Bottom Surfing
The bottom of the TTLB Ecosystem, that is. Since I was once a lowly Insignificant Microbe myself, I thought I'd try to find and link to a few of the "Microbes" that are deserving of at least Multicellular Microorganism status.
The first thing you notice when you start browsing the bottom is that, judging by the names, a lot of the sites aren't even blogs. They look like the kind websites that are always spamming my comments. Apparently, any site with a Sitemeter gets picked up and added to the Ecosystem. Another thing you notice is that the blogs in the IM category are mostly abandoned or very infrequently updated. However I did find some that are deserving of more attention. By the way, one of the coolest blog names I've ever seen was "Vanilla Rhapsody." Unfortunately, it turned out to be a LiveJournal with nothing showing but a menu, plus the page is really screwed up and ugly, at least in Mozilla.
Okay now, I'll finally quit rambling and do some linking.
Target Stores Online Blog - I'm not sure why I clicked on this one - curiousity I guess - but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is more than just a cheesy marketing gimmick concocted by someone who doesn't even realize that "online blog" is redundant. It's actually a fairly well-written blog featuring business and marketing news and tips. I disagree with some of what he said in the post about website design. I've seen a lot of websites designed by professionals that are just about impossible to use. There's no reason why an amateur can't do just as well or better if they do their homework first.
Hieronymous the Anonymous - What a great name! Nice blog too. Quote: "It's good to be back here, writing again. I wonder why it feels so good. Is it because I am re-connecting with something associated with my former life in Melbourne? Or is it because I need to do this, need to write and express myself? There is truth in both reasons, I think. In a way this blog has unexpectedly become part of my life. It feels as much my window on the world as the worlds window on me."
Bitter Libertarian Lady - I'm sorry that I'm probably going to PO this lady but I'm linking this only because I have to take issue with her complaint about Americans using British spellings. I have caught myself a number of times typing, "behaviour" or "honour" without even thinking about it and with some of the "-ize"/-ise" words I just don't know which one I should be using. And besides, it doesn't make that much difference. Some British spellings are just cooler. Why not use them?
Bullfrog Blog - Music, mostly concert schedules. Not my kind of music but I always feel inclined to give a friendly nod to other music blogs, whatever the genre.
Scott's Gravy - Hasn't been updated since March but it's a recipe blog, therefore, worth taking a look through the archives.
I Am the Rain King - Very nice. Mostly about books, films and major league baseball.
Cerebral Residue - Another nice blog. Not sure how to describe it. The most recent post is about the meaning of "Mazal Tov".
Don't Ask Me; I'm Making This Up As I Go Along - John, from Oregon, is building a house, has cats, reads sci-fi and links to some fun websites.
Kinetic Ideas - More marketing stuff. Not the kind of thing I read often but well-written and worthwhile.
The Cosmic Blogger - Some British politics, a great cat post and more. Lots of personality. A very fun blog. Quote: "Saturdays I always steer clear of everybody in town's favorite imitation Irish pub, The Gelded Leprechaun. Mainly, it's for my own protection, because Saturday is always Darts-arama Day at The Lep. And there's no bloody way I'm going any place where they give drunks sharp objects to toss around a crowded room."
Currylingus - Neha has a serious case of potty-mouth (which obviously doesn't hurt some bloggers). I had to link to her because her opinion of Tom Coburn is very much like mine. She also has a lot of fun links and pictures and even some serious stuff. Plenty of personality. This blog should do very well if the right people notice it.
Trash Your TV - A serious media blog. News about everything related to television. Definitely deserves more attention.
Ari 3D Stereo Photography - Very cool. Now what the heck did I do with that old pair of red and blue lensed glasses?
Quaere Verum - An interesting eclectic blog by a guy in the Philipines. Unfortunately, it has one serious problem: it takes a horribly long time to load - long enough that I almost gave up on it. Friendly tip: If you must have all those scripts in your sidebar, move it to the right side of your screen and put the blog posts on the left so they will load first.
That's all for this time but I only got halfway through the list so I might post more in a few days. Best of luck to all these bloggers. I hope I managed to give them a little boost.