awards

Sunshine Award from a Master

/ Sisyphus47 / 12 Comments

Sunshine Award I am tickled pink at receiving the Sunshine Award from a much admired blogger, writer and Dominant Master, Sir Joseph McNamara (@JMcNamara4), grand financier and world traveller who hailed from New-York City and his magisterial fortress. Being in the company of glamorous and talented bloggers such as Geminiswords, Penelope Jones, Renee Rose, Adaline Raine, Ana Vitsky, Green Eyed Gheisha, Alice Dark, Genevieve Dewey and MariMar makes this award an awesome experience for this timid scribbler.

Thank you for your kind words Sir, I am forever your liege.  I will attempt to answer the shiny questionnaire in a way that does honour the occasion…

Favorite Color: is green, for the meadows of my beloved Dolomites

Favorite Animal: the Salamander

Favorite Number: π

Favorite Non-alcoholic Drink: Coffee

Facebook or Twitter: different things I guess, my central character is on Facebook, just in case

Your Passion: my wife Gorgeous, without her the Universe would be a frozen desert

Giving or getting presents: Books mainly, signs of friendship, signs of love

Favorite Day: February 14

Favorite Flowers: Edelweiß

My nominations:

Those friends are a constant source of inspiration and learning for me.  I apologise for nominating for an award already received, as may be the case.

Belinda Witzenhausen, writer and wonderful blogger and artist

Rick Stassi, who knows the way

Leslie Moon, poet and photographer

Louise Hastings, author

Mirabella, inspired, inspiring and a source of wonder

Jim Wright, writer, photographer and observer of life and of his beautiful country, Jordan

Diana Lee, writer, photographer and musician

Ash N. Finn, writer and blogger extraordinaire

Marny Copal, who has raccoons on the deck…

Romantic Dominant, who’s certainly not faded nor fading…

If you want to join in the fun, and continue the process, the rules are to:

(1) Thank the person who gave you the award in your blog post.

(2) Complete the Q&A below in your blog post.

(3) Pass on the award to 10-12 deserving and inspiring bloggers, inform them and link to their blogs.

#Awards: a nomination…

/ Sisyphus47 / 9 Comments

I am grateful to wonderful blogger/writer Jennifer (@jennybennyk) who hails from http://itsjennythewren.wordpress.com/ (please visit if you have not yet!) for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blog Award.  I am doubly grateful to Jenny, a fellow blogger on the #AtoZ trail, first for the opportunity to visit her posts at leisure, and then also (more about it on one of my #atozchallenge posts to follow) ~ since I expect an account of her trip to Japan all those years back!

There is a ritual, and it starts with boring the readers with seven personal things ~ erm… ~ and then suggest fifteen nominees… Here goes:

  1. I write in the morning after exercising, the latter twice or three times a week ~ I don’t run marathons, but a modest 5km!
  2. My main work in progress is a novel titled The Page, a tale of intimacy and loss, with other bits of flash fiction, and a possible other novella ~ all accessible through these pages…
  3. My loyal Nikon is a faithful companion on the long walks we share my wife and I.  There is a photo blog here.
  4. Writing stuff: Scrivener on my small Mac, but also handwritten notes in moleskine notebooks, occasionally on iPad.
  5. My main character has a Facebook page, which I borrow from time to time…
  6. There is some erotica somewhere else, certainly NSFW and 18+
  7. Favourite cities: Paris and Berlin, favourite region: the Dolomites…

Happy Few, bloggers/writers who deserve enthusiastic following:

  1. Rebecca at http://rebeccabradleycrime.com/
  2. The capillary at http://thecapillary.blogspot.co.uk/
  3. Doctor DL Shackleford at http://www.dlshackleford.com/category/posts/
  4. Phylis Vegas at http://phylisvegasbooks.blogspot.co.uk/
  5. The Island Traveller at http://thismansjourney.net/
  6. Gabrielle at http://gabriellebryden.wordpress.com/
  7. CA White at http://authorcawhite.wordpress.com/
  8. Rebecca at http://rebeccagibson35.wordpress.com/
  9. Rhiannon, a wonderful artist who will travel far, at http://rhiannonrebecca.com/
  10. Marí, whom I’d love to unravel, at http://unravelingmarimar.wordpress.com/
  11. Wayne at http://mrkelly2u.wordpress.com/
  12. Rick, who knows faith moves mountains, at http://emanatingjoy.wordpress.com/
  13. Jason at http://jasonehodges.blogspot.co.uk/
  14. David at http://sonoranwolf.wordpress.com/
  15. Kajira at http://lupobellezza.wordpress.com/

~ Not all of the above may wish to follow the ritual but all are worth visiting and following!

Inspiring

Very Inspiring!

/ Sisyphus47 / 2 Comments

InspiringI am grateful to Gemini (January 18) and Ol’Big Jim (January 30) for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I must say to be nominated twice in a month by two very talented friends must be more than I deserve… Gemini (@geminiswords) is indeed a source of inspiration for many of us, writing poetry in a genre where the internal soul matters so much: her posts are a pleasure to read, and I fully approve of Joseph‘s (@JMcNamara4) nominating Gemini – he is of course one of the few masters of the genre…

Ol’ Big Jim (@olbigjim) is a published author and a pillar of strength in supporting his rich and varied community. I owe to Jim – who is far more experienced than me in many respects – for introducing me to the enchanted world of blogging awards, and in so doing to a wealth of great writers and bloggers.

My obligations under the award’s rules are:

  • Display the award logo on your blog
  • Link back to the person who nominated you
  • State 7 things about yourself
  • Nominate 15 bloggers for this award and link to them
  • Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.

Seven things?

  1. This writer in learning is a slow reader
  2. I start editing, changing, fiddling as soon as anything new is written
  3. Sometimes I lose work as I forget to back up when writing non-stop
  4. Characters I create talk to me, awake or asleep, they are very obtrusive
  5. The “tale of intimacy and loss” is progressing in a very irregular manner, some weeks being very productive (and inspired!) and other times just a waste of effort
  6. The “creative” experiment so far consists of four blogs: Glass & Paper (writing and short fiction), Photos, The Magnum Opus, “politics” and travel, and more pictures.
  7. There is also a (not so) secret page for special stories…

15 bloggers?

Monica (@momilp) is a published author and artist, I just love her work: http://monicalaporta.com/

The Queen of Query (@holliequeener) is a poet and truly inspiring blogger: https://queenofquery.wordpress.com/category/just-a-dream/

Beth (@missb1331) writes beautiful poems at http://thesacredroad.wordpress.com/

Ash (@AshNFinn) is a lovely lovely writer, blogger and friend: http://ashnfinn.wordpress.com/

Bobby Madigan (@BobbyMadigan) keeps a truly inspiring blog, he’s a disabled veteran and family man: https://robertmadigan.wordpress.com/

Hank (@HANKarcher) writes serious poetry and more: http://hankarcher.wordpress.com/

Scott (@poetscott) inspires us from the deep: http://evokingthedeep.wordpress.com/ (poetry and art)

Mirabella (@una_tentazione) is… more than excellent! http://belong2sir.wordpress.com/

David (@TooFullToWrite) is a magnificent blogger and writer ~ with a wonderful sense of humour! http://toofulltowrite.wordpress.com/blog/

Audrey (@Audrey_E_King) is a published writer and hails from the Writing Closet

Miss Juliesse (@MissJuliesWorld) calls herself a “professional dilettante” ~ and is very talented as you can check for yourself: http://musepalace.wordpress.com/

Please follow the many Adventures of Emily (@emilykazakh) at Wanderlust

Susan (@susan_daniels) writes the most inspiring poetry: http://susandanielspoetry.com/

Chris (@ChrisGNguyen) writes beautifully and posts amazing pictures at http://chrisgalvinwriter.wordpress.com/

John (@Toltecjohn) runs the most inspiring poetry from reality blog at http://poemsfromreality.blogspot.co.uk/

 

#TellMeAboutYourself ~ an Award

/ Sisyphus47 / 3 Comments

tellme_award Gracious and talented Katherine Hopkins, who hails from the KD Defehr poetry and photography blog (btw is the actual photography blog at http://kristydefehr.wordpress.com/?), has nominated this sinner for the Tell Me About Yourself Award, which made me blush no end through my January suntan… Thank you Katherine: you are an angel and a very promising young woman, who wrote: “However, I’ve found that one other thing, beside my mind’s indecency, is for absolute certain. With a pen in my hand (or my fingers on a keyboard) I am at peace. When I’m in that zone and I’m writing, the places that I feel with my heart and think with my mind suddenly join and they become one. Suddenly, I’m free and I’m safe and I’m so filled with excitement by the possibilities of what I could create with this new found sense of power and enlightenment. The words surge through me and they become stories, images and messages. They become my voice and they fill my body until, all at once, I’m not just another sad and confused teenager. I’m an artist, and I can do anything with my talent if I allow it to guide me. I can be anyone and do anything through the words that I write and the characters that I create… because they’re mine.” How beautiful is that? Btw don’t miss Katherine’s funny pics: well worth a visit!

I wish to thank also Green Cheata (at http://greencheata.wordpress.com/) without whom none of this would have happened! Do visit the blogs of those talented people readers! Green Cheata picks up a poetry pen on Tuesdays and Thursdays: please note…

I admit not to have done my research on this award, so I am following Katherine blindly! Now, as you probably know if you have paid more than one or two visits to these pages, I am horribly shy talking about myself, and end up talking about my work! So here we go again ;-P

  1. Confession: I am desperately in love with two women: one is my (real) wife, Gorgeous, and the other, well, is the main character of my novel in making, Melissa of the Page fame… As a matter of fact both are present in these pages, somewhere!
  2. My third love is the mountains, and particularly the Dolomiti Alps, in Northern Italy.
  3. I write almost every day, but this writing is dispersed – small bits, big chunks of the main work, all depends on inspiration… and those characters.
  4. Julian, my significant male character is – I swear – not me! Paul (of Arrakis fame) might be, in some weird way.
  5. I train, or run, three times a week, and try to run 5k once a week, with 10k thrown in in Summer. I admire Haruki who runs a marathon before b’fast!
  6. In various posts of this blog I have written about reading – I even have a page on the subject, thinking about it! – at the moment I am reading Justin Cronin’s “The Passage“, which I find fascinating. In parallel I am reading Ray Monk’s biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer “Inside The Centre” (more about both in future posts…)
  7. Rest of the time I fiddle with my loyal Nikon (see http://thiscornerofthewoods.wordpress.com/)

Nominations: new friends, old friends, a mix…

  1. Benjamin at http://benjaminprewitt.com/, a beautiful art and poetry blog
  2. Rumpy Dog at http://rumpydog.com/
  3. The Clown on Fire at http://clownonfire.wordpress.com/
  4. Girl on the Contrary: unforgettable! http://girlonthecontrary.com/
  5. Steven Watkins at http://stevenwwatkins.com/
  6. Layla at http://lalammar.net/
  7. Lesaf & twig at http://leafandtwig.wordpress.com/
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For those who refuse to live in the real world: #Booker Award!

/ Sisyphus47 / 4 Comments

 Well, my dear friend Marina Sofia, who somehow finds time to write, has honoured this sinner of the very special Booker Award, and that seems to be particularly aimed at book lovers, and perhaps poets: indeed I am a book worm, if not totally immersed in fictional worlds… I have to say that among my fellow nominees I feel humble and perhaps not quite worthy –  this being typical (male?) timidity… Thank you Marina, your blog is a haven of sanity and calm in this hectic world! You were nominated by Pat Wood, and I must thank you also for allowing me to discover Pat’s wonderful blog.

I order, I will list my five currently most favourited novels, admit to what I am reading now, and, finally, risk nominating five innocent book lovers I admire…

I wrote “currently favourites” which shows what an unstable book lover this blogger is! It is a fact that favourites do change in time, as one reads, re-reads, and discovers new horizons…

At present (restricting myself to novels I read in the English language only, in so specific order):

Thomas Pynchon, Gravity Rainbow

James Ellroy, The Cold Six Thousand

Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire

Stephen King, The Stand

Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood…

Currently reading: Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao…

As to my five nominees – trying hard not to nominate readers already in receipt!

Donna B. McNicol, who writes her life, and is the inventor of the marvellously named Napping Blogger Award!

John Lavan, wondrous poet and world observer… who does live in reality!

Louise Hastings, the Wings of Beauty and the Phases of the Moon

Diana Lee, who sees life through beautiful eyes

Ash N. Finn, writer and survivor, a friend from Dublin.

 

The Beautiful Blogger Award

/ Sisyphus47 / 6 Comments

A big thank you to @olbigjim for this unexpected award! I understand this is normally awarded to bloggers of somewhat more experience than this one but I won’t complain: I am indeed very grateful, thank you Jim!

To follow the tradition I wish first of all to invite my readers and followers to visit your wonderful blogs, The Left Wright Brain and OlBigJim. I have learnt a lot reading and following you, and met many interesting bloggers and writers – all thanks to you.

What seven things are worth mentioning about this blogger? Incidentally I admire the sobriety in your own listing Jim, and incomparable modesty, for a man of talent and so varied experience. So, here we go boldly:

  1. The place I really wish to live in, is the Alps of the Südtirol, in Northern Italy.
  2. I am addicted to photography, and spend many hours fiddling and editing my pictures, as well as looking for others’.
  3. Blogging for me is, above all, meeting people from all over the world, and exchanging ideas and experience.
  4. Best time of the day: early morning (and freshly ground coffee!)
  5. Best times of the year: Spring and early Summer
  6. The book I wish I could write? Marcel Proust’s A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu…
  7. The face that launched a thousand ships (for this little boy, long ago)? Jeanne Moreau

Nominations? As Jim said, this is difficult, and always a little arbitrary…

  1. People, Places and Bling! – Theadora’s treasure trove of knowledge and beautiful pictures of Paris
  2. Bornstoryteller – tale spinning by Stuart Nager
  3. Euzicasa – George’s blog dedicated to beauty
  4. Musings of a Serial Procrastinator – “there are still some nice people left in this world”
  5. Nine Cent Girl – Fashion, Family, Food… Life!
  6. The Dom Next Door – exactly what it says!
  7. August McLaughlin’s Blog

And to conclude, a summary of the rules:

  • Copy the Beautiful Blogger Award logo and place it in your post,
  • Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog,
  • Tell 7 things about yourself,
  • Nominate 7 other bloggers for their own Beautiful Blogger Award, and comment on their blogs to let them know.
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