The Commenters Meme

I've been "tagged" for the Commenter's Meme.
According to Wikipedia, a meme describes any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Memes propagate themselves and can move through the cultural sociosphere in a manner similar to the contagious behavior of a virus. Scary thought!

Here are the official rules for this particular meme:

• List the last 10 commenters on your blog. Then answer the prescribed questions (below).
  
• Each commenter on this list is now "tagged", which means you "get to" do the Meme on your blog.

Since I'm so new to blogland, I don't have enough to make the full list.

1. Denise of Mom in Madison
2. Honeypiehorse from Our Feet are the Same
3. RunningL8 from MountainPulse
4. Ian (in Germany) from Letters Home to You
5A. Naturelady (myself) --does that count?
5B. Timekpr of View from the Top
6. Deidre from Ester Republic
7. Pam (personal friend) who does not have a blog
8. Charlotte from Charlotte's Web
9 & 10. empty, alas!

Now for the questions:

1. What’s your favourite post from number 3’s blog?

RunningL8 (MountainPulse) is a personal friend, and also the one who got me into blogging in the first place. Picking a favorite post is very difficult! She writes many good post: in some she's funny, in some reflective, in some she's got an edge to her writing-- but they're always interesting. If I have to pick a favorite, I'd say This morning's "Flowers for Algernon" Moment, where she writes about dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder.

2. Has number 10 taken any pictures that moved you?

My list is too short, but I can say instead that I love photos from all the blogs. I will simply list a favorite from each blog to make up for not actually having a #10:

1. Denise (Mom in Madison) has wonderful photos of her 2 boys as they go about their daily lives, which includes a serious commitment to homeschooling. As one of many examples, I love how she captured the boys having fun on Bad Hair Day.

2. Honeypiehorse (Our Feet are the Same) concentrates on writing, and doesn't post many pictures. One of my favorites posts is Oktoberfest complete with pictures illustrating 4 of the 5 phases of experiencing Oktoberfest in Munich.

3. RunningL8 has soooooo many great pictures, it's truly impossible to choose just one! REALLY -- just go check out My New Lens to get a tiny sample.

4. Ian's (Letters Home to You) travelogues are wonderful -- check out Going Underground from his most recent trip to Turkey: I love the smoky landscape & the 3 old men sitting in the outdoor cafe.

5A. Naturelady (that's me!) -- I better pass on this one.
5B. Timekpr (View from the Top) is the teenage daughter of RunningL8 who has just started her own blog, but it is by invitation only, being so young -- so you can't see any of her pictures, but believe me when I tell you she's a talented young lady, sure to follow in her mom's creative footsteps.

6. Deidre from Ester Republic hasn't posted many pictures on account of not having a camera until recently, I believe. But check out her newest post entitled One drag queen and a whole lotta cross-dressers, it's hilarious.

7. Pam doesn't have a blog -- but she does take pictures -- when I used to live in Colorado, Pam was the one you could count on having documented important milestones when the rest of us forgot to bring a camera.

8. Charlotte from Charlotte's Web is mostly a writer, but she does have some great photos too. When I "found" Charlotte, she had just declared that she was Going Grey with Obama, which has one her wonderful self-portraits -- I recognized a kindred spirit and knew right away that I was going to love her blog!

3. Does number 6 reply to comments on his blog?

Deidre writes "the national rag of the people's independent republic of ester", a small ex-gold-mining town outside of Fairbanks, AK. She is a fun writer (check out Driving without a licence), but unfortunately not very many people leave comments. But she does reply, and although I do not know how she found me, I was very pleased when she had praise my Eldest's letter to the Anchorage Daily News about convicted Senator Ted Stevens.

4. Which part of blogland is number 2 from?

Honeypiehorse (Our Feet are the Same) is a relatively new blogger like myself, and is sort of the reverse of what I am: she's an American from Los Angeles married to a German living in Bavaria with her husband and 2 daughters. I stumbled across her wonderful blog when Charlotte did her own Commenter's Meme. Honeypie writes well with a great sense of humor (her family's latest exploits around St.Nickolaus had me laughing so hard!) . The name of her blog, "Our Feet are the Same" is a play on words: if you say it fast enough, it sounds like the German "Auf Wiedersehen", which, I admit, I did not notice until my hubby pointed it out to me! When Honeypie tagged me, she said: I think Naturelady has carved out her own space due to her unique profile – she’s a German mom married to an American living in Alaska. For me the name of her blog Borealkraut says it all. Thanks for tagging me-- this meme is a lot of work, but it is a worthwhile exercise too!

5. If you could give one piece of advice to number 7, what would it be?

Pam is a personal friend, and even though she's not a blogger, she did go thru the step of making a profile in order to comment -- that was before I knew to change the settings to let anonymous readers comment -- which now anybody can! In a separate email Pam wrote " You put so much time and energy in to that and i am definitely impressed...I don't even know how to attempt a web page like that." I therefore give Pam the following advice: It's really not that that difficult -- the only problem is that it can become rather addicting, and then ends up being a big time sink (I might be imagining it, but surely Hubby is snickering somewhere behind me).

6. Have you ever tried something from number 9’s blog?

There is no # 9, sorry.

7. Has number 1 blogged something that inspired you?

I've been running across Denise (Mom in Madison) long before I ever read her blog, or she found mine. She comments regularly on other people's blogs, and I've been reading her thoughtful comments on Mountainpulse for a long time -- Denise is one's loyal and supportive cyber-friend. Here's a post that inspired me: Denise writes down all the questions her boys asked during a backyard campfire -- it inspired me how just listening (and really paying attention) can help you understand what goes on in a child's mind.

8. How often do you comment on number 4’s blog?

Ian (in Germany) from Letters Home to You has recently been nominated for the Canada's Best Blogger's Award -- and I promptly voted for him, even though he's the ONLY Canadian Blogger I know -- but then again, most Americans think Alaska is part of Canada...

9. Do you wait for number 8 to post excitedly?

Well YES! Who doesn't?? (I plagiarize from Honeypiehorse here!) Charlotte (Charlotte's Web) is a wonderful writer. Check out her posts about Living in Germany, like the one where she reflects: it occured to me, not for the first time, that all German Fests exist so that people can drink booze and eat sausages... or the one where she describes going to IKEA on a rainy day, or how Germans love their Verein (club)...

10. How did number 5’s blog change your life?

Borealkraut is my own blog! Well, just taking that plunge and starting a blog was life-changing: it's made me WRITE again, taking a better look at what's going on in my own life and all around me. At first I was hesitant -- who'd want to read that? But I'm finding that the process of writing is helping me find my voice, helping me sort out what's important in my life. It doesn't really matter how many people read it -- writing can be just about the process.