Can you imagine what it feels like to scribble away day after day in obscurity and furtive anonymity, selfishly taking precious time away from your family and job, all the while having no idea why you're doing this except that it's satisfying an urge that recently welled up out of nowhere, the whole thing so onanistic and shameful that you must conceal it from everyone you know, and then have someone from a blog that inspired you to jump into this medium, a respected representative from the world of letters, liken you to Charles Lamb? Can you imagine such a thing?
"OMG, OGIC!" my inner Valley Girl repeats over and over. I'm stunned by her generosity. I only hope I can live up to the Lambian ideal. And I'll be sure to keep a sharp eye on my sister.
By the way, if you're new to the neighborhood and looking for something better, may I suggest moseying on over to Stephenesque and Topic Drift? Stephen Baldwin's natural talent is so obvious, his perspective is so unique, his facility for the memorable phase is so adept, that, well, before today's boost of self-esteem I've been unable to send my readers over there for fear they'd never return. And as for Esther Wilberforce-Packard's Topic Drift, I'm speechless, except for the speech I previously delivered here.
Check and cheque are both in the mail. Esther can pay for herself.
Posted by: stephenesque | January 20, 2005 at 09:39 AM
Congrats, it is always exciting to get linked by the Big Guys. You deserve it, sir.
Posted by: Misspent | January 20, 2005 at 09:55 AM
BTW, what does OGIC mean?
Posted by: Misspent | January 20, 2005 at 09:56 AM
Like cream, talent always (and eventually) comes to the top. Well-deserved praise indeed, but hopefully not of the category of praise that goes to one's head. Hope all the kudos (from 2 Blowhards earlier in the month and now Mr. T himself) gets filed away with the cake that you'll enjoy eating privately.
Posted by: DarkoV | January 20, 2005 at 10:23 AM
Congratulations. Truly impressive.
Posted by: Mrs. Peperium | January 20, 2005 at 10:32 AM
Mr. O.L.,
Looking at the praise from a Slavic (i.e. suspicious) viewpoint, it states here ( http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jlamb.htm ) that Charles Lamb "was twenty years old Lamb suffered a period of insanity.
His sister, Mary Ann Lamb, had similar problems and in 1796 murdered her mother in a fit of madness".
I'm sure when OGIC wrote "is the Charles Lamb of our time, or the Charles Lamb of our medium", she meant it in a good way.
Right?
Posted by: DarkoV | January 20, 2005 at 11:02 AM
I've also read that "he lived his life with the shadow of madness".
Posted by: Mrs. Peperium | January 20, 2005 at 12:10 PM
Sigh. She's so dreamy.
http://praiseoffolly.typepad.com/praise_of_folly/2004/04/john_archibald_.html
Posted by: Desiderius Erasmus | January 20, 2005 at 02:43 PM
Very nice!
Posted by: Planethalder | January 21, 2005 at 03:22 AM
Yes, that is quite a compliment. Congratulations! I've been reading your blog for a couple of months now, so when I read her words of praise about you, I thought, "Yup. That's my Outer Life guy that I read every day. He done good."
Posted by: Waterfall | January 21, 2005 at 05:48 AM