Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Thinking Blogger Award

After more than a year of regular blogging, I have just been honored with my first blogging award. The Thinking Blogger Award was created to bring attention to blogs that contain more than just superficial pablum. It is a meme, and accepting the award means that I acknowledge and accept the tag. Although I have a general policy about not participating in memes or tagging, I have made exceptions and this is one. It doesn’t ask me to name “five things in my desk drawer” or “100 things about me” or “my top ten favorite movies” but rather, the top five blogs that make me think. It’s not about me. Besides, now I get to display this cool award on my blog… Ok, maybe it is a little about me!

Unfortunately, there are more than five blogs that I visit regularly that make me think. Limiting myself to just five will be a challenge. However, I am confident that this award will make its way around to those that I didn’t include, as many of the bloggers on my blogroll read many of the other blogs as well. Dana over at Awareness deemed my blog a Thinking Blog after some other astute blogger identified hers as such. Fortunately for me, four of the bloggers I would have considered in my list are out of the running. Dana named three in her list and, of course, there is her blog, Awareness.

And the winners are, in alphabetical order:

Anna’s Photo of the Day: More than just a photo blog, Anna illustrates through her photography the day-to-day life of an American living in London. She has an uncanny ability to capture the extraordinary in the ordinary; the unusual in the usual and always has something positive to say even when facing life’s difficulties. Anna’s character comes through in her art, both photographic and written, and her blog is a daily stop in my travels around the blogosphere.

Brumley’s Blog: Keith Brumbley is disenchanted with our (the U.S.) government. Not just the current administration, but politics as usual. He was so frustrated that he went on a media hiatus for quite some time. He didn’t blog and tried to insulate himself from all things political. But he truly cares and I knew he would be back, and with a vengeance. I wasn’t disappointed! We need guys like Keith who point out the painfully obvious to those who take what the mainstream media portrays as the truth.

Imagine What I’m Leaving Out: This is Judy’s blog. Judy shares bits and pieces of her life from as recently as yesterday to her childhood. Often, she will post photos from days gone by. Her outlook, experience and perspective is always encouraging and uplifting. She calls them like she sees them - not too much gets by her. Although this is her new blog, she has been active in the blogosphere for some time. There are more than 1,120 posts in her old but still active blog, Just Ask Judy.

WebKittyn Warbles: Kittyn owns an Internet radio station, KMRL - Kittyn Mojo Radio Live. She also has an impressive blog and a lot of awards. Now she has one more. Recently, she has been documenting her fight against the demon nicotine and the trials and tribulations of owning an Internet radio station. It’s a busy site, there’s a lot to see and do, but when clicking on the link, her blog posts are right up front. After all, it is a blog.

Writing From the Inside Out: Barbara is one of my first and most loyal readers. She is extremely knowledgeable about music - especially rock from the 70s and 80s. Barbara is passionate about a number of causes, has a heart of gold and she’s smart. Her blog covers a wide spectrum; she is as likely to post a discussion on the major controversy of the day as she is a pop-quiz on pop culture. She’s not afraid to bear her soul on her blog - she is among the most authentic people I know.

The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).
There they are. It was agonizing to select just five. Every blog on my blogroll has my implicit (and now explicit) seal of approval. In my May 2006 archives, I listed a brief description of all the blogs in my link list at the time - it took a loooong time. But it was worth it. Some of those blogs have disappeared, some have been abandoned and one, after changing away from Blogger, appears here as a Thinking Blogger award winner.

22 comments:

Anna said...

I AM SO EXCITED!

THANKS SO MUCH MIKE! I HAVE NEVER WON ANYTHING! :) THIS MEANS A LOT AND I AM THRILLED BECAUSE JUDY (aka JUST ASK JUDY) IS A GOOD FRIEND OF MY MOM'S SO WE WON TOGETHER! SO COOL!

I WILL BE POSTING TOMORROW ABOUT THE AWARD ON MY PAGE....I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU LIKE TO VISIT ME AND LOOK AT THE PICS!

TAKE CARE AND THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR KIND WORDS! SEE YOU IN BLOGLAND FRIEND!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Mike, for choosing me as a recipient of this award! I feel honored to be among such brilliant minds!

I am taking a little break from blogging but hope to be back real soon.

kenju said...

Mike, this is great! I really appreciate the kind words, and I always read your posts with great enthusiasm because I know I will learn something - or learn to see it with new eyes.

I am out of town now, but when I return, I will put your award on my blog and then check out the others, as well.

Thanks again!

Lee Ann said...

Your writing definitely deserves an award!
Have a great week!
~xo

Snaggle Tooth said...

I'll have to find more free time soon to get around to these blogs more often...
Your descriptions are so good, many folks will prob run right over there!
You do make me think alot, mostly about writing.

awareness said...

Wonderful picks Mike and great descriptions. Thank you for your kind words.....

Have a great day.

Pat said...

Congrats to you and so glad you chose Judy.

CyberKitten said...

Congratulations... You SO deserve that award!

paris parfait said...

Congratulations on your well-deserved award! I'm so glad I found your site through Awareness. And thanks for the nod. I'll be back to read more.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

well done mike

bloody difficult to limit to 5 - am going to try tomorrow - like you say, kind of easier now some have the award already

what an eclectic cyber-community we are

Raggedy said...

I am here via Judy's blog and I read her on a regular basis and enjoy her blog very much. Great blog choice!
Have a fabulous day!

Bobkat said...

Congratulations. Your award is well deserved. I will definitely check out your recommendations once I have my essay out of the way though I already visit Judy and Anna. (Thanks for the well wishes BTW as this has been a tough one for many reasons.)

Michele sent me to say what news your award is.

Jinsane said...

Congrats Mike!! Much deserved kudos!!!

I am hopeful that I will have more time to catch up on your life. I hope all is well with you and your son.

Peace and Love - Jen XOXO

Anonymous said...

That's a really nice idea to tag others like that. I'll have to check them out! (other than Judy's blog, I read that semi-daily already)
Here from Micheles.

poopie said...

I came over from Judy's to see what's up..she's an old blog buddy. Congrats to all of you for the kudos. Mike..I like the way you write..honestly and with intensity. There's way too much fluff floating around in the blogosphere!

Olyal said...

Yay for your award! You certainly do get the old cogs in my head turning with your posts and it obvious that your posts spark great discussions too!
Michele sent me here today!

mrc1471 said...

Congratulations on your award. I found you through Michele's about a month ago and I'm an avid reader. Keep up the wonderful bloging!

craziequeen said...

Definitely well deserved award, Mike.

The TB award is zooming around the blogging world atm......

Michele sent me to say hi while my bread is proving.....

cq

Anonymous said...

Congrats Mike...this one is VERY deserved. Saying that your blog makes me think is an understatement. You sometimes get me out of my comfort zone (thankfully), and you do it with such class and gentleness.

You definitely honored a good one by awarding Anna who in turn awarded me. Just so you know, you would have gotten the award from me as well but you already had it :)

Congrats again bud.

carmilevy said...

Richly deserved and long overdue, Mike. I'm so glad I've crossed your blog path, and look forward to reading and sharing so much more.

Anonymous said...

Yeeehah!...Congratulations!!..

pat pat at the back!..:>

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