Me! I've Been Given An Award! Me! Me! Me!

I have been given an award. About time.

This blog has been deemed worthy of the “Thinking Blogger Award.” The person who deemed it worthy of such high praise is Mushy, a real nice Volunteer from Tennessee. He was given the award and passed it on to me.

Here’s how this thing works: Five bloggers were given the award, which originated at this site. The award was given as a result of those bloggers making the original award-giver think. That is, those bloggers weren’t just your run-of-the-mill “I did such-and-such today while my kids did so-and-so” diary-type bloggers - not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. These bloggers included content that made someone actually ponder important stuff, like why cream cheese with chives was on sale for 50 cents off at the Stop & Shop immediately after I decided to give up dairy products for Lent; stuff like that.

The five writers so honored were then charged with passing the award on to another five bloggers whom they felt were worthy of the title. And so on.

So, now it is my turn. Having been given this prestigious honor, I must now pass it on to five other bloggers that I feel are praiseworthy for their ability to make me think. I will do so, but with an apology to everybody that I do not name.

Let’s face it. NOT being honored by me might be even better. I’m a self-righteous bozo with odd habits and even odder opinions. As a matter of fact, you might like to make up your own award - the “Suldog Didn’t Single Me Out, So Thank You, God" Badge Of Honor, or something like that. Display it with pride!

After much consideration, here are the five bloggers I’ve decided to pass the award on to.

1 – Somewhere On The Masthead

Like you didn’t expect this one. Magazine Man is, as I state on my sidebar, the best writer on the internet. I sincerely believe that. He is my generation’s yarn-spinning equivalent of Mark Twain and should be showered with gold coin.

2 – GNM Parents

I have a banner ad for this site up on my sidebar for a reason. I wasn’t paid to put it there, but did so as a favor to Stu Mark, the editor of the site and one of the nicest guys on the planet. There is fresh material daily and always of a thoughtful nature. I’m not a parent, so not all of it is useful information for me, but it’s almost always interesting reading. I expect that, for a parent, it would be a great source of knowledge and ideas.

3 – The Boomer Chronicles

Rhea posts two, three or four times daily. It’s always something interesting or quirky. From the title, you might think the stuff she writes about wouldn’t apply to anyone under 50. You’d be wrong. While some of it is age-specific, most of it isn’t. What it is, is human-specific. Go there a couple of times and you’re bound to find some sort of fun.

4 – Space Monkey Pants

Sween is delightfully demented. He has a way with words that makes me seriously envious. The funny flows from him effortlessly. While I throw around 2,000 word efforts in an attempt to crush you with volume, he writes 100 words and gets twice as many laughs. Therefore, I hate him. Why am I giving him an award again? Oh, yeah. Funny bastard. Hah-hah.

5 - Visible Wear

Once a week, James Cooper chooses a stock photo and makes up a thousand-word story about it. Aside from the cleverness (a picture is worth...) he’s extremely inventive and shows a nice turn of phrase. As a bonus, he’s started a second blog called Visibly Worn. That one is good, too.

If you're one of the five named above, here are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you got tagged, write a post with links to 5 bloggers 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.

So, again, my apologies to you if you feel slighted by not being mentioned. In order to get the award, I had to choose five bloggers. With my ego, I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to bask in some gimcrack glory, even if it meant breaking your heart. But I do love you. If I didn’t love you, you wouldn’t have a link on my sidebar at all. The next time I get an award, I’ll probably mention YOU, instead.

Of course, the way I write, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for another award.