Here are my votes for the Weblog Awards. I didn't vote in the categories of blogs I don't read or care about. I also decided not to vote on the foreign blog categories, since I think people from those areas should be the ones voting. (Nominees list - Vote)

The best part of this for me is finding out about blogs that I hadn't heard of before. That makes it more than worth the effort for me. I should point out that there are blogs on my link list which I think are as good, if not better, than many of the nominees listed. Too bad they weren't options to pick.

Given that you can vote once per day, the old Chicago adage, "Vote Early and Often," actually seems valid here.

Best Blog:
Comment Is Free (from The Guardian)
The Guardian will give you information and perspectives that are largely ignored by corporate outlets. The writing style is excellent too.

Best New Blog:
synthesis
There were three blogs from this category that I've added to my link list. The choice was tough, but I had to go with synthesis. When I read this blog, I kept thinking, "I never thought of that before." There just aren't many blogs that can manage that. I also like how the blogger manages to stay independent of the corporate news cycle.

Best Individual Blogger:
field negro
I added three blogs to my link list from this category too. I find field negro the most informative of the blogs I selected.

Best Liberal Blog:
Blue Gal
There were some good choices here, but I'm going with BlueGal because she has used her blog to launch Blog Against Theocracy blogswarms. A blogger who also is an organizer deserves a lot of credit.

Best Political Coverage:
From the Left
I'm voting for Christopher for several reasons. He picks out the most important stories in the corporate media first, which means I don't have to wade through as much bs propaganda. He also brings a desperately needed queer perspective to liberal blogging where pink perspectives often are marginalized. I've enjoyed going back and forth with him when we have agreed and when we have disagreed. I also respect him for being able to change his mind when he gets access to new information. There are a lot of politicians who could learn a lot from this.

Best Celebrity Blogger:
Margaret Cho
Is there any other celebrity whose blog is even worth reading, much less is as fabulous as hers? Of course not!

Best Technology Blog:
Smashing Magazine
Of all the blogs listed, this is the one I've found most useful. It has a ton of design tools and resources.

Best LGBT Blog:
Blabbeando
I'm going with this one because it has the most information that I have trouble finding out about in the rest of queer media (e.g. New York queer politics, Latin America). In case you haven't noticed, one of my main criteria for reading blogs is how many new things I will learn by doing so.

Technorati Runs Our Lives
The next few categories are based on how many links in blog postings Technorati thinks each blog gets ("blog authority"). I admit that there is a lemming like aspect to this, and I will only vote in categories where I genuinely like at least one of the nominees.

Best Very Large Blog (Authority between 501 and 1,000)
Pandagon
This is quite a good blog. The only problem with it is that it got too popular, and the comments sections are too flooded to follow anymore.

Best Large Blog (Authority between 301 and 500)
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
This is a good blog with a great name facing a set of weak nominees. It's an easy choice.

Best Midsize Blog (Authority between 201 and 300)
Rod 2.0
This is the strongest category of all, and I had trouble picking a winner. I did enjoy adding some great links to my list. I'm going with Rod 2.0, though it wasn't easy. To be honest, I would have voted for several of these blogs over the winners in some of the other categories.

Best Hidden Gem (Authority between 0 and 50)
Hip Young Thing
This is a really interesting blog on the subject of design. I recommend it.