2012 SFDB Post Of The Year: The Nominees

Well, here we are. It's time to determine the SFDB Post of the Year for 2012.

Just as in past years, this year's nominees are a collection of the Post of the Month selections that the SFDB Editors have chosen throughout the year. The one omission is the month of August when I took a vacation and was away from regular blogging for a couple weeks. So there are eleven excellent posts that the 17 SFDB Editors are going to have to weigh and evaluate during the coming days. Only one will be the 2012 SFDB Post of the Year.

So what does the winner get besides a claim to the snazzy graphic above? How about a $100 Amazon gift certificate? Sure, it isn't Blue Collar's bread pudding, but it will get you $100 worth of anything else you crave, as long as Amazon carries it.

So with that, let me present the 11 SFDB Post of the Year Nominees for 2012...

Nominee #1: "FIU Police Arrest Occupy Activists For Attempting Concert"

[January, Miami Beach 411]

Miami Beach 411's exclusive coverage and film footage of the arrest of Occupy Miami protesters at FIU was the focus of this post that wound up furnishing content for many of the local mainstream media outlets.


Nominee #2: "Trust No One"

[February, Mike LaMonica]

Mike LaMonica took the time out of his day to share a beer with a homeless man he met while filling up his car on U.S. 1 in South Miami. The resulting post provided us with a wonderful profile of "Vanny" and the accompanying photos are priceless. It's a memorable and unique missive.


Nominee #3: "Good Things, Good Things"

[March, Ipanemic]

Ipanemic closed out his blog on a high note by composing a last post that was a summary of his life, virtual and otherwise. Like much of what he writes, it was raw, vulnerable and probably a lot like many of our lives, if we were to be honest. There were photos, there were movie clips and there was the video at the end of the post that sort of wraps things up nicely.


Nominee #4: "Ladies, New Times Was Just Being Sarcastic When It Said It Loved Your 'Back Fat Sloshing Over Your Bra Straps'"

[April, Salty Eggs]

When former Broward New Times writer Ric Delgado decided to post an offensive missive about overweight women on BNT music news blog County Grind, he probably never thought he was going to get the response he did from Salty Eggs editor, Erica K. Landau. Landau lit into Delgado's misogyny like a pit bull and didn't let go even as the New Times tried to back away from it. BNT even went so far as to warn Salty Eggs contributors still freelancing for BNT that they were jeopardizing their work by continuing to write for Salty Eggs. In the end, Delgado left BNT while Salty Eggs and Landau firmly held their ground.


Nominee #5: "The Everglades"

[May, Brickell Life]

Brickell Life digs deep and shares with us the significance of the Everglades and the part it plays in their life in South Florida. It's a memorable read and one that readers who have visited the swamp will surely nod their head to as they read along.


Nominee #6: "The Resilient Soul of Mr. Clarke"

[June, Long Play Miami]

As part of a three-part series on 60's and 70's Miami R&B and soul music called "Miami Sound," Long Play Miami sat down with songwriter and record producer Willie J. Clarke and talked about what the record business was like in Miami back in the day. Wonderfully presented and well-equipped with images and a soundbite, the post documents a piece of Miami that you might not find documented anywhere else.


Nominee #7: "Safer Streets Starts With Cyclists"

[July, Miami Beach 411]

This Miami Beach 411 post emphasizes the responsibility cyclists have in their own safety and includes an eye-opening video that, not so ironically, uses the same Aretha Franklin soundtrack that Transit Miami used as a backdrop to one of their videos illustrating the recklessness of motorists on Brickell Avenue. It's an important message that's presented very effectively.


Nominee #8: "A Tour Of The Gusman/Olympia Theater"

[September, Critical Miami]

Critical Miami posts a wonderful photo expose of the Gusman/Olympia Theater and brings it all to life as he walks us about the place with a mini-tour of his own. It's pure Critical Miami style: find a South Florida place, landmark, or business and photograph the hell out of it while giving us interesting tidbits of information. And it works great.


Nominee #9: "Yo Soy Hialeah: Stephen's New York Style Deli"

[October, Sex and the Beach]

South Florida history is about as rare as its courteous drivers, so when Sex and the Beach decided to tell us about a wonderfully old New York-style deli in Hialeah, I sat up and paid attention. What followed was some interesting narrative accompanied by a super video that gives us the flavor of this wonderfully unique place named Stephen's Deli that has been around since 1954. Who knew?


Nominee #10: *** NOT GUILTY ***

[November, Carlos Miller]

Carlos Miller beats the rap and his post that documents that finding is a collection of video, photos and narrative that not only tells his story but also adds a few interesting miscellaneous details that rounds out things very nicely. The post was popular with Miller's readership, as you might imagine, who were generous with their commenting.


Nominee #11: "Fishing Adventures in Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands"

[December, Sex and the Beach]

Sex and the Beach has a passion for fishing that goes back a number of years. Her latest post on the subject takes us to the Southwest Coast of the Sunshine State for an exciting day of angling where the Big One doesn't get away. Lots of photos and breathless narrative keeps this long post interesting.



The deadline for voting will be next Monday, January 28th, at 6 PM. The results will be announced here later that week.

SFDB readers are invited to add their own discussions in the comment section below.

Good luck to all the nominees!





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