Thanksgiving Linkfest

I love Thanksgiving. No religion, no Muzak, no dead trees, no compulsory gift giving--just food and fellowship and then dessert.

And so, in the spirit of the day, I'm grateful:

For three women who inspired me to start blogging: Mary Sullivan, who writes Way to Grow and The First Year, two thoughtful, well-written blogs about embarking on the entrepreneurial life--and whose encouragement and advice helped me launch Away With Words; Sylvia Paull, the most connected woman in the universe and author of Berkeley Blog; and Laurie Clemans, an omnitalented, insatiably curious marketing ace.

For frequent commenters Mike Wagner of Own Your Brand! (in Iowa), Mike Pope of Evolving English II and Mike's Blog (in Seattle), and Matthew Stibbe Bad Language (in London)--three smart guys who never fail to inspire me.

For generous linkers Amy Kane, who writes Atlantic Ave., about life on the New Hampshire seacoast; John Robinson of Sore Eyes, who writes about anything that strikes his wide-ranging fancy; and Steve Spalding of How to Split an Atom--good geeky fun.

For fellow namers Strategic Name Development, Stoked Brands, and Cintara, who help me keep my competitive edge.

For Language Log, Dr. Goodword's Language Blog, Wordmall, and Separated by a Common Language, which slake my thirst for word knowledge. (Please go immediately to Dr. Goodword's definitive post on the use and misuse of "comprise" and commit it to memory.)

For Visual Thesaurus, which has brought me new readers and new insights into the worlds of words and writing. For Vocabula Review and Wordsmith.org, stimulating resources both.

For faithful readers and supporters Pam Slim, whose Escape from Cubicle Nation is required reading for anyone thinking of making the leap; Bryan Vartabedian, a pediatric gastroenterologist in Houston who seems like the kind of guy I'd take my kids to when they had tummy troubles, if I had kids and lived in Houston; and dynamic duo Mark Gunnion and CB Brown, finders of oddities and makers of connections.

For the super-fantastic Manolo's Shoe Blog. Shoes and laughs: what could be better?

For my very smart clients, who challenge me and believe in me.

For my brothers, who actually read this blog and send me great ideas for posts.

For my father, who taught me to read in two languages, brought home his English-grammar books from community college and shared them with me, and indulged--nay, abetted--my love of word play.

For all of you who care about the way we talk and write and sell each other stuff.

Thanks.

Thanksgiving Day parade photo: This Goes Nowhere.

Comments

[Pamela Slim]

Thanks to you too Nancy!

I hope you have a great end to your year and find that 2007 is even more lively, creative and interesting than 2006.

All the best,
-Pam

[mike]

Hey, thanks for the shout-out.

>I love Thanksgiving [...] just food and fellowship and then dessert.

Hear, hear. Easily the best holiday we have. And there are _so many_ things to be thankful for, all year long ...

[Tate Linden]

Thanks for the thanks! (I too am full of thanks to the blogosphere - and you!... somehow I left out that fact on my own thank-you post. I *knew* I was going to forget something important.)

The thing I am most thankful for (regarding blogs) is that there are so many different viewpoints and they are for the most part entirely relevant, coherent, and interesting. Who would've thought naming and branding would have so many different practitioners with so many fascinating things to say?

Have a great holiday!

[Michael Wagner]

Big smile in Iowa from one who is thankful for you, your words...the order you put them in, and your generous spirit.

Make some good memories this Thanksgiving,
Mike

[Jody]

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for the daily nourishment and inspiration from your blog. Keep on cookin' Nancy!!

[Mary Sullivan]

I'm happy to have been a catalyst for Away with Words, but the inspiration is all yours! Thanks for the gratitude and the mention.
-Mary

[lynneguist]

Thanks for the thanks--a bit late, but I've only just found that you were grateful for my blog! I'm grateful for it too, but for all the wrong reasons (procrastination, egocentrism, etc.). Thanks to you for yours.

Happy post-Thanksgiving!