A 100 Word Shortie and A Love of Toads

My blogroll may not be pages long, and one always feels the need to reciprocate when another blogger adds your own site to their list, but I try to keep my everyday reads as manageable ( and thus as choice!) as possible. As the blogsphere grows, it gets harder and harder to keep my Herd small. So many good blogs, so little time and space. And time spent with these little dogies (as well as anyone on my sidebar) is always a joy:

Oh man, you gotta read this short story over at Elisson's place. It's got a lot of PUNCH for exactly 100 words - a steal of a deal.

Michael at 2blowhards waxes eloquently about dresses, skirts and thongs. I honestly never realized men paid that much attention to what we wear. Alas, I am no fashionista. My Rockies and my red Justin Roper's are my usual weekend dress up attire.

Phil over at Collected Miscellany reminds us of the 80th anniversary of Mein Kampf. Something always great to learn about in the reading world at CM.

Two wonderful causes, two wonderful blogs: both Eric and Rana are raising money for their favorite charities by participating in Blogathon 2005 beginning Saturday, August 6th. Drop by their place, oh say 3:30 AM?, and give them a shake. Tell 'em Pattie said to get a move on!

The Fool is Furry today and introduces us to one of his favorite poets, Jack Gilbert. I've always wondered what a hedgehog feels like in the palm of my hand...

Feelin' a little froggy? Want a fresh view of the world? Visit a bit with Bill at his crib, Nothing But Love. You hafta watch ole Bill, he sneaks things up on you. Driest humor in the universe, and never fails to make me smile.

A blogger I love to visit, Ronni, now has a complimentary blog about a tough upheaval in her life at A Sense of Place. She is a sane voice in a crazy world, and I always come away with a feeling I've known her for a long long time. Her glass is nearly always half full as exampled by this recent musing:

As I mentioned over at Time Goes By not too long ago, we humans like new beginnings, a chance to start over and do it better this time. Sometimes, however, it’s not better we seek, but different, and an opportunity to get out of a rut and discover other aspects of ourselves when we are no longer in familiar surroundings.