I ended up here — I don’t know why

Once again the contagious nature of blogging proves its worth and I am reminded of why I blog.

I received a comment from April from Health Information Planet on my last post Social Media and Health Care, who stumbled upon my blog by accident. She said, “I ended up here while searching the net. Why? Beats me. Ask the search engine. But anyhow it was a nice surprise. I enjoyed discovering your blog. Thx for the nice read!”

So, I checked out the link, as you do when someone pays their respects, and I discovered an orb of information. Health Information Planet is just that — a plethora of advice on everything from anxiety to yoga.

I browsed the site and linked onto another site, which resulted in the discovery of Megalis and a funny skit about health insurance.  This video evokes the ecstasy and euphoria that comes from having health insurance in a country like America, where the cost of medical care is through the roof.

After watching this video, I wanted to see more. So, I paid a visit to YouTube and found funnier and funnier videos, about 71 in total. Megalis is an accomplished animator who suffers from anxiety and likes to make fun of his parents and being Greek. Megalis also blogs at megalis.blogspot.com and you can find other juicy animation treats at megalisTV.

That’s the beauty of being connected. Not only do I know where to go to get advice about health, but I found someone to make me laugh. And laughter is the best medicine.

Blogger Flogged to Death

The next time you question why you blog, the next time you drag yourself to the computer whining and whingeing, the next time you complain because you haven’t got anything to say, consider this . . . 

There are 66 bloggers imprisoned in the world today for political dissidence — 51 of them in China. One investigative blogger, He Weihua, was forced into a mental facility and another man was beaten to death by city officials, known as urban management officers, for recording a violent altercation on his video cell phone.

Jesse Brown from CBC Radio’s Search Engine recently interviewed Watson Meng, who runs Boxun.com, a website that hosts hundreds of blogs by Chinese Nationals and relies on citizen journalism for its news. It is widely read by thousands of Chinese, but is safe from the Chinese government because it is located on American soil. Its bloggers, however, are not safe.

The Chinese government have been taking strong measures to censor bloggers and citizen journalists, says Brown, “and with the upcoming olympics this summer, have issued a law that demands all internet video be state regulated so that it serves socialist ideals of a harmonious society.”

One Boxun blogger was beaten to death after he refused to delete footage he had caught on his cell phone of 40 urban management officers beating up a couple of villagers over waste dumping.  He lost consciousness after about five minutes and the officers left him for dead. Meng believes the new law and this blogger’s death are related.

 Shocking! That’s all I have to say.