Author: N.Z. Bear

Did you know that there’s a national, network television show with an Iraqi-American central character?
It’s true: the CBS reality show Brother, a guilty pleasure of mine, has as a contestant Kaysar, an Iraqi-American graphics designer from Irvine, CA. He’s proven to be a formidable competitor in the game during the first few weeks, and seems like a genuinely intelligent and decent fellow.
There’s only one problem: he lost last week and was “evicted” from the house.
So why should you care? Because CBS is holding a public poll to determine whether Kaysar or one of two other evicted players will be allowed back in the house. And you can vote, for free, right here.
I, for one, want him back. And so I figure I’ll spread the word, and ask my fellow citizens of the blogosphere: click that link, give Kaysar a vote, and keep a positive example of an Iraqi-turned-American in front of the television viewing public.
It’s a little thing, but sometimes those actually do count…

Folks:
I’ve just completed work to make it easier to ensure that Carnival entries are added to the TTLB ÜberCarnival.
If your blog is registered in the Ecosystem, you can tag your Carnival entry post to be picked up automatically by including the following exact phrase in your post’s text, replacing [Carnival Name] with the name of the carnival:
“[Carnival Name] can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear’s ÜberCarnival.”

The Ecosystem scans will notice this text and the link to TTLB and automagically add your Carnival entry to the ÜberCarnival.
For this method to work, the blog hosting the Carnival must be registered in the Ecosystem with a working RSS feed. In addition, if the blog doesn’t publish full entries to the RSS feed, the Ecosystem may not be able to detect the Carnival tag (because it may not appear in the truncated version of the post presented via the RSS feed).
If the automatic method doesn’t work, you can now also add a Carnival entry manually via the form here.
Try ’em out, and let me know if you have any difficulties…
NZ

It’s been a full month since the launch of the new TTLB, and I’d like to pause for a moment and throw open a thread here to ask for your feedback on all the new goodies. I won’t quite call this a formal survey, but here’s what I’d love to hear:
1) What features do you find the most/least interesting?
2) What improvements/features would you like to see that would make TTLB a primary destination on your daily blog-surfing (if it isn’t already)? Shoot for the moon: if you can dream it, I might be able to build it, but we won’t know unless you ask.
One request: please do NOT use this as a spot for requesting assistance with your blog’s Ecosystem entry: if you have something that needs to be taken care of, e-mail me and I’ll do my best to assist as promptly as I can.

Folks:
At long last I’ve got the self-service interface for Ecosystem data up & running in a fully automated fashion.
The interface requires that you place special Ecosystem-generated tags on your weblog to specify the change that you are requesting: this guarantees that you and only you can make changes to your blog.
To request a change, go to your blog details page, and select the new ‘Request a change to this blog’ link under the summary section. An automated wizard will guide you through a series of questions about what type of change you are requesting, and ultimately will provide you the exact code that must be placed on your weblog to trigger the update.
These requests are now being processed automatically once a day in the evening prior to each night’s Ecosystem update, and no longer require my personal attention. So that means, no more waiting for me to get around to changes, which should be a very good thing for all of us…

Folks:
I’m beginning the fun/not fun process of house hunting in the Orange County, CA area, and am looking for advice on good online and offline resources available for finding properties in the area. My preferred method of operation is to review home listings online, check the neighborhood out with tools like Earth, and then and only then involve a realtor to get me access to view the home in person.
So: in particular I’m looking for sites that offer free/open access to search the CA MLS database, but would also welcome any other pointers / suggestions — especially advice on if there are other database beyond the MLS (for sale by owner?) that I should be monitoring. (And yes, if you know a good real estate agent in the area, I’m happy to hear about them).
Thanks in advance…
NZB

Happy 4th, everyone, and thanks to Ann at for use of the flag in the special logo today…
NZB

TTLB was showcased on CNN’s Inside Politics yesterday: transcript is and thanks to The Political Teen, video can be seen here. The segment highlighted the new look, in particular showing off the Iraq topic page and the Milbloggers community page.
I had no idea the Inside Politics folks were planning this — kids, e-mail next time! — but it was a most pleasant surprise. And seeing TTLB up on CNN’s monitors sure made me glad that I spent much of this weekend cleaning up visual styles around these parts…

We’re almost a week into the new launch, and one question I’ve heard asked (yes, I’m looking at you, Lisa) is “where are the liberal communities”?
We’ve got the Brotherhood; we’ve got the Raging RINOs. As of last night, we’ve even got Gunbloggers. But specifically liberal-focused communities? I got nuthin’.
It is not for lack of trying on my part. I sent my announcement post to several of the most prominent liberal bloggers, and it appears to have landed with a solid ‘thud’ in their virtual circular file. Similarly, I reached out to the Liberal Coalition, which I’ve supported over the years through the old TTLB’s ‘Alliance’ functionality, with a similar lack of effect.
It is my genuine goal to make TTLB a portal to all of the best in the blogosphere, not just the swath of it that tends to lean towards my own political views. So this is a genuine disappointment to me — but it is never too late. So if you consider yourself a leftie and have a good idea for a community: speak up!
But in the meantime: consider this a no-complaining zone for those who like to whinge about “lack of balance” in the blogosphere…
-NZB
Update: Dawn Eden at the NY Daily News picked up on my call for leftie participation, and actually tracked down Kos himself to ask him what’s up with that.
It would have been cooler if she went all Michael Moore on him and showed up at his front door shoving a microphone in his face, demanding “Why are you repressing the Truth Laid Bear? What do you have to hide? Is it true you’re prejudiced against bears?”
But I suppose a polite email was a tad more professional…thanks, Dawn!

Folks:
Does something look…. different?
No, I haven’t changed my hair, but thanks for asking.
Yes, at long last, the new release of TTLB is here. As I hope will be apparent, a great deal of thought and effort has gone into this new release, which essentially amounts to a top-to-bottom redesign of the site, including oodles of new features. Things are still a bit rough around the edges, and I’m still polishing, polishing, polishing: but the fundamentals work, and it’s time to let this baby leave the nest.
Here’s a quick summary of some of the goodies you’ll find:
Posts : Summaries of the most-linked posts across the blogosphere over the past few days. The creme de la creme of bloggy goodness.
Topics: Topic pages aggregate the latest & most popular posts on specific topics. What’s hot in the blogosphere now? TTLB’s topic pages will tell you. And if the topics I’m currently tracking don’t fly your flag, you can also create your own custom topic page on whatever subject strikes your fancy.
Communities: Similar to topics pages, community pages focus on pre-defined sub-groupings of weblogs. Example communites are groups like milbloggers, or Canadian Bloggers. Each community has a community page which shows the latest & most popular posts from within the community, and a special Ecosystem-like listing which ranks the community members against each other.
UberCarnival: A directory page which shows the latest ‘carnivals’ around the blogosphere. Now you don’t ever have to worry about tracking down where the latest edition of your favorite Carnival is this week: TTLB will do it for you.
And of course, the old Ecosystem by-links and by-traffic ranking pages are still around, along with some incremental improvements to the individual blog details pages, including the display of actual blog-post titles on the ‘most popular posts’ listing as opposed to cryptic URLs.
So: take a look around, enjoy, and by all means, let me know what you think. I’m just getting started, and so, must inevitably quote Sir Winston:
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Update: Thanks to all for the kind words and the links. One question that is coming up is “how do you select communities, and can I suggest a new one”? The answer is that the communities you see today are merely a starting point, meant to demonstrate the direction I’m taking TTLB in. I’m actively seeking suggestions on additional communities that would be useful to add, so if you’ve got one in mind, please, speak up.
And one specific note on that subject: while I have my own political views and will continue to express them on my blog page here, I try to keep the rest of TTLB nonpartisan. So I’d definitely like to add some communities and topics that would be of interest to the left side of the blogosphere. If you’ve got a suggestion, let me know!

The Boston Globe’s Michael Kranish today that the Globe has obtained John Kerry’s “full military and medical records”, but that there is a “lack of any substantive new material about Kerry’s military career in the documents.” Michelle is roundup central and Tom Maguire provides his take.
I have a few questions — not for Kerry, but for the Globe:
1) Why hasn’t the Globe posted the full set of documents on its web site? Was there a condition on their release that they not be published in their entirety?
2) If there was a condition on their release, why isn’t that disclosed in the piece?
Kranish’s story seems like an utterly useless piece of non-journalism when viewed through the spectrum of blogger standards. The original materials exist, they are the primary (the only) relevant information conveyed by the story — but the Globe won’t let us see them. No need for you to read for yourselves, ignorant masses, we’ll just tell you what’s in them so you don’t need to worry your pretty little heads.
Unless, of course, the Globe is prohibited from this disclosure in some way, in which case they should disclose that. (And if that is the case: just how hard did the Globe argue with Kerry’s team that they should be allowed to publish the documents — and thereby invalidate their exclusive? Color me skeptical.)
Either way, this seems like the worst sort of MSM paternalism…
Update: Beldar is thinking the same thing I am…

Meryl all Larry-King on the Sith Lord himself, and much is revealed.

I traded a few emails with Carl Bialik of the WSJ online on the Ecosystem and the various methods I use around here for blog ranking, and his piece is available online. It’s a good primer on the state-of-play of tracking blog statistics.

The Interwebs are abuzz this morning with news that John Kerry may indeed have finally his Form 180. See Michelle, Ed, and Kevin for more.
Here’s the question I have: does the fact that he has signed and submitted (when/if he actually submits it) the Form 180 allow those with knowledge of his service to go on-the-record publicly?
I refer specifically to the broad hints that we heard right before the election that Kerry may have received a less-than-honorable discharge, and that former Secretary of the Navy William Middendorf might confirm that — but couldn’t because doing so would be a crime.
If he signs the 180, does that let Middendorf (or anyone else) talk?

Andrew Sullivan offers Newsweek entirely superfluous assistance in their race to the journalistic bottom:
“Even if this incident turns out to be false, our previous policies have made it perfectly plausible.”
False but plausible: it’s the new fake but accurate!

Folks:
I’m pleased to announce that Gleeson is the winner of the TTLB logo contest. Sean has brought both Mr. Bear and Lady M to life splendidly, and I am now working him to develop a final version of the logo which will be used in the — coming soon — relaunched version of TTLB.
My thanks to everyone who submitted entries, and congratulations once again to Sean!

If you’re in the LA area tonight, consider dropping by LA Center Studios to check out Films, an intriguing film festival / contest in which filmmakers are given 48 hours to go from concept to finished product.
The contestants were given a story idea Thursday night, submitted their scripts yesterday, and by now should be putting the finishing touches on their films for presentation tonight. And yes, they’re blogging the experience (natch).
Tickets are $10 online and the event is at the LA Center Studios on 450 S. Bixel.
An old friend is competing in this evening’s edition, and it sounds like a blast. I unfortunately can’t make it, but that shouldn’t stop you!

From Huffington Post’s User Service Agreement:
“WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, NOR DO WE ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT OR OTHER MATERIAL OR DATABASE DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED IN THIS SERVICE OR AVAILABLE THOUGH LINKS IN THIS SERVICE.”
Honesty is good! CBS, NYT, etc., please take notes.
And if you haven’t read the full user agreement, you should, because I suspect there may be a quiz. And because, well…damn.
P.S.: To my deep dismay, a full week into the launch and Ms. A hasn’t had her minions add HufPo to the Ecosystem. So I did it for her. Stay tuned here and let’s see how they evolve.
P.P.S.: But no SiteMeter counter! Come on, Arianna, show us your traffic…

Folks:
Last call for entries in the TTLB logo contest. I’ve received a few new entries over the past few days, so out the display page to see them in all their glory.
The contest will offically close at 12 noon PDT tomorrow, so if you’ve been holding out, it’s now or never!

The TTLB logo contest marches on, with several new submissions over the past week. Click ‘More’ to see them in all their glory!

Continue reading “TTLB Logo Contest: Submissions II”

Our first submission is in!
Click on ‘More’ below…

Continue reading “TTLB Logo Contest: Submissions”