A bloggy thanks giving

Honoring the U.S. tradition of giving thanks on this day, I'd like to express my appreciation for all you wonderful folks who regularly read and comment on this blog. The continued interest and very generous feedback have served as a great motivation and inspiration to my odd brand of creativity.

I'd also like to offer a special "thank you" to Jena and Deborah who have given me blog awards recently. From Jena, whose productivity on several blogs (including Gewgaw Writings) and Helium makes me feel like quite the writing slacker, comes the Butterfly Award. From Deborah, who is the motive force behind the Climate of Our Future blog to which I contribute, I received the lovely Lemonade Award.

I'm amazed (with musical interlude)

I was quite pleasantly surprised to find out recently that I was given the Uber Amazing Blog award by Neferiti at The Inspired Self. Reading the criteria for the award, was a bit humbling:

Uber (synonym to Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:
~ inspires you
~ makes you smile and laugh
~ or maybe gives amazing information
~ a great read
~ has an amazing design
~ and any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

The rules of this award are:
* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from

I like using these awards to shine the light on blogs that I read regularly, and find amazing in their own special ways. Having just given out another award to 7 favorites, I'm going to break the rules and share this with only 3 blogs (listed below, in reverse alphabetical order). I highly recommend that you check them out:

• Wonderland or Not - A passionately written site with acute political and social observations. Cooper also throws in some wonderful musical references.
  
• The Uneasy Supplicant - JD is a thought-provoking writer and an awe-inspiring photographer. He's devoting much of his time right now administering the MW Society Press, but still posts beautifully artful photos regularly.
  
• Le Chambre Noire - This is a very soulful site mixing atmospheric photography, music and lyrics. Gaëna always stirs the mind and heart with her compositions.
  

And now, if you made it all the way through the award-giving protocols, I share with you a musical interlude of one of my favorite bands: The Pixies. There's nothing to watch here (just the cover photo of their album Come On Pilgrim), so just close your eyes and enjoy. It starts out with some studio banter then shifts into their song I'm Amazed.

Loved and loving

I'm very flattered to have received the "I love your blog" award (at left), and it came from a quite unexpected source. Kavita, whose blog A Little of This, And A Little of That I just discovered very recently, was kind enough to include me in her list of seven favorite sites.

Society frowns on those who venture beyond monogamy when it comes to romance, but it's absolutely acceptable to be polyamorous when doting on blogs. There are many more sites that I currently bear crushes for, but the rules (damn them) limit me to choosing seven.

I've arranged the list below alphabetically, so no particular preference should be inferred from the ordering. For those not included, don't worry, I'll be tagging you with other memes in the future.

• Baa Baa Blogging - Fiendish, the pseudonymous author of the site, writes some of the most poignant and well-crafted poetry and fiction you'll find on the Internet. It's well worth your time and effort to explore her archives.
• Black Tie & Sneakers - Robert is a prolific and talented poet who, like me, contributes his wonderful words to the newly revamped MW Society Press (more about that soon). His lines beautifully mark the way-points on life's long and winding road.
• Crowned with Laurels - Larry is another fellow member of the MW Society Press. Inspired to write poetry by the shining example of Charles Bukowski, he elevates the everyday with his verse.
• GewGaw Writing - Jena's site highlights both her own fiction and the writing of other authors (including yours truly) who she regularly and generously plugs. She's also one of my most loyal readers and commenters, so I'm happy to requite the attention.
  
• Ken Armstrong's Writing Stuff - Ken's personal stories are informed by real life and infused with great wit and charm. And if that's not enough, he also writes reviews of books, movies and theater.
• Orange Derange (and Orange Derange Lab) - Ms. O. D. will engage you on many levels. She writes on diverse topics (recent posts have dealt with voter registration, the financial bailout, mapping suicide and cancer rates, Salvador Dali, and her book shelf), but she always keeps her musings relevant and light-hearted.
• That Grrl - Laura is a woman of many talents. She is a fantastic writer. She maintains multiple web sites. She doodles and organize others to do the same. She takes photos of rural ruins. She is a mistress of the meme. She just generally kicks arse as a blogger.

Animating myself with a twice-borrowed idea

As I work up the energy to return to regular posting, I thought I'd share a bit of borrowed fun.

I discovered this little exercise in self-portraiture at That Grrl (who saw it at Lady Banana). On the site Face Your Manga you can create a picture of yourself as a manga-style character.

I'm a bit of an animation geek (as you can probably tell from my drawings), so I couldn't resist giving it a whirl. The available facial features didn't allow for a very realistic portrait, but this product of my choices still amuses me. I especially like the sunken-cheeked look with the graveyard background.

I may just try my hand at a manga-style self portrait to see if I can do better.

Amiss and remiss in my posting

I've been inundated with work (the kind that pays the bills) recently, so I haven't had much time to work on creative endeavors. Although that's an unfortunate fact for my avid blog readers, it's very good news for my avaricious creditors. Things should ease up later in the week, and I hope to post my usual mixture of poetry, fiction and drawing before too long.

In the mean time, I'd like to acknowledge two of my virtual friends who have bestowed honors upon me:

First, a hearty thank you to Angel for giving me the Kick Ass Blogger Award (pictured at left). As she describes it in her post, the award recognizes a blogger "who can grab your attention and give you something to chew over for the rest of the day and in doing so, entices you back for more. A Kick Ass Blogger is someone who is witty, articulate, and informative. Not easy to pull off, especially in the blogosphere where the competition is intense." High praise indeed, and Angel's Here and Now blog definitely fits the description, so check it out.

Next, I owe a long over-due shout-out to Jena who a month ago gave me the Arte Y Pico Award (pictured at-right). In the summer, when distractions are omnipresent, time seems to stream by at a rapid pace and I habitually neglect too many things in need of doing. So I apologize for the delayed response. Jena has been very supportive of my work, and Gewgaw Writings is a great creative writing site that you should visit. There are some rules involved with this award, which I'm never good at following. If you're interested in such details, you can view the fine print accompanying this one by reading Jena's post.

For both of these awards, I'm supposed to name five more recipients. I'll work on that, and get a list up here when autumn arrives and time slows to a more leisurely pace.

Variations on a book meme (bilingual)

I have been twice tagged with book-related memes by two fellow devotees to the art of virtual writing.

First, Patricia at Jane's Writing passed along the Page 123 Book Meme. Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

And here's the relevant passage from the top book on my nightstand pile -- No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy:

I know they's a lots of things in a family history that just plain aint so. Any family. The stories gets passed on and the truth gets passed over.

Next, Hanna from Amori, Poesie Arte, Chat called me out for the Page 161 Meme with the single charge of "selecting a book, opening it on page 161 and choosing a complete sentence." To honor Hanna's native tongue, I'll switch to Alberto Moravia's Il Conformista (The Conformist), which was a little lower in said pile:

Allora, improvvisamente, Marcello capì perché la vista della donna gli aveva ispirato quel doloroso sentimento di rammarico: in realtà, come si accorse, egli non voleva che ella facesse il piacere dell'agente e vederla subirne l'abbraccio l'aveva fatto soffrire come di fronte ad una profanazione intollerabile.

And here's my probably faulty translation (I'm sure Hanna will correct me in the comments):

Then, suddenly, Mercello understood why the sight of the woman had inspired that painful feeling of regret: in reality, as he realized, he didn't want her to have pleased the agent, and to see her subjected to his embrace made Marcello suffer as if facing an intolerable desecration.

Since both of these memes have been circulating for a while, I'll resort to my all-too-frequent tactic of the anonymous tag. If you (yeah you reading this) haven't done either of these yet and would like to, please have at them.

Remembrance of memes past

Long, long ago in a galaxy seemingly far away (but actually very close by at the Alien Next Door site) Science Fiction author and blogger-extraordinaire Nina Munteanu tagged me with the 7 Weird Facts About Me meme. It's a meme that I attempted once before (click here to read it), so I decided to attack it in a slightly different way and write some versed weirdness that I call "Self Portrait, In seven parts." I'll post the poem shortly, but first I wanted to give my deepest thanks to Nina for the tag.

In other blogosphere news, I've been graced with two recent awards from my virtual friends:

JD Beaudoin, who always sets a high-standard of blogging for me to emulate over at The Uneasy Supplicant, has christened me a fellow Flower Smeller by passing on the Go! Smell the Flowers! badge at left (See his post Visitant - Part 2 or the birthing post over at Go! Smell the Flowers! site for more details as to meaning and significance of this honor).

Hanna, the author of Amori, Poesie, Arte, Chat who is ever challenging my world view and foreign language skills, has bestowed on me her newly minted Award for Global Communities. Meant to acknowledge the boundary hopping power of the Internet to establish friendships and community, you can find the code for this badge (displayed at right) by reading her post From Italy with Love.

I'm passing on both of these awards to the following six folks (I may be breaking a rule by choosing that number) whose writing I greatly admire and virtual friendship I deeply appreciate. They're all overdue for some acknowledgment from me, and you should definitely visit their excellent sites:

• Dave at Wandering the Ether
• Michelle (aka Poetress) at Binding Ink
• Deborah at Climate of Our Future
• Ruthie at Zaftig
• Lisa at LifePrints
• Kelly at Kellementology
  

A heartfelt quote ...

I was just tagged today by Hanna with the From The Heart meme (grazie tante a te Hanna come sempre). I like this meme because it's as simple as they get ... having only one rule:

Post a quote that speaks from and to your heart and dedicate it to at least three other bloggers.

So, here's the quote that I've always felt touched by:

"...and then in dreaming
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I wak'd
I cried to dream again."
William Shakespeare's The Tempest: Act III, Scene ii, 137-140

The words are spoken by Caliban, one of the more interesting characters from one of Shakespeare's more problematic plays (and one that formed the heart of my Master's thesis). The drama isn't a tragedy, but it has darker themes not befitting a comedy. Although Caliban is portrayed most often as brutish and bitter — misshapen in physical form and spirit — these lines betray a surprisingly poetic soul and an aching desire for a better life.

Now here are the three bloggers I'm dedicating this exercise to:

• JD at The Uneasy Supplicant
• Lisa at LifePrints
• Dave at Wandering the Ether
  

I've got another meme that I'll be passing on in the next few days (I haven't forgotten it Nina!) ... so prepare yourselves.

A laundry list of thank-you's (updated)

Often times my debts accumulate like neglectful piles of dirty clothes constantly reminding me of tasks undone as they hide in plain sight. The great gobs of owed gratitude grow ever larger and threaten me with the bodily harm of suffocation if not addressed quickly, until I have to dash them all off in a single doing.

Four of my best blogging friends have graciously bestowed separate recognitions on this site, and I'm going to requite their link love now ... admittedly with lesser aptitude and in woefully delayed fashion. The slowly returned affection isn't due to lack of appreciation, but because my mind is too frequently engaged chasing its time-consuming cyphers.

And now the acknowledgments, in reverse order of date given:

1. Hanna at the multi-lingual and artistically dynamic site Amori, poesie, arte, chat virtuali just now gave me the Blogging Mentor Award. You can read the origins of this prestigiously derived bauble in her post Mentoring Project of Harvard. Hanna is someone who has been very helpful in pushing my creativity lately, so I'm more indebted to her guidance than she mine.

2. Lisa at the always uplifting, inspiring and insightful LifePrints gave me the very much appreciated Thinking Blogger Award. Her post Think, Thank, Thunk thoughtfully lays out the characteristics of a critical thinker, and it's something we should all strive to be. She's certainly met all the requirements at her blog, and I hope to emulate her.


3. JD on his ever well-written site The Uneasy Supplicant (please note the new address) gave me a shout-out for the You Cheer Me Up Award. Always one to creatively administer his memes, JD has written a very intriguing framing post called The Chaos Factor. The positive mood engendering affect definitely goes both ways. JD is one of my writing heroes.


4. Jackie from the beautiful and witty site The Painted Veil has been accumulating many well-deserved honors over the past couple weeks, and she passed on a passel of them to me (too numerous to display here). You can tally up all of the glittering prizes at her post Awards, Awards, and More Awards. Jackie continues to charm the blogosphere , and the awards are still pouring in.

Hibernation: when streams turn cold

As the dead of winter sets in, I'm retreating into a cozy den built of spare words and found images. Hunkered down in this incubating nest, all of my non-essential systems will slow to conserve precious energy. My prosaic breaths will grow shallow and far between, with only a few abstract expressions escaping into the chill air outside my cave.

While slumbering in this self-preserving hibernation, I'll do my best to provide warmth to guests stumbling by from out in the icy far stretches.

Two friends and fellow wayfarers were kind enough to recently lend some light inside my self-imposed retreat and I offer them my thanks now ...

Jackie at The Painted Veil (back and in fine form again) tagged me with the New Year's Resolution or Not meme. Thank you Jackie. To answer the meme without doing it ... not. I try to avoid making promises I can't keep.

Hanna at Amori, poesie, arte, chat virtuali yet again is owed a double "thank you." She tagged me with the 7 Weird or Random Facts About Me meme (I sorta did this one before, here) and very graciously nominated me for Blog of the Day at Santa's aptly named site (feel free to vote me up).

Gratitude short but sweet: A series of thank you's

I want to acknowledge the generosity of two friends and fellow bloggers who have recently graced me with their kind words and linked love.

Aquarian Hanna at Amori, Poesie, Arte, Chat Virtuali today tagged me with the Zodiac meme, which I posted on previously albeit in unruly fashion (see Meming to catch up). I also owe Hanna a great debt of gratitude for her translation of my poem Hail Mary (see Ave Maria). And because good things come in 3s, she also gave me a Best Friends award earlier this month (see Mondo di Awards).

Raven at Stuperhero Extraordinaire has also honored me with the very appreciated Creative Blogger Award. I'll try to pass that one on in coming days (I can't remember if I've gotten it before), but definitely check out Raven's post as she has named some other wonderful sites that are worth investigating.

Ancora una volta, in Italiano

My friend Hanna has done me the honor of translating my recent poem Happy, Happy into Italian, the tongue of my ancestors. She did a wonderful job capturing the spirit of the verse yet giving it a new more musical voice.

It's good to know that the emotion is just as evocative in another language. If you'd like to check it out, the translation with Hanna's eloquent introduction is available on her site:

Amori, poesie, arte, chat virtuali by Hanna

Friendships virtual but very real

I recall much hand wringing in certain circles when social networking first started to take hold. The blossoming of virtual communities, the thinking went, would foster increased isolation and withdrawal from real world interactions.

I've always taken a different, more hopeful view of the phenomenon — believing that extending our connections can only help to expand our perspective and improve our outlook. As important as it is to maintain and nurture our ties to friends, family and partners physically close to us, it's equally rewarding to discover kinships that reach around the world, beyond the limits of our perceptual borders.

So it was that I fearlessly leaped into the new paradigm with both feet. The first step was to begin this little blogging experiment I've titled Caught in the Stream. The second, equally significant, was to explore the many faceted imaginings of the greater blogosphere through community-building sites such as My Blog Log and Blog Catalog.

Along the way I've met dozens of diversely creative, interesting, insightful, generous and supportive bloggers who have helped me to broaden my mind and deepen my spirit. Two of my dearest virtual friends have double tagged me with another honor — bestowing on me a new badge in recognition of our mutual esteem: The Colors of Friendship award.

Deborah at Climate of Future is always quick to acknowledge my kindness, and she's been equally ready to help me every way she can while indefatigably building awareness about global warming. Michelle at Binding Ink never spares a supportive word for my writing and uses her special ink to knit together more tightly our community of writers.

Now I have the hard task of singling out just five bloggers who have taught me valuable lessons about this very real new kind of friendship. They have wide networks of admirers and may have already received this award from one of them, but I'm giving each a shout-out nonetheless:

• Dave at Wandering the Ether


• Valentin at Five 4 All


• J.D. at The Uneasy Supplicant


• Lisa at LifePrints


• Jen at Goodness Graciousness

Giving and receiving ... a quick thank you

I have been twice blessed with the Bloggers With Integrity award.

First, Shinade at The Painted Veil honored the Climate Of Our Future blog that I co-author with the award in the category of Social Conscience. Then Deborah, who is the driving force behind Climate of our Future, bestowed it on Caught In The Stream for my Spirit of Giving.

I really appreciate the acknowledgments, especially coming from these two great bloggers. I'll work on selecting some other sites to pass this award on to.

Speaking of mundane facts about me ... a desktop meme

Deborah, my friend and colleague over at Climate of Our Future, has tagged me with the "What's the look of your computer personality?" meme in which I'm supposed to post a screen shot of my desktop so that the world can gain a deeper insight into my twisted personality.

I'm not sure how revealing it is, other than displaying my weakness for small furry critters (Lucy and Albert the pugs, to be specific), but here it is ...


Before the dogs, I had a lovely close-up shot of a butterfly that my friend Doug took in his garden. Either my mother guessed my personality well when she named me after Saint Francis of Assisi, or self-knowing I had to live up to the name I became a Nature lover. That's an interesting philosophical debate I'll leave for another time.

As my favorite number is three, I'll pick a trio of writers I admire to participate in the fun:

• It wouldn't be a meme post if I didn't get wonderfully creative Jeane Michelle Culp, the Poetress, involved, so I'll tag her over at Binding Ink.
  
• I've always admired the edginess of Raven's no-holds-barred posts over at Stuper Hero Extraordinaire, so I'm sure she'll have something interesting to share.
  
• Lisa McGlaun's LifePrints site is a place from which I take daily inspiration, so I'll impose on her seemingly infinite generosity.
  

Social networking or shameless self promotion?

There's always a delicate balance we in the blogosphere try to maintain as we sign up for new promotional services. Looking deeply into our hearts, we attempt to determine the purity of our motives in joining this feverish quest for the holy grail of increased traffic.

Are we acting out of vanity; jumping up and down like a small child in need of attention, shouting "Look at me! Look at me!" at the top of our virtual voice to the 'Net world? Or are we trying to connect in every way possible, not just to be heard but to listen and converse; combining our experiences with others' to build a new community with many faces but a one-world awareness of the need for understanding and compassion?

Of course it's probably a mix of the two, as we never fully outgrow our child-like yearning for approval. As long as that perpetual insecurity leads however clumsily to the latter desired end, I think it's worth spreading our blog essences into the ether. So it is that I've signed up for the new service BlogRush, which is now conveniently displayed in my side bar so you can view the sage thoughts of some other sites.

Recommended Read Award

I have graciously been awarded a Recommended Read Badge by Shinade at The Painted Veil and Zubli Zainordin who in Total Happiness organizes the Book Project blog.

I'm very proud to be included among the wonderful blogs who have so far received this endorsement. Thanks so much!

Nice ain't easy

Deborah, my friend and colleague at Climate of Our Future, has passed along to me the Nice Matters Award. I was a bit hesitant to acknowledge the honor at first, as there's a bit of a stigma attached to having a "nice" rep in some circles. The flowery pink image doesn't mesh well with society's macho expectations either. To a large extent, nice has been linked to weak, and our minds are impressed with the misconception that folk of that nature finish last.

That association is of course too bad. The world would be a much better place if thoughtfulness and consideration were personal traits valued as highly as ambition and self-sufficiency. Jesus sermonized on the mount that the meek would inherit the earth, but that prophecy is still pending. The world's movers and shakers learned long ago not to let morality get in the way of their business. Machiavelli's The Prince has served as the true political gospel for 500 years, and its pragmatism doesn't prize anything beyond self-preservation.

I fancy myself an optimist who believes that human beings are inherently very kind and giving creatures. Most of us are willing to reach beyond our narrow self interests and collaborate and contribute toward a better world. That gentler nature can be conditioned out of us, however, especially when we're convinced that our survival is at stake. As has been clearly illustrated over the past 6 years, fear can be used very effectively to divide us and call forth our baser instincts.

By accepting this award, I hope to do my small part to take Nice back from the nay sayers. Consider it a salvo in the war to salvage true community in a world too often given over to ruthless competition. Let's re-imagine our society so that it becomes a place where we practice what we preach, and reward those who think of others as much as themselves. I've come into contact with a good number of fellow bloggers who are after that very same thing. Deborah is one shining example.

The Nice Matters Award was created by Genevieve Olsen at Bella Enchanted. While at her site, I discovered there's a gentleman's version of the badge (shown on the left). As a recipient, it's my duty to pass on the honor, but most of the folks who have been particularly supportive to me in my virtual endeavors have already been acknowledged. Never one to get discouraged by conformity to rules, I'm going to list them among my shout outs anyway:

• Agnes at Doc It Out
  
  
• Amy at Wamylove
  
  
• Goldy at GoldyWorld
  
  
• Jackie at The Painted Veil
  
  
• Jeane at Binding Ink
  
  
• Jennifer at Goodness Graciousness
  
  
• Miriam at AnceStories
  

From blah day to "Blog of the Day"

Occasionally the universe conspires with others to deliver the unexpected.

Just yesterday, I lamented the fact that I lacked inspiration and direction. In my post, I wrote about a metaphorically muddy feeling, as if my muse had receded underwater to grab a hold of my ankles and keep me stuck in the muck. Thankfully, I had the White Stripes to lend their lyrics and pull me up out of my black cloud mood.

Today, the foggy mood had started to lift, when as if on cue, lo and behold, there was a lovely surprise waiting for me in my mail box. Sylvie from FuelMyBlog informed me that Caught in the Stream had been awarded their "Blog of the Day" honor.

Not wanting to annoy the academy, I'll graciously accept the trophy with a simple "thank you" and keep it on my blog shelf as a personal reminder that sometimes we're our own harshest critics.

Thoughtfully thought of again

Deborah, my dear friend and colleague over at the Climate Of Our Future (COOF) blog, has passed along to me the Thoughtful Blogger Award. The honor is especially important to me because it comes from someone who is the epitome of thoughtfulness, as she created COOF out of a passionate concern for our environment, and that's a cause that touches each and all of us. I don't know if I can measure up to it but I will hold it close and grip it tightly, especially since she may not approve of my next post, which could prove so cantankerous as to make her wish to rescind the privilege.

The Thoughtful Blogger Award (as well as a few other variations) was created by Christy over at Writers Reviews. She lists there all of the details on how to propagate and display the award. To quote the author, the award is dedicated to the following bloggers:

For those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping others bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.

I find myself in very good company at my alternate universe blog COOF, as the following were awarded this badge of kindness there: Lyn, Jeane, Karen, and Jackie. Not to mention the amazing Nina, who gave the award to Deborah and is the author of Alien Next Door, a very interesing site.

I look at my Caught In The Stream (CITS) self as the evil doppelganger to my COOF persona, so I don't know if I truly merit inclusion here. That self doubt is why I have resorted to a game of fetch with COOF, re-nominating those named there. Trying to offset my potential bad karma for not doing separate shout-outs from CITS I will also do a most thoughtful and inclusive all and nothing pronouncement: to all my readers, you are now deemed Thoughtful Award recipients ... take up the challenge and carry it forward.