Leave it to me to arrive late at the party…but I just found out yesterday about BlogDay 2006, an event designed to connect bloggers around the world. The goal? Pull together a list of five blogs that you recommend, preferably different from your own culture, point of view and attitude. So…here goes nothing…
1. You Are Sleeping
This blogger doesn’t give away a lot of details about him- or herself, but the blog is hilarious. It’s based out of the U.K., and the blogger posts news photos with rewritten caption, lists of words that “will be banned come the revolution,” and news commentary. It’s irreverent (and occasionally obscene…fair warning, kids…), it’s wicked, and I have been known to laugh out loud in my cubicle when the posts show up in my Bloglines account.
2. celtic_writer
This one’s a shout-out to my Alexandria, Virginia-based friend and colleague, Mary Gillen, who celebrated her 50th birthday by starting a blog about her roadtrip across the U.S. in her VW bug. OK, well, she actually celebrated her birthday by taking the roadtrip, but the blog rides on. She mixes up a little nostalgia, family history, current events, travelogue and a dash of peace into a lovely read.
3. Random Acts of Reality
My coworker, Heather, turned me on to this blog, which is another U.K. entrant. Tom Reynolds, a London EMS worker, tells fascinating tales about his work. It’s compassionate, yet straightforward. He’s just turned his stories into a book: Blood, Sweat & Tea, which may be the best title of the year, considering the subject matter.
4. Corporate Hallucinations
There are plenty of days when I come home from my unexpected life as a Corporate Communicator and have absolutely nothing about which to laugh. But Steve Crescenzo’s Corporate Hallucinations actually does what some might consider to be impossible: it makes corporate communications funny again. Really. I’m not kidding.
Stop giving me that weird look! I’m serious!
5. Pakistani Pictures
I’m going to close out my list with a nod toward the international and to photography. My own blogging has reconnected me with photographs — for years I let my film camera languish because I had simply stopped taking pictures. But what’s a garden blog without images? I started off in May using Steve’s digital camera, but when I realized that he, of course, would be taking it to Gabon for a month, sprung for my own. I’m now on the hunt for great photography blogs, because they inspire me to take better pictures and push the boundaries of what my camera can do. Pakistani Pictures compiles photos from a range of Pakistani photographers, both in Pakistan and abroad, all posted by Imran Khan, who works in Kuwait and wants the world to see his beautiful homeland. The images are fantastic, and I truly enjoy this window into an unfamiliar world.
So…enjoy BlogDay 2006, and enjoy these last fleeting moments of August while you’re at it. Fall’s on the way!
on Aug 31st, 2006 at 2:11 pm
That’s a wonderful list. I’ll be checking them out!
on Aug 31st, 2006 at 6:59 pm
My list:
#s 1 through 5 – The Inadvertent Gardner !
xxxooo
on Aug 31st, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Genie, Those are just fabulous choices! Thank you. I too am a huge fan of You Are Sleeping. I love it that he/she never, ever responds to comments and every single post is listed as “uncatagorized.”
And I’m with you on the camera. I love taking pictures for my blog, and have been spending a lot of time thinking about what might be the best digital camera for me — one with a zoom, I think, and something that takes nice shots in low light, because food pictures look awful under a flash. Sometime, I’d love to hear about what you’ve chosen.
And I agree with Pamela, The Inadvertent Gardener is on my Top O’the Blogs list too.
Happy BlogDay.
on Aug 31st, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Tanna, enjoy the blogs, and thank you for stopping by!
Pamela, that is way too sweet — thank you!
Bloglily, yes, yes, the uncategorized posts — fabulous! If I had my druthers, I would have dropped a lot more money on my digital camera than I did, but I picked up a little Canon PowerShot Elph in an Amazon.com sale, and that little guy has done right by me. Maybe one of these days I’ll actually spend the grand or so for a serious-and-important camera, but the other thing the Elph has going for it is that it’s teeny and drops right in my pocket. That’s handy when I’m heading out to the garden!
Happy BlogDay to you, too. Have a good one!
on Sep 1st, 2006 at 2:30 am
Hi Genie,
I like all the blogs & HAPPY BLOG DAY TO YOU.
It is so nice of you that you count my blog as a worthseeing blog.I really enjoyed that honour & respect given by you & with this post you helped alot to explore my homeland beauty to others. I never enjoyed such appreciation before. I am greatly thankful to you & want to wish a big success of you & your blog from depth of my heart.
Have a very nice day & be in touch :D
Imran Khan
on Sep 1st, 2006 at 7:03 am
Imran, thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you have a great day, too.
on Sep 1st, 2006 at 9:32 am
Hiya Genie!
Greetings from Concord NC. Have been down here teaching in Winston-Salem for a couple of weeks. Now waiting for Ernesto to wander its stormy way up I-95 past Virginia. I will leave in the a.m. and hydroplane in The Mighty Bug home to the Labbies and about 7,000 lbs. of dirty laundry that needs to be done.
The other blogs you mentioned in your post are top-notch, my friend. As always: Genie = Quality.
Thanks so much for the shout-out…again. Have been enjoying your writings, as always.
Mary
on Sep 1st, 2006 at 10:58 pm
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