Best Achievement in Clean, Straightforward, Unaffected Design
The recipient of the Blogisattva is whiskey river and blogger whiskey. We find the design perfect for the function of the blog which beautifully and simply allows wonderful quotations to be readers' focus of attention. The right sidebar with the copious list of links is wonderful for this blog which reaches out to delight so many.
The other nominees in this category:
- www.coolmel.com – Coolmel
- The Invisible Cat – Johnny Newt
- tysonwilliams.com – Tyson Williams
- Virtual Zen – Eric
The recipient of the Blogisattva is Paper Frog and blogger Kit Christopher. When the design of this blog first appeared, it was astonishing, and it still is. The froggy in the water is whimsical, delightful and very appropriate for the feel of Kit's blog.
The other nominees in this category:
- Dharma Vision – Amadeus Soren
- thinkBuddha – Will Buckingham
- WoodMoor Village -- Nacho Cordova
- Zen Under the Skin – chalip
The recipient of the Blogisattva is Zen Filter and blogger Mark and friends. The quality of the treasures Mark, et al, find is always very high, and the presentantion of the finds is too. No zennist web surfer is ever lost or bored with Zen Filter at work, prowling the Internet for the best or most-interesting stuff that is out there.
The other nominees in this category:
- Blogmandu – Tom Armstrong
- Buddhist Blog WebRing -- chalip
- Jinijik – Ian Sinclair
- whiskey river – whiskey
The recipient of the Blogisattva is Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. Whew! None of these blogs made as much impact in 2005 as they will in 2006, but Brad's, more than the others, came in like thunder and whipped up our little corner of the blogosphere into a frenzy. Love him or not, Brad has an impact with what he wrote and the way he presents himself and his life in his blog. HZ is consistantly wonderfully well-written. That Brad. Where does he find all the energy?
The other nominees in this category:
- Bhikkhu Blog – Ajahn Punnadhammo
- The Buddhist – Zenmar
- Dharmavidya Web – David Brazier
- The Middle Way – Mike Cross
Yowza! This is one truly tough category, chocablock with excellence, that feels like a possible preview of the five nominees for Best Blog next year. The Blogisattva Award goes to One foot in front of the other blogged by Michael. With positivism and a gentle heart, Michael is our guide into his life and his ordeal combatting a health threat. For readers, the blogsite is a blooming garden of kindness.
The other nominees in this category:
- American Buddhist Perspective - Justin Whitaker
- Eternal Peace – Bill Gardner
- Hardcore Zen - Brad Warner
- One Robe, One Bowl – Soen Joon
IOC has served spectacular feast after feast so far in '06 and Vince has provided a horn of plenty, but 2005 was played to the jazzy beat of mellow Coolmel and his www.coolmel.com. Prolific, wise, inventive and nerdy, the coolmel blog is Grand Central Station for the Integral blogging universe. Fluffy Mel claims he is not Buddhist. What a faker!
The other nominees in this category:
- Generation Sit - Vince, eBuddha, coolmel, et al
- Integral Options Cafe - William Harryman
- Kosmic Bloggers - Vince, eBuddha, coolmel, Chris
- VincentHorn.com [in early 2006, name changed to Numinous Nonsense] - Vincent Horn
Ooo, a tough fight among young blogs and that blangha giant, WMV. The Blogisattva goes to American Buddhist Perspective, a very, very philosophical blog marbled with glipses into the globetrotting life of blogger and Buddhist scholar Justin Whitaker. ABP pulls together the wisdom of Europe's classic philosopher geniuses and Buddha's profound insights.
The other nominees in this category:
- Integral Options Cafe - William Harryman
- Wondering on the Way – Jeb
- thinkBuddha - Will Buckingham
- WoodMoor Village – Nacho Cordova
The recipient of the Blogisattva Award is Eric and his blog Virtual Zen. Eric was a busy blogger in 2005, which was reflective of his active life. His posts are consistantly interesting, varied and excellent. Any person outside of his life could get attached to reading VZ and would learn a lot about Eric, his interests, his worklife and Zen.
The other nominees in this category:
- auspicious coincidence – Dagme Metok
- Dharma Path & My Zen Life – John Soper
- this zen life [in early 2006, name changed to this life] – Kimberly Gold
- Zenchick – Zenchick
Prolific deep-thinking, life-loving blogger Nacho Cordova of WoodMoor Village is the recipient of the Blogisattva in this category. Whether he is beating the drum for evolution or education, or discussing, at length, important political questions, his posts are intelligent and his ideas well organized and persuasive.
The other nominees in this category:
- freedomforall.net - Matthew Jee
- Genius of Insanity – James Ure
- Notes in Samsara – Mumon
- Bhikkhu Blog – Ajahn Punnadhammo
Blogger Best Demonstating a Multiplicity of Talents
All people nominated in this category are amazing to me. How fun it must be to travel this earth carrying the brain each one has. The winner of the Blogisattva is Dave Bonta of Via Negativa. While Dave has expressed a dislike for awards, perhaps he can accept the fact that regular visitors to his blog appreciate his multifacetted genius as a writer, poet and naturalist.
The other nominees in this category:
- F. Kwan in foot before foot: a photo blog
- James Ure in The Buddhist Blog and Genius of Insanity
- Nacho Cordova in WoodMoor Village
- chalip in Zen Under the Skin and for Buddhist Blog WebRing
Kudos to the interesting James Ure who blogs both the spitfire, political Genius of Insanity and the Blogisattva Award-winning The Buddhist Blog. James has been tireless at exploring his compassionate self and the kind wisdom of our religion in his beautiful and gentle blog. TBB is a must stop for all Buddhist electronic wayfarers who want to bask in Buddhism's goodness.
The other nominees in this category:
- Clarity's blog - clarity
- Green Clouds - Gareth
- Luminous Emptiness - Chodpa
- tysonwilliams.com – Tyson Williams
[The Wordsmithing Award]
F. Kwan is a curious woman in the embrace of a challenging life. She is certainly not as free as she would like to be to allow her artistic side to fly. She is very much an amazing photographer, but she is no less amazing in her turns of phase and summersaults with the English language in foot before foot: a photo blog. So while she may seem to dismiss her writing ability as secondary to other skills, we know the clarity and stylish punch of her streams of words to be ambrosia [even as we recognize and sympathize with the pain she feels].
The other nominees in this category:
- Justin Whitaker in American Buddhist Perspectives
- Will Buckingham in thinkBuddha
- Dave Bonta in Via Negativa
- Sean “Moose” Ennis in The Contemporary Taoist
Outside the War in Iraq, Katrina was the prime focus [in the US, anyway] for consideration around the watercooler and online of the nature of and quality of our values and our compassion. No blog post was more important or more keenly cut to the heart than Jeb's post in Wonderings on the Way: Buddhist Musings on September 4, 2005, "Katrina's Charity," the winner of the Blogisattva Award. In many ways, Jeb was prescient of the failures that we are better aware of now in the aftermath of the hurricane disaster. Kudos, too, to the insights in the comment thread that followed Jeb's post.
The other nominees in this category:
- “If you meet the Buddha online, blog about him”, ZenDiary.org -- Jeff
- “Fear of Science in a 2nd Axial Age”, WoodMoor Village -- Nacho Cordova
- “Philosophy: Ordinary People”, American Buddhist Perspective – Justin Whitaker
- “Baseball and the Bardo of Becoming”, Scott Wichmann Online – Scott Wichmann
With its rich variety of subjectmatter -- blogging, raising a daughter, dharma, writing and the challenges of being both black and Buddhist -- Zen Under the Skin moved us deeply in 2005 in many ways and gathered a wide array of tantilized readers. For consistant excellence in design, writing, depth, wisdom and compassion, Zen Under the Skin is the highly worthy winner of the 2006 Blog of the Year, Svaha!
The other nominees in this category:
- Green Clouds – Gareth
- Via Negativa – Dave Bonta
- thinkBuddha - Will Buckingham
- Wonderings on the Way – Jeb
