Over the past several weeks, there have been about a dozen new great women bloggers signed up for Blog Sisters. And as I surf their blogs and old favorites, I keep finding more guys blogging out there. So, I’ll just mention the latest several here: Tom Bolton, George Partington, George Sessum, and Fertile Jim. All unique voices. All worth checking out.

So says fertile_jim in an excellent post on the subject. (You have to scroll down to the article on Jim Throws Gasoline on the Fire because his permalink takes you somewhere else.) I found him from a comment he left on Blog Sisters to a strong piece by Helen Razer, who has finally resurfaced.
On that subject, my grandson is on his way. According to my son-in-law (the best one in the world), my daughter went into labor at 3:30 this morning (which is when I woke up the first time). Her water broke around 6:30 (which is when I woke up the second time). Just a little synchronicity here, a little magical motherthing connection. So send good vibes out Boston way, everyone. I’m about to become a granny.

Blog Sisters’ reputation is spreading. We are one of four group weblogs cited in an article by Steve Outing at Poynter.org. My thanks to b!X for emailing me about it.
According to the main page of the weblog article, Poynter’s Steve Outing also is a columnist for Editor & Publisher Online. Recently, he wrote a column suggesting that newspapers give weblogs to all editorial staff (read the column here), which generated considerable discussion and controversy.

Gary Turner’s at it again. And b!X and I join the ranks of Turner spoofs.

At least we don’t get into the kind of trouble this local guy did.
As the story goes,
On the Internet and telephone chat lines he [Kevin Gudz] went by the name ‘Sir Kevin,’ and his alleged fantasies included kidnapping a woman and bringing her to his home where she would become his consenting bondage sex slave.
Gudz allegedly is not disputing that he drove to Columbia County to abduct a woman. But he insists it was part of an act and not a random encounter.
However, the 43-year-old Clermont woman who was riding her bike alone along Route 31 in southern Columbia County on Saturday afternoon is a mother and wife and was not the person Gudz alleged to have met online, according to law enforcement officials.
‘The victim in this was a complete stranger to the defendant,’ said Columbia County District Attorney Beth Cozzolino.
Talk about embarrassing moments!!

I can breathe again. The splints are out (now that was a yucky process!) and so far so good. I have to go back next week and get the passageways scoped to make sure it’s all healing the way it’s supposed to. Thanks, you all, for all the good vibes sent my way. You’re the best!!

Weblogging is losing one of its most provocatively intelligent voices. Shelley Powers, AKA Burningbird, who has been debating whether to make the move for months now, is moving on to build the life she wants beyond the virtual. With her usual honesty and eloquence she has said her good-byes. Shelley Powers has left the party.
And, for many of us

See inside Gary Turner at Sandhill Trek!!
See b!X analyze the new Phil Donahue show on MSNBC.
See George Sessum finally come home!!
See Golby take on Winer!!

Recognizing that the mothers over in Nigeria are getting mad for a much higher purpose, I’m still herewith chastising Adam Curry and Dan Gilmor for not researching their sources far back enough to note publicly that it was b!X who first blogged the news about blog.salon.com. You can follow b!X tracking of the sin of omission on his site, where he admits feeling passed over.
So, know all ye who pass here, it was indeed theonetruebix who got there first.
Is this a good example of how blogging differs from “professional” journalism (where writers accurately document the ultimate sources of their information)? And is it also an example of the fact that blogdom is just as much a hierarchy and “old boy” network as the world under our feet?

As a way of distracting my mind from my nasal discomforts, I’ve been working on Marek’s t-shirt, and it’s finished, except for “heat setting,” which is what you have to do to fabric that’s been painted. Heh. The front looks like a third grader’s art project, since that’s about the level of my drawing talents. But the back is another story. First, here’s what it all looks like (the colors didn’t come out exactly, but close enough):

Now, for the story of the design on the back, which came out pretty well, I think:
The legend of the coronation sword of Polish kings (the pommel of Szczerbiec) begins with the first king of Poland, Boleslaus the Brave (ruled 992-1025), who is said to have jagged his sword against the Golden Gate in Kiev on his victorious entry into that city in 1018. The most interesting part of the sword is the hilt, which bears some symbols and inscriptions of esoteric character.
One of these symbols is an image of the Rose of Jericho, a flower that grows in Palestine that is able to revive after it had been dried, and, therefore, is a symbol of resurrection. Curiously enough it is not a rose at all, but rather belongs to the plant order called Cruciferae or cruciferous, which features “cross-like” components. The image of the Rose of Jericho on the pommel of Szczerbiec has twelve petals, the number of the signs of the Zodiac.
Like the symmetrical design of rose windows, the image of the Rose of Jericho becomes an appropriate focus for a meditative mandala — a symbol of the eternal Polish spirit that refuses to be crushed, diminished, or silenced.
The symbol in the center is called the