A few suggestions for the Weblog Awards

What's with the Best Blog choices? They are awful. Makes me wonder what credibility the whole thing has (although, yes, yes, I will vote even when I'm forced to choose the least offensive choice; just with every recent political election it seems).
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Nice list. Thumbs up especially for Sadly, No!, which is the target of a concerted Freeper campaign. It's leading again, despite the right-wing assault, but eternal vigilance is the price of all sorts of good stuff. Vote as often as you can. I just went and cast another vote for Sadly, No!.

And it increasingly looks like Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy is the best way to prevent a global-warming denialist site from winning the "science" category (which would be appropriate only if the quotes were part of the category's title). So I voted for Phil, too.

~annoyed~ ... stupid Flash required sites ...

Every time an award thing like this rolls around, I find myself suggesting that we start a new annual badge o' merit for science blogging. Several categories spring readily to mind:

* Best physics/biology/chemistry/etc. blog
* Best mathematics blog
* Best general skepticism blog
* Best "living the scientific life" blog
* Best blog by an undergraduate
* Best independent science blog (i.e., not hosted anywhere that's paying them money)

We could even have a "Razzie" category for "best hellhole of pseudoscience and stupidity". I think I'd vote for Uncommon Descent, but there'd surely be some fierce competition.

My suggestion is that people actually look at the sites in the running. To accuse Clmate Audit of being a "bad climate blog" simply shows a lack of experience there. BTW, Steve McIntyre doesn't allow politics to intrude into the discussions. That you're pushing Daily Kos and attacking LGF shows you do and your leanings, but it certainly doesn't show anything about the science presented here (or there).

I'm having "fun" reading the Best Religious Blogs.

The front-runner is a Catholic who appears to be obsessed with bringing back the 1962 version of the Holy Mass.

Wacko.

For an example of why someone might suggest that Climate Audit is "bad climate blog", see the McIntyre factor.

This post from Holy Schmidt contains the kernel of a good plot for a scary sci-fi novel:

I'm beginning to believe, more and more, that one's predisposition to religiosity (or not), is as much genetically encoded as one's predispositions to disease, obesity or disorders. Conversion then, is not simply a 'turning around' or 'transformation' so much as a becoming or awakening or embodiment. Like illuminating a room that once was dark.

A pharmaceutical company figures out how to turn on a person's religion gene, they make a pill and sell it on the nightly news (just imagine the commercials).

Millions of sheeple demand the prescription. Atheists who refuse to take the pill are vilified. America goes religion crazy!

The horror! The horror!

Oh, wait, that's no different than how things are today... never mind.

David Dardinger: That you're pushing Daily Kos and attacking LGF shows you do and your leanings...

Oh dear, PZ has leanings. Whatever shall we do?
Save us, David Dardinger, you're our only hope.

I haven't even heard of half of those comics, but I'd vote Basic Instructions. Xkcd is way overrated.

I'm having "fun" reading the Best Religious Blogs.

Masochist!

There are some excellent web comics not on the list...Toothpaste for Dinner, and Cat and Girl, for example.

What, Uncommon Descent wasn't nominated for funniest blog?

My thoughts exactly. Poor BillDumb.

I can understand (perhaps) PZ's antipathy toward junkscience.com but I've yet to get an answer from him regarding Climate Audit.

Maybe explaining himself is beyond him.

Fark is vastly superior to Kos (and I say that as a liberal), and will win anyway, so just give in and vote for Fark (all true Farkers also support Wil).

XKCD is overrated? No, not really. Rather, it is the pinnacle of webcomic-dom, and all others aspire to be as good as XKCD (Sinfest and Megatokyo come close, from totally different directions) .

I was voting for Invasive Species but I am now voting for Bad Astronomy, because I am not about to let Climate Audit win.

Re #15, Kelly
>> because I am not about to let Climate Audit win

Why not ? What have you got against it ?

That you're pushing Daily Kos and attacking LGF shows you do and your leanings...

Yeah, it shows that he leans away from whooping, spittle-flecked insanity. Damn you, PZ, and your anti-nutball bias!

If I may suggest, Girl Genius by Phil and Katja Foglio is certainly worthy of consideration for Best Comic. It's a great comic that is well written, drawn and filled with steam-punk-ish goodness!

Admittedly it's a tough call between that and xkcd, but I can only suggest you consider them both equally and vote and you see fit.

"My suggestion is that people actually look at the sites in the running. To accuse Clmate Audit of being a "bad climate blog" simply shows a lack of experience there. BTW, Steve McIntyre doesn't allow politics to intrude into the discussions. That you're pushing Daily Kos and attacking LGF shows you do and your leanings, but it certainly doesn't show anything about the science presented here (or there)"
(And to others who offer similar jewels of wisdom).

Listen, obviously PZ disagrees with this blog, and quite clearly all of the repetitions of the same argument that you all would like to make are not going to change his mind on this.
So please go complain about this all somewhere else.
I have been reading PZ for a bit, and I really doubt he is saying this from a position of ignorance.
Of course, you can all also note that he specifically states these are his opinions and that others should vote their consciences.

There is another blog vote contest, this time for the wingnuttiest.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_11/012430.php

Very hard choices.

ok.. I know none of you has a clue.

No sane individual can help but admit that Sluggy Freelance is the best Web Comic on the face of the Universe.

Bun-Bun forever!

Second the vote for Girl Genius.

Climate Audit is awful. Bad Astronomy FTW!

Thirding the vote for GG (and seconding Sinfest) - despite not reading it myself. I'd have thought the steampunk'd appeal to PZed. But I can understand if he doesn't have time to catch up on the archives of a long form story (somebody might consider giving him the books for Agnostica).

Having mentioned Agnostica, I might as well advertise Nukees, I think the humour might appeal to a lot of the readership here.

Personally I actually enjoy Least I Could Do, but it's one of those hate it or love it things, I think.

Phil Foglio gets my vote in comic. It's nice to see someone else reads "Creek Running North." I mostly just look at the pictures. It's nice to see many of the places I used to live/visit in my younger days.

I'm also all over Bad Astronomy. I've read it before, but until my Octopus Overlord told to vote for it, I always voted Pharyngula. And I'll be damned if I fail to vote and it allows a junk science blog to win.

PZ, you're a peach. I find these nominations and selections bizarre, but all the hubbub is kind of fun. I agree with the above-mentioned masochist, the "religious" cateogory is actually the "funniest."

Fifth-ing the vote for Girl Genius. Read it!

Thanks for the point to Hullabaloo. I liked the post on Behe and SA Smith (here, if the kwikhtml works) , particularly the part about why it is necessary, yet queasy-making, to say that one "believes" the pro-evolution position.

Well, it didn't work, so here's the URL:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/intelligent-design-creationism-a…

PZ myers espouses the idea that science is about honesty; about getting the facts and the science right.

so far, so good. But I have to say, i find the comment about "bad climate blogs" to be a bit difficult. The climate audit blog is about significant statistical issues in climate science. Some of them are pretty esoteric, and pretty difficult to follow.

nonetheless, namecalling just because you don't like the outcome is not the scientific approach.

That obnoxious Climate Blog shot up over night, I hope that everyone remembers to vote for PZ of PP.

the health blog category is similarly split between reality-based community and fiction. sigh.