This Blog Rated E for Excelente

I'd like to send a hearty ¡Ahooooahh! (the Mexican version, not the military one) over to my blog amigos at Drinking Liberally in New Milford and The Sirens Chronicles for tagging this humble blog as a recipient for the 'E for Excellent' Award.

This is not something I do full-time. It's just a hobby, albeit an important one to me. The energy levels ebb and flow with each day, but I've always considered it worth it to create a space that can channel my thoughts. Little by little the traffic has risen around here, and it's in part due to building relationships with other bloggers who share solidarity with the things that fill these posts each day.

I'm happy to have had the opportunity to network and dialog with people all across this country as a result of being infected by the blogging virus, and looking forward to doing more of that very soon. We have to restore balance to the narrative of how we treat one another, and it won't happen through silence - so here are some people that I am happy to pass on the ¡Premio Excelente! over to:

• Craig at Random Musings - for keeping us up to speed on the antics of the dwellers in the Valle del Sol. He is a blogger who is both activist and journalist with a healthy sense of humor, my favorite type.
• Jan at happening-here? - her blog embodies human rights, and she just had a blogiversary, so go say hi!
  
• Tedski at Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - R Cubed is my favorite Grand Canyon State blog. Reading any post there will show you why. Plus, he has ¡Free Baja Arizona! stickers
• Jen at You Would Think - a blogging friend who's on the short list of Must Meet Someday. She makes me laugh, think and grow every time she creates a new post.
  
• field at the field negro - tells it like it is, we need more of that. plus, the sidebar pictures and commentary usually have me howling in laughter at my desk.
• NL at Smartypants - she's turned her blog into a forum for asking the deep, and often difficult, questions of why we treat one another a certain way and how to move forward on a more humane path.
• XicanoPwr at ¡Para Justicia y Libertad! - I can never say enough great things about him and the work he's done over the years to re-frame the immigration debate online in a perspective that speaks to those of us who find ourselves targeted by the rhetoric of hate.
• boran2 at Survivor Left Blogistan - not only is he a painter, he has been covering the ongoing assault on our national parks and environment for the couple of years I've been reading him. He's also a loyal commenter all over the neighborhood and a great person to meet in person (can't wait to return to the red rocks!)
• olivia at parvum opus - her breathtaking photos are a reminder that there is still beauty in this world, all it takes is a little patience to stop and find it. A macro lens helps, too. jejeje
• nezua at The Unapologetic Mexican - hilarious, witty and versed on the art of slaying ignorance. His writing pushes me to do refine my voice in this medium and that of the outside world.
  

There are many others that are deserving of wider recognition. I hope you'll take the time to step away from the bigger sites and find out what intrepid work is being done out here in the boonies. A good start are the blogrolls to your right ------->

paz
y namaste