Awarded Awesome Awards And Awarding Awards Also

Hello folks. I’ve been kind of lazy a few days this month. Maybe I’m taking a few days to rest on my laurels, but let me tell you they feel awful comfy right about now. The Bugg got awarded with Four Honest Scrap Awards. This blog award that’s been going around lately and has finally found its way to The Lightning Bug’s Lair. I really could not be more flattered by the three bloggers who bestowed it on me. Since today starts the Lair’s anniversary week, I thought I would take this time to thank and acknowledge my fellow bloggers.

First off, there was John Kenneth Muir of Reflections on Film. John is not only a great blogger, but also an author whose work I have come to admire. If you haven’t had the chance to check out any of his books, then I have to recommend The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Rami. It’s a great read as are many of his tomes. I was very flattered that Mr. Muir would include me in his list, and many thanks go out to him.

Then an award came in from Matt-suzaka from over there at his new blog Chuck Norris Ate My Baby. Matt is a fellow I’ve know of for sometime. Mostly because I’ve been stalking him…wait, no, ignore that. It’s because of a trio of great pod casts, Cinema Diabolica, Outside the Cinema, and The Gentlemen’s Guide to Midnite Cinema. I’ve been a long time listener to all of those shows, and I always enjoyed hearing Matt call or write into those shows. Then he started writing for The Paracinema blog and really bringing the pain. Now that he’s posting over at Chuck Norris Ate My Baby, he’s really bringing the straight dope on all kind of genre goodies. So thanks Matt. You are, as you well know, the man.

Next up, I got The Honest Scrap from BJ-C over at Day of the Woman. What can I say about Brittany Jade that hasn’t been said? Well, if you can find me a chick who can twirl a baton and blog about horror heroines as well, then you have just tracked down some kind of weird alien clone of her. Her site has so many great weekly features that there’s always something new to check out, but if you like Twilight, then you are better off just staying away.

Then when I thought I had this whole award bonaza locked down then lo and behold Ms Harker from Musings Across the Continuum awarded me again. I’ve only recently started reading Ms Harker’s excellent blog, but her articles on True Blood have quickly become an indispensable resource. So make sure you check out Ms. Harker for reviews that surely don’t suck.

Ok now that the thank yous are done, I can get around to giving out a few awards myself. So, here are the blogs that have been invaluable to me as a reader, and they’ve been great friends of mine all year long.

1. Midnight Confessions - Rev. Phantom always is on point with his reviews no matter if they’re written or one of the excellent videos he’s been making. Plus he's just one of the greatest guys doing the damn thing right now. Check out his open letter to the horror genre for proof.

2. Fred the Wolf’s Full Moon Reviews - When I started out doing this thing, Fred’s site was one of the first I came across, and he’s been a real pal all this year. His reviews are always great too read to. I’m not sure if any other site makes me laugh out loud quite as much.

3. The Realm of Ryan- Another longtime friend of the Lair, no matter if he’s talking about Robert E. Howard, history, or writing the best review I’ve seen for District 9, Ryan always delivers. He’s also one of the writers that make me feel better when he writes a review because they’re often longer than mine, and anyone who can be more verbose than me is OK in my book.

4. Permission to Kill - First off, I love this blog‘s name. After I get over that, I have to say that I love the way David writes about all the great spy and espionage titles over there. Almost every time I’m over there my list of films to see keeps growing, thanks for keeping my Netflix queue full, David.

5. XXX Marks the Plot- Remember the good old days of porn when they actually needed a story to go between the sex scenes? No? Well, Mr. X-Ray Specs does, and he’s still looking for well-written porn over at his blog. Is he finding much? Nope, but come on, looking is half the fun!

6. I Spit on Your Taste- Ever wondered about the cultural relevance of Italian genre cinema? The deeper layers that lay beyond Mondo movies? Then you need to be reading Nigel’s blog. He always has a fresh way of looking at things that makes me reexamine the films I’m watching.

7. The Wit and Wisdom of Al Bruno III - There are very few things I look forward to in the world more than checking out Al Bruno’s 5 Second Fiction posts. In just a few words, Al will leave you with a story that will capture your imagination.

8. Stay Right Here a Little While - I don’t frequent very many blogs about music because I either consider then too elitist or loaded down with stuff I’ve heard too many times. Steve Smith digs up tons of forgotten gems and classic tunes I haven’t thought of in years, and he gives me all the info I want without making me feel functionally retarded. It’s not only music though, and I’m really looking forward to his review of The Misfits.

9. Freddy in Space- Johnny Boots comes up with some great discussions that really get people thinking, and he does everyone a service with his other blog, Win Free Horror Shit. With the new Nightmare movie looming in the distance, I’m sure we can all depend on Mr. Boots to keep his finger on the pulse of the new production while still writing great posts about all facets of horror.

10. The Vault of Horror- How could I not give this award to the blogger who created The Cyber Horror Elite? B-Sol puts every aspect of horror through a meat grinder, looks at it through a microscope, runs some valuable tests, and then comes up with some of the best and most thought provoking posts being written. I am constantly in awe of how great his site is. So on the off chance that you’re not already one of his readers, then get there post haste.

So there are my ten, and in accordance with the Honest Scrap rules I must now say 10 completely honest things about myself. Here they are:

10. I have never seen Forrest Gump. It was so over hyped when it was out that I lost interest, and since then it’s just become a thing for me to see how long I can get away without seeing it.

9. I like Phil Collins. If I’m in the shower and I think no one’s around, then there’s a good chance I am crooning a rendition of one of his hits.

8. I had a kidney stone a couple of years ago, and I would rather drink all the sweat ever produced by Italian film than go through that again.

7. I am still a huge fan of the comic strip Bloom County, and I pull one of my books out to read some of it every week.

6. I do many bad impressions. I’ve been working on my Richard Nixon impression since I was about twelve. What can I say, I was a strange kid.

5. I own two smoking jackets. Doesn’t everyone?

4. No matter what I’m doing if Dodgeball is on and I watch more than two minutes of it then I will watch it until the end.

3. I don’t eat pickles, plain or in anything, ever.

2. My favorite comic book of all time is Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! I’ve never met anyone else that’s read it, and it makes me sad.

1. I read William Burrough’s Naked Lunch once a year and I have since I was sixteen. Each year I understand a bit more of that book, and I hope that I live to a ripe old age so I can have a pretty good handle on it before I kick the bucket.

So there you go. I feel great about starting this week like this, and if there’s anyone I missed, I promise I mean no offense. All my blogging friends have helped make this a great year for me so check out all their most excellent sites.