…and this is a 
Phil has conceded, and I've received official verification that Pharyngula is indeed the winner of the Best Science Blog award.
I have no illusions, though: this really isn't a recognition that I have the best science blog, it's evidence that I can put together a really good PR campaign that will turn out the vote for a meaningless weblog award. Yay! If you want a hint on how to get people riled up, though, one good way is the Pro Wrestling method: turn it into a grudge match, with lots of bellowing and thrown chairs. Phil Plait collaborated on this contrived conflict to turn out the partisans, and it worked incredibly well—he and I split 82% of the vote, leaving only scraps for the others (which was grossly unfair to them, and I apologize.)
Speaking of pro wrestling, I must remind everyone that the battle royale between us was completely fake. All that gore? Syrup and food coloring. The teeth we were spitting out? Chiclets. That attack with the folding chair? Note that I hit him with it on the flat to distribute the impact. There is no bad blood between us, I think Bad Astronomy is a terrific site that I read daily, and that I would not have been at all chagrined if the final votes had broken his way at the end. Heck, there wasn't a bad blog among all the candidates in this category, so I would have been happy to see any of them win. Here, by the way, is the list: I think you'll agree that I was in very good company, and that the final ranking is not an indicator of the relative quality of their science, but only of their effectiveness at vainglorious self-promotion. Read them all!
- Bad Astronomy Blog
- The Panda's Thumb
- In the Pipeline
- Good Math, Bad Math
- SciGuy
- RealClimate
- John Hawks Anthropology Weblog
- Deltoid
- Mixing Memory
Almost all of these were already on my blogroll, so I've been reading them all along.
Finally, there is the matter of a little wager. I had bet that if I lost, I'd put together a post that would appeal to a bunch of space-happy astronomy freaks, and that I'd pose for the SkepDudes calendar. Phil likewise promised to praise Pharyngula on his blog and to promote me at the Amazing Meeting this January. These "penalties" were all selected in a spirit of good fun, and just to show that that is the case, I'll be writing that post anyway, and hey, SkepChick, if you're still interested, I'll do the picture (that'll teach you rude meanies who voted for me because of your distaste for my pasty-pale, sluglike body!).
Comments
Posted by: Jeff Chamberlain | December 19, 2006 11:12 AM
This is the "glorious in-your-face crow of triumph" we were promised?
Posted by: Zeno | December 19, 2006 11:12 AM
Isn't a pasty-pale, sluglike body in keeping with the major theme of the blog?
Congratulations on winning a meaningless award in a meaningless contest! At the end of The Candidate, when the Robert Redford character says, "Now what do we do?", there is no answer. You, at least, have one.
Posted by: Justin Holguín | December 19, 2006 11:12 AM
Congratulations, PZ! I was hoping you'd win, not only because I really enjoy your blog but because I get some satisfaction from knowing that the best science blog is overtly anti-religion. I confess, though, that I wish PT had done better.
Posted by: Lola Walser | December 19, 2006 11:13 AM
Congratulations!
I love this explanation:
sorry phil, what can we do, squid can click 8 times faster than us.
(Maybe 5x...)
Posted by: Bronze Dog | December 19, 2006 11:14 AM
So, does this mean someone takes off a mask?
Posted by: santababy386sx | December 19, 2006 11:21 AM
And the winner is...
Many many people are very greatful for this, I can asuure you. Holy Jumping Jesus, that was a close one.
Posted by: JanieBelle | December 19, 2006 11:24 AM
Three quick comments.
Congratulations.
Very gracious acceptance speech, especially agreeing to pose for the calendar anyway.
I'm pre-ordering the calendar at the first opportunity.
:)
Posted by: CJColucci | December 19, 2006 11:29 AM
Professional wrestling is fake?!
Posted by: seaducer | December 19, 2006 11:30 AM
Yep, congratulations PZ. I must say that marine biology was my awakening into the glories of the natural world, and through the contest I found this blog, so it was a win win for me.
But really, all that emphasis on fake, fun, didn't mean any of it? It sounds like Lynn Kelly talking about how she isn't psychic after doing a "cold reading", and of course we all know she really is in touch with the Other Side.
Anyway, it was lots of fun reading the flame posts from you and BA.
Posted by: The Science Pundit | December 19, 2006 11:52 AM
These "penalties" were all selected in a spirit of good fun, and just to show that that is the case, I'll be writing that post anyway, and hey, SkepChick, if you're still interested, I'll do the picture (that'll teach you rude meanies who voted for me because of your distaste for my pasty-pale, sluglike body!).
And to think, I was voting for Phil because I'm evil and I wanted you to be humiliated on the pages of SkepDude. It looks like my evil plan might pan out after all--although I must say you don't seem that humiliated.
Posted by: ericnh | December 19, 2006 12:07 PM
"Completely fake"? "No bad blood" between you two? C'mon, PZ, I know cephalopods are spineless, but sheesh...
Congratulations on the win though. It was a fun contest to watch and read.
Posted by: Patness | December 19, 2006 12:22 PM
Damnit, I want my squid-kittens!!
Posted by: llewelly | December 19, 2006 12:25 PM
Thank you. I feel so much better about not having voted. ;-)Posted by: Louis | December 19, 2006 12:31 PM
PZ, Congratulations!
No disprespect to Phil and the others, but I haven't toured Down with him, so you had my vote all along.
You're right by the way, that is one cracking science blog roll, one that I read each day so it's hard to pick a winner.
Keep up the excellent work.
Louis
Posted by: Kristine | December 19, 2006 12:32 PM
Congratulations PZ and shimmies to all! And to all, a good fight.
Posted by: Evolving Squid | December 19, 2006 12:33 PM
Viva Cephalopoda!
Actually, I voted for BA, but this site is great too.
Posted by: Phil Plait | December 19, 2006 12:47 PM
I think PZ got all the votes from the Discovery Institute at the last second. After all, if he didn't talk about them, they'd get no press at all...
Posted by: Mena | December 19, 2006 12:51 PM
The threats of nudity from both sides failed to take into account that most of the she-geeks and a few of the he-geeks here tend to prefer to date within the subspecies so we don't have a problem with nekkid geeky guys!
Posted by: MJ Memphis | December 19, 2006 12:57 PM
But the kittens still get fed to the kraken, right?
Posted by: John Pieret | December 19, 2006 1:04 PM
Speaking of pro wrestling, I must remind everyone that the battle royale between us was completely fake.
Is the image of you two in shorts sweating and rubbing up against each other while grunting supposed to make us feel better?
Posted by: Sammy | December 19, 2006 1:22 PM
The teeth we were spitting out? Chiclets.
True story: I studied (and would still, had I my way) kung fu for some time. My instructor occasionally competed. He and his friends enjoyed coming up with ways of making the "self defense" portions of the competition more memorable for the judges.
In one competition, he'd arranged for his sparring partner to hold a bunch of Chiclets in his mouth, ready to be spit out once "punched" in the face. My instructor's name gets called, he steps out in front of the judges, addresses them, turns to face his partner...
...and sees the guy chewing.
Apparently, a whole unspoken conversation happened between them in the course about two seconds.
Posted by: Martha | December 19, 2006 1:48 PM
I am thoroughly disillusioned.
Posted by: speedwell | December 19, 2006 1:49 PM
PZ, I voted for your blog because i think nit's the besrt science blog, not because I was led down the garden path by your propaganda efforts. Please. I'm a skeptic. I'm sure you didn't mean to be insulting.
Posted by: speedwell | December 19, 2006 1:51 PM
Just like I meant to proofread that post before I sent it. Phooey. :)
Posted by: Ole Blue | December 19, 2006 1:58 PM
Great job and you do deserve it!
Posted by: Bob O'H | December 19, 2006 2:04 PM
SkepChick - NO! Please, it'll make them repeal the First Amendment.
Um, other than that - well done PZ. A well fought campaign, sir.
Bob
Posted by: Smart_Cookie | December 19, 2006 2:12 PM
Congratulations PZ.
But since it appears I was the only one voting for you from the JREF forum, you're going to have to come by and post a little more often. You registered in 2003, and that was your 4th post. Shame!
Glad you won, though. You're my favorite blogging atheist, and you're within stalking...I mean, visiting, distance.
Posted by: minusRusty | December 19, 2006 3:16 PM
LIAR! You know it was a real competition between the two of you! AND THE WWF IS **NOT** FAKE!!!1!11!!!
Posted by: stogoe | December 19, 2006 3:50 PM
Dude. Pro-Wrestling is as fake as that ultimate fighting stuff.
By which I mean faker than the fakiest fake who ever faked a fake.
Posted by: Dave Munger | December 19, 2006 4:14 PM
I like your blog, but all my votes went to Mixing Memory, so your propaganda didn't work with me.
I'm glad I wasn't nominated, because I really don't like the idea of begging for votes -- though some of your pleas were quite amusing!
Posted by: Mena | December 19, 2006 4:16 PM
But the ECW stuff on the SciFi Channel is real isn't it? Just like "Crossing Over with John Edward". They wouldn't show fake stuff on the SFC and bill it as real would they? As an aside, I would watch ECW if it stood for "Evangelical Christian Wrestling" instead of "Extreme Championship Wrestling".
(Boy, I sure didn't miss anything by programming that channel out of my line up all those years ago did I?)
Posted by: Baratos | December 19, 2006 4:41 PM
They do have a nice 48 hour Twilight Zone marathon every new year's. But yeah, the other 363 days of the year, the channel might as well not exist.
Posted by: Tyler DiPietro | December 19, 2006 7:37 PM
But the ECW stuff on the SciFi Channel is real isn't it? Just like "Crossing Over with John Edward". They wouldn't show fake stuff on the SFC and bill it as real would they? As an aside, I would watch ECW if it stood for "Evangelical Christian Wrestling" instead of "Extreme Championship Wrestling".
Actually, ECW was pretty novel and refreshing back in the day. I remember the over the top violence in the mid-late 90's and the raw, punk/hardcore style cult atmosphere. It contrasts strongly with the WWE version, which is just using the acronym, logo and a highly watered down version of the original concepts to rebrand their developmental territories.
ECW was the kind of thing you'd watch if you liked anime's like Ninja Scroll and Fist of the North Star. I love gore, violence, and a general glorified stunt-act. PZ and Phil would have been awesome in a barbed-wire match.
Posted by: rich (richmanwisco) | December 20, 2006 1:15 AM
and hey, you gained another reader here. so the campaign worked out pretty well. keep up the fine work!
Posted by: Rebecca | December 20, 2006 9:41 AM
Woo hoo! You've got yourself a deal, PZ. I guess you're not the spineless ballot-stuffer I accused you of being mere moments ago.
Posted by: Nandes | December 21, 2006 9:08 AM
I'm hoping the last minute push from the 905 board helped.
It should have garnered somewhere north of 300 votes.
We Canadians likes our evolution, eh.