WE HEARTS DARTS

WTF izzit? It’s a Prémio Dardos Award.

“The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.”

The ever-gracious (if slightly Taste-Impaired) Ivan G. Shreve, he of the marvelous blog Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, has seen fit to bestow the fabled (and heretofore barely known) Dardos Award upon your humble servant.

I will have to ask him what he has been smoking.

Meanwhile, as Ivan points out, there are rules. To paraphrase Indiana Jones, “Rules. Why’s it have to be rules?”

Because, that’s why.

Oh, the rules. Here they are, and they’re simple enough:

1. Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.
2. Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgement, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected.

Hmmm. Sounds awfully much like a bit of Link-Whorage, don’t it? But that’s what bloggy memes and awards are all about, so let’s be good sports. And besides, Ivan’s one of my longest-standing Blog Buddies, as well as being the Go-To Guy for anyone with at least a passing interest in old-time radio, television, or movies. To use a wine analogy, Ivan doesn’t drink in his Pop Culture unless it has had a chance to mature for a few decades... like vintage Port. None of that crappy white Zinfandel pop culture for him.

So: Who should I honor with this little gem of an award? Lessee...

1. Velociworld. Velociman is one of the handful of genuinely talented writers out there in the Bloggy-Sphere, a true original voice. Whether you agree with his politics or not, the singular way in which he expresses himself makes him Required Reading. Quite possibly the bastard child of William Faulkner and Hunter S. Thompson.


2. Straight White Guy. Eric, a soldier with the soul of a poet, can take the most mundane events and tease out the exceptional and the beautiful from them in a way few others can. Whether it’s a childhood reminiscence or a declamation on the view out the back window on a rainy day, Eric brings it to you in a way that I can only dream of. He’s a true Artful Blodger. Plus, he hates zombies.


3. A Perfectly Cromulent Blog. Last week, I finally had the opportunity to meet Pete Vonder Haar, one of the first people to blogroll me when I was a fledgling Online Journalist. He’s got his finger up the ass of on the pulse of American pop culture, and writes a blog that is consistently smart and entertaining.


4. Treppenwitz. David Bogner can do outrage. David Bogner can do politics. David Bogner can do the tearjerker posts. David Bogner can do teh funny. And to everything he does, he brings a calm, insightful intelligence. A daily read for me.


5. Yourish.com. If there were no Meryl Yourish, we would need to invent her. When the wire services write articles on the Israeli-Arab conflict that are either subtly or overtly biased against Israel - which is all the fucking time - nobody rips them a new asshole better than Meryl. Hulk smash!


6. Sisu. Yeah, I know this is number six, but rules were made to be broken, especially bullshit blogmemey rules. And Sissy Willis, who uses the light fantastic to reveal beauty in unexpected places, certainly meets the criteria for the Prémio Dardos: The Web would be a poorer place indeed without her incisive writing and lovely photographs.

Now, go forth and check these sites out, if you have not done so already!