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The code above is for Empire Avenue to verify that I am the owner of bRight&Early. Well that’s not a very exciting post. Let me tell you a bit about Empire Avenue.

From their about page:

Empire Avenue is the Social Stock Market, where you can Grow your Social Capital online. Here’s how it works, you get to discover valuable, interesting, cool, fun people online and then based scores or share price, invest virtual currency in their profiles by buying shares in our Social Stock Market. It’s boatloads of fun, and that simple act of buying shares in someone you think is worth your currency, you will create new connections and as people invest in you, grow your own social capital and get more value in and out of your networks!

EAve is a lot of fun. If you look on the sidebar you can see how my stock is doing. I’m trading at 24.831 this morning, up .494 – not bad for my third day. Look for (and invest in) me on Empire Avenue. My stock symbol is JIMBRICK.

As you know, social media sites are huge, and only getting bigger. I’m going to explore it at my bRight & Early backup site on WordPress. Visit that site to discuss social media.

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I don’t have time to devote to creating a new List & Lass (my interesting three weeks are still being interesting), so I’ll just point you to John Hawkins’ The 20 Hottest Conservative Women In The New Media (2010 Edition).

You know that when Elizabeth Blackney from Media Lizzy & Friends is ranked 20th it’s going to be a really good list. It is.

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First there was Breitbart and BreitbartTV. Then things got big — Big Hollywood and Big Government big.

Now we are treated to Big Journalism. Here’s what Editor in Chief Michael Walsh has to say:

So let me be blunt: we’re not here to compete for Pulitzer Prizes, to sit on committees, to scratch each other’s backs on the weekend television wagfests or to conform to some arbitrary code of ethics cooked up in the days when the mainstream media was the only game in town, and had already begun to cozy up to the government and the establishment, thus abandoning its constitutional mission of keeping a finger on the pulse of America, and an eye on the crooks:

[...]

So welcome to the other side. I am extremely proud to be joined in this venture not only by my colleagues here at breitbart.com but by the more than sixty writers and reporters who thus far have volunteered – volunteered! – to enter the fray.

The list of contributors and the deserved success of Breitbarts other ventures are reason enough to add BigJournalism to my feed reader, twitter, and blogroll, but this focus more than justifies those decisions.

No longer need we simply assert and ask you to trust us: now, we can use pictures, links, and video clips to carry the argument forward and make our case. Or at least get you to think about it in a way perhaps you never did before. Because we believe the search for the truth is not some figment of Derrida’s imagination. We believe that the truth, while elusive, is knowable, or at the very least worth trying to know.

We stand foursquare with the Founders. We believe in the First Amendment, not just for we, but also for thee. We believe the phrase, “Congress shall make no law…” could not possibly be clearer. We despise “political correctness” and everything it represents. We will not be told, “you can’t say that,” because to accept that stricture means we cannot think it, either. We believe that freedom of inquiry, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression are the fundamental liberties upon which this country was founded. And we will fight to defend them.

I encourage you to check them out, and follow the stories that they will be offering.

Cross Posted at The Regiment

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WordPress 2.6.1 was released the other day with some minor fixes from the 2.6 release. When upgrading I realized just how many sites I contribute to or oversee. Here they are:

Blogs.4Bauer.com – We are waiting for the two hour movie that will air in November and the start of season 7 next year.
Reclaim Conservatism – Stix has been doing a great job of keeping things going over there. Check it out, and don’t forget to add us to your blogrolls.
Blog News Co-op – I haven’t promoted this nearly enough. BNC is intended to be a repository for original reporting for bloggers and by bloggers. I would love to hear your thoughts on this idea.
Floridimagine Blog
Marblehead Regiment – This was created when Fred Thompson was still in the race. Any thoughts about what to do with it?
and, of course, here.

I also help Wyatt out at Support Your Local Gunfighter. In fact, I’m supposed to be over there guest posting right now. At least I got his site upgraded.

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Or maybe it’s not that new. Few, if any, of you know that my first post-college career was in broadcasting. Not talk radio to be sure, but I was a broadcast major and worked at several stations in the first few years after college. Inspired by Captain Ed, I’m going to give Blog Talk Radio a shot.

NEWS ITEM: When I clicked over to Captain’s Quarters to find the link to Ed’s BTR page I found this exciting news: When The Hobby Becomes The Profession

Just a little over three and a half years ago, I began this blog as a creative writing outlet and a chance to hone my skills. When I launched Captain’s Quarters, I had no idea how it would grow, that it would attract this wonderful community of readers and commenters across the political spectrum, or that it would change my life.

Today, with the support of family and friends, I made the transition from hobbyist to full-time worker in the New Media. I have accepted a position as Political Director of Blog Talk Radio, an exciting new venture known to the CQ community but one which I hope to help expand exponentially. It’s a chance to work full time in the field which I have grown to love, and an opportunity to help others literally discover their voices.

That is some exciting news! Captain’s Quarters was one of my very first daily reads, as it continues to be. I’ve always been impressed by his fairness, his grasp of the issues, his determination, and his volume of output. Congratulations Ed!

I seem to have drifted from the topic at hand just a bit.

My foray into blog radio takes place tomorrow morning at 7:00 am. It is mostly a test run, but you’re welcome to listen in and to call. The number to reach the show is (718) 664-9725. I’ll still be getting familiar with the controls, so some interesting moments are anticipated.

I plan on talking about the plans I have for the show, and (if anyone else is up that early on a Saturday morning) take some calls. Tune in, join the conversation. HELP ME OUT!

Click on the button to find the live broadcast. And now I’m off to bed. I’ve gotta get up bRight & Early to finish up some show prep.

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Getting over the disappointment of finding out I wasn’t one of the 2006 Weblog Award finalists has been made much easier. You see, I have been named Time Magazine’s Person of the year.

I wonder if there’s a check that goes along with this? I’m only asking because I do have to share the award — with about six and a half billion other people — including you.

But look at 2006 through a different lens and you’ll see another story, one that isn’t about conflict or great men. It’s a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people’s network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It’s about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.

The tool that makes this possible is the World Wide Web. Not the Web that Tim Berners-Lee hacked together (15 years ago, according to Wikipedia) as a way for scientists to share research. It’s not even the overhyped dotcom Web of the late 1990s. The new Web is a very different thing. It’s a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter. Silicon Valley consultants call it Web 2.0, as if it were a new version of some old software. But it’s really a revolution.

In reality it is a smaller subset of the 6.5 Billion people currently riding this rock we call home. So, who are they talking about?

Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I’m not going to watch Lost tonight. I’m going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I’m going to mash up 50 Cent’s vocals with Queen’s instrumentals? I’m going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion?

The answer is, you do. And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME’s Person of the Year for 2006 is you.

Captain Ed thinks that they punted with this selection.

The entire point of a Person of the Year is to acknowledge that some people play larger roles in history. Naming all of us may make us feel good about our anonymity, but in the end it’s either pandering to millions of readers or a refusal to take a stand on anyone. Choosing everyone is an abdication on the entire purpose of the project.

Don Surber likes the choice, saying,

Technology can liberate people, which is why so many regimes are trying to keep the lid on the Internet as if it were Pandora’s box. Most of the technology is used for crap: baseball fantasy leagues, crotch shots of celebrities and spam, spam, spam.

But like Pandora’s box, the Internet also unleashes upon the world hope.

He is right about most of the technology being used for crap. Some of it’s fun crap, but it’s still mostly crap. It is often that way with new technologies. Look at what could be grouped together as information technologies — printing, broadcast radio and television, movies, and now the internet — the ratio of garbage to gems is pretty one sided. But every now and then you get something that makes sifting through the rest worth while.

Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard has some fun with this story as well, but does add this.

But seriously, there has been a huge change in the world due to the internet. The repercussions of that change have yet to be fully understood. I think Time, while dodging a tricky call that would have brought them some serious abuse (see the link), may be on to something whether they meant it to be so or not. The world is changing. One pixel at a time.

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Well, let’s have some coffee and then take a swim. ~ Johnny Weissmuller

Happy 2nd Blogiversary to
SmadaNek

Right Wing News (John Hawkins) The Return Of Conservative Grapevine — “In the latter part of 2005, I ran Right Wing News and a blog called Conservative Grapevine. Conservative Grapevine was a link blog dedicated to highlighting the best posts from around the right side of the blogosphere as well as covering articles about blogging. Unfortunately, the work load got to be too much for me on top of RWN and so after only 4 months, I decided to kill off CG.

Well, after a 14 month long hiatus, Conservative Grapevine is back, but this time, it’s not going to be a solo project.”

Flopping Aces (Curt) Responding To The New York Times — “The New York Times has a new article out tomorrow in which they skewer blogs for having the audacity to question them:”

Right Truth (Debbie) Palestinians threaten violence, I’m shocked! — “Actually the article headline is Israel and Palestinians threaten violence. As Israel continues to defend herself, Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said that Israel would be responsible “for any response in the coming hours” by Islamic Jihad. Translation, ‘we’re going to attack you, but it will be your fault’.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) It’s The Electability, Stupid — “Rumors have swirled around HIllary Clinton regarding her presumed run for the presidency in 2008, with some saying that a Barack Obama run will keep her out of the race and that she has not discovered the inner fire for the grueling campaign, a la Mark Warner. Now, however, she’s begun meeting with Democratic power brokers, indicating that she’s plowing ahead — but Democrats do not appear completely thrilled by the prospect.”

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Give a frontiersman coffee and tobacco, and he will endure any privation, suffer any hardship, but let him be without these two necessaries of the woods, and he becomes irresolute and murmuring. ~ U.S. Army Lt. William Whiting, 1849

Flopping Aces coverage of TOM™ (The Old Media) using terrorist apologists as sources is quite the talk in the blogosphere, and rightly so. Here are the stories:

• 11/24 — The AP & Hamas
• 11/24 — Patterico Takes On The Democrat Times
• 11/25 — Getting The News From The Enemy
• 11/27 — Getting The News From The Enemy, Update
• 11/27 — Getting The News From The Enemy, Update II

Excellent job, Curt. (h/t to Beth at Blue Star Chronicles for the links.)

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Olmert Offers Peace, Fatah Responds As Usual — “Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave what had been billed as a major policy speech, but to little practical effect. Olmert urged Palestinians to agree to end hostilities in order to negotiate for a long-term peace and offered mass prisoner releases as an incentive, but the Palestinians responded with rocket attacks from Gaza:”

I will be in a training class again today. Thanks for hanging in there.

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Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical. ~ Johnathan Swift

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) A Fine Whine About Immigration Reform — “The Washington Post offers up a typical doomsday scenario in order to highlight the lack of progress on comprehensive immigration reform, but winds up demonstrating everything wrong about the reformers’ economic arguments. Sonya Geis allows growers full vent about their disappearing work force, but never quite makes the connection between their labor shortfall and the compensation they offer:”

Blue Crab Boulevard Strategies For Winning – In 2008 — “John Fund tells us we’re all freaks. Well, not really. He’s actually reviewing a book by Mark Halperin, the political director of ABC News, and John Harris, the political editor for the Washington Post, titled The Way to Win. They argue that the internet has become a freak show that distracts from the old media gatekeeper model.”

GOP Bloggers (Mark Noonan) Dick Polman’s Propaganda Broadsheet — “The left side of the aisle was asserting in 1998 that Clinton was innocent even though proven guilty, while in 2006 those very same people are saying the entire GOP is guilty because one member of the Party turned out to be a degenerate (and a whiner, too…now he’s claiming he was molested by a priest as a young boy; poor little Mark Foley). The level of hypocrisy on the left side of the aisle is astounding. Tell ya what, lefties, once you get Kennedy, Byrd, Frank, Emanuel, Reid, McDermott, Jefferson, Pelosi, etc, etc, etc to resign over their corrupt practices, then come over here to the right and start casting stones.”

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Well, let’s have some coffee and then take a swim. ~ Johnny Weissmuller

Blue Crab Boulevard Kos And Effect — “So, after much uproar, after all the storm and fury after all the money, time and talent spent the Kos Kids have their very first scalp.

And the scalp belonged to a Democrat.”

GOP Bloggers (Mark Noonan) The Divided Democrats — “In order to win, Democrats will have to come up with a unified message – the vote in Connecticut today indicates that this is an impossible task. The Democrats disagree on the future of their Party, and with the left of the Party taking ever more extreme positions, no agreement on such a future is possible.”

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Lieberman Vows To Run In November — “An outright Lieberman victory or a real butt-kicking by Lamont would have settled Connecticut, allowing the party and the media to focus on other, more important races. No one seriously thinks that Alan Schlesinger will win Lieberman’s seat for the GOP in November, after all, and Democratic energy will get wasted in a three-way race. Yet that’s exactly what Democrats face, and the media will be only too happy to follow this race and the split it will generate in the ranks of party leadership and big-money donors.”

The Jawa Report (Dr. Rusty Shackleford) Reuters Apologizes, But Still In Denial [From his first Town Hall column] — “Without the two forgeries it would be tempting to characterize the reporters at these staged events as victims of Hezbollah censorship. With the forgeries, it is now clear that many of these reporters are participants in a Hezbollah propaganda campaign against Israel.”

My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (Beth) “Fauxtography” — “Don’t forget, it is not just about photoshopping, but CONTEXT. Staging and false captions/stories are crucial. There’s far more contextual issues at play then there are instances of photoshopped photos, and most photoshoppers won’t be as clumsy as Adnan Hajj was.”

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