(Crossposted from www.c4chaos.com)

Those of who us who have been blogging for a while are probably sick and tired of blog editors. Most blog editors don't have advanced formatting features like text size, text color, image support, raw HTML, etc. And even if they do have those features, it's cumbersome to use them in a limited edit box.

My previous solution was to use stand-alone word processors, and even Gmail and Google Docs to compose longer blog entries and cut-and-paste them into the blog editor. Most of the time it works because blog editors now support rich-text HTML formats. But not all blog editors render the formatting correctly. Also it's cumbersome to use different web applications, because I had to switch from one browser tab to another just to copy-and-paste my entry.

Enter, Performancing. It's a FireFox plugin that sits neatly at the bottom of your browser (via split window). This means that you can tab to your different blogs and copy-and-paste away. As a bonus, it supports popular blogging API such as Wordpress, Typepad, Blogger, and more so you can automatically publish your post to multiple blogs. Another BIG thing I like about Performancing is that it supports raw HTML editing. This makes it easier for me to add and preview embedded objects like videos and audio players in the blog post.



Perfomancing is still VERY useful for social networking blogs which don't have a blogging API that is supported by Performancing, e.g. MySpace, FaceBook, Vox, and Zaadz. As an example, I composed this blog entry and automatically published it to my Typepad blog. Using Performancing, I can easily crosspost to my Zaadz and Vox blogs by copy-and-pasting. It's perfect for crossposting as well as composing original entries on your other blogs. The editor sits at the bottom of the browser, you can hide/unhide it easily, and you can save multiple “Notes” for later posting on your blogs. And did I mention that it's FREE?

There are a lot of functionality that I haven't covered. So give it a spin and discover them for yourselves. I'm already happy with the features I mentioned above. It's enough to make me improve my blogging mojo.

To sum it up, Performancing is My New Favorite Firefox Add On.

Performancing by Performancing

Performancing is a full-featured blog editor that sits right in your Firefox browser and lets you post to your blog easily. You can drag and drop formatted content, including images, from the page you are browsing and take notes as well as post to your blog.

(Crossposted from www.c4chaos.com)

I've just seen the movie Lord of War last night. I like it. It's a great movie and a skillful documentary wrapped in a rental DVD. It's about international arms trade, the psychology of the people behind it, the governments who supply and use them, and the people who try to stop them. Different perspectives on the issue of arms trade were presented skillfully to illustrate that this is indeed a global problem worthy of our attention, much like global warming.

Although the movie was sprinkled with black comedy, the message of the film had gotten into me. I still feel depressed knowing that no matter how much “good” we all do, “evil prevails.” The hypocricies of governments and bureaucratic politics depresssed the hell out of me.

However, looking at the character of Nicholas Cage in the movie, I realized that no matter how much we hate him, I think that he is one of those “enlightened” people in the movie. Why? Because he consciously chose his role in the “game.” He understands his place in it. And he knows that he is already in “hell” yet he sees a bigger picture of “reality” that most idealists fail to grasp.

Go see this film. Rent the DVD and see the accompanying documentary. It's a wake up call for all idealists and spiritually-drunk people who think that they can bring “peace” into this world. It may depress you like what it did to me. But, serendipitously, when I opened my email this morning, I got this Rigpa quote. I felt chills running up and down my spine, then the feeling of depression was replaced by a feeling of peace and acceptance, that we're all in this game, covering our eyes with our stupid helms, playing our roles in this samsaric realm.

August 4

For all its dangers, today’s world is also a very exciting one. The modern mind is slowly opening to different visions of reality. Great teachers like the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa can be seen on television; many masters from the East now visit and teach in the West; and books from all the mystical traditions are winning an increasingly large audience. The desperate situation of the planet is slowly waking people up to the necessity for transformation on a global scale.

Enlightenment is real, and there are enlightened masters still on the earth. When you actually meet one, you will be shaken and moved in the depths of your heart and you will realize that all the words, such as illumination and wisdom, that you thought were only ideas are in fact true.

~C (for C4 and arms trafficking kill more people than global warming and nuclear weapons)