
Blogroll
What follows is a list of web sites that have bookmarked me on Blog Explosion and/or blogrolled me on their site the old fashioned way.
Two things about this list are interesting: one, it isn't your typical tit-for-tat, because until today I didn't have a blogroll. There was no reason for them to feel obliged to do what they did. (ditto for most of the blogmarks)
Second, it's an awfully diverse group - conservatives and liberals, writers and mom's, musicians and paranormal investigators.
I'm happy my work's appealed to that many people, and I want to offer a belated thank you to all of them.
However, Blog Clicker can kiss my pimply behind, as not one BC member has blogmarked me through their service.
Not that I'm bitter.
Anyhow, take a look at the links below, and tell 'em Slapinions sent you.
Random - a fine AOL Journal, long since listed on my favorite places.
GJ Willis' Art Notes - The Adventures and Misadventures of a Neer Do Well Artist Living in Baltimore.
Whymrhymer 101 - The honest comments and observations of an opinionated, free-thinking, well-seasoned student of the world. Or so he says. :)
The Roth Report - a Drudge-Report type site that includes blogs as sources
NIF - this one holds a special place in my blogging heart, as it's linked to my articles on at least three occasions
The people all watching, enjoying a good laugh - I'm a live music lover, who just recently married the love of my life. Am returning to full time work after a 2 year hiatus due to health problems
Strong Coffee - Struggling to Stay Awake Long Enough to Raise Kidsand Evolve as a Writer
Quotes and Other Words - Quite a few years ago I started collecting quotes from books I read. I wanted to share my favorites with you all, hence this blog. Enjoy
I didn't buy more yarn, Honey - Living life hanging by a thread...from rapidly unravelling skeins of yarn. ~Marriage, motherhood, music, Multiple Sclerosis, and above all the thing that keeps me sane, crochet.
The Apologist - Writer CW Fisher explains the inexplicable: love, hate, sex, death and the purpose of other people.
<AHREF="HTTP: ? weblog www.frozenmojo.com>Frozen Mojo -
INDUSTRIAL WASTE - Hi, my name's Penn. I'm a 16 year-old Libertarian and a proud American living in Singapore, who enjoys politics and has a (slightly unhealthy) passion for the Internet.
OftenCold - he moved from Florida to Alaska, yet he still argues that he's sane
Blog Cruiser - A blog to write opinions and ratings on blogs, bloggers and blogging. Add your comments or become a member of the team at this corner of the blog world. Scouting the blogosphere for its own stars and news!
About a Boy - My name is Matthew and I live in Hertfordshire, UK. I was born on 12th January 2005 at 21:32. I weighed 8lb 7oz. I am now considerably bigger than that.
You can hear the Grass Grow - Reflections From a Christian Aspie
I hate Pat Robertson - I guess the title speaks for itself
Conservative thoughts - I have been doing a lot of reading during this election period of other people's thoughts. I have also done a lot of defending of my own conservative ideas. So I thought that I would create a place where I could write those ideas down.
Lintefiniel Musing (formerly Jen Speaks!)
I See Dead People - life as a professional psychic and paranormal investigator
One Child Left Behind - Yes, Jesus loves me, but it's not what you think.
Ed Adkins Dot Com - funny, funny blog
God's Last Twilight - novel written on a blog
Musings of a Thoughtful Conservative - Southeastern Wisconsin based blogger
The Daily Grind - liberal blogger
Cao's Blog - blodom famous site
AlphaWoman's Blog - very nice, well done AOL Journal
LS Blogs - Blog search engine
God Dem - liberal site that seems to mix religion with the Democratic Party
The Cave - reposted my article on the tsunami
Thursday, March 17, 2005
To Those Who Update via Email
The last few posts have multiple pics attached, and within a week I hope to be adding pictures to the posts about DC and other golden oldies.
As always, if you can't comment on the site, feel free to email me and I'll post your relevant - and flattering - email here.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Hodge Podge & Arlo and Janis
I'm aware that there hasn't been a non-Parker related post since March 4th, and while I know this may bore/irk some people, I'm afraid you'll have to live with the fact that the next three or four posts may be more of the same.
Also, a brief flare of disgust for BE - in its continuing efforts to please everyone (and therefore no one) I've found my readership halved, as folks now are limited to surfing the sites in specific categories. So what about me?
Aside from posts about my kids, I write on politics, TV, current events, and esoteric rants. Kinda makes it hard on Slapinions, you know?
And don't get me started on the insanely detailed new rating system. Who has fifteen minutes to evaluate a site? In order to be accurate you'd have to read half the dang blog.
Ugh.
This next bit was originally published Friday, March 11, 2005
Arlo and Janis
I don't know how many of you have followed the links to the left, but I encourage you to check out Arlo and Janis, one of the best - scratch that, THE best comic strip around since Peanuts left us.
Now that I have the picture function working, I'll occasionally rashly challenge copyright laws and post an especially witty strip.
Follow the link and enjoy!
Posted by Slapinions at 9:34 AM
Labels: general
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Re: Where have you gone?
Sorry I haven't posted lately.
I haven't grown sick of blogging, nor am I suffering from burnout, psoriasis, or anything stronger than a cold.
I've just been very busy in a mad effort to get the house ready for the baby - hopefully in time to allow a week of relative relaxation before the birth.
I'll try to get the site back on a normal schedule by Monday.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Misc chatter
1. I was just checking my BlogExplosion stats and noticed that one person has actually dropped me from their Blogmark page. Ouch. I didn't think the book list was that boring.
2. BTW, the books in blue (in the post below) I whole-heartedly recommend. I tried to edit the post to tell you that (and correct some typos) but it keeps freezing on me.
3. To answer an email question, The DaVinci Code isn't on the list because I read it in '03 (the 30th of 79 books that year). Let us be clear on my opinion - the book sucks on a hundred different levels. It's success can only be explained away by reminding ourselves that at one point our society also raved about Vanilla Ice, Teletubbies, and above ground nuclear testing.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
New Traffic Exchange
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Problem with the site
I'm aware that my pics - which showed up for, oh, an hour - have gone missing on the site.
I'll try to fix it as soon as possible, and if I can't I'll clean up the post to make the text look coherent.
*****
Update: Okay, I got some great advice on how to load the pics - but they came up bigger than the page. So I've put links in the text to the pages that hold the pics. It still isn't perfect - the pics look grainy and one shows up only occasionally - but it's better than it was.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Blog Clicker
A couple of days ago I asked for recommendations on alternate traffic exchanges. I've received two. My first impression of Traffic Exchange 25 is that it's dominated by money making schemes. Not good, but I'll give it another chance.
The second, which holds potential, is Blog Clicker. Essentially, it's a Blog Explosion clone. The difference is it's brand new. How new? Out of the first 26 pages I surfed, 21 were the same site.
I don't think it should be written off just yet. It can go one of two ways: either blogs ignore it and it fills up with sleezy get-rich-quick schemes, or we throw them some attention and have a nice secondary site to compliment Blog Explosion.
So sign up already. If you think I'm scamming you into earning some referral credits, follow the link above, then 'x' out and just go to the site proper. I want to see this thing work.
Sunday, January 9, 2005
The Two-Month Anniversary
Welcome to the two-month anniversary of Slapinions!
As part and parcel of the celebration, consider this a Pseudo-De-Lurker Day. If you're wandering in from Blog Explosion, leave a comment in the guest book (in the about me section) and let me know you stopped by, then please take the extra five seconds to rate the site.
Hey, what else are you going to do in thirty seconds?
And if you are a regular visitor, even one who receives updates via email, please drop a line and let me know what you think of the site and how often you visit.
[FYI: the new guestbook is up and running, once again courtesy of Random]
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If anyone knows of another blog traffic exchange (like BE) please let me know. As long as it's free I'll join up and you'll get some referral credits. I've tried two: Hit Safari was dominated by get rich quick sites, and ClickThru never quite worked right on my computer.
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On January 27th I'll be participating along with more than 100 other blogs in a blogburst to remember the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, sixty years ago on January 27, 1945. Anyone wishing to participate may contact IsraPundit@yahoo.com. for more details.
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One of the things I like about Blog Explosion is that you have a chance to view - and therefore thank - the people who bookmark you.
What's interesting about that group is the great diversity of it -there are conservatives and liberals, parents and single guys, and people who resist any label.
I thank them all, and hope you take a look at what they have to offer (make sure to tell them Slapinons sent you). In no particular order:
Old Whig's Brain Dump
I'm a conservative/libertarian, deistic Lutheran, Objectivist, bourgeois, philistine shopkeeper who likes to point out cool things I find all over and opine about how to make life better. Sometimes I'm wrong.
Cao's Blog
Righteous politics. Conservative reviews of news, faith in God and other information pertinent to our lives today. Rants on liberal leftists, hollywonk & millions of Americans worshipping a supreme being whose name is not Bill Clinton.
vandamonium's world
Just a nice place to kick back and click a few. Read about the weird, play a game, you never know.
Often Cold
Life and commentary in Yakutat, Alaska by Fred "Oftencold," EMT, Forest Service worker, power plant opperator, sometime jail gaurd, web page author, Price Among Men and Shinning Example to Everyone.
Ed Adkins dot com
Youneed to laugh. I need attention. Come on down and let's work something out.
Musings of a Thoughtful Conservative
A Wisconsin conservative comments on world, national, Wisconsin and Milwaukee area events
"The Roth Report"
My goal is to do a better job than the Drudge Report. I launched the "Roth Report" in Dec. 2004 to blend both breaking news from around the world and blogger commentary. I think this unique mix is the next step in the blogosphere....check it out...
I See Dead People
Here are thoughts, discoveries and investigations in the life of a professional psychic and paranormal investigator. There are interesting, eclectic links as well as reviews of recent/classic movies, books and television pertaining to the supernatural.
And Rightly So
Blog devoted to current events and political commentary. From a conservative point of view, I write about important issues such as education, healthcare, national defense, social security-and try to expose the liberal lies placed upon these issues.
cocoen
Aussie in the US going to graduate school. Was in Japan for seven years before this.
Crate Obscure's DLand Page
I'm not Superman. I'm not even a George Castanza. I'm more of one of those henchmen who gets killed by the head villain in a demonstration of how his villainy is so deep that he'll even kill his own henchmen.
The Spiritual Home of Woo Hoo
I'm a guy who wears tights, nail varnish and occasionally eyeshadow. I make movies, tell stories, and love talking to people. I'm straight, British, reserved and well spoken. Within the walls of this blog is contained my voice, there if people need it.
BreakAngel : You Know My Story.
The continued diary of Fallon, a 20-year old writer from Arizona intent on burying her mundane existence behind a sometimes-brilliant facade of humor and angst. We've all got a story to tell. Don't let yours be forgotten.
The Apologist
Crap youcan count on. The Apologist explains what is by nature inexplicable: love, hate, ignorance, politics, religion and other people.The Apologist is the Mother Blog of Famous Author CW Fisher. Banned in China and the Red States of America.
the daily grind
Commentary on news from around the world
Football Watch
Keeping a close eye on the off the pitch behaviour of those involved in The Beautiful Game (soccer)
.Mystic Writer
Observations of an alien to earth.
Jen Speaks
...because I love to run off my mouth!
MUGround
Poetry site - you can blog poems and diaries as well as other custom features for word lovers.
Conservative thoughts
My thoughts on politics and news of the day. I read a lot of the high traffic sites and try not to imitate what everyone else is doing. I look high and low for interesting things to post and write about. Take a minute and visit my site.
You Can Hear The Grass Grow
I'm a Christian with Asperger's Syndrome. This is an outlet for my somewhat twisted thoughts on religion and life in general.
J's Daughter
A woman's battle with ovarian cancer as told by her daughter
BlogCruiser
A blogto write my opinions and ratings on other blogs, bloggers and blogging. Feel free to add your comments too at this corner of theblogosphere.
Industrial Waste
A REPOSITORY OF DROSS AND TOXIC RUN-OFF. Featuring: Japanese Santas, beach-ball-sized tumors, chastity panties, third nipples and nippleslips, anal sacs terrorist muppets, boring Playboys, Donald Duck being pleasured, and various other crap.
Frozen Mojo
Daily trials and tribulations of a 30-something wife, mom and investor. A mixed bag of entries about everything and anything under the sun. Warning: Blogger is an optimist who loves life.
And Rightly So
Blog devoted to current events and political commentary. From a conservative point of view, I write about important issues such as education, healthcare, national defense, social security-and try to expose the liberal lies placed upon these issues.
different biscuit, same tin
Curiously compelling - Like a trainwreck but without the blood. A mixpix of life, fantasy and the dreams created from living a virtual reality. Occasionally harsh, sometimes wry or funny but always 100% honest.
The Sporting Life
Not exclusively sports — but a life that includes them. Need more of a description? Southern, politically right-leaning, Atlanta resident, Auburn Tigers/Houston Astros/Atlanta Thrashers fan, sporadic golfer and camper, reader, writer, gay, moviegoer .
Quotes and Other Words
Random thoughts on quotes I've collected from books I've read.
Strong Coffee
Struggling to Stay Awake Long Enough to Raise Kids and Evolve as a Writer
WildWriter
News, politics, and the everyday life of a 30-something small town blogger.
NIF - News, Interesting, Funny
... items technical, scientific, humorous, political (Conservative), gadgetry-related, etc. ... Updated atleast(!) daily (except on weekends, when I get a bit lazy/busy).
the least of my worries
Sometimes about my journey of self-discovery or my autistic son, sometimes about shoes.
One Child Left Behind
One Child Left Behind: a little too filthy treatment of family, writing and friendship, as related through a fictional dialogue with my lovely Romanian wife. A Seattle area based writer inspired by McSweeney's, booze & geek chicks (by brandon rogers)
GJ Willis' Art Notes
It's about the life and times of a neer do well artist living in the mean streets of Baltimore.
Sunday, January 2, 2005
Comments - Finally???
Follow this Post
As long as I'm on AOL Journals, I'll try to improve the comments situation. Meantime, as promised I'll reprint any emails here. I received this one about the Tsunami post:
Subj: I blogged your post... it was REALLY good
Date: 12/30/04 6:48:20 PM Central Standard Time
From@yahoo.com
To: SlapInions@aol.com
I couldn't find how to make a comment on your blog but
wanted you to know I blogged your post.
Linda :)
http://bunik.blogspot.com
I encourage you to visit her site and take a look around (and be sure to tell her Slapinons sent you). She seems to post quite a bit, so you may have to hunt for my post.
About a week from now I'll spend a day reprinting each comment from BE and email I've received about the site...and I'll post a roll call of blogs that I've had contact with. Meantime, if you're on BE and like this site, leave a comment and rate me.
Later
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Dare to Dream - a link to Slapinions on another site??
I know my friend at OftenCold has linked me, but just for kicks I did a google search and found this at a site called NIF = News-Interesting-Funny.
A link to my post on Time's Person of the Year is halfway down the page under "interesting". Well, hot dog.
Check it out, and roam the site a bit as a way of saying 'thank you'. If you comment, be sure to tell 'em Slapinions sent ya.
Thursday, December 9, 2004
One Month!
Today is the one- month anniversary of this site. So far I've had 2406 visitors.
Impressive, but most come from Blog Explosion, which mean they're staying for the minimum required time and moving on.
Even so, fourteen people on BE have chosen to bookmark Slapinions, which is fourteen more people than I'd have reading it otherwise. And twenty-two people on BE have chosen to rate my site on a 1 to 10 scale. As of this writing I have a 6.86 rating, which is pretty good considering my site is as visually appealing as Bea Arthur.
I'm trying to add the Haloscan comments as recommended below. In the meantime, these are the comments that are strictly from BE users and not visible to mere common folk:
You can only comment if you have an AOL account, which I don't, but I liked your Giambi post. Pretty gross the way they screw up their bodies. What the hell do guys that make 100K on the bench need a union for?
purplezebra | 00:25 December 4th, 2004 | 0 Replies | Report | DeleteI agree with the second comment
amb3589 | 20:37 December 3rd, 2004 | 0 Replies | Report | DeleteI was not able to comment on your post "The One about Giambi" I just wanted to leave a comment to say I agree 100%. I really think that all of his health problems are due to steroids. I hope that the health issue becomes the big thing in all of this. Life and death is certainly bigger than baseball, and this truely is a life and death issue...
PeterMan | 17:02 December 3rd, 2004 | 0 Replies | Report | DeleteI agree with the first comment. Mainly political blog, but not insulting like many other political blogs I've run into.
I suggest changing the comment format, since it forces you to sign up for an AOL Journals account. I myself recently switched from a members-only comment account (Blogger) to the universal Halocan, and I've found that people are more willing to comment on my posts now.
Oh, and you must be the only other person on Earth besides me who knows about Donnie Wahlberg's rap from "No More Games"! I presume you're talking about the original version of "No More Games", not the C&C Music Factory version...
Very well written blog. Largely concerned with politcs, but doesn't rant. Content with about a PG-13 content for very light adult references. (Things like "Yoda" sex comments.)
Until the comments are up and running, I'd like to ask a favor. If you are a repeat visitor to the site, or plan on being one, drop me a line at Slapinions@aol.com and tell me. I'd like to get some sense of who's reading my stuff, and will post your name and (if you have one) your url in a future post.
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Ugh
I tried and failed to load haloscan comments into the site. I'll contact them and see if it's even possible.
In the meantime, the entry below is in response to a question from Sarah Jakubowski. If you have any questions, comments, etc and can't access the pathetically limited comments section here, feel free to drop me a line at slapinions@aol.com
Enjoy.