Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Weekly Geeks 2009-01

From the Weekly Geeks web site:

"In the spirit of the amazing community building that Dewey was so good at, tell us about your favorite blogs, the ones you have bookmarked or subscribe to in your Google Reader, that you visit on a regular basis.  Tell us what it is about these blogs that you love, that inspire or educate you or make you laugh.  Be sure to link to them so we can find them too."

While I enjoy my regular visits to all the wonderful book blogs in my Google Reader-there's always something informative, entertaining, and/or inspirational-I think all of the book bloggers that I follow are pretty well aware of each other, so I am going to take this opportunity to highlight some non-book blogs that I enjoy.

Dealing in Subterfuges was the very first blog I started reading, way back in 2006.  As it turns out, even though Jordan Baker is not a book blogger, the post that turned me on to her was book-related and has great potential for discussion.  Her posts now tend to focus on baseball and recaps of shows like Top Chef and Project Runway, but she throws other stuff in there too.  Also, she cracks me up.

Laurie Perry is the author of the book Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair as well as her blog, Crazy Aunt Purl.  I discovered her when one of my loved-ones was going through a divorce; I was Googling something or other and found Laurie's blog.  She has an entire divorce section on her blog, as she was going through one when she started her blog.  I read through all of those entries, hoping to find something helpful, and I just ended up reading more and more of her blog.  I think the entry that resonated the most with me and with my loved-one was this one...which I can't seem to link to directly.  It's the April 1, 2005 entry in the "d-i-v-o-r-c-e" category which I have managed to link to.  Also, she cracks me up.

Margaret and Helen run a blog by the same name.  These feisty octogenarians sound off on whatever they feel needs sounding off on, though since the election ended, they've been pretty quiet.  Whether it's Thanksgiving etiquette, breast feeding, or the presidential candidates, you can be sure they won't hold back on their opinions.  Also, they crack me up.  (Hmmm, are you seeing a trend here?)

Walking the Amazon Blog is one man's record of his journey from one end of the Amazon to the other in an effort to promote environmental awareness and educate people about the Amazon and the people and animals who live there.  Ed Stafford began his journey in April, 2008, and is currently in Peru, approximately 1/3 of the way through his adventure.  You can follow Ed's progress on this map.  His traveling partner Luke left the expedition unexpectedly about 3 months into their travels.  Ed has guides and other support team members in place, so he is not traveling alone, but it was still a definite morale buster.  He is soldiering on though, and between demonic donkeys, villagers who fear that Ed might eat their babies, and wasp attacks, it's always an interesting journey. Also, I think he would really appreciate any encouraging words anyone could send his way.     

And, finally, Upside Down Dogs is a collection of pictures of dogs lying on their backs with their faces all squished up and looking silly.  They add new pictures on a regular basis; it's quick, there's not much to read, and it will brighten up your day.  Also, this may come as a surprise, but those dogs crack me up.   

10 comments:

Florinda said...

Margaret and Helen's blog is awesome! I found it a couple of months ago (late to the party), and I love it.

Great list of blogs - it's nice to see some that are off the beaten path :-).

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

I checked out a few of the blogs you listed - M&H's blog looks like lots of fun, but the one I'm adding to my reader is the Amazon guy - it will take forever but I'm going to go back and read lots of the old posts - i know people who are missionaries in Peru, and my father-in-law has been on the Amazon several times - it will be fascinating to read about this guy's journey!

Dreamybee said...

Florinda-I may very well have found M&H through you! I can't remember.

Heather J-Be sure to watch the videos too-some of them are pretty funny or just plain anxiety producing. Some of the things they call "roads" or "trails" are nothing I would want to try to traverse.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, Crazy Aunt Purl. I stumbled across that one ages ago, but then also forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing links to these blogs with us. It's always interesting to me some of the creative names these bloggers come up with. :) Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Janet said...

I totally sent them a picture of my dog upside! So cool!

Ali said...

Hee! Must pass on the link to Upside-down Dogs to my sons. Thanks!

Dreamybee said...

softdrink-I love Crazy Aunt Purl. I can totally relate to all of Laurie's goofy little quirks and neuroses.

perennialgardener-Definitely a lot of creativity. And thank YOU for stopping by!

Janet-You'll have to let us know if they use it!

Ali-I hope they get as big of a kick out of it as I do.

Louise said...

I am definitely going to check out some of the blogs you have listed. And I agree that it is great to see some blogs mentioned which are all completely new to me.

I live in Denmark and I am so envious that you live in Hawaii, which is on my list of places I want to go. It looks like an absolutely amazing place.

And thanks for visiting my blog :-)

Dreamybee said...

Hi Bogsider,

I love Hawaii, and I hope you make it out here to visit someday. I have to admit that I am a bit jealous of your access to Europe-it is a bit lacking way out here in the Pacific!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find some blogs you enjoy.