Blogging: Don't Knock It 'Til You Rock It!Written by Barbara Carr Phillips
My daughter, Kristin, 21, poked fun at me last week for blogging. “Mom, aren’t most bloggers, like, 15-years-old?” But something about my blog grabbed her interest. In fact, a week later, she joined my weblog community. Her first blog post was a little tentative: “What's saying? Don't knock it 'til you rock it (or something to that effect). So here goes...hmm.....this is hard...Because I am a little skeptical of who may be reading this I'll just start out simple.” A blog (short for “weblog”) is an online diary or journal. It’s a little unnerving to post journal entries on a public blog, not knowing who may read them. The first week that I blogged, I edited myself to death because I was worried about what people would think about my “real” life. To further add to my paranoia, others started posting comments to my entries, so I knew people were out there . . . reading. So, are blogs true journals or not? My first thought was “no.” Blogging seemed more like a conversation with friends than personal journaling. After all, personal journaling is all about recording private thoughts and blogs are public. However, my thoughts about blogging are changing. A little at a time, I reveal who I am through my blog. My blog posts are evolving into thoughts and observations about life that I no longer self-edit. It’s been a liberating experience.
| | In Memory of Carla-Helen TothWritten by Mart Gil Abareta
She’s disabled… Yet, she’s a writer… An adventurer… An epitome of strong hope… A great person far better than any other normal human beings… Many disabled people might think that with their situation, it’s absolutely end of world. As if, there’ll be no sunshine in this dark part of their lives. But then, I’ve known Carla. She’s someone who exudes hope and strength for every person who’s in same situation as with her. I am really enchanted when I’ve learned about many good things that she’s done despite her condition. Truly remarkable, right? According to article “Carla's Memorial” by Chris Clarke which was posted at www.faultline.org last February 8, 2005, a remarkable cross section of Berkeley gathered beneath a gingko tree Saturday morning to mourn death of Carla-Helen Toth and celebrate her remarkable life. On campus, Campanile bells rung, a third of those present in wheelchairs. Her mother, relatives, friends and co-workers were all present in ceremony to spend that time – even for last time – with Carla. For your information, Carla had suffered from cerebral palsy throughout her life, result of birth injuries. She was killed on February 1, 2005 at 2:45 a.m. by a freight train that struck her after she stopped her wheelchair on Southern Pacific Railroad tracks on Bancroft Way. Her mother was really very depressed about what happened. She knows that Carla still has many big plans for future.
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