Saturday, November 1, 2008

Google Analytics Statistics For October 2008

Yes, another month has gone by already, and that means that it is time for the monthly report on this blog. So, here are the results for this past October:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:
  1. United States - 634 visits
  2. United Kingdom - 25 visits
  3. Canada - 21 visits
  4. Australia - 5 visits
  5. Germany - 4 visits
  6. Jamaica - 3 visits
  7. Poland - 3 visits
  8. New Zealand - 3 visits
  9. Philippines - 2 visits
  10. Thailand - 2 visits

The top ten states, in number of visits, are:

  1. Michigan - 154 visits
  2. California - 71 visits
  3. Illinois - 58 visits
  4. Texas - 48 visits
  5. Pennsylvania - 44 visits
  6. (not listed) - 35 visits
  7. Ohio - 31 visits
  8. New York - 18 visits
  9. Oregon - 16 visits
  10. Utah - 15 visits

The top ten cities (or towns) in Michigan, in number of visits, are:

  1. Kent County - 110 visits
  2. Redford - 12 visits
  3. Oak Park - 9 visits
  4. Grand Rapids - 4 visits
  5. Garden City - 3 visits
  6. Roscommon - 2 visits
  7. Clawson - 2 visits
  8. Center Line - 1 visit
  9. Huntingdon Woods - visit
  10. Jackson - 1 visit

The top ten posts, in number of views, are:

  1. Tombstone Maker Website - 27 views
  2. Close Encounter With the Supernatural? ... - 24 views
  3. Google Analytics Statistics For September 2008 - 18 views
  4. Another Meme I've Been Tagged to Participate in ... - 17 views
  5. Announcing My New Genealogy Blog! - 16 views
  6. Getting To Know Me, Getting To Know Jessica's Genejournal - 15 views
  7. Things Handed Down: Traits and Characteristics - 14 views

Well, that is it for October's results. I can't believe it is November already! To the readers of this blog, thank you for visiting and for reading!

Friday, October 31, 2008

12th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

The twelfth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is finally here! This edition happens to be the Halloween edition, and as such, the topic for this edition was on folklore, myths, legends, ghost stories or stories from Central and Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, this edition is smaller than others in the past, but here are the submissions:

First off, we have an article from Jessica Oswalt of Jessica's Genejournal. In A Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale That Goes Well With Halloween ..., she writes about a fairy tale (and of other fairy tales similar to it) that fits more with Halloween than it does with a person's stereotype of the typical fairy tale.

Well, that is it for this edition. The next edition will be hosted by Elizabeth O'Neal of Little Bytes of Life, and the topic for this edition is will be on "What resources are you thankful for in your Central/Eastern European genealogical research?" as a topic, in honor of Thanksgiving. A "resource" could be a web site, book, family member, or anything that has helped with one's research." Submissions are due on November 23, and the edition will be published on Thanksgiving, November 27. You can submit your articles here.

(Anyhow, on a side note, I just realized that I did not create a facebook notice for this carnival, and that is probably why the turnout for this submission was poor. If anyone has any other suggestions for ways that I can increase the number of submissions or suggestions for topics please e-mail me at: jess_history at yahoo dot com. Also, if anyone is interested in hosting future editions of this carnival, please contact me at the e-mail above. Thanks!)

Question?

Is anyone still planning to submit an article to the 12th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy? If so, please either e-mail me with a link at jess_history at yahoo dot com, or leave a link to your submission in the comments section for this post. Thanks!

27th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 27th Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Midge Frazel, and you can read the article here. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween! Enjoy!

9th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The ninth edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read the edition here. The topic for the next edition is "Irish culture is loved worldwide. It is no secret that the love of Ireland is not exclusive to those with Irish blood running through their veins.For this edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture, Small-leaved Shamrock invites you (whether you have Irish heritage or not) to share what you most love about Ireland and the Irish people."

(I do not know when the entries for the next edition are due, but when I find out, I will update the post.) Enjoy!

Update at 7:12 a. m.: Information on the upcoming edition can be found here, at the new blog for the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

A New Poll Created!

I have created another poll, and it will close within the next eight hours. For this poll, I am asking, "Is anyone submitting an article to the 12th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy?" I have already submitted my article, but other than my article, I have not received any other submissions.

If you need more time, or need me to extend the deadline, please let me know. Thanks!

A Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale That Goes Well With Halloween ...

At first, I was not too sure about what I should write about for this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, but then I decided to write a little about one of the Grimm's fairy tales that I felt fits very well with the Halloween season. I am not trying to pick on the Germans, but when I was thinking of something to write about that fit the folklore topic and Halloween, I remembered that there were a couple stories that would would work. Of course, I should state that this fairy tale is not a typically fairy tale that most of us think of when we think of fairy tales. This tale is creepy, and as such, I think parents should read over the story first before they let their children read it.

So, what is the tale? The tale is called "Fitcher's Bird," and it is a story about a murderous sorcerer and a young woman. You can read a English-translation version here. It is probably too disturbing of a story for young children, but there are a few stories in the Grimm's fairy tales that are similar to that one. Another story that is similar is "The Robber Bridegroom." Of course, there are also less disturbing fairy tales in the Grimm Brothers' collection, and if you would like to read some of the other stories, there are more here.

So, how do I know about these stories? Well, I own a book that has the complete collection of all of the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales in English, and I came across these stories when I was reading them. To be honest, before I got that book, I did not know that fairy tales could be that gruesome. Of course, I do not know much about other folklore or fairy tales from other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Do other countries have stories that would fit with the Halloween season? If so, are there any books or sites that I could look into to read some of these stories? Thanks.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

A Note About the Submission Deadline for the 12th Edition

I just realized that I forgot to mention that today was the deadline for submissions for the next edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. In addition, the blog carnival site appears to still be down, so I do not know if anyone has tried to submit any articles. (I have not received any submissions at all for the carnival, and I do not know if this has been the case, or not.) So, I've decided to extend the deadline, and submissions will now be due on Friday the 31st by 8 a.m. PST. I will still post the edition on the 31st, but it will not be until later on in the evening. Please send me an e-mail with a link to your article at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Some New Databases ...

Within the past couple of days, some new databases have been added to Ancestry.com and FamilySearch Lab's Record Search. The new databases added to Ancestry are of Jewish records from Central and Eastern Europe, and you can read more about them here.

As for FamilySearch Lab's Record Search, I just happened to notice earlier today that militia records for Vermont during the Civil War and Louisiana War of 1812 Pensions were added to the site. You can access the site here. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A Note About Tombstone Tuesday ...

I just want to let everyone know that I have decided to mostly participate in Tombstone Tuesdays on my other blog, The Rural Michigan Cemeteries Graveyard Rabbit. I won't stop complete participation on this blog, but I think if I will only post photographs of tombstones that are in urban areas or outside of Michigan. (I'm trying to strike a balance between these two blogs.) Anyhow, this week, I will not be posting on a Tombstone Tuesday on this blog; however, I did post a Tombstone Tuesday on my other blog. You can view that entry here.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

This Michigan Weather ...

The weather in Michigan for this weekend has been lousy. It has been raining off and on this weekend, and it has been windy. (Well, at least for the west coast of Michigan.) And today, in addition to raining, it also hailed this evening. (And cold and really windy too.) Supposedly, the west coast of Michigan is to get snow tomorrow. Oh joy. I guess I'll just have to see how the weather turns out tomorrow ...