Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

I meant to do this last week but got busy and never got back to it...

A "meme-ish" type of blog award called the Brillante has been doing the rounds of kiwi weblogs, and fellow Otago blogger Homepaddock kindly added me to her nomination list recently (hers is a great blog, despite being one of those dodgy mainstream Nats ;-)

Homepaddock admits it is a kind of "chain letter" sort of thing, but the idea behind it is good, so like her I'll indulge in it to spread a little "linky love" to some of my favourite blogs. (Homepaddock received her award from In A Strange Land, who managed to trace it back another 5 generations...)

Brillante recipients are encourage to spread the happiness by passing it on to at least 7 other blogs... (Homepaddock must have a lot of spare time... she managed to nominate an impressive 19 other blogs, which does slim down the potential list for me!)

The rules go like this:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominator on her/his blog.

My 7 Brillante blog nominations are:

* Clint Heine and Friends - Fellow former-student activist and all-round genuine crazy guy. Living in the northern hemisphere has given him a clearer perspective on just how much damage the Liabour axis has done to the Pacific republic of Nu Zild. His co-authors also offer good common sense arguments on how to solve NZ's woes.

* Silent Running - Led by former US-prison-detainee Rick Giles, this blog's banner description proudly sums up the content you can expect... "If you are offended by strong right wing views and bad language, you should probably fuck off and go hug a tree". I think he's talking to you Tane.

* Whale Oil Beef Hooked - Still holds the award for best name in the NZ Blogosphere by a country mile. Cameron's very popular blog is kindof an "unleashed" version of the country's leading site Kiwiblog. Good analysis and regularly breaks stories, but isn't afraid to throw in a bit of humour or to offend sensitive readers.

* Mulholland Heeft Meer Mmmmmmmm... - Blair also manages a good mix of topical stories, critical discussion, biting humour, and a bit of retro-music. A solid ACT Party campaigner, albeit after backing down on his plans to stand as a candidate himself this election.

* Not PC - One of the main hubs for NZ's Liberterianz Party, Peter's blog is good at exposing the extreme bias of the so-called "mainstream media", the dodgy dealings of the current minority coalition government, and the gutlessness of the potential replacements (led by Johnboy's namby-pamby version of the National Party). Peter also has a strong focus on US politics, and a healthy fondness for "Real Beer".

* No Minister - The blog infamous enough to get banned by NZ Government departments ;-) A very good right-thinking group blog, full of insightful commentary and discussion. Another that is good at breaking fresh stories, and often very quick off the mark with hot news. I'd have them in my cabinet any day of the week.

* The Matthew Hooton Blog - A recent and welcome addition to the New Zealand blogosphere, Matthew makes up the right half of "The Policy Blog", alongside lifetime leftie Chris Trotter. Unfortunately for some reason, I cannot seem to get a sidebar feed for just Matthew's posts, so sometimes find myself doing a double-take before I realise I'm actually reading Trotter's rantings instead.
(Edit: Has somebody changed some settings somewhere? The feed link now does take me direct to Matthew's posts, bypassing CT's ones...)