I, for one, welcome my new Wampum overlords!

I see that Byzantium's Shores has received a nomination for the 2005 Koufax Awards, the blog awards organized by Wampum to honor the best of Left Blogistan. This blog is nominated in the "Most Deserving of Wider Recognition" Category, and yes, it is indeed an honor to be nominated. But then, it's also an achievement just to reach the Super Bowl -- and as a Bills fan, let's just say that I'd like to accomplish just a little bit more than that, OK?

For those who are new to this blog via the Koufax nomination, the quickest way to get the lay of the land here is via the stuff in my sidebar. There's some stuff that's directly about me in the section where my two self-photos reside ("100 Things About Me", several online profiles, my Flickr photostream), and a bit below that, you'll find a section labeled "Notable Dispatches and Archives". Here is where I link the posts of mine that I've liked the most over the years I've been doing this (four of 'em as of this coming February, believe it or not), as well as my best posts of 2005, as chosen by a council of...well, me.

I generally keep my political writings here to a very low mix, so if you scan through the archives and think "Geez, does this guy even blog about politics enough for a Koufax?", that's probably a fair cop, although apparently that didn't bother the fine folks running the Koufax awards, for what it's worth. I don't avoid politics entirely; it's just that I tend to think a lot more about the cultural and domestic stuff I write about here. But when I get pissed off enough, I will get quite political. (Last time that happened was when Brownie was doin' that "heck of a job". Putz.) Suffice it to say that I do, indeed, believe that George W. Bush, having virtually cornered the defintion of "failing upward", is the least able man to hold the Presidency; that I never see Dick Cheney on TV that I don't think he should be wearing a Nehru jacket and stroking a white cat; that were my car to run out of coolant, the fluid that runs in Ann Coulter's veins would serve as an effective stopgap solution; and that the mass of commentators on FOX News, Townline, and the fine denizens of LGF "never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge" (to steal a fine quote from onetime Republican Speaker of the House Thomas B. Reed).

But then, you have to consider the source: I'm a long-haired guy who lives in Buffalo. I'm convinced that Buffalo is just this close to turning the corner and becoming the greatest f***ing place on Earth. I work in a grocery store hanging signs and cleaning up the spill in Aisle Nine whilst dreaming of being a writer in that mythical "someday". Looking quite the hippie, I venture out in public garbed in tie-dyed shirts underneath bib overalls, and yet I know absolutely nothing about the Grateful Dead and have never attended a single rock concert. I believe that George Lucas has never "lost it", I picked the Arizona Cardinals to make the playoffs, and I actually liked the flavor of Holiday Spice Pepsi. So you know, I could at any point be completely full of bird poop. But what else is a blog for?

Thanks for visiting, and vote Byzantium's Shores. Because if you don't, the terrorists win, the puppy gets it, Michelle Malkin will eat another fuzzy kitten, and an angel will be stripped of his wings.