Monday, January 7


The Empress of Planet Brenda has awarded me a very nice plaque! I am less than certain that I deserve "powerful words", but I admit to being shameless much of the time, and I do write something everyday (even if it is only a grocery list) so perhaps it fits.


"How does it work? Above are copies of the award that we can each distribute to those people who have blogs we love, can't live without, where we think the writing is good and powerful. I thought interested members could kick things off by publishing the award on their own blog, naming five people they would like to give it to (members or non-members), and accompany the image with three things they believe are necessary to make writing good and powerful. The recipients then do the same, passing it on to five other people, and so on."

Several that might have been on my list have already received the award, so I will choose carefully and hope that they will pass the award on to deserving writers.


Badaunt, who is originally from New Zealand and now teaches English in Japan, is one of my favorites. Many of her posts are photographs of ducks and other animals, with the most interesting and humorous captions and stories. Others tell of students who have hopelessly misunderstood the language or failed to take it seriously. Interspersed are tips for teachers and rants about administrators, done with clarity and compassion.

Mamacita, another teacher from my blogroll, is the teacher we all want for ourselves and for our children. When she writes about teaching, students and administrators, we see the depth of her passion. Intelligence, wit, compassion and guidance shine powerfully through all her posts. We are left wishing that we had quality teachers like her; we want to meet her, have pizza with her and trade cookie recipes at Christmas! And above all, we await her next post.

Pat of Past Imperfect, has written the most interesting stories about her life and times in England, her love story and her fascinating career as a model, illustrated by photos. I enjoy reading her "asides" as much as the continuing stories; written with humor and spirit.

Poopie, of Keeping the Faith, writes with a definite Tennessee-flavored voice, but the humor (there's that word again!) and gratitude and yes, faith, are central to the subject. She can get right to the heart of any matter as easily and quickly as anyone I've had the privilege to read. We're hoping that 2008 will bring her Prince Charming, and I have no doubt she will write just as eloquently about him as she does the pecan trees on her farm or her Baby Girl.

Shephard, of Shubert Alley combines all the best things there are to like about a blog. He writes well, he takes wonderful photos and he captions them with great wit. His essays on Medicine Monday (a past series) always provided food for thought.

That concludes my list, in the interest of brevity - never my strong suit. I could point out several more who wold be prefect for the list, but I'll save them for another time.

Three things that constitute good and powerful writing? First: Humor or wit, without which little interest is built. Second: Grammar, which means following the rules for acceptable language and syntax. For me this also precludes most curse words, for as my mother taught me, those are used by people who have no vocabulary. Third: intimate knowledge of your subject matter is of prime importance. It will be readily apparent if you don't know what you are writing about. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop some people.

17 comments:

Anna said...

Congrats Judy! :)

rosemary said...

Congratulations, Judy. Well deserved. I think I fail at the 3 rules.....my humor is a bit biting, I have been known to use a few bad words and then there is my use of dangling thoughts puctuated by.......

Love your blog though and hopefully you know that by now.

Mamacita (The REAL one) said...

Congratulations to you, Judy dear, and THANK YOU for those kind words!

You make me want to try to be nicer, and nobody has any idea how hard that is, and why. . . .

Jamie Dawn said...

Congrats on your ROARING award!!!!

Jamie Dawn said...

Congrats on your ROARING award!!!!

MaR said...

Congratulations!!
:)

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Congratulations, Judy! Well Deserved, my dear.

I am familiar with a three of your picks, and I agree---ALL Worthy Choices...And I will go vist the other two and check them out! It is always wonderful ro be introduced to NEW and wonderfully written blogs, my dear!

Eddie said...

congrats!

Pat said...

Congratulations - it really is deserved. Thank you for mine which isn't but I know some people who do deserve it.

AC said...

Congratulations on your award! Well deserved. Also thanks for the links to new reading material!

Jay said...

Yay you!

I can't wait to check out these new finds.

JeanMac said...

You so much deserve this - look forward to your writings every post!

Shephard said...

Judy, very sweet of you. :) I'm glad you enjoy my blog. It wouldn't be the same without your visits.
~S :)

Shephard said...

And congrats on your own award... I couldn't agree more.
~S

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Judy...FYI: A MIGHTY HEART is rentable on DVD. Very Much Worth Watching

Nancy said...

Judy,

Congratulations on your Award!!!!!

Very well deserved..

I love your comments and your flower arranging skills. And don't forget the beautiful pictures you take...

Kristi said...

Congrats on an award well-deserved, Judy. I love your blog, and you do have a wonderful way with words.