The following are all brand-new blogs -- except for a few that aren't really brand new, but are still kinda new, so I've included them in this showcase anyway, 'cause I like 'em.
Please, check these sites out; be kind and give a couple of them a link or blogroll 'em; and email them some comments and suggestions while they're still young and impressionable.
(Hint: If you'd rather not leave Celebrity Cola while looking at the various blogs in the showcase, simply hold down on the SHIFT key on your keyboard while clicking on any of the links below. That way, the blogs will open up in a new window.)
And now, let the showcase begin! This is all good stuff:
Arizona Perspective and Junk covers news and events, uniquely Arizona info, and other interesting things (such as science, culture, cooking, and the arts).
Bobo Blogger rants about a lot of stuff, including the recent suit filed on behalf of Tsunami victims.
Catoptrophobe Nightmare is the online journal of a NYC law student, with the usual roundup of news and rants.
Circadiana is a blog dedicated to the study of biological timing, including circadian (and other) rhythms and clocks, as well as the biology of sleep.
Don't Touch the Feet is a mixture of personal rants, musings on celebrity culture, and "things about my friends that make me laugh" -- all sprinkled with appropriate doses of outrage and humor, and tended to "with the care of an orchid gardener."
Flaming Duck is the home of a Virginia-based, Republican, ex-navy nuclear submarine sailor, who is now working in local government. The blog comments on global, national, and local news and politics, while explaining why the U.S. political system is better than anyone else's.
At Haiku 4 You, Mr. Haiku writes a new poem every day (in the epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines, of course). The haikus document everything from personal events to the death of Hunter S. Thompson, with useful links embedded in the verse.
HerWryness attempts to find "fulfillment and the forbearance of faith while living with Fibromyalgia, Fatigue and Arthritis." Also, discover why she is "tired to death of the word journey."
Hill Country Views is composed of ramblings from the Texas hill country, from a self-proclaimed "liberal conservative." Read his article on the "Surprising and Unreported Trend In Family Size."
Komputa Muso (The Musings on a Theme of "Sod Themes" Sorta Theme) is from some funny Irish bloke who does go on about anything and everything... including the urination habits of men in public bathrooms.
Liberty Cadre is a United Kingdom-based libertarian site that offers positive, practical suggestions on how to help the U.K. Libertarian cause, as well as focusing on liberty issues in
Europe and the world beyond.
Lockjaw's Lair writes about politics and current events, including the difference between the "Mainstream Media (MSM) and the Blogosphere."
Maggie's Farm is an eccentric, idiosyncratic blog concerning news and politics, written from the perspective of "skeptical, politically centrist" humans and animals.
My Meandering Thoughts explores love, politics, and personal musings in an attempt to "start a dialogue with people from other countries and cultures."
Non-religious.com covers topics important to atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists ("the world's fourth largest belief system with 850 million people") in a format that seems to be part blog and part traditional website resource.
Dean Abbott's Notes and Meditations is devoted to pop culture, travel, science, religion, technology, the arts, and history -- but Dean also gives a thorough analysis of what Debbie Gibson appearing in Playboy really means.
Pratie Place doesn't "write about Iraq or kitties," opting instead to cover such diverse topics as religion in Transylvania, strange verbs in England, and the demolishing of the Great Wall of China.
Quid Nimis ("something in excess") is a political blog with a dash of humor. For instance, the site wonders if a woman wearing a short skirt can really be called "torture."
Slipshod and Simple chronicles the whims and opinions of a frustrated writer living in East Hampton, NY. With a bit o' wit, he drops info on everything from TV to technology.
The Sorest Loser answers questions such as "Should Steroids be Illegal?" and "Is Our Military Targeting Journalists?" with thoughtful, original essays.
Stupid Beautiful Lies is the "outlet for a twenty-something musician hidden deep in the nation of Canada," tracking such diverse topics as a scientist finding God (this story appears to be a fake, hoax, or misleading meme) and why Mediocrity Sells.
Technudge is an "irreverent smack at technology with sprinklings of puns and humor" from the former writer of the old Hard Edge column at Computer Shopper (as well as being the Bill at aliceandbill.com, which was written with Alice Hill from Real Tech News).
Universal Acid is about biology and politics and covers such topics as the non-existent link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the reasons one might have for opposing reproductive cloning, and the Larry Summers "innate gender differences" and science controversy.
Witnit takes "humorous analysis of relatively inconsequential things to a hyperbolic extreme."
And, finally, WuzzaDem keeps a close and satiric eye on the world of politics and the political media, with posts such as "Eason Jordan's Checkered Past."
***
New Blog Carnival Showcase Extravaganzas have been or will be hosted by the following blogs in 2005:
Feb 14 - Simon World
Feb 21 - Lucas Brachish
Feb 28 - Karin
Mar 7 - Sadie
Mar 14 - Josh Cohen
Mar 21- Snooze Button Dreams
Mar 28 - Mookie
April 4 - Disintegrator
Apr 11 - Ogre's View
Apr 18 - Nerf Coated World
May 9 - Baboon Pirates
For updates to this list, or to sign up to host a future showcase, visit Munuviana's showcase headquarters. To enter your new blog into the showcase, choose the week you'd like to be featured, and then visit that week's host for more details.
Related Post: The New Blog Showcase entry rules (for the Celebrity Cola edition of the above showcase) and a proposed “slightly older blogs that people need to read” showcase.
When Sitcoms Make You Weep
I just received a strange and poignant email from a close friend of mine who’s known in certain circles as Johnny K. Thunder. He has never, ever sent me a chain letter or a mass-email or asked me to commit to a pyramid scheme. But now, after a decade of friendly, personal emails, he has discovered a New Lord Almighty. And so he’s deemed it necessary to share the faith:
Greetings everyone,
I don’t usually do the mass email thing, but I’m asking for a simple favor—a sad, mournful plea—please take some time every Sunday night and watch the Fox show “Arrested Development.” I know there are more important things out there in the world, but when it comes to Television, quality is eroding more and more each season. It’s getting to the point that you have to turn to premium cable to find good television, such as HBO’s “The Wire” and “The Sopranos,” but last season we were given a gift on Sundays and that gift was “Arrested Development.”
This show became the Great New Sitcom and it couldn’t have come at a better time. When we’re not being bombarded with low-rent reality shows, we have to deal with hackneyed sitcoms that star has-been comedians or shows that have an overweight slob married to some gorgeous woman who in real life would be way out of his league. We know everybody loves Raymond, we live in the world according to Jim, we accept that Damon Wayans has a wife and kids. Been there done that— but then along comes a thing of beauty floating through our screens on Sunday nights.
If you haven’t seen “Arrested Development,” it’s simple: It’s brilliant. It gives you everything: highbrow lowbrow, lowbrow highbrow, and lowbrow done in highbrow style. It’s not hard to pick up the deceptively simple storyline (they explain it in the opening credits), but you’re rewarded if you continue to watch additional episodes, with clever references to past episodes hidden snuggly away in every new script.
After a few weeks, you’ll pick up on the thousands of little jokes—and each episode is worth repeated viewing because you discover a cornucopia of subtle inside jokes you missed the first time. All this, and yet each episode stands on its own.
But now, in its second season, it’s threatened with cancellation once again.
I like the “The Simpsons” and all, but it’s the sitcom of the 20th century. “Arrested” is the 21st century sitcom. “Arrested” is new, different, better. Tell all of your friends about the show, and force them to watch it (at gunpoint, if necessary) because in order to save it, we need viewers. You can also go to the Fox website and petition them to keep the show, but I recommend you do it after watching a few episodes—that way, your message will be more heartfelt.
Also, rent or buy the first season DVD collection. Trust me: You won’t be disappointed. The DVDs are real cheap compared to most DVD sets, and the show works even better without commercial breaks. Get it in widescreen digital if you can find it. And with your purchase you’ll send a message to the suits out there in TV land. A memorandum that we’re tired of seeing has-been celebrities living in a house and trying to figure out the grocery bills, we’re tired of karaoke singers trying to get multimillion dollar music deals, we’re tired of hunks building houses for kids with no bones. We’re tired of rich debutantes mocking us simple folk. We’re also tired of Ryan Seacrest. Wait; maybe that’s just me. Maybe I’m the one tired of Ryan Seacrest.
“Arrested” might get cancelled, but we can at least try to save it. Let’s do it! You and me, together. Like old war buddies, reliving the glory days. Even if you're downloading this show commercial-free via illegal BitTorrent sharing, make sure you spread the Good Word of the "Arrested" Gospel. And if you're part of Nielsen Media Research's worldwide lab-rat TV sample team, leave your damn remote firmly pointed at this show, and this show only.
This crazy little sitcom makes me forget I live in a trailer with a three-legged, one-eye dog with the cutest eye patch you’ve ever seen. There I said it. Please, I beg you: Don’t abandon me with bad TV.
Thanks,
Johnny K. Thunder
An awkward moment for Will Arnett as
George Oscar 'Gob' Bluth II, in banana costume.
In the air. With crane.
(You had to be there. It was funny.
I swear: It was, it was.)
***
Now, trip down memory lane with Mitchell Hurwitz as he discusses the down-and-dirty details of working on sitcoms— including his creation of the absolutely staggeringly brilliant "Arrested Development"—with The Onion A.V. Club.
***
GetArrested.com
SaveOurBluths.com
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