Finally!

After all the hacking drama yesterday and today, Blogger is up and running once again!

I missed it. I know a lot of you did, too.

Blogger Turns 10 and...

...it's asking every Blogger babe and dude: "what's your story?"

Well here's mine.

Before I started The Site Aggregator, I have always been the quiet online observer. I just click and browse from one blogspot to another, often noting the things that have sparked major interest on me. It was just later on in my blog-stalking days that it hit me--why not write about the things that I have been bumping in to on the interweb all this time? And so I have created The Site Aggregator.

TSA is still at its infancy. I must admit, sometimes I just down own up to that header of mine that says "Online 25/8". I don't use feeds. I really do click and click and read and read, because I believe the best stuff in the internet are landed on "by chance". But sometimes, it's just impossible to keep the great things coming, as I am always sidetracked by other things, such as my morning job as an advertising/media practitioner, my afternoon gig as a web developer, and my moonlighting work as a photographer and writer. Not to mention the many hours that I spent going back to what I've always liked doing--just reading other people's blogs. Whew. Quite the superhero that I am. But this is where it gets mushy for Blogger--I have to give credit where credit is due. They have made blogging so easy and quick for everyone that there's virtually no room for creative/artistic fatigue when posting an entry. (I should know what this means because I've tried a lot of free blog publishers out there, and by far Blogger rakes in 4.5 stars for me). It's that easy, it's that simple. And well, reading well-maintained blogs that have been around since 2000, I'm more convinced that I'm on the right site.

And if you're asking why a quasi-web dev like me isn't setting up my own webpage...well actually, I have been juggling three sites. But I just keep coming back to Blogger because, like everyone else, I just wanna blog. :)

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Okay guys back to business! If you want to submit your own story, bring it on! Write something and send back the link here!

So what makes Blogger extra special for you?

Click here to find out more about Blogger Turns 10.

Pure Cholesterol

Now this is a nice layout for a food blog: show everything sinfully delightful but remind everyone of the evils of too much good fatty food by having the angel of death stare at you while you salivate over the pictures. No matter how fast you try to scroll up and down, he's there. Interesting. Woohoo! :-D

Mad food blog that is Pasta-Pizza-Burger, really. Can't help but make you crave for more cheeseburgers and pizza!

To view the rest of the blog entries, click here.

Now I'm hungry!

Valley Photos

So a photographer takes only scenic shots of a place. That's fine, that's normal. But when a photographer suddenly sees a place in a different light and starts churning photographs that depict life that's anything but ordinary, then you got art--which is exactly what blogger and photographer Vanda Nagy (if that's her real name) has done which has transpired from her move to L.A.

In her own words, Vanda describes the neighborhood that has been captured by her camera:

"The neighborhood is going through changes. The over inflated real estate market and the new subway line stretching from the Valley to Downtown have started making this generally uncool area of the Valley more attractive. And thus gentrification has started creeping over the hills. It's a mixed bag. Ratty old commercial buildings get bulldozed off, but in the process the mom-and-pop shops, some of which have been there for decades, get forced out of business. Neighborhood stable, Bob the printer finally gave up the fight with cheap home printers and increasing rents, and closed shop for good. Iliad Books, the best bookstore in the Valley fortunately stayed open, but was forced to move."

Very interesting observation, and even more interesting photos over at her gallery--and they don't even need captions for explanation.

To view the rest of the photos, click here.

Incidentally, on June 10th, Vanda Nagy's blog was reco'ed by Blogger's Blogs of Note. Click here to read her very entertaining blog.

And I hope I was right when I used "her" :D

Image and parts of text were aggregated from Valley-photo.com and is copyright by Vanda Nagy. Please contact the owner for commercial use of the image.