SFDB 2010 Posts Of The Year: The Nominees

And here we are.

It may not be the Grammy's or the Emmy's or the Oscars or even the Golden Globes but you gotta admit that the SFDB Post of the Year selection is monumental. Okay, so maybe "monumental" is not the word that many people would use, but in order to hype this post I'm willing to do just about anything.

There's a tremendous amount of fine posting and great talent here, readers, so make sure you spend some time reading the posts and measuring them before casting your vote. Although I know it's rather hopeless, I would love for the Reader's Choice to be the result of deliberation and consideration rather that how many people the author of the post can reach via their social media network, but, alas, it is what it is.

As I mentioned in last week's announcement, there will be some very small prizes awarded this year. The Reader's Choice winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift certificate while the Editor's Choice, picked by the illustrious panel of SFDB Editor bloggers, will take home a $100 Amazon certificate. And, of course, each will be able to claim the title of SFDB Post of the Year for 2010.

I originally thought that a week would be enough but I'm going to extend the voting for 2 weeks, which means the poll will be open until 9 PM on January 31st.

So with that, here are the SFDB 2010 Posts of the Year nominees...


Nominee #1  [January]

Reader's Choice: Can She See Your Dog? [Restaurant Gal]...Heartwarming story of allowing a visually impaired woman to "see" her dog.

Editor's Choice:  Cyclist Killed on Rickenbacker Causeway [The Miami Bike Scene]...After a cyclist was killed by a hit and run driver on the Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami Bike Scene posted photos of the scene, the car and the remains of the bike that Christophe Le Canne was riding, all within 7 hours of the accident. In the days following the accident, the post acted as a sounding board for frustrated bicyclists who have had enough of careless drivers running them over.


Nominee #2  [February]

Reader's Choice:  Where Is The Report, Mayor Bateman? [Homestead is Home]...In this post, Homestead is Home posted some intriguing photos of a City of Homestead SUV vehicle undergoing some fairly extensive body and paint work and made allegations that the City may be covering something up. The comments took off and what you have now is a lot of unanswered questions.

Editor's Choice:  The Deauville Sessions: An Artist Run Pirate Radio Show [Artlurker]...The Deauville Sessions describes Artlurker's search and adventurous discovery of a pirate radio station being run out of The Deauville Hotel's penthouse suite. It's a great composition loaded with wonderfully descriptive prose and generously supplemented with dark photos that only add to the mood of the post.


Nominee #3 [March]

Reader's Choice:  Meet Hani Khouri [Mango&Lime]...Mango&Lime did a wonderful profile of Redland resident, "local cheese maker, goat herder, [and] food producer," Hani Khouri, that contained all the elements of a good blog post: it was interesting, generously imaged, and well written. After reading Mango&Lime's post, one leaves feeling like they really got to know Mr. Khouri, and that, too, is the sign of a good post.

Editor's Choice:  11111 Lincoln Road [More Blog About Buildings and Food]...More Blog About Buildings And Food turned their attention to the new parking garage on Lincoln Road and gave us a wonderful expose of pictures and narrative that can, if you're paying attention, make you an expert on the place. The pictures are vivid and capture the angles and views exactly the way the structure's architects probably wanted them to be seen.


Nominee #4  [April]

Reader's Choice:  Food Cart USA [Burger Beast]...For those of us who are in the dark on the subject, The Burger Beast's post brings to light how some of these meals-on-wheels trucks that we see tooling around South Florida are assembled by Miami-based Food Cart USA. The post has some great photos of the trucks in various stages of completion as well as some images of completed projects that are out there cruising the streets of America.

Editor's Choice:  Miami Marine Stadium Before It Undergoes Renovations [Miami Beach 411]...Miami Beach 411 didn't break a whole lot of new ground in this post about the Miami Marine Stadium, but as efforts pick up to preserve the stadium, it was timely, and, more importantly, included an entertaining video of this unique Miami landmark.


Nominee #5  [May]

Reader's Choice:  Bike Miami Days | Orange Bike Parade : Video [The Miami Bike Scene]...The video that The Miami Bike Scene put together for the Bike Miami Days really did a great job of conveying the mood of the day and the people who were lucky enough to enjoy it on their bikes. The post was also chock full of linkage and information about the event.

Editor's Choice:  Elvis Presley’s Miami Connection [Miami Beach 411]...Miami Beach 411 provided us with a great look back at Elvis Presley's first visit to South Florida. The post is loaded with detail, photos and facts and contains some great photos to boot.


Nominee #6  [June]

Reader's Choice:  Police Tried Their Best To Intimidate Me Last Night [Carlos Miller]...Carlos Miller selected Urban Beach Weekend to push the limits and went out to purposely get the attention of the officers who were working Miami Beach. Naturally, he took his video camera along and the resulting clip is an interesting look at not only how far Carlos is willing to take the game he likes playing but law enforcement's reaction to this persistent irritant.

Editor's Choice:  Elliott Key [Brickell Life]...In Brickell Life's wonderful post about boating to Elliot Key, there was some great narrative that provided a historical perspective and a couple photos, but the centerpiece of the post had to be the most excellent video that puts the reader on the boat. It's life in South Florida framed and hung on a wall except this time it appears as a blog post.


Nominee #7  [July]

Reader's Choice:  We Were Permanently Banned From The Miami-Dade Metrorail... [Carlos Miller]...Carlos Miller continues to get a lot of attention for his authority-challenging antics. In this posts he runs a video documenting his confrontation with Metrorail security guards and Miami police that left him banned for life from taking the train.

Editor's Choice:  Julia Tuttle Unveiled [Sex and the Beach]...Sex and the Beach realizes that Julia Tuttle is an integral part of Miami history so it is no surprise that it was the only South Florida blog on hand to witness her statute being revealed to the public for the first time in Bayfront Park. This informative post included photos and a video even though Maria's descriptive prose didn't really need any help.


Nominee #8  [August]

Reader's Choice:  Photo Protest at Miami-Dade Metrorail a Rousing Success [Carlos Miller]...Carlos Miller did a great job documenting a protest that he recently organized and promoted at Metrorail. Lots of supporters showed up and Carlos used bits and pieces of the photos and videos made and taken by some of the attendees to construct a fine post.

Editor's Choice:  A Fishing Stream Runs Through It [Bark Bark Woof Woof]...This post captured Bark Bark Woof Woof's Sunday fly fishing trip to a small Ohio brook with his father and reminded us that it's not always how many fish you catch on such trips but the company that is shared. The post contains some excellent writing and is generously supplemented with clear photos.


Nominee #9  [September]

Reader's Choice:  Alone In Time [Restaurant Gal]...Restaurant Gal weaves a bit of history into her post so that readers may actually learn something they may not have known about South Florida [I did!] while they enjoy RG's ongoing adventures in the Keys.

Editor's Choice:  Alone In Time [Restaurant Gal]...No, you don't have double vision. Restaurant Gal scored both Reader's and Editor's Choice this month.


Nominee #10  [October]

Reader's Choice:  Romancing the Florida Keys: Dinner at Pierre's [Sex and the Beach]...Sex and the Beach's fine writing skills were put to use in her excellent review of Pierre's restaurant in the Florida Keys. The post was nicely laid out with lots of crisp, sharp photography that, aided by some wonderfully descriptive prose, allowed readers ample opportunity to imagine what their experience might be like at this superb restaurant.

Editor's Choice:  Francisco ‘Pepe’ Hernandez Interview [Beached Miami]...Beached Miami's  interview of Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) President Francisco “Pepe” Hernandez gives us additional perspective as we try to understand what drives such a large segment of our local population.


Nominee #11  [November]

Reader's Choice:  Romancing the Florida Keys: Key West [Sex and the Beach]...Sex and the Beach provides readers with some discrete Key West tourist stops and local flavor that can prove to be entertaining for even the most hardened of South Florida residents. There are lots of photos for you to assess and plenty of narrative to digest in this big but even flowing post.

Editor's Choice:  Miami-Dade County Employees: Bringin' Home The Bacon! [Random Pixels]...Random Pixels beat everyone to the punch when he revealed a list of Miami-Dade County employees making over $100K a year and the resulting attention he got from the mainstream media would have made any blogger proud. It's unknown whether or not the media would have ever gotten their mitts on this list had it not been for Random Pixels.


Nominee #12  [December]

Reader's Choice:  Miami Croqueta Crawl Combines Old School Cuba With Social Media [Miami Beach 411]...Driving around Miami on a weekend looking for the best croquetas sounds like a bunch of fun which is exactly the feeling you get from Miami Beach 411's excellent post about the recent Miami Croqueta Crawl. Photos and an entertaining video were included in the post and colorful narrative pulled the whole thing together.

Editor's Choice:  Engagement [Hidden City]...Hidden City's post provided yet another wonderful look inside the New World Center and came loaded with great photography and beautifully-crafted verbiage that described what patrons should expect to find when it opens.

There you go. Wow, what a collection of posts. Take your time to get reacquainted with these excellent posts and then decide which one gets your vote. Take care to select the right post when you vote as the list is rather crowded. Here's the poll...







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