The House & other Arctic musings

More Canadian Blog Awards

Amended....

The last two categories, Personal Blogs and Best Blog Overall, have opened up for voting now at the Canadian Blog Awards.

I, along with Michael's Meanderings; Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills; and Dispatches from the Failed Mommies Club (all worthy blogs) , have been nominated in the Personal Blog category.  Feel free to vote for me (and the others) if the feeling overtakes you.

In the overall category, two three blogs that I'm familiar with, Townie Bastard (which I consider one of the best blogs out there, period), my friend Tina's blog Just Below 63, and Madness and Beauty have been nominated.  Go now, cast your vote.

And while I'm madly throwing links about like so many beads at New Orlean's Mardi Gras, here is an extremely well written blog from a Canadian ex-pat who left a comment here today.  I'm going to be making it a regular stop, so should you... Letters Home

Canadian Blog Awards 2009

The first round of voting for this years incantation of the Canadian Blog Awards is up.  I'm not sure what to make of the mechanics of the voting this year.  I have no problems with ranking of the blogs, but what troubles me is that, with the exception of a couple of categories, there are no links to the nominated blogs. It seems to defeat much of the purpose of the awards if you can't check out who is nominated, without having to google the lot of them. Quite frankly I don't want to expend the energy and the time searching for the blogs to vote for.  All that this encourages is voting for people you already know, and one of the things I like about these contests is discovering new blogs.

That said, there are several northern blogs and friends nominated in different categories.

In Best Blog Post (one of the categories with actual links) both Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills (X2) and Kent of the North have been nominated

In Best Blog Post Series (links again) Townie Bastard has a nomination.

In Best Blog written by a Journalist Advocatus Diabli (excellent and well worth visiting for northern perspectives) and Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills have nominations.

Crafts, Cooking & Other Activities, has a friend of mine from northern Saskatchewan nominated, Terri's Knitblog.

Culture and Literature sees The Book Mine Set up for a nomination.

Family has a bunch of northern blogs nominated, Michael's Meanderings, Fawnahereo's Place, Reflection in the Snow-covered Hills, and Babies and Bulldogs all get nods.

GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-, Transgender) has a couple of Northern or north related blogs nominated: Gay White North and Ferry Tales.

New Blogs, which does include Links, includes In The Net (which must have the youngest author nominated) from the north and a great travel blog (although she's back home now) that I found in my quest to Blog Antarctica - Madness and Beauty

Photo/Art Blogs, is a category I'd dearly love to see links for but alas there are none. Dave Brosha Photography and Kluglanoch Corner are both nominated for this category.  I am also, but I don't hold out much hope, there isn't a lot of photographs on my blog this time of year. Thanks to whoever nominated me.

I think Podcaster/Vlogger has a couple of NWT blogs in it  YK Online and Kyle With.

While not a northern blogger, Scientific Chick, nominated in Science and Technology, is a blog I link to and enjoy.

Grant's Tomb, an NWT blog, is nominated in Sports Blogs.  Which just leave the over all Best Blog category and Personal, neither of which are open for voting as of right now.

So there you have it, check on the nominated blogs (although it will involve searching) see what you like and vote in this first round of voting (to narrow the field down to five). I encourage you to visit all the blogs in the northern blogosphere. There are many gems up here.

Up Here again

Just in case you missed it the first time, one of my posts has been republished at Up Here magazine's blog.

First Friday

Amy, over at WildBird On The Fly, has revived the bird related fiction contest, First Friday. It's a contest that I've enjoyed participating in the first time it was running, even winning a couple of times.  The rules are simple:

• Write a 500 word work of fiction
• It should include a setting, character(s), conflict and resolution
• It must deal with birds or birders/birding
• It must not anthropomorphize the birds in the story.

Entries must be received by 5PM PST on the first Thursday of the month for inclusion on that month's contest. Winners are announced the First Friday of the month.

You can send your entries to wildbird AT bowtieinc DOT com (you know what to do with the AT & DOT, and should include your mailing address as the winners will receive a newly published birding book.

Thank you Súin

I received a wonderful card in the mail today from a reader in Queensland. Thank you for the kind kind words, and the beautiful card.

*The artwork, by the way, is Leslie Van Der Sluys, a hand coloured linocut print of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos and Banksia.

Newbie in the House

Sarah, she of Newbie in the Arctic, has been staying at the House this week, while up in Arctic Bay on business.  It's always nice to meet other bloggers in person (despite her calling me a "Grandfather". Its Godfather of Nunavut Blogging. Godfather!). Nunavut is small enough that you have pretty good odds of running into other bloggers, but spread out so much that it doesn't happen all that often.) Up here I've run into about five, not including Darcy and Kendra (who have abandoned me for the south).

The trouble with meeting other bloggers is that we are so used to interacting with each other through this medium that it can be a hard habit to break. So here is Sarah blogging about me, blogging about her.

Up Here, birds, and the Hoff

A few links for you this morning. 

Up Here magazine is a marvelous north themed magazine featuring articles from Canada's north. They also have a blog, which has begun featuring other northern bloggers. Thanks to Kara, who's been featured, they have included a post of mine on their blog.  Go check out their regular posts and guests posts from "regular" bloggers, like inflatable elvis.

I and the Bird #109 comes all the way from the Indian subcontinent. Ambika hails from Madras, and writes the entertaining Madras Ramblings. Her poetic version of I and the Bird is, as usual, filled with the best posts and photos of birds and birding from the natural history blogosphere.

For that subset of society that faces any problem by asking W.W.T.H.D? (What would The Hoff do? - which apparently involves going shirtless and lying on floors a lot) no annual event is more important than Megan of Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills' annual Being David Hasselhoff contest. There are prizes and high levels of weirdness, um, so you should go check it out.

And being as were in a link mood, I might as well through up my page at Quark's Blog your way to Antarctica contest. There's still time to register and vote, although I don't hold much hope in getting anywhere close to the leaders.

Canada Blog Friends feature

The House has been featured in Canada Blog Friends, which describes itself as an index of Canada's Best Blogs.  Its a nice feather in the cap, and I'd like to welcome those of you who are visiting from CBL.

Its especially nice that there are some additional people visiting right now, so I can whine for more votes in Quark's Blog Your Way to Antarctica contest.  I'm currently in 50th place, but a long way back from the leaders. Although I've still got a long climb, I'm pretty stoked that I passed the guy who finished second on last season's Survivor.

Its your chance to send me packing

Antarctica is an incredible land. Like up here, perhaps even more so, there is a rare quality to the light. The world seems to glow, to be lit from within. I still remember waking early that first morning and walking out on the deck into this incredible, still, magical place. I was still swaying from crossing the infamous Drake Passage, but now the waters were still, icebergs were everywhere, Pintados (Cape Petrels) and Snow Petrels swooped and dipped amongst them. I was the only passenger out there, and I stood mesmerized as the ship slowly made its way along. Gradually others came on deck, and small conversations sprang up. The world was no longer exclusively mine, but I'll never forget that scene.

I had traveled to Antarctica some twelve years ago. Antarctica was to be the next trip that Janice and I took, and after her death I determined to make the trip. It was a long journey, as I had traveled first to Hawaii to scatter her ashes. The return trip home, and then down to Ushuaia at the tip of South America saw me spend some 28 hours flying over the course of three days. The crossing of Drake took another two days, through a Force 9 or 10 gale, and 8 metre seas. But it was more than worth it, and the only thing that took away from it, was that Janice wasn't standing beside me.

So here's the thing. I'm trying to go back and I need your help.  Quark Expeditions is holding a contest, Blog Your Way To Antarctica, and I've thrown my hat into the ring. I think I'd be an ideal person to travel there for them and blog about it, I've even been on the ship before, leading a tour in Groenland and the Canadian Arctic. But, and it is and awfully big but, the contest is based strictly on the votes each candidate receives. I'm late to this game and the contest is only open until September 30th. I've got a lot of catching up to do.  So if you can, head over to my entry for the contest, register and vote. Beyond that, I'd appreciate it if you'd spread the word, if you pass the link along to your friends, post it on your blog, share it on Facebook or tweet it on Twitter (why does that seem so foolish to type).

One other thing, the prize is for two people to travel on the trip. Strangely, after seeing my pictures of the waves breaking over the boat during the Drake Crossing, Leah has no desire to go. I am taking lobbying for someone to accompany me should I win.

Babes in the Woods (Tundra?)

Reflections in the Snow-Covered Hills is pretty much a daily read for me. But I have to say that I found this post on totally hot male babes somewhat disconcerting. Disconcerting because I'm not on it.

Now normally a list like this wouldn't bother me, I mean I could care less if I'm not on the same "totally hot" list as, say, Brad Pitt. It might be disconcerting if I was on the same list as that guy that plays the doctor on TV, who was in that movie about the male Maid of Honour. But that would be because I really can't see why people would think him totally hot, but I digress.

But I know people on Megan's list! I mean, I must be just as totally hot as Townie Bastard, or Meandering Michael?

Mustn't I?