I apologize to y’all, but I have to post three times today. I’ve got some updates I want to give you, I have a post for a group writing project (the deadline is today and I procrastinated….does that surprise you?), and later today the This Post Blows My Dress Up writing contest will come to a close. I’ll be posting the entries on one post so they can be found easily and put Damien at Postcards From The Funny Farm, to work judging them. I don’t envy his task, because there are some wonderful entries!

This post is for some updates.

• First, several days back, I underwent the process of donating platelets. It wasn’t pretty.

  No wait! Don’t get me wrong! It didn’t hurt…not a bit. But, I am not a very good donor. I’m doing this, because if I donate platelets twice, Carter Blood Care will test my bone marrow for free. I have a friend named Taten, who is part Cree Indian and has been waiting to find a match for a bone marrow transplant. I knew I wouldn’t be the match for him, but I thought if I talk about it, maybe some of you will be encouraged to be tested. If a sissy like me can do it, any fool can. There may be a child waiting for you! With that simple procedure, you can save a life. How cool is that?

  TATEN HAS A MATCH! Yep, that’s right. And you can read what his family has to say about it at Taten’s blog, called Young Warrior. Taten, I’m so pleased for you, buddy. My thoughts are with you every day. I will go back for the second platelet donation, just as soon as the bruise is gone on my left arm. I don’t want people to think I have “tracks.”

• Second, there was a blog called Top Blog Magazine that suffered “an untimely death.” It was pretty wonderful, because it brought together articles from lots of fine writers on the web. It is being reincarnated as a totally different magazine called Blog Nosh. Megan at Velveteen Mind is the editor, and she says this about it:
  

  After consulting with all of TopBlogMag’s excellent writers, the new reincarnation will be a magazine featuring republished posts from your blog’s old archives.

  You know those really great posts you wrote before anyone was reading your blog? The ones you try to pimp out in your sidebar’s “Dear God, Please Read These Before You Judge Me for Writing About My New Haircut 4 Days in a Row!” section? Yeah, those.

  If it has fallen off of your front page and you love it, then we will be noshing on it!

  *With your permission, of course.*

  Go over there and contact her. You know you want to do it.

• Third, does anyone have suggestions about Dear Dora? It’s a site I created after the Dear Abby contests I had. I put all of the “letters to Abby” on one page of Dora’s site. I love her, and I love to write for her, but she is languishing over there. She needs you to write ridiculous letters to her. Should she have a contest?? Help me out here, puhleeze!

One down, two to go. I’ll be right back.