ONLY ONE FULL DAY LEFT PEOPLE!!!

Get your votes in and your votes for Moira's Award in!

3 days left people!

On Wednesday I'll give you the details of what will be happening next and how voting for the winners will work!

Ooooh it's all exiting ain't it?!

Well, I think so!

You have one week left.

Next Wednesday sees us hit January 31st and at 23:59:59 the nominations for the 2007 Bloscars will close. Any nominations received after that will be ignored I’m afraid so this really is your final week to get your nominations in.

That includes nominations for the Moira Smith Award! Although I received quite a lot of nominations for her award already there are still a lot of that haven’t voted for this one.

At some point within the week after the nominations close I’ll announce which five people are up for each award and then voting begins!

I don’t know about you but I’m excited!

So hurry up… get your votes in… download a form and get your nominations in and don’t forget to send in your nominations for the Moira Smith Award!

Email that and your nominations to Bloscars@googlemail.com

Enjoy!

Today your roving reporter is going to bring you two reviews in one post, this is due to her singular lack of reviewing and instead purporting to study, or something.

Anyway, I have been wandering blogland, and admit to getting lost a few times Its a big cyberworld out there! But must admit I have found some rather interesting blogs, some that I have taken a dislike to, yes I do that occasionally.

A couple I have commented on, one of which accused me of being a liberal and addressed me as boy Hey I know I am no great shakes but, boy!! I am not going to name them, or link them, mainly as they do not feature in the bloscars and I merely stumbled upon them in my wanderings. And really my problem is that I just have to say my piece.

And that brings me neatly to our two blog reviews.
So the first one is a gentleman that quite a few of you may already be familiar with, and while I have visited once or twice, mainly because the title of something he has posted has caught my eye, I have not done so for a while.

Chrisglos

Now everyone has their own opinions about stuff, this is what blogs are for, to state your opinions, your views, write about your life. Which is why I have found this bloghopping so much fun!

Chris states his opinions, in an amusing way, he will provide links and allow you to read stuff, but will have some witticism to go along with it.

His blog is titled Random Ramblings, and it is entirely random ( A bit like my writing come to think of it) He will flip from one subject to another, and yes you are saying isn't that what most blogs do, well yes, but each has its own unique style.

The style of this one is that of wit, satire, and a lot of fun. Mixed with serious issues such as the using of illegal immagrants for a fashion show (the latest post) supporting enviromental issues without trying to force them on you.

I especially love his 'Battles with the coffee shop Guardian' but honestly you have to read it to appreciate it. I spent an enjoyable hour, or so * Ahem* wandering the pages and all I can say is go read, after all thats how we discover what we do and dont like.

http://chrisglos.blog.co.uk

The second of my roving reports, you know its damn hard trying to type while you are moving? And it is a lady, just to keep it fair.

This young ladies user name is actually Whitty, no it is honest!
She has two blogs, the first blog underthebed is a mixture of personal thoughts and bits of news, its not a news blog though, so dont be thinking that, it is personal and just as many of us often weave bits of the daily news into our blogs because they have some kind of meaning to us, so does she. Its entertaining, its thoughtprovoking, its funny and its sad, in places. It is a journey through and into someone elses thoughts and feelings.

The second blog is a journey with the author, walking, stumbling through the entries, its like watching a movie as she hesitantly begins and then becomes stronger. A blog about her illness, her depression. And it is an illness.

It is clear as she journeys that she isn't used to talking about herself, and that she is trying her utmost to deal with an illness that can be quite devastaing. In fact she even lends herself to helping a friend and gets into writing about that more than about herself, which to me shows what a caring person she is. I shall go back and read this blog, I didnt comment as I was reviewing, and to be honest, I had no idea what to say.

Look for yourself.

http://underthebed.blog.co.uk
http://dontgiveup.blog.co.uk

Right, let me explain something about how the Bloscars work. This is for those of you who don’t know, who didn’t take part last year and for those of you who have been lied to by some small-minded blogging wankers.

I do not choose who wins.

I do not look at my friends list and pick people off it.

Last year there were a few winners who weren’t on my friends list.

This is how it works.

Stage One

- Bloggers nominate up to THREE people per category, who THEY (not I!) think deserve to win that award.
- This happens for ALL awards apart from the award dedicated to Moria where you only get to choose ONE person rather than three.
- As they come in I collate them. I do this by writing down the name of the person nominated under each award. If they get another vote they get another line next to their name. Every five votes they get a line through them, thus making it easier for me to count when the nominations close. This, I believe, is called “Gate Counting” but if any knows the real name for it please feel free to correct me.
- Nominations close at 23:59:59 on January 31st 2007. Any nominations received AFTER that will be ignored.

Stage Two

- I go through all the nominations for each award and count up which FIVE people has the highest number of votes.
- Those FIVE people get blogged about and VOTING starts.
- Bloggers, NOT ME, now get to VOTE for ONE person from the each five in each award. They don’t have to but the option is there.
- As with the nominations each person who gets vote gets a mark next to their name,
- Once the VOTING closes I look at each award and see which person from the FIVE has got the most votes. THAT PERSON IS THE WINNER!

Stage Three

- I do ONE blog entry for EACH award.
- I offer the winners the chance to receive a prize. I did this last year but due to circumstances totally within my control it was not done. This year I promise it will be and already have in mind what the winners will be getting. If the winner wants to receive his or her gift then they must PM their address, or at least an address to send it to.

So bloggers, you’ll see (I hope), that I actually have VERY little to do with who wins other than counting! And yes, if someone as simple as me can count!

So, if you’ve been lied to by some sanctimonious asshole who thinks the top twenty is their playground to abuse with forty posts (of crap or cut & pasted news) and then build your stats up by getting your friend(s) to have a conversation in comments rather than either using email, PM’s, IM’s or picking up the fucking phone, then I hope this now shows you exactly how the Bloscars do work.

I apologise for maybe seeming angry, or using language you might not like, but I’m sure you’ll understand that by thinking it’s just me that makes up the winners it’s not just me who gets offended. Let alone LJ and AJ who have put so much work into unbiased reports of other bloggers and graphics for your blogs, but it’s you lot who actually took the time to vote, who took the time to download the form and email it back to me, it’s you lot that deserve the credit for all this not me. All I did was have the idea and a million people a day have a million ideas but its you lot that make it work!

Today I am going to bring you someone that I do read, on a regular basis, although I don’t always comment.

I have up to now deliberately not reviewed blogs that are on my friends list, and this blog is also not on my friends list although her brother is. I have said from the beginning that I will not be promoting or decrying any blog, and this is no different.

Stephi

One of the reasons that I read this blog, even though it is a news/current affairs blog, is I like the approach of the author towards the news stories that she chooses to write about. She is feisty, she is up front, and she pulls no punches.

When she has her say she says it with style, even when she debates a point with you, she will listen to an alternative point of view, it may not change hers, but she will not condemn you for daring to disagree (Though watch out for the boys )

But this is not all that Stephi is about, she speaks out because she cares, she cares about the things that will affect her family, a family she cares very much about. Which is evident in the bantering between her and her brother Anywhichway. She is passionate about the things she believes in, freedom to choose, freedom to think, freedom of speech, it is all evident in the way she writes, she will supply links so you can read the actual story and make up your own mind, draw your own conclusions.

You may not agree with all she says, but at least she says it with style.

http://stephi.blog.co.uk

So the Bloscars are progressing. There are some clear leaders in many of the awards and a couple that are still pretty even.

I’m pleased that it’s becoming another successful year and its all thanks to you lot for actually taking the time to read blogs and nominate people.

Nominations close on Wednesday 31st January at 23:59:59, (just to be precise) and any nominations received after that date will be ignored so if you’ve yet to vote then do it now but getting a form from a previous entry and then mailing to Bloscars@googlemail.com

What I’d really like to see now though is nominations for The Moira Smith Forget Me Not Award. I’ve had a couple but there are still a lot of people that haven’t nominated for this one. I know it’s difficult but I have every faith you’ll manage it.

For those of you who don’t know Moira you can go read her blog here.

Moira was diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukemia and her blog was her space to talk about what she was going through. Sadly, on July 25th 2006, she passed away but her memory lives on. She was an inspiration to us all.

To vote in this award just send an email with the name of the blogger you think deserves it to Bloscars@googlemail.com. Feel free to include a brief paragraph about why you think they deserve it, although if it’s anything like last years it’ll be blindingly obvious. Remember you are only choosing ONE person this time and you cannot choose me!

Once the closing date has passed the top five in each award will be listed and this time you only get to choose ONE from each. The one that gets the most votes gets the award. I’ve yet to decide how long you’ll have to vote but it will be at least two weeks.

Happy Voting Blogworld!

After losing another few hours spent perusing,I am finding that I seem to spend more time reading these blogs than reviewing them! However it is time enjoyably spent, the next blog is one again that I have never visited before.

Cocktailer

I have to admit that I was intrigued by the title of the blog, and by the description given of a Brit living in Amsterdam. I didn’t really know what to expect so as always kept an open mind.

I read of mice and cats, of trips home to share Christmas with friends, of New Year on the beach, wrapped up warm of course, on a Dutch Island called Terschelling, accompanied by lovely photographs.

I read of the person at work who is giving her a hard time by making her feel bad, I wanted to leave a comment on that one!! Though I didn’t as I haven’t with the others, though I shall go back and do so later

I liked reading this blog, laughing with her at the mouse adventures, feeling with her through the work thing, and walking the beach with her at New Year. I went further in to the blog and read more and then more, addictive? Yes I would say so, I felt comfortable and at ease, like picking up a new book by a favourite author, you don’t know what the pages will contain, but you know it will be worth reading. Give it a go, but don’t blame me if you lose an hour or two

http://cocktail-hour.blog.co.uk

This time it is the turn of the ladies, having erm reviewed, for want of a better word, the blogs of two gentlemen. I felt it was time to give the ladies a shout, being all unbiased and all.

Don’t want you thinking I am rooting for the men As if!! Anyway, as I have said before this is a tough task, who to choose to fix my eagle eye upon? So I let my fingers do the choosing and I aint telling you how!

Wifey

Now I was all set for a blog that went on about ‘The Husband’ you know the type, the blog title is wife no4, and the title of the second blog in this lady’s repertoire is titled selfishhastheycome.

I never judge a book by its cover however and settled in for the long read! My intention was to read wifeno4 first and then the other one, but, I was there reading the first one and this is what happened Hahahahahahahahaha, Oh my, hahahahahahahaha. I had to take a break my sides were aching!
So I found myself flipping from one to the other.

This is one seriously funny lady, with words like ‘dismaynessnessness’ she really cracked me up with her telling off of the universe, I could go on , but really you should go read it for yourself.

But she has a serious side too, yet the serious side I found was written with as much wit, if self depreciating, as the funny side, a tad more self sarcasm, a little bit more self analysis, but all the time laughing at herself even as she purged herself of memories painful, of thoughts that had kept her down. As I read the second blog, it seemed like I was accompanying a friend on a journey of self-discovery. I read in silence some parts, only to literally burst out laughing a few sentences later.

I will be honest, after the week I have had, I could not have picked a better blog to read to get me laughing, this is a blog worth visiting when you need a good pick me up. It is worth having a look at even if you don’t.

http://selfishastheycome.blog.co.uk

http://wifeno4.blog.co.uk

As you all know since starting this years Bloscars I’ve been holding back one award. Well it’s now time to reveal it.

Those of you who took part in last years Bloscars will know we had an award called “The Lifetime Achievement Award”. This went to the blogger that you decided had shown not only great courage though some hardships in life, but also a person who didn’t let it get to them and was still there to entertain us with their blog entry’s. You only had one chance to vote on this rather than the three you get for all the other awards and the majority of you chose to honour Lyndlj with the award.

Well this year is different.

With Lyndlj’s full support the name of this award has changed.

The award is still is to be given to the person you decided deserves it the most. It should go to a person who you think has shown great courage, someone who has risen above and beyond, someone who you, the blogging public, think deserves such an award.

Blogworld, with the full knowledge of her family, I give you…

The Moira Smith Forgot-Me-Not Award.

For those of you who don’t know Moira you can go read her blog here.

Moira was diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukemia and her blog was her space to talk about what she was going through. Sadly, on July 25th 2006, she passed away but her memory lives on. She was an inspiration to us all.

To vote in this award just send an email with the name of the blogger you think deserves it to Bloscars@googlemail.com. Feel free to include a brief paragraph about why you think they deserve it, although if it’s anything like last years it’ll be blindingly obvious. Remember you are only choosing ONE person this time and you cannot choose me!

Happy Voting Blogworld.

P.S. A big thanks to Lynda for her help in sorting this award and to AJ for this, and all the other banners I’ve seen dotted around BCUK.

My Second entry may not be what you would expect, but I have stated that I am being totally unbiased, neither promoting nor decrying any blog or blogger. In light of this I have strived to find a variety of blogs, because after all there are a variety of awards.

I present to you my findings on this blog and you can then make up your own minds about the blog. While I am having the greatest fun doing this and visiting blogs that I have not visited before, it is difficult deciding who and which blog to write about.
Your roving reporter today brings to you

Vort1gern

I have to admit that I have occasionally read this blog before today, though not quite as in-depth as I just have.
What can I say that the title of this blog ‘Just what the world needs-another ranty blog’ doesn’t?

Well quite a bit actually, the first glance at this blog and you think, oh no not another anti-Blair-anti-Government-report-the-same-as-every-one-else-blog! And if that is what you think, then you would be wrong!
The Author of this blog delivers the news in a unique way, mixing world affairs and home politics with local and national items, intermingling and interspersing the items so you are not bored with one and looking for the other, for example he starts his blog post on the third of this month like this

So there I am doing the ironing last night (it's a non-stop playboy's dream in the Vorty household and no mistake) and because I can't be arsed to spend too long channel surfing to find anything good to have on in the background (according to the Mayans, the world's supposed to end in 2012, after all), I've got the telly on BBC News 24.

He then treats us to samples of the news, this one being directed at the ailing if not dying NHS.

What I found interesting about this blogs unique style was the interspersements throughout the news telling, of the bloggers own views and little quips, it made the whole thing less boring and more entertaining than quite a few ‘news blogs’ that I have visited.

And lets face it, we all think it although we may not say it, news blogs are boring! If we want to know the news we can turn on the TV or get a paper. So to make a news blog or current affairs blog or even just a blog that presents the daily goings on in the world and at home, more interesting, then you need to present it in such a way that it captures the interest and then holds it. I believe that this blog does just that, from the ironing to the final paragraph on the entry for the fifth

The fact that this was an inevitable outcome of Tony's real Iraq motive - and one he finally admitted to - regime change, shows a depth of cowardice that I'm shocked isn't being alluded to by the Press in quite the same volume as they reserve for people who say, keep fur-covered razor blades as penis substitutes

To better understand that you may want to go read the full entry, which is here http://wendigo.blog.co.uk

You may just be pleasantly surprised, I was.

My task over the next few weeks is to introduce you, albeit briefly, to some of the nominees of the bloscars.
I will quite simply give you a brief look into the blog/blogger, each week I will choose two or three blogs/bloggers to peruse and I will then write a little piece about what I see, you are then free to peruse the blog etc and make up your own mind.

I will not be promoting any blog or blogger, I will simply be giving you a chance to look at places/people you might not have looked at before. The rest is up to you.

I am going to start with a blog that I have not read before, and having spent the past hour or so perusing its pages I have to ask myself why?

Adamantixx

A blend of humour that has you laughing with not at the author, his description of how he sees himself in his um, senior years, is witty with maybe a touch of self-depreciation.
He laughs at his own shortcomings, but have not seen him laugh at others, his willingness to become a slave to long legged blonde girls (but don’t tell the wife) in his quest to win a knighthood and the description of the party he would throw once knighthood was achieved had me chuckling (Its ok my dog already thinks I’m nuts)

Of course I have to admit he won my heart with his love of all vampiric things and Morticia Adams, and the giant trifle at the top of his blog looks delicious.

He has a serious side too, admitting to his own failings rather than the failings of others, bringing lightness to his problems with the world and life in general.

I personally enjoyed the reading, it was like taking a little holiday in the middle of the week, I will go back and read more. Though I do have to say one thing, by the looks of his comments I must be one of the very few in Blogland that hasn’t read this guy.

It would appear a couple of awards have caused some people some confusion as well as a few problems with regards to actually giving an award and you lot seeing why they won. So, I have removed the award for Most Moving Blog Entry. Thank you to those of you who have made nominations so far. Those of you that managed to nominate an entry for this award chose very moving entries. I won’t mention them here as some of them were for Friends Only and of those ones I was capable of reading it was obvious why you chose them.

In other award changing news… the award for best Drunken Blog Entry… after an email conversation with a blogger I’ve come to agree that this award is a little troublesome as these blog entries often get deleted. So… it has changed to “Best Drunken Blogger!” So rather than nominating a blog entry… you can nominate a blogger!

Coming soon… the new award… all will be revealed soon. You will only have to nominate one person rather than three and it will be your one and only nomination, in other words it will not be included in the voting. It’s pretty much the same format as the Lifetime Achievement Award but all will become clear when it’s announced.

Below are all the bloggers who have been nominated so far. Now keep in mind that being nominated doesn’t mean you’re going to be up for an award. For that to happen you have to be in the top five people nominated. What it does mean though is someone thought enough of you to nominate you. This list is accurate as of 4pm so if anyone has nominated since then it isn’t included below. If your name is there and you wish to be removed from the awards either drop me a PM or leave a comment.

A huge THANK YOU to the people who have nominated so far! It amazing to think it’s only the 3rd, nominations have been open for three days and I’ve had so many already! You’ve still got until the 31st Jan to get your nominations in. Nominees will be announced on (or around) the 8th Feb when voting for your winners will take place.

So, thanks again, note the changes, happy voting!

1098smm – Abilene – Adamantixx - AJNSpencer – AlecWeston – AngAylward – ApictureADay – Avirilo - BeforeYouAskIAmNot - BloggersArms - BlogLikesIt - Blondie82 - BuzzzyB - Cartlionel - CharliesWorld - ChrisGlos - CJ592 - Cocktailer - Coroboria - CustomerService - DeanChristopher - DollyDaggers - Eggbod - Ethered - Faaaantastic - FaffaJane - FatalAttraction - FlickFlack - Fruitbowl - GoingSomewhere - Graybags101 - Guitartist - HektorHamulec - Helena100 - HelpBlog - HereIGoAgain - IanThorpe - Isadora101 - JakeTaylor - JaneyGodley – Jojo52 - Juzzzy - Kiki2u - Lee954 - LifesLessons - LoneMum - LyndLJ - MadPoet - MichaelStMark - MichaelStMark - Mjohnson - Moltsplace - Moondancer - MoreLearning - NannyOgg - Nathan1 - NeilOnLine - NickP - Nixie - OldMaid - Old-Nick - PaulBoyd - PollyGarter - Pompadour - Ppolly - Prydwen - RIThompson - RobLayton - SchoolBoyCrush - Sienna - Sixpence - Sminchin - Snail - Stephi - Stroke - Subville - Sussie - Sweetymon - Tealover - TeriR - TimeKillingKid - TimSuzi - UnderTheBed - Usksider - Vasco - Vort1gern - WelshCeltGirl - Wifey – Wulfweard

P.S. If you want to know what you’ve been nominated for send me a PM or leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

So the first few nominations are in.

In alphabetical order and without revealing who is up for what so far here are the bloggers (not blogs or blog entries) up for nomination so far…

Abilene - AJNSpencer - Bloglikesit - CharliesWorld - CJ592 - DeanChrisopher - FlickFlack - GrayBags101 - Helena100 - JakeTaylor - Juzzzy - RobLayton - LyndLJ - Nathan1 - Old-Nick - PaulBoyd - Subville - Vasco

Enjoy!

P.S. If you're listed above and want to know what you've been nominated for then either leave a comment here and I'll PM you or PM me and I'll PM you back! I'll only tell you what you're up for but not who nominated you or how many nominations you have.

Here ya go. Here's your bloscars form.

Fill this in and email it to bloscars @ googlemail . com (But without the spaces! For some reason BCUK keeps cocking up the entry!)

Remember, you can nominate THREE times per award!

Have fun!

P.S. This form is also available from the website... www.bloscars.co.nr