…my online friends and neighbors, with whom I’ve been blessed to share linky coolness.
When Kim Krause Berg tagged me for a round of blog tag I saw her link first in my WordPress dashboard. Such fun: my new blog’s first new incoming link.
I passed the torch to Miriam, Lee and Yura, all of whom decided to play along. Miriam’s post reminded me of something bird related, of course, which took me back ten years to when I was living in Indianola, a tiny and beautiful town on Puget Sound. I’d call “kitty kitty kitty,” from my back porch at the edge of woodsy paradise, and an owl would call “whohoo whohoo whohoo,” right back at me, night after night. If I called “kitty” once, the owl called “whohoo” once. Sweetness. It went on that way for weeks. Eventually he (she?) made friends with another owl and quit flirting with me. I loved hearing them whohoo to each other.
This week I spotted my first appearance in a blogroll. Bill Slawski has added me to his blogroll at the marvy and authoritative SEO by the Sea. I love knowing that Bill’s blog started off by announcing a gathering. Now that’s my kind of blogville.
And, I stumbled into where Kim had Sphunn my Tips for Nonprotits Meme. Note to self: get Sphinn into my feed reader or go there more often. So far, the meme has been picked up by Kim Krause Berg, Joe Dolson and Mike Cherim. I’ll be writing more about supporting nonprofits.
Another linky niceness came in yesterday, when Andrey Milyan posted Search Marketing Standard’s People of Wisdom. Aw shucks.
Food Blogs
Food can be and do so much. If I do more of these “I Have a Crush” posts you’ll see food here again. This week I’m crushing on the macaroons at Cuisine Campagne. Last months banana chocolate macaroons made me want to take a bite, but last year’s apple caramel macaroons are beauoooootiful, like poetry for eating. If I only read French!
My other favorite food blog of the moment is Indian Food Rocks, which happens to be the creation of a fellow Cre8asite Forums member. This month she’s contributed two prizes to Menu For Hope, an annual fundraiser hosted by Pim Techamuanvivit, on her food blog Chez Pim.
Five years ago, the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia inspired me to find a way to help, and the very first Menu for Hope was born. The campaign has since become a yearly affair, raising funds to support worthy causes worldwide. In 2006, Menu for Hope raised US$62,925.12 to help the UN World Food Programme feed the hungry.
Menu For Hope 4
Here’s how it works:
- Food bloggers donate food related prizes.
- Supporters get virtual raffle tickets from the donation site at Firstgiving, where they select their first choices from the prizes, one choice per $10 raffle ticket.
- As this works like a raffle, winning is not guaranteed. Check Chez Pim for raffle results on Wednesday, January 9
- Winners contact the bloggers who sponsored the gifts so that shipping can be arranged.
Getting bogged down by how to make things happen can be so very easy. I admire the way web2.0 functionality is helping to power Menu For Hope. Viva la ping!
WordPress Themes
I like WordPress. Part of why I like it so much is how easy it is to theme. And then there’s the interconnectedness of blogging, which leads me to the community-connecting power of the Internet.
Once in a while my fascination for the nuts and bolts of online communities bubbles up against some specific aspect of WordPress. This week I’m doing the WordPress cheer for a theme called Structure, by Justin Adlock. Though it is described as a magazine style theme, I could easily see Structure or something very like it as the home of an online community.
Check out the sidebar tabs. Nice use of sidebar real estate, and oh so configurable.
MyBlogLog
I know, I know, it’s only a widget, but I do so get a thrill out of seeing the faces of people who come through my site, and some of them have even joined my community.
And a Quote
Paraphrased from an X-Files episode about a member of the baseball team Roswell Grays.
…do you believe that love can make a man shape-shift?”
I’m not talking about women. I’m talking about love. Passion.
…do you believe that that passion can change your very nature?