Who Me? – The 2007 Koufax Awards

Posted by Mick Arran in News and articles

I’m only home for a few minutes between crucial errand-running and going to work but I had to stop long enough to acknowledge an event comparable to, say, Paris Hilton being nominated for an Oscar.

Over at Norwegianity, The Wege has nominated Witness for not one but two – count ‘em, two (2) – Koufax awards.

I would be flabbergastedly honored beyond belief and/or credulity were it not for the fact that I have a sneaking suspicion he may have been imbibing a wee bit too much in celebration of his rash clearing up. Still, his other choices seem sane (except that he doesn’t understand the difference between a “community blog” and a “group blog”), so maybe it wasn’t a drunken accident after all. If not, then I own to being flabbergastedly honored beyond belief and/or credulity. So there. Learn more about SEO Company!

Incidentally, Wege, a “community blog” is a diary site like dKos or My DD; a “group blog” is a blog with multiple users posting to it. The American Street would be a group blog.

Having been offline for the whole year, I’m not going to participate in the awards because I’m too far out of touch. Some of my favorite blogs have disappeared or are about to, and I haven’t even begun to catch up on the new ones. But if I was going to vote, here’s who I’d vote for:

Best Blog

Ordinarily, I’d agree with Wege on Hullabaloo, but the thing is, it’s now a group blog since two other people post there regularly. I’d have to go with Eric Martin’s Total Information Awareness, a blog that is consistently thoughtful, challenging, and provocative. It’s also nicely written for a policy wonk.

Best Blog – Pro division

David Sirota (Sirotablog) – he always gets there first.

Best Blog Community

Talk to Action, which tracks the doings of the religious right and is almost invariably well-written.

Best Writing

Hands down, the Wege is right: James Wolcott. There’s a lot of good writing out there but Walcott is in a class by himself, a real original in Blogistan. (Michael Berube would be a close second but he’s quitting.)

Best Post

Disqualified. Having been offline for the year, I couldn’t even hazard a guess.

Best Series

David Neiwert’s “Eliminationism in America”, a comprehensive unmasking of the frightening totalitarianism advocated and supported by our crazy right wing extremists (you know, the “fringe” that’s been in charge of the govt the past 6 years).

Best Single Issue Blog

I’d have to go with Jordan Barab’s Confined Space, a blog devoted to safety issues in the workplace which is not just well-written but relentless in tracking those issues and advocating for workers. Jordan’s series of posts on the BP explosion is outstanding and heart-breaking. (If only he’d called it a “series”, he’d have given Orcinus a run for its money.)

Best Group Blog

I agree with the Wege again: The American Street, an almost perfect mix of personalities and POV’s.

Most Humorous Blog

With the apparent demise of Fafblog (a great loss), this one is wide open as far as I’m concerned. If pressed, I think I’d have to give the nod to Jon Swift, who is the only blogger I’ve read recently who wrote 3 posts in a row that I laughed out loud at. Satire befitting his namesake.

Most Humorous Post

Disqualified. Same reason as above.

Most Deserving of Wider Recognition

As the Wege claims he’s been taken out of this by definition, Fact-esque, a blog that covers everything and covers it well.

Best Consonant Level Blog

As requested and deserved, The Wege. There are a lot of link-blogs around but Nowegianity is clearly the best of them. A certain amount of spicy commentary (not enough for my taste) and every link is worth clicking through. (If you wrote more, Wege, I think you’d be up there for Best Blog. I’d vote for you.)

Best Expert Blog

This is a tough one. Lawyers, Guns, and Money and Phil Carter’s Intel Dump are both excellent but again, they’ve become group blogs since I’ve been away. I think I stand with the Wege once more: Pharyngula. PZ never quits.

Best New Blog

Well, modesty forbids….

Best Human Equality Blog

I have to admit to a real weakness for Echidne of the Snakes, where snark, righteous anger, and intelligent criticism meet in the name of human (especially female human) rights – an unusual combination of characteristics in only one person. (She desperately needs a site makeover, though. Ugly ugly….)

Best Coverage of State or Local Issues

Another tough one, but my pick is Blue Oregon. It covers everything in the state from soup-to-nuts (especially nuts) – the most comprehensive of the local blogs that I’ve read.

Best Commenter

Disqualified. For the third time and the same reason.

FWIW, that’s it. Those of you who’ve been online and have opinions, you can vote here. Good luck to everybody. As for me, I’m just glad I was mentioned a bare month after I came back. I was never mentioned during the four previous years, but I’m not bitter.

I’m not.

Really.

Much….