Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Arte Y Pico

Thank you Scarlet Blue, The Invisible Woman A woman I greatly admire. Embarrassingly so, sometimes, I'm sure, since I almost started a knife fight once with another blogger I thought was being disrespectful of the WRITER! And that, she is. She has become a wickedly wonderful writer of fiction. I know something you might not, and I'm keeping it to myself. I'll bet you wished I had, Scarlet, when I posted my first love letter to you. Remember? I still mean every word. Just say the word darling, and off we go.

So, now, I am happy to pass it forward. These bloggers are my five choices to receive the Arte Y Pico Award:
1)A Poetic Justice.
2Non Je Ne Regrette Rien
3)Swiftspeech
4StarSpangledHaggis
5l'ennui melodieux

These are some of my favorite bloggers, for so many reasons. Their sites are not only beautifully designed, but they all have a unique voice, and they all have something important to say to the blogging community, and to a larger audience as well. I'm hoping for many future awards to come for all of you.

A Poetic Justice is one of the most gorgeous sites I've ever seen. And has many delights to share with you. I, so far, am fixated on the poetry, but there are vast delights within. Sometimes the poetry makes me cry, but isn't that part of the purpose of poetry; to allow us to see our world in a new and sometimes challenging way, move us to action or tears, and hopefully both? And Poetry Man is a most generous and kind reader of others attempts to master the art or merely to get it out of one's system. Thank you Poetry Man.

No Je Ne Regrette Rien is soon moving to live in France. Wouldn't you know it, just when you fall in love with someone, they up and leave you, tell you they have to live abroad. But she has promised to keep in touch. I've heard that line before, but we shall see. This is a woman with great writing chops. She is both a journalist of the art of living one day at a time while liveing three lives at once, and often on the brink, like a high wire performer and a loving mother all at once. And she is a talented writer of fiction. You will also occasionally get the great political rant with a bit of the French Revolution, just to keep it all in perspective.

Swiftspeech has been a mentor for me in the internets. She was my first reader. The first person ever to tell me I wrote like Dorothy Parker. I, who had never read Dorothy Parker. Imagine that. Then after reading Dorothy, I was inspired to write a new short story that made me want to gather together a group of women writers and write some murder mysteries. Talk about a mentor. But it is her site, as well as her kindness and encouragement, that make me want to give her this award. She writes daily on all the politics that's fit to print, and some that isn't and needs to be known.

Starspangaledhaggis is a woman letting us into her daily life in the most remarkably intimate way possible. She has gone through hell and back and lives to tell the tale. She talks about mothering a young daughter, Bambina, with such charm and without the slightest bit of self-consciousness or too much sugar. She talks about what it's like to adopt a child from another country, and tells us how easy their government made it, and how difficult ours does, as well. Interesting reading every moment, that often makes me mad at our government for whole new reasons--it's a learning experience. She talks about the day to day, and makes it literary with out even trying.

L'ennui melodieux, because everywhere I go, Randal got there first, and said it best in fewer words than anybody else. So that, wherever I go, I find myself saying "What Randal said." One day, Randal, I'm going to get there first. One of my ambitions as a blogger is to have Randal say, "What US said." I suspect I will have to blog a very long time to reach that exalted level of commenting skill. Randal writes excellent poetry, romantic, rather dark and brooding--I love that in a man. He writes a bit too much about sports for my taste, but does it so well, I read it anyway, and often love it enough to say so. He also claims to have a job and a wife and kids, but who can say for sure... Anyone as prolific as Randal can't really be living a real life, can he?

So my darlings, according to Scarlet Blue who gave me this award, and in her own words, I give you the rules:


These here be the rules:
1)Pick five (5) blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award which is here: Arte y Pico.

Gosh, Me?

I'd like to thank all of you who made it possible. All the people who suffered through living with me. All my friends in real life (yes, Dorothy, there is such a place) who still speak to me. It is to you, my faithful fans, I dedicate this award. I call it Barbie on a Half Shell. I need that gown.

Dr. Ziaus was telling me, just the other day, that for a woman who talks about writing, I never seem to get around to saying anything. Well, Fuck You, Too. I do too write. I'm a slave to it. It has it's way with me all the damn time. It's like telling me, after I pledge to commit to 100 days of sex, that I actually was expected to follow through with the threat. I can hear husbands and other men I've Known (if you know what I mean), sighing and saying, "She's so full of shit." And I ask you, is that nice?

But I digress. And don't I though! Often. I even come to your place and digressed plenty. I don't bother to listen, or watch, and sometimes I skip the post and get right to the seduction or rant, what ever you wish to call them. Kind of like Scarlet did to me, when she offered to ship it. I thought she was serious. WTF! Not only do I have to go get it, I have to learn how to link it back to it's charming originator, AND HER, but I get to pass it forward into the bloggy goodness. But I have to LINK it forward as well. Well, fuck me! I'm all for the passing it forward, but what the hell do I know of this thing you young people are so fond of, this word, "link" I know it when I see it. I know how to push it like a little button and up pops something else. Well aren't you all smart. Why can't I learn to do this link thing???? It seems like a dream I once had and I can remember the characters, but other than that it's a complete mystery.

Oh, and one other thing I'd like is the ability to strike through, as if I were using a pencil and said one thing, then decided against it, and drew a wavy line through it. Randal? Are you in the audience?