“Come Monday…” is a
weekly series that will involve a review of, or commentary about, websites, movies, documentaries, television
shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time. Be assured that these reviews will be
generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come
Monday.” This is subject to change,
however. In fact, I would be most
derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while. For rants promote change, and change can be
good—right? Therefore, since good is
generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel
universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being
something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).
I
have been asked several times just how I find all of the sites for my [Sites To See] series. Even though I was always
quite willing to give an answer at the time since I work really hard at
appearing to be a wonderful person, I am now willing to spill all of the beans
(so to speak).
First
of all, I do not believe that I actually “find” any of them. For the old adage about even a blind squirrel
can find a nut every once in a while is incomplete. For in the same way as nuts are placed in
front of blind squirrels, sites are placed where I can see them. (I will leave just who may be in charge of
nut-placement for you to constipate on at your convenience.)
Of
course, it helps to also be given a talent for lurking in the shadows. For that is usually the only way really ugly
guys can get dates with relatively sober girls, and despite the fact that I
have always had to beat ‘em off with a
stick, it is good to know that there is little I am incapable of.
Yeah,
I was being quite humble there. For the
truth is that there is nothing I am incapable of.
I
am sorry. I do not mean to make you feel
like there is no way that you could ever find a good site to see on your own. Life can be rather daunting, I know, but if
you will just follow my instructions to the letter, you will always be much
better off.
Back
when I was first given the idea in February of 2008, the Sites To See series
started off as Five For Friday, and most of the sites came from what could be
found on [Blog Catalog]. Sadly, the
powers that be at Blog Catalog decided to shake things up 3-4 years ago, and it
became quite a challenge to find much of anything I wanted to there. So, I stopped making regular visits, and I
suppose it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to cut all ties with Blog Catalog
before they decide to make even more drastic changes.
The
next happy hunting ground was [Entrecard], which was a lot of fun while it
lasted. The fun stopped for me after
they hinted at monetizing the points that one could accumulate from dropping
and then failed to deliver in an extremely ugly fashion.
[Adgitize]
came next, and it did not take long before I became just as disillusioned with
it. Considering the fact that both
Entrecard and Adgitize are now defunct, maybe I wasn’t being as hard to please
as some thought.
Anyway,
I have been shown since that the real treasure trove of sites well worth seeing
can be found on individual blogrolls and following lists—especially on high
quality sites. For birds of a feather
really do tend to flock together.
Aside
from stalking around in the owner profiles of sites I am considering for
inclusion, it has been brought to my attention that checking out the profiles
of those who leave comments can sometimes lead to some rather interesting
discoveries (sometimes not).
Now,
in regards to what makes the grade, I really am incredibly fair. For as is explained in the Sites To See
disclaimer at the top of each edition, I am looking for what may be found to be
interesting in one way or another, and even disgusting sites can sometimes be
considered interesting when enough adult beverages are consumed (sometimes not).
When
it comes to order of placement, I have a system that goes by when a site is
found, and each section is listed in alphabetical order. This is the way sites are also listed in each
edition.
Alas,
if all was as it should be, it would normally take around six months from the
first time I see a site to when it is actually included in a Sites To See, but
all has not been as it should be since lightning took out our previous computer
[last June]. For one of the files that I
failed to make a back-up of was the one that held the order of the sites waiting
to be seen, and adding all the more to the grief I endure for your viewing
pleasure, dropping those who have not seen fit to get rid of the [awful] word
verification spam detection thingy has forced me to basically start from
scratch. So, newly discovered sites are
often mixed in with those that have been on the list for months.
Oh,
and that should help with what gives with the images I include for each
site. For I look for something that
catches my attention when I first visit a site.
Therefore, the image may be from an older article.
Since
I use the same image from when a site was in a Sites To See when it comes time for
it to be included in a A Sunday Drive, you can count on it being from a fairly
old article. For it usually takes around a
year before that time comes, which follows the previous order for sites that
are still fairly active (at least one post in the preceding three months). Although, the time in between should be
getting shorter with sites that have the word verification thingy engaged no
longer being included.
Oh
yeah, that word verification monstrosity has become the bane of my online existence. For checking to see if an owner has it
engaged takes a lot of time that I do not have to spare, and there are times
when I wonder if you-all are worth all of the trouble. Then my wife gives me another concussive head-slap,
and I endeavor to persevere some more.
Please Also Visit:
and
