And You Thought All That Blogging Wouldn't Amount to Anything

Just the other day Red, in a random act of largess, handed me a Thinking Blogger Award.

Me likey shiny things.

Technically, he gave me the award for my food blog, but I'm celebrating here because I need something to write about that doesn't have anything to do with Chicago.

One apparently receives this award by doing nothing other than making a reader think. I'd have thought "Here's the Dish" makes you want to eat, but I learned a long time ago that when someone pays you a compliment you smile sweetly and say "thank you". So thank you, Red. Sincerely. I'm flattered.

Of course, with privilege comes responsibility. I must now give the award to 5 other bloggers who make me think. And I can't give it back to Red, although that would be fitting. And he already gave one to JP so I won't, although I could, because he gets way too distracted if there are too many shiny things.

It's fair to say that everyone over on that there blogroll have made me think from time to time but I guess if I have to pick just 5 they would have to be:

Lex at Gladly Suffering Fools. He was one of my early blog finds and I find him to be thoroughly entertaining as well as frighteningly intelligent. He's got a lawyerly brain and so brings a rigorous analysis to the issues of the day, something I missed dreadfully when he went on a bloggy hiatus. He re-emerged just last week and I hooted and hollered when he did. Then I told The Spouse he was back and we did a little dance. That's how good he is.

Jon at I Laugh, Therefore I Am. Jon is properly described as a gentle giant and his blog reflects that. He is an excellent story teller and fine observer of daily life. And even when he's writing about something as simple as riding the train or being in a fourth grade math class, he always manages to say something that makes me go, "I never thought of that before".

I have a label that reads "John Iwanski is brilliant". Nuff said. Iwanksi is deep, marvelously funny and has the ability to look at things in a way that is wholly unique from any perspective you have encountered before. If you don't read him, what's wrong with you?

My favorite bartender is entirely too self-deprecating to regard himself as someone who makes you think but a visit to Sling's Domain is like hanging out on the porch with a good friend. You sit there and swill a beer and eat some chips and laugh a lot and then he says something profoundly poetic or poetically profound and you just sit there stunned. And then he hands you another beer.

It isn't just the boys who are brilliant. If you don't make your way over to Bad Alice you are missing out. She's a fascinating woman who writes with profound honesty about her past and her present. She's funny, intelligent, wise and very often the only comment I can ever find to leave on her blog is "Wow".

So these deserving recipients now have the opportunity to present the award to 5 bloggers who make them think.

The rules are:
1. If you are 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.
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).

Now I have to dust the mantel and find a spot that will show off my shiny thing to its best advantage.