the writing and photography of Neil Kramer

Georgia (and Bloggers) on My Mind

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I was very upset yesterday when I got an email from Lynn at Sprigs that she was closing her blog.  

I met Lynn (Dana) online last December when I was writing some posts for Blogebrity.  Before meeting her, I interacted mostly with bloggers who were like me in writing style.   Lynn introduced me to a new group of bloggers  — those who wrote poetry and “Sunday Scribblings” and made jewelry and talked about creativity and did yoga and were into stuff that I would have made fun of a year ago.  Bloggers like Blue Poppy, Be Present, Be Here, Ink on My Fingers, and so many others I now read all the time.  

I’m not going to lie and say I don’t roll my eyes at times when some poem gets all “new agey” or emotional, but I’m not intimidated anymore by these creative writers.  These are EXACTLY the type of women that I would be afraid of talking to in my college English classes, thinking I was too lowbrow.  But I was an idiot.  There is no single TYPE of person.   And just because you’re artsy doesn’t mean you can’t have a sense of humor — even if you do spend a lot of time meditating in the nude under the night moon.  Sometimes, an artsy woman can even surprise you (like finding out one participates in roller derby). 

Lynn helped me “class up” my blog up.  I wrote a few bad poems.  Without her, I would be writing about my penis in every post.  Instead, I’m now writing weepy, unfunny posts like this which are only going to get me a lower rating with Bloglaughs. 

Thanks a lot, Lynn!   Keep in touch.

Over lunch today, I told a friend of mine about being upset over Lynn and her blog. 

“Over some blogger?” he asked.  “What’s the big deal?  You don’t even KNOW this person!”

That’s true.  I don’t really know most of you. 

But that didn’t stop someone as cool as Jody from Lindbergh’s Crossing from sending me some Fall leaves. 

No, I don’t mean photos of Fall leaves.  I mean real live GEORGIA FALL LEAVES in the mail!

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(a little Georgia Fall in Los Angeles)

A Year Ago on Citizen of the Month:  Second Base With Sophia

28 Comments

  1. Jody

    Wow they did lose their color. I’m going to have to get a whole new group and send you some more! Now the leaves are really going color crazy. This weekend should be a good time to collect some.

  2. Neil

    They’re still beautiful to me even if they lost some of their color.

    Any biology professors out there on how to prevent this from happening in the mail?  Nelumbo?

  3. deezee

    Lynn was my blog match, so I guess that means I’ve been dumped.

    My sadness over this undoubtedly qualifies as pathetic, since I only got to read her blog for a couple weeks, but do I really need more dumpings in my repetoire?? I understand your sadness, though, cuz people bond via these sites, eh?

  4. Neil

    Deezee, it is rather ironic that she quit immediately after I hooked you two up.  And then you got me in trouble with Sophia a few posts back.  So, from now on I’m watching you. You’re trouble. I should have realized that the minute I read about you bringing your innocent son to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert!

  5. Dagny

    Awww. You finally got your leaves. Hey! I bet if you took a roadtrip to Julian, you could see all kinds of pretty colors.

  6. better safe than sorry

    i hate losing regular reads, after reading for a few months, you actually feel like you know that person, even though there’s a chance that what they are blogging about is all bullsh*t. i’m not sure if it’s the blogger i miss, or the writing of the blogger i miss. it’s like losing a favorite author.

  7. kristen

    Thanks for the shout out about roller derby. Next time you’re on the East coast, I might just take you to a bout. I’m in your neck of the woods now…..watch out for me on the strand in Hermosa and Redondo, I’ll be the blading grrl with the cherry red helmet. (shh, don’t tell my teammates that I’m cheating inline!)

  8. plain jane

    The solution that I learned as a child to help keep the color of fall leaves and make them less fragile is to put them between wax paper and press with an iron, transferring a thin layer of wax to the leaves. I *heart* fall leaves.

  9. Mist 1

    It’s so deflating when a favorite blogger calls it quits.

  10. Mr. Fabulous

    Wow..what a cool, creative idea.

    I suppose the equivalent for you would be mailing your penis to someone? 🙂

  11. jaimie

    HI Neil!

  12. Jody

    Thanks Plain Jane, I will do that on my next batch of leaves that I send Neil.

    Now about reciprocity, hmmmm – penis in the mail – no thanks (Nothing against you Neil – but I don’t want the USPS) knocking at my door. What’s unique to fall in Redondo Beach?

  13. Leah

    I’m oh so disapppointed (and egotistical) because when I read your headline I thought “Oh my god! Neil was so impressed with my last comment that he wrote a whole post about me!” [Because I’m from Georgia originally.] But then I started to read and realized that the world nor your blog revolves around me…so I was definitely wrong. Darn it again Neil…you weren’t able to mind read and figure out that I expected more from you than this?

  14. Leah

    p.s. I re-read my commment…and it’s amazing you haven’t banned me from commenting altogether because I make no freaking sense. Best of luck to you and your penis…and may someone also mail you a snowball from Greenland.

  15. Deborah

    Oh Neilochka…the ESTROGEN running through your bloggy veins is near transgendered levels!! Seriously though, you’ve got a great fan base (mostly chicks!) and I do believe it is tapping in to your feminine side (but, I will leave the final analysis up to Sophia!) Cheers and much peace, JanePoe

  16. Neil

    Leah — Not only do I have to read the mind of Sophia, NOW I have to read the minds of female bloggers?!

    How the hell am I supposed to know you’re from Georgia? Have you met Jody yet? Go say hello.

  17. nelumbo

    Plain Jane already posted what I was going to recommend!

    Neil, since you’re seeming obsessed with leaves, you should check out a script I just wrote for a radio show about fall leaves:

    http://lohdown.caltech.edu/script_archive?date_to_view=2006-09-25

    Have you heard of “Loh Down on Science” before? It’s a California based show.

  18. Neil

    I have hear previous episodes of this show on the radio and I have seen Sandra Tsing Loh perform.

    Way cool! How do you have the time, being a new mommy?

  19. liz elayne

    1) i am going to miss lynn too…i hope she realizes that she has touched many people through her blog. i am so glad you said this here.

    2) i would have so talked to you in a lit class in college since i was so intimidated by the english majors in the lit classes i took (i do admit that i took them for fun, because i was a psych major) and wanted anyone to talk to me.

    3) i at least wear my hanky pankies and a tank top when i meditate. (at least)

    4) i love that jody sent you leaves in the mail. how cool is that???

  20. deezee

    Neil,

    I only wish I were a bit more trouble. I suspect I’d have more fun.

    May you and Sophia mend (see, I know how to kiss butt.)

  21. V-Grrrl

    Neilochka,

    I so miss the bad poems, and I’m sorry you’re not in the place right now where your chi flows along the enlightened path. I hope you unblock your chakras, get the feng shui right, and the planets align so your creativity finds its proper expression. Inhale, exhale, but don’t snort the smog, babe.

    Peace, love, and lipgloss,
    V-Grrrl

  22. susannah

    i’m going to miss Lynn too 🙁

    ps. i’d just like to point out that i do not do yoga in the nude… in fact i don’t do yoga at all. however, i do drink wine and smoke cigarettes in the nude 😉

    Om…..

  23. susannah

    pps. i think you should give your penis more of a platform on your blog – he has the balls to tell it like it is…. it’s inspiring me to maybe do some ‘Susannah’s Clitoris’ posts… what do you think? 😉

  24. Neil

    Susannah — Do you really have any doubt what my answer is?

  25. Lou P.

    “Without her, I would be writing about my penis in every post.”

    You say this like it’s a bad thing.

    Also, I don’t know Susannah, but I think she should give her idea a try…

  26. 2nd Pearl Past the Post

    Blog closures are always sad.

    Unlike leaves in the mail which are the coolest surprise.

  27. K.Leigh

    *sigh*

    My little sister just moved out here from Atlanta, and she brought an envelope of lovely leaves for me.

  28. Rae

    Hmm, mine–my blog–must fall into that eye-rolling category that you won’t lie about…

    Occasionally emotional, never new-agey. Unless it’s my birthday, then I get completely new-agey.

    Hi, Neil.

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