The Great Blog Trifecta

Being deeply committed to diversity, being so very diverse myself, I offer you reference to three fairly different blogs tended to by friends of mine.

1. Wine? Fine!


You'd think it'd be hard for anyone harkening from Alaska to develop a strong knowledge of wine. The frozen north, afterall, bears no fruit. Or, perhaps conversely, it seems obvious you would grow an abiding thirst for wine, but only for the sake of staying drunk to face the frozen north, not for the sake of growing sommelier-like knowledge. It turns out the brilliance of the internet is mailorder. So, anyone, even those from above the driving range of wine country can read reviews, and order-in.

Having started her interest in drinking as just that--the typical "I'm in college and this is what we do" thirst--Melanie has taken advantage of the remoteness of Alaska to read and study up on the history of wine, the peculiarities of wine culture, and the specificities of grapes varietals and wine blends. Interlaced with her reviews of syrah, and rose, are humorous tidbits of those college adventures, and considerations of food pairings. Pull out your favorite goblet and take a taste:

http://wine-fine.blogspot.com/


2. Diary of a Wikipedian

In the subtle world of net-geekdom there are levels of accomplishment that, when recognized, display almost-esoteric understanding of the social-mechanics of the interweb. Reaching such levels of understanding are like a less formal version of training in the military. If we net-fanatics had the appropriate attire, our jackets would be covered in rectangular striped ribbons, and medals representing our various internet successes. Managing your own blog would certainly earn a person one such ribbon pin. Writing encyclopedia type entries on wikipedia would earn you another. Greater than either of these would be actually serving as a wikipedia admin, that is, an administrator of the online encyclopedia. To earn such a title, an individual must have written and edited enough wikipedia entries (say, thousands) to have gained the attention of the existing wiki-admins managing the wiki-web, gain a nomination from those admins, and then be elected as fellow administrator. Once gaining the title, administrators are then assigned a "watch list" of wiki-pages that they then follow to make sure no vandalism, or policy violations occur. Such a position earns a person at the very least a gold medal to pin to their chest.

It turns out, the life of the wiki-admin includes exposure to all kinds of social anomolies (and prejudices), as well as involvement in the political dynamics of the online 2+ million entry digest. To hear more about such drama:

http://wikipedian-diary.blogspot.com/


3. readmorewritemorethinkmorebemore


If you're gonna ask me (maybe you're not), the downside of being a philosopher, it turns out, is exactly the same thing that makes you a philosopher to begin with. That means, for us philosophers, the problem is simply unavoidable. Making the best of it, and doing a damn good job at making the best, is Doctor J., facing the problem head-on through her blog "where philosophy, music, politics and pop culture get equal deconstruction." See, that tag line reveals the problem I've been alluding to--philosopher's question everything. Doctor J succeeds in turning the challenge into brilliance pushing her readers, her students, and herself to do just what the blog name suggests--Read More, Write More, Think More, Be More. In other words, when the difficulty of being a philosopher is embraced and committed to, the profound result is to "be more." Her analysis ranges from the musical nightlife of Memphis, to the historical writings of Descartes, from the political decisions of Obama, to pedagogical considerations. Most recently she even includes brilliant small studio recordings of herself singing and playing her own songs. Enrich yourself:

http://readmorewritemorethinkmorebemore.blogspot.com/