the love essays

It’s been too long. Seriously, too long. Not that anything is about to change profoundly in that department, but I miss you… this… really miss it.

Anyway, tol isn’t the only thing I’ve had a hard time finding time for. I finally found an afternoon to dedicate to the reading of Judy Clement Wall’s Love Essays which I downloaded earlier this month. The reading of those essays brings me out from under the bridge to make a brief comment here.

Look right and you’ll see links to Judy’s blogs, Zebra Sounds and A Human Thing. If you’ve been around for a while you’ll recognize her name, her blogs, her writing. You’ll remember her Love Project last year at Zebra Sounds. You’ll know A Human Thing for the dedicated extension of that project that it is. I’m a fan, and have been for a while.

The Love Essays are Judy’s condensation of that year of Loving Fearlessly, a wonderfully dense, honest, and lyrical exploration of how the year changed her and, in her humble way of saying, how the year changed the lives of the many that followed her journey. It’s kind of amazing. That is understatement, if that wasn't clear.

This is not an unbiased review of her work. To be fair to myself, I think my opinion would be similarly glowing if it was unbiased; if, for example, I’d been handed a copy with no name on it. But I wasn’t handed a copy. I downloaded it from Judy’s site. In typical Judy fashion, she’s left the cost for her work up to the downloader. If you can’t afford to pay, don’t let that stop you. For Judy, getting the truth of the Love Project – the power of what she calls Fearless Love – out there, is more important than monetizing them.

To be clear, I love that. The only thing I love as much as her giving it away is the thought that every person that can afford to pay for them will, and that she’d be able to do a world tour on the profits (because then I could actually meet her).

…

I'm stoked about Linkin Park's new album...

...just sayin'...

...

P.S. What? You’re still here? Go! Sheesh…

surfacing for a Liebster

The concept intrigued me profoundly, and on several levels: a collaborative blog that the host, Varun Kothamachu, intended to be an exploration of style and opinion from around the world; each new blogger recommended by the previous blogger; each week a new experience, a new perspective, a celebration of the things that make us unique and the things that unite us as humans.

I’ve kept tabs on the Vie Hebdomadaires site from the start, sometimes with a more participatory intent, other time – like the last several months with everything online – just lurking, reaching out regularly to touch it and assure myself that it was still there, still moving, growing, thriving.

Like most things, the thing that I love most about Vie Hebdomadaires is simply that it exists, that it aspires, that there is a journey happening there worth being a part of. It is an idea and an ideal, and it evolves. We should all be so lucky.

And then, in spite of my general quietude and lack of (overt) involvement, Varun emailed me this week and honored me again, offering me a heretofore unknown (to me) version of the pay-it-forward blog award, a Liebster.

Web consensus is that the Liebster Blog Award originated in Germany – Liebster means favorite or dearest – and is intended to give bloggy love to writers with fewer than 200 followers. I qualify. What moved me most though was that Varun remembered me; I was the seventh writer in the Vie Hebdomadaires daisy-chain and they’re striding along into week thirty-four right now.

...he likes me, he really likes me.

So, I’m flattered. Time to pass it forward. The rules for the Liebster are as follows:

1. Thank the one who nominated you. Varun and Vie Hebdomadaires, here’s to you;

b. Nominate five blogs with fewer than 200 followers;

trois. Let the nominees know by e-mail or comment on their site;

四. Copy and paste the Liebster Award Icon to your site.

I hereby nominate the following for a Liebster Blog Award...

Melissa Wolfe’s No Such Thing as Never. I first found Melissa’s former blog, Finding Melissa, and was immediately attracted by her honesty and courage and the seeming inevitable arc of her growth and journey. I’ve never been disappointed.

I don’t know if it qualifies on the “under 200” measuring stick (I doubt it, frankly)), but it deserves mention. A Human Thing is the extension of Judy Clement Wall’s year-long Love Project from Zebra Sounds, another blog that Varun nominated. Now Judy’s covered both ways.

I can’t even remember how Holly and I met online. She is bright, opinionated, takes great pictures, and has experienced a profound amount of life at a young age, a quality that she and Melissa share in common. Her blog, Eating a Tangerine, is a combination of feminism, political opinion, astute observation, and courageous self-discovery.

Lance Burson was the one that daisy-chained me into the Vie Hebdomadaires list of writers, recommending me after he was writer number six. Lance writes about life, love, parenthood, music, and integrity. Even when he doesn't write about integrity directly at My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog, it infuses everything he says. More than any other one factor, that’s why I like reading Lance’s non-fiction stuff – he’s sincere and honest. He also posts a lot of his fiction, which is just fun.

Aside – honesty may be a theme here…

Yes, that’s only four people, but I mentioned two of Melissa's blogs. Also, I am both an iconoclast that loves breaking arbitrary rules, and prefer to focus on the now. Right now, this is what I’m reading consistently that may realistically qualify under the 200 parameter. I might still be (am probably) wrong on A Human Thing, but I’ll be happy to err on the side of caution there.

Anyway, there you go. Thanks Varun, it’s much appreciated. Back to revising…

renewing acquaintances

Three months. That’s kind of a long time for an unannounced hiatus. Although the writing was on the wall even back in November.

Mic check. Mic check. Anyone still out there?

What can I say? I’ve been busy. Some of the busy-ness has been good, some not so much. Most of it remains, but I cleared a bit of time for you and me.