Collecting Nominations for the “Spawn of Brodie” Awards!!

chanson,

The Mormon Alumni Association announces the “Spawn of Brodie” awards!! They’re like Oscars or Emmys for X-Mormon online excellence! Obviously, the idea is based on the Bloggernacle’s Niblets awards, which we’re participating in (see, for example, Sunday in Outer Blogness in the write-in category). However, in comments around the Bloggernacle, some of the faithful made it clear that having apostates hanging around is cramping their style. (Note that this is not an invitation to respond to them in kind by dumping on the Bloggernacle.)

As much as I don’t like this “us-vs-them” mentality within Mormonism, it makes sense for the non-TBM-Mormons to have a separate set of awards. Our discussion on the Internet is big enough, vibrant enough, and diverse enough to have a wide range of writings and other creative endeavors that deserve recognition! As in the William Law X-Mormon of the Year (which we’re still voting on), the “X” in X-Mormon is a variable that can stand for whatever you like, such as “ex”, “post”, “former”, “cultural”, “New Order”, etc. Since a lot of the discussion takes place outside of blogspace, I’ve contacted the admins of some forums and other sites in hopes of getting participation and nominations from their communities as well.

Since this is the first batch of “Spawn of Brodie” awards ever, we need suggestions on award categories as well as nominations for specific posts, threads, comments, pages, sites, etc. You can start by looking at the Niblet categories for ideas, but don’t be limited by them. My opening suggestion is that we should have an award for “best deconverstion story” (on changing your beliefs) and a separate one for “best exit story” (on actually leaving the fold and/or getting excommunicated). But feel free to suggest anyone/anything that you think deserves positive recognition for online X-Mormon excellence!

Awards

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Comments (55)

  3. There, I’ve started threads about this on a bunch of different sites!

    In order to keep track of the discussion — and see what everyone else comes up with — I’m posting links to the relevant threads here:

    * on FLAK
    * on postmormon.org
    * on exmo-social
    * on exmormononline.

    I was also thinking of posting about this on New Order Mormon, but it turns out that I don’t have an account there. If anyone here is a regular on NOM, please feel free to pass this info along to them.

    I’m still waiting to hear back from the admins of RfM as to whether they’re interested in joining in the fun with us. Until I hear back from them, I can only assume that it is against their rules for anyone to post a link there to this thread. I guess it might be OK to post about the awards there — without linking — and assume that the RfMers know how to find Main Street Plaza via Google…? Otherwise it’s probably safer just to assume they’re not interested, and leave them alone…

    If you know of any other X-Mormon sites that you think would also like to participate, please feel free to pass this info along to them.

  4. Kudos, chanson. Hopefully, x-mo friends everywhere will be persuaded to drop by and nominate the best of the moveable feast that is the broader x-mo blogosphere.

    If the walls could come down long enough to allow us all to gather round and toast the best efforts of the past year, well, that sounds like fun … so why not?

    Anyways, I just wanted to make sure to thank you now for offering to cater this annual event (before my thanks risk being lost in the din of the crush of nominations). Cheers!

  6. Oh, great, throw it all back on me now. I thought we agreed that I was to be nothing but an innocent bystander in all of what follows next. You’re on your own now, Ms. Distinguished Sexologist.

  8. Good luck with that. This is me nominating you for the Neville Chamberlain Wannabe Exmo category.

    Surprised? Go check out that Bloggernacle thread that you linked to in the original post.

    In any case, if we were going to feature a Mofriendly Exmos blog to feature, I think it would be chanson, I think. She doesnt have anything to prove and she is generally respectful of peoples boundaries. Also, she usually knows when to let something go.

    To quote my thesis advisor: “This place is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together … mass hysteria.”

    Just sayin’.

  9. Chino, please. Now you’re making me nervous.

    I’m sure that all of the Brodie-spawn that we’ve invited here and to the Bloggernacle will be perfectly well-behaved, and nothing bad will happen.

  10. Okay, I vote for “Best Ex’ing Story” and nominate JohnR (of course). Also, “Best Coming-Out Adventure” and I nominate Mr. & Mrs. Curie. There should also be a “Best New Ex-Mormon Blog” category. That’s all I got.

  11. Some suggestions for categories:
    I 2nd Chandelle’s suggestion for a “Best New Ex-Mormon Blog[/Site]”
    “Best or Funniest post(er) of the year”
    “Most Detrimental Speech by a Mo”

  12. Chandelle — Yep, you may have guessed that I suggested that one with John R. in mind. 😉

    On a related note, I think we should also have a “Best post/discussion on dealing with TBM family”

    Best or Funniest post(er) of the year

    Actually, now that you mention it, why not have both funniest poster and funniest post?

    There have been so many fantastically funny things posted that I think it would be appropriate to have multiple opportunities to win. Echoing Chino, I’ll nominate Jesus’ General for funniest poster.

    Most Detrimental Speech by a Mo

    I’m kind of leaning towards sticking with positive awards that people will want to win. But this idea has now come up three times — to grant an award to the Mormon who has inspired the most people to leave the church.

    I think we might allow this award through as our one “booby prize”. Otherwise — since it was also suggested on postmormon.org — we’ll leave it for them to host as a separate award (if they decide that they want to).

  13. -What about some sort of interfaith comment/post nomination? I like that part of the current MM niblets. I’m not sure how many believing blogs/bloggers would want a “spawn” award but you never know…

    -Longest discussion about obscure philosophical concepts like truth or paradigms?

    -Best discussion about political or human rights issues (prop. 8, women’s rights, race, open religious accounting/transparency, etc.)

    -Best comment that completely ignored prior comment(s) or distracted completely from the topic at hand – I’ll suggest MSP but other places as well…

    -Best description of growing up mormon/poignant story about being in the LDS church….

    and last but not least, best exchange between Seth and Andrew….(I personally vote for this post, but that’s just me).

  16. Chris! lol, can you explain how this is a positive award that people want to win? Are they assassinating Mormon apologists? Do we really want to support that? 😉

  17. I think we definitely need a “Snarkiest Seth Comment” or something. It’s high time someone gave him a bit of recognition for all his hard work policing teh Intarweb and doing battle with teh evangelicals, teh atheists, and teh apostates.

    We also need a “Snarkiest Response to Seth” category, which Holly will win hands down.

  18. >>can you explain how this is a positive award that people want to win?

    Okay, okay, we can change it to “Malevolent Stalker of the Year” if you insist. But I draw the line at “Most Likely to Buy Daniel Donuts”. That’s just too far.

    On a more serious note, how about, Best Response to FARMS or FAIR?

  19. Since “Spawn” is a bit of a negative term, how about simply the “Brodies”, or maybe the “Voglets”? (Although I fear you run the risk of alienating your Spalding theorists, here…)

    Are nominations supposed to be from blogs only? Or are message boards, e-journals, websites, print publications, etc. fair game as well?

  21. @17 Yes, we should definitely have awards for Seth’s comments and responses. 😀

    On a more serious note, how about, Best Response to FARMS or FAIR?

    Now you’re talking! That’s a great idea.

    We need to get more people nominating specific responses, though, because I never read FARMS or FAIR myself — so I can’t find the good ones myself.

    how about simply the Brodies

    It’s not too late to change it to “Brodies”, if that’s what people prefer.

    Are nominations supposed to be from blogs only? Or are message boards, e-journals, websites, print publications, etc. fair game as well?

    Anything we can link to on the Internet is fair game. I’d like to be able to do a voting page with links to all of the entries.

    But I absolutely don’t want this to be just for blogs. Message boards, e-journals (if accessible), static websites, etc. are all fair game.

  22. Well then, I nominate mormonmesoamerica.com as “Best Response to FARMS or FAIR”, sidneyrigdon.com (especially here and here) as “New Mormon History Resource of the Year”, and the Signature Books Online Library for both categories.

    And I nominate myself for the category of “Most incisive analysis of ancient non-Akkadian words for grain and their probable non-relation to the Book of Mormon.”

    (Well, OK, maybe not that last one.)

  23. K, I’ll suggest some categories. (And self-nominate some of my posts; you be the judge of which is my true priority. 😉 )

    (Sorry for not linking these; I’m assuming that a bunch of links will get the comment killed by your spam checker.)

    “Best post title”:
    Jesus beats Hef, 4-3 (http://www.totryanewsword.com/2009/03/jesus-beats-hef-4-3.html)
    Only scary people and crazy people talk to me (http://www.totryanewsword.com/2009/02/only-scary-people-and-crazy-people-talk.html)

    “Best tearjerker” (or “Saddest post,” if we want to be all serious about people’s pain):
    That won’t happen now (http://www.totryanewsword.com/2009/04/that-wont-happen-now.html)

    “Best book/movie/play/music review”:
    The unreliable author: Why Stephenie [sic] Meyer is accidentally a great writer (sort of) (http://www.totryanewsword.com/2009/12/unreliable-author-why-stephenie-sic.html)

    Funniest post:
    The Top 10 most annoying freeway drivers (http://www.totryanewsword.com/2009/01/top-10-most-annoying-freeway-drivers.html)
    The Adventures of Leonard McCoy, Space Doctor (No. 4) (http://www.totryanewsword.com/2009/12/adventures-of-leonard-mccoy-space_30.html)

  24. Sorry #23 came out a bit messier than necessary. I assumed that a bunch of links would get the comment spam-killed, so I just pasted the text. Then it all got turned into links anyway.

  25. Chris — If you’re talking about your post Sheum May Not Be Akkadian after All, I think it should definitely be in the running for “Best response to Mormon Apologetics.”

    I remember I enjoyed that post when you first posted it, and I re-read it a few times. I had wanted to include it in Sunday in Outer Blogness, but it didn’t fit the topic for that week.

    Kuri — Thank you!

    folks, comments like kuri’s @23 are exactly what I’m looking for. Please make a list of your best posts, with links. If you make a cryptic reference to a great post (cf. Chris @22 😉 ) I may be able to find the post in question, but it’s faster for me if you include the links. 😀

    A lot of the Bloggernacle folks set aside lists of great posts and comments all year (for the Niblets), but nobody expected the “Brodies” (TM). So don’t be shy about posting links to your best posts, your best comments, your friends’ best posts, etc.

    Also, I’d really appreciate links to your favorite mo-related sites that are outside of our usual circle here at MSP (like Chris did @22).

  26. Well, as long as we’re self-nominating, here‘s one for “Best Prop 8 Post”. And just so I have a little competition in that category, here‘s another, and another.

    For funniest post, I suggest Mr. Scratch’s Review of Kerry Shirts’s “Fair Conference 2009, Part VI”. For those who do not appreciate the genius of Mr. Scratch, look no further. And if you value the cleanliness of your computer screen, do not drink any beverages while reading. (For those who still don’t appreciate the genius of Mr. Scratch after reading this post, you can vote for No Peeing! instead.)

    For best post title, perhaps Andrew’s “Why Circumcision Is Good: A Historical Argument.”

    Andrew’s argument that the Golden Rule is overrated deserves some kind of nomination, though I’m not sure for what category. Maybe “Most Subversive Post”?

    Two others that I don’t know how to categorize are, You might be a member of a cult if…, and LDS Inc. owns .7% of Florida. Perhaps “Best Philosophical Post” and “Best Current Events Post”, respectively?

    For “Best Book Review”, I choose Chanson on Jack Worthy’s The Mormon Cult.

    For “Best Exit Narrative”, I choose Mormonism Is for the Saints Who Can Afford It.

    For Best Historical Post, I choose the following:
    Brigham Young’s Masonic Cipher.
    Joseph Smith Jrs Cane: A Thing of Nature?.
    The Canadian Copyright Revelation: The Issues.
    What happened to the First Black Mormon? Was he Killed?.
    Joseph Smith’s ability to memorize lengthy sections of text.

    Any of these can of course be recategorized as you feel is appropriate. No sense multiplying categories if some of those people have proposed can be consolidated!

  28. @27 I found it!

    To all: I’ve got my eye on the spam/moderation queue. If you put up a post with a lot of links, it will probably fall in there, but I’ll fish it back out. 😉

    Chris — thanks for taking the time to find so many good posts from all over!!

  30. By the way, I agree that the Brodie Awards works better as an actual title. Not echoing the graphic’s tagline in the title will make the post look better on the page, too.

  32. The moment I’ve been waiting for finally arrives …

    Best gonzo reporting: Eric Norwood, Trapped in a Mormon Gulag

    Most prescient choice of interview subject: Chino Blanco, 8: The Mormon Proposition (Interview w/ director Reed Cowan)

    Biggest Maggie Gallagher-Kim Farah smackdown: Chino Blanco, Knock, Knock, Anybody NOM? Anybody Mormon?

    Favorite Mormons-in-the-news story: Chino Blanco, LDS candidate touts Mormon-only male-only campaign rallies

    Best X-Mo YouTube channel: ChinoBlanco

    Best X-Mo Twitter feed: ???

    Best X-Mo Facebook group or page: ???

    P.S. Random thought … fans of MSP might consider including the NetworkedBlogs box on their Facebook pages and adding MSP to their favorite blogs list?

  36. The software recognizes some emoticons, but not all. We should probably update it.

    I think we’ll try to pin down a set of categories this weekend, but don’t let that stop you from making suggestions and giving us links to the best posts! 😉

  40. lol, Jack, those are great!

    It just makes it clear that we need at least one category just for Seth comments and replies. 😉

  44. Pingback: Carnival of the Godless 134 « Right To Think

  45. Great, just what I needed. At this rate I’m going to need a new mailing address for my ego.

    You realize that if this category goes through I’m never going to be able to show my face on Millenial Star again. Right?

  46. Another for funniest post. “[With respect to the gay marriage defeat in Maine,] Thank God! I can feel my own marriage getting stronger already.” -Analytics

  47. You realize that if this category goes through Im never going to be able to show my face on Millenial Star again.

    You still comment on the Bloggernacle? That’s news to me!

  48. Pingback: Sunday in Outer Blogness: Awards and More! | Main Street Plaza

  49. “(Note that this is not an invitation to respond to them in kind by dumping on the Bloggernacle.)”

    chanson,

    That’s good of you, a classy response to some seriously tacky comments. It’s good that SOMEONE is not taking imaginary awards for excellence among Mormon ubernerds seriously enough to cyberbrawl about them!

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