Friday, May 8, 2009

Friendly Bloggers


Wow—when it rains it does indeed pour, as I discovered this morning when looking at Cheryl Cato’s excellent Lizzy Frizzfrock blog & seeing I was among those she selected for the Friendly Blogger Award. Thank you, Cheryl, that’s a very nice award to receive.

So I’m back at the old drawing board for Friendly Bloggers to pass this on to, & there are a passel of likely choices. The few times I’ve had this happy dilemma, I’ve tried to come up with some sort of clear framework for choosing. So I decided first that I wouldn’t pass it on to anyone to whom I’d already passed some other award (tho all of them would be eminently qualified), & of course I wouldn’t duplicate any of Cheryl’s choices. I also decided not to pass it on to any of the blogs I follow that have very large readerships, tho I'm happy to say that Robert Frost's Banjo has received huge amounts of friendliness & kindness from people like Willow of Life at Willow Manor & Reya Mellicker at The Gold Puppy, whose blogs I enjoy tremendously & whose support here means a lot to me. I decided to pass the award on to the following:

Dominic Rivron: It appears that Dominic Rivron & I have some noteworthy things in common: we both write poetry & we both play & teach guitar; it seems Dominic even has a bit of interest in the uke based on discussions we’ve had in comments. It just happens that we live several thousand miles apart, with the Atlantic Ocean & much of North America intervening. In other words, before the blogging era, we wouldn’t have run across each other. Dominic’s self-titled blog is a compendium of observations about life & music teaching, journals on various hiking trips he takes up some fairly rugged looking mountains, & poetry, the latter being first-rate. Dominic is also a very thoughtful & insightful commentor here on Robert Frost’s Banjo.

Flapperdoodle: Blogger/Artist Kate Gabrielle seems to be a bit of a phenomenon. Her other blog, the very excellent Silents & Talkies has gained a very large readership in the course of just a few months. Silents & Talkies focuses on Kate’s love of classic cinema, complete with some excellent portraits she’s done of film stars ranging from Clara Bow to Audrey Hepburn & from Charlie Chaplin to Robert Mitchum (in fact, I’m the proud owner of one of her Clara Bow prints & one of her Chaplin prints, both currently being framed); Flapperdoodle is a recent side project of hers (& one that I expect will also garner a wide readership); it features her drawings of four flapper characters, Eloise, Ramona, Emma & Clarissa involved in any number of single frame adventures. In addition to being a gifted artist, Kate is a most welcoming & upbeat presence in the blogosphere. If you haven’t checked out her blogs, you really should do so.

JenX67: This is a blogger I respect a lot. It’s interesting, because I think in many ways Jen & I view the world in quite different terms; Jen is a devout Christian & I’m not much of a devout anything. On the other hand, I admire her compassionate outlook on some of the “hot button” issues that typically might separate individuals with different philosophical/cosmological frames of reference. She is very accepting of varying viewpoints on her blog, which tackles issue from religion in America to generation X related news (I’m a “tail end of the baby boom” fellow—with gen x sympathies & a number of gen x friends), to parenting, to her love for Oklahoma City & the state of Oklahoma overall. In addition to being a clear & thoughtful writer, Jen is also a gifted photographer & her photos of a decidedly urban Oklahoma City are always a delight. On top of that, I’d second my remarks about Dominic Rivron when talking about Jen’s generous participation in Robert Frost’s Banjo. This is a blog that will reward repeated visits.

(Totalfeckingeejit) The People’s Lost Republic of EEjit: Another friend from “across the pond” as the saying goes, tho in this case a resident of my ancestral home, the Republic of Ireland. Totalfeckingeejit, or TFE as I refer to him to cut down on typos, runs a rather hilarious ship with rampant observations about the state of publishing & the state of poetry & fiction, not to mention forays into his own very engaging creative works. TFE interacts a lot & in a very good humored way with his commentors, & he’s also a supportive commentor on a number of other blogs, including this one. This is a very enjoyable blog with all sorts of little features having to do with chicken & beer & chips.

ßench: Here’s another blog, like Dominic Rivron’s, from the UK. You never know quite what to expect from Tony’s ßench; it’s an often rollicking take on various music shows, some pub crawling, & a truly unique take on the popular Theme Thursday; Tony had a particularly entertaining go at the recent Egg theme. The photos there are always top-notch, & the writing will definitely keep you moving along at a goodly pace. He also posted one of the more amazing stories I’ve encountered in blogland, having to do with a white balloon. It’s best to get the story from the source, so check it out here & here. To top it off, Tony is always an upbeat commentor here, & terrifically supportive.

No “rules” attached—pass it along if you like! & thanks ever so much Cheryl (AKA Lizzy)!

22 comments:

  1. Thank you so much John! And if ANYONE deserved a friendly blogger award, it is YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I haven't spent much time over at flapperdoodle but will rectify this soon. Silents&Talkies is essential, though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Kate:

    That was fast! You saw this before I had a chance to let you know-- anyway, thanks for the kind words & it's also an award you deserve.

    Paul:

    Right on about Silents & Talkies-- & by the way, welcome & thanks for following here.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Paul: Oh yeah, I noticed you also list "Deadlier than the Male" at your site; that's a blog I've enjoyed for some time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good job, my friend!!! Nicely done. I can't wait to visit these blogs (one of {Tony's} which I already visit who always surprises me too).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Lizzy-- hope you enjoy them!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats! RFB is definitely a friendly blog!

    ReplyDelete
  8. When it rains it pours - and you deserve a deluge!

    Kat

    ReplyDelete
  9. Saw you at Tony's, had to serve my curiosity. Very comfy place! Oh look - your word verif is "guita" isn't that amazing how life is so cyclical? As a fellow musician I can appreciate your passion. Nice profile, esp reading delights.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oops, left out my congrats on your friendly award. I concur :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi K., Kat & Cathy:

    K & Kat: Thanks so much!

    Cathy: Thanks for stopping by, & for the kind words-- "guita," huh? Sounds like a typo I'd make. I took a quick look at "Dare to Think" & am looking forward to giving your blog a more thorough read. I really like the "attempting to give a damn" widget.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well desreved John, you are indeed a friendly guy and I have always felt most welcome here. I'm also very pleased to be picked, thanks.It is one of the better facets of the internet that diverse characters from different planets can coalesce into a virtual flame betimes. I have no real concept of your life or your country,yet via your blog I get a fascinating insight into a different and diverse world that is as interesting as it is educational.Blogging can be a pain in the arse, it can also be uplifting and inspirational and transport you from your desk to the other sides of the universe- wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi TFE:

    Thanks, & well said. That aspect of blogging (allowing folks from far distant places to connect) is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  14. kudos on the awards....best put up an umbrella as rfb will be well showered.....

    oh my more interesting sounding blogs to check out....

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you for this award which I duly uploaded to my sidebar!

    What can I say? TFE seems to have taken most of the words out of my mouth. Yours is definitely one of those blogs that seems to open a window on the writer's country - and you never know what will pop up next.

    Who can I award it to? I'll have to think...

    ReplyDelete
  16. JOHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im late for my own Awards Ceremony !(Story Of My Life)Thank You For Your Kind Words (*blushes*)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Mouse & Dominic & Tony

    Mouse: That's such a nice thing to say-- thanks a lot.

    Dominic: Thanks for those words; I've seen & learned things about England for sure from your blog & from Tony's.

    Tony: You're never too late!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh, Wow. I've been so busy finishing up a project, I'm just now getting over here! This is possibly the most sincere and deliberate praise I have ever received from anyone for my work as blogger. I am a huge fan of Robert Frost's Banjo, as I'm sure you've gathered! Ha! =) You're on my cool boomer blog roll!

    It's funny how we become dependent on certain bloggers to bring us new content all the time - little adventures we wouldn't otherwise have. I do have to give a shout out to Poetikat, who first introduced me to your blog via an award she passed along to me some months back. If not for that, I probably would not have discovered this blog. I will post something about my kind award on Monday!!! And, I WILL be passing this one along, b/c in my book, there may be nothing better than friendly.

    And, also, I appreciate what you said about compassion. This is the high-calling on my life, though I'm certain I often miss the mark.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Jen:

    Thanks for your kind words-- you very much deserve this award for bringing a voice of reason & compassion to issues that are so often clouded by negative passions & prejudices.

    & yes, totally concur about relying on certain bloggers for intriguing content, & very much agree about Poetikat-- she's fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Friendly Blogger aptly applied. I love the blog reviews you have put up. As you can imagine, for someone new to all this, it can be overwhelming to jump into this sea of bloggation. So some "friendly" advice is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm over here visiting from the Jenx... to whom you have gave a "Friendly Blogger" award. I'd never heard of the award but you made a great choice. Her blog is something special.

    I've trolled through Robert Frost's Banjo and I am very impressed even though I don't understand very much about what you are writing about. That was my feeling about Jen's blog also and it took me a while to get in the groove and it is now on my don't miss list for posts.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Randy & Yogi:

    Randy: I know what you mean-- there are so many good blogs out there, one problem is keeping the number one "follows"/visits etc. workable.

    Yogi:

    Yes, I've seen your name on comments on Jen's blog, which I agree is excellent. Don't be a stranger-- some of our stuff gets a bit out there, but other stuff, like our country living posts & recipes-- are a bit more down-to-earth. Thanks for stopping by & leaving a comment!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by & sharing your thoughts. Please do note, however, that this blog no longer accepts anonymous comments. All comments are moderated. Thanks for your patience.