While wandering the winding roads of blogworld the other day, I discovered that I had been nominated for a major award (that's really the only kind of award with which I ever want to be associated). And like all my other major awards, it was not voted on (I can't actually get that kind), but was just handed to me by a far-too-generous blogfriend. In this case, the friend was the wonderful, thoughtful Julie, and the award was the Thinking Blogger Award. Now, of all the major awards that I do not deserve, I think that's the one I most do not deserve. I am honored and truly humbled. I have seen that award on others' sites. I mean the sites of some people who actually do some honest-to-goodness thinking. Truth be told, this blog is usually the place I come specifically to not think. I suppose every now and then, a thought creeps in, but for the most part, this here is pretty much a thought-free zone. Still, I am proud to have been designated as such, and I thank the lovely and talented Circus Kelli for adding the award to my little trophy case over there.


Part of the Thinking Blogger Award is the passing of the torch. Having been identified as a thinker, I should now, according to the Thinking Blogger rules, identify 5 other Thinking Bloggers. Holy cow, that's hard for me to do! My first thought, and what I said to Jif, was something like, "The bloggers I read don't think! They're goofy, like me. I run like hell from the scene of a blog where there's any thinking going on! I think enough IRL, I don't need to think online . . . yadda yadda." But then when I quieted down and looked at my linky list, truth is, almost all of y'all think sometimes. So then the problem became not thinking of a thinking blogger, but narrowing down the thinkers. First thing was, I didn't want to nominate (adoptive blog) "family," because of the nepotism thing. Secondly, I didn't want to nominate people that everyone already knows all about and reads all the time anyway. Thirdly, I didn't want to nominate someone I do like to read, but really don't know at all -- there are a few of those. And lastly, I wanted to offer you all some variety. All of these people show signs of thinking when they blog. I would also say that my thoughts and theirs are not always in agreement, necessarily. So after much thought -- well, I'll be darned, I AM a thinking blogger -- I hereby nominate these thinker/bloggers:


Sometimes Saintly Nick. Especially in recent months, Nick has written about peace, justice, spirituality, poverty, human rights, war. The man has been doing some thinking. Good on you, Nick.


Traci. Traci has written a series, and she's not done yet, that chronicles her personal experience with having been manipulated and mistreated over a period of years, in the name of a religious organization, which claimed to be acting in the name of God. Few things piss me off more than people enslaving others in the name of God. Traci's readers of that series are thoroughly hooked, and waiting for the next installment.


OddMix. This guy . . . he makes it look like he doesn't think all that much, but I suspect he secretly has put an awful lot of thought and preparation into what he writes about, which is his life. His double life, if you will. He takes the train to a button-down job during the week, but on his own time, he lives on a farm where they raise goats, and rabbits, and horses, and children, and yellow buttercups. And his readers want to live there with him and the rest of the critters. Hey, OddMix, ever thinking of raising a herd of bloggers?


HTGT. OK, I am sending you to see HTGT, in the fervent hope that girlfriend has posted something since the last thing I saw there, which was on the topic of (come closer, I'll whisper) masturbation. Ordinarily, HTGT shares thoughtful thinking kinds of things, into which she has clearly put some thought. But seriously, the afore-mentioned topic doesn't require a lot of thought (or else you're doing it wrong). (Ohplease, ohplease have something else up before I send people to read you.)


Damn, this is tough. I have three more people in mind who can think circles around me any day of the week. OK, I'm gonna go with this one, even though her blog design doesn't lend itself to posting the major award:

Wave of Modulation. Mylord, this woman can think. Often, when I read what Sheryl has written, I humbly, reverently "walk" away, unable to comment, because her thoughts are so far out of my league, that my thoughts hang their heads, pick their noses and maybe even wet themselves a little. Her thoughts pants my thoughts at a birthday party. But no, they wouldn't do that, because they're too compassionate to do that. Still, they could.


Well, there's 5. I am proud to be able to share these folks with you, if you don't know them. And I am left here thinking that despite my initial reaction, I could easily come up with another 5 thinking bloggers, now that I've thought about it. Thank you all, you five, and all you others, for sharing your thoughts, and inspiring many of mine.

file under: &Meta-blogging &Neighborhood Watch