West of Mars -- the Meet and Greet

Mondays are the slowest day in the entertainment business. But don't tell that to Lil' Duck Duck, who's hosting a carnival of Family Life (#49, in fact!). Go check it out; you might recognize a familiar face and an outtake you may have missed.

Mondays aren't slow around here, though. Even though it's been a few days since this happened, I'm still in shock.

Robin, of Around the Island, was amazing enough to tag me with The Thinking Blogger Award . Not just for one post, but my entire body of work here on the blog. I am flattered and touched and pleased and thrilled -- and proud. Any writer loves to hear that you make people think, and when I got the e-mail from Robin telling me to check her blog, I was in a funk. The timing was absolutely perfect.

In keeping with the rules of the Thinking Blogger Award -- no one have a heart attack; I do occasionally follow the rules! -- I get to pass this award on to five other nice people. So here they are...

To She at the Screaming Pages for this post about her recent India adventures. Like many a traveller before her, India (and the Philippines) this time had a life-altering effect on her. And I'm not talking about the food poisoning, but what came when she got home: she took a deep breath and stepped off the edge of the world, quitting her job. That, woman, takes guts.

My good friend Milan always makes me think, especially when he does his Thursday Thirteen posts. Here's one that really illustrates how much effort he puts into them and how hard he stretches my brain. He may not post a 13 every week, but I'd sure argue that he's a valued member of the 13 community.

Of course I have to nominate Erica. The woman, the blog, the whole ball of wax. She juggles being a mom, a blogger, an aspiring writer, and a full-time employee. She's always up on the latest fads -- screening them for me, I joke with her -- and her enthusiasm shines on through even the rough spots. I'm proud to be her partner in the Debut a Debut contest, as well as the upcoming summer reading contest.

It may be really tacky of me, but I'd like to give the award back to Robin, for this post. If you'll read the comment trail, you'll see that my son has a friend whose behavior is similar to Robin's daughter's. This post gave me new insights into my son's friend and while I may not be in a position to help my son's friend, at least I have some insights that help me be a better guardian when he's here playing.

I'm going to stop at four, not because I want to buck the rules but because now I'm going to start nominating all my friends who write book blogs -- karen!, Antheras, Cheesygiraffe, CheriePie, Breeni, Ace and Hoser. And on. And on. You've seen me mention them all here before, you've seen them in my comment trail and as entrants in my various contests. These guys are my friends above and beyond blogging, even though I've yet to meet any of them face-to-face. They inspire me to new heights of writing and other fun ideas, and they are quick to stop me from doing something dumb or pointless. As much as all of you readers inspire me, these guys are my front lines. Check them out; I don't doubt you'll be nominating them for Thinking Blogger Awards.

Here are the rules, for you newly tagged folk...

How participation works:

If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

Optional: Display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.


One last note... those of you who read me in a feed reader have noticed a bunch of posts lately. Most of them are old posts; I'm catching up on my labels and tags. Read, have fun, comment away. Just be sure to click through and check the posting dates!

Catch you guys in a bit...

Labels: Carnival, Thinking Blogger Award