Joy is a belly dancer in Fresno and a singer in the group Suicide Lounge. I met her at the Rogue Festival. She's quite the blogger, with a presence on two sites (her own, and the one she helped found with a group of fellow "Fresno chicks"). Since she couldn't join us for our Blogger Olympics back in May, we decided she'd be a great first entry in our new series, Bloggeraderie, which aims to promote the act of blogging in Fresno.

We hope to make this a regular feature on The Beehive, so if you know of any good local blogs (or if you'd like to stalk a local blogger), let me know. And I promise this won't be as long as when I interviewed Eric Field.

The following are questions we emailed Joy over the weekend, as well as her answers:

Who is Joy Unconfined?

Joy Unconfined is me; just some chick.

Too simplistic an answer? There's a quote from Lord Byron that reads "On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined."

It struck a chord. Growing up with the name Joy was not easy for me. I've always been introspective. I was never outgoing and carefree and, well, joyful as people often expected. I was always shy and too worried about how I would be perceived; what the people around me wanted. Then I became an adult and at some point I realized that, while it is important to be aware of how you affect the people around you, it is just as important to be aware of who you are and what you want in life. So I adopted that Lord Byron quote as my new personal mission statement. I would be unconfined from the worry of "what the neighbors would think". I would follow my heart, and my head, and no longer be constrained by convention. That's how I became Joy Unconfined.

That's the how. For the who, I refer to myself thus: Mother, Singer, Dancer, Dreamer. Not always in that order, but

Mother is certainly the most important of these to me. In my blogs I often mention the Podling, of whom I am infinitely proud. She is truly one of the best people I have ever known. I swear I'm not just saying that because I helped raise her.

I was always a singer. It has always been an integral part of me. I had two older brothers, and for most of my childhood that I can remember, they were telling me to shut up and quit singing. (Not because I was bad, just because I really never stopped.) After high school, I didn't really sing much for twenty years. I'm grateful that Robert Paul and Nate Butler decided I was a good fit with The Suicide Lounge. I get to sing again, and I'm having a grand time. People tell me I'm not too shabby.

Editor's note: Joy wanted to plug her birthday show, but I was too lazy to get this post up in time. We'd like to wish Joy a happy birthday, which was yesterday, and she wanted it noted that info for future shows can be found in the calendar section at thesuicidelounge.com. Now back to the rest of her answer.

I didn't start dancing until about ten years ago. I needed to get out of the house and get moving, and an adult school bellydance class was just the thing to accomplish that. Back then, if you had told me people would pay me to dance at restaurants and events I would have said you're crazy. Now dancing is a beloved outlet of creativity, exercise and fun for me. I have recently branched out to include retro-burlesque in my endeavors, and yes, it is an absolute blast.

No, it is not what most people think it is. Hopefully my alter ego, Joie de Vivre and her partner in crime Amanda Allure will soon have a place to offer a dance class and bring the fun we've found to a whole new audience.

As for being a dreamer? Everyone has dreams. I just decided to finally start acting on some of mine.

All dreams may not come true, but in striving to attain them I may find something else of value, equally fulfilling. If nothing else, dreaming and moving toward my dreams makes life interesting. I can't abide stagnation.

Going back to the original question, I think it is likely apparent at this point that Joy Unconfined is someone who spews many words.

Why do you blog on the topics you blog about?

Why do people have conversations with friends about whatever topics they discuss? My personal blog is ultimately a conversation with myself and my friends. I am aware that people I don't know very well, or maybe don't know at all, also read my blog. I do edit. I don't put everything there. Imagine if I did! That would be uncomfortable and embarrassing for everyone. It is a way to clear my mind and throw out ideas; work through my thoughts, good and bad; offer commentary on what catches my eye; document something I find interesting, or funny, or downright odd. Sometimes it's just a way to kill time and get my mind off of something else.

When I blog for Fresnocentric.com, I talk about my experience as a resident of Fresno. I'll review places I've been, events I've seen or been a part of; call attention to things I know are happening or have happened. We all have opinions about the things around us. I offer mine. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but maybe someone will read what I say and it will make them think and form their own ideas and opinions; maybe they'll have something to say, too. Maybe they'll view the home they have in Fresno a little differently. People should be proud of all the great things we have here, and be willing to be a part of fixing the things that may not be great.

When and how did you get started blogging?

Years ago I developed a loosely affiliated group of friends online from all over North America. When we discovered blogging, it just became a part of that "community", a place we could share ideas, stories, thoughts, jokes, sorrows, joys. We would create blogs to celebrate birthdays, and last year a blog was created in remembrance of one of that original circle of friends who passed on. A lot of blogs have a "limited run". The original blog I started ... I'm not even sure if I remember the URL. I'm quite certain that's a mercy. No one needs to see those early attempts at self expression. As I "grew" as a blogger I would rethink my focus, and a new blog would be formed. I'm fairly sure I have settled on "Joy Unconfined," and while it may get a face lift from time to time, or my words may shift and flow in different directions, it will remain "the blog." Joy Unconfined is who I am in the blogosphere, for better or worse.

Blogging started as a way to communicate with friends I already had, but through it I have come to know many people with whom I might not otherwise have connected. And it's fun. Really, who doesn't want their own little place to set up a soapbox and drone on and on? We all want to be heard. Blogging is a lovely way to imagine we're being heard. Sometimes we really are! After all, you heard me, or I wouldn't be answering these questions.

Settle this debate for us: What makes a good blog entry?

Oh come on. I can't settle that. Didn't your momma ever tell you that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? Really, that question is like asking, "What makes a person interesting?" It depends on what you're looking for.

One of my favorite blogs is one which I was introduced to by another local blogger, Marcel Nunis. It's called The Presurfer, and every blog post is just some odd, quirky, funny, or interesting thing that you can find out there on the net. I think those are good entries. (As well as lovely time wasters.) On the other hand, there are a few really wonderful, introspective people who discuss nothing more than life as they know it in every post, but they do it with such intelligence and humor that I can't stop reading. Another of my favorite all-time blogs is actually a horror story, done by a professional writer, told in blog form from the point of the main character.

Each entry was another "day in the life" of this character, the horror unfolding over weeks and months. I was riveted from start to finish. I don't know if that blog is available to read anymore.

I suppose a good blog entry is something worth reading, something that catches the eye, something that enriches your life, or makes you laugh, or makes you think, or teaches you something, or tells you something you didn't know before.

Educate us: What is Half-Nekkid Thursday?

Ah, yes. Half-Nekkid Thursday. Now that is an internet phenomenon through which you might find "a good blog entry," but also through which you can find some really ... well, not so good blog entries. There again ... "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

I'm a late-comer to the world of Half-Nekkid Thursday. As I understand it, it started as a fun thing where people would post a picture every Thursday of some aspect of themselves. It could be a photo snapped candidly on vacation, or a picture of the funny shaped toe on someone's left foot, a scraped elbow, or the baby's chubby knees.

It might be someone's new hair color, or their growing lack of hair. People have used it to document and share their ongoing weight loss and health goals, trials and triumphs. It's just a way of sharing an aspect of oneself that might not otherwise be known to the reader through text. Some people have used Half-Nekkid Thursday to tell a story in pictures. (If you intereview Marcel for this deal, be sure and insist he provide links to some of his best. They're brilliant. In fact, why are you not asking him about this? He was there long before me.) Some people post art, some people post truly beautiful and artistic photography. And, of course, whenever someone coins a term that includes the word "nekkid" there will be people who take that part very literally and post photos that are decidedly NSFW, and in my opinion, not really all that clever or interesting.

It takes all kinds, I guess, and Half-Nekkid Thursday has really gone far beyond that original "let's all post a candid picture with a bit of who we are" concept.

I participate sporadically. It's fun, and it's a way to connect with an even larger part of the worldwide blogging community. It has a huge following now!

Thanks again, Joy, for sharing about yourself with us.

And again, we're always on the lookout for dedicated Fresno-area bloggers. We're also in the process of making minor improvements to The Beehive, including compiling a blogroll. So, If you have a blog and we haven't heard of you, comment below or email fresnobeehive@yahoo.com to expose us to your world.