Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Playing Tag


I've gotten my first tag, courtesy of John at Blog Meridian, who was himself tagged as an "Indie" Blog, which his tagger, Bittersweet Blue, describes as meaning "quirky and unknown." John makes a point of saying that my blog is not quirky, so I suppose that leaves us with "unknown." Uh, thanks. Not to leave my reader(s ?) with the wrong impression, John B does compliment the writing here, and that is very nice of him. So, since I have been given the task of tagging at least five, here are mine, no surprises, since I don't have a secret list of faves that I've been hiding from everyone:

Commonplace Book, written by Steph Mineart, is not unknown, at least not as unknown as some branded awarded the Indie badge, but tracks the quirks of human existence and her own adventures in life with her partner, also named Stephanie, her good friends, a few cats, and a VW Bug named Phoebe. A marvelous collection of her own book reviews, recipes, links and images, bound in among the details of her daily life: am incisive and witty mind lurks here. Read it. Steph is "Indie" in the truest sense, since she lives in Indianapolis !

Then there is Snarling Marmot, from Springfield, MO. a lovely place tucked away in the southwest corner of the state (you can get to Eureka Springs, AR or Tulsa, OK faster than you can get to St. Louis from there). "La Marmot" snarls when necessary and celebrates when called for. Life: what to do about it.

Two Dishes But To One Table I consider to be a great find. I have no idea how I found it, but linked to it immediately and haven't stopped reading it since. Evan Genest, a high school science teacher in NYC, has a fine eye for things that should not escape us. I suppose that, given his profession and his love of science, it should not be surprising that this blog has a great, "hey look what I found" kind of tone. When the author encounters something, he is interested.

Willoboe (the title is the author's first and last name, run together) is a blog from Omaha, Nebraska, with roots in the Dakotas and other plains states. Willo writes eloquently about her life and the family, neighbors and friends who populate it. A beautiful sense of place permeates this blog: Willo's sense of the geography and history of the plains and her personal relationship to it makes her a distinctive voice.

It was hard to make a fifth and final choice, but I decided to go with Dave in Suomi. Suomi, for those who may not know, is Finnish for Finland, and Dave Schultz is a professor/researcher in meteorological sciences, usually from Tulsa, OK, but currently living and working in Finland. He decided to start a blog specifically to record his adventures in Helsinki and environs. He is not a daily blogger, but writes on a regular basis, has a sharp eye, loves his work, and, it seems, the Helsinki Testbed. An Oklahoman among the Finns, serious science, a language with more vowels than consonants in any given word almost guaranteed: how is this not quirky, aka fiercely unique ?

4 comments:

AJ said...

Not quirky? Let's not rush to judgment. I think John may have been a little hasty, as evidenced by your profile blurb and ad-free policy, just off the top of my head. I say there's some quirkiness going on here... ;)

I need to read around some more.

John B. said...

I have been known to rush, yes. Apologies if I have caused offense; none was intended, I assure you.

Cordelia, thanks for introducing me to some wonderful blogs. They too are most deserving of Indie Blog status.

Cordelia said...

John B--- that thought about being merely unknown because "not quirky" only came out as I was writing the entry, and it struck me as very funny, so apologies to you if I had some fun at your expense. Glad you liked the ones I chose; I'll be interested to know what else comes Ariel's way (and now I know about Ariel, too).

Anonymous said...

Cool! thanks! That is awesome. Now I have to think which peoples to tag in return....