Greetings, Earthlings!

Of all the sounds in the world, the one I’m really growing to love is the sound of the wind rushing past as I cruise into the office on my bicycle. It’s the only time I have without audible claims on my attention, and it’s where I do my best gargleblaster thinking, believe it or not. Right now, though, the sound you’re hearing is your frazzled editor, typing waaay past her bedtime. This week we were joined by four gargleblaster virgins and a record ten (10!) hitchhikers! Apparently this prompt really resonated with people. Welcome, everyone! We think this is just about the best corner of the blogoverse, and we hope you come to love it too.

Crowd favorite

Chock full of wordplay and whimsy, Christi’s poem, Plotting, takes this week’s crowd favorite prize:

Editor’s pick

The list of words our readers used to describe this week’s editor’s pick include “poignant,” “brutal,” “visceral,” and “fragile.” We couldn’t agree more. Kymm’s poem, One Heart Breaking, struck us just where it hurts right from the opening line.

Kymm, you broke our hearts with this. Pick up your editor’s pick badge right there in the sidebar.

Top row seven*

In addition to Christi, the top row seven includes: Meg at Pigspittle, Ohio for Busted; Jo-Anne at Going for Coffee for Farewell Uncle Bill, I Knew You; Mike at mjshorts for Grandma’s Funeral; Suzanne at Apoplectic Apostrophes for Lurking; Michelle at The Michelle Longo for Estate Sale; and Silverleaf at Silverleaf Journal for In the Emptiness. Congratulations, all! Not a lemon in the bunch — unless you count the lemons wrapped around a gold brick that are a key ingredient in a true pangalactic gargleblaster. Go grab your badges! The gargleblaster grid is now sorted in order of votes from most to fewest. It’s always a tight race and a wonderful opportunity to learn from your fellow grid-mates. In the case of a tie, InLinkz gives precedence to the post with the highest number of clicks. * I realize that your browser may not display the grid in neat rows of seven, but mine does. Therefore, the Top Row 7.

Hitchhiker’s prize!

With so many fantastic hitchhikers, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to award a prize. But first, we just have to tell you how tickled we are that so many of you love the gargleblaster enough to hitchhike. It shows that you’re not in it for the votes – you’re in it for the fun and the community. That, my friends, is out of this world. The hitchhiker’s prize this week may come as a surprise to the recipient, as it is her first week participating here at yeah write. My White Picket Life impressed us with the way she managed to convey the weight of one word — “goodbye” — in her poem The Sound of Silence:

Congratulations! There’s a spiffy little badge waiting for you in the sidebar to the left. We hope to see you on the grid next week – remember, it fills up quickly!

Looking for more?

Hard as it is to believe, there are other challenges out there at yeah write! Go ahead — take a few minutes to check out this week’s challenge grid (for personal essays and traditional blog anecdotes) and the speakeasy (for fiction). Read, comment, get to know the community. And if the mood strikes you, submit your own post: the challenge grid and speakeasy are open until 10:00 PM Eastern on Wednesday. We know you won’t all make the grid every week, but don’t panic! The moonshine grid opens on Friday and we’d love to see you there.

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