Apology Owed

Well, the end of the year comes with a resounding "clang" for The Garlic.

Alas, our efforts to gain a berth in the 2008 Weblog Awards have gone unrewarded.

The Finalists were announced last evening, and, in the category of 'Best Humor Blog', The Garlic was nowhere to be found.



Initially, I thought - "We Wuz Robbed".

For, on the final day of nomination voting, it appeared The Garlic was sitting pretty, seemingly, racking up the second most "votes".

We use "votes" in quotes due to discovering this morning, via Kevin Aylward, of the Weblog Awards, those calls to "hit the little "plus" icon (+)" were not calls to vote for The Garlic, rather they were "Me Too's", which counted for nothing, or very little, basically just endorsing the nomination (For, the Weblog Awards were looking to trim down on duplicate nominations).

"Those aren’t votes, they’re “me too” indicators. The idea is to minimize the number of duplicate nominations. It doesn’t always keep people from nominating a site over and over, but it helps. The directions in the nominating post are pretty clear. Sites with one nomination are evaluated the same as sites with several “me too” votes."

Got that?

Going back and looking on the Weblog Award site, at the FAQ's, etc, we did notice this;

The number of nominations a blog receives is irrelevant. One nomination is enough...

Rather than add a "me too" nomination for a site you're encouraged to use the "+" icon to indicate your preference for nominees. The "+" ratings are one extra piece of information the finalist selection panel can use to help generate the finalist slates in each category.

See, hitting that little icon, registering your "Me Too" was only "one extra piece of information" and not an actual vote that counted for anything.

In the 'Best Humor Blog', 8-of-the-Top-10 "Me Too" getters did not get chosen as a Finalist.

All I had to do, quietly, was nominate (or have someone else do it) The Garlic, and kick back until they went through the nominations, leaving The Garlic's fate, as it were, in the hands of the judges.

There was no need to ask you, our loyal readers, to take a minute and jump on over to The Weblog Awards, to vote for The Garlic, when, as noted above, you were not, in fact, voting for The Garlic.

I wasted your time.

For that, a most grande "Lo Siento" ... A thousand-and-one pardons ...

Should The Garlic enter, or be entered, into any award programs in the future, we will make certain - absolute crystal clear - what-is-what, how it works, what is required, before we ask for your valuable time, regardless of how many few seconds it may be ...

And, in the end, it is your visits, and readership, that is reward enough.

2008 Weblog Award Update

We have some news, as to the 2008 Weblog Awards, in which The Garlic is in the running for 'Best Humor Blog'.

First, and foremost, many, many thanks to those of you who took the time (a mere few seconds) to throw a vote our way.

Unofficially, it would appear that The Garlic has made it into the Finals, pulling in enough votes to catapult from 5th place, into 2nd place, during the final weekend of voting.

The Weblog folks have their hands full, sifting through "a record number of nominations, nearly 5,000" and they have laid out the schedule for the final voting.

Finalist Announced - December 25

Finalist Logos Available - December 25

Finalist Voting Page Available* - December 29

Finalist Voting - January 2 through January 10

So, you can give your "mouse-clicking" finger a rest, and we certainly will alert you as to when you can, hopefully, vote once again for The Garlic.

Once again, thanks to all who voted for the nomination.

Time Is Running Out! ... Vote For The Garlic!

Help push The Garlic into the finals!

We're down the home stretch now, as to the 2008 Weblog Awards, and The Garlic's nomination in the category of "Best Humor Blog".

This weekend, today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday), are the last days of voting.

We need your help.

If you would, take a few moments to vote for The Garlic ...

Currently, The Garlic is sitting in 5th Place, just a handful of votes out of 3rd Place ... That may be enough to make the final cut, however, we could use the cushion of moving up in the voting, as well as warding off a few others that are just a few votes behind The Garlic.

So, use the links below to go out and vote!

The Weblog Awards makes it incredibly simple, no fussing around with signing in, or registering, just use the link below, and it should only take a few seconds.

This link HERE will take you to a page where The Garlic nomination is right on top.

Just click on the "Plus" icon to register your vote

Thank you all, for your votes, your readership and your consideration.

Hopefully, it will be on to the Finals, in just a few days ...

There's Still Time! ... Vote For The Garlic!

But only about a week left!

To vote for The Garlic, in the 2008 Weblog Awards, for "Best Humor Blog" (as explained previously, they don't offer a Satire category).

If it helps you make your decision, I can promise three things;

• 1. I will not whine over the next week, demanding that the other blogs engage me in any Town Hall Debates
• 2. I will not give any press conferences, standing in front of turkeys being slaughtered.
• 3. I have no plans, no desire, to hire Hillary Clinton, to have anything to do with The Garlic (other than the subject of posts).

So, use the links below to go out and vote!

The Weblog Awards makes it incredibly simple, no fussing around with signing in, or registering, just use the link below, and it should only take a few seconds.

This link HERE will take you to a page where The Garlic nomination is right on top.

Just click on the "Plus" icon to register your vote

Thank you all, for your votes, your readership and your consideration.

We're In The Hunt! ... Get Your Vote In For The Garlic!

Well, first things, first, we should thank those of you who have already placed your vote, in the 2008 Weblog Awards, for The Garlic, in the category of 'Best Humor Blog'.

As of this morning, we're in the thick of it, sitting in third place, with a little more than a week to go.

If you need to see for yourself, you can go to our first post announcing the nomination, where we have a bevy of links to the more popular posts on The Garlic this year (as well, you can scroll down the left column to see the "Reader's Favorites").

We also have this;

A Compliment for The Garlic

J. Grab, the writer of this new blog, which seems to track comedy, humor and satire, offered

This week I tried to delve deeper into the world of political satire blogging. I just googled a lot (how’s that for linking?) and was able to come up with some stuff in surprisingly sparse field. I find it odd that in the age of the Internet and the age of what Entertainment Weekly has called “the most entertaining election ever,” I wasn’t launched into a bevvy of sites. Here are three that stood out. I’m sure there are more to come and hope I am just dipping my toes into the world of Internet political satire.

And they had this to say;

The Garlic is a site with obvious respect or hatred for The Onion. The title could mean either. I loved this site because it is so well informed. It’s definitely pro-Obama (probama anyone?), but most satirists seem to be. It is also spectacular how they refer to McCain as “Stumblin’ Bumblin’ John.“

Pros: Backed Up Sources. You can see from that list, it’s funny, but not moronic at all. All those links are backed up sources, unlike myself who links to things like this.

Cons: Definitely not for the casual election follower.

So, take a few seconds and give The Garlic your vote.

The Weblog Awards makes it incredibly simple, no fussing around with signing in, or registering, just use the link below, and it should only take a few seconds.

This link HERE will take you to a page where The Garlic nomination is right on top.

Just click on the "Plus" icon to register your vote

Thank you all, for your votes, your readership and your consideration.

Vote For The Garlic!

It's been a couple of years since we've done anything like this (we were once nominated for a Koufax Award).

A few fellow bloggers hipped me to the 2008 Weblog Awards, and suggested I put The Garlic in the hunt, so we nominated The Garlic in the category of "Best Humor Blog" (they don't have a satire, or snark, category);

The Weblog Awards are the world's largest blog competition, with over 500,000 votes cast in the 2007 edition for finalists in 45 categories. Nominations for The 2008 Weblog Awards are scheduled to begin in late Oct. 2008 with voting is scheduled to begin Dec. 1, 2008.

(You can click HERE to view all the categories for nomination)

Now, the way these things usually work is some big-ass blog, with a zillion readers, floods the voting.

The Garlic is neither "big-assed", nor do we have a "zillion" readers.

However, it would be nice to give one of the big-asses a run-for-the-money, so, if you like what we do here, take a minute, use the links below, and toss The Garlic a vote.

It's very simple, and, should only take a few seconds.

This link HERE will take you to a page where The Garlic nomination is right on top.

Just click on the "Plus" icon to register your vote

There just two-weeks left, so, get over there and vote!

And, if you need to refresh yourself, or to be convinced The Garlic is worthy of your vote, here's a handful of some of the more popular posts this year (you can scroll down the left column to see some of our past Best Posts, in 'Reader Favorites').

Many Thanks for your consideration!


D.B. Cooper Is Barbarosa ... Or Is It Barbarosa Is D.B. Cooper?

"The morning after always looks grim if you happen to be wearing last night's dress"

We Looked In the DIY Section, But Bob Vila Didn't Have A Handbook On It ...

The Bob Dole For The New Millennium

Hillary's Smelling Burning Rubber! ... Or: The Garlic Was Right - Hillary Has Built Her "Field of Voices"

Tinkerbell Meets Norma Rae - The Daily Kos Strike

Oh Ronnie, How I Long For You ...

No Doubt, Lou Dobbs Will Go Absolut-ely Apocalyptic

Heston Dead; Coroner Can't Pry Gun From Cold Dead Hands

You Say Lapel Pins ... I Say Lunatics...

Where's That Apple Runner When You Need Her?

She's Stalking Donuts Now!

Developing Story - MSNBC Making Pitches To Become Eulogy Channel

Life Imitates Art ... Or, Did Burt Lancaster Invent Google Earth?

Oil That Is, Black Gold, Tehran Tea ...

McCain VP Confusion; Staff Had Canadian Actress Sarah Polley In Dayton Hotel For Three Days

The "B" List

She's Not A Hockey Mom with Lipstick ... She's Emily Litella!

Don't Wink At Me, Sarah Palin

Top Ten Cloves: Other Books Hugh Hewitt Can Write About Election