Beautiful, Popular, Controversial, Helpful, Surprising, Overlooked, Proud, and Outstanding

That's a whole boat-load of adjectives none of which apply to the IRS or the majority of checkout clerks I come into contact with at my local Walmart. (Have you seen the actors in that Walmart commercial about the price-match guarantee? A little more apathy, and a little less concern for their fellow man and they would've nailed it.) I digress.

No, the adjectives in the title refer to blog posts--specifically mine. Admittedly, I feel a bit sheepish about characterizing anything of my own with such esteem, but there is a reason: I was forced. Okay, not so much forced as asked to by one Wolf Pascoe (@JustAddFather) of Just Add Father (which you should be reading if you're not already).

Technically, Wolf's request to participate in the Seven Links Project is a meme (Remember when memes were fun? No? Oh, um ...never mind) that involves listing old blog posts that fall under several categories--beautiful, popular, controversial, helpful, surprising, overlooked, and proud. I realize the meme are much like the near-extinct Sumatran Tiger, but this one's worth doing for several reasons:

1) It's hard to say no to friends, 2) you get to showcase some older posts to new readers, 3) it gives you a chance to promote some talented bloggers, and 4) it's an easy cheat in coming up with a blog post. Well, I guess I'd better get on with it then.(Oh, and for most of these I asked for outside input so as to feel less narcissistic.)

*Most Beautiful: "About A Boy"

There’s a boy at the bus stop. Cute kid, deep dark eyes, bright charismatic grin—probably in first grade. He’s also a holy terror. He rips things out of other kids’ hands. He tears around the entry drive, darting in front of moving cars without regard...


Most Popular: "Why I 'Hate' Mommy Bloggers"

So I'm waiting to get a haircut and flipping through a parenting magazine when, there it was: another ode to the mommy bloggers article. Well, isn’t that just special. This is the same thought I had last month perusing Babble's list of the Top 50 Mommy Bloggers, and it’s the same thought I always have when somebody writes another oo-la-la feature about the power of moms with Internet access. Listen up sisters. I am dad (with DSL). Hear me roar.


Most Controversial (Read the comments): "When Men Are Victims of Abuse"

I remember exactly what went through my mind at the suggestion that I had been emotionally abused by my now ex-wife. Horseshit. The very idea sounded ludicrous. I had been an all-state athlete, an Infantry Captain, and an accomplished corporate executive—positions that required strength and mental toughness. The only halfway legitimate version of an abusive wife I could conceive was that of a 400-pound woman squashing her rail-thin, hen-pecked husband because he forgot to bring home the extra side of gravy she wanted from KFC—fodder for Jerry Springer, Tyra, and all those talk shows that specialize in bringing off-the-chart social dysfunction to the masses.


Most Helpful: "Cards for Corn Syrup"

This week a sweet debate erupted within the mommy blogger/moms who blog community over a coordinated blogging tour meant to aid in dispelling the misconceptions associated with consuming high fructose corn syrup, or HFCS. The tour was part of an extensive “Sweet Surprise” campaign initiated by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), a Washington DC-based lobbyist group dedicated to the fair and ethical treatment of …corn. (Okay, refined corn if you want to get technical.)


*Most Surprised by its Success: "Dear Soccer Mom"

Dear Soccer Mom,

I just wanted to take an opportunity to tell you thanks for having my stepdaughter over for a play date with your daughter. From what I heard afterward, it sounds like they had a wonderful time. My stepdaughter couldn’t wait till school started again so they could see each other every day.


Most Overlooked: (i.e. Didn't get the attention it deserved) "Angels & Demons Part 1: Sparky"

(This is an audio post)
For as long as I have known my wife, Ashley, she’s mentioned numerous times her desire to show Allie, Avery, and me the small Oklahoma town, of Tahlequah where she had been born. It’s not hard to understand why should would want to make such a trip. At eight, Ashley left Tahlequah with her mother and sister, thus marking the beginning of a childhood spent constantly moving from place to place. I once asked my wife how many addresses she had as a kid, and for the life of her, she couldn’t come up with an exact number. So, for someone who grew up under such transient conditions, even by Gypsy standards, the rarity of consecutive years lived in Tahlequah represented the closest thing, Ashley could point to as a hometown, a relatively tiny blip on the map, but one that resided in a prominent place among her memories.


Most Proud Of: "What's In a Name"

One question I am often asked is how I came up with the name Clark Kent's Lunchbox for a dad blog to which my immediate response is a quip about it being something of an accident. The real answer, however, is a bit longer. When I started this blog back in 2007, I did so with the intention of improving my writing; I had no idea there was such a thing as daddy blog (or even a mommy blog for that matter). But that didn’t mean fatherhood wasn’t...

* * * * * 

That's my list, subjective as it may be. Now, you may have noticed that there is one more adjective from this post's title--Outstanding--that haven't been used yet. True. As with all memes, the idea is to "tag" several other bloggers to follow the above stated guidelines to carry on the chain. I am going to list some OUTSTANDING bloggers that you may not be already reading; however, there is no requirement for them to participate in the Seven Links Project. The talented Mr. Pascoe I've already mentioned, but since he was the instigator, I can only recommend him once again. The others are, in no particular order:

The Exceptional Man by Caleb Gardner

The Daddy Files - Aaron Gouveia

Always Jacked - Alan Kercinik

Story Wise Guy - Chris Buckley

Dork Daddy - the Dork Dad

How To Be A Dad - Charlie Capen & Andy Herald


Enjoy.



*originally posted on personal blog and published on another site later

Comments on my drivel always welcome. Thanks.

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