"GOLDEN LIGHTS, DISPLAYING YOUR NAME"

What did I tell you? Happiness and good mojo abound. Schwartzy, who is the most darling of all darlings, has bestowed upon me the Thinking Blogger Award. She is one of the funniest women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, she has a staggering intellect to match and one of the kindest hearts anyone could ever find. I am beside myself with excitement and gratitude for this award, especially coming from such a remarkable person.

The recipient of this award must follow these rules:
Acknowledge the origin of the meme/award
If you are tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think
Optional: Display the “Thinking Blogger Award” with a link to the post that you wrote using either the gold or silver versions of the award.

I have taken my sweet-ass time figuring out the folks I'd in turn award and since I am limited, or supposed to be limited, I've really had to give this a lot of thought. So, without further ado, I bestow the Thinking Blogger Award to the following people. If I did not pick your blog, please don't blow up my car or blog horrible things about me. Like I said, I really thought about this a long time. And, if you, say, are the person who bestowed me with this award or I happen to know for sure that you already got this award, I've chopped ya off the list. So there.

In random order:

Skirmish of Wit. Let's not kid ourselves. If I went on a quiz show and had only one phone-a-friend option, it would go to Skirmy. She's wicked funny, wicked awesome and wicked smart. She's also bailed my arse out of a jam or two in the time I have known her. So there's that, too.

Danny Miller from Jew Eat Yet? I've always said that if you need to convey a lot of potentially controversial information to a lot of people, make it funny. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down and such. Well, the wonderfully long and sharply written posts on Jew Eat Yet? always manage to educate and entertain and I appreciate that in a blog. Not all the posts are really all that controversial, but they are all packed with a certain enthusiastic intelligece that is always something to look forward to.

Therapy Doc from Everyone Needs Therapy. Screwed up? She'll unscrew you. Wait, that came out wrong! She blogs about an array of issues, large and small, is terribly insightful when it comes to day-to-day interaction with difficult people or, ahem, getting nervous in schmoozy settings, and she is a super-nice, super-supportive person. Uh, and did I mention she is a genius?

Shelly Rae Rich. This lady is so on top of her game that it's scary. Want the dirt on a lit fest, a lit mag, a lit person? Head to Shel. Somehow, she just always knows.

Dondi from Letters from Dondi. Want an education about celiac disease? See Dondi. Want to pick the rather impressive brain of someone who humbly holds a graduate degree in math? See Dondi. Want to brainstorm ideas and see them magically both organize themselves and materialize before your very eyes? See Dondi. Want to see the greatest piece of furniture ever created to stylishly contain a litterbox? See Dondi! So funny, so darling, so smart it hurts.

I had to overlook so many of your big brains out there, but maybe I did it because I know you are swampd with work, or because I know that you know I that e-stalk you all the time and giving you an award might prove to be too much (okay, it's probably not that), or because I know you are busy with more than one job, or because I know that you are recovering from a huge project, or because I know your pets/kids are antsy for spring and driving you crazy, or maybe, and this one is key, maybe because you didn't pay me the impressive bribe these folks did.** Snooze you lose, bitches.

(**Winners of Thinking Blogger Award have actually not paid Amy Guth for said award in any way including but not limited to: cash, credit cards, checks, sex acts, kittens, clothing, vegetarian recipes, Morrissey/Smiths music or items, tattoo supplies, t-shirts, pots of unnatural haircolor, cleaning supplies, cat toys, catnip, drugs, booze, Simpsons dvds or items, New Balance running shoes, yoga mats, vintage postcards and/or travel to tropical or sub-tropical locations.)