Just what were you Thinking, people?

Technorati tags: Memes, Thinking Blogger Award, Surprises

First off, a big "Thank You" to Marina M for nominating Walski for The Thinking Blogger Award, started somewhere in cyberspace by blogger Ilker Yoldas. Coming from Marina, Walski has to say that it's truly an honor.

Same goes for Walski's blogger-in-arms KTemoc, who couldn't "officially" tag Walski, but made an honorable mention in his Thinking Blogger Award post.

Just what were you thinking, people? Heh, heh...

Walski doesn't really feel he deserves this award, but at the same time is elated, and somewhat sheepishly proud, that myAsylum has made managed to stimulate the mind-juice of at least a few people.

We live in interesting times, somewhat at crossroads in a few arenas of everyday life - social, political and spiritual. And it is through the efforts of numerous bloggers that, in part, is stimulating many of us to think.

Unfortunately, many of Walski's favorite bloggers have already been tagged for this award. And so the choice of whom to nominate was no easy task - one of the reasons why it took Walski so long to write this post. Bloggers like Howsy The Sensintrovert, The Malaysian, Mahaguru58, The Boinq, Aisehman and Rocky, would have been shoe-ins. And to their credit, others beat Walski to the punch.

So whom to pick?
(Walski's choices, and more, in the full post)

After a lot of deliberation, here then are Walski's Thinking Blogger Award roll. Some may be obvious choices, some not. As far as Walski knows, none of 'em have been nominated - and if they have, they haven't made it known to the rest of the bloggerhood. These, by the way, aren't in any particular order of merit.

Jeff Ooi's Screenshots

How and why anyone hasn't tagged Jeff is one of those mysteries that Walski really cannot fathom. This guy, Malaysia's Grand Master Blogger, is perhaps the pioneer of the Malaysian Bloggerhood. More importantly, his posts are usually the head-up posts on issues and happenings that make Walski think. Even more important, and this really makes Walski think real hard - how the heck does he find the time to churn out such quality posts. Is he the real Superman? Or is there really more than one Jeff Ooi? Whatever it is, Jeff's inclusion in Walski's list is really a no-brainer.

the __earthinc

Hafiz, the guy behind the blog, makes Walski think about the economy and nature. His posts are very articulate and usually rather thought provoking, especially when it comes to his analysis on certain issues. And with him being a libertarian, there are a number of things on which Walski does see eye-to-eye with this gentleman. His posts on nature and the environment also makes Walski think quite a bit - namely, wtf is wrong with us? We don't own the environment, after all, but borrow it from our children - or in Walski's case, his neighbors', siblings' and friends' children.

Akram's Razor

This is perhaps one of the unexpected choices for some of you, as Svend, the guy behind the blog, is not Malaysian. In fact, he's a Muslim of Danish descent, currently living in the United States. His writings, which are articulate, makes Walski realize (or remind him, rather) that Islam is not the homogenous way of life that some may lead us to believe. On the contrary, there are indeed a number of schools of thought within Islam, as many of you probably realize. And Svend's articulate dissertations on varying issues, spiritual or otherwise, do very much exercise the mind.

The SIPM Collective

Meanwhile, back in the motherland, there is an intriguing group of bloggers, commenters of the scene politic, but with a style that is unique, and usually containing sub-text that forces one to think outside the norm. Currently on Walski's must-read list, SIPM (SIber Party of Malaysia, or alternatively, Sensually Indulging Political Malaysia) does present things from an interesting and usually non-partisan perspective. Definitely a group of blogger that makes the mind go Yo! And they include bitchin' videos with many of their posts, which is a definite bonus. It's a surprise that no one's nominated SIPM thus far.

And speaking of surprises, last, but definitely not least...

MENJ

This nomination will probably come as a huge surprise to many of you. Probably to MENJ himself. But it is about bloggers who make Walski think, not whom he likes/dislikes. And when it comes to MENJ, Walski usually thinks "what the fuck went wrong with this boy?" It's sad to see intelligence go to waste, really. And truth be told, MENJ is very well-read, but somehow seems to hold on unquestioningly to a very rigid, traditionalist and dogmatic approach to Islam, that defies the intellect. Oh, well - some people are simply incorrigible, one supposes. But Walski is one to give credit where credit is due...

Done, check the box, another task on the to-do list complete. Yes, Walski knows damn well that this is a meme. And he does remember that he dislikes them - but to every rule there be exceptions, no? So, dear receipients, if you wish to carry on with this award, here are the Rules and Regulations, which Walski has copied, verbatim, from the source of this Award-meme:

Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. I thought it would be appropriate to include them with the meme.

The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get 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).

So there you have it. 5 blogs/bloggers that make Walski's noggle tick. There are many others, for sure, but these are probably the five that merit mention... Enjoy!