Fan Fix

For those who are dissatisfied with the rate of output from the Land of Yajeev, I encourage you to consider that which has brought satisfaction to readers who have wanted more from their favorite literary universes than the authors have provided (e.g. Rowling's Hogwarts, Cuse and Lindelof's mystical island, Albert's Molecular Biology of the Cell): Fan Fiction.

I authorize you, dear loyal readers, you heartbreaking few who visit the blog twice or thrice daily in hopes of espying a new (mis)adventure from your humble narrator, to imagine for yourselves and document the antics in which I might find myself. Feel free to take liberties as to the (alternate) universe(s) you imagine me to inhabit and negotiate. Crossover interactions with characters from other narratives (e.g. fantasy novels, blogs, reality shows, scholarly research) are wholeheartedly endorsed.

Monetization of the Land of Yajeev without Yajeev's written consent is expressly prohibited. Please be charitable in your extra-canonical depictions.

Return of Russ

Land of Yajeev readers, I have been waiting a long time to be able say this: our voice has been heard. After abruptly euthanizing his blog, readers of this blog overwhelmingly (by a margin of 4-to-1) cried for Russ Parker's return to the internets. Return he has, and in marvelous form. He has broken his months-long silence with a handful of entries sure to delight!

He inspires me, and he's sure to please you. Please join me in welcoming back to the webisphere the inimitable Russ Parker.

Return of Russ

You stay classy, San Diego

I am coming off the longest drought in yajeev postage since the inception of this blog, and for that, I sincerely apologize. My (blog) readers are on the losing end of long workdays, long commutes, and long hours writing grant applications. I am woefully behind on blog posts and even woefullier behind on returning phone calls. I can only hope that my application readers are as kind to me as my blog readers.

Thus far, I've applied for six grants. Unfortunately, one agency has already informed me that my application was "excellent" but unfundable (the non-"outstanding" need not apply). Another told me that I was on the cusp of fundability... and asked me to politely wait two more months while they deliberated.

Today, we're ending a one-week vacation in Ron Burgundy's home town, San Diego, California. I had hoped to have enough free time to repopulate my languishing blogsite with several delightful little posts. Unfortunately, this dream did not materialize, as I received an email from one potential research funder (the one which placed me on the cusp) informing me of a last-minute telephone interview to take place this upcoming Tuesday morning. Thus, I've spent my non fun-in-sun (or, more accurately, non marching-in-sun-through-zoos-and-state-parks-and-along-beaches-or-from-airports-to-hotels-instead-of-waiting-for-complimentary-shuttles) time boning up on the details of an application I wrote several months ago.

Don't give up on me, dear readers. I keep a running list of blog post titles, waiting for the time to flesh them out... Please stay tuned.

Going Public

The wife has finally decided to make her Journey public. Please check out her new blog.

I endorse the Olympic proposal outlined in her latest entry and commit to work tirelessly for its implementation if elected President.

UPDATE: Russ Parker: Beyond Salvation?

Despite the persistent efforts of Land of Yajeev readers commenting passionately on this blog and his, Russ Parker has shown no signs of renewed blog activity.

It's not looking good; this from the Google chat archives:

Me: you gonna rethink dismantling Russ Parker's Blog?
Russ Parker: not planning on reconsidering

Thanks to all the readers who have expressed their support for this progressive voice... Unfortunately, I fear his words may be available for an extremely limited time (unless of course, some blogger friend has taken upon him- or herself to dutifully save all of Russ Parker's blogs to his computer such they can reposted at some later date to an unauthorized unofficial Russ Parker's Blog--I'm just saying).

So, head on over to Russ Parker's Blog and soak in all the Russy goodness while you still can.

Let's hope this public figure returns quickly to the limelight. He may just have coulda been The One (for what, I'm not sure).

Save Russ's Blog

I have caught wind of an unsettling rumor circulating throughout the interwebs. I just hope that it is not too late for us to take action. One of my favorite bloggists and political personalities, Russ Parker, after several months of silence has reportedly decided to officially pull the plug on his blogsite August 18, 2008.

Russ has blogged with great eloquence on such diverse topics as the war in Iraq, the passing of Kurt Vonnegut, yard signs, facebook groups, voting, voter registration, absentee voting, trails in Alabama, and the weather.

You can do your part to keep this behemoth of the blogosphere online!

Please visit Russ Parker's blogsite, read his posts, like what you read (you won't be able to help yourself), and leave your emphatic comments encouraging, begging, cajoling him to keep on blogging on (no threatening entreaties, please). We can only hope that the massive influx of comments will convince him to persist in the art and craft of blogging. Let your voice be heard, so that his may be read for weeks, months, and years to come.

Land of Yajeev readers unite!

Morsels

My apologies for the blog-drought of late. I don't expect this to satisfy my readers starving for yajeev wit and wisdom, but I leave you with an inspirational quote and a link.

The mental benefits of exercise are all in your head.

-Father of Yajeev (a la Yogi)


Click here to read a post about the one of the blogosphere's most opinionated and dictatorial contributors who seems to have gone dark of late. I've been meaning to share this link for some time. I'm told an update may be in the offing.

You'll know how to find me...

My regular readers have no doubt added the Land of Yajeev to their list of internet bookmarks to save themselves the hassle of having type the entire web address each time they visit. If you haven't done this yet, I recommend you do this now. Because you never know when the urgent need to access the exclusive contents of this blog will arise, it's best to keep me on standby, just a point and click away.

However, should you find yourself at a strange and unfamiliar computer terminal and do not have the web address memorized (shame, shame), below are a few keywords and phrases others have googled to find the Land of Yajeev. These data come straight from Google Analytics, the free web traffic-monitoring tool provided by your favorite online megapower and mine.

If you need to find me in a pinch, here are the search terms utilized by your fellow web surfers. Following most queries, I have included hyperlinks to the blog post or posts to which I suspect Google may have ultimately directed them. For the poor soul who entered "my email is empty like my soul, sad ha ha", your guess of the ultimate Land of Yajeev entry destination is as good as mine. The important thing is that this sad person found me. I hope he/she and the other googlers have found solace and personal fulfillment in these pages.

And now, the abridged (!) list:

• the bumpkins (click here)
• are black panthers unicellular (click here or here)
• thanks for the nuts (click here)
• biology nerd gift ideas (click here or here)
• prevent sweating during an interview (click here)
• dementia imaginary friends (click here or here)
• fall possible head injury eventually show up as bruised ankles (click here or here or here or here or here or here or here) (other similar search terms included: "multiple unprovoked fall" and "my failed attempt at skateboarding that kept me falling")
• glen davis on michelangelo (click here)
• the steps of falling in love (click here or here)
  
• timeline on gary grubbs life (click here)
• impress the girlfriend parents and sung to grandma (click here)
  
• perfect western blot (click here or here)
• martha messiah (click here)
• moo shoo cereal for breakfast with duck sauce (click here)
• my email is empty like my soul, sad ha ha
• what is the most humiliating thing that could happen to a youth? (click here)
• afro puff silhouette (click here)
• butter burst into flames (click here)
• 600 calories model's diet weight loss (click here or here)
• will i ever walk straight and not waddle (click here)
• bubelah tee shirt (click here or here)
• chinese is not blog (click here)
• i don't eat vegetables (click here)
• funeral director jokes (click here)
• alter ego and shoulder angel demonstration (click here or here)
• creepy dog picture real? (click here)
• how to land a 30 foot jump (click here)
• intelligentsia, yorker, atlantic, harper's, republic, nation (click here)
• sleeping wife blog (click here)
  

It's comforting to know that the Land of Yajeev meets the needs of all sorts of googlers... those who want to know if they will ever be free from waddling and able to walk straight (the answer is an emphatic "no"), those who seek to join the elite ranks of the Atlantic Monthly-subscribing intelligentsia (reading this blog is a good first step), those who need love advice (I'm your man for illustrative writing about falling and falling in love), those who want to maintain their model's figure (two words: diet pills), those who need help preparing for job interviews (if you're a perspirer, bring a towel), and those who need to know what to do in the case of an emergency butter fire (do not attempt to extinguish with a rubber oven mitt)... and all others looking for wit and wisdom, anecdotes and insights into the dark worlds of funeral humor, imaginary friends, alter egos, and babysitter messiahs.

Batman had only one alert: the bat signal projected into the clouds above Gotham City. This blog is much more versatile--responsive to a wide range of googlings. The Land of Yajeev is the new Rome: All (online) roads lead here.

Nuptials

Congratulations to my sister-in-law and future brother-in-law on their recent engagement!

Just wanted to let you know that I'll be there, as long as I'm invited, of course...

...and as long as there'll be free wi-fi. I'll be the guy in the back, live blogging the event.

Shamrock n' roll: St. Patrick's Day T-Shirt Contest Results

The entries are in, and the results have been tallied. It is now time to announce the winners of the 2008 Land of Yajeev St. Patrick's Day T-Shirt Design contest.

I will say quite honestly, that the judging process was excruciating. I was beginning to regret the "Yajeev will make the final decision" clause in the official contest rules. In total, Land of Yajeev readers submitted 13 unique designs, any of which I would proudly have emblazoned across my chest... or, at the very least, emblazoned on a t-shirt covering my chest.

The decision was so difficult, I have selected three prize winners, each of whom will have their design imprinted on a unique limited edition Land of Yajeev Megastore St. Patrick's Day product. Each will receive that item in time to celebrate the St. Patrick's Day holiday in style and, as promised, the fame and prestige befitting such accomplishment.

With no further ado, the winners...

The first place image was submitted by Lisa...


To fully appreciate this one, you may have to read it out loud. I didn't get it until I did. Go ahead, take a second, and say it aloud. You may be surprised to hear your co-worker in the neighboring cubicle reading aloud with you. This first place design will be featured on two Land of Yajeev t-shirts (the standard value t-shirt and woman's jr. ringer t-shirt).














The second and third place images were submitted by Trevor and Marliese, respectively...

...they're so good it hurts.

Trevor's design will be featured on a sharp one-of-a-kind mini poster print, pictured above left, and Marliese's on an official Land of Yajeev magnet, at right.





I'm including below a few submissions which have earned honorable mentions...


















Many, many, many thanks to those who entered the contest and made it the internet sensation that it was! This will certainly not be the last time I exploit, er, call upon my readership to create the images that will appear on other Land of Yajeev Megastore merchandise.

Be sure to check out the updated store with all of the new St. Patrick's Day products. This St. Patrick's Day, go green with the limited edition Land of Yajeev 2008 Irish collection.

....and, if you like what you buy at the megastore, be sure to snap a photo of your gear in use and send it to landofyajeev@hotmail.com.

Poll Results: Be it resolved...

Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent Land of Yajeev survey.

Readers were asked, "What is (are) your New Year Resolution(s)"?

Perhaps the results were unfairly skewed by the subject matter of a few of my recent posts, but the resolution most often selected was the classic: "Lose weight." I wish I could offer some helpful tips (other than the big 2: diet and exercise) for successful weight loss to the 40% of respondents who have so resolved. I'm afraid that any sure-fire weight-loss strategies I could propose would involve diet pills or limb removal, both of which should be approved by your personal physician.* I just hope that when you have succeeded in becoming lighter and fitter, you will remember all the good times we've had at the Land of Yajeev and you don't go off in search of a slimmer, sexier blogger.

33% of those surveyed resolved to "Visit the Land of Yajeev more often", and 25% hoped to "Comment at the Land of Yajeev more often." With readers' overwhelming commitment to become more involved in the blog, the Land of Yajeev may soon surpass the popularity of MySpace and Facebook. Before long, this site will be your hub for social networking, video sharing, scientific literature browsing, web searching, and instant messaging. Think of all the merchandising and ad revenues...

I'd like to think of this site as a sort of online support group for mishappers and recovering mishappers (such as the 33% of survey respondents who resolved to "Suffer fewer mishaps"). My blog is largely a repository for the mishaps I suffer. I write about my own misfortunes and misadventures so that others may learn from my experiences and avoid replicating the innumerable errors of my ways (for a highly abbreviated selection of yajeev misphaps, click here or here or here or here).

A third of my readers resolved to develop their critical thinking skills, hand-eye coodination, spatial reasoning, and patience in the coming year. That is, they resolved to "Play more video games".

Apparently, most survey respondents are satisfied with their smoking and television habits. Only one individual committed to "Quit smoking" (as far as resolutions go, it's an oldie but goodie). Similarly, just one person resolved to "Watch less tv", and nobody opted to"Watch more tv" in the coming year (which is shocking, considering the recent premiere of The Moment of Truth).

Good luck to all who have resolved, especially those who have resolved to visit and comment at the Land of Yajeev more often.



n=15



* This website is for educational purposes only. Information found within should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical conditions.

Don't(.) Blog this.

Something strange has transpired between my in-laws and myself. Somewhere over the course of the recent holiday and funeral season, a deep distrust has developed whereby my family-in-law seems to fear (correctly?) that I lie in wait for bloggable moments. Now, whenever anyone says something amusing, remotely funny, embarrassing, shocking, upsetting, or mundane, they immediately turn to me, eyes shifting, and suspiciously utter, "Don't blog that."

At which point, I lie and say that I'm just jotting a grocery list, not a blog idea. Sheesh.

One exception to my in-laws' recalcitrance toward my blogging at their self-perceived expense is my father-in-law's strong desire for me to post a picture of his head with the Wendy's wig superimposed where his hair (if he had any--see related comment by Peppy Lady here) would be. I'm afraid this image, beautiful as it would surely be, will have to wait for me to hone my Photoshop skills.

My in-laws are probably reading this post, wishing they'd said "Don't blog that" after they said "Don't blog that."

They should know that I only blog about those I love (with the possible exception of this).

I just want to commend Glen Davis

I occasionally use my blog to bring my readers the best of the blogosphere.

Today, an excerpt from the blog of NBA rookie Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who is in Europe with his teammates, the Boston Celtics. He recently visited the Sistine Chapel.

Glen Davis:

The Vatican was beautiful. I wish you could see it. Michelangelo is a, first of all, talented man. But he’s also crazy, because there’s no way I would take six years painting a ceiling that’s at least 30 or 40 feet high in the air. But I guess you do what you’ve got to do, and I just want to commend Michelangelo. But I heard the man was crazy, though he’s definitely a beautiful artist.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Today, I added Glen's quote to Wikipedia's entry on The Sistine Chapel. We'll see if my contribution stands the test of time.



11/5/07 UPDATE: I've just checked the Sistene Chapel wikipedia link, and Mr. Davis's quote has been removed. Tragic. Some people just can't appreciate genius when they see it.

Out, out, darn spots!

I was taking Watson out for one last time when I reached into my pocket with my leash-free hand and felt something sticky coating my cell phone and inhaler. I initially assumed I had neglectfully stuffed some half-eaten now-melted confection into my pocket; top on my list of suspects was a caramel Reese’s peanut butter cup (though I rarely leave such a treat half-eaten).

When I pulled the cell phone from my pocket, I could see by the dim glow of our neighbor’s porch light what had happened.

“Hurry up, Watson. We have to get inside.” He sniffed interminably until he found the perfect spot. Finally, he did his business and we returned to the house.

I emptied the contents of my pocket onto the kitchen counter. My fear had been confirmed. While I appreciate and recommend their water filtration systems, I cannot in good faith vouch for the (gratis) writing implements proffered by Millipore. The free pen I had received from the bioscience supplies vendor had exploded (or at least leaked vigorously) in my pocket.

“Honey, there’s been an incident,” I reported to my wife.

“Well, at least you’ll have something to blog about," she quipped when I showed her my cell phone.

“Ha ha,” I replied sarcastically, a little offended by her presumption. "Not every mishap is a blog opportunity for me," I paused. " I am not going to blog this." She turned to talk to her mother; I darted for the camera just in case I had a change of heart.

Here are the unabridged contents of my pocket:


The keen observer will note ink-stained coins, doggy waste pickup bag, inhaler, Chick Fil A coupon, and cell phone.






My mother-in-law scoped out the mess and suggested I use a pocket protector. Thank you, pocket protection expert mother-in-law, but pocket protectors are for nerds, and I am decidedly not a-- er, nevermind. Point taken. Thanks for the recommendation.

I commenced the cleanup effort with my cell phone.

I scrubbed vigorously and have this to show for it.






I even tried a little bit of this stuff, which does a bang-up job with spaghetti sauce stains on dress trousers but is not so effective, as it turns out, with massive ink stains on cell phones.




When I commenced the cell phone cleaning effort, my phone looked like this. The teeth marks, if you can see them, are from an earlier encounter with Watson (he had attacked the phone after he'd gotten to the remote controls but before he devoured our W2's--a blog for another day).

After 20 minutes of concerted phone-scrubbing effort ("If you keep rubbing it, will a genie come out?" my mother-in-law queried), my cell phone looked like this.



My heroic efforts were to no avail. "Now you won't have to buy a colored faceplate for your phone," one of my two observers/hecklers noted.

Fortunately (I guess), my phone is still in working order, so a new phone purchase is not on the horizon.

This phone will not die.

I next turned my attention to my inhaler. After the minimal progress with the phone, I wiped the excess globs of ink from the medication canister and left it at that.




The coinage could be salvaged.








As for the doggy waste pickup bags and Chick Fil A coupon, I decided to leave well enough alone. These items had lived long, full lives, and it was time for them to retire with dignity.




My pants are another story. This is my pocket. The free Millipore pen (or my fidgeting with it) may have caused irreparable damage.








I concede: my wife was correct in her insinuation of perceived blogworthiness. When an "incident" befalls me, my initial thought is not, "Gee, how can I resolve this incident," but rather, "Gee, how can I blog this incident."

Poll Results: 2 web surfers devastated; millions of other internet readers oblivious, unaffected

When asked how often readers visit the Land of Yajeev blogsite, 18% of poll respondents indicated that they check in more than 10 times per day. To these two diehards, I offer the sincerest of apologies for the dearth of bloggings in the past two weeks. I can make excuses: busyness, stress, travels… but I know that my readers hold me (as I do myself) to a higher standard of blogging fidelity.

54% of my readers check the site once to four times a day, and they have no doubt been dissatisfied (but surely not as disheartened as the abovementioned LoY fanatics) by my recent lack of blog-related activity.

27% indicated that they check the site less than once per day. These are the casual observers who stop by to check out the view. I hope you like what you see, and I wish you many happy returns.

Thanks to all who participated and waited patiently for the results.

n=11

Blogworthiness (or, The family that blogs together...)

If you want to hear what it's like to live in a blogging family, check out this insightful commentary by Julie Zickefoose from NPR.

This audio clip pretty much sums it up.

It's about three and a half minutes in length and dead on from the heroin to the comment craving and counter watching.

I thought I'd invented the term "blogworthy". So, probably, did a lot of people.

You may have to copy the link into your browser.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5204627

The (in)Complete Idiot's Guide to Interviewing

Every now and again, as a service, I like to provide my readership with useful advice. I’d like to take this opportunity to do just that. In this installment of Blogger Knows Best, I am sharing a list of Interview Dos and Don’ts. You would be wise to consider these tips when next seeking gainful employment.

1. Memorize ALL Nobel Prize winners who have worked at or attended the office/workplace/institution to which you are applying so that when your interviewer tells you that, say, Milton Freeman worked in the same office she now occupies, yours won’t be the deer-in-headlights blank facial expression. “Milton Freeman… Ring any bells?” “Uhhh…” “Won a little something called the Nobel…” “Oh, that Milton Freeman.”

2. Avoid sweating at all costs. This may involve turning down an outdoors walking tour in 100°F plus heat. It may involve not wearing an undershirt beneath your dress shirt.

As a corollary, if you do plan on sweating or will be unable to prevent sweating, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, wear one of those newfangled water-repellant dress shirts such that when a drop of sweat rolls down your face it won’t bounce off your shirt onto the desk you’re sitting in front of. Trust me, once you see the first few sweat bullets skid down your front side, they will only flow faster; before you know it, you’ll have veritable rivers of unabsorbed sweat balls cascading down your torso. “Are you okay? Can I get you a glass of water or a towel?”

3. Don’t drink more coffee or water than your bladder can contain for the expected duration of your interview. “Why are you dancing?”

4. If your interview involves eating at a restaurant and you are asked what type of food you like to eat, be honest. Don’t say you’d be happy to eat anywhere if you really wouldn’t. If there is a type of food you just can’t stomach, no matter how obscure (Lebanese, Ethiopian, Antarctic), speak up. Better you share your opinion earlier than later. “Great, Middle Eastern cuisine it is, then.” “Oh, um, great. I love me some shwarma.” “What?” “Nothing. Sounds great.”

Listen. Trust me as you would your fortune cookie. Once broken, I issue great wisdom. Follow my advice, and you will go far. The job of your dreams awaits you.



As with any fortune cookie worth its weight in flour, here’s your complimentary Chinese lesson.

烤肉串
“shish kebob”

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I have given in to the craze and been consumed by Pottermania… I’ve just finished the much-anticipated seventh and final installment in poor-single-mother-turned-megazillionaire-no-longer-single-mother-author J.K. Rowling’s magical pubescent wizard series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It’s been a thrill-a-minute page-turning adventure. The ending was truly shocking, yet wholly satisfying. I must admit, I had my own pet theories, but I did not see the finale coming. Harry and his faithful sidekicks Hermione and Ron broke into Voldemort’s (cursed be the name!) supporters’ headquarters. After an exhilarating battle with his followers, the fearless trio burst into the lair of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

FOR THOSE WHO WISH NOT TO BE SPOILED, STOP READING NOW!
All others, scroll down for the conclusion of the synopsis.













Inside the dusty, candlelit (though quaintly decorated) chamber, Potter et al found the Dark Lord, back to the door, hunched over his desk, laughing vigorously. What captured You-Know-Who’s attention was not immediately clear to our boy hero and his peers. The lighting-bolt scar above Harry’s forehead burned, and, as usual, this sensation was accompanied by a glimpse into the soul of his evil archenemy… Harry’s point-of-view shifted from his own to that of Voldemort leaning on a writing table just feet in front of him. Harry (as Voldemort) was overcome with maniacal laughter, his vision at first blurry with tears. Voldemort’s pale hand wiped away the tears as the object of his amusement became imminently obvious. It was a computer—an iMac with the new Intel processor. Voldemort was scrolling through the archives of the Land of Yajeev blog, chuckling with each new post, occasionally muttering to himself, “I don’t get it, but it just makes me laugh.” Seeing though Voldemort’s eyes, Harry caught the reflection of himself standing behind the desk, darkening the already mostly-darkened doorway.

Harry felt Voldemort turn toward Harry as his point-of-view returned to that from his own two eyes. The burning of his scar turned more to a tickle. As if his wand had illuminated a long-hidden corner of his soul, it finally became clear what it was that had bonded these nemeses together: it was not their intermingled magical/muggle (non-magical) lineage nor even their great supernatural abilities, but rather it was their mutual love for the Land of Yajeev blogsite. Harry whispered, “You read this too?”

Voldemort, swiveling back and forth in his desk chair, hissed, “Only every single day. And I vote in the polls.”

From then on, Harry and Voldemort (who came to be known to Harry and his crew as Voldy) were fast friends, their years-long rivalry (“a simple misunderstanding” as Voldemort would later describe it in the wizarding newsrag, The Quibbler) now a matter of mutual amusement. They continued as faithful readers of the Land of Yajeev blog and even opened a store together selling candles with novel scents, calling these Wizardly candles “wandles” (Harry’s favorite wandle was Butterbeer-scented; Voldemort preferred the basilisk venom wandle).

Harry and Voldemort now more closely resembled Abbot and Costello than Skywalker and Vader. They would bicker (over such trifles as how much to charge for a wandle or over who would work the late shift at their wandle shop), and, every now and again, their skirmishes would elevate to the intensity of raised voices and drawn wands, but just a mention of a Land of Yajeev punch line (sometimes by their assistants Ron and Hermione) was all it ever took to diffuse the tension and return the duo to their wandle-peddling antics.

Potter fans had long wondered how Rowling would bring the story to a neat and tidy endpoint, and she managed to accomplish just that with the highest dignity. While this marks the end of the literary adventure for Harry and Voldemort, Rowling has graciously passed the baton of enchanted storytelling to your humble blogger.

Major Announcement: New Blogsite!!!

July 18 marks my one-year bloggaversary.

No one can deny that it's been twelve fabulous, glorious months of opinions, observations, wit and witticism.

After 73 posts and nearly 3000 hits (2983 and counting), it is finally time to take this show on the road.

That's right, loyal readers and friends, I am moving. This blog will no longer be housed on my MySpace account. Instead, it will be hosted by blogger.com.

The new blog website will be: http://landofyajeev.blogspot.com/

There will be some great new features available at blogger.com not available in the current venue. Chief among them is that non-MySpacers will be able to see posted pictures and comment on blogs. These readers represent an underserved and longsuffering constituency who deserve full access and a voice in this ongoing dialogue.

Additionally, I am now in the process of courting corporate sponsors for the site. This should serve to help defray some of the costs involved with maintaining such a high-profile venture. I have to be honest: the relief from financial burden will be nice. (Lisa suspects that I might further cut costs by outsourcing the task of blogwriting to poor laborers in third world countries.)

To my MySpace following, for the timebeing and forseeable future, I will notify you of new blog postings by announcing them in my MySpace blog section. I will include links to the new site.

Unfortunately, the new site does not house a kudos repository... and this is one thing I will truly miss. Lisa has recommended manual kudoing for those who are so inclined. Feel free to include kudos in your responses. For example, "2 Kudos to you!" or "Mega-kudos!" or "Nice post, but just one kudo today, chap" are all appropriate ways of kudoing.

I hope that you will take this journey with me. This is an exhilerating and terrifying move. I take a risk by upping and moving, but I hope it will pay off and that you will be there with me when it does.

On this thrilling note, I proudly unveil "Land of Yajeev" at:

http://landofyajeev.blogspot.com/

Here's to another year!




(current mood: excited)

"Best Party Ever"

[[Note: To have any sense of context whatsoever for this post, please see the following blog entry by another esteemed MySpacer… the Brian Hulick mentioned in both blogs are in fact one and the same:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=32651695&blogID=225971737&MyToken=c47147ac-2a5c-4148-a646-b5b04e7665a8

with apologies to John Mayer]]


The only way I can describe the party of Erwin Rommel is that it tasted like flowers were growing around large masses of steel (what chili)... It was a partygoer's dream come true... It served whatever emotion your (sic) having back to you in a way that felt so uplifting. He's like the male Martha Stewert. Yah, I think that sums it up.

__________
A Bio....

Erwin Rommel is the nom de plume of Brian Hulick. His parties are a not yet legal marriage between family get-together and the more abstract high school/college reunion (they're genderless). His debut party (as far as this partygoer is concerned) was in the summer of 2006 with Russ, Andy and Yajeev, where he served steaks, chips, and a variety of beverages. He is now a full-fledged member of the burgeoning social elite in Seaberry, Pennsylvania; he hosted the "Best Party Ever" on April 14, 2007 with a much wider assortment of guests, tunes, and delicacies.

His website can be viewed here:
http://www.iamdof.com/

IMPORTANT: His parties are by invitation only.


Originally Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2007
(Then) Curent Mood: grateful
http://blog.myspace.com/yajeev