Friday, March 28, 2008

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You: The Big E

This big lopsided E just landed in my lap. I was sitting here at the gallery minding my own business (literally) when The Excellent Blogger Award came flying in, borne by a dust devil. Seems that Daryl, of the deliciously snarky (well sometimes snarky, sometimes not) out & about in new york city had passed it my way. My blog will bear it proudly and I have been instructed to pass it on to ten others. My first thought: ONLY TEN??? My second thought: Even 10 makes for a lot of hyperlinking for this time-challenged 50-something bumpkin.

Every single blog on my blogroll is excellent. Furthermore, there are scads of excellent blogs that haven't made it to my burgeoning blogroll. Yet. SO I am going to tilt the rules a bit. I will start picking a blog or two in no particular order and according to no particular schedule and I will award those blogs THE BIG E. Several weeks ago I'd hit on the idea of featuring another blogger from time to time. I get tired of myself sometimes.

So here's my opportunity. This lopsided E has landed in my lap and I will be passing it to others. I will try not to fumble it. I promise. And those to whom it is passed must feel free to continue to pass it.

Today the tilted E is solemly passed to three teachers whose classrooms I would love to be in:

murat11
One of the San Antonio contingent, those quiz-crazed bloggers that would tag God Himself were they not such good Episcopalians. Anyhow, Paschal is a born-again therapist who now wields his remarkable talents in the classroom. From time to time, his blog features rollicking collaborative poems co-authored by "the urchins," his middle-and-high-school students. Or co-authored with The Turtle Queen, the lovely Tina, Love of His Life. Or riffed from various greats. Or simply authored by his own tilted self. A surrealist at heart, he sometimes treats us to his fiction as well as his reflections on supermarkets, proms, and lip balm. The labels of his posts, strung together, read like his version of Finnegans Wake.

Chrysalis Dreams
The very first blog, other than a family member's, I put on my blogroll. That means something. I would dearly love to be in Lee's classroom, although she recently decided that teaching is not for her and she is in the process of reinvention. A multi-talented, intelligent woman who writes with rare honesty about the challenges of nurturing her chrysalis dreams, her abiding faith in God (she's a Cursillista), and her feline family of two. Lee's blog is also a visual delight, with a spacious three-column layout and a simply gorgeous header. Always the encourager, Lee has invariably taken the time to frame thoughtful, generous comments on my own blog. Thanks, Lee!

Life in the Land of the Rising Sun
Ever yearned to see a picture of one of those Japanese toilets that's basically a hole in the floor? What about a vivid description of the dizzying variety of Japanese noodle, complete with gorgeous illustrations? Ever wish that someone might make you feel better about your own in-law situation? Welcome to The Moody Minstrel's blog. An American, Moody says he went to Japan in 1990 for a two-year stint but got a life instead. A talented composer/musician who links to selections of his own music, Moody too is a teacher. The first post I ever read over at Life in the Land of the Rising Sun revealed the kanji, or combination of characters which two students had selected to be Moody's name. They settled on three characters--this blog is replete with oh-so-graceful characters, by the way--which would translate as a wave of maximum feeling. How's that for a moniker? Well, if the kanji fits, answer to it.

40 comments:

murat11 said...

DEar Ms San:

You know the onE thing about Scorpios: not a jEalous bonE in our bodiEs, right? So, you know that it was in no way sour grapEs whEn I first spiEd that tiltEd E in your post and thought, "REmEmbEr now, Enron's logo was a tiltEd E, too." All this, of coursE, bEforE I had the God-givEn good sEnsE to rEad on a littlE furthEr.

Ouch.

And molto thanks: to bE so blEssEd by somEonE who's rEadErly EyEs and Ears (and I bEliEve EvEn nosE) I so grEatly apprEciatE. ThErE's not many in this world willing to follow the avEnuEs down which I so incorrigibly stumblE, so it is always a dElight to fEEl your support and EncouragEmEnt. With thE addEd bonus of both bElonging to thE ObstrEpErous LEaguE of Hannah Fans. ImaginE my dElight that blog post so many blogmoons ago whEn you knEw Exactly who BErryman wuz and could toss his hackEysacked gEnius ass right back at mE. Now that's a blog ocEan worth swimmin' in.

PEace back to you. NamastE.

murat11 said...

Of course, we're (Scorpios, that is) also remarkably other-centered, n'es pas?

Here's to that big titled vowel bestowed upon Ms Crimson TidE.

ChEErs.

San said...

TwErEn't nothin. What's a little award passing betwEEn two orange crayons whosE innEr child is sixtEEn? REmEmbEr? ThE DantE InfErno Quiz consignEd us to the sEcond lEvEl of hEll. LivE it up! And Roll, damn, TidE.

Lee said...

San, you are such a sweetie! Thanks ever so much. The award is proudly on display. Where on earth are these things generated? I keep looking for a web page of them and find nada until someone comes along and gives me one. :)

Hug!!!

San said...

Lee, I googled this one and discovered that a blogger created it. So, what the hey, we can start creating our own awards in photoshop!

You are most welcome, btw. Now to view your award on your site...

Cath said...

San - you write the most beautiful introduction to your friends. Witty and charming and a delight to read as you so obviously delight in their friendship. :0)
Well deserved Es all round, especially you San. Your blog is EXCELLENT!!

Jennifer S said...

You absolutely deserve this-- Congratulations!

Mima said...

Well deserved, and lovely write ups of your friends blogs!

Celebration of Life said...

Good morning San! Excellent post!
You go girl!

lime said...

it's always fun to see who these sorts of things go to and why. :) lovely to make their acquaintance.

andrea said...

Congrats and NO! Don't give me any more blogs to read! :)

Paula In Pinetop said...

The Big E.

The Big Easy for you, oh talented one who sells a painting in just 48 hours.

BTW, I love that prom dress.

San said...

Cath, thank you!

Blogging friends are really special, aren't they?

San said...

Jennifer, you make me smile. Thanks.

San said...

Mima, thank you. I hope you're having a good day.

San said...

Good morning, Jo. Jo, you go, and you rhyme with it too!

San said...

Lovely Lime, you are most gracious.

San said...

Andrea, I hear you. We have an embarrassment of riches here in blogland.

San said...

Oh, Paula, thank you for visiting here. AND the gallery last weekend!

Sparkling Red said...

Congratulations! It is most well-deserved. :-)

San said...

Red, thank you.

HUG.

Anonymous said...

Woo-Hoo! Congrats San. Praise to teachers.

San said...

Thanks, Chewy. Teachers make quite a difference for us, don't they?

Sandi McBride said...

Congratulations on your Big E award San...you deserve it girlfriend...and wow, so does Lee...love the artistic way in which you worked your post...
hugs
Sandi

Heather said...

Big congrat's on The big E! You deserve it! And I am excited to learn more about the winners that you gave it to, too. :)

San said...

Sandi, you are always overflowing with support.

A generous spirit is yours. HUG.

San said...

Good morning, Heather. It's always a delight to be visited by you.

xo

Daryl said...

Mostly snarky with a dash of shallow and a smidgen of who me thrown in ..

YES! Pass it on to as many as you feel merit it .. its all about sharing and making everyone feel good about themselves.

San said...

Daryl, your dash of who me is what makes it explode. You are a riot!

And that new profile pic is an earful.

Casdok said...

Congratulations and thank you for the intros!

Jeff B said...

In the realitivly short amount of time I've been coming here I can still say you are very deserving of this award. Congrats

Celebration of Life said...

E is for excellent but S is for sensational woman!

Andrea and Kim said...

Fabulous San! You are so deserving of this award. Congratulations!

And thank you for the heads up on some other deserving blogs!

San said...

Casdok, your profile picture is so beautiful. You look like you're laughing at something a friend just said, someone whose company you delight in. I always love to see your picture pop up in the comments!

San said...

Jeff, what a generous thing to say. Thank you so much. You and your blog rock!

San said...

Good morning, Jo!

Jo--short for Joyous! Here's to another celebratory, task-filled day...end of the month, lots of paperwork, at least for me. You?

San said...

Kim the Encourager,

BIG THANK YOU!!!

The Moody Minstrel said...

San, you most definitely deserve the Big E [ah-AH]!

I, on the other hand, wow...what a surprise!

I AM NOT WORTHY!!!
I AM NOT WORTHY!!!

Still, thank you very much! I'm flattered and honored to be in such excellent company! I promise to display the Big E [ah-AH] proudly on my blog.

San said...

Moody, I already went to your blog to observe the award ensconced in its new home. It looks so appropriate there.

And your gracious descriptions of the blogs you've passed the award to--an indicator of your worthiness. Cheez whiz blog, my a**.

Indigo said...

Alas... No one's given me a big E yet...