So in an attempt to set you on the straight and narrow with all things “2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics”, I’d like to present to you a list of Blogs that I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on, and suggest that you should to.

This is by no means an exhausted list. I’ll no doubt be adding to the following collection myself over the coming weeks, and I’m willing to add to it with any suggested Blogs (let me know about them in the comments section below) if I think them worthy of a mention.

Obviously the easiest way to track any of the Blogs mentioned is by adding their RSS feeds to your chosen news reader, or by following them on Twitter. I’ll be providing the addresses for both at the end of each introduction.

So here goes. In no particular order:

Miss 604 – www.miss604.com

Very few would argue with me if I suggested that Rebecca (Miss 604) is practically Royalty when it comes to the Vancouver blogging scene. If there’s any kind of significant event scheduled in and around Vancouver, I can almost guarantee that Rebecca will have it covered and will probably be there herself!

While I’ve never met Rebecca in person (that I recall), I see her around town a lot and am always eager to read what she has to say about what’s coming up in Vancouver.

If you need further proof of the reliability and quality of the “Miss 604″ blog, I can tell you it was awarded 2009′s best “Local Blog” (Vancouver) by “straight.com”, the online version of Vancouver’s lifestyle and entertainment weekly, The Georgia Straight, which has something like 693,000 readers.

With all that said, I’m sure you don’t need any further motivation.

• Blog: http://www.miss604.com
• RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/miss604rss
• Twitter: @Miss604

Red Mittens – 2010redmittens.blogspot.com

Not that long ago, I started searching for a Blog to keep my eye on that was being written from the perspective of an “out-of-towner” coming in to volunteer at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I stumbled upon “Red Mittens” which is the work of “Gen” a 5th year student currently at the University of Ottawa.

Gen has made the journey to Vancouver to take in the Olympic experience by volunteering at Canada Hockey Place, the venue for the major Ice Hockey events (talk about a plum position!). Her commentary is refreshing, and her enthusiasm, infectious. Definitely worth checking out.

• Blog: http://2010redmittens.blogspot.com
• RSS Feed: http://2010redmittens.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
• Twitter: @bizon10

Vancity Buzz – vancitybuzz.blogspot.com

Credit where credit is due, the awesome “Vancity Buzz” Blog is largely responsible for me being able to initially put together my “Schedule & Highlights” post.

An awesome source for up-to-the-minute information on Olympic sights and events, I’m also really impressed with their “no-nonsense” stance they have taken against anti-Olympic protestors.

Plenty of great content to check out, especially the comprehensive “Vancouver 2010 Olympic Guide”, so here’s the details you need:

• Blog: http://vancitybuzz.blogspot.com
• RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/VancityBuzz-VancouverBlog
• Twitter: @VancityBuzz

Vancity Allie – www.vancityallie.com

The creative “Vancity Allie” Blog follows the adventures of Allie, “…a 25 year-old Vancouver girl who loves and writes about everything “Vancouver” and West Coast.” A talented photographer and lover of surfing and snowboarding (major brownie points in my books), Allie writes about the kinds of things that I’m generally interested in which is why, I guess, I enjoy her ramblings so much and have therefore included her in this post.

Again, don’t take my word for it (although I guess that’s kind of the point of this whole thing eh?). Use the details below to check out Allie’s Blog.

• Blog: http://www.vancityallie.com
• RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/VancityAllie
• Twitter: @VancityAllie

Aleks (My 2010 Adventure) – www.my2010adventure.com

This Blog is brilliant in it’s simplistic presentation, gorgeous design and most importantly its perspective. Yes, “My 2010 Adventure” is a Blog that chronicles the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic experiences of Aleks, a 5 year old online adventurer who is SUPER excited about the Olympics being in his home town. He asked his Dad if he could have his own website to put “Olympic stuff” on… and hence, “My 2010 Adventure” was born.

They always say that the world is a better place, a more exciting adventure when viewed through the eyes of a child. Well, here’s your chance to experience the excitement and emotion of the world’s greatest Winter sporting competition through the eyes of one cool little fella.

• Blog: http://www.my2010adventure.com
• RSS Feed: http://my2010adventure.com/?feed=rss2
• Twitter: @my2010adventure

Mostly Lisa – www.mostlylisa.com

Cyber celebrity and proud Vancouverite Lisa Bettany or “Mostly Lisa” as she is better known, should definitely be on your watch list. A talented photographer, videographer and roving online reporter for Vancouver’s “The Province” newspaper, Lisa generally tends to get “insider access” to a lot of events making her first-hand, entertaining and sometimes quirky accounts something to keep an eye out for.

I have a feeling that Lisa has quite a bit of content up her sleeve for the coming weeks, so use the details below to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

• Blog: http://www.mostlylisa.com
• RSS Feed: http://mostlylisa.com/feed
• Twitter: @mostlylisa

Nordica Photography’s “Faces of the Games”

Here’s one for fans of great portrait photography. My mates Cole and Jakob over at “Nordica Photography” have initiated a really great project they are calling “Faces of the Games”. Their goal is simple and perhaps a little ambitious – to “…capture 2010 different faces from the start of the project to the end. We are confident that with the diversity of people that will be visiting the city during the games, the portraits captured will make for an interesting and exciting portfolio of faces!”

Personally, I’m really looking forward to following their journey. So far they’ve even managed to snap well-known Canadian MTV presenter “Daryn Jones” on Robson Street. Very cool indeed!

• Blog: http://nordicaphotography.com/facesofthegames
• RSS Feed: http://nordicaphotography.com/facesofthegames/feed
• Twitter: @nordicaphoto

Masey – www.masey.com.au

And finally, I’d love to give my own Blog a bit of a plug… but that would be a little self-indulgent now, wouldn’t it. *wink*

Let me just list my own link details in the hope that someone, somewhere in the world will jump on board!

• Blog: http://www.masey.com.au
• RSS Feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/masey
• Twitter: @masey

Happy reading everyone, and GO, CANADA GO!

I’m really excited about this re-design as I firmly believe this is one that I’ll stick with for quite a long time going forward. There’s been a tonne of stuff added in on the back end to make things easier for me in terms of composing posts, and I’ve done my best to strip away a lot of the “bells and whistles” I used to employ on the front end, to make the viewing experience a lot clearer and more enjoyable for you!

The idea is to present you with a Blog that is easier to navigate and read (there’s now larger type for the oldies out there!) and that will enable a greater emphasis on imagery, in particular my photography. I’ve got some awesome plans for this year so there’s going to be plenty to see and read about.

Apologies if there’s any of your favourite posts or galleries that haven’t made the jump to the new design… yet. I’ve had to reformat every post in the archive one-by-one, so it’s going to take me a while to have them all back online. I’m working on it though!

So, if there’s anything you particularly like about the new design, or miss about the old one, please let me know in the comments section below. I welcome any feedback, no matter the nature of it.

Cheers and enjoy!

Before we kick off what will likely be a VERY eventful year for this little black duck, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick look back over the top 10 posts (#10 being the most popular) on my Blog in 2009.

1. Twitter 101 – a tute for newbies
   A quick and simple ‘How-To’ for 2009′s undisputed online hit – Twitter.
2. 2009 NHL Playoffs Predictions
   Hmmmm… the less said about this one, the better.
3. 2009 Corona Open Beach Volleyball
   Hot bodies on hot sand – my most popular gallery of images in 2009.
4. Help me win the Globe & Mail Journalism Dream Contest
   Well it was a great idea… in theory, and I thank everyone for their support! You guys rock!
5. Carmen Kliendienst: A Special Australian
   A special post about a very special Australian.
6. Vancouver Canucks Firefox Personas
   Who doesn’t want to decorate the browser they use everyday with the team they absolutely love!
7. Big Whiskey & The Groogrux King – Sneak Peek
   One of my favourite album releases of 2009 and it seems my readers agree.
8. The Photography of David Hobcote
   If you haven’t seen the images from this talented photographer and friend, then here’s your chance.
9. Searching for Sonny – Canon 5D Mark II Trailer
   An example of the stunning HD video capabilities of the Canon 5D Mk II.
10. The Hero Factory – BYO Hero
    Fancy checking out what you’d look like in super-hero spandex?

I look forward to a number of exciting things coming up on Masey.com.au in 2010. For starters there’s the Olympic games in February, there’ll be a Blog redesign at some stage, and I dare say there’ll be some travel adventures to share with you all before the year comes to a close.

Here’s hoping 2010 is a happy, healthy and successful year for you all!

At this moment in time, there’s still a lot of work to be done, the very least posting all the archived entries from the past, but I hope that I will hear back from all of you regarding what you like and don’t like about this new version.

Some of the new or changed features for you to keep your eyes open for include:

• The new feature post slide show on the home page. This will showcase my most recent feature articles over time.
• Clicking on the “Lifestream” item in the top menu will present you with a real time list of some of my online activities.
• For most posts, I’ll be posing a question or two to my readers which they can answer to in the comments section. It’s my hope that this will foster discussion and help develop a bit of a community surrounding my Blog.
• In the sidebar you’ll find a series of tabs that will feature my most popular entries, the latest entries, latest comments and the tag cloud for searching entries by keyword.
• Also in the sidebar you will find my latest Twitter post, links to various Blog subscription options, a real-time graphical list of the tunes I’m listening to and, of course, my latest images posted on Flickr.
• At the bottom of the home page, you’ll find an index of YouTube videos that I’ve found entertaining and subsequently want to share with you all.
• And there’s plenty more to come…

So have a look around, leave some comments and I look forward to getting back to Blogging like maniac for you all again!