Kaitlyn's Wish

While glancing at the television a few nights ago a news story caught my attention. It was about a five year old girl called Kaitlyn who has a condition which makes it difficult for her to walk. She has spent many hours in physiotherapy to get to the level now where she is able to walk for very short distances with the aid of walking sticks, a task which she could previously only accomplish with the help of a walking frame. The condition this determined young girl has is called Cerebral Palsy Diplegia.


Wonderfully, she has been chosen as a candidate for surgery at the St. Louis Children's Hospital which is likely to give her the ability to walk. Unfortunately for Kaitlyn, her family cannot afford the medical costs for her to have this surgery.


In an attempt to raise money for Kaitlyn's surgery her family are going to extraordinary lengths, and are overwhelmed with people's generous contributions towards Kaitlyn's wish.


Visit Five Year Old Kaitlyn's Wish to Walk for more information.

Lensmaster!

A few years back I had left my job that was contributing towards me being very unhappy with my life and began my first attempt at working online. At the time I was studying a course through distance learning and felt as though I needed to do something to contribute financially along with studying.


Squidoo was one of the places I began writing. I had all these hopes and dreams, but I didn't have time to put in all the effort needed on there and let my work fall by the wayside. Instead, I focused on ghost writing for a handful of places. Recently I have headed back to Squidoo and have renewed my spirit and drive to write there and put a name to my work, rather than having someone else pass my work off as their own.


I thought I'd share with you what I have been busy doing these last few days, my lenses I have made to date on Squidoo. I hope you find something you enjoy reading, and if you feel like sharing any of my work with your friends that would be great!

To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) 

How to Make a Personal Blog

Why Australia's Carbon Tax is a Good Thing

Human Body: An Introduction to Anatomical Language

List of Specialist Nursing Careers
How to Make Easy Cinnamon Donuts

These ones below aren't exactly writing, but I always find myself searching for such a long time to find the perfect picture I can use without plagiarising. So I have begun to make some lenses that focus on free images in different genres - partly just for my own reference. I hope they help you in some way!

Rain Photos Free to Use

Sunset Photos Free to Use

Statue Photos Free to Use

If you happen to be on Facebook and you enjoy my work, feel free to join my page. Or if you are on Google+ you can add me by using the button on the top right hand side of this page!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Let me set the scene. It's the last week of school holidays; The kids are bored, the parents are losing patience and the teachers are dreading Monday!

I decide to let friends stay over and set them up with all the fantastic sleepover things that kids need to make a sleepover an awesome experience. Movies to watch, video games to play, snack food, torches to play shadow games with, pizza for dinner and of course many toys to play with. The next morning they all wake up full of beans, still filled with excitement - which is great to see! The happiness of children is one of the greatest things on Earth and is very contagious!

However, fast-forward to the late afternoon and the atmosphere has changed. They are all starting to become irritated and tired from the lack of sleep they had after staying up all hours talking about whatever it is kids talk about. Not only this, but I am literally beginning to go crazy from all the running, screaming and all the mess that goes along with it. Nothing is settling these kids down, not colouring books, not crafty stuff, not playing outside - nothing. Not even Batman settled them down!

So I try a different approach, I put on Diary of a Wimpy Kid and sat down with a cup of tea and a blanket to watch it. It only took five minutes until I was surrounded by all the boys sitting on the lounge with me watching it. Peace and quiet at last! Now I am able to move myself into a quiet corner with my cup of tea and write. With my only distraction being the fact that this movie is actually quite funny. 

Never underestimate the power of a mother looking as though she is content and resting!

How I Find Time to Make Media

I find time to make media by accident most of the time! I do plan to set aside some time occasionally with a determination to get something in particular done.


However, most of my greatest accomplishments have been created during those times when I am taking advantage of an unplanned opportunity.


I almost always have a pen and paper with me and if I don't then I should have my iPhone with me. That way I am able to capture my ideas as they come to mind, or capture each opportunity as they appear.


For instance, I am drafting this blog post while sitting on a park bench watching my child play at the park. I have my pan and paper with me. My camera with me. Therefore, if I happen to come across an impromptu photo opportunity I would be able to seize the opportunity!


So quite simply, how I find time to make media is to always take advantage of every spare moment you have by always being equipped to capture those moments!

Presentation Skills for a New Conversation

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This is another one of Chris Brogan's 100 blog topics that has had me thinking. There are so many ways to interpret this topic.


I have decided to focus on the preparation skills required for a new conversation. I think that is one of the skills that is not thought about as often as it should be when we are about to engage in a new conversation.


Most of us do tend to prepare for each and every conversation though. Just maybe not as much as we should!


This is a list of what I believe are some of the presentation skills required for a new conversation:

1. Consider who your audience is
2. In line with considering who your audience is, use an appropriate language directed towards that audience. After all, the conversation is not going to get very far if one party only understands every second word!
3. Timing. Give yourself enough time to respond intelligently. You also need to give the other person time to respond.
4. Know your subject. You do not want to come across as being unprofessional or naive.
5. Present your personality dependent on who the audience is. In some circumstances you may need to come across as extremely confident, but in other circumstances that same confidence may be perceived as arrogance.

That is my top 5 list of presentation skills needed for a new conversation. Do you have any to add that I haven't considered?

The Best Parts of Marketing

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For me the very best part of marketing is not anything to do with selling a product, it is simply the time I spend engaging with people on social networks.


This engagement gives me a chance to see and experience other people's thoughts and self expressions. It also gives me new avenues to consider. For example, other people may have a completely different view on a subject than I do and I may have never considered the point of view they have expressed.


Therefore, it gets me thinking. From there I can formulate ideas that are different again, simply because that particular subject has now taken on a new meaning to me. I guess it's contagious! That's the best part of marketing for me.

How Schools Could Use Social Media

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How could schools use social media? There are many ways in which social media could be utilised by schools and there are many ways that some schools are utilising social media.

By having a presence on social media platforms that are popular amongst their pupils schools could use their presence on there to help build up morale and a sense of community. There are always some disengaged children in schools, if these same children have social media accounts then the school could possibly use this as an avenue to engage them. To make them feel a sense of belonging.

When it comes to actually using social media as a teaching method, schools could use social media for things such as group projects. Sure, there's many ways students can find the time to interact with each other to develop their project, but having another means to do so is always a benefit.

If a school has a presence on social media it would also make it easier for parents to gauge whether or not they would like to send their children there. A parent would simply have to search for the school on their chosen social media site and would then be able to get a feel for that community, to see how the school engages with it's pupils and how they interact with the school and the staff that work there.

Schools utilising social media could also advertise their events, fundraisers and the like. With a possibility of drawing in more people than simply the students and their families. It would reduce paper wastage from the children who dispose of the fliers before their parents even see them and would keep the community better informed of all that is going on at the school.

That's how I think schools could use social media. Do you have any more ideas?

My Children Will Do It Differently

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I have been sitting here considering this topic on and off in my mind for a couple of days now. Not because I cannot think about any content for this, but because there is so many possibilities to what my children will do differently.


I am going to start with the differences I currently see between what I could do as a child and what my children do differently. When I was a young child I would be free to go and play on the streets with my friends, riding our bikes, kicking the football around, having water balloon fights - not necessarily ON the streets, be it in parks, front yards, or yes, sometimes on the actual streets.


As a parent, I do not feel comfortable allowing my children to do this. Not that my parents were uncaring, they were actually quite strict - especially in regards to our safety. Times have changed though. No longer can young children be out playing until the street lights turn on, no longer can they go wandering around the neighbourhood playing imaginary games.


The whole idea of stranger danger was around when I was growing up, so that can't be the sole reason behind it. I just cannot fathom the idea of allowing a child to go out playing in the streets with their friends without any adult supervision or form of safety barrier from all the evils in the world!


Of course it's not a bad thing that many parents are sheltering their children from the outside world, is it? I'm not so sure. In one way I feel I am doing the right thing by making my children do it differently, but at the same time I cannot help but feel as though this sheltered lifestyle is limiting their imaginations, their ability to experience a relatively care free childhood and their social skills.


This is one post topic that I believe I am going to have to carry on over multiple posts, there is just so much to say in regard to this! What do you think? Do you shelter your children?

50 Things About Me

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1. I'm usually a happy person.
2. I'm quite sensitive. Most of the time.
3. I love my family, each and every one of them.
4. I like playing with Lego.
5. I used to play World of Warcraft.
6. I love reading.
7. I enjoyed reading the Hunger Games.
8. I was obsessed with Harry Potter and feel like something is missing now the saga is over!
9. I do not like 50 Shades of Grey.
10. I love cooking different soups.
11. I have a sweet tooth.
12. I enjoy gardening.
13. I prefer to watch a television series in one sitting rather than wait for episodes to air.
14. I broke a bone playing on my Wii Fit.
15. I make a mean spaghetti bolognaise.
16. I like pastel colours.
17. I think I am obsessed with Apple.
18. I have an iPhone.
19. I have an iPad.
20. I have an iPod.
21. I don't have an iMac.
22. I don't have a MacBook.
23. I like fast cars.
24. I like motorcycles.
25. I like tattoos.
26. I am an animal lover.
27. I want to live on a farm.
28. I enjoy walking out amongst nature.
29. I also enjoy cycling out amongst nature.
30. I love the smell of leather.
31. Also, I love the smell of matches.
32. ...and candles.
33. I have a mini-freakout when my internet is down.
34. I both love and hate studying.
35. If I was rich and didn't have to work, I still would. Just so I had a purpose in life.
36. I love my eyes.
37. I hate my thighs.
38. I havn't grown up nearly as much as I should have by my age.
39. I have too many bad habits.
40. I hate doing dishes. I'd rather clean the toilet.
41. I can't handle the heat.
42. I am never on time. I'm either early, or late.
43. I did not enjoy pregnancy.
44. The moment my child was born, everything was worthwhile.
45. I avoid confrontation.
46. I like the Simpsons.
47. I love the Discovery Channel.
48. I enjoy renovating houses.
49. I am addicted to coffee.
50. I love vegemite toast!

20 Pet Peeves

20 Pet Peeves

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My twenty pet peeves, in no particular order!

1. My alarm going off for work when I'm in the middle of a really exciting dream!
2. Being late for work because I hit snooze so I could go back to my awesome dream!
3. Hitting snooze to try and get back into my amazing dream, but not going back to that awesome dream...going to a crappy one instead!
4. On a cold, windy, rainy kind of day and the little pilot light goes off in my hot water service. I don't find out until I have undressed and am about to get into the shower.
5. Having to do a mad dash in the weather stated above wearing nothing but a dressing gown. Hoping that the gown does not blow open, and that there are no neighbours sitting in their warm houses laughing at me.
6. Having a flat battery in my car. Right when I'm due to be somewhere important.
7. People driving 10 or 20km under the speed limit and not moving over to the slow lane. Have some courtesy.
8. People double parking in a busy car park. Just selfish!
9. Being charged late fees on forgotten bills.
10. Business call centers. Need I say more?
11. Power blackouts.
12. When my printer runs out of ink half way through an important printing job.
13. The battery going flat on my camera, then spotting so many fabulous potential photographs.
14. People farting in supermarket isles. Go to the toilet and empty your bowels, please!
15. People cutting in line. If you had asked I probably would have let you anyway!
16. Doing the housework with a child following behind me making the house look worse than it did before.
17. People calling from a private number and hanging up before I get a chance to answer.
18. There, their, they're. You know what I mean!
19. Going out looking like you've been walking through a storm just to get milk or bread and bumping into more people you know that day than you've seen in the whole month previously.
20. Not having time to buy petrol before work, then on the way home prices have gone up by 15 cents a litre.

What are some of your pet peeves?

Somebody Has to Say it

Image Source: Freedigitalphotos.net

Somebody has to say it. So I will.


This may be irrelevant to readers in most parts of the world, but to Australians one topic that is huge right now is the carbon tax.


I usually tend to stay away from controversial topics because it can have a make or break effect.


Many Australians are dead against Julia Gillard, let alone the carbon tax "she" has introduced. I say she in quotations because I do not believe for a second that she is the one that calls all the shots, prime minister or not, the Australian Labor Party is not solely controlled by Julia Gillard.


I know that the way Julia got into her role as Prime Minister of Australia was not ideal, but if it wasn't her taking the role it would have been someone else. Kevin Rudd was being removed. Simple as that.


 It is un-Australian to stab someone in the back like that, people say. Um, you all realise you are talking about politicians, right?


So, since her first day as prime minister, Julia Gillard has faced an enormous amount of criticism. I don't agree with many things the ALP have done since they have been in term this time around, but I still believe the amount of backlash she receives is simply over the top.


The carbon tax that has been introduced is to assist in deterring the countries largest polluters from polluting quite as much. Is that really that bad? So it will cost the average family $10 extra per week due to those businesses passing costs on to consumers. Isn't $10 a week worth paying to try and reduce carbon gases by even a small amount for the future generations?

I'm not going to go into it anymore than that for now, but that's an extremely simple explanation of my position on the carbon tax. 


I had to say it. As many others have.


You can learn more about the carbon tax here.

How I Find Blogging Ideas

Image Source: Freedigitalphotos.net

How do I find blogging ideas? 


Usually I would center a whole blog upon one subject that I know quite well. That way, I know exactly what to blog about.


It could be a rundown on a news article, or new research done in that subject. 


Or it could just simply be something new I've learnt about that subject.


It always revolves around that one subject, whether it be a narrow or a large subject field.


I've also previously dedicated whole blog posts to writing about another author in my genre, promoting their blog essentially, but also directing my readers towards other sources of reputable information that I think they will be interested in.


However, this blog is completely different for me. I began this blog so I would have somewhere to release my random thoughts. Unfortunately for me, those random thoughts must be documented immediately or they end up lost somewhere among my neurons.


When this happens, I just trawl the internet to find something to direct my thoughts and therefore, my writing.


For instance, to build up some content on this blog I have chosen to take up a challenge - using someone else's blogging ideas. To me this is a challenge because I typically only write on subjects I have knowledge on, so to write about things I have very little knowledge about is extremely difficult!


Maybe in the future I'll post my own list of ideas for blogging!

Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference

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So you're at a conference and you're having a really bad time there. Or you're about to attend a conference and you're trying to find ways to get out of there just in case you have a really bad time. What do you do?

Go to the bathroom. This will give you a short break and you may run into other people who are trying to avoid being in the conference room! Start a conversation - even if it's only for five or ten minutes, that's time that you aren't in there listening to the conference!

Don't feel comfortable doing that? 

Make sure you have taken a pen and some paper with you. Act like you're taking notes. If you have people next to you and you're concerned about what they might think of you, then occasionally DO take notes. Use your notes to write a blog post, plan your weekend, plan your holiday, write a shopping list - anything that takes your fancy! Again, if you're concerned about what anyone next to you may be thinking then make sure your handwriting is largely illegible.

Depending on the type of conference you are attending, you could use a tablet such as an iPad to keep yourself occupied - as long as the sound is off!

Alright, this just isn't working. What can you do now? Leave.

If you feel you cannot just leave, pull out your phone and act as though you have just received an urgent text message and then leave! On your way out ask reception to send your apologies, you have had an emergency and must leave now. Problem solved!

How Best to Comment on Corporate Blogs

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There is always etiquette to be followed when commenting on anyone's blog, even your own. However, when commenting on corporate blogs these are the rules I abide to:

1. Use appropriate language.

2. Do not shamelessly promote yourself on someone else's corporate blog.

3. Add some value to the topic being conveyed by the blog post.

4. Stick to light topics rather than heavy, controversial topics.

5. Do not try to ridicule or downplay the person or company who owns the blog. 

How FlickR Did it Right

This is the first of Chris Brogan's "100 topics I hope you write" that is causing me to falter!
I have never been much of a user of Flickr, so this is going to be a rather short and simple post.

In my opinion Flickr did it right by providing their users with a decent platform which allows their users to customise their copyrights. I believe this encourages more artists to upload their images for display.

I know of people who have showcased their talent on Flickr and have then had companies either purchase their work that was on Flickr or even contract the artist for ongoing work.

So with my minute knowledge of Flickr, this is how I believe they "did it right".

Technology That Empowers Me!

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When it comes to technological empowerment, I have to say it's access to the internet that does it for me. Whether that be on a computer, iPad or a smart phone. I feed off the internet!

I am provided with so much online; I have an avenue of communication, entertainment, information and income because of it. No other technological advance currently gives me all that.

Through email and social media I am able to communicate with family and friends, in some instances the only other way we could communicate would have been by snail mail.

I use the internet to purchase books to read and to order movies to watch. I check cinema times, I find out when festivals or events are on in and around my town. I book holidays and use the internet to plan my itinerary.

While studying, if I am having difficulty grasping a concept I am able to look up other explanations online until I understand the idea. I can access professional journals, statistics and reports. I can research companies before deciding whether or not I want to work for them. There is such an abundance of information available online, if you know where to look and how to distinguish the credible from the dodgy!

I would also have less forms of passive income if I had no access to the internet. I don't make enough online to live on, but it does help my savings account grow. It allows me to splurge on things I otherwise couldn't and it lowers my stress levels quite significantly!

A Community I Love

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I am currently a mature age university student. I must say, this is a community I love!

There is so much diversity in university, cultural diversity, socioeconomic diversity, age diversity, motivational diversity, physical diversity, academic diversity and more! 

While being a student this time around I have made friends with people that I would never have believed I could have been friends with. What's more interesting, I feel I have become closer to some of those friends than I am with some of the people I have been friends with since high school.

What fascinates me the most about the university community is that everyone just seems to fit in with one another. Of course there is many small groups, much the same as high school, but all the small groups seem to amalgamate so easily into a larger group. Finding common ground with people can be difficult at the best of times, but when you throw in all those diversities I mentioned above it can be quite challenging. Despite this, it seems to just work!

I am going to be at a loss when I finish my degree and move on from that community atmosphere. I may have to go back for some post graduate study just to keep my finger in the pie!

Should My Town Use Social Media

I live in Australia, we tend to be a little behind some other parts of the world. Recently I've begun to see many more businesses and the like in my town embrace social media.

I see this as an advantage. Social media is huge, to not be a part of something so freely available is unwise in my opinion. Most of the larger businesses in my home town do take advantage of this and have built a presence for themselves. Especially on Facebook.

The "check in" option on Facebook can be used by smaller businesses to gain more customers, or to remind old customers that they are still there! However, so many of the smaller businesses do not have their own page on the site. Restaurants would greatly benefit, they can upload a menu, post photos of some of their meals, photos of their functions, build up some followers and then post specials. 


It's free marketing, I don't understand why more businesses do not take advantage of this!


I've also joined a few pages on Facebook that are solely for promoting that particular town. I find myself wanting to go back and visit because of pictures they've posted of attractions that I either didn't get a chance to see or I did but would love to see again. They post about upcoming festivals and events, local news, all sorts! I find social media is a great form of promoting tourism that should definitely be embraced more.

Ways I Embrace My Audience

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In my last post I told you about my short period of unemployment and how eager I was to make a living online. I dipped my toe into many different areas of online income production, writing being one of them.

My first blog was atrocious! I'll help you to paint a picture in your mind of my situation. To begin with, I had chosen a ridiculous pen name to write under so that people I knew did not know how desperate I was (the subjects contained in my blog were quite evident of my desperation!). 

I thought this pen name was fantastic, it matched the subject I was writing about - now that has to be a winner, right?! No. No, it was not a winner!

My blog's niche was all about my path towards making a full time living being online. Thrilling, yes? My thoughts at the time were so jumbled up and confused that I just couldn't write to an audience. As I said, I had my toe dipped into many areas such as affiliate marketing, photography, paid surveys, paid to post links, content sites etc. I was making a small amount of money by this stage so I thought I was on my way! 

I figured I should start to document my journey so that others could gauge my success and follow the same steps. I also thought that by doing so, I would at a later date be able to write a book about my journey and make money off it!

The mistake I was making, both with that blog and with my huge book idea, was that my readers did not need or want that. I wanted that. I wanted someone to show me step by step how to succeed in making enough money to live comfortably online. 


The small amount of readers that I had gained in my first week or so disappeared by week two, I wasn't embracing them. I was writing to please myself. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that, however, my style of writing does not accommodate that.

I have learnt in the years following that venture to firstly embrace my style of writing. In doing so, I can talk to my readers in much the same way as I would talk to my friends in person. For me, this helps me to embrace my audience, as I am being myself when I am writing. 

I believe this can make or break a blog when I am reading other people's. After following a writer for some time, I begin to feel as though I know them and can trust what they are saying. Building trust. That is the key to any relationship, and it is no different when building a relationship with your audience.

How I Use Facebook

I first joined Facebook quite a few years ago now, as many others did, I migrated over from MySpace. 


I began using Facebook simply to connect with old friends, people from school that I had lost touch with, people from previous places of employment that I had not kept in contact with and held some feelings of regret and people that had encouraged me to join Facebook - my friends that I saw on a regular basis.

At different times in my life in the last few years I have used the site in different ways. For example, at one point in my not so distant past I had found myself unemployed. During that time I spent more hours working online to make an income, in many different avenues, than I had when I was employed. I needed downtime, however I was too determined to put all I had into my work and would rarely leave the computer. 

What do all good Facebook addicts do every time they are on the computer, why they log onto Facebook of course! I was fairly new to it all still, so I felt the need to help all my friends with their game requests and eventually found myself being quite addicted to a few of the games on there. Much to my embarrassment, I really enjoyed Farmville! Luckily, that fad passed for me and I no longer feel the need to even look at any of the requests that are sent to me.

More recently, I have found many of my older relatives have joined the Facebook craze. They tend to be very excited that they are able to easily use this form of technology that all the "kids" are using, and honestly, I think they are more addicted to it than any of the "kids" they used to criticize for doing the same thing. 

Although, the amount of people in older generations I see now with iPhones is amazing. I do not mean to stereotype, but in my own personal experience there are many older people that I know who never even owned a mobile phone previously, let alone used one, because technology was either too hard or something they did not need. 


These same people now own iPhones and are now using them to access sites like Facebook and eBay, in some cases more than their kids and grandkids. I think that is one of the positive things about Facebook, it has brought a generation of people onto the internet who either had no interest previously or were intimidated by new technology.

With my older relatives now on Facebook I do have to be more careful about what I post and what I "like", especially with the new ticker on the side of the home page!

I have begun to utilize the site to sell "things" now. On some well built up pages I tend to sell unwanted items, in much the same way as eBay but without having to worry so much about the size of the item because the buyers are local and generally come to pick it up. I like this way of selling unwanted belongings, the buyer is seeing the item before paying for it, I don't have to do much to sell it other than post a photo and description, and it is such an easy transaction!

Speaking of photos, that is the other thing I tend to use Facebook for. I love building up my photo collection on there! Photos of my family, places I visit, beautiful things I come across, funny things I come across, pretty much anything. 

The reason I like it so much is because I feel safer knowing that I have multiple places I can recover my photos from if I was ever to lose them somehow. Therefore, I have them stored online in multiple places and at home in multiple places. I am a little over the top in that area I suppose, but they are memories that can never be replaced and in time to come I want as many memories as I can possibly have!

So now you know how I use Facebook, how do you use it?

100 Blog Topics

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100 Blog Topics - Challenge Accepted!

I have been looking for a new topic that I can write about in this blog, one that I have never covered in any of my previous blogs. 

During my search I came across a post from Chris Brogan, which lists 100 blog topics that he hopes I write about. 

At first, I scrolled down the list thinking there is no way I am interested in writing about any of those topics. However, after thinking about it over a coffee I decided I could take this up as a challenge towards myself. 

Can I make it all the way through his list of 100 blog topics?

I am sure it is going to be a challenge, but I'm always up for a challenge - in fact I thrive on challenges!

Wish me luck!

Chris Brogan's full list of 100 blog topics can be found here.

Top 10 Simpsons Episodes

My top 10 Simpsons episodes!

Listed in no particular order, it was hard enough to narrow it down to just ten episodes...these are just ones I find quite memorable and enjoyable.




1. Homer's Barbershop Quartet


2. You Only Move Twice


3. Burns, Baby Burns


4. Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala (annoyed grunt) cious


5. Bart of Darkness


6. Bart's Girlfriend


7. Homer Bad Man

8. Treehouse of Horror IX


9. HOMЯ 


10. New Kids on the Blecch


While I have never been a big fan of Bart Simpson, I am a huge fan of Homer Simpson. He is just loveable, even when he is being a total ass!