Blog Meme

This was addressed to 'Resident' by Old Lady of the Hills. 1-Do you like the look and the contents of your blog? Yep. It's plain on purpose, so you can be sneaky and browse at work. Content is growing bit by bit; eventually there will be enough for any stalker to find and ravage me at will. 2-Does your family know about your blog? Mostly, yes. I've been advised that my kids will read it, so I'd better clean up the language. Which is a partial motivation for doing this; I always appreciated little tidbits of insight into my Dad's life and times, and I'd like my kiddos to be able to see what it was like to be me. And count their damn blessings. 3-Can you tell your friends about your blog? Yes. Not so much with coworkers. Someday I may want to write copiously about them, for they give me much potential material. 4-Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? I have a regular circuit of blogs I read, divided into 'A-List' and 'B-List'. The A's get a visit every day, and I couldn't imagine a day without reading them. I see the B's at least weekly, and that's mostly because the slackers don't post every day. That list is growing rapidly, I'm finding more and more sites worth repeat visits. And I do visit commenters, because this venue is infinitely more fun and worthwhile when people comment. 5-Did your blog positively affect your mind? Absolutely. Not only am I smiling more, but I'm paying more attention to my life (partly because there's blogworthy material everywhere). Keeping in touch and making friends this way has been so cool. 6-What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? It's humbling to see the counter move. I like to write, but I love it when people enjoy it enough to read. Very unexpected to see this many visits, especially as a beginner. 7-Do you imagine what other bloggers look like? Sure, just like I imagine what radio hosts look like (and I expect to be wrong). Unless they post a photo, I assume their avatar is a professional artist's rendering. No avatar? Then you look like the Where's Waldo dude to me. 8-Do you think blogging has any real benefit? Yes. Just like newspapers or books or friendship have a real benefit. Participation = value. 9-Do you think that the blogosphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world? Nobody interesting spends their time exclusively in blogland (that I know of). The engaging bits of blogs come from well-shared personal stories and observations. 10-Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them? I ain't skeered. I haven't run across many political blogs; it's not so much avoid as focus on what I like: People. I do have political beliefs and passions, and there are plenty of sources for info and opinion. Blogs aren't my preferred source. 11-Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful? Feedback is valuable, I regard it as a useful tool for improvement. And, no matter what is offered, I have the power to take it or leave it. 12-Have you ever thought about what would happen to your blog in case you died? Yep. 13-Which blogger had the greatest impression on you? Far and away, without question, Tiff. My mentor (there has GOT to be a better word than 'blogmomma') and inspiration, someday I'd like to be that good. She makes me smile an awful lot, and makes me wish I'd got a better education. And, I'm imagining 'blogger' as plural, because this is my damn site and there are more noteworthy influences. Jeff Kay: content-rich, dependable (mostly) and hilariously funny. He introduced me to this world through his minions of commenters. Wordnerd, who is kind, direct, friendly, and brilliant; a woman chock-full of influence. Tracy Lynn, genius and evil (and nicer than she'd like you to know). Kingfisher, who is teaching me to critically notice my writing. JC, who needs more words like 'wow' to describe her, and makes me want to write more seriously. Kenju, generous with words and rich with friends. Renn, who can sidle up to the comment bar and make you spit out your water while she smirks at you. Beck, who makes me hug my kids more. All with hearts o' gold and a sack full of good humor (or humour, if you prefer). 14-Which blogger do you think is the most similar to you? Gosh this place would be boring if we were all like me. I'm busy trying to copy my idols without getting caught, so if you're like me, you're mimicking an impressionist. Which is dumb, since you are probably fascinating on your own. 15-Name a song you want to listen to? Talk about a left turn - this question doesn't seem to fit. But, I didn't write it, so, um, I want to listen to thousands of hours' worth of stuff I've missed over the years. Heck, I just discovered Oingo Boingo and they're from MY era. I guess this type of thing isn't complete unless there's some sort of tagging ritual. If you've been named above, I'd love to see your answers. If you're not named and doing it, let me know so I can visit! Body parts will not drop off and satellites will not fall from the sky if you don't play along. But, you won't get that $50 gift certificate from Applebee's, either. Better safe than sorry, so get started.