Tag Archives: Blog award

I’d like to thank all the little people

I’m not good at this.

Blogging Award Nominations are odd creatures. They aren’t given out by some panel of blogging experts, but by individual bloggers as a show of appreciation and support for other bloggers. They are  touching gestures and a means of community-building within the blogosphere.

As a Virgo of German heritage, I’m not practiced at touching gestures. As a Level 1 Introvert, I’m not the best architect of community.

Even so, I am resolved to do my best.

Syracuse-based blogger Mark Bialzcak recently nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Thank you, Mark. I first started reading Mark’s blog because he lives about 90 minutes up the Thruway from where I grew up. I continue to read his blog because he is a great blogger. Being a fine writer can make you a good blogger, but it takes more than that to be a great blogger. Great blogs have a charisma that draws and keeps readers. Mark has a gift for celebrating humanity which makes his blog like a never-ending Super Bowl party. I admire that.

It’s a great honor to be nominated, and I would still be basking in that honor, except that it always comes with homework. This is where the edges of honor become tinged with my laziness. There have been times when award nominations have caught me pressed for time and lacking the inspiration to respond publicly. It’s never been because I didn’t appreciate the honor. I’m trying to do better.

VIBA

The easy part of the homework is displaying the award badge. Done.

As part of the homework, I am supposed to list 7 facts about myself. Let’s see how this works out.

  1. There have been times in my life when I could have vanished from Earth for months without anyone knowing. Now, if I’m five minutes late home from work: Amber Alert.
  2. I am getting close to publishing a new novel, A Housefly in Autumn. This will be my third book of the modern era. I define the modern era as the time after I got my first clue about what it takes to publish decent books.

    Housefly

    It’s my award and I’ll use it to pimp my new book if I want to.

  3. I have one pre-modern era book that I am tempted to take out of print, but my wife claims reading it made her fall in love with me. Maybe I should just take my personality out of print.
  4. I have four unpublished novels, all written B.C. (Before Children). You haven’t made it in the literary world until your “lost” material is published after your death. I’m counting on the posthumous material to put me over the top (so to speak).
  5. I have another blog about reading and writing. It’s tone is generally more serious than this one. So if you think this one isn’t funny at all, you could head over there and not laugh on purpose.
  6. I used to be an avid reader, cross-country skier, and home brewer; now I have three kids and no hobbies.
  7. I’d like to thank all the little people (ages 6, 2, and nearly 1) who made this award happen. And my wife, who while petite in stature, must stand tall in character as the only female in a family of five. Despite the whining you might read from me here, I am thankful every day for my kids and my wife. They have saved me from a life where I could ski off the edge of the world with a book in one hand and a beer in the other, without anyone noticing.

    My Little People.

    My Little People.

For the last bit of homework, I’m supposed to nominate 15 other bloggers. I’m going to fudge this part. I’d like readers to check out these blogs, but it’s hard to visit 15 new blogs in one sitting. So I’m cutting it down to three. These are three of my go-to blogs – the ones I try not to miss. They are smart and funny and heartfelt, but see for yourself.

Also, because they’ve all already posted similar acceptances for other awards, I’m not holding them to the homework part. They are all Very Inspiring Bloggers, and I happily nominate them for this award, but they are welcome to view this as a simple appreciation of their work from another blogger and leave it at that.

Naptimethoughts – A parade of embarrassing moments and a festival of descriptive euphemisms for human body parts.

Ah Dad – English isn’t his first language. From the words he finds to describe the frightening sights he sees at the gym, you’d never know it.

South of the Strait – How does a funny, insightful writer deal with a family health crisis? By tickling your funny bone and tugging at your heart strings all at once.

I’m going to ignore the fact that I cheated and call the homework done now. Sorry I broke the rules, Mark, but as I may have mentioned, I’m not very good at this.

 

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A 100th Post Party – with awards and everything!

This is my 100th post on Snoozing on the Sofa. It has been a lot of fun and a lot of work. The work part makes me think that maybe this is an accomplishment of some sort. Maybe, it’s an accomplishment that should be celebrated.

Therefore: Yay!

Okay, now that the celebrating is done.

This milestone reminds me that as a blogger, I am part of a blogging community. I have not been the most diligent member of my community.

Fellow bloggers have nominated me for blog awards three times. These nominations do not culminate in formal ceremonies. Rather, they are the way bloggers recognize the work of fellow bloggers that they enjoy. It’s a way to tell another blogger that you really appreciate the work they are doing.

These nominations come with responsibilities. With some minor variation, the recipient is supposed to:

  1.  recognize the blogger who made the nomination
  2.  reveal some facts about themselves
  3.  nominate some other blogs that they admire

I have been very bad at handling these responsibilities. The following doesn’t completely make up for the shirking of my duties, but I hope it makes some difference.

These are the blogs who have nominated Snoozing on the Sofa:

Sandy’s Spotlight nominated my blog for the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award. Sandy’s Spotlight features reviews of books and author interviews. It’s a great spot for finding new authors, and Sandy is just about the most generous person you’ll ever meet.

Sweet blog

Ned’s Blog nominated my blog for the Liebster Award. Ned’s Blog reminds me of The Onion, except that it’s all written by one guy, Ned. He’s one funny dude.

leibster-award

Rafferty’s Rules nominated my blog for the Versatile Blogger Award. Rafferty’s Rules offers a collection of well-written pieces on a wide variety of topics.

versatile-blogger-award

Here are some facts about me (whether you want to know them or not):

  1. I am an introvert. Extroverts usually don’t understand my social awkwardness. I don’t know what other introverts think about it; we seldom speak.
  2. Although I have never been to Pittsburgh, I am a big Steelers and Penguins fan. When I used to follow baseball, I was a Pirates fan as well.
  3. I have five unpublished novels floating around on various hard drives.
  4. My favorite Confederate general is Daniel Harvey Hill. I don’t have a favorite Union general, which is odd, because I always root for the North in my Civil War reading.
  5. I love both Mark Twain and Charles Dickens, which I’ve been told you’re not supposed to be able to do.
  6. I don’t like to fly, but I’m not about to walk to Italy.
  7. My favorite spirituous drink is scotch and my favorite clear tape brand is Scotch; I’m nothing if not consistent.
  8. I once drove to Graceland to leave a bottle of Bourbon on Elvis’s grave. I’m not sure if Elvis liked bourbon, but I bet at least one of the groundskeepers does.
  9. It took me more than an hour to compose this list.
General D.H. Hill

Daniel Harvey Hill. He probably would have hated my Yankee guts.

For these three awards, I am supposed to nominate a total of about 35 other blogs. I don’t know 35 other blogs or bloggers well enough to make that many nominations. (See number 1 in the above list.) Instead, I’m going to nominate 10 blogs that are worthy of all the aforementioned awards. I hope everyone will check them out.

I happily nominate:

year-struck – It’s like a primer for those who love the English language.

Listful Thinking – Restores my faith in the next generation’s ability to write and execute satire.

South of the Straight – Travel, art, raising teenagers: all sorts of stuff I need lessons in.

Bug Bytes – As a father of little boys, I like reading this comical perspective of a mother of little girls.

Traci Carver– The life and times of a school teacher in the southern U.S. They can make a pie out of anything.

Papa Angst! – The trials and tribulations of an at-home dad.

Chronicles of Dad – A fortyish father who is also a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Coincidence?

Dirty Rotten Parenting – Hey, all parents take shortcuts once in a while.

don of all trades – His taste in beer is suspect, but he still writes some funny stuff about family life.

UNDEAD DAD – Some eloquent pieces about fatherhood and being a writer.

Thanks to the bloggers who have nominated Snoozing on the Sofa. And thanks to all the bloggers who supply me with entertaining reading. And to all the folks who come here regularly to read a little, and hopefully grab a smile, thanks for putting the fun into these 100 posts. I hope to see you all again to celebrate the next 100.