Thinking Blogger Award

It seems once again I've been hit with an Internet meme, although this time it seems slightly more meaningful than the annoying adolescent fluff currently plaguing MySpace bulletins and YouTube message boards. Sometime earlier today, Aspazia of Mad Melancholic Feminista saw fit to choose me as the recipient of one of her five Thinking Blogger Awards, causing me to blush so furiously my computer screen fogged up (well, okay, not quite, but I was quite flattered). In keeping with my responsibility as a recipient, I will post my own five Thinking Blogger Awards below. But first, the rules:

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, and

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).

And for my Thinking Blogger Awards, I tried to showcase blogs that exemplified the best in blogging on all three of my favorite topics: music, film, and politics (or "life" as I so metaphysically put it above). However, upon re-evaluating, I decided that there are few blogs on music and film (that I know of) that actually make me think in deep, complex ways (there are even viewer that use capitals) and so I didn't feel comfortable adding any of them. However, my first pick listed below does combine all three of the aspects I mentioned.

MINDSPEAK.COM Blog: Jeremy dePrisco describes himself as a "composer, writer, technology hound", and, my favorite, "critic of what we've become". This eclectic list of personal descriptions does well to illustrate the eclectic content of his blog, which eloquently speaks of topics as diverse as sitar-playing, stomp-box construction, and the never ending battle between Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Posts are relatively rare, but always worth the wait.

A Poetic Justice: I normally find blogs-in-verse rather hard to read and fairly tedious, but there's something about the ThePoetryMan's moving political poetry and intricate digital collages that makes this blog really speak to me.

Punk Ass Blog: This blog I discovered from Aspazia's Blogroll, and have found myself returning to it often for further tastes of its perfect blend of social-political rage and quick-witted satirical comedy. And who can't love a blog that consistently publishes posts that are at the same time uproariously funny and bitingly political?

Liberal Street Fighter: The first time I viewed this blog, the first thing I saw was a Calvin and Hobbes strip involving a certain figure sculpted out of snow. Then, I looked down and saw System of a Down's "Prison Song" listed as the author's No. 1 "beloved tune." Enough said. This blog rocks.

Baghdad Burning: I can only imagine that this blog by young Iraqi blogger Riverbend has already been given this award (multiple times, probably), but I just can't resist honoring her again. This moving, eloquent, wonderfully written blog offers a young Iraqi prospective on religious fundamentalism, the new Iraqi government, Bush, the U.S occupation, and everything that affects Riverbend's day to day live as a young woman in Baghdad. This is one of the blogs that really cemented my interest in blogging.



Thanks to everyone, especially Aspazia!