tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9356414.post6543675499245594811..comments2024-03-09T03:15:55.350-05:00Comments on jazzoLOG: The Blogs Of Iraqjazzologhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647170784964378640noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9356414.post-59382790663479553762007-03-07T05:35:00.000-05:002007-03-07T05:35:00.000-05:00Ain't the WWW grand! Sad as this entry actually i...Ain't the WWW grand! Sad as this entry actually is, it's provided opportunity to meet lauraflu, reconnect with Carolyn V, and catch up with old Internet buddy Bombadil---and prepare for some good reading in his merry weblog. But that's not all: where in the world did Tom find that info about logs 'n blogs? Wikipedia? Jorn Barger! I KNOW Jorn...but didn't know he invented the term "weblog," a term that could be viewed as a bit creepy poetically but preferable to boggy blog. Maybe Jorn WROTE the Wikipedia article. And Tom, did you know that Jorn's father, Rex Barger (who abandoned the States long ago for Canada) is a member of NCN...but never did much in it that I know of? <BR/><BR/>Thanks also to Tom for mentioning jazzoLOG's past history. The NCN version goes back a couple of years http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v63 but at some point I stored the whole thing at http://www.upsaid.com/jazzolog/ though I don't get much action in there. I can't remember how I started putting stuff up here. Probably I had to join to leave a comment somewhere, and just started posting. Anyway it's a delight to write on the computer for me...and I'm not sure why that is either. Handwriting in English was tough for a leftie like me, and I liked typewriters but there's a lot of hassle with ribbons and corrections. This way truly is fun!jazzologhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647170784964378640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9356414.post-49869166445294066542007-03-06T14:20:00.000-05:002007-03-06T14:20:00.000-05:00A bit of trivia: The term "weblog" was coined by J...A bit of trivia: <I>The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of 1999.</I><BR/><BR/>The truth of the matter is that, as with everything in the making, early bloggers did what they did without really having a name for what they were doing. So, while it took some time for this new form of web based journals and related activity to establish itself and be recognized to the degree it is now, blogging has been around since the beginning of the internet. <BR/><BR/>Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, e-mail lists and bulletin board systems (BBS). In the 1990s, Internet forum software, such as WebEx, created running conversations with "threads".<BR/><BR/>newciv.org is a community site that has existed since 1995.<BR/><BR/>When newciv.org was launched in early 1995, the thought was that there would be a network of decentralized servers, owned and operated by different people or group of people. Either by neglect or by design (opinions on the matter differ) the project has fallen short of its original ambitions and the site is currently hosted on the server(s) of one the original founders who maintains the site freely and benevolently.<BR/><BR/>2007 ! --- Well, things have been moving along spectacularly since the 1990s and the dream of a "network of decentralized servers owned and operated by different people" is well and alive.<BR/><BR/>Its name? <BR/><BR/>The World Wide Web! (But this is another story - or is it?)<BR/><BR/>In any case, it is always a real pleasure to read Richard Carlson's articles, as it is to find yet another manifestation of his blog, here, on bloggspot.com.<BR/><BR/>I discovered jazzolog back during his first incarnation, on newciv.org, and have been reading his logs along with the logs of a few other bloggers who were keeping or are still keeping an account there, not all of whom have been as active or as persistently committed as my good friend Richard, a dedication to "blogging" (though he hate that word) that I truly admire in him, and certainly one of his more endearing qualities. Reading his journal is always a pleasure, a thing I do regularly as I drop here often.Tom Bombadilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09926239651674777846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9356414.post-39407137318171039232007-02-25T09:31:00.000-05:002007-02-25T09:31:00.000-05:00Two friends of mine have been arguing for some tim...Two friends of mine have been arguing for some time at the New Civilization version of jazzoLOG. One seems to advocate for peaceful changes of policy through congressional representatives, while the other says it's time for guns. This is a republic and those politicians we vote for are supposed to carry out the will of the majority, but all the polls show we the people have certain mandates about which our representatives don't appear to do very much. My warrior friend laughs at our naivete. Even if I don't quit my job, drop out and head for the hills, I do find myself inspired by the great and patriotic spirit of revolution upon which our country is founded. Now I see more and more on the Internet---but not in the media---that people increasingly are discerning the firing lines. In fact, Firing Line was the name of William Buckley's TV show for many years, and it was he 40 years ago who declared a Culture War that neocons in the White House now are determined to win whether the citizenry wants it or not. One comment I read this morning stopped me in my tracks:<BR/> <BR/>Name: Robert Castle Date: Feb 19, 2007 <BR/>The role of the neocons in our government since they invaded and occupied the White House is seldom if ever mentioned by the main stream media. My information sources are limited and it is difficult to assess their credibility but the argument can be made that but for the neocons, we would not be in danger of permanently losing our democracy with its rights and obligations, duties and privileges. The United States is in the middle of a de facto civil war. The combatants are the neocons and their allies, the industrial/military complex, the main stream media, and the fundamentalists on one side and those who are defending our Constitution and the rule of law in general, foreign and domestic, the true patriots, on the other. The United States cannot be both a militaristic empire and a democracy such as was built on the principles set forth in our Constitution. Only one side can win. <BR/><BR/> <BR/>That comment is in a thread that follows a fascinating interview with Noam Chomsky at Foreign Policy In Focus. The part of the interview most people seem to be noticing involves what Chomsky calls the Mafia Principle as foundation of our relations with other countries---and our own citizens as well. "International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn’t pay his protection money. You have to have obedience otherwise the idea can spread that you don’t have to listen to the orders and it can spread to important places." http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3999<BR/> <BR/>The treatment of "disobedience" is very much a part of a fascist form of control...and that possibility is at the very center of Joe Conason's new book It Can Happen Here. A large excerpt from the beginning of the book is posted at AlterNet, with a lot of comments. The excerpt ends, "The question that we face in the era of terror alerts, religious fundamentalism, and endless warfare is whether we are still the brave nation preserved and rebuilt by the generation of Sinclair Lewis -- or whether our courage, and our luck, have finally run out." http://www.alternet.org/rights/48246/ Which side are you on?jazzologhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647170784964378640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9356414.post-78689474136372435462007-02-22T05:29:00.000-05:002007-02-22T05:29:00.000-05:00Laura Flu! I hope you're not catching. Thank you...Laura Flu! I hope you're not catching. Thank you for the marvelous comment...and of course I'll email the snail. Yeah, we live out in the savage sticks of Southeast Ohio, where the term "redneck" is not an epithet. For fun the younger ones like to celebrate their beer by bashing mailboxes with baseball bats. After repair and replacement a couple times, we noticed one morning they had robbed it completely. Not an unusual story in these parts, so like our neighbors we've resorted to a post office box. Please apologize to Carolyn for I neglected to inform her. BTW I THINK I sent her a copy of a piece I wrote about her, but you may enjoy it too~~~ http://jazzolog.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_archive.html (the last one down the scroll - October 3rd).jazzologhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647170784964378640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9356414.post-75220762571275288722007-02-22T02:34:00.000-05:002007-02-22T02:34:00.000-05:00Hi Richard,I'm a friend of Carolyn V's in Rome. S...Hi Richard,<BR/>I'm a friend of Carolyn V's in Rome. She's searching for your snail mail address. Could you send it to me and I'll pass it on to her. I'm lauraflu at yahoo.com. She's trying to send you a letter but it's been returned to her.<BR/>thanks! (nice blog, BTW!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com