Asking for Your Vote for the Daysie Awards

by: odum

Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 12:16:45 PM EDT

I have mixed feelings about "Best of" contests, but let's be serious - who doesn't like to be a winner? Even though its down to the last few days of voting, making paper ballots unlikely to be filled out and mailed in in time, I think I will make a pitch for Green Mountain Daily to get your vote. GMD is never at home field advantage with the Burlington-based Seven Days contest. For whatever reason, we've never had a front pager from Chittenden County (not for lack of looking), so a wide swath of our reader base is not aware of the Daysies, or doesn't feel they can answer the minimum 33 of the 100 questions needed for the ballot to qualify.

So this diary is here to help, by god. I've included suggestions below the fold, many of them are Montpelier-centric, as I live in Montpelier, but feel free to make other suggestions (and I haven't made suggestions for all the ballot items). There are links to the ballot as well, which will open in seperate browser windows so you an refer to the list.

Why GMD? Along with providing a public soapbox and bringing you interviews with the likes of Matt Taibbi and Howard Dean, over GMD's existence, we have - I think - done some extraordinary things for a bunch of activists working in their spare time. We've broken stories and actually impacted Vermont - such as when we uncovered the State Police program to illegally obtain Vermonter's presecription drug records, forcing them to backpedal within days. We've pushed issues the traditional media isn't interested in (such as race issues in the state). Our forums have brought out legislators into the comments section from the Democratic, Progressive and Republican Parties. We've taken point in the traditional media on issues of free speech (such as our high profile on the iBrattleboro case), and we've impacted the public debate in many ways (forcing the discussion of a legislatively brokered Governor's election into the mainstream). And we've enhanced the Democratic Process while being internet innovators (such as through Vermont's first online debate between Lt. Gov candidates Matt Dunne and John Tracy). All in our spare time. We are fiercely independent, and have served - as Caoimhin Laochdha said - as "the kidney of the Vermont Democratic Party" and the progressive left.

And this week we hit a major milestone with mydog's (Nate's) citizen journalism video which hit the front page of the papers and became an immediate point of debate in the Gubernatorial race. The first time GMD has hit the papers in this way through a piece NOT generated by one of the front pagers, but a regular citizen taking advantage of this platform to make themselves heard. I can't tell you how thrilled that has made me.

And that speaks to our most significant accomplishment - we have built a community unlike any other in the Vermont blogosphere. And for that I am very, very grateful. I hope you'll consider voting for us, and emailing a link to this diary to others. Use the list below if you like, or just tell me how full of crap my choices are in the comments. It's all good.

CLICK HERE FOR BALLOT (Opens in a new window so you can have this list handy)

4. Best place to have dinner
 a. Inside Chittenden County

Of course there's "A Single Pebble." There's also "American Flatbread"

 b. Outside Chittenden County

Mmm... "Royal Orchid." Yummy Thai food. Also the Wiatsfield "American Flatbread"

5. Best breakfast/brunch
 a. Inside Chittenden County

How about "Penny Cluse?" 

 b. Outside Chittenden County

C'mon... "River Run" is taking this.

6. Best place to do lunch
 a. Inside Chittenden County

"Ali Baba's!" Falafel - woo-hoo! 

  b. Outside Chittenden County

I'd say if you don't have a favorite, give "Rhapsody" a boost. Or "Kismet." Groovy food in Montpelier.

7. Best late night food

I'm not out late anymore.

8. Best Asian fare

"Royal Orchid" in Montpelier again. Mmm. I'm getting hungry.

9. Best veggie fare

"Rhapsody" in Montpelier again. Lotso stuff. 

10. Best pizza

Lots of good pizza out there, but its gotta be "American Flatbread."

11. Best burger

Hm. I don't know. In Montpelier, its probably "McGillicuddy's"

12. Best cheap eats

"The Wayside!"

13. Best brew pub

"The Alchemist" in Waterbury. Great place.

14. Best Vermont brewery

I voted for "Long Trail."

C'mon. You don't need any help with that.

18. Best place to get caffeinated

"Gesine" has the best coffee I know of in my town.

19. Best bakery

Gesine again.

20. Best natural foods market

Healthy Living. 

21. Best take-out

Uhh... "Royal Orchid!"

23. Best wine/spirits seller

In Montpelier, I voted to support the fledgling "Uncommon Market."

24. Best farmers' market vendor/farm stand

How about "Jing Ji", who sells those great dumplings!

25. Best Vermont bread

A lot to choose from here. How about "Manghi's?"

26. Best live music venue

It's not the best venue for hearing music, but "Langdon Street Cafe" gets a lot of great musicians who otherwise wouldn't get to play in front of crowds. Very cool.

You know Grace Potter is going to win this.

30. Best Vermont band

If you're not going to vote for Grace Potter's band, you could try "The Goat Broke Loose" or the "Dave Keller band"

31. Best new band

Sugar Shack!

I guess the Flynn, eh?

35. Best fiction writer

Philip Baruth!

37. Best craftsperson

How about my old landlord - Georgia Landau?

38. Best art gallery

Lazy pear.

40. Best movie theater

Gonna be Montpelier-centric again and say The Savoy Theater.

41. Best museum

Montshire Museum.

42. Best fest

Solarfest.

49. Best print journalist

This is tough, but I'm gonna say Dan Barlow this year. 

50. Best VT publication

Why - Green Mountain Daily, natch! 

51. Best TV newscaster
 
Stewart Ledbetter

55. Best radio station

VPR! Great Vermont coverage.

56. Best Vermont Blog -- political (please enter url)

www.greenmountaindaily.com. Duh.

57. Best Vermont Blog -- NON-political (please enter url)

Oh, I dunno... how about Bosox Wally at www.redsoxwill.blogspot.com? (except you know you secretly wanna vote for Mistress maeve's sex blog at Seven Days - 7d.blogs.com/mistress)

61. Best shoe store
 Inside Chittenden County

Pass.

Outside Chittenden County

The Shoe Horn

63. Best secondhand stores

One More Time 

65. Best children's clothing

Cheshire Cat

66. Best designer jewelry

Lochlin Smith

69. Best musical instrument store

Guitar Sam

70. Best record store
 Inside Chittenden County

Pure Pop

Outside Chittenden County

Buch Spieler

71. Best bookstore
 Inside Chittenden County

The Flying Pig in Shelburne

Outside Chittenden County

Bear Pond Books

72. Hottest housewares

Homeport.

77. Best computer store

Computer Barn! (Okay, maybe they're not the best... but again, just out of principle)

8. Best wedding venue

Lareau Inn/American Flatbread in Waitsfield.

80. Best stationer

Capitol Stationers! (What's a stationer?)

81. Best auto dealer

Racine, naturally.

83. Best outdoor outfitter

EMS Sports.

84. Best bike shop

Onion River Sports in Montpelier.

86. Best Internet provider

SoverNet, just out of principle. Even if they're not the greatest.

90. Greatest garden center

Gardener's Supply, natch

91. Best place to get body art

Aw geez. I can't remember the name of that place in Burlington that I got my tattoo. From a very young woman who was very into snakes. It was next to Nectar's.

92. Best place to rent a movie

Downstairs Video in Montpelier 

96. Best public restroom

The new Williston rest area bathrooms are very nice and clean.

98. Best thing that could happen to Vermont

A new Governor. 

CLICK HERE FOR BALLOT (Opens in a new window so you can have this list handy)