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The Mic Is On! It’s Summer Vacation Again!

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

Here’s how it works.

open mike night

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about.

Tonight we’re talking summer!

fireworks

We might also talk about

  • summer romances
  • summer songs
  • summer games and activities
  • summer vacations — real and fictional

AND THE EVER POPULAR,
Basil the code-writing donkey.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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The Mic is On and It’s a Commercial!

Tues. 7pm Chicago: Open Mic — How I (wish I) Spent My Summer Vacation

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No Need to Write Anything

Personal Branding logo

YES, the mic will be open again tonight. So start collecting your thoughts. Remember, you get to bring what you want to talk about.

The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about.

Tonight we’re talking about summer!

We might also talk about

  • summer romances
  • summer songs
  • summer games and activities
  • summer vacations — real and fictional

AND THE EVER POPULAR,

Basil the code-writing donkey.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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The Mic is On and It’s a Commercial!

Net Neutrality 9-05-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

I’ll be Posting this both in the chronology and to the Top of Neutrality I. Thank you Cat Morley for finding and sharing it.

SW Virginia Law Blog: Net Neutrality — Detailed Research [via Net neutrality outlined]

This comprehensive outline on net neutrality was compiled by Steve Minor, of the SW Virginia Law Blog.

1. What is net neutrality?
2. Strange bedfellows (who’s for it; who’s against it)
3. What the FCC is doing and isn’t doing
4. What Congress has been doing and hasn’t been doing
5. On doing nothing (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it)
6. On doing something
7. On doing something else
Conclusion

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Net Neutrality 9-04-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

Kohl May Be Key to Net Neutrality

Herb Kohl does not face a lot of political pressure this year.

[ . . . ]

So the question is not whether Kohl will be scared into doing the right thing on any particular issue.

The question is whether he will be persuaded.

Anyone who has ever talked with him knows that Kohl takes issues seriously. But he is a confirmed moderate whose career has been defined by caution — and, of course, by the fact that he is a very wealthy man who can and does fully finance his own campaigns.

What persuades him? More often than not, a desire to do what’s best for Wisconsin.

[ . . . ]

Internet users in Wisconsin and across the country are concerned that the telecommunications bill pending in the Senate represents a massive giveaway to cable and telephone conglomerates that want to establish monopoly — or cartel — control of Internet service in communities such as Madison, Milwaukee, Mellen and Manitowoc. If the corporate giants get their way, the most fundamental consumer protection — the network neutrality requirement that currently ensures equal access to all sites on the Internet — will be lost. And with it will go the vision of the Internet as a tool for democratizing communications and opening up the public discourse.

Kohl, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee for Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, can play a critical role in the debate. Indeed, his reputation as a moderate who works with Republicans could make him one of — if not the — most essential Democrats in the looming fight. As of now, Kohl has not taken a stand on the telecommunications legislation in general or on the particular question of Internet neutrality. . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

301 Links in a Story — Chapter 10 The Lost 18 Hours, The Prep, and the Final Round

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Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

[For those of you just tuning in, this is based on the 301 Lists that Darren Rowse’s List Group Writing Project brought together. You’ll find Chapter 1 here –> A List Becomes 301 Links in Story — Chapter 1 ]

When We Left the . . . Studio

You might remember that at last look, our famed uncontrollable force and unpredictable influence, Lizzie and Amanda Congdon, leaving the studio of the International Blogging List Challenge! for parts unknown. The studio was in chaos after the Blogging 7th Heaven CanCan Dancers had roused the blogging audience into such a tizzy — blogging and applauding at the same time. (Which we have already established isn’t easy, if not completely impossible.)

Robert Scoble videoblogged the entire escapade.

The scoreboard read Arianna 600 Jeremy, Jeremy 200 Dave 200.

Rumor has it that the bloggers and the Blogging 7th Heaven People enjoyed a night of debauchery at 10 Rue Dante — an irony that I’d love to write about, but for once not a single blogger blogged the following 18 hours. They claimed a complete system failure — power, DS, and wireless — all out. Some spoke of eerie MySql errors written on the bathroom walls.

That lost 18 hours has gone down in blogging history as Blog Silence, Dead Feeds, and Dante’s New Level. Even Scoble’s video crew would only say, “We’re glad that MaryAm took you back to the hotel.”

Meanwhile Back at the Hotel . . .

The sun rose on a new day and gave hope to our contestants, the nationally syndicated columnist, author of ten books, international speaker and blogger, Arianna Huffington; the self-described serial entreprenuer, CEO and founder of Blog index Technorati, nationally known programmer, blogger, and blog sociologist, and friend of Janice Myint, David L. Sifry; and author, co-founder and president of b5 media, international blogger, traveler, speaker, and sometimes spy Jeremy, Jeremy Wright.

All three contestants were eating a quiet breakfast in the hotel dining room as they prepared for the show. Each was hoping not to embarrass his or her family, nation, planet, or galaxy — thereby causing an international incident of some sort. One was reading Ten Ways to Build Moats to Hold Back the Competition. Another was studying 5 Ways MyMoneyBlog Can Make You $100. The third trying to find the horoscope in the National Enquirer.

Our uncontrollable force and unpredictable influence were upstairs having their usual room service — a pizza with fresh tomato, a dozen chocolate-covered strawberries, and two bottles of Perrier-Jouet. This time they sat on the balcony discussing what to wear.

“I’ve done the black and white,” said Lizzie. “I think I might live dangerously and do deep, deep purple with a hint of pale pink.”

“That’s it,” said Amanda, laughing. “Blow that Alice-in-Wonderland image! Go for Purple Haze Jimi Hendrix. I’m wearing popurls Pearls from head to toe.”

Finally the Show Was Back On

That one day seemed to take forever. Each group had reasons why it took so long, but finally the lights, the cameras, the music, the announcements had happened and again the International Blogging List Challenge! was on.

[Read more…]

Net Neutrality 9-03-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

Outpouring of Support for Net Neutrality Sweeps the Country

From Buffalo to Fayetteville, Orlando to Seattle, the outpouring of public support for Net Neutrality comes as the Senate’s August recess ends, and members return to Washington to consider a major overhaul of the nation’s telecommunications laws. In response to the events, four senators — Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), James Jeffords (I-Vt.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — issued strong statements in support of Net Neutrality. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) pledged his support for Net Neutrality in August, after being questioned by a constituent at a public event.

In each location, local citizens urged their senators to place the needs of the public ahead of the interests of phone and cable lobbyists — and to oppose any legislation that lacks enforceable Net Neutrality protections.

[ . . . ]

More than 750 diverse groups have come together as the SavetheInternet.com Coalition — including Free Press, MoveOn, the Christian Coalition, Gun Owners of America, U.S. PIRG, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, Consumers Union, Common Cause, Craig Newmark from Craigslist, musicians REM and Moby and others. The SavetheInternet.com coalition collected over 1 million petition signatures online in support of Net Neutrality.

The House has already passed a bill without Net Neutrality. A bill introduced by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) — HR 5252, which could reach the Senate floor in September — fails to provide meaningful or enforceable Net Neutrality protections.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE