Best of 2006 part two

Best of 2006 part two: "1. Melatonin - Silversun Pickups
2. Conventional Wisdom - Built To Spill
3. Starlight - Muse
4. Give 'Em All A Big Fat Lip - The Whigs
5. The Stand - The Coup
6. Here's Your Future - The Thermals
7. Song For The Sunshine - Belle and Sebastian
8. Save Room - John Legend
9. Daydreamin' (Featuring Jill Scott) - Lupe Fiasco
10. I Know No Pardon - Vetiver
11. Empty - Ray Lamontagne
12. I Go to the Barn Because I Like The - Band Of Horses
13. Baby - The Roots
14. Still Take You Home - Arctic Monkeys
15. Tell Me In The Morning - Cold War Kids
16. Pay Me My Money Down - Bruce Springsteen
"

best songs 2006

best songs 2006: "1. Answers and Questions - Earlimart
2. 23rd Dream - Elf Power
3. Willie - Cat Power
4. The Perfect Crime #2 - The Decemberists
5. Strange Apparition - Beck
6. Confidence Man - Oakley Hall
7. Over And Over - Hot Chip
8. Wolf Like Me - TV On The Radio
9. Woman - Wolfmother
10. Insistor - Tapes 'n Tapes
11. Do You Believe In Rapture? - Sonic Youth
12. I Gotcha - Lupe Fiasco
13. Smile (Single) - Lily Allen
14. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
15. But I Did Not - Howe Gelb
16. Chinese Translation - M. Ward
17. Mr. Tough - Yo La Tengo
18. Gravity's Gone - Drive-By Truckers
19. Hold On, Hold On - Neko Case
20. Don't Fade On Me (Master) - Magnolia Electric Co.
21. Ever Fallen In Love? - Nouvelle Vague
22. Sometimes In The Fall - Phoenix
23. Another Radio Song - Okkervil River
24. Together - The Raconteurs
25. A Dangerous Woman Up to a Point - Destroyer
26. South Town Girls - The Hold Steady
27. Beautiful Mind - Golden Smog
28. The Funeral - Band Of Horses
29. What You Know - T.I.
30. Run Thru - My Morning Jacket
31. You're the One - Black Keys
32. Turn Into - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"

Mark H check this out, its your favorite kicker MG

This post is dedicated to Mark H. and his passion for a certain NFL kicker. Enjoy Mark!

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/56181

Pictures of my brother Adam in Afghanistan

Adam is in the back third from the left.

Adam is the soldier on the right. He works with the Security Forces Division for the 188th out of Grand Forks, ND. His unit is stationed in Salerno, Afghanistan. He patrols the land for drugs and weapons, fights the Taliban, and emails his favorite sister on a regular basis.

Last Assignment!

Question 1 - We discussed information flow within organizations and the potential for your blogging project to introduce new demands on the organization for the exercise of authority and control of information. Discuss whether and how this potential disruption materialized in the course of your project. How readily did the organization adjust to new channels of information flow? How did this affect your efforts to develop a blog that could operate in support of the organization? How readily and how clearly was authority defined? How important an issue was this for the blogging project? What could you and the organization have done differently to facilitate resolution of these issues?

Answer - I probably had an easier time with information flow then fellow students did (sorry Josh!). It didn't seem like much of a struggle to get information or ask for assistance. I depended on Amy and the Board for approval, soon after I posted my first blog. Even though I am on the Board now I still will ask them for suggestions, advice, and approval for postings. Once the Board approved the blog I relied on Amy who was always available for questions and had a lot of ideas for the blog. I would send a question over email or attend meetings and talk to members about issues. I was then able to post without any incident.

Members have been somewhat slow in adjusting to the new information tool. Although I see some changes to that - I have already received an email from a member asking me more about the blog. Members are informed about the blog through the newsletter, website, and from the First Friday informational meeting last week (thanks again Dr. Chen and Dr. Baumann).

The only glitch with organizational flow I encountered was when comments were coming in to the blog and I was unsure if I could post them. I waited for Amy and Boards approval but I didn't get an answer (board meetings are usually very focused since members only get together once a month)so I decided to not post the comments. It helps now that I am on the board so I can advocate for the blog at meetings, but I would suggest to other students who plan to work for a mostly volunteer organization to be prepared to make a lot of decisions on their own (with of course some guidance from teachers and students). Mostly because unpaid and volunteer members are busy and often times have a lot going on in their own lives. For a student to be able work independently they will need to do research about the organization (before and during blogging), listen to current members comfort level about comments and posts, and continually report progress to authority.

Question 2 - Report on your efforts to help the organization continue the blog after your departure from the project. Does the organization wish to continue the blog? Why? What arrangements have been/need to be made to continue the project? What is the timeline for this and what role will you play in preparing the organization for continued blogging?

Answer - I'm sure most of you have heard what went down at the Sons of Norway last Friday from Dr. Chen and Dr. Baumann. If you haven't, it went something like this: Dr. Chen, Dr. Baumann, and myself were asked to speak about the blog at First Friday for the League after the very important subject of Women and Corrections. Dr. Chen informed the audience about the idea and the process of developing the class for organizations. Dr. Baumann spiced up the lecture by presenting the history of blogging and its use in politics. I asked (begged) the crowd to participate in the blog and why it will be important for the Leagues future. There should have been an internet presentation, but the technology wasn't working which I thought was a little ironic. The reason I am writing about this however, is because something remarkable happened after our presentation. The President of the North Dakota chapter of the LWV, told the audience she would be getting information from the National League about Women and Corrections for members and then she stopped and looked at me and said, "maybe I will blog it."

The point is that I wanted to present the blog in a way to illicit ideas and presentation from members - I wanted them to be excited about using this new informational tool. I think the presentation will get the dedicated members to participate in the blog which will alleviate a lot of my responsibility in upkeep with it. I plan to blog for the rest of the year, but other members will be also asked to participate. I will keep the blog "alive" by promoting it in our board meetings and First Friday meetings.

League of Women Voters Voted in a New Board Member today

I have big news to post today - I offically became a League of Women Voters Board Member this morning. I think the blog has had alot to do with it, it gave me an oppurtunity to contribute to the League and members have responded positively to the work I have been doing. Becoming a board member will help improve the blog so much, because I will have inside information and privilege that I didn't have before.

I really advocated for the blog during my first board meeting. We will be doing Studies about voter participation this year - I told the board that the blog could be used for this study. We are also going to be doing some more PR for the League to increase membership - which the blog can help with (future members and the media can use the blog to get more information about the League). During the PR campaign, members are going to speak about the past and history of the League, I mentioned that we should speak about the future of the League - which would include the blog.

I asked if we could give a presentation about using the blog at the next First Friday for interested members. They thought that this would be a great idea. There will be another topic also, so we will not get to speak until about 12:30 or 1pm. I thought Dr. Bauman could speak some about what a blog is, the history of politics and blogging?, and why organizations would use a blog. Dr. Chen could answer some tech questions and help us navigate through blogger. And I could speak some about why I started this project and why it will be important for the League to continue and use. I don't think we would have much time for anything else, I would have liked some students to speak also - but we wont have time. But I encourage everyone in class to come - some members may have some questions that would be important for students to hear and take back to their own blog. Louis will have power point hooked up, so bring your computer Dr. Chen. The next First Friday will be Dec. 1 at the Sons of Norway. Lunch starts at 11:30. We will be speaking after the first presentation.

Log Hours: Two hours at the meeting, two hours with the blogs

Nation Article Mentioning Amy Jacobson!

Check this out, it is an article written in the Nation by former Fargoan Jennifer Baumgardner about Amy Jacobson and her work with Planned Parenthood.

I Can't Wait Until Wednesday the 8th

I am very burnt-out with voting, voters, and rules. It has been alot of work keeping up with candidate forums and volunteering. I am looking forward to Wed. when all I will hear on the news and read in the paper is how awful voting has become. If that happens I could at least get another 2 posts for the League blog- anyway here is my log for the week:

I spent 2 hrs working on my blog and posts

I spent an 1.5 hours at the First Friday Meeting

Another hour working on my own blog for class and contacting a classmate's blog

No on measure 3!!!!

If you live in North Dakota, you will be asked on Nov. 7 to vote for measure #3 - the shared-custody bill. I encourage everyone to do research about measure #3 before saying yes. Here is what the Forum says about the bill.

And what the Onion has to say about the RNC covention in Minneapolis.

Bea, from the League, gave me a great idea for the Blog!

I asked a member at the League how to handle the controversy of the voting machines and why she feels comfortable with the machines - she told me that she went to the auditors office and asked for info about the machines and they decided to also give her a demonstration on how they work. She told me that she feels alot more comfortable with them now after seeing them "behind the scenes." I think I will take that idea and see if they would also give me a demonstration and write a future blog about my visit at the auditors office and also see if I can spend some time at the voting polls on Nov. 7 and write about that as well.

This week I attended another forum and gave Amy J. a lesson on how to use blogger. I tried to change the settings on the side and it didn't show up, so I will probably look for Jarretts help again. 4 - 5 hours on the class.

My Favorite Blog

Check out the Pizzaman on the Minneapolis citypages website - it is my favorite blog. Check out his entry on the flipper boy vs. white rich men!

Here is another funny posting

What an Eye-Opening Experience!

The candidate forums are finally over for West Fargo and Fargo. The experience was great and really informative. If you have never gone to hear your reps. speak about issues before, I suggest attending these forums. I will try to never vote for anyone again without hearing them first! I can't believe some of the candidates - most are very qualified, while others are not so much - just plan to attend the Candidate Forum in Moorhead if you are a resident, and you will see what I mean. I will be there volunteering with the League, so look for me. Tell your orgs. that you will be attending and bring questions to represent your organization. You can link up the LWV blog to your blog to inform others about the time, place, and date. It is also a great way to meet the candidates, I have already introduced myself to a couple of them because of the forums - one candidate in Fargo is even going to be helping me with a project for another class. I spent over 4 hours at the Forums, and over 2 hours this week on the blog. Next week I plan to post pictures, change my settings on the side, and meet with Amy in her office to show her how to post blogs and other tech. stuff.

Thanks again for the feedback, its been great!

Amy