Because maybe we need more junk.

“The elements of blogging, as far as I'm concerned, are already junk. Our lives, our entire world, form a heap of trivia and disaster. To some degree we're stuck in the tragic position of Klee's "Angelus Novus", unable to reach back and mend the catastrophe of history. What we do have is memory and language, which, along with a high-speed connection, is all you need to reshape it, hold it up for your readers, plunge your hand in and rip out the joke.”

Just as I was questioning this ridiculous exercise, along comes the Palinode to clear things up. Why aren’t you reading him right now?

I have a small, manageable group of blogs I read every week. I don’t venture beyond my tiny corner of the Internet nearly enough. You probably need to branch out, too. (Yes, you do. Stop looking at me like that.) So if you’ve been reading any new and/or noteworthy blogs, post them here.

Comments

[Stacy]

Umm... I stick to my blogroll, too. Except occasionally I do a Google blog search for a really random word (once I picked one out of the dictionary) and read the fifth (always the fifth, never the fourth or sixth and NO, the OCD is actually quite manageable now) entry.

[Owlhaven]

Mine.New? In January.Noteworthy? You decide.See ya there? Hope so.(I'd love to hear your best scar story!)

Mary, unabashedly being her own cheerleader

[Schnozz]

I like Caveat Emptor, because it's different. Most of it is nonsense, but it's SMART nonsense and I have a real appreciation for that. Smart nonsense is so much better than mediocre nonsense ... or, worse, NONSENSICAL nonsense. If you get what I'm saying.

Anyway, Caveat Emptor: http://www.aswhite.com/

[Schnozz]

(Oh, and, uh, his last post is not very nonsensical. So I feel bad. I swear it usually makes no sense. In a good way.)

[Gillian]

Electric Boogaloo. Incredible folks -- incredible wit.

[CS]

New to me:

- We, Like Sheep- Joe.My.God(Both of those are by gay NY men, which I am so not... but smart & witty? Ooh, yeah)

- The Company Bitch

- Waiter Rant

- Post Secret(Entries only on Sundays; something to anticipate)

[jenB]

i have 110 blogs in my bloglines feed. i am HOPING to never find someone funny or nice again.

[Shiri]

I'm reading:

mommybrain - she totally speaks my language.

cool hunting - all kinds of really cool stuff, with a design/art emphasis.

The Happiness Project - sometimes too cerebral for my lazy brain, but, more often than not, she has her shining moments, and when she does she's awesome

[Shiri]

oh, and my blog is new (2 weeks old): I'm the Tiny Love Blogger

[ozma]

When I was a kid I used to dream that we might one day have random semi-anomymous pen pals by picking people out of the phone book and then sharing the intimate details of our lives with them. As you see, I invented the internet.

One thing I've noticed this time around (been blogging since 2001 but my anonmymous self can easily die and be reborn a thousand times) is that instead of looking for good writing and abstracting it away from the person I am paying attention to these people's lives and going to read their site to see what is up with their lives. (Yes, you guessed it. I have no friends.) This is a little bit one-sided I'm realizing since I go to great lengths to never let any identifying details about myself slip out when I write. So I guess you could say I'm a voyeur. But I really want to know what people had for lunch. I want to know the mundane details of someone else's life and follow their posts like a serial novel. I think this is bizarre myself, but there you have it.

Lately, the people I've been the most captivated by (besides Schmutzie, who is there on your blogroll I'm sure) are A White Bear at "Is There No Sin In It?", Joy at Gingajoy and Roo at Roo the Day. I also like to read what's going on with the brilliantly cantankerous Twisty Faster at I Blame the Patriarchy. They are all good writers but they also come through as live human beings on a regular basis.

I think SJ's blog "I Asshole"--which I think started in '99, ancient for blogdom--is the greatest blog that ever was or will be--particularly the memoir essays. Except for maybe Bad News Hughes. They both have the ability to make you laugh years later.

[Blythe]

Jonniker.com makes me laugh while being really really real.Emily at Not That You Asked (captainhambone.typepad.com) gives me a lift whenever I read her. She just had a baby so her posts are shorter than usual right now, but also adorable.

[Chantel]

I've been reading a blog of an old highschool friend (shh, she doesn't know) and I think it's amazing. I had no idea she wrote a blog until I realized this thing I was reading for months was actually someone I knew. Personally, I think she should be read by more people. I don't understand why she isn't more popular. She got some kind of Top Canadian Blog thing but that was a looong time ago.

http://www.dirtyolive.net

[dodo]

for the first few months that i discovered this blogging thing, most blogs I read were the ones from your roll. so thanks fro your exisite good taste!

[Trisha]

You better check out Owlhaven (mentioned above) I enjoy her blog. And as long as you are in the neighborhood, stop on by. I would love to have a Finslippy comment!

[Sara]

I've been travelling vicariously through Nothing But Bonfires and snorting my morning caffeine as I read it. Witty, smart and hilarious with beautiful pictures.

[Bianca]

Pandemian (http://www.pandemian.com/). She alternates between humorous anecdotes and some of the prettiest writing I've read in a long while.

[Momma Bean]

She's witty and freaking hilarious too: jurgennation.com.

[Suebob]

I always recommend La Vie en Rose - a mom who is so introspective and sweet and thoughtful. Good photos, too.

Shaken and Stirred is written by my friend Gandhi Rules' Dad, an American expat living in Mexico. He has strong opinions, strong stories, and funny little observances about living in a different culture.

[cagey]

Monkey in a Suit at http://monkeyinasuit.typepad.com/monkey_in_a_suit/2006/10/deadwood_and_de.html

Single, Indian lawyer, originally from Boston, moves to LA, gets herself a job and starts a new life. Hilarity ensues.

[cagey]

Oops, link is HEREhttp://monkeyinasuit.typepad.com/monkey_in_a_suit/2006/10/deadwood_and_de.html

[Anne Prince]

I second Waiter Rant and I also read LookyDaddy (http://www.lookydaddy.com/) and 1000 Bars (one man's quest to visit 1000 bars in one year) http://thousandbars.blogspot.com/

[Karen Rani]

I have about the same number of blogs as Jen in my Bloglines. I am not branching out any further. I always say that and then I find another. I read them all. No wonder my butt is so flat. It's from sitting in this damn chair.

[martika]

My friend writes mostly short, funny entries at gunky.typepad.comIt's quick and easy to visit her!

[Jordana]

http://www.belgianwaffle.net/. She's great.

[Kristin]

Linda at www.sundrymourning.com can spin a yarn like you've never seen, and Jason at www.chunkofunk.blogspot.com is an undiscovered blogosphere genius.