My 7 links: It’s like tag only different

Son, the world of blogging is, to put it mildly, odd. There are all these groups, clubs, cliques, contests, challenges and bloggish events. Really, it’s enough to provide anyone the excuse they need to get nothing that actually pays the bills done.

But that’s OK with me.

Thanks to a very fine blogger who calls herself Lalia and writes Skank, Rattle and Roll, I was picked to be “it” in a blogospheric game of tag called My 7 Links.  It’s pretty simple: you choose one post for each of 7 pre-determined categories and explain why it’s your choice.  Then, you tag some more bloggers (you’re supposed to do 5), and so the fun continues.

Here are my seven:

My most beautiful post

Beautiful. Not the word I’d probably use to describe any of my posts. Whiney, maybe, but beautiful?

I suppose one can find beauty in anything if they look hard enough; that’s what they say, anyway. So I looked REALLY hard at all my posts and I found one. It’s called, We interrupt our usual snarky sarcasm for a brief bit of warm-fuzziness. I think it’s beautiful because it’s about a gift you gave me completely out of the blue – the best kind. It comes from deep inside you and pretty much everything in there is beautiful.

Most popular post

This one’s a no-brainer: Found my old diary and it turns out I was lame then, too. At 8,200 views in three days and several hundred comments, it’s probably the most popular post I’ll ever have. That’s because it was chosen to be on the WordPress.com Freshly Pressed list. I wrote about that wild experience here.

I’m pretty sure a few more people read Anne Frank’s diary than mine; and mine probably wouldn’t make quite the impactful movie. But it got me some blog views so I’m OK with that.

My most controversial post

Are you kidding? I’m way too much of a wuss to write something controversial. I did have one post that I thought could potentially piss some folks off: Guilt-tripping your way through parenting: learn from the masters. I figured that with all the liberties I took with the Bible, someone might take offense. But I guess if they don’t take offense with the whole premise of this blog they’re cool with a little Moses joke here or there.

I promise to try harder to offend next time.

Most helpful post

Well, of course this whole blog is tremendously helpful to you, son. Where else are you going to get such seasoned advice on blowing up your toys or how not to listen to anything I say? But since I have to pick my most helpful post, I’ll choose What’s got into my parents? A pre–teen’s puberty guide to your changing parents. It’s loaded with insight into what you can expect from your parents as you go through puberty.

I’m expecting a contract from the “What to Expect” franchise any day now. Once that propels me into a lush life of wealth and fame I’ll have to start charging you for all this advice. Until then, you’re welcome.

 A post whose success surprises me

I would have said the one about my diary, but I already used that one. This one was – and remains – very popular though: Stupid things I tried so now you don’t have to #4: Serial killer glasses. I had no idea so many people were obsessed with Jeffry Dahmer and his glasses. It’s probably brought me as much search engine traffic as the diary one, if not more. Really, I should write about serial killers more often.

A post that didn’t get the attention it deserves

I’m going to say go to Hell in a Handbasket. No, I mean the post — go to the post called Hell in a Handbasket.  It was one of my earlier posts and doesn’t get visited as much as the newer stuff. It’s about our tendency to parrot the annoying phrases that our parents used when we were kids.

The post I’m most proud of

Right, this one is also an easy one for me. It’s the post I didn’t write; you did: My son guest blogs: I’m gonna become my dad? That’s the worst thing ever! It makes me tremendously proud that you wrote it yourself. To me, that subtle sarcasm is pretty impressive for a 10 year-old.

What made me most proud, though, was the last line. What dad wouldn’t be thrilled to let the world see that?

***

And there you have it. Thanks, Lalia, for the honour.  But now I have a problem: there are WAY too many bloggers whose work I respect and enjoy to pick just 5 or 6 to nominate.

Clearly, I need a system to help me pick – and to give me something to blame it on when people complain that I didn’t pick them. So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to look at my Twitter feed and pick the 6 bloggers that I’ve been chatting with most in the last few days. So if you’re not one of these six I do still love you, really I do.

Here are my nominations:

She calls herself LGalaviz and from what I can tell, she’s absolutely nuts in that “crazy-yet-strangely-rational-but-not-too-rational-because-that-wouldn’t-be-crazy-so-more-like-nutty-but-not-like-The-Nutty-Professor-kind-of-nutty-because-he’s-just-silly” kind of way. She cracks me up and she’ll crack you up too: The Best Self-Help T-Shirt Catalog Ever  

John Willey runs a blog called Daddy’s in Charge? I’m not asking you; I’m telling you – the question mark is his. This guy can tell a story with Legos like no other and his blog is a great read. He can also be counted on for some great Twitter conversation.

John Pseudonymous (Something tells me that’s not his real name) is Master of the blog Twinfamy. Honestly, I had no idea having twins could be so fun(ny).

We’ll just call her the Ninja-Kicking Wookie Killer. She’s the genius behind Don’t Speak Whinese, which is kind of funny since that’s my first language. She’s building a new community online centered on her non-whiney philosophy. Go check it out, read some reviews, engage in the forum and enjoy her great sense of humor.

Scotty (DiaperDads) has dedicated his life (well, when he’s not cooking, drinking beer, having another kid or blogging) to saving the world one changing station at a time. As superheros go, he’s pretty much a specialist: he’s got a nifty online database of business with changing stations in the men’s room. He’s also got lots of great recipes and a damn funny blog.

Tammy Soong somehow manages two blogs: World’s Worst Moms is a place for good moms to share their bad moments; Partly Sunny, Chance of Rain is her personal blog.  That’s the one I’ll call out here, although both are worth the read. She’s funny and knows how to hit the strings that resonate with just about all of us.

That was tough because there are so many blogs I’d like to call out. I’ve been meaning to do a list of my favorite blogs but wanted to ensure I do it justice. Maybe now I’ll get it going.

Happy reading!