I'm Here For You

I do a lot of talking about myself here on Murphblog. There are many reasons for this, the only one worth sharing being that it's my blog and I like to write about what I know and love. I also like to write about awesome things. But enough about me. This post is about you. See, there comes a time when even award winning bloggers need to give back to their rabid devotees. So today I bring you the following:

• Links to blogs written by my "followers" (I've picked some favorite posts)
• A "get your book published" contest here in Michigan that you probably won't want to enter.
  
• A poem about grandpa farts
• A picture from my Photobucket account
• A chance to win 10 packs of grape Kool-Aid (sugar not included)

I have eight official followers, so here are awesome things they've posted on their blogs:

Carrie--you can't go wrong with John Lovitz, lightning struck horses, and gambling on piranhas
Tracy--As a fellow teacher, I couldn't agree more with his reasons, especially the long breaks
Lily Cate--I like this one based on the title alone
Kelly--One of those "things about me" lists, but noteworthy because of its honesty. Kelly tells us 'My husband and I had a pretend puppy when we were first married, because we couldn’t have a real one yet in our apartment.' I admire people who are willing to embarrass themselves for the sake of their blogs.
Big Plain V--Ben nails Twilight in this post and I like to read things I agree with. Plus, there's a pie chart.
Linda--because it's about one of my favorite authors and his book and also because I disagree with her and I like to read things I disagree with (like how I did that there?)
Monica--this is good because it means Monica spends a lot more time reading my blog than she does updating her own. The world needs more readers.
Murph--this should come as a surprise to exactly no one.

PUBLISHING CONTEST

MEMSPA, which is not an organization of really smart people, but is instead comprised of Michigan school principals (and yes, I know exactly how that sounds) is sponsoring a contest for "aspiring children's authors." You can read the details here if you're interested, but there are two drawbacks I can see. One, you have to drop 40 bucks to send in your manny and two, the prize is you get your book published, but it says nothing about being awarded a publishing contract and those are two very different things. (The different things being one involves payment and the other may not.) But if you're desperate (like me) to see your name in print, I don't imagine they'll get a ton of submissions, so you might have a shot.


And now for what you've all been waiting for...

GRANDPA'S FORTS

My grandpa says he forted,

But we all know what he means.

It happens almost every time

Grandma bakes her beans.

After he admits it,

Grandma rolls her eyes.

“Better out than in,” he says,

And then my grandma sighs.

I always feel like laughing,

But I try to hold it in.

And that’s when Grandpa smiles at me,

And then he forts again.

"When the Wine is Gone"

And finally, for your chance to win the Kool-Aid, guess the name of my cat. Hint: the name is also a 1980s movie character. Contest only open to rabid devotees, although I will look the other way if you become a "follower" just so you can win (and really, why wouldn't you? I mean, you can win $1.00 worth of grape Kool-Aid!)

You: Why did you make this contest so hard? I mean, there were thousands of awesome movie characters in the 1980s and lots of them would make a great name for a cat (like Chunk from The Goonies, for example. Wow, funny link there, Murph.)

Me: Because I already bought the Kool-Aid. And I really like grape Kool-Aid.


Good luck. And, you're welcome.