More proof that The Hawg is great

I had this great idea for Father’s Day this year.

My son is out of town visiting my wife’s family, but I figured I could still have a good time with my daughter and my wife on the holiday, right? I told them that it would be dandy fun if they took 30 minutes or so to simply tell me how great I am.

Strangely, they refused to do that. Oh well.

At least Windy over at Windmill on the Hill thinks I’m great and has presented me with the “Over the Top” award (great content over there and the layout absolutely puts my little blog to shame – click that link up there and go visit).

I appreciate the award, certainly. I’m terrible at passing these on, however. So, I’ll leave it at this – if you also think The Hawg is great and you own a blog, grab a copy of this award for your very own. Anyone who will acknowledge my greatness is obviously someone of taste and sophistication and deserves an award.

A little business

Actually, that's commonly pronounced "bidness" here in beautiful Arkansas.

"I started my own bidness last year, so now I am a bidnessman," someone might say.

"School was rough today," you might hear a child say. "Man, the other kids were really giving me the bidness!"

Enough of that. Every now and again, it's important to take care of a little housecleaning here at The Natural State Hawg. So, I'll do that now. Don't worry -- it should be relatively painless and there's even an audience participation part of this post, so stay tuned.

The Super Blogger Award!

Theresa over at A Bumpy Path was handing out awards, and I couldn't resist the urge up one of the little darlings. So, I'm now the proud owner of the Super Blogger award. To be honest, Theresa's instructions on this award are fairly vague -- "If you're a regular visitor, help yourself."

So, I have helped myself to this award and I'm inviting all you regular readers (you know who you are) to do the same. I like that method of giving out awards as there are more than a few of them out there that have a lot of strings attached.

That's fine with me, of course, but I always appreciate a no-hassle award, and that's exactly what The Super Blogger award is. We have approached an award on another blog in which I'm heavily involved, The All Arkie Army, the same way. Handing someone an award and saying "good job" is a wonderful thing -- it's a sincere honor.

By the way, Theresa is one of the nicest bloggers out there. She is a member of the All Arkie Army and is one of those people who gave me a lot of encouragement, advice and technical tips when I started blogging about three months ago. Check out her blogs if you haven't already done so -- she runs A Bumpy Path and Eyebald.

Paid posts?

Now, here's the audience participation part I mentioned earlier. I've been thinking about writing more paid posts, something I haven't done just a whole lot of in the past. Why? I spend a hell of a lot of time writing for and promoting this blog and the aforementioned All Arkie Army. It would be nice to make a little cash here and there.

Initially, I thought some passive advertising was the way to go, but Google AdSense simply isn't getting the job done. I mention Google AdSense because that's the only service that has actually made me any money (the rest of them have been duds).

Here's the breakdown on how rotten that service has been. I started running AdSense three months ago and, during that time, have recorded 40,899 page impressions (those ads have popped up on my blogs that many times), yet have only gotten 207 clicks. To date, then, I have made $79.49 -- I haven't even hit that $100 mark yet and I can't cash out until I do.

And, that's the most lucrative service I've tried. Here's the problem -- no one wants to click on the AdSense ads. I can't say I blame them. I rarely click on them, either, unless I'm dealing with a blogger that I really like and that individual has put up a fantastic post (kind of like a tip, see). Usually, however, I just ignore those ads and I'm sure that is what's happening on my blog.

So, my question to you good people is this -- does it seem cheap and mercenary to get more paid posts? Would that discourage people from visiting my blog? Are there better alternatives to making a little cash here and there than paid posts?

I'd love to hear some honest responses to those questions. I get a lot of traffic over here and I'd like that to continue. People stop in and comment and that makes blogging worthwhile.

A sort of apology to Entrecard visitors

If you want more traffic and don't have an Entrecard account, click right here and get one. Don't ask questions. Just do it. The amount of traffic you'll get will amaze you.

One thing about Entrecard is that you can only drop cards on 300 blogs per day. I've been passing 300 visitors through Entrecard lately, so I've not been able to reciprocate on some blogs. I do apologize for that. I've been a reciprocal dropper since I started at Entrecard, but the site has worked so well for me that I've not been able to return visits as often as I'd like.

If I don't pay your blog a visit, then, it's not because I don't like your blog -- I simply can't keep up with everyone right now.

Digg kind of sucks

I'm going to scale back on my participation in Digg as the site requires a lot of work for very little reward. These days, I get about 100 shouts from people wanting me to Digg their stuff. In return, I get about 20 to 30 Diggs (on a good day!) on my articles.

I'd rather use Entrecard for social marketing. It seems to work much better. If you put in some time on Entrecard, you will be rewarded with a lot of traffic. That's pretty well guaranteed.

I am impressed with Reddit, however. Danny over at the Mortgage and More Blog was kind enough to submit this post of mine to Reddit earlier tonight and I got about 90 visitors in around 3 hours. That's phenomenal and it beats the hell out of anything I've ever gotten through Digg. Maybe I should start spending some time over at Reddit.

Over the past couple of days, I've learned that writing about popular topics will absolutely drive search engine traffic to your blog. Over that All Arkie Army, I submitted this post about the tragic death of Anne Pressly, a morning anchor at KATV in Little Rock (you can read about the whole sordid mess by clicking right here and heading to the CNN story about it).

I should point out that I wrote my little blurb simply because Pressly was a very good person who fell victim to the raging crime problem in Little Rock. I didn't go searching for keywords that would drive traffic to the All Arkie Army -- I figured there were enough things floating around on the Internet about Pressly that my little post would get lost in the shuffle, in fact. However, that post did hit the search engines and the Army received a ton of traffic.

That probably won't happen very often as I ramble on about all kinds of random junk and not much of it is exactly popular. Regardless, I was schooled in what some good key words can do for you.

That's all, folks!

A little housekeeping...

Yes, it's time for The Hawg to take care of a little business, so please bear with me.

First of all, I've been granted Margie and Edna's Special Tea Award. If you haven't visited Margie and Edna's Basement yet, click right here and head over there. I like those two ladies as their blog is always entertaining and they've always been nice to me. Besides, they refer to me as Mr. The Hawg and I think that's funny.

I like this particular award, too. Why? Because there are no strings attached. I always love getting awards, but they typically require me to pick some more people to send them to -- rather like an Internet chain letter at times. Some of the recipients are glad to get them whereas some people just get irritated.

Ah, but this award from Margie and Edna is different. It's meant as a sincere honor and there are no requirements to pass it on to other bloggers. Again, I don't mind passing on awards and I always love to get them, but a change of pace is nice, right?

So, I'm honored to get this award from two of the friendliest and most entertaining bloggers out there. I'm proud to add this one to that trophy case in my sidebar.

Top Entrecard droppers

Well, I'm a bit late on posting the top Entrecard Droppers for September. So, here are the top 10 Entrecard droppers as of October 2nd. Close enough, I figure:

TuitionPlace

Picture to People

Mommieshome.net

Credit Card Lab

Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars

MoneyOnlineGuides

Stud Kickass

Slow Streamyx

Helping Yourself

Designing Hillary

Thanks, folks. I appreciate everyone taking out time to stop in at my little blog so regularly.

The Hawg cleans house

I've noticed that a lot of blogs I visit regularly are choked down with java script and all manner of slow-loading things. I timed my blog and noticed that I had a lot of stuff slowing it down, too.

So, I've cut out a lot of that stuff. Yes, the widget that told where visitors are coming from is gone as both Feedburner and Google Analytics tell me that. Those image-heavy ads that no one was clicking are gone, too.

What's left? A few ads that still no one will click and a few items that are essential (well, that awards shelf isn't essential, but I like such ego-enhancing things). I've also moved my Entrecard widget up top so people can spot it easier.

The Hawg has fallen behind

As I've already mentioned, my wonderful ulcerative colitis (a true pain in the ass) has been giving me fits. After a day of work, I'm often too tired to drop on Entrecard as I should, Digg articles and all that other stuff.

I'm not happy about falling behind so much, but I'm heading to the doctor for another, err, scope test in the morning. Hopefully, I'll be back up to speed soon.

And finally...

Watch the debate? I did. What did you think? Was Sarah Palin or Joe Biden more impressive? Leave a comment. Come on, folks -- share!

"We 'heart' you, The Hawg!"

It's official -- there are plenty of people roaming around who just heart the heck out of my blog.

A few weeks, ago, Maria over at Lifes' sweets and spices presented me the I Heart Your Blog award. I passed it on and it's come back to me.

First, Sherry Martschink at "Ex" Marks the Spot sent me the I Heart Your Blog award on Sept. 15. I consider that quite the honor, seeing how Ms. Martschink sports an impressive resume -- a former state representative and senator in South Carolina? A former worker's compensation commissioner and local school board member?

And she's chosen to heart my blog. Thank you, Sherry! I'm truly honored.

A week later, Karen over at Winding Threads also sent me the I Heart Your Blog award. She and her husband have run a business for over 30 years, yet she still has time to put together a pretty good blog.

So, I have been honored by two fantastic ladies and I appreciate them both for tossing a little acknowledgement my way.

That's three I Heart Your Blog awards in the space of a month. Hot dog!

Well, actually I got four of these things -- that smart alecky Lyndon over at Lyndonology accepted a I Heart Your Blog from me and then sent it right back on Sept. 6. Keep reading, Lydon because I've got a little surprise for you -- want to guess what it is?

At any rate, I've got two I Heart Your Blog awards to pass on to other bloggers. Yes, there are always strings attached to these things, and here are the requirements I must follow:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog;
2. Link the person you received your award from;
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;
4. Put links of those blogs on yours; and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.

So, here are the eight bloggers (in no particular order) that are the proud (I hope!) recipients of the I Heart Your Blog award:

1. Lyndon over at Lyndonology! Let's see if we get an award-giving loop going, shall we? If you haven't visited Lyndonology yet, you owe it to yourself to do that. Don't ask why -- just head right on over there. You won't regret it.

2. Fwagglechop over at Fwaggle. Here's another fine one to visit -- yes I do enjoy those blogs full of random observations and this one never gets dull.

3. Athena over at Hot Child in the Suburbs. Anyone who modifies the lyrics to Nick Gilder's "Hot Child in the City" and names a blog after it is OK by me. Athena runs one of those blogs that you just want to check regularly to see what she's up to next. Fun stuff.

4. Deb over at MamaFlo's Place. I've only been blogging for a couple of months, and Deb was one of the first people to encourage me. I appreciate that and her blog is dandy fun.

5. Kathy Frederick over at The Junk Drawer. If you haven't visited Kathy's site, you're missing out as she's an absolute hoot.

6. The Goofblogger. Here's another blogger who encouraged me when I was just starting out, and he runs a highly unusual and entertaining "make money" blog.

7. Tata over at I'm Beautiful Like Me. Here's one I ran across just a few weeks ago. Of course, you've got a lot of random observations and a ton of blogging tips. Give it a look.

8. Ms. O.D. over at Orange Derange. Here's one that's quite often a hoot. Here's hoping she posts more regularly, though (hint, hint).

Rush out and visit every single one of them!

My sidebar runneth over...

Thanks to the remnants of Ike, I can't sleep so I might as well give a heart-felt "thank you" to three great bloggers who sent me some awards over the past week and pass those awards along to some people I truly respect.

At this very moment, what's left of hurricane Ike is blowing through Arkansas and is simply being a nuisance. I've got limbs dropping on my roof at an alarming rate and the wind noise is alarming.

So, instead of sleeping, I'm worrying over this blasted storm while listening to some 0ld time radio (OTR). As I've mentioned before, Jon over at OTRCat.com sent me two discs full of Duffy's Tavern and My Favorite Husband MP3 files as his way of thanking me for mentioning his excellent site on this here blog.

I can't shut up about these things because the quality is outstanding and I love old time radio. Also, I think it's funny as hell that I'm using all of this technology to enjoy radio programs that are over 60-years-old. I've got a slew of OTR programs on a portable hard drive, and I'm streaming them into my surround sound system through my Nintendo Wii via the Winamp Remote client that's running on my PC.

That's a lot of trouble to listen to some old radio programs, but I love the convenience of it all.

At any rate, I was honored with a slew of awards when I was busy earlier this week with the Arkansas Realtors Association Convention in Little Rock. I truly appreciate it when people take the time to recognize and honor my sloppy little blog, particularly when the people sending me awards are bloggers that are simply outstanding. It's been a rough week, but the very fact that some excellent bloggers think well enough of me to ship awards this way helped take the edge off of it all.

So, here are the awards and the cats that shipped them.

Lot 2 Learn over at Did I Miss Something? sent me the Brillante Weblog Premio 2008 Award. Lot 2 Learn blogs about anything and everything and is well worth regular visits.

Lot 2 Learn digs John Wayne and that's a definite plus. Wayne was the man and fans of his automatically have at least something in common with me. Every time I visit Did I Miss Something? and see The Duke on the banner, I tend to want to watch some of those old Wayne westerns and wear a hat.

Lot 2 Learn is one of those conservative bloggers, but he sure doesn't feel exclusionary in his approach. Pay him a visit.

Of course, thank you, Lot 2 Learn! It's great to be recognized by a peer I respect.

Lyndon at Lyndonology sent me the BFF Gold Card Award and the I 'Heart' Your Blog Award. Actually, I "hearted" Lydon's blog first and he "hearted" mine right back.

Lyndon is one of those people I'm more than a bit jealous of because he actually blogs for a living while I've got to head to work every day and make my money in an office. I don't have a bad job at all, but having to go spend 40 hours a week doing something for someone else to make a buck pretty well stinks.

Lyndon's blog is so much fun that he deserves to make a living off of Lyndonology. Still, I can't help but think he's dog lucky -- not in a resentful way, of course.

Thanks for the awards, Lyndon. I'll not send the I 'Heart' Your Blog Award back your way as that would start a loop that could go on for months.

Steve at the Axis of Stevil sent me the Brainy Blog! Award and the Kick Ass Blogger Award. I have now been presented the Kick Ass Blogger Award twice now.

In other words, I suppose this all means that I kick twice as much ass these days. I interpret things that way, at least, and will fight anyone who tells me different.

For those who haven't visited The Axis of Stevil, you're missing out on something that's pretty great. He's a political conservative who has a nifty podcast of a radio show that's entertaining and cutting and he writes with a passion and insight that's impressive.

He's as much of a Sarah Palin fan as I am, so that automatically makes him OK in my book. His very well-articulated views on various issues makes his site one I visit regularly. Anyone who thinks the right is stodgy and no fun at all hasn't spent much time over at The Axis.

So, thanks for the honor, Steve!


Passing along some awards

There are rules that come with each award about how we're supposed to pass them on to other bloggers and etc. I don't much feel like following these rules. So there. Take that!

So, I'm going to name 12 bloggers that I like and ask them to pick up to two awards of the five I have received and claim them. I'll also ask them to pass the ones they chose to other bloggers. That's all there is to it.

So, here are the 12 blogs that I want to acknowledge (in no particular order):

1. Paul's Health Blog
2. Junk-Foodaholic
3. Stud Kickass (an obvious candidate for the Kick Ass Blogger Award, by the way)
4. News from NOLA
5. A Bumpy Path
6. Political Rants from the Right
7. Matt-Speak
8. I Do Things So You Don't Have To
9. Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars
10. Freaky Frugalite
11. Hillbilly Willy
12. Brazoscowgirl

So, there they are! I could have added more, but 12 seems to be about enough. Do yourself a favor and check out those blogs. I hope the rule makers don't get to irate about my skirting around the technical requirements of passing the awards out. However, this method seems like more fun.

An award can make a rotten day OK

Today was a terrible one.

First of all, I had to work on the ironically-named Labor Day. I was reminded of how bad that was when I was driving to work and my usual 30-minute commute took less than 20 minutes. I could have weaved all over the three-lanes on the interstate and driven about 100 miles-an-hour and would have gotten away with it.

Few people were heading to work today, see? Ah, but there I was. Heading to the office on a holiday. Yuck.

Second, I'm sick as a dog and have been for over a month now (things will improve when I take a vacation in a couple of weeks). That's never any fun -- particularly when you've got a project that absolutely must be finished and there's no choice but to head to the office.

So I got to the office and found that the wonderful Kathy at Brazoscowgirl had sent me the Great Buddy Award. That cheered me up quite a bit. Yes, my wife and kids got to enjoy a day off, but at least I got an award. So there!

So, thanks you, Kathy! I do appreciate it and I'm honored to be called "a buddy" by a blogger that I respect and admire. Her blog, in Arkansas parlance, is a good 'un and is well worth putting on your list of regular stops.

There are rules to these awards, of course, and here are the ones connected to this one:

* Save the image above to be forwarded;
* Choose several people who are buddies;
* Give the reason why you chose those persons.

Now, I've been handing out a lot of awards lately and I try not to be a "serial award granter." Still, there are two ladies out there who have just been plain helpful to me in my short time in the blogosphere (around 1.5 months), so I'll send an award their way in spite of repetition.

It's always hard to pick who to give these awards to, of course, as I know I'll always leave out someone. Regardless, here goes:

1. Theresa at A Bumpy Path and Eyebald. She has always been encouraging and not shy about sharing a tip or two. She is, honestly, one of the more straightforward and friendly people you'll meet.

2. Lala at Coastal Commentaries. She might get irate because I sent her an award just the other day. I can't help myself in this case, however. She's another one that's helped and encouraged me quite a bit and I do mean this particular award as a compliment. Hopefully, she'll take it in the spirit it was given and not think, "God, I just got one of these things from you, The Hawg! What are you doing?"

So, thanks again, Kathy! You'd better believe this one will be put displayed proudly and with great vanity on my sidebar.

Vanity, thy name is The Hawg

I'm a happy The Hawg tonight.

Why? Maria over at Life's sweets and spices presented me with an award. That's right, Maria "hearts" my blog.

I won, I won, I won! Yay!

I am glad that she hearts my blog enough to honor me with an award. Thank you, Maria -- you made my day. I shall display this award with pride in my sidebar.

Of course, there are rules whenever one receives such an award, so I shall do my best to follow them. Here are the rules connected to the esteemed I Heart Your Blog award:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog;
2. Link the person you received your award from;
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;
4. Put links of those blogs on yours; and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.

So which blogs out there do I truly heart? The last time I got one of these dandy awards, I felt guilty because I wanted to pass the award on to a slew of blogs but I could only choose a few. I'm faced with a similar problem this time around. I'll go ahead and pass this award on to 10 people who are better at blogging it up than I am, but I should mention that there are several folks that I'm overlooking. Yes, the rules say to pass the award on to at least seven people -- I did that, and kept thinking of other deserving folks. So, I'm giving this to 10 blogs that I love and, even at that, I'm leaving some people off the list.

That being the case, here are 10 blogs that I truly heart:

1. The Junk Drawer -- I've learned a number of things from Kathy over there, including the fact that breasts can cause computer malfunctions.

2. Delusions of Grandeur -- great design, quality content. A very good "stop and linger" blog.

3. Margie and Edna's Basement -- if you're not stopping by this one regularly, you really should. Gently amusing content and they always refer to me as "Mr. The Hawg" (that, folks, is a hoot).

4. Coastal Commentaries -- A daily stop and it's run by Lala, one of the nicest people around. She's brilliant, too -- she named me a Kick Ass Blogger a few weeks ago. So, Lala, it's my time to give out an award and I'm glad to do it because she's one of the best bloggers you'll find.

5. PaulsHealthBlog.com -- Don't let the title fool you -- this one is about a heck of a lot more than healthy living. Sure, that's in there, but you've got commentary on all manner of things over there. Visit it that blog and you may heart it, too.

6. Lyndonology -- Yes, I just heart those mixed bag, slice-of-life blogs. This is one of the better ones out there.

7. Freaky Frugalite -- Well written and a great design. What's not to heart?

8. News from NOLA -- Great news from what's happening in New Orleans. Always entertaining and Sara is as friendly as can be.

9. Hillbilly Willy -- This is one, conservative cat. He's funny as hell, too. Willy's blog gives me a chuckle more often that not.

10. Brazoscowgirl -- Here's one that I've hearted for a long time. Great design and some pretty keen political insight, to boot.

That's about it. Again, thank you Maria! I do appreciate it.

The Hawg takes to the airwaves!

Some of you may know that I make my living as the director of media relations for the Arkansas Realtors Association. Yes, I deal with the press, keep up with housing market stats, handle our monthly magazine and all kinds of writery things.

This Saturday, I start a stint as a regular guest on a weekly radio show. I'll appear monthly on the aptly-named The Real Estate Show, which is hosted by Jim Harris every Saturday from 8 to 9 a.m. on 103.7 FM ("The Buzz!") in Little Rock.

Harris mentions my appearance right here if you'd like more details. If you happen to be in central Arkansas and you're up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday, why not tune it? At that time of the morning, we're sure to get tens of listeners.

The Hawg gets tagged again

Patricia over at Communications Exchange went and decided to tag me with a meme.

The chore here to reveal six unspectacular quirks about myself and challenge other bloggers to do the same. Patricia apparently guessed that I -- The Hawg -- just love to talk about myself and would, therefore, respond favorably to getting tagged with one of these things. She was right.

The rules here are simple:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules.
3. Tell six unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag six bloggers by linking.
5. Leave a comment for each blogger.
6. Click every ad on The Hawg's blog at least twice (OK -- I made that one up).

You want unspectacular quirks? I've got them in spades, kids, and here are a few:

1. I still root for the Pittsburgh Pirates in spite of several years of heartache. Yes, it's true. I've remained a loyal Pirates fan although the team hasn't had a winning season since 1992. They stink. I continue to root for them. Once I start rooting for a team, I stick with it no matter what. I'm not sure if that's a quirk or a severe character flaw.

2. I'm picky as can be about food. I know what I like and what I don't like and I absolutely detest the foods that I crossed off my list years ago. Take mayonnaise, for example. You'd think a Southern boy would love the stuff but I hate it and swear it's straight from the devil. There's a reason there's a brand of mayonnaise called Hellmann's, you know?

3. I used to be a lawyer and hated every minute of it. A lot of people have asked me why I gave up the dandy practice of law to go back into journalism and then move on to public relations. Trying to explain that is rather akin to telling a man who has been blind since birth what the color blue looks like.

4. I hate to travel. Car trips are boring and airplanes are just awful. Well, airplanes aren't that awful but layovers in airports are and it annoyed me to the core that my last flight out of Reagan International in Washington, D.C., was absolutely humiliating. My laptop bag was searched, I had to remove my shoes and I felt lucky I was allowed to keep most of my clothes on through the whole thing. Screw that. I'd rather stay home and watch television. It's cheaper, anyway. The only travel that sounds appealing to me at all would involve a few stops at major league ballparks to watch my beloved Pirates lose in person.

5. I love anything having to do with World War II. If I see a show on the History Channel that's in black and white and features Americans shooting at Nazis or Imperial Japanese, you'd better believe I'm going to watch it. The same goes for Hogan's Heroes and Baa Baa Black Sheep.

6. It's "y'all," not "ya'll." Learn this and learn it now -- "y'all" is a contraction for "you all," whereas "ya'll" doesn't mean a thing. Furthermore, the distinctly Southern "y'all" is preferable to the harsh, grating and Northern "you guys" as it is gender neutral. Leave it to Southerners to come up with a collective pronoun that both rolls off the tongue and applies equally to men and women. Hah! Take that, North!

Well, that's it. Now it's time to move on to the fun part of the exercise -- picking six blogs to tag with this thing. So, here goes:

1. Margie and Edna's Basement -- this blog intrigues me. Perhaps the ladies behind it will break character and tell us a bit about themselves. If I ask nicely enough. Come on, ladies. Please?

2. Lyndonology -- This blog is more than a bit intriguing. I'd love to learn more about this cat.

3. CrAzY Working Mom -- it's always good to hear from another Arkansas parent, yeah?

4. The Bullshit Stalker -- here's a blog put together by someone who sounds about ready to explode from outrage at any given moment. Learning of a few quirks would be nothing but enlightening.

5. Call Center Gal -- Another great blog written by someone I think would be a good sport about being tagged out of the blue.

6. Elvis Lover -- Can't resist. Anyone who loves The King even more than I do must have something fascinating to say.

Tag -- I'm it?

It seems that Sara over at News from NOLA has decided that I, The Hawg, am worthy of being tagged.

This is my first tag ever and, as such, I'm more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Well, not really.

However, I have been trying to figure out what to come up with as my challenge from Sara is to come up with seven facts about me that people don't know. So, after taking a hard look at myself, I've decided to come up with the fun stuff rather than the "mind your own damned business" items.

Well, perhaps "fun stuff" is a subjective term. I think these are fun items, anyway. Here goes:

1. I have a relative who fought in the War Between the States. Yes, it's true. That particular relative was from south Arkansas, so do you want to guess whether he was a Confederate or a no-account Yankee? Yep. You guessed it.

Here's a fun fact about my great-great-grandfather -- he was single-handedly responsible for losing Arkansas to the invaders! Well, not really. But he did keep the rifle he used in the war and that was passed on to my great-grandfather. Now, my great-grandfather's wife was a little bit off in the head and she hated guns. So she buried that rifle somewhere on my great-grandfather's farm. That farm is still in the family (my father owns a piece of it) and that bit of War Between the States history is lost somewhere on it.

2. I was in a band in college. Yes, indeed! We were first the Jumpin' Jehoshaphats and then the Wacky Savages after the guitarist left in a huff because he got in a fight with the bassist (our bassist thought that beer bottle solos, while novel, weren't worthy of a band that was trying to be somewhat serious).

My job was to write lyrics and sing while our stalwart bassist wrote the music. After awhile, it was my job to write lyrics, play sloppy rhythm guitar and sing. Sadly, the guitar was kind of put up after I went to law school as I barely had time to breathe, much less play guitar.

The Wacky Savages name, by the way, came from one of those cheap tabloids that were always lined up at checkout lines at supermarkets. There was an article in one of them about the "Elvis Tribe" and it was illustrated with a photo of a bunch of native types lined up in their grass skirts and Elvis wigs. The caption read, "Wacky savages sing and dance like the King." Being a major Elvis fan, how could I resist?

Our favorite songs to play were "Nazi Girl" (which I wrote in five minutes in a parking lot while waiting for a friend to emerge from his dorm so we could go to dinner) and "My Friend Rashid" (which was all about a terrorist who came to a nasty end). We were a bunch of tongue-in-cheek kids who listened to the Sex Pistols and the Ramones too much, and our music sounded like it. Fun times.

3. I used to pack heat. Back in my lawyering days, I had a couple of clients call up and threaten to beat me up over various things. One of these fellows called me at 2 a.m. on a weekend and he was upset because he was going through a divorce and his wife wouldn't let him pick up their kids for visitation (he showed up at her house drunk). The other was a meth dealer who loved to sample his product. Yes, I represented some real winners, kids.

So, I had a Charter Arms .44 Bulldog in my desk drawer. Those were crazy times, indeed, and I even went so far as to purchase bullets with very soft, hollow points so they wouldn't blast through a wall and kill my secretary if I had to pull my gun on some crazy client. I never had to pull the gun and I'm grateful for that.

Who out there thinks that all sounds insane? It's OK to admit it because it sure sounds insane to me these days.

I don't own any pistols anymore, by the way. I wound up pawning them for rent back in my lawyering days because a lot of my clients weren't the most responsible when it came to paying bills. I never replaced them.

4. I avoid weddings like the plague. I've only used one legitimate excuse to get out of a wedding and that was last year. I hate going to weddings and generally only attend if I'm in them or if a good friend is getting married. If it's a casual acquaintance or one of those weddings I should attend for "social reasons," I'll weasel out almost every time. Here are just a few excuses I've used:

a) My aunt died

b) It snowed last night and I might kill myself driving to the church

c) My brother is very upset because of something our mother said and I must rush to his aid

d) I hate your fiance and think you're an idiot for marrying her (that one was an honest reason for not attending, actually)

e) That wedding is in a Baptist church and I've been banned (not too far from the truth -- I was raised Baptist and turned Methodist a few years ago)

5. Life has made my cynical, but not toward my wife and kids. It's important to point that out as my wife, son and daughter keep me grounded very well. My wife is the most patient woman in the world and our children are just brimming with possibilities. If I can help them live up to those possibilities, then I've done my job as a father and will be proud of the job I've done.

That doesn't mean I won't reserve the right to use my grandchildren to torture my children. Kind of like this -- "Hey (granchild's name), I'll give you $20 to run through your mom's house screaming and I'll kick in an extra $15 if you're naked while you're doing it." Heh, heh.

6. I may be grown up, but I still follow my Benton Panthers. My father and I still go to almost every one of our alma mater's home games. I'm a third generation Benton, Ark., resident and high school football Friday night is still important to me.

The best thing of all, of course, is spending some time with my father. That bond is very important to me and the contentious relationship I had with my dad while I was growing up has blossomed into a warm friendship of sorts. So, go Panthers and yay dad!

7. Have you played Atari today? Yes, I'm one of those fellows who never got rid of his Atari 2600. I've got an Atari and about 200 games for it. I grew up playing that thing and I still love it. Yeah, I've got a Nintendo Wii, original Nintendo NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, Atari Lynx, Sony Playstation, Atari 7800 and a couple of other systems here and there. But I still love that old Atari. For my money, gaming never got any better than that.

It's just too bad my ColecoVision blew up a few years ago.

So, that's about it. I've rambled enough so I should address the other part of this "tagging" thing. It is my role to link back to the person who invited me (I've done that) and to invite seven other bloggers to join in the fun by either sending them e-mails or posting on their blogs. I'm picking some folks who I think have fascinating blogs and people I didn't select for the Kick Ass Blogger award (I want to spread the love around, dig?) So, I'm inviting the following seven and I'm asking them to link back to me after they post their stuff. I'm also going to ask them not to write nasty comments over here after receiving the "tag" notice. Here they are:

1. The Mad Celt from Musings of a Mad Celt. I'm interested to see what this cat will come up with as he is extremely interesting.

2. The Acorn King. The Acorn King is an absolute hoot and I'd love to learn more about him.

3. Lala over at Coastal Commentaries. That's my little way of saying "thanks" for bestowing the Kick Ass Blogger award upon me. Besides, she'll come up with something nifty, I'm certain.

4. Lot 2 learn over at Time to Go Outside. I swear this fellow is an Arkie at heart.

5. Rutgerskevin at The Red Stapler Chronicles. Partially because I find that blog intriguing, partially because I feel guilty I haven't spent more time over there.

*UPDATE* Well, it would appear that Ruterskevin did one of these months ago (in my defense, that was well before my time). So there's no need for duplication, is there? To see a list of his 10 little known facts, head right here.

6. Craftymug at Crafty Cross Stitch. My mother-in-law likes cross stitch. I like my mother-in-law (I honestly do!) Therefore, I like this blog. So, join in the fun, Craftymug!

7. Ms. Orange at Orange Derange. What on earth drives Ms. Orange? I'd like to know and I'm sure I'm not alone.

The Hawg's greatness is recognized!

So, there I was. Eating a bowl of Corn Flakes and messing around with this blogging stuff on that whiz-bang invention all the kids are just wild about, the Internet.

And that's when it happened. I got a message from Lala over at Coastal Commentaries informing me that I, The Hawg, had been presented with the Kick Ass Blogger award!

How thrilled was I? Very thrilled, indeed! Lala is one of my favorite bloggers and the fact that she thinks well of my little scribbles warms my heart. If you haven't checked out her blog, you really should. If you visit once, I'm sure you'll become a regular.

Lala, by the way, has plenty of ties to this wonderful little state of Arkansas. While most Arkansans are great people, she's actually a bit greater than most.

Speaking of great, let's get back to my award. My great award. My great "Kick Ass Blogger" award. Heh, heh! I was so happy to receive it I felt just like Bender Rodriguez, the robot from Futurama who constantly crows about how great he is.

You know how Bender is -- "Bender is great! Oh, Bender is great! Bender, Bender, Bender!" If you want to hear a quick sample of Bender's greatness at work, click right here.

Heh. And if my wife thought I was hard enough to live with already...

At any rate, I'm thrilled to accept this award and join the ranks of the Kick Ass Bloggers out there. I've put the award in my sidebar for at least two reasons. First of all, I want to show it off and brag about it a little bit. Second, if you click on that award, you can go straight to the page on MammaDawg's blog that explains the origins of the award and lists all that have received it.

Yes, this recovering attorney and current public relations cat is grateful that his greatness has been recognized. I didn't get to exercise much creativity as a lawyer and I sure as hell don't get to in the public relations world, so my blog serves as the only place I can cut lose and try to do something interesting. I appreciate, then, both the award and the attention.

Of course, it's my task to pass on this award to five dandy bloggers. So, I'll do that right now.

1. JD over at I do Things so You Don't Have To. I almost hate to read this blog because JD is a heck of a lot funnier than I am and she's got one of the most brilliant concepts on the planet. Yes, the title says it all -- she does things so you don't have to and writes about them. Want to get details on what goes on during a colonoscopy, read about nude beaches or find detailed reviews on movie trailers? This hilarious little blog is the place to be.

2. The Crotchety Old Man over at Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars. Yes, he bills himself as "The Crotchety Old Man, standing on the corner; yelling at cars." Who could resist that? I sure can't and I visit often. Yes, the Crotchety Old Man likes to rant and he does it well. He's another blogger that's funner than me, but I like him in spite of all that.

3. Willy over at Hillbilly Willy. Here's an Arkansas boy who comments on politics, hawks his recipe books and has a dandy time. Think conservatives don't have a sense of humor? You haven't met Willy yet. 10-4, Willy!

4. Theresa over at A Bumpy Path. Very astute observations and commentary from another Arkansan. Did you know she was a singer in a band once and is highly educated and articulate? Although Theresa is technically a carpetbagger in these parts, she's proud to call Arkansas home and she does her adopted state proud. Very entertaining blog and one of those on The Hawg's "must see" list. Put it on your "essential" list, too!

5. Jerry over at As The Crackerhead Crumbles. A religious blog with a lot of goodies thrown in, to boot. This cat has been at it for some time now and is always insightful and entertaining. He'll make you think, for sure, and he routinely posts lists of other great sites in the blogosphere, too. Check it out!

Well, that's about it. Thanks, again, to Lala for bestowing this dandy award upon me. And I hope all the bloggers I've chose to receive this dandy award appreciate it as much as I do. Oh, and there's an added bonus for all of your new members of the Kick Ass Blogger Club --you are offered lifetime membership at The MOM and DAD Bloggerhood. You must be a blogging Dad or Mum to Qualify.

So, kids, check out those awesomely awesome blogs I've sent this award to and enjoy their, err, awesomeness.