Meta Meta Foreva & Eva

JUST A FEW COMMENTS HERE on blogular activities before we get back to the meat of our biznass. Firstly, thanks to you for weathering the strange comment fields (where you type your name, email, URL). I had no idea what had happened to them, I was only trying to affect the Submit button. A few friends and readers made comments to me but I hadn’t seen it for myself, so I didn’t connect the dots. Nobody said “Yo, what the hell is up with this weird comment form thing? I can’t see to type in my name” but a couple people came close. Molina mailed me and was like “where do I sign in???” But…I thought she meant to register with the blog. And then when Carmen said something about the error she got (“it was hard to see typing with the targets in the background”) I knew exactly and all at once what had happened! I never saw those fields because I was logged in all the while, and stayed logged in. SO—thanks for dealing with that, and I’m impressed anyone bothered to comment once I saw what had happened. I’ve checked them and styled them to my liking now. 

Secondly, you will see some Google Ad Sense ads floating around. I’m almost positive these will not work out but I’m going to give them a try. Already, I’ve had to block two sites (and it takes a while for the block to take effect) because of nasty anti-Migrant or anti-Mexican sentiment (and now I’m already worrying about writing those two phrases as it is, imagining the spiders saying ‘oh! he wants —– type ads!) and chasing around google ads to stop hate from showing on my site should pay a little…and I’m not sure it’s going to balance out. So we may see them for a while and then we may see them disappear. Time will tell. I do laugh and like to see the knife ads that pop up in response to the blog’s name!

The organization that recently approached me about an ad has not responded to my price, so they may not follow through, but know that I will give ad space up for not just organizations, but for fellow bloggers and site owners (granted they are not selling/saying something in general that I cannot stand behind) who want some visibility at UMX and with the especial and extraordinary crew that reads here. Prices would be cheaper for individuals than for organizations, and we can do it by the week or the month. I have long been a fan of the sliding scale system of payment, having gone to more than a few offices or services in my day that catered to the poverty stricken. That’s pretty much how I run my business. I know my work is worth a lot, because I put a lot into it and I see and have seen the competition for years. But if someone is just broke due to their job or where they are at in life, I like to allow for that. Likewise, if someone is living in their own brownstone on the upper east side of Manhattan, then they can expect to pay my premium fees. That all makes sense to me, and it makes sense on the flip side, too.

Next, I’d point you to the grafik on the sidebar to the right which says “Show Some Love.” Behind that are badges that link to UMX so if you want to show people how hip and Neztastic your reading can be, feel free to scoop up the code under any badge you want to use. You don’t need to upload anything or do anything beyind dropping that code into your template. Images are hosted on my server.

Penultimately (ooh, swinging the verbal machete!), like to shout out real quick, a big gracias to Diane over at Wild, Wild Left who stopped by and asked me to please cross post my post The Conquest and Theft of América, Pt. 13 at her place. Soapblox is getting around, it seems. As is good taste.

Lastly, some blogmigos recently went to newly-branded Ykos Convention (Netroots Nation) and Manuel and XP managed to speak to a WaPo reporter, so our little group The Sanctuary once again gets some (l)ink.

The mood between Obama and the Netroots has warmed up considerably in the past few months. Obama, who’s on his first overseas tour since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, sent a 10-minute video greeting to the conventioneers.

“We’ve had some disagreements in the past, and we’ll have some disagreements in the future,” Obama says in the video. “I promise to continue to listen to your concerns, take them seriously and discuss them respectfully.”

The audience claps warmly, and among those watching are Edmundo Rocha, of Houston, and Manuel Guzman, of Tucson, Ariz., Latino bloggers who recently launched The Sanctuary, a site written by a multi-ethnic group of bloggers concerned about migrant rights and immigration reform. The group sent a list of detailed, pointed questions to Obama. They’re still waiting to get adequate responses, they add.

“I’ve been waiting to see just how much he’s going to involve the Netroots in the way he thinks about policies,” says Guzman, who sports an Obama shirt. He voted for Obama during the primaries but says he was “disappointed” with Obama’s FISA vote.

“The Netroots are not going away. It’s only going to get bigger,” Guzman continues. “We’re all learning to live with each other.”

 

We have no further updates from any of the candidates beyond what I wrote here. We have also contacted other third party candidates so we will have a wide range of responses—once we receive them. The deadline draws closer!

Open house! Test out the comment fields or give your opinion on how we can resurrect the Gravel candidacy, or at least convince him to do another YouTube video. Maybe even a series! Like Shogun, but with a trippy old white guy on acid.