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The Mic is On: We're Talking About Blogs and Blog Friends 2007!!

December 18, 2007 by Liz

It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

Here’s how it works.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

…Blogs and Blog Friends in 2007!

We might talk about:

Bloggers we met in person
Bloggers we met on the phone
Bloggers we met on their blog for the first time
Blog posts and blogs that changed how we thought

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey . . . and flamenco dancing (because we always get off topic, anyway.)

Oh, and bring links about blogs bloggers to share!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Open Mic 7pm Chgo Time: It's about Blogs and Blog Friends 2007!!

December 18, 2007 by Liz

… Blogs and Blog Friends in 2007!

We might talk about Bloggers we met in person, Bloggers we met on the phone, Bloggers we met on their blog for the first time, Blog posts and blogs that changed how we thought, and whatever else comes up — even flamenco dancing.

Oh, and bring links to share!

The rules are simple — be nice.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Heroes, Humans, and a Request About this Life I Own

December 18, 2007 by Liz

Lauren Marie, and I had a conversation yesterday. In respect for what LaurenMarie said, and because I have felt the same way, I’ve decided to tell you what I’m thinking, even though I’ve not fully worked it out. It’s my hope you’ll find it useful.

about heroes and humans . . . and the life that I own.

I live to be a hero, but I’m altogether too human.
I could line up in a long, long row the people who would agree with that.

Pendulum learner that I am, I’ve swung from human to hero and back again. No Greek tragic hero has more fatal flaws than I do. — It’s comes with being human to have flaws and imperfections. It’s part of being a hero to admit that you do. If I admit knowing that heroes do that, am I being all too human by saying so?

Thinking too much is one of those imperfect things I do.

The hero in me wants to give myself away, wants to show up and save the world, but like all heroes sometimes I try to live on hope. I give away things of value. Does that teach folks not value them? Is it generous, foolish, or my ego running wild? (Every hero is all too human.) I forget to eat. I don’t sleep. In a strange and sad way, it could be that having my head in the clouds protects me and keeps me safely solitary. No one can hurt me, if I ask nothing in return.

As the stories go, heroes are altruistic folks. Are they all independently wealthy?
I haven’t figured that part out yet.

The human in me needs to care for my friends and family. They so support who I am, and I love them so. Like every human, I have bills and responsibilities. I work to keep my home. It takes human influence to power the hero’s dream. This human has to walk with her feet on the ground. The hero needs the human things to change the world

Heroes think they don’t need things. Humans have trouble asking.

Heroes and humans.
I’m pretty sure that each of us is both.
Still, I can only speak to being me.

Last week, Mike DeWitt said he sees a change coming. He’s genuinely perceptive. I rely on his feedback. I spoke of his comment and other recent experiences to Allan Cox, a gifted author, and he answered with one word, “owning.”

I’ve been thinking of that ever since.
Owning, that’s what the wise man said.

Owning is where the human and the hero meet and become one.

I own my life.
I own who I am and the person I wish to be.
The more of myself I own, the more I can give freely.

I own this request . . . it’s from the human I am to the hero in each of you.
Will send you a relaxed and happy thought to the universe for me and would you pass it on?

I think I could be coming into my own.

Always grateful. Always home.

Holiday Bloggers' Block — What to Get to Let Ideas Come to You!!

December 17, 2007 by Liz

Get Out of Your Head!

When people speak of writerâ€™s block, often what they mean is that they donâ€™t know what to write about. Without that goal, they canâ€™t get started. It happens to bloggers too.

Whether we’re writing a single blog post or setting out to start a new blog, we have to know what we’re planning to communicate and the direction we want that communication to go.

In other words, we need something to say.

Get some help . . . by letting the ideas come to you.

Get out of your head and away from your computer. Ideas form and grow in our subconscious — quit thinking. The harder we try to access ideas the less likely we are to get through.
Get moving. Physical movement — walking, taking a shower, unpacking boxes, cleaning the refrigerator — gets our thinking mildly distracted by tasks we know how to do. That releases our subconscious — the proverbial back burner — to use the information we already have to think something new.
Get some input. Call a friend. Read a book. Go to a movie. Immerse yourself in something rich with thoughts, story, and color. Leave the quest for ideas back with your computer.
Get some perspective. Go back to read your archives, even if your blog is only one month old. You’ll see how you’ve grown and while you’re reading, you’ll remember what sort of ideas draw you in.
Get some sleep. Take a 20-minute power nap. Don’t sleep longer. It’s not an escape. It’s a task. Before you close your eyes, ask yourself to have a passel of ideas when you awake.

Ideas tend to hide when we try to hunt them. Those we find seem shallow and less than appealing. Ideas and people have that one huge thing in common. They’re easier to work with when they come to you.

Get it? Good.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Bloggy Question 70: How Do You Thank All of the Bloggers Who Have Helped You?

December 16, 2007 by Liz

Gratitude

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . . .

You’re a blogger. Like most of us, you got here thinking it was about the writing. Then, whoa, you found out that the people who blog are something special who find a way to share who they are in meaningful ways.

Over the past few months, they’ve been great to you. They’ve shown up with advice, cheer, casual quips, deep thoughts and encouragement that has carried you along clear until today.

Now you’re looking at the holidays . . . you want to give something back, but you’re not sure what to do.

You’re a blogger like the most of us — money and packages around the world just aren’t in the budget you available to you.

Still you want to show your gratitude.

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Look Around and Enjoy Now

December 16, 2007 by Liz

When Now Is Then

about the future of the Internet.

I remember when there were only 12 million blogs. Things were a lot quieter then.

It was easy to get around. It was easy to keep up. I could read all of the blog written by all of my friends. I don’t remember blog posts about feeds or declaring feed bankruptcy.

This morning I awoke thinking of how magical it is still. Then my thoughts turned to wondering.

I thought, “Here we are in the 21st century, about to start the best year of our lives. Here we are with a new and exciting way to meet and think with each other, a way that people living right next to us don’t understand yet.”

What will happen when most of the world knows what we enjoy online?
Will they come in huge numbers to have a part of it?
Will the crowds of new people change the way we interact?
Will we find ourselves with new fangled locks on our doors?

What do you think will happen?