You're such a shit stirrer.
It's entirely down to the readers of these blogs to ensure that they get the credit they deserve. Not anyone else.
And quite what Sinead's 'film reviews' - and you know you're on a wind-up there, UI - have to do with your favourite political blogs not making the shortlist is beyond me.
I would have thought that with your extensive knowledge of politics you might understand better the process of campaigning and voting.
Hi UI !
I agree with 'Twenty Major' on this one : we are in the same 'boat' as yourself regarding not making it to the 'short list' , but have accepted same as , if you like , 'the luck of the draw' ie not enough votes were cast for us .
No need for the "It's not what you know..."-type of insinuation . Also , if you feel that strongly about not being 'recognised' then start your own 'Award' ceremony .
Sharon .
Twenty
"It's entirely down to the readers of these blogs to ensure that they get the credit they deserve. Not anyone else."
Where are the readers of Mr Hannigan's blog?
"I would have thought that with your extensive knowledge of politics you might understand better the process of campaigning and voting."
But this is my point. The campaigning process itself. Obviously some bloggers were hell-bent on getting shortlisted and they have done so - at the expense of better blogs.
I also refute your suggestions of shit-stirring. Sharp-shooting? Yes I'm guilty of that.
Sharon
"No need for the "It's not what you know..."-type of insinuation"
Sure there is. The blogs that are 'connected' get all the plaudits.
A few points here UI,
I was proud of the extensive coverage I gave to the Easter Rising and the debates here on the site, plus the fact I was able to secure interviews with several high-profile politicians such as Pat Rabbitte and David Norris
You're right and it doesn't really seem fair. However, at the time the nominations opened you were not blogging very much and probably weren't on peoples' minds so they didn't nominate you in the same numbers as last year. There's no conspiracy here, just rough luck.
Why on earth should Sinéad Gleeson's film reviews/blogging not be rewarded? She's obviously a talented writer and her blog is very popular so why the snipe?
JG,
I take your point which is why in the end of my post I mentioned about Balrog not going on a hiatus like I did. It just pisses me off to see good blogging go unrecognised.
As for the snipe to which you refer, consider it a snipe back.
I think there is a natural bias - inherent in any 'establishment' enterprise - towards giving awards (official endorsement) to 'safe' contenders who convey 'approved messages' and who are unlikely to embarrass the establishment by posting anything that would potentially be considered by the masses to be beyond the pale of the comfortable status quo. It is probably better for a person’s reputation as an independent voice not to be 'kite-marked.'
Obviously some bloggers were hell-bent on getting shortlisted and they have done so - at the expense of better blogs.
So Balrog and El Blogador actively looking for people to vote for them but not getting enough numbers doesn't count?
Hi again , UI !
"Sure there is. The blogs that are 'connected' get all the plaudits."
That casts what I believe to be an unfounded slur on the organisers of the 'Blog Awards' and should be withdrawn , UI , unless you can furnish proof that that is the case . For my part I believe that 'the blogs that get the votes (will) get all the plaudits' , and I have no reason to believe otherwise .
Sharon .
UI
I wouldn't worry about it, I was ahocked when I didn't see yourself in the final.
Why get annoyed by awards?
I know I didn't, and I'm sure you're the same, get involved in blogging for Irish blog award purposes.
The comments from my readers mean much more than any award.
That aside
Best of luck to all the entrants in the final this year, I will be rooting for Slugger.
Sharon, do you tour Blogs demanding that opinions be censored? An opinion is defined as "a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty." Don't confuse it with a fact.
It seems a strange practice for someone whose own Blog is a collection of slurs, propaganda, defamation, allegation, and plain opinion, so I suggest that you impose your fascist mentality upon yourself before you attempt to impose it on others. The Internet has more clowns than Duffy’s Circus.
Chris, as Slugger is probably the best of the political Blogs, the fact that it won the award last year might indicate that the award system is as fair as any such system can be. But then again, it's also a 'safe' option.
Ah sure your reward's in heaven!
You're such a shit stirrer.
UI is the master of that particular strategy, so I would take this post with a pinch of salt.
Thanks for the vote of confidence all the same.
Hi 'Dubliner' !
Oh nasty ! I seem to have hit a nerve !
"Sharon, do you tour Blogs demanding that opinions be censored?"
-Wherever did you get that notion from ? What other blogs and calls for "censorship" from me are you referring to , 'Dubliner' ?
"An opinion is defined as "a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. Don't confuse it with a fact."
-You will note that UI's statement was not pre-faced with the words 'in my opinion...' : rather , he wrote - "The blogs that are 'connected' get all the plaudits." That reads as if he knows that to be the case , and so , to my mind , removes it from the realms of an 'opinion'.
"It seems a strange practice for someone whose own Blog is a collection of slurs, propaganda, defamation, allegation, and plain opinion, so I suggest that you impose your fascist mentality upon yourself before you attempt to impose it on others."
-You are obviously an avid reader then . Thank You ! But seriously , Sir , I confess to having read your site on more than one occasion in the past , but found the weak articles and poor punctuation therein most vexing .
I believe it was Oscar Wilde who said - 'A critic should be taught to criticise without making any reference to the personality of the author .'
You , Dubliner , are neither author or critic .
"The Internet has more clowns than Duffy’s Circus."
-And perhaps there are more wannabe's in Dublin(er) than anywhere else....
Sharon .
"You will note that UI's statement was not pre-faced with the words 'in my opinion...'" - Sharon
And you will note (after I have helpfully pointed it out), that it is not necessary to prefix a statement of one's opinion with a statement that states that the following is an opinion! So, when I say "Twenty Major's purple tutu clashes with his green eye shadow and bloodshot eyes," it is assumed that I am stating my opinion and not the results of a scientific study of the coordination of tutus, colours thereof, shades of eye shadow and iris colour.
"I confess to having read your site on more than one occasion in the past , but found the weak articles and poor punctuation therein most vexing ." - Sharon
Can you post the URL to my site? I'd love to read it. Blogging must be one of my hidden talents - so well hidden, that I wasn't even aware that I engaged in the dismal practice.
"I believe it was Oscar Wilde who said - 'A critic should be taught to criticise without making any reference to the personality of the author .'" - Sharon
Perhaps you should try writing your own aphorisms rather than applying borrowed glories as a mere typist?
Hi again Dubliner !
" And you will note (after I have helpfully pointed it out), that it is not necessary to prefix a statement of one's opinion with a statement that states that the following is an opinion! So, when I say "Twenty Major's purple tutu clashes with his green eye shadow and bloodshot eyes," it is assumed that I am stating my opinion and not the results of a scientific study of the coordination of tutus, colours thereof, shades of eye shadow and iris colour."
-Oh dear me ! How wrong can you be ?
The reader would take such a statement ("Twenty Major...etc...") as a presumption that you have actually witnessed said 'debauchery'(!) , and would not "assume" that that is only your opinion . You really should learn something about syntax before attempting to speak about it in public !
"Can you post the URL to my site? I'd love to read it. Blogging must be one of my hidden talents - so well hidden, that I wasn't even aware that I engaged in the dismal practice."
-DOH ! My point exactly , Dubliner !
You profess knowledge about a subject which you not only do not engage in , but which you also consider "dismal" ! You give us Dubs a bad name - shame on you !
"Perhaps you should try writing your own aphorisms rather than applying borrowed glories as a mere typist?"
-But , Dubliner , we are all of us "mere typists" when compared to Wilde !
Besides , coming up with a maxim , or a few of them , would , I imagine , be hard work . And we both know what a famous ....author... (!) said about that particular endeavour , don't we -
" I have always been of the opinion [that word again!] that hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do ."
See Ya!
Sharon .
Twenty actually should have been nominated for Political Blog - for these posts in particular:
http://twentymajor.blogspot.com/...ear-
bertie.html
http://twentymajor.net/2006/11/0...witless-cretin/
http://twentymajor.net/2006/09/2...ahern-you-cunt/
http://twentymajor.net/2006/09/2...mple-to-us-all/
"Oh dear me ! How wrong can you be ?" - Sharon
Well, let's answer that question below...
"The reader would take such a statement ("Twenty Major...etc...") as a presumption that you have actually witnessed said 'debauchery'(!) , and would not "assume" that that is only your opinion ." - Sharon
Sharon, you are confusing an observation with the observer's opinion of the thing observed. The observation is that is that Twenty Major's is wearing a "purple tutu" and has "green eye shadow and bloodshot eyes." The opinion is that his "purple tutu clashes with his green eye shadow and bloodshot eyes." An opinion is defined as "a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty." Do you note that an opinion is deliberately differentiated from a fact? In the example that I gave, the reader assumes that the statement is an opinion because it is unlikely to be a fact i.e. it is improbable to assume that a scientific study was undertaken which conclusively showed that "a purple tutu clashes with... green eye shadow and bloodshot eyes." The reader also assumes that my observation that Twenty Major wears a purple tutu, green eye shadow, and has bloodshot eyes is not a true statement without any need to prefix the statement with a disclaimer such as "The following is not a true state and it also contains an opinion" as you risibly insist should be a mandatory precursory to proper communication. While I sympathise with your inability to understand meaning that is not literal, your mental disability does not afflict the greater majority; and ergo, no signpost disclaimers are required.
"You really should learn something about syntax before attempting to speak about it in public !" - Sharon
The argument is epistemological, not syntactical. Perhaps you should properly acquaint yourself with the respective subjects? 
"DOH ! My point exactly , Dubliner !" - Sharon
I see... you were only foolin' 'lil ol' gullible me. Shouldn't you have prefixed your statement with a disclaimer stating that is was not a true statement and also contained a opinions? Anyway, you sure had be fooled into thinking that you were serious when you spoke about my non-existent site, even commenting in detail about how its "weak articles and poor punctuation" had vexed you so: "But seriously, Sir, I confess to having read your site on more than one occasion in the past, but found the weak articles and poor punctuation therein most vexing."
"You profess knowledge about a subject which you not only do not engage in , but which you also consider "dismal" !" - Sharon
tut... such egregious errors of logic. If is not necessary to practice a subject in-order to have knowledge of it or make a judgement about it. You (I'm sure) have never 'engaged' in the dismal practice of anal fisting of mountain goats, but that doesn't mean that you don't have "knowledge" about the "subject" or invalidate your belief that the practice is, indeed, dismal. (Assuming, of course, that you do disapprove of it.)
"You give us Dubs a bad name - shame on you !" - Sharon
Is that a fact or an opinion? You forgot to follow your own demand (again) and prefix your statement accordingly.
I take your point which is why in the end of my post I mentioned about Balrog not going on a hiatus like I did
Sure, so do you think Balrog got enough votes but were deliberately left out or did they just not get the number of votes required? Conspiracy or not?
Hi Dubliner !
" Sharon, you are confusing an observation with the observer's opinion of the thing observed."
-WOW! You have been at the dictionary , haven't you !
But too late , I fear...
You see , Dubliner , in employing such poor structure in the first instance it is actually you who 'opened the door' for confusion to enter the debate ! Had you applied the correct syntax in your original 'Twenty Major...' piece it would have saved you this embarrassment : had you been equally 'sloppy' elsewhere - in a different context (ie subject etc) you would have left yourself wide open for a lawsuit . You owe me big , Dubliner... !
" I see... you were only foolin' 'lil ol' gullible me. Shouldn't you have prefixed your statement with a disclaimer stating that is was not a true statement and also contained a opinions? "
- I presume you are not much of a poker player , Dubliner ,and would be willing to show all your cards too early in the 'game' thereby removing the opportunity to entice the opposition further into play !
You're new at this , aren't you ...
Sharon .
Okay, you win, my raven-haired one.
By the way, are you one of those Finglas-born republicans who has never set Nike north of Drogheda? Since you implied that a priori knowledge was less valid than a posteriori knowledge... just wonderin'.
Hi again , Dubliner !
"Okay, you win, my raven-haired one."
- I could be blonde , you know !
Not all us/those/we (? ) blondes are as we/they are made out to be !
" By the way, are you one of those Finglas-born republicans who has never set Nike north of Drogheda? Since you implied that a priori knowledge was less valid than a posteriori knowledge... just wonderin'."
- I refuse to wear Nike until such time as -
A) The manufacturer of same is proved beyond doubt to have employed best practice in his/her factory , and -
B) Said footwear is made in a red gloss finish with four-inch heels....
And I have been all over this wee island of ours , many times : North , South East and West . The nature of my job is such that I travel a fair bit , which has benefits in itself : the range of people I meet is in itself reward enough or would be , had I not got bills to pay !
Finally - please start a blog so as I can really have a 'go' at ya !
Might see you at one of the two protest marches tomorrow . I'll be the one in bare feet.....
Sharon .
JG
"Sure, so do you think Balrog got enough votes but were deliberately left out or did they just not get the number of votes required? Conspiracy or not?"
I don't think there's a conspiracy. I do think the system is flawed in that it comes down to who has better networking capabilities rather than who has the best blog.
I also believe there to be a perceived intellectual base in the Irish blog community, an 'intelligentsia' if you will, and from watching the Seoige and O'Shea programme on RTE the other day it only confirmed my view.
Fair enough... not sure about any of that though.
I didn't see the Seoige and O'Shea programme, who was on?
While I don't completely agree with UI on this one, I applaud him for having the guts to at least broach the subject of "Croneyism and The Irish Blog Awards". Surely it's as valid a topic for discussion in the Blog O'Sphere as any?
Damien Mulley has done some remarkable work in promoting Irish blogs through last year and now this, but the question has to be asked - can his process truly reflect the opinion of Irish bloggers? Maybe the time has come where we should be organized into a card-carrying body of some kind? I don't really know if it has, but at least with a post like UI's, we can begin discussing it.
Sinead Gleeson. Couldn't you have guessed from the post?
Croneyism in Ireland? No! I'm aghast! Next you'll be shouting nepotism! The horror!
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