My Mother, My Self Redux

I gave my mother a 5 minute lesson in blogging and she is off and running. She loves photography- especially of her grandchildren and mushrooms so you can expect to see a lot of that in the future. She is retired so has a lot of time to spend on it too. Next thing you know she will probably out-widget me.

Go check out her blog!

I love my mother.

Blogging Ala` Andrew Sullivan

This photo has nothing to do with Andrew Sullivan. It is my friend, LYC, trying to figure out a really difficult children's toy. It is the best illustration I could come up with for problem solving. She looks pretty serious- huh?

The Atlantic Monthly has a lead story on blogging. It is written by Andrew Sullivan, a thoughtful thinker & writer.... and too damned cute by half for a gay guy.

I always struggle a little with what it is that I am doing here. I have never been particularly good at writing, but this feels like so much more than that. It is communicating.

Sullivan sums up blogging by calling it broadcasting and not publishing. It is spontaneous and has plenty of room for error, but it also contains an element of conversation. Readers are fast to react, correct, respond and join in. I think that is what is so appealing. I am not always looking to get positive feedback ... just feedback in general.

I would like to think that I am not so dogmatic in thought that I couldn't bend a little due to a persuasive argument. Writing about Sarah Palin allowed me to take a non-traditional stance and listen to the comments. It was eye opening. I think when I struggle with ideas it is helpful to toss it out there for people to comment on. This goes right to Sullivan's point that a blog does not exist till it has readers, and more importantly, commenters. It underscored the importance of joining in the dialogue and linking to original source material, dissident views and anybody whatsoever to get the maximum benefit of blogging.

So what are you waiting for?

Coming Clean

So, in yesterday's post I said I only read a couple of blogs. I lied. I do read other blogs but they are not really the ones that seemed appropriate to honor with an "I Heart Your Blog" award. I would no more send these blogs this award than I would blow them a kiss. It just doesn't seem appropriate.

I love the little circle of blogs that I refer to in my space. They are warm and comfortable and non-confrontational. They are all written by women and, thus, have a warm, fuzzy and supportive embrace about them. They reflect the persona I have chosen to proffer here- that of another happy gardener who loves her dog.

But I am cautious of entering the ghetto of feminine thought. It is too narrowly focused for me. I require, or perhaps need, the balance that the more overtly testosterone powered blogs offer. Some of the other blogs I have discovered that offer this masculine perspective, or perhaps more perverse view are:

Stank who talks about relationships ( and the rest of the world) from the male view, which I find very intriguing. He even reads Caitlin Flanagan in the Atlantic Monthly. He probably reads Sandra Tsing Loh too, even though she mostly writes about motherhood which he isn't big on.

From Stank I found Uppity Negro. This gifted young man committed suicide more than a year ago, but his blog lives on. He makes me think about the black experience in America, which sometimes can be very difficult to do from lily-white NH. If you can't have the real experience, why not the virtual one? I could just stare at his photo and wonder why?

If you need an anti-testosterone fix check out I'm Not Gay. He knows how to party, dress, drink and have a good time. Why he hasn't found the right girl I'll never know. Probably because they want to change him.

Or there is just the plain, old damn interesting stuff.

For a more irreverent look at a housewife's lot check out Suburban Kamikaze or Dooce or i am bossy.

And then there is this guy , a client of mine who is a lawyer, but his real job is being a great Dad who is very involved with his community. To top it all off he is a REALLY great writer.

Well, I hope you all forgive me for my lie.... and that you will continue to come back and read about my life. These other blogs that I cheat on you with make me the full, rich person I am.

ENJOY!

Most of All, I Want to Thank My Mother

I was bestowed with this beautiful award from Debi over at emmatree. I must say I am overwhelmed with her thoughtfulness and generosity.

Unfortunately I don't think I have 7 blogs to pass the award on to.... and not because there aren't deserving and well written ones out there. It is more a function of only reading 2 or 3 on a regular basis. Call me narrowly focused, or perhaps even obsessive.

And to make matters worse Debi already awarded one of my regular reads- Michelle's blog. Michelle is funny, perhaps irreverent and never runs out of cutting remarks to keep me in my place.

My other favorite is Louise at LaBelAbris. I have known Louise since I was 16. She can STILL make me laugh out loud and occasionally pass foodstuffs through my nose, but only in the most ladylike manner.

My other somewhat regular reads are Blackswamp Girl and Girl Gone Gardening. They both love gardening and write with humor about it. They also retain the wonder of a new gardener.

I hope any visitors to my tiny little blog will take time out of their busy days to peruse the thoughts of these others. Each individual post may not seem like much, but they tend to add up -over time- to create rounded, interesting and informative personalities. (I wanted to say human beings but with everything being done on the computer, one can never be too sure!)