Thinking Bloggers Award

Amazing! I woke on Sunday (please don’t ask embarrassing question like at what time) to learn that Marina Mahathir of RantingsbyMM had tagged me for the Thinking Blogger Award.

I have never won any blogging award, except for the occasional bricks through the window (more recently) so it is not only an honour but a very lovely surprise. In fact I was so excited I nearly forgot my brunch ;-)

Part of the honour requires me to exercise some responsibility (in which area I have recently been informed, sneeringly, I had been utterly hopeless) by tagging 5 bloggers who had set me thinking.

But look, by being tagged, I have been given a second chance by kind-hearted Marina to demonstrate that I can exercise due responsibility, though not as prompt as I should have – hah well, I have to plea I am just a beginner.

Like Marina, I agree that it's really not easy to tag five bloggers who are responsible intelligent people, dedicated to making people reflect on issues which affect us all today.

My difficulty is selecting 5 only, when so many are qualified - aiyah, why not 6 or 8 lah? I have to agonise over my choices when there are so many good ones, but bravely soldiering on, I intend to have a healthy cross-section, with due considerations for diversity in gender, professions, religion, age and political views.

(1) - Darren Hsu - Darren is a medical doctor who is not only dedicated to curing us medically, but also our politico-social worries and anxieties. He writes eruditely on quality stuff, ro inform us on Malaysian affairs at his blog ‘Dr Hsu’s Forum’. A self taught pianist, he exemplifies that where there’s a will, there is a way. I find his articles thoughtful and thought provoking.

(2) Lucia Lai - The thing I admire about Lucia of Mental Jog blog, apart from her being a Penangite like me ;-), is her dedicated involvement in social affairs. She has done sterling work during the tsunami disaster that unfortunately hit Penang a couple of years back, and participates in several community and charity work. Her articles on those have inspired me (make me think) in the same way that Marina Mahathir’s devotion to the cause of helping HIV-AIDS victims has. A devoted Catholic, Lucia is guided by good Christian values and civic mindedness.

(3) Zainol Abideen - is a very handsome blogger par excellente of the mahaguru58 blog and, like Lucia Lai, is also a Penangite (though working as an expatriate in that faraway place called Kuala Lumpur). A religiously devout person, Zainol is a proud Muslim who, when you read his articles, will show he has done great credit for the name of Islam. He is thoughtful, compassionate, open-minded, brave and a very fair man. If you want an Islamic view of Malaysian issues, this man will enlighten you in an informed and honest way. I consider him my brother.

(4) Sharina of the Boinq has to be the most outspoken lady I have had the pleasure to ‘listen’ to. She’s probably the ‘baby’ (in a relative sense) of this group of 5 that I’m tagging. Naturally she interacts with her readers in new generation-speak, unlike old foggies like KTemoc. She’s also a ‘staunch’, but in her case, feminist. Her views are thought provoking and excellent material to ‘educate’ Malaysian males ;-)

(5) Howsy of Sensintrovert blog holds a freshly minted PhD, and hails from Ipoh. His postings carry subtle messages within. A good bloke and blogging matey who posts issues that have often set me thinking. Because of that (set me brain struggling) I have forgiven him for being an Ipoh-lang ;-) Lucia and I will yet make him a honourable Penangite.

Now you know what I mean about tagging a healthy cross-section of bloggers. Sorry I couldn’t split the gender equally unless Howsy volunteers, like Tiresias, to be both man and woman.

Just a quick digression, for Howsy's sake before he/she volunteers to do what I suggested. In Greek mythology, Tiresias was punished by the goddess Hera and transformed into a woman, Seven years later Hera released her (him?) from the spell, but unfortunately he was subsequently drawn into an argument between Hera and her husband Zeus, the numero uno Greek God. They wanted to know who enjoyed sex more, and as he had experienced both roles, he was most qualified to tell.

Zeus of course said women loved it more while Hera took the opposite view.

As a man (again), Tiresias revealed woman's greatest secret, that on a scale of ten, she gets nine parts of the pleasure to his one. Hera was furious (never contradict an angry woman, mate) and instantly struck him blind. Zeus couldn't do anything to stop her but compensated Tiresias with the gift of foresight. Over to you, Howsy.

Back to business, I lament I can’t tag more people because I have in mind bloggers like freelunch2020, mob1900 a Confucian scholar who believes in the sage dictum that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and who probably admires General George Patton for his reminder “don’t die for your country; make the other bastard die for his!”, and of course my good mate Jamal of myAsylum (he was also tagged by Marina but there’s no rule against re-tagging him).

OK, guys, you have to nominate five other people each, all of whom must merit being considered thinking bloggers.

There are rules attached to this, should you get tagged. Just to reiterate:
Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging. 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. This award was started here by someone called Ilker Yoldas.

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking!