You know that thing you filled out that I tricked you into doing?

Well not all of you but about 15-20 of you did. Here is the follow up to what most of you answered and some of your questions answered by me.

It's long, so pour a cup of coffee or pop open a bottle of rootbeer if you're not a bean lover, and enjoy. (Did that sound racist?)

How did you find out about brandy-son Zen master flash, The Blog?

Blog frog, Lady Bloggers Society and the people who are related to me that feel obligated to read this (I don’t feel guilty about that one bit) were the biggest drivers in discovering The Blog. As much as I complain about Blog Frog most of the awesome people that I have met have come from there. With a lot of online communities that contain mostly women, I just think the community section of Blog Frog is what frustrates me the most. I know I’m not alone in this. I have to say I really like Lady Bloggers Society I have found some really cool blogs on there too.

If you’re looking for other options I really like Blog Lovin and Delightful Blogs features some unique blogs as well.

For myself, I have found most of the blogs in my reader through word-of-mouth of other blogs I read and from people whose opinion I trust. If I find a blog I really enjoy I go straight to their blog roll, if they have one, to see who they enjoy reading too.

Are you subscribed to The Blog? If so, with what service?

Google Reader is still the most popular option.

For myself, I really like Blog Lovin's layout and the fact that you can still see blog layout’s when you’re in it. I like seeing how people have designed their blogs and what they have on their side bars (except ads and sponsors). But, BUT I have not fully transferred all of the way over from Reader to them just yet.

How long have you been reading The Blog?

Most of you have been reading for at least one year or more. That makes me pretty happy. I think the shortest time was about 6 months. This makes sense since last year is when my stats started going up and have remained fairly steady for about a year. In other words this could mean that I have remained stagnant for one year which doesn't make me feel peachy.

Is there anything you would like to see more of?

Junk Hunts are something you would like to see more of according most of your answers. This is great because it just gives me more reason to go thrifting so really I should be thanking you all, so THANK YOU! You guys also want to see more of Tyronewhich I think is adorable. I’m not sure if I’m going to tell him until he reads it himself. He loves attention so he is going to love hearing this. You guys also mentioned that you want to see more pictures and hear more childhood memories. I’m going to try and work on that.

Do you think Frederick is as big of a jerk as I do?

The answers were 45% (yes) - 55% (no). I think most of you who said no are a tad bit confused. I know his adorable face can be deceiving but trust me when I tell you he’s a jerk and for the person who said he’s probably an asshole is right on the money. I loved reading that; made me laugh out loud.

Have you checked out The Shop at zenmasterflash.etsy.com? If so, what is your favorite item?

Feather hair clips are by far the most popular items which wasn’t much of a surprise because that is what I have sold the most of. You guys also love the freak flags which makes me very, very happy.

Do you have any questions for me?

Most of you did not have any questions for me and that’s probably because most of you are relatives and know enough about me. I don’t blame you for not asking. Or most of you probably think that I already blog about every detail in my life so what is there to ask? Well, contrary to popular belief I don’t tell you everything that goes on in my life on here. I do that on purpose.

Like, did you know that I saw Rise of The Planet of The Apes this weekend? You do now. So maybe it's a little true.

1. if you could have any super power, what would it be?

Although I’m already like Paul Reuben’s character, The Spleen, on Mystery Men (“Pull my finger”) which is a super power I inherited from my mother, I would have to say that I wish I had super power strength. I would like to know how to fight really well and be able to pick up a Greyhound bus if I had to. You never know when that might come in handy. Sometimes buses get in the way and you need to be able to move them immediately. This also goes for semi trucks, ships, and helicopters. The little girl on Kick Ass who, uh hmm, kicks ass is a total badass. I’m jealous of a little girl. Perfect.

2. What attracts you to a blog or Twitter feed?

I love creative people, excellent writers and people who make me laugh. The blogs in my reader range from all over BlogolopolousTown, from one side of the tracks to the other. Sometimes I like to slum it up a bit, you know what I mean?

Seriously, I read a lot of DIY, crafty blogs, vintage lovers, fashion blogs and “real” people blogs. What I mean by “real” people are the awesome people that I’ve made friends with online that I feel are genuine and the real people I know in my daily life who have a blog. I love people who are honest. I don’t always want to hear how perfect your life is (even though I read a lot of these I don’t feel connected with these people at all).

I love reading other entrepreneur’s blogs. I love reading their stories and when they discuss about how they succeeded in their small business. I’ve learned so much from other bloggers just by reading their helpful posts. I love hearing what has worked for them and what hasn’t.

If you’re always showcasing something from another blog or advertising a lot I will un-follow you quicker than snot. I use to have a MILLION wedding blogs in my reader but since I’m over planning my own wedding I don’t read a lot of them anymore although there are still a few I keep around for inspiration. I have recently un-followed a few “new mommy” blogs. I do read a lot of your basic mommy blogs but only if their brat isn’t all they talk about.

I have issues with how hard some people make it to comment on their blog. If I have to feel out an essay just to comment then I don’t comment.

I don’t read any political blogs.

3. Would you be interested in starting our own blog community, for people like us who don't write about cloth diapers, church, and pureeing our own baby food? I'm not sure how we could do it, but there's got to be a way to pull together the blog friends we already have and somehow networking to get enough people to start a substantial forum/discussion board-type thing where unconventional bloggers can go to get support and stop feeling so alone. I feel alone in the blogosphere, do you?

Yes, some days.

I think this is such an excellent question and I was very glad to get it. It’s funny, because the blogs that I’m most attracted to initially like DIY, vintage lovers, crafty blogs seem to be the hardest (except for mommy blogs they are THE HARDEST for me) to get “in” with. I can comment my ass off on them and NEVER get a single response back EVER. These people have some of the most popular and successful blogs out there and they NEVER respond to anything I say. I leave genuine comments because these are things I am sincerely interested in but I never get anything in return – not even a Thank You. I’ve had to let this go. I don’t always expect a response EVERY time I comment on someone else’s blog but to NEVER receive one is pretty lame. I know these people get a lot of comments and can’t imagine how hard it would be to respond to every single one but when you NEVER get a response I can only imagine that they aren’t responding to others as well. It makes me wonder how they gained all of their followers in the first place.

How do you connect with your readers if there isn’t any interaction whatsoever?

If you find out let me know.

I know it’s possible because I’ve had some big time bloggers respond to a comment I left and even though we didn’t become BFF’s it was enough for them to at least acknowledge my comments every once in awhile and kept me coming back to read their blog.

It’s almost as if you don’t sponsor their blog they will not talk to you at all. This might be the tween girl inside of me thinking but it’s like an evil clique that you will never get in to no matter how hard you try. I see myself standing outside of the circle waiving all of the time. I have to remember that when I started to feel this way back in junior high, what my mom told me helped me through, “When you’re an adult, you won’t be friends with most of these people anymore. They won’t matter. They’ll grow up and get fat and be unhappy because they were mean in school.” She was right and it still goes. They might seem like the cool kids and people I might want to be friends with but there is a reason that I’m not being accepted and that’s because I’M ACTUALLY COOLER THAN THEY ARE. Okay, really it’s because I didn’t get in to this whole blog thing to make friends. The friends I have made are a MAJOR FUCKING BONUS that I am so thankful to have.

I started it as a creative outlet and because I think my actual BFF had one I thought I needed one too.

I’m not even going to comment on the mommy blogging world; first of all, because I’m not a mom and second of all, because I’ll just be mean about it.

(Don't think that if I ever have a kid I'll change my mind about this because I probably won't. I'm sure my eyes will open up to things I never thought they would ever open up to but I don't see me becoming a closed-minded jack wad after I push out a brat.)

I think it would be great to start some community for the bastard children of Blogolopolous Town. I would love to do that but I would have no idea how to start one unless we just did it on someone else’s platform. Then we could be the “cool” kids smoking in the back alley. Well, we already are.

Let Your Freak Flag Fly!

4. Maybe I missed this post somewhere along the way (I think I've been following you for close to a year now...???), but how'd you come up with the Zen master flash???

Seriously? I have no idea. I just pulled it out of my ass. I was staring at the Blogger set up screen trying to think of something clever. I was in an “I don’t give a shit” kind of mood and wanted something silly and memorable and original.

5. Give me baby name suggestions that do not include fruits, liquors and/or car names; pretty much apple, bug and Mercedes are out of the question.

You could try naming your child after a rock? There are many different types of rocks with different names out there? Just askTyrone he’ll tell you all about it and then scold you for calling them rocks. They’re stones, not rocks. I would suggest maybe naming it after one of the Jem and The Holograms. I especially love the names of their rival bands.

Jem and The Holograms

Jerrica

Jacqui

Kimber

Aja

Shana

Carmen

Raya

Ba Nee (the troubled foster girl)

The Misfits

Pizzazz

Roxy

Stormer (On second thought you can’t have this name because I want it; Stormer J. Franklin – perfect!)

Jetta

The Stingers

Riot

Rapture (I can’t believe I don’t already know someone with this name)

Minx

Or if you’re having a boy any name shortened with Lil’, Biggie, or Ice on the front of it will work too. Any name that a rapper would use would be super fitting and would definitely not get them beaten up in grade school.

Was that helpful?

This graph is probably only interesting to me. The fact that DIY projects are the second favorite post makes me scratch my head. I mean, it makes me happy BUT they have some of the lowest stats compared to the rest. Take DIY Week for instance - it was one of my worst stat weeks in over a year so I almost decided to stop doing so many of them. Maybe a whole week of it was too much for most, I don't know.

Did you know that you too can have your very own Scene Kid?