The best of the blogs, version 2006
It’s the end of the year. And that means an overflow of top-10 lists from people who assume that their rankings actually matter. I’m guilty. So are you. We’re all terribly narcissistic.
I just want to spread the love, however, so I’m not going down the usual route. Instead, I want to let you know what I’ve been reading, blog-wise. This is quite topical, especially in the wake of a successful Sioux Falls Blog Meet-up (thanks, Fresh Glue and Gadgetopia, for setting that up – I hardly felt out of place at all as the lone personal/non-technology gifted blogger present) and the recent announcement that each and every blogger holds a part of Time’s Person of the Year.
So what have I discovered this past year? Nothing short of an amazing array of blogs: from literary to humorous and nonsensical; from friends to far away strangers. But these ten consist the majority of my blog reading time – the ones that I actually make sure to check every single day. The sites I refuse to delete from my blog aggregator/reader.
Of course, this doesn’t count the blogs I’d already latched on to in past years: Millions (A Blog About Books), which I have to mention because, well, I’m a contributor. Google Sightseeing. Fresh Glue. The McSweeney’s Internet Tendency RSS feed. Etc.
So with that – The Ten.
Deadspin
Yeah, everyone knows about Deadspin. But I didn’t read it until this year. Now I love it. It’s like hanging out with that funny, sarcastic friend who knows a lot about sports but doesn’t really ever have anything good to say about it. And, of course, the creators are Cardinals fans, so I have an ancient hidden connection with them.
Comics Curmudgeon
I never thought I’d find myself reading Rex Morgan, M.D. But I do, thanks to this blog’s comics-page reflections. Why is Mark Trail searching for a lost, tame bear? How does Mary Worth unknowingly send a stalker to his death? Why is For Better or for Worse so Canadian? Will Family Circus ever stop sucking? The answers are all within.
HeatEatReview.com
Office life often leads to a prolific amount of microwave meals. Thanks to HeatEatReview.com, there is now a way to know which ones to avoid. And while it’s good to find tasty microwave dinners, it’s even better to read about the horrible ones – the ones that come packaged in flimsy bowls and smell like death.
Letters to Keith Law
One of these days, Eric will be able to start Letters to Famous Nouns, the sequel to this site lambasting Keith Law for his “Morneau is laughable as MVP” comment. Of course, that comes down to me actually getting it set up. Until then, marvel at the e-mails that Keith Law is receiving from a disgruntled fan – one a day until pitchers and catchers report for spring training.
Fanatical Apathy
As a Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me devotee, I was pleasantly surprised to see a blog featuring two of its biggest stars – Mo Rocca and Adam Felber. And then, once I read it for a few weeks, I was even more pleasantly surprised to discover its validity as a humorous blog dedicated to the funny side of politics (but more often than not, the funny side of whatever happens to be on the author’s mind).
Calvin and Hobbes
This isn’t really a blog. But it’s an RSS feed of old Calvin and Hobbes comics. If you missed them the first time around, or if you’re in need of the most intelligent and wonderful comic strip of all time, subscribe and let the funny roll in every day.
Largehearted Boy
Indie rock and books – that’s the motive of Largehearted Boy, a blog that collects the best in indie rock concerts, book reviews, music news and (currently) all of the Best of 2006 lists that are slowly clogging up the blogosphere.
American Copywriter
I’m American, and I’m a copywriter, so naturally I fell in love with the sometimes sarcastic, always on point, never irrelevant content on American Copywriter. I mean, these are the people I’d love to work with, if I lived in Kansas City and had more than eight months of advertising experience.
Edward Champion’s Return of the Reluctant
Edward Champion is often bitter and overly negative, but that’s because he’s earned the right to be. I find most of my literary news through Ed, though I find he has contempt for nearly every author I hold dear. Of course, he may just hold contempt for every author, period. I dunno – I still love the site.
10 Cent Freeze Pops
I first read 10 Cent’s Old Sports Illustrated Review, where he takes an old issue from the collection and analyzes it, I said, “That’s brilliant!” Then, I was fascinated by his review of NHL 94’s instruction booklet. Now, I’m a full-on Freeze Pop lover – everything from his deifying of The Office to his analyzing of New Kids on the Block lyrics.
Honorable mentions: When I Look at the World (a good cross section of music that I like and Daily Show clips I miss) and Post Haste (the HenkinSchultz company blog, which I’ve taken on as my own, apparently.)