Wag My Tail

Here’s what really wags my tail: nice people. There is just nothing on this planet like being in the company of people who make it their business to make you feel good.

Jena at Bullseye, Baby! is one of those people. Ms. Feral at Gone Feral is another. (Warning: If you like your language clean and your thoughts pure, don’t check out Gone Feral. Mom and Dad, that means you…)

Jena and I connected a few months ago. When I found her blog in November/December, I knew I’d found a new landing pad. Jena’s blog visually reminds me of Apple’s packaging: the gorgeously minimal design, the simple instructions, the tightly constructed copy. Like Jena’s blog. I like everything she writes, but here's one that hit the mark: Letting Go of My Russian. Jena is smart, funny, wry, compassionate, genuine and creative. And check out her poetry. (Crimony! as my grandma used to say. It's that good.) I love reading Jena's posts. She’s one of my daily reads. So, I was beyond honored when she emailed me “The Daily Dose” award. Thank you, Jena!



I'm passing the Daily Dose on to Sherry. She maintains no less than four blogs, all of which are graphically appealing, insightful and meaningful. One of Sherry's blogs is Sage and Thyme. Go check her out, if you don't already. And while you're there, check out her rockin' hot new cut.

Another of my almost-daily reads is Gone Feral. Four months ago, I was pissed at the world and needed a place outside of a car full of kids to use the filthiest language imaginable in an attempt to offload those negative feelings. So I created this blog.

Having absolutely no experience writing (or reading) a blog, I Googled “best of blogs.” That’s where I found Gone Feral, nominated frequently for Funniest Blog and Best Blog, Period (not the real title, but you get the idea). And for good reason: Ms. Feral is a genius, albeit a totally skanky one (and I say that with all kinds of admiration, Ms. Feral, for both your writing and the tight-writ community you’ve created).

The first post I read by Ms. Feral was Tits Ahoy. Blog brilliance in a B-cup. She did the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) thing, posting 30 posts in 30 days in November. So naturally, she took a lot of December and January off. I checked her out yesterday, to find that she had written a sort of recap of 2007 and named several people and posts, giving unofficial “best of” awards. Couldn’t wait to see who she listed so I could find a few new voices. Well, I’ll be damned if she didn’t list Reconstruct This as one of the best new blogs of 2007. Says Feral:

Best New Blog? Well, I'm liking Be the Boy right now, but that is not a new blog, only a blog new to me. So we'll keep it virginal and give the nod to At Home in the Queen City and Reconstruct This. I do not know where the Queen City is (is it kind of like a Twin city, but with bigger beds?) but I know funny and a blog with potential when I read one. As for Reconstruct This...what can I say? I like thoughtful writing as well as lists about pubes and buttholes. It's a funny and touching blog about surviving breast cancer. It has the emotional heft but light prose touch combo that I love about Soul Gardening. Go read 'em! Read 'em now!

Feral is one of those bloggers who is always supporting other bloggers. She constantly calls out other people’s posts. To have my blog’s name mentioned by Feral? Fabulous. Surprising. To have it in a sentence that has the word butthole? To quote my son: hella cool.

Here’s to Jena and Feral. Stellar writers. Just plain nice people. Thanks for making me feel good.