Spare Change

Top 5ive 8.2

Posted by Bryan

Living Room has renewed its annual quest to unearth new blogs that could use some attention. I was mentioned on the list last year, graciously by Jen, if memory serves. The spike in traffic was also nice.

To be honest, I don't spend a lot of time digging around and looking for new voices. And since Living Room has managed to gather such a good compendium, I'll just review his cache' and, in an attempt to implement that effort into my own agenda, offer the Top 5ive Underblogger Blogs:

1. A Healthy Fear of Botulism -- A great title, a great caption contest, meme chaser...lots of stuff I like.


2. Reality Blogs -- The most important blog of all time.


3. X-Entertainment -- 80s kitsch to the Xth degree.


4. Tim Berglund.Com -- A Colorado blogger, and if you say his name quickly, it sounds like "timber gland."


5. View from a Pew -- A Southern Seminarian, who blogs on all things Southern Baptist. Hey....waitaminnit! I thought that job was already filled!

Now, I have to offer a few caveats here....

First, I *did* look at every blog over the 13 pages. That said, my on biases are reflected in selections. Liberals: I tried, I really did, but more often than not, you lost me at "Kerry."
If your template looked like someone else's that I saw earlier, I probably dismissed you. Sorry. I'm simple-minded like that.

If you were way text-heavy, as I myself can be (and am being here), I probably didn't wade into your deep waters.

If you made me laugh while you made me think, you probably got a link.

Oh, and if you are on my blogroll, or I've read you before, or if you get more traffic than me, I probably (but not absolutely) didn't include you. You're not on *my* underblog, so no offense, okay.

Wait, I keep thinking of stuff -- if you went "blue," I didn't include you. It's not that you weren't funny, or whatever youwere trying to be, but that's just not my bag, baby. That said, I can't vouch for the content of the links below...I tried to catch it if it was there, but I'm only one man, and this was link overload.

One last thing...I think I'm fighting a fever...that may be reflected in my waning interest and shortened attention span as i progressed through the offerings. You really had to be superior as I fought on...and quickly. I wasn't willing to discover your distinguished gem on why Edwards is a silly choice for VP, as compared to the hundred others who said the same thing (only not as well, of course). Forgive me.

I've observed a few things in this stupefying journey: There's a whoooole lotta people writing about the exact same stuff over and over. And most of it says exactly the same thing, only differently. I could cite examples, but that would date this post even more than it already does, and I may opt to cut-and-paste it and use it again next year. Also, there's a whoooooole lotta people out there unafraid to self-promote. Not that this is a bad thing. But it appears that there is no lack of hubris going on in the blogosphere. Last, there's a whooole lotta unrealistic expectations out there regarding bloggers' potential. I read more than one recommendation that suggested a particular writer would undoubtedly be soon enjoying widespread fame and literary publishing opportunities. Yeah, that's probably not going to happen, but thanks for playing.

Well, on the extended portion of this post, you'll see the entire list of the finalists I selected for the Top 5ive, culled from the 13 pages. You are encouraged to glean from that list, or go back to the source for more if none of these scratch where you itch. Hey, you can even add one that hasn't made the list, if your itch has turned into a rash, that is. But I'd also recommend calamine.

The following list is for purposes of your consideration only. Please, no wagering:

The Brothers Judd -- Mostly politics, very engaging and informative.

Curious Lee -- Mostly photographs, albeit very high quality photographs.

Carly Bish's Jeffersonair -- Mostly personal, seems pretty down-to-earth and unpretentious.

As I Please -- Ken Wheaton's linkage and observations. Don't know who Ken is? Neither did I, but I didn't let that stop me.

Spot On -- Good conservative perspective from an Atlantan

Banana Oil -- Wide-ranging content, enjoyable to read.

Undercaffienated -- Good blogging, uses photos, which I like, and wish I could do better.

Sharp as a Marble -- A true underblogger (meaning smaller than me), with a great design that incites envy in me.

true grit -- Ilona digs a little deeper.

Christian Conservative -- He's a Christian. He's conservative. There ya go!

The Crease -- Making saves against liberals, one shot at a time.

Literal-Minded -- A linguistic blog from a guy who makes me look much less anal-retentive, by comparison.

Lenny the Gardener -- At first glance, a gifted equally-opportunity satirist.

Ashy to Classy -- Looks like a good linker. I like that in some of my blogs.

Cronaca -- I don't know what the blog name means. But I like the content.

The Average Bear -- Not exclusively cinema-content, but it seems to have the celluloid flavor to it.

The Resplendant Mango -- Who doesn't enjoy a resplendant mango from time to time?

The Smoking Room -- His "snark is worse than his smite."

Clareified -- She's 29, from East Coco Beach, and she blogs.

Sheila A-Stray's Redheaded Ramblings -- Wins the award for longest blog title!

The Mulatto Advocate -- Demands a second look.

Rabe Ramblings -- Good content. Really good.

Incoming Signals -- A linker.

Hard Soap -- A Deep-Thinking Believer.

News Amuse -- Commentary on Current Events.

diversionz -- a Game linker.

Defective Yeti -- I laughed three times in the first couple posts. That oughta count for something.

Fringeblog -- Blowing away clowns since 2003. That's not very long. But still. On principle.

My Pet Jawa -- I don't know, I'm on page 8 of underbloggers...it looked good...cut me some slack.

Memoirs of a Samurai Barber -- with entries as odd as the title.

Lincoln & Liberty -- A couple of interesting posts at the top of the page. At this point, it seems like my standards might be slipping. Not that this denigrates from the likely high quality of this site.

Li Vita Nuova -- A blog on all things Dante. This won't make my Top 5ive. But it is added here because I'm a Dante dork. Not as much as this gal, though.

Fidler on the Roof -- A decent read despite the layout.

Small.to -- Another Linkaholic.

Food for Fish -- Inspiring. Really.

Faith Gambler -- Another strong writer with a Christian worldview.

The Dawn Patrol -- Interesting content, and the template I used when I first began.

And the Seventh Angel Poured Out His Opinions into the Internet -- The new longest title, and an introductory anti-Affleck post.

Challies.com -- Christian blogger. Christian topics.

July 7, 2004 3:48 PM