Congratulations to our friend Geoff West, aka the Pot Stirrer. The OC Weekly has picked his blog, “A Bubbling Cauldron” as the Blog of the Year. Here is what the OC Weekly had to say about West’s blog:
“While the county’s major political blogs (OC Blog, the Liberal OC and Orange Juice!) rely on a stable of contributors for their hell-raising, the only writer for A Bubbling Cauldron is Geoff West, who (of course) calls himself the Pot Stirrer. Apart from clichés, that’s what he’s done with Costa Mesa and Newport Beach politics for the past two years, taking on the old money of the latter as well as the dangerous specter of racialism that’s infected Costa Mesa politics. West writes with wit, outrage, investigative gusto and—most important and unlike the Big Three—doesn’t have a horse in the race other than a genuine desire to turn the rascals out.”
West had this to say about his award, “So, a big Thank You to the folks at the OC Weekly. I’m grateful for the recognition and especially so in light of the competition here in Orange County. I don’t really try to compete with the OC Blog, the Liberal OC Blog or the Orange Juice Blog, but it’s nice to be included with them. I just sit here in my little corner of the world, paying attention to what’s going on, offering the occasional opinion and stirring the cauldron…
Again kudos to West – keep giving em Hell in Costa Mesa amigo!
Art, thanks for the kind words, amigo. We do have lots of fun out here tilting at windmills, don’t we?
Congratulations Geoff, great blog.
Geoff,
Congratulations!
I especially like your policy about PEN NAMES! (as a first note)
Since I work there in Costa Mesa, I’ll be back to catch up on the newest stuff going on around town. Had not been there before and like the clear maps and notes of upcoming events, great job!
I’ll have to read more when time allows.
If we were disqualified because we won last year, with all due respect to Geoff, this really should have gone to Bolsavik. Sorry. *duck*
SMS
SMS,
Perhaps Bolsavik will win next year. They are pretty new to blogging. Geoff has been at it for some time now. He deserves this award. Congrats to him and to OC Weekly’s editors for making a good decision.
Vern and Carl, thanks for your kind words. I feel unworthy in the presence of greatness! 🙂
Sarah, you may be right about Bolsavik – they named Vu “Best Fired Journalist of the Year”. Here’s the text…
Best Fired Journalist
Hao-Nhien Vu
Journalism is a tough trade. You serve long hours, take home crappy pay, encounter morons with little or no reading-comprehension skills, and often work for ungrateful management. (Not here, of course. Hi, Ted!) Until recently, such was the fate of Hao-Nhien Vu, longtime managing editor of the nation’s largest daily Vietnamese newspaper, Little Saigon-based Nguoi Viet. But earlier this year, the paper faced protesters incensed that it had published a photograph that contained what they (bizarrely) felt was a disrespectful reference to the flag of South Vietnam, a country that hasn’t existed since April 30, 1975. In response, the paper’s ownership made Vu the sacrificial lamb, firing him. Instead of whining, Vu accepted his fate and quickly created the best new English-language journalistic blog in OC: Bolsavik.com. The blog offers readers solid original reporting, witty commentary or simply highlights other articles relating to all things Vietnamese-American. During June’s race for county supervisor (involving Supervisor Janet Nguyen), he proved his investigative prowess by breaking several stories involving campaign shenanigans. Vu also writes a blog in Vietnamese, but chúng tôi không hiêu tiêng Viêt.
Sarah-
I don’t recall reading anywhere that OJ was disqualified because you folks won in 2007. If you care to cite it, I’d like to see where.
A bigger person would admit that Geoff’s blog might have been judged better than yours this time around. There’s always room for improvement.
Geoff –
Ahh. Very nice. Thank you for that; love your blog! I just love Bolsavik’s unique perspective into the Viet political underworld and the chaos of the comments on his blog too. 😉 Either way, congrats.
F&E Fan –
Umm… I’m just passing along information I was given off the record which can be released now that the Best Of OC Issue has hit the streets. Don’t shoot the messenger.
And room for improvement? Yes, of course you’re right, but does that take away from the fact that ours is still the #1 blog in OC? I think you’re just trying to distract our readers from the fact that my upgrades to the site have tripled viewership while our OC Weekly award hasn’t done anything to that end. Gustavo is all they have left. Why he isn’t extorting his publishers for all they’re worth is completely beyond me!
SMS
Sarah: Don’t profess to speak for the OC Weekly. Your information “off the record” is absolutely wrong. Orange Juice! could’ve won again (as any other blog, frankly), but A Bubbling Cauldron won for the reasons we stated. This, of course, isn’t a reflection of Orange Juice, which (as Art can tell you) I champion as the OC Weekly of the county’s blogosphere.
And where the hell do you come off saying I’m “all [the Weekly has] left? Your newbie status in Orange County is showing. Scott Moxley is the best investigative reporter in Southern California, while Nick Schou gets mayors tossed into jails and innocent men out of them. Daffodil, Vicky, and Matt write great shit week after week. And the non-news side is where Orange County goes to get their music, food, events, etc. Seriously, Sarah: I know people accuse you of saying strange stuff, but this is the stupidest thing you could’ve ever said. Heavy lies the crown, as they say.
Gustavo –
As far as my information, it may have been fabricated by someone else to serve my needs. I don’t know. So if what you’re saying is true then I should be more upset about not winning the award, especially while Art is running against Busty whom all of you over there profess to hate. I only bring it up at all because once again OJ has been ignored despite the constant improvements in design, content, and readership. What is everyone so afraid of? Do you all think we Libertarians are going to siphon that many voters from the Dems? If we were eligible to win the award, then we should have. Period.
We tripled out readership, we changed our layout to a start-page style. We added Vern Nelson, who frankly, is all liberals need to keep coming back to us. We have representation all over the political spectrum whereas the other blogs in town continue to push their respective parties’ press releases. You found a way to mention Bolsavik in a category other than ‘Best Blog.’ You couldn’t have squeezed in a mention of us somewhere? I think you could have. You chose not to.
I guess you’re just lucky that I was given that incorrect information, because if I hadn’t, I would have come out a while back and told you that I’m only nice to you because Art asked me to be, so great job taking those unrequited compliments Stavo. Geez. You dislike me that much, huh? Alright fine: the truth is that the feeling is actually mutual and I don’t even read the Weekly because, frankly, you guys are so often no better than the blue blog in your politics. All you hipster liberal pinkos make me sick. The fact that you and Rebecca (who printed a last-minute column telling her former publisher to essentially go f*&k off) got covers for your book signings shows how, despite Moxley and Schou’s talents (can’t say much about the others – and I’m pissed at Nick for the Lucas story), it still manages to be all about you two, and she’s not even there anymore.
Cult of personality, much? You are all the Weekly has left, because your publisher prefers it that way. It’s not difficult to determine that your parent company believes in the hip-hop school of marketing: promote one act and people will be attracted to the others. But that never happened, and that’s fine with them too – so let me ask a Mexican: what the hell makes you so special?
And that’s actually so funny! Where was your story on your girl Rebecca and her BFF Paul Lucas when they were wishing me, a transsexual woman, ‘happy father’s day?’ Then they had the gall to show up to the ECCO dinner. There’s no story there? C’mon and wake up! I’m sure Paul’s political contributors, whomever they may be crazy enough to be, paid for his ticket – $175. Oh, and by the way: where the hell were you Mr. ‘I Care About the LGBT Community?’ You were a no-show. Way to represent! *golfclap*
Apparently, nobody has a problem with a bigot being at an equal-rights awards dinner, but somehow I’m doing something wrong going after him even though he’s a goofy, moronic son-of-a-bitch with a serious social deficiency and a teenager’s outlook on life whilst calling me a bully not because I’m particularly mean-spirited, but because I have no qualms about calling things exactly the way I see them. Thank you for proving once again that it’s still the machine versus me, that hypocrisy, double-standards, and manipulation still rule the day, and that the needs of the many tend to destroy the needs of the few, especially in a place like OC – the forefront of the class wars. I represent the tough, independent, keepin ’em honest class (which to this day is still the excuse I’m given by many as to why nobody ‘bothers’ to come to my defense on these issues). For which team do you play the game? Oh right: Team Stavo. GO TEAM STAVO! ;P
What’s worse is that you guys even gave Paul a big cushy write-up not long after his anti-LGBT cyber-diarrhea. So much for the Democrats defending the rights of the people. Seriously. When everyone (and I mean everyone!) tried to run me off the blogosphere entirely, I fought my way to where I am now. Newbie? Three years in OC, seventeen working on campaigns. Yeah, I’m a total n00b! How heavy is your crown? In fact, as a near-lifelong resident of the county, I think you lack the fresh, albeit brutally honest ‘outsider’ perspective that a relative newbie to the area can provide.
So if I’m so irrelevant, why spend so much time trying to marginalize me like the LibOC did? If I’m nuts, then how is it any different than arguing with Stanley Fiala? Oh right, I’m his arch-nemesis too because I exposed him for what he was (a cyberterrorist), clowned him, and then banned him from this blog with an error message quoting his own last words on this site. *sigh* So considering my enemies, how am I the crazy one? Way to perpetuate that propaganda… TOOL!
SMS
Now THIS is an interesting comment thread! Yikes! Before it gets completely lost in the rhetoric, I want to reiterate, one more time, my gratitude to the folks at the OC Weekly for their choice – regardless of their reasoning. I also want to thank the rest of you for your kind words.
Sarah, girl, I doubt anyone who reads the Orange Juice will deny that it’s an interesting repository of potent, topical commentary and that it’s looking very good since your major effort to re-build it. I have to tell you, though, that this spitting match you’re having here is unbecoming. I’ve read your contributions in the past… you’re better than this, kiddo.
Geoff –
Thank you for your kind words, but I’m better than self defense? Nobody is. I’ve been meaning to say a lot of that to Gusty for a while, but I was obligated not to. As of the issue release, that’s no longer the case. Your blog is great Jeff, but you’re one man. The OC Weekly’s reasoning in naming yours the best was deeply rooted in that idea and it’s paradoxical. It takes much more time, effort, energy, and management skill to hold this boat together than you probably think. It takes a village to raise a blog.
And sure, Bolsavik is one man, but he covers a very influential minority community that is so often misunderstood. In fact I like him so much because, by making his blog English-language he is attempting to bridge the assimilation gap traditionally associated with Asian cultures. He speaks for his community and he wants those in it to be understood. His is a universal service and is not limited to any one geographical area. If there were more Bolsaviks in the world, bridging the cultural divides, it would be a much better place.
Again Geoff, this is no reflection on your blog, but frankly, I have to cry robbery here.
SMS
Oh and,
“most important and unlike the Big Three—doesn’t have a horse in the race other than a genuine desire to turn the rascals out”
Is this an implication that Art fell out of favor because he had the audacity to run for local office? *gasp!*
SMS
Sarah: You and Rebecca truly do deserve each other in your shared worldview. Go ahead and feel animosity toward me–it’s certainly not reciprocated on my part. Art, Vern, and the rest of the gang know the respect I have toward Orange Juice!–and the Weekly will gladly rest its accomplishments and stories against anyone in Orange County.
As for the ECCO dinner: I was working. But you might’ve seen the donation I gave for the silent auction?
Fine. I retract the ECCO quip.
SMS
As for your other comment–Art can tell you who I told everyone in the audience for my book signing at the Yost Theater to vote for in Ward Three, and what was my favorite political blog in Orange County.
Umm,
That’s terrific. So if you believe in our cause, why are you not doing more to help to promote it? Why relegate it to afterthought-like mentions of us to 400 people at a signing when your circulation is… what? If you share our goals, then represent. That criticism stands.
SMS