"Crusty and eccentric"?
I did not know that about myself. Now show me a picture of the back of my hair.
Gates of Vienna, the blog of the incredibly smart husband/wife team of Baron Bodissey and Dymphna, have an annotated list of some of the best smaller blogs.
They've come to the same conclusion I have: bigger isn't necessarily better. Sometimes bigger is just bigger. A double CD of Phil Collins is just more...Phil Collins.
Check their list and click the links. You might find a really exceptional blog.
Glancing at my own blogroll, I see some blogs that I couldn't do without. In the first of a series, here are five of them:
Caption This!: Sometimes this is only laugh I get all day. V the K is a smart boy with a smart mouth.
What's a Kyer?: His outstanding, comprehensive blogging of the Beslan terrorist attack in Russia hooked me for good
The Coalition of the Swilling: Bloggers Mr. Bingley and Tree-Hugging Sister are each so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat them; and so generous, that they will always exceed their income.
With Cheese!: He constantly deletes fabulous posts. Visit often so you can catch them before they're gone.
Pious Agnostic: The soul of brevity, he writes perfect little posts like this.
More next week.
Posted by floridacracker at August 28, 2005 09:45 PMHey! I've been doing much better about the deleting thing, I thought.
Posted by: marc at August 28, 2005 10:00 PMMarc, you replied to a comment I'd made on your blog. It was funny and it played on my own comment. I came back later to re-read it and enjoy it again. You'd deleted it. I was bummed.
Who deletes their own comments?
Well, I didn't say I was *all* better...
Posted by: marc at August 28, 2005 10:08 PMAw gee, Donnah, thanks! I am truly flattered by your comment. I may just be a "little blog", but I'm all heart! :)
Posted by: kyer at August 28, 2005 11:04 PMOK, I guess I can see ""eccentric" (who else features stories about rampaging gators AND heroic dogs?). But "Crusty"? Gabby Hayes was "crusty".
Posted by: Carl at August 29, 2005 06:41 AMCrusty. Eccentric. Gah.
I was aiming for "witty and informative."
LOL.
That blog (http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2005/08/with-little-help-from-our-friends-part.html), about you -- advising people to not "...join in (conversations) with (you) if (whoever attempting) has a...sensitive nature..."
This is a peculiar comment, to my view, what with -my- sensitive nature,-your- sensitive nature (it is, in my experience) and ne'er a problem in my experience between (can only speak for meself). I think the comments indicate an underappreciation for "a sensitive nature," if not a misunderstanding about what that is.
Otherwise, other issues, I agree that the bigger blogs don't necessarily, inherently, possess more worth than others -- I've had this discussion with others before, but all "bigger" means is they are almost routinely being supported by their blogs and/or related media works. Not a bad thing, also inherently, but an indication of commerce predominating, often masquereding as 'journalism' (not a new problem). It does, however, confront the nature of what blogging is.
The glaring issue here is that we all have to eat and pay our own way. Which means, unless the blog itself is an extension of your income earning endeavors -- most if not all the "big blogs" are paid to opine/opine for pay -- the more average blogger spends the extras inorder to blog. And thus, you find more sincere and original content among average bloggers.
Not so much to insult the "bigger bloggers" among us but they do display a rather closed society insistence and perspective about many issues. Can be a good thing, mostly it's not.
Posted by: -S- at August 29, 2005 01:29 PMWhat I just wrote (^^) BUT, in my experience, also, WIZBANG and ACE OF SPADES are the two exceptions to the problem that most of the other "big blogs" impose. I hope they can keep their wits about them, 'cause it'd be really, really sad to start reading ACE tow the line, while, also, I think Kevin at WIZBANG is safely entrenched in his own version of blogging, which is a good thing.
Posted by: -S- at August 29, 2005 01:34 PMIt's OK. It's like what I said about not knowing what the back of your hair looks like. Baron must have caught me being mean in comments.
I don't get many trolls here to practice on, something for which I'm grateful.
About big bloggers- there's only a couple of them on my blogroll, and I'm on theirs as well.
Being crusty and eccentric, I'm also no respecter of persons.
Your comments on blog commerce are interesting. Go to Instapundit and count down the posts until you find the link to Amazon. It'll be there.
"A double CD of Phil Collins is just more...Phil Collins."
Right! And Carrot Top on Steroids is just ... more Carrot Top:
http://www.thesuperficial.com/archives/003301.html
Posted by: Bill from INDC at August 29, 2005 03:51 PMThat was DISGUSTING.
Posted by: Donnah at August 29, 2005 04:11 PMDonnah, I think I have caught you being mildly rebarbative a few times. But it was never more than I personally could take...
Some people *are* sensitive, and some of those sensitive souls are readers (& commenters) at GoV. So I had to let them know. I would have warned them similarly about the comment threads on InDC, or Wizbang, or LGF. Or Daily Pundit, for that matter. I have had heated discussions with Bill Quick from time to time...
But, then, I *like* heated discussions.
Posted by: Baron Bodissey at August 29, 2005 04:20 PM"That was DISGUSTING."
Looks like someone took their "crusty" pill today ...
Posted by: Bill from INDC at August 29, 2005 04:37 PMI don't like heated discussions. I like fun discussions.
I don't want to score points, I want to share feelings.
Arms are for hugging.
Posted by: Crusty at August 29, 2005 04:54 PMI kinda find the online hugging offputting (what a statement) while the trollage I consider to be the crust on the blog pudding, baking the cookies of discontent without disgusting Carrot Top or a CD by Phil Collins anywhere in my sensitive kitchen.
So...I'm tired of Hurricane intensity and just needed to lighten up. I can write that because I don't have a house underwater, my roof and walls are still intact and there is no alligator anywhere near me, to my knowledge, nor is L.A. It's a good thing.
Posted by: -S- at August 29, 2005 08:11 PMYes, those are good things, indeed, Sue.
Baron- You're very sweet, and thank you again for the honor. It's appreciated.
Posted by: Donnah at August 29, 2005 09:12 PMDonnah, please call me Suzy or just "-S-" in type and I'll never be crusty again.
I don't know what it is about being referred to as "Sue," but it's always been like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard to me' ears.
< / crusty.
Posted by: -S- at August 30, 2005 02:40 AMI don't like typing just an 'S', and I know your nickname but can never remember if it's spelled Suzie or Susie. Or Suzey. Or Susey. Or Suzee. Or Susee. Because you always just type an 'S'.
I'll settle on 'Ess', if you're agreeable.