WORTH YOUR EYEBALLS

"Ah," as Ed Peaco is known to say — something good to read. Ed's blog, The Wine-Jazz Nexus, is outstanding. Give it a whirl and see if you don't concur.

And when you do, don't forget to yell "Bem!" Ed would approve.

VOTE EARLY, OFTEN

Nominations are posted for this year's Blogaroni Awards, the local equivalent of nothing else in the known universe.

This Simple Thoughts post has the contenders.

CHATTER and its bastard stepchild blog have five nominations, all in the Blog Post of the Year category.

We're partial to a couple of things written (as opposed to typed) this year -- this piece from last January about the presidential candidates and their oh-so-sexy natures; and this column from June about slogan-happy voters.

So if you're a local blogger and have the super-secret access code, zip over to this site and vote.

Congrats to all, luck to all.

CHANGE IS COMING

To a blog near you. We'll update you in the next day or so about a shift in the way we do blogging 'round these parts.

ENIGMATIC BLISS

Marissa Whitley's blog is subtitled "The Life and Times of a Has-Been Beauty Queen." She shouldn't be so hard on herself.

Click the link to find Enigmatic Bliss. It's also added to the CHATTERWORTHY blogroll (or will be, when Blogrolling comes off the sick list).

Enigmatic Bliss, and the writer, are keepers.

HE'S SUCH A MASH

Just in time for trick-or-treaters, the bad-ass known as Desdinova has re-posted his list of the Top 50 Halloween songs.

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound, it's time to put on some BOC and mourn the loss of Tokyo. Happy Boo Year's Eve.

BLOGGING THE ELECTION

The blogger known as Fat Jack has called the meeting. Local bloggers will gather at Patton Alley Pub at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, to do some live blogging.

Mainstream media alert: Patton Alley will be the place to be on Election Night. Only question still hanging: how early will the presidential race be called for Barack Obama? For the first time in two cycles and eight years, it looks like an early night for calling it.

This, of course, will give John McCain supporters an excuse to blame the mainstream media for the defeat of their candidate. Some things never change.

Post your Election Night predictions now. Popular vote percentages, electoral numbers, time the winner will be announced by the Big Three networks. We'll climb onto the limb first: 51-47 for Obama, 338-200, and 9:01 p.m. Central.

A MONTH AND FOUR DAYS

That long since we last did any typing that didn't involve a TAKE WXMON or CG command. Look, Ma -- upper and lowercase letters!

Our apologies for the unexpected vacation from Blogistan. A bit of news from up north pushed CHATTER to a back burner. Rest assured, our focus has gone back to being unfocused. Summer reruns are over. A new season is here.

ARMCHAIR CHIT CHAT

Matt Petcoff gave birth this week to a blog: Armchair Chit Chat, a sports-oriented read with a bastard-cousin relationship to the blog you're reading. The name gives it away.

Give Brother Matt a looksee, watch as his child grows into something that attracts millions of eyeballs. Or so we hope for Mr. Petcoff.

NEVER GONNA BREAK MY FAITH

As you remember lost loved ones on Memorial Day, keep in mind Jeff Melton. His widow, Holly, has a challenge for locals, issued in a column in Sunday's News-Leader, and on her blog.

Holly Melton wants to establish an urgent care cancer clinic in the Ozarks -- "an urgent care medical facility that is dedicated to only the special needs of cancer patients." She writes:

When one is battling for his or her life, an urgent care clinic is needed that is specially designed to keep cancer patients free from the airborne illnesses found in a typical urgent or emergent care facility. A cancer patient's immune system is already greatly compromised. A clinic is needed where a cancer patient's wait won't be extended because of an incoming car accident that takes the immediate attention. A clinic is needed where a cancer patient will be touched gently, spoken to softly -- cancer patients are in great pain, not hard of hearing. Often the pain medication and the cancer treatments have left a cancer patient with a low tolerance for noise and light. The tumors and searing pain in their bodies make it absolutely necessary for gentle treatment, softer bedding, swift and expert bed transfers. A cancer patient doesn't want to go through their litany of medications another time. Therefore, there is a need for a registry of medications. There is a desperate need to care for those with cancer, no matter what stage of the disease.

If you have ever witnessed someone who has just received a round of chemotherapy, or a cancer patient who is so weak and in desperate need of a blood transfusion, or a cancer patient whose pain is so intense that the thought alone of moving makes them vomit, then you can see the need exists. Please join me. We can do this.

Stop by her blog, read up, consider joining her challenge. It's a worthy one.

HAPPINESS, ANYWAY

It's what a blog is supposed to be -- insight into the way someone thinks.

Zip thataway, bookmark Happiness, Anyway and be glad you did. We did, we did, we are.

BACK BUTT, BABY

Delightful colleague Michelle Sherwood gives new meaning to the phrase "back butt" on her blog, as she discusses a new project involving KSPR.

The Buff Brides blog can be found here. Worth a looksee. And don't forget the back butt, baby.

REMINDER: BLOGGERS MEET FEB. 28

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Date: Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008

Place: Panera Bread, National & Elm

The Springfield Bloggers meet, greet, eat, fete. Sweet. See you there.

BLOGGERS MEETING FEB. 28

The word comes to us from Fat Jack and goes a little something like this:

We are having a meeting of the Springfield Blogger's Association. That's right kids, it is back on!

The Blogaronis -- Springfield's answer to the Academy Awards, only with more beautiful people -- will be part of the festivities.

So mark the calendar -- 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 -- and plan to be at Panera Bread at National & Elm. Special guest appearance by famous celebrities are possible.

A (GRAPHIC) NOVEL IDEA

It's The Graphic Classroom, a site created by Ozarks writer Chris Wilson. Let him explain:

The Graphic Classroom is a resource for teachers and librarians to help them stock high quality, educational-worthy, graphic novels and comics in their classroom or school library. I read and review every graphic novel or comic on this blog and give it a rating as to appropriateness for the classroom.

We're all students and learners. It's always good to have guides.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Another year, another round of Blogaroni nominations -- the Blogaroni being the local version of the blogging Oscars (or maybe the local Tonys, only without the stagecraft).

Larry Litle at Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind has the list of nominees. Your eternally grateful chief typist thanks the academy for nominating CHATTER in two categories: Best News Blog and Blog of the Year.

Voting is on through Feb. 15, 2008. The rules:

To vote, you must have an active local blog that was created before 1-01-08. You may only vote once, no matter how many blogs you have.

So surf over to Litle's blog, peruse the list of nominees and shoot him an e-mail. Break a leg, all.

SAY HELLO TO ...

... Judicious Blatherings, and no, we don't know what took us so long to link to it. Wry and sly, and the brother can write.

You'll find Judicious Blatherings in the CHATTERWORTHY sidebar. Enjoy.

SPORTS FROM BROTHER BOB

Older Brother Robert (not to be confused with Younger Brother Richard) has decided at the ripe, round age of 50 to start the blogging thing.

Check him out at Let's Talk Sports, a blog about -- you guessed it -- sports. You'll also find a link in the CHATTERWORTHY blogroll, on the right-hand side of this page.

DINING WITH THE MOUTHPIECES

We had the chance this week to dine with PIOs -- public information officers serving the city, county, school district, the zoo, Ozarks Greenways and the convention and visitors bureau (if we left out anyone, mea culpa).

Purpose of the lunch: Get to know us! "Us" being three local bloggers, including the chief typist of this joint, the guy from Life of Jason and the fella who runs Branson Edge.

Seems official types want to do more outreach to bloggers, part of the continuing shift away from mainstream media-only access. It's a solid idea; expect to see more original reporting from local bloggers, as they slowly gain parity with their professional typing peers.

Thanks to Jason and the Edgeman for their input, and to the PIOs who suffered us without much grumbling.

WHERE IS RADIO GOING?

Art Morris asks the question on his Missouri Radio Message Board. You should help provide the answers.

The chief typist -- an old radio hand hisself -- thinks commercial radio started to die when it began accepting ads for satellite radio.

Can commercial radio survive this century? Or is it as dead as print?

CLICK, READ, SAVOR

Hola. Three new links added to the CHATTERWORTHY list o' blogs. They include:

Oh Dur, a blog from Dori Olmos.

Marissa Whitley, our friend from Springfield, now working to take over the homeland of Los Angeles.

TV Seen By Me, from Emily Rittman.

Read, enjoy, have fun. Tell 'em CHATTER sent you.