In the spirit of Blogtipping; today I am taking the time to tip my hat to three blogs. (It’s simple: just pick three bloggers you know and give each one three compliments and one tip.)

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Citizen of the Month; pledging allegiance to the web.

Brought to you by Neil Kramer, writer and web producer living in Los Angeles – the humor of personal relationships and pop culture…. Where to begin?

1) Neil has grown since his beginning post; the first on March 2005, addresses ‘my future‘ announcing that he is a “… 100 year old man, thanks to medical advances and the ability of the medical establishment to take chances with modern patient care. Who knew that the diet supplement Trimspa would end up eradicating most illnesses from the world?” Since this first post Neil has addressed the topic of patient care 9 times and Trimspa 3 times; not bad really. He then went on to venture into other subject matter – check his archives for other topics: Los Angeles, New York, Life in General, Movies and Television, Theater, Men and Women (and the trouble begins), Jewish, Literary, Health, Music, Food, News and Politics, Art and Design, Gossip and Celebrities, Products, Life with Sofia, Life with Parents, Misc Humor, Sex, Entertainment and Technology.

2) With each posting his fans grow by leaps and bounds; 2,523 urls link to this site. What is that brings these people back again and again? It’s posts like the 2006 Christmahanukwanzaakah Concert, the Thank Your First Commenter Day, and the Mister Valentine’s Day among many others. Soon he will be hosting the Carnival of the Mundane (tomorrow!)

3) Neil does more then thinking up clever things to say all day; take time to look at his Neilochka photos (Neil after SuperCuts) (Santa) (Baby, It’s Cold Outside… I don’t understand either) (Frank Sinatra) (Bilingual Elmo) (Childhood Bedroom) (OMG! Neil) (Poor Sophia, she puts up with so much) (bikinis on sale) (Smokey in the Freezer); there are lists of peoples favorite posts (dating for liberals) (my father’s closet) (the photo shoot… oh no he didn’t) (make me insecure friday) (encounter at IHOP… my first job was IHOP so of course I was interested); there is a links page and past Blog Crushes of the Day to check who Neil reads.

Tip: Less of a tip; more of a kudos… Times of London reads Neil too.

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Women, Art, life: Weaving it All Together; Follow your HeART.

Brought to you by Tammy Vitale; celebrating Wylde Women everywhere…

1) Each post on Tammy’s blog is packed with information and “thoughts for the day”. Tam’s Originals celebrates Wylde Women everywhere including in each of us – She who is the Divine, the Holy and Who we each are. Sometimes we don’t know.. remember… believe, but she is… we are still there, waiting. Light the light. We have fumbled too long in the dark. She has 13 galleries/stores that represent her. She also has a MySpace blog; you’ll see a fun slideshow of her art, and get this… Barack Obama is one of her 52 friends (incidently Obama has 52,475 friends) But; back to Tammy…

2) Tammy has a store: Tam’s Originals; featuring Architectural Ceramics, Designer Tiles, Sculpture, Furniture, Info & Links. There are items scattered throughout her blog as well; such as this hand made ceramic sculpture (me want), Wylde Women sculptures, Shadow Women sculptures, Wylde Woman Dreaming (me want), Needle Point (lovely)… Take time to browse her photo album and take it all in.

3) Tammy is also a writer, a poet, has written a book of poems, was seen in the Washington Post and 26 other publications

Tip: Keep on, keeping on…

Painting a Day; Contemporary Realist Paintings

Brought to you by Jeff Hayes;

1) Jeff lives and works in Boston, Massachusetts, creating still lifes, landscapes, urban and portraits in the contemporary realist tradition. Most of Jeff’s paintings, in particular the daily paintings, begin with a moment of connection with a common object or scene: Fundamentally re-viewing something he’s seen dozens, maybe hundreds of times, and realizing that it has within it the seed of a work of art. To Jeff, these quiet, peaceful, and intimate moments are the essence of what it means to be an artist. Jeff provides painting demos and active in many upcoming artist events. Keep an eye on his E-Bay store and his “currently available” pieces as they move very quickly.

2) Jeff practices the Painting-A-Day discipline since August 2006; amazing detail and style. These are original oil on panel paintings primarily offered through his blog at a low starting bid of just $100. You can also view the entire series and progress at his Daily Painting Archive.

3) Jeff kindly promotes us other painting-a-day artists on his very successful Painting-A-Day Squidoo; a 4-1/2 star rating. Painting-A-Day was pioneered by artist, Duane Keiser. While very few of these artists produce a new painting every single day, disciplined regularity is clearly the goal and essence of this practice. Typically small in format – 6″ x 8″ or less, these paintings are offered for sale online at the artist’s website or through eBay, often for starting prices of just $100. This lively niche of the arts world allows artists to experiment, develop, and just have fun outside the confines of large-format works. The collecting public is also recognizing that these often stunning little masterpieces are a tremendous way to build their art collection.

Tip: No tip here; wonderful job as is.

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Ascender’s Blogtipping for February 2007

Ascender’s Blogtipping for January 2007

Ascender’s Blogtipping for December 2006

Ascender’s Blogtipping for November 2006

Ascender’s Blogtipping for October 2006