What Time is it, Kids? No! No! No! It's not Howdy Doody Time!

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It's not 9 hours til the Super Bowl Kick-Off! It's ninety minutes til the start of the annual St Blog's Parish Catholic Blog Awards

Some folks have the Super Bowl...we have the Cathy's (CATHolic Blog Awards) (No grinning, Ms. L).

If you're new to the Catholic blogosphere, for several years now, there have been annual Catholic Blog Awards. To be candid, I'm not sure exactly how this works, since since it seems to change a bit each year. I've never had a blog for previous contests, but I have voted in the past. Apparently you nominate deserving blogs in the following categories:

1. Best Overall Catholic Blog
2. Best Designed Catholic Blog
3. Best Written Catholic Blog
4. Best New Catholic Blog
5. Best Individual Catholic Blog
6. Best Group Blog
7. Best Blog by Clergy/Religious/Seminarian
8. Funniest Catholic Blog
9. Smartest Catholic Blog
10. Most Informative & Insightful Catholic Blog
11. Best Apologetic Blog
12. Best Political/Social Commentary Catholic Blog
13. Best Insider News Catholic Blog
14. Most Spiritual Blog

Then there are finalists, and winners....

You could nominate starting this Feb 4th, Noon CST, and the nominating process is closed on Feb 9th at Noon, CST. This award contest is sponsored and carried out by CyberCatholics.com.

I think you can vote once a day, once the voting starts. Hey, if they can stuff baseball's All-Star teams with hometown favorites, why can't we?

There are lots of talented writers out there; why don't you poke around the blogrolls, do some reading, and give some a nomination? This seems like a nice way to give them some appreciation: a "day in the LCD glare."

Now some of you folks know that I have a very provincial attitude n my blog, attempting to report on and promote on the Catholic bloggers from Minnesota and its neighboring states and provinces. I would guess that there are about 50 of them, some not very active, admittedly. You can see a complete list in my sidebar.

But to help you out a bit, here are some of the more active bloggers in our area, alphabetically by blog.

Abbey-Roads2 Terry at Leaflet Missal, with his fourth or fifth attempt at blogging, extremely spiritual, very personal, extremely well written and a must-read.

Adoro Te Devote "Adoro", feisty, personal, spiritual and not afraid to give her opinion as to what is going on in the Church today.

bearing blog Erin, mother of three, home schooler, with a PhD in Engineering from OSU, would you believe. Features her three toddlers, and doesn't let her education sit idle either.

Clairity's Journal Sharon who teaches at the College of St Scholastica in Duluth, features her students, her spirituality and her wonderful photography. I believe that Sharon is the sister of Love2LearnMom at Studeo, below.

Faithmouse What could be said about "Faithmouse", Dan Lacey's pro-life cartoon creations that are hands down possibly the best on the Internet, of any genre! Faithmouse is also one of the most frequently read of all blogs, not just Catholic in which he is in the top ten or so, on the internet. Since there is no category for cartoonists, let's all nominate Dan for "Best Designed Blog!"

Future Priests of the Third Millenium Several of the men at the St Paul Seminary have been posting to this blog when not hitting the books, practicing their thurible swinging, practicing their GIRM techniques (and memorizing Latin for extra credit).

Ironic Catholic The Anonymous "I.C." has regaled the St Blog's parish community with her wit and imagination. How she finds time to do it after raising a family and putting those ten hour days at the packing plant, I sure don't know.

Monastic Musings Sister Edith, a Benedictine and Professor at St Scholastica in Duluth blogs on her students and her academic field in sociology and also on her spiritual life as a religious person.

Our Word "Our Word" under the able direction of Judith and Mitchell, is a group blog that is on the erudite side, featuring culture, opera, music and fervent opinions on deeply held "issues."

Recovering Dissident Catholic Cathy of Alex blogs on NASCAR events, her spiritual life, deer hunting and other typical concerns of the Twenty-First Century woman. She is a late post for the Humor award, too.

Roamin' Roman The "Roamin' Roman" blog is dormant right now, but when blogster Mary spent her final year in Rome taking UST classes, the world, literally, was thrilled to get thousands of photographs and descriptions of virtually ever church, crypt and catacomb in all of Italy on their monitors in daily posts. She says she passed her exams and graduated, but I don't know when she found time to study. In her new life as a Director of Religious Education in a Twin Cities area parish, Mary is blogging about the weather and more mundane things at her original blog, Veritatis Splendor.

So Many Devotions . . . So Little Time Jayne, who started blogging last year and is adopting children left and right, has come up with a wonderful concept in bringing back to life so many of those wonderful devotions that many were raised with but had long forgotten. She started her one "Catholic Devotions Meme" in December and well over 100 bloggers have responded to it. That's pretty phenomenal for a blogger who doesn't promote herself. She struck a chord in all of us.

Studeo Love2LearnMom has "Studeo" and several other web sites, all dedicated to Home Schooling. And from what I can tell, she has "struck a chord" with home schoolers, but she gets lots of visitors who come to see her interesting posts and topics. She lives someplace in Wisconsin and I believe is the sister of Sharon who blogs at Clairity's Place, see above.

What Does The Prayer Really Say Wanna brush up on your Latin or verify a Vatican rumor? Or maybe just have a little fun? Well, Father "Z", formerly found at St Agnes parish in St Paul, but now permanently assigned to a diocese in Rome, except for occasional sojourns back to his "Sabine Farm" believed to be located somewhere around Eau Claire, is a certified St Blog's parish star.

White Around the Collar Father Dana, from the Sioux Falls, SD, diocese blogs about his life as a "Prairie Priest" and on local and national political issues, especially as they relate to Catholics.

Well, that's it, folks. I'm sorry if some of you feel you should have been included here. I just may not have discovered you yet. Email me or make a comment and I will check out your web site. But hurry, The "Cathy" Awards will be given in a couple of weeks or so.