Wednesday, April 25, 2007

If I Only Had a Brain

Well, I'll be gosh darned. Crystal over at My Longest Year has honored me with a Thinking Blogger Award. Apparently, my brainless ranting comes across as more thoughtful than I'd realized.

Now, before you go getting all up in arms about this, yes, I have received this award before. California Teacher Guy saw fit to nominate me back in February, and I was just as flattered and honored then. When I nominated five others, I thought long and hard before passing it on to Dancing Dragon, Kvetch, Julia, Jen, and Sandra, and I stand by those nominations, because they're still all great. But I had to take this wonderful opportunity, as a second-round nominee, to pass on the nominations to five new bloggers, whose posts consistently make me sit and have a good think. So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are five more thoughtful bloggers:

1) Lilit at Lilit in Stereo
Many of you may not know this, but long, long ago, in the land of elementary school, Lilit and I were best friends. Of course, her name wasn't Lilit, and mine wasn't Lara, but the friendship was there all the same. We lost touch for many years, but I'm so glad we've found each other again in the blogosphere. Her posts are touching and poetic, and always make me think about my own life in some new way, through some new lens. I love that her writing has that mix of pure beauty and deep reflection.

2) Pistol Pete at Necessary Therapy
Pistol Pete was kind enough to bestow upon me the "American Idiot Award" you can see over there in the sidebar. He claims I taught him something with my post "Wisdom Beyond His Years" - something so visceral, as he said, that he couldn't even put it into words. Well, I think I'll be similarly handicapped in trying to describe what his posts teach me. What I know is that he writes about any number of deep and difficult topics with clarity, thoughtfulness, and sincerity. I'm always learning when I read his site.

3) Kilgore Trout at Quintessential Rambling
I have to admit there have been times when reading QR has inspired so much thought that I've had to actually close the window for fear of losing any chance of peaceful sleep. The issues are varied, but they're always presented so dynamically that you find yourself forced to take a stand, even though it's likely only in your own mind. I never knew how many thoughts I could really have on so many different issues until I started reading QR.

4) Tori at When I Finally Decided to Get It
Boy, Tori is so wonderful, and so much like me in many ways. I've read many posts from her and thought, "YES! Me too!" An open letter she wrote to an ex-boyfriend got me to thinking about myself and my own growth as a potential girlfriend - how much more certain I am in myself now than I was five or six years ago. She also wrote about her experience with anti-depressants, and I began to consider my own future in that respect. I love how she makes me take a second look at myself.

5) Seth at Writing Often Creates a Path for Discovery
Seth is constantly making me think with his writing prompts: What are my life's goals? What obstacles have I overcome in my life? How do I define heroism? In what ways am I judgmental? Not only does he prompt us to consider these issues, but he also opens up and shares his own thoughts about them, giving us an insight into who he is, both as an educator and a person. And, in turn, I consider who I am, both as an educator and a person.

So there you go, five amazingly thoughtful bloggers. If you want some mental exercise, go check them out - you won't be disappointed. If the thinking's not your thing, try zoning out to Hypnotoad TV.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for the nomination. So far as I know, I am the first "American Idiot" to receive such a dubious dinstinction. Of course, as far as I know, I'm the only self-proclaimed "American Idiot" out there. So there you go.

CaliforniaTeacherGuy said...

Passing the kudos on is always a generous gesture. Thanks for nominating other thinkers in the blogosphere.

Anonymous said...

I am flattered and feel unworthy. Looks like I'll get to see you in person in June. So much catching up and mutual admiration to do.

Anonymous said...

I'll definitely read all of their blogs!! Nothing like a good blog (and the smell of napalm in the morning) to get me going!! Thanks Lara!!

Kudos to all of your nominees!!

Anonymous said...

And, you deserve every nomination, for every award, that you get!! I LOVE your posts!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks also for some links to some GREAT blogs!! lol!!

Seth said...

Lara, First off.. Congrats on the award nomination... for the second time! You must be doing something right.

Second, I truly feel honored to be nominated. Thank you. Didn't expect it, but very excited to have received it. And Thank you for sharing your thoughtful stories with us all too!

Kilgore Trout said...

Holy Crap.
I have no idea what to say other than thanks. I didn't think anyone even read my lil' blog let alone nominate it for an award. For once I'm speechless, or is that writers block?

Oh and now a big congrats for being a second time winner. I'm still a little stunned or I have something better to say.

Kilgore Trout said...

Ok, Here is my award post.
seriously thank you again, I really appreciate this gesture.

Unknown said...

Oh, thank you so very much!!!
I too feel so connected to the words that you write.
Be well and thank you for all your words.

Lara said...

pistol pete - you are most welcome. it was (and is) much deserved. and i like that you self-proclaim your idiocy. more of us should do the same.

CTG - passing on the kudos is my favorite part, which is why i wanted to do it again. :)

lilit - you are totally worthy, and i'm glad you are flattered. i hope more people get to enjoy your writing because of it. and i'm very much looking forward to seeing you in june! :)

r u serious? - glad to introduce you to some awesome blogs. i start pretty much every day with blogwalking, and i love it. add these to your walking, and you won't regret it. and thanks much for the compliments. :)

seth - either i'm doing something right or my bribes are getting quickly through the mail. and you definitely deserve the nomination, so i'm glad for the opportunity to pass it on!

kilgore trout - you totally deserve it, so i'm glad to be the one to do it. :)

tori - you are quite welcome dear, and i'm glad you feel that connection too. i'm very glad we've "met" in the blogosphere.