From Ian’s Messy Desk: During April, blog bash month at a blog named Chitika, a different blog expert posted daily. Their work was been make into a free e-book, yours for clicking over. Deep Secrets of Successful Blogging. (.pdf) Covers everything from technical secrets of an early adaptor, Crossing the Chasm into Full Time Blogging, Promoting, Marketing, Traffic, Optimization of reader attraction, making one time visitors into full time visitors. Chock full of good info. Did I mention free?

Melissa Rogers has the background and the settlement of a dispute between  New Jersey High School Student Matthew McClair who taped protelyzing in history class and took it to his school authorities. McClair was bullied, and received a death threat. As bloggers and sites like JewsOnFirst picked up the story, administrators had to act.

While many schools have decided students should not have cell phones, and other technology in classes that record, this is a case of a young man who stood up for what is best for students and public education. McClair acknowledges apart from the teacher/Baptist youth leader preaching in class, the man is a good teacher.

Several weeks ago a fundamentalist Baptist ‘newspaper’ called Sword of the Lord came out with attacks and suggestions for Christian Bloggers. Blog on the Lilypad has salient thoughts, of course. Needless to say the Sword of the Lord’s writer was less than thrilled about blogger responses (he doesn’t post them). The days are long gone when top down patriarchal, information controlling and preaching from fundamentalists rules. The article has a few good points worth considering, but overall it was the usual ‘we’re right, you aren’t’ kind of piece. He notes he received emails, and that bloggers just aren’t accepting his coaching.

The Prairie Wrangler, quite the thoughtful sanguine type, found himself in a flame war with Canadian blogger Werner Patels, in spite of himself. It’s happened to most of us, we bloggers can exhibit the egos of rock stars, latch onto causes and cause havoc. And fun. Patels doesn’t have a prayer, and it is a fun read. I don’t think it is to Werner though, he has decided not to call himself a blogger now.

Jordon Cooper has some of his old spark back in this post on Richard Dawkins, passion, fundamentalism, differences in evangelicalism, and the fact scientists are not pure, even their ranks have fundamentalists.

Today at the Mission talks about an draining, frustrating, seemingly fruitless week. As men he respects note, he is a sower, and sowers often bear the burden of not seeing results. Excellent post.

Doctor, Heal Thyself  Elaine Cordon The Tyee
The doctor is out.
Dr. Phil used to be my guilty pleasure.
How he lost me and his moral ground.

Salvation & The Sopranos
In the final season, will there be redemption? 
Commonweal doesn’t think so.