Well, it’s that time of year again. What started two years ago on Ridor’s blog is now threatening to become a Deaf Blogosphere tradition: the annual Blog Awards, now hosted by DeafRead. If you haven’t yet made nominations for this year’s edition, there’s still time, but not much– you have until midnight, Sunday, January 6. Yep, just a handful of hours away. To do that, start here. Although it’s the second time DeafRead’s handled the awards process, it’s really the third such annual event.

What this means to me is not so much picking the best of the best (although on its face that’s what it’s about): it’s a time for me to be exposed to other bloggers/vloggers. Last year’s blog nominees were a mix of old and new for me. While there were familiar friends such as Deaf DC, Drolz Uncensored, Joey’s ASL Vlog, and others, there were also others whose writings and thoughts were new to me: Micah’s Brain, Amy Cohen Efron’s Deaf World As Eye See It, the incomparable Mishka Zena, and Adam Stone’s wonderful Found in Ceylon (Adam is stateside now, but if you haven’t read his journal during his sojourn in Sri Lanka, spending a few hours catching up via the archives won’t be time wasted, I promise), to name just a few.

Because of the awards process, I added quite a few new blogs and vlogs to my periodic or daily reading, depending on posting frequencies, my time allotment, etc. Still, my awareness of the Deaf Blogosphere was expanded, and for the better. So I’m looking forward to seeing the new crop of nominees in the next week or so, depending on how quickly DeafRead staff sift through the nominee suggestions and post them for voting.

Even if a blog wasn’t nominated, often just browsing DeafRead brings new faces and viewpoints before me. Additionally, mentions of other blogs/vlogs in my favorites, or seeing frequent commenters or thought-provoking comments will often lead me to a new find.

To that end, I’d like to celebrate the Deaf Blogosphere a bit in this post. First, I’d like to share with you a few of my favorites– some of these will be added to my blogroll, which hasn’t been updated in eons. It’s time for general housekeeping around here anyway (and yes, I’m still considering a “facelift” for the blog in general, but that may be later than sooner, sorry…).

Second, as some of you no doubt know, I’m something of a procrastinator. *blush* A while back, I was tagged as a “Thinking Blogger” by Ocean over at Deaf Pagan Crossroads. I was humbled by the honor, and resolved to tag others in return. Unfortunately, I let a lot of other stuff get in the way. I’m sure that doesn’t come as a complete surprise to some of you… so I’ll be discussing that too.

Since I last updated my blogroll, I’ve come across a few blogs that I’ve either returned to periodically, or I’ve added to my daily favorites. One of them is Deaf Pagan Crossroads. This is a blog by Ocean, who is a Deaf pagan, and it’s fascinating to read for a few reasons. First, it’s well written. I’m a sucker for good writers, so that was a plus. Second, I don’t know a lot about paganism, and she often writes about her religion. I’ve always been interested in religion from a broad perspective; while I don’t belong to any one church per se, I like to learn about all kinds of belief systems, from organized, “traditional” religions to spiritual philosophies. She writes to inform, not to push, so I view it as a way to learn something. Also, as many of you know from her comments at Deaf DC, she’s a very thoughtful person who has interesting opinions on a lot of subjects, and she touches on some of these issues on her blog. She was one of the creators of the Equal Communication Access contest earlier this past year, for example.

A lot of you are already familiar with Jamie Berke, the guide for “Deafness” at About.com. Most of you by this time also know she has a personal blog, Berke Outspoken. I don’t always agree with her, but she can be, as the title says, outspoken on a variety of issues, and often brings a different perspective to the table. Unlike me, she tends to keep things fairly concise by comparison, yet still writes well and makes me think. That’s a plus in my book.

Another blog I’ve found along the way is Mountain Mama. While Jenny’s take on life is distinctly personal, she too is a good writer, which helps. In general, I don’t read such personal blogs or link to them, because they generally are of no interest to anyone except friends, family, and acquaintances. Personal blogs are different from more general blogs. They can range from talking about daily life on a general, personal scale to what are essentially intimate online diaries or journals. Some are great to read, while some are the kinds of things that probably shouldn’t be available for public viewing. It’s the difference between Wil Wheaton and Britney Spears, for example. Lots of people read Wheaton’s stuff; a lot of people don’t want to know a thing about Spears (and probably know way too much at this point anyway, thanks to the paparazzi). A lot of people who have these journals password-protect them, or share the URL with just a select circle. Mountain Mama is one of two such journals I read on a frequent basis.

This West-Virginia based Deaf woman talks a lot about life in her rural area, but one of the things that keeps me coming back are the tips and recipes she often posts. A friend of mine tried the roast beef au jus that Jenny posted, and declared it a winner. Eventually I want to do this, before the winter is out (I just cooked New Year’s Eve dinner last week, which was a bone-in ham; we need to use that up first!). This is an example of a post that is personal on one level (and thus not everyone’s cup of tea), but interesting enough to keep readers curious and coming back for more.

Last year I noticed a few blogs by late-deafened or oral deaf people on DeafRead. I checked out a few, and one that I return to from time to time is The 8th Nerve. This one is also quite personal, but I’ve been following this Vermonter’s struggles to fully adapt to her deafness. The attraction here is that I trod her path once upon a time, and I think quite a few of us have been in her shoes before. So when she posts about her discoveries, her musings, and her accommodations to deafness, I always check them out. A similar blog by someone who may be more familiar to you is Brown-Eyed Girl over at What’s That You Said. She hasn’t posted for a while, but her journey into ASL and Deaf culture has been fascinating, and she represents a viewpoint I enjoy hearing about. This is one of the great things about DeafRead and the Deaf Blogosphere: it allows us the chance to consider viewpoints that are different from our own, which in turn strengthens or changes our perspectives, and in the end, expands our knowledge.

I don’t tend to subscribe to vlogs that much, but one vlogger I always checked out was Todd over at Triomphe L’oeil. While he hasn’t said much of anything for a while, his thoughts are interesting, even if I don’t always agree with them. His signing is crisp and clear, which is enjoyable in itself (I think sometimes just watching different signers is an education in itself. How people sign, their signing space, the types of signs they use, the regional differences, etc., etc.). For example, it’s fun watching Amy over at Deaf World As Eye See It. She has a style all her own, I think.

These are some of the newer blogs/vlogs that I now check in on either from time to time or every time they post something new. There are others I read as well, but these are some of the best of the public ones. Since last year, quite a few blogs and vlogs vanished from the landscape; many were created during and in the wake of the Tent City protests at Gallaudet, and have since disappeared for one reason or another, such as BiblioMarket. But that’s the thing about the blogosphere– nothing is here forever. Even Ridor has taken leave, although he seems to have popped up a couple times at his old domain. At this time next year, I’ll most likely have new “finds” to share.

On that note, let’s resolve my procrastination. The Thinking Blogger Awards started early last year, at this site. The purpose was to start a new blog meme that would recognize, as the originator states, “blogs that make me think.” This quickly morphed into the “Thinking Blogger” award.

The rules are fairly simple, and as per the requirements, I’m reposting them here:

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.

As I said, I was tagged. So I’m passing this forward now, by listing five blogs that make me think. In no particular order, they are:

1. Deaf Firefighter’s Blog. Although the blog was originally set up to discuss the experience of being a deaf firefighter, Neil has since touched upon other issues in this blog. These non-fire related posts always are well written and well thought-out, and often leave me thinking about or re-considering an issue.

2. Although, sadly, he no longer blogs (apparently), Joseph Rainmound at Deaf in the City has long been one of my top blogs to visit. His logical, well-reasoned prose often blew me away, whether it was a post on politics or a discussion of deafness and deaf identity issues. The comment box always attracted people with something to say as well, which I think is a hallmark of a great blog. Definitely a thinking blogger, if there ever was one.

3. Another seemingly departed blogger that has made this list (although it’s my understanding the bloggist may come back elsewhere soon…) is “moi” at Random Thoughts and Musings. While moi’s postings didn’t wander off a lot into worldly issues, moi could always be counted on for thoughtful commentary, largely on deaf-related issues. While there weren’t as many commenters here as elsewhere, people didn’t come to leave one-liners, as they did on other blogs. This led to some interesting post-blog discussions.

4. While it’s not a traditional blog platform per se (there seems to be no place to leave a comment, for example), I am always impressed by Mark Drolsbaugh’s pieces at Drolz Uncensored. While many of the other blogs I read are full of weighty, serious essays and bits and pieces, Drolz’s material is laced with humor, leaving me chuckling at the same time I learn something new or am prompted to think about a seemingly familiar subject with a fresh eye. Most of us have our up-and-down days as bloggers; nearly all of Drolz’s stuff is outstanding.

5. I’m going to cheat a little here, so to speak. I started out with the intention of not repeating any blogs that have already been recognized as Thinking Bloggers. But the rules say to name five bloggers. This fifth choice of mine was the sixth, additional selection by Ocean. But since that was a freebie on Ocean’s part, I’m going to include this one here to round out my five. I’m speaking of Deaf Pundit, who presides over The Deaf Edge. She’s a relative newcomer, having just established her blog a year ago, but since then she’s posted some very good entries. She also helped originate the Equal Communication Access contest, and has used her blog as a forum for advocacy. Right now she’s posting a fascinating series, “Mom’s Gone Fighting the Deaf Wars.” For anyone interested in deaf education, it’s definitely an eye-opener– a lot of us lived it, but a lot of others haven’t, and it’s providing food for thought.

*whew* I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve shared enough for one post. This is by no means a comprehensive list– there’s a lot of others I could have named, and a lot of other blogs that I haven’t mentioned that I do read often. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments.

Before I sign off, since we’re talking about blogs, I’m going to do something rare. I don’t use my blog to advertise, shill for money, or request funds for pianos. I also don’t pimp myself, my beloved ones, or my curvaceous neighbor. But I do like to recognize deaf people when I can. I’m going to make that exception right now, and mention Bellamoden, who is on my bloglist. She’s a frequent blogger, but her material focuses 99% on knitting and yarn. I read her because she’s a friend; I don’t necessarily expect you to add her to your RSS feed. Occasionally, she writes about something else, and when she does, that 1% of non-knitting related material is intelligently written.

However, she has recently made the foray from customer to seller. So if you’re a deaf/Deaf knitter or yarn lover, and you’re interested in buying some colorful material for hats, scarves, mittens, bags, or what have you, then do go over and peruse her wares. Here’s a little bit about how her journey into the world of dyeing came to be. Here’s the official announcement that she’s dyeing material for The Loopy Ewe, where she has stuff for sale. She also has an Etsy site, which will have new yarn for sale soon, or so I’m told.

Overt promotion over. Thanks for allowing me that. *grin*

I don’t shop at every deaf/Deaf-owned business, and I don’t expect anyone to do so. We should be equal to hearing people, no more and no less. That means only shopping or frequenting those that offer great products, or do superior work, not just buying stuff because “they’re deaf like me.” But at the same time, when we can, it doesn’t hurt to boost our own. It’s one of the ways we can help each other achieve self-sufficiency, enter the middle class, and improve everyone’s lot all around where possible. So, if you know of an outstanding Deaf or deaf businessperson or majority deaf/Deaf-operated business that should be recognized or that you think people should be aware of, let me know in the comments. I and others can always check them out.

So… what are your thoughts about the Deaf Blogosphere as of January 2008?