Night-time at the Kinryuzan Temple, Asakusa

This is called Night-time at the Kinryuzan Temple, Asakusa.  It's by one of my favorite artists, Ando Hiroshige.  I was inspired to post it by the Heretik who put up another of Hiroshige's paintings at his site the other day along with one of the Heretik's lovely, poetic meditations.  His post is called Spin.

Hiroshige reminds me the world is constantly turning in on itself. Sometimes life turns itself inside out. When the land is peaceful, the water may churn just offshore. Sometimes a cyclone comes ashore and what spinning wind and water cannot destroy alone, a storm of stupidity finishes...

Go look at the painting and read the rest.

Back already?

Ok.  Other business.

I hope you're all voting for the various Koufax Awards.  The first round of voting ends Sunday at midnight.  Thanks very much to those of you who've voted so far for me in the categories I'm nominated in, Best Writing, Best Blog, Best Post, and Blog Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.  I hope the reason those of you who haven't voted for me haven't is that you voted for someone else and not because you haven't voted at all.  If you haven't, please do.  I'd appreciate your vote, especially for Best Writing---I'd really like to make at least the semi-finals in that one---but there are lots of good writers to choose from and the best reason to go vote is the chance to discover some interesting new blogs and talented bloggers and revisit old favorites.

Special thanks to Ezra Klein for his vote and the nice shout out and to Brad DeLong for seconding Ezra.  (I think that's what Brad was doing.  He posted the link without comment.  Maybe he was silently shaking his head in disbelief at Ezra's lapse in judgment.)

I haven't finished my own voting yet.  It's a tough call in a lot of the categories.  So far here are my picks.

Red Tory for Best State or Local Blog.  Martin is my source for all news Canadian.

The Countess for Best Single Issue Blog.  Trish isn't strictly a single-issue blogger but she is an expert on issues surrounding divorce and custody battles and everything I know about the doings of the Father's Rights crowd I know from reading Trish's page.  And, good as he is, David Neiwert, does not offer any chocolate recipees.

Shakespeare Sister's post Scarred for Best Post.  Read it.  You see why.

PZ Myers for Best Expert.

That's it so far.  The other categories are tougher.

By the way, I'm voting anonymously because it's my right as an American, plus I may give in to the temptation to vote for myself.  I'm evil, pure evil.

And once you're done with the Koufaxes then you can go vote for what I hope will become the next big award, the Heretik's Stengel Award!

The first 2006 Stengel Award nomination are for the Jack of All Trades blogger. Who Does It All in a Different Way? Nominate your number one who does a number of things well.

I'm not asking you to vote for me for that one.  I want to see lots and lots of different blogs linked to on that one.  This is a good chance for you to sing the praises of your own, true favorite of the kind of blogs the A Listers and Big Dawgs tend to ignore because they aren't obsessively political, just obsessively well-written, well designed, interesting, cool, different, original, interesting, and just plain neat.

Since Joe shouldn't win his own award, I've voted for Nancy Nall.

Comments

[Linkmeister]

Hmph. I will campaign for myself for the Stengel award, since I'm all over the lot all the time. ;)

[Lance]

Link,

You bet you're all over the lot, that's what makes you such a damned treasure! I second your nomination! And I'm going over to vote for you now.

Yeah, I know I already voted for Nance, but what's the Heretik going to do about it? Ban me? Delete my comments? I dare him! I double dog dare him!

[Why Not Me]

. . . if dogs run free.

[carla]

I would have voted for you for Wider Recognition..but then PK wouldn't have got one of its few votes. :)

I love that Hiroshige. It evokes such stillness and peace. Thanks for posting it.

[The Countess]

Thanks for the Koufax nod, Lance. Hey, today's my birthday. Go to my blog and hang out at my birthday party. Absinthe and Bailey's Irish Cream, all around!

This will probably be my last year writing at length about the fathers' rights movement. I'm moving into sexuality now. If I run across any supreme idiocy by fathers' rights activists, I won't be able to resist writing about it, though. Those guys are spoofs of themselves.

I will continue to offer plenty of chocolate recipes. A day without a chocolate recipe is like a day without sunshine.