Congratulate Me

Today’s post was originally going to include the punchline, “…And then he woke up with a dick in his mouth,” but since I’m the latest recipient of the Brillante Weblog Premio 2008, I decided that sort of humor is beneath me. (For today, anyway.)

I’d like to thank Gillian Horvath of Athena TV for handing me the first of what I can only hope will be many meaningless awards. I should also say thanks for her kind words– “It’s a great aggregator!” I’m brimming with pride.

As per the requirements of the award, here are seven blogs that are just as worthy as I to receive this nonsense award:

• First, I have to mention Paul Graham, since he’s the one who inspired me to get into this blogging mess in the first place. Graham is some sort of venture capitalist, hacker, computer guy (I don’t actually know), but he could be a mud farmer for all I care. His writing is brilliant, insightful, and inspiring. You must read him. His site is not really a blog so much as a collection of essays, but hey, there’s an rss feed, so I say it counts.
• You may not like Craig Mazin’s movies, but his blog is first rate. He has great writing advice, like you’d find from John August or Ken Levine, but it’s his coverage of the the Writer’s Guild that sets him apart. He may be critical of the leadership, but he’s always sure to explain his reasons in a logical, yet passionate, manner.
• I love the The Mystery Man on Film blog, and I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned him before. Entertaining and erudite, his posts are always a great read, such as this analysis of Lois Lane in Superman Returns. (Plus, he lists me under “Screenwriting Blogs,” which I choose to take as a compliment.)
• If you haven’t read Freakonomics, you should. It changed the way I understand the world. The Freakonomics blog features posts from several economists, but the ones by Dubner and Levitt are still the best.
• I’ve written about David Bordwell’s blog before, but that’s not going to stop me from mentioning it again here. His posts really appeal to the analytical film nerd I will always be, in my heart of hearts.
• XKCD is comic, not a blog, but so what? It’s bizarre, crudely drawn, and features lots of obscure language and math humor. A few of my favorites are: Grownups, Long Light, and Reno Rhymes. Be sure to scroll over the strip, because there’s an extra joke in the picture title.
• Rod Hilton satirizes the Hollywood blockbuster mentality in The Editing Room, by writing scripts that really reflect the movie-going experience. Just take a look at the way he eviscerates 21, for instance. He also occasionally takes a break from the usual script parody, as in this letter from Leonard Matlin. Highly recommended.

Now that the sycophancy is over, you can look forward to more of my world-famous aggregating tomorrow.