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As my sister reminds me, “it is an honor just to be nominated”, and while that is certainly trite it is also true. I have long been a great admirer of the writing and twisted humor to be found at The Glory of Carniola, so it was especially pleasing to learn that it was Michael Manske, media genius and 2005’s big winner there, who nominated isoglossia for an award in the Best Expatriate Weblog category in the Third Annual Satin Pajamas Awards conducted by A Fistful of Euros. Also, seeing the small size of the pool of nominees and the high quality of the competition added to the frisson.

Sorry about that ‘frisson’. Don’t know what came over me.

This friendly competition afforded an opportunity to see how supportive and creative our peculiarly deranged readership is. It was equal parts hilarious and touching to see people falling over themselves, internetally speaking, to vote, double-vote, exhort others to vote, serve as character witnesses, express bafflement at our nomination, and urge us on to victory.

Our close competitor in the Best Expatriate Weblog category was Le Meg of Le Blagueur à Paris, who, to be fair, is only one expatriate. Here there are two of us and we’ve learned how to manufacture our own — four against one is simply not fair. Also, Michael used his bully pulpit to make this a nationalistic issue, and when things looked darkest Magda called in the Slavic cavalry on Friday afternoon, mobilizing an unstoppable force called the Polish maternal instinct when she informed her young mothers’ discussion group that we were neck and neck with Le Meg. Things really turned around when one of our supporters began a black propaganda campaign in which he accused Le Meg of not liking beer.

If this contest has brought any new readers through all the frantic linking and counterlinking, I’d like to welcome you. You don’t have to stick around, obviously, but if you do there may be pugs, poop, and placentae in it for you.

Wait! Where are you going? That was supposed to be an incentive…

The only downside to all this link-love is that some of our most ardent supporters may have written blog-checks drawing on our account, which, believe me, is already overdrawn. Jagosaurus, for example, promised a vote for isoglossia would result in the following:

  • You’ll feel better about yourself.
  • Your hair will be shinier and your skin will be matte perfection.
  • Also? You will, the second you vote, become a ninja. If you already are a ninja, you will, the second you vote, become a … a … SUPER NINJA. Yeah.

Our self-appointed unofficial manager in all this, DarkoV, also apparently invited all of you over to our house for beer, as well as promising on our behalf photos of the eponymous but fictional Satin Pajamas. It’s something of a Slovenian tradition to post such pictures, and I certainly don’t want Michael’s Maribor Mafia after me, in addition to all of those disgruntled, low-self-esteem-having, dirty-haired, greasy-faced regular ninjas. So I guess I’d better get started on fulfilling some of these campaign promises.

The Żubrówka may not last long, but I guess we’ll have enough beer for all of you.

If you haven’t already done so, please go and take a look at the other sites in our category:
Loxias, Our Man in Tirana, The Copy Dude.