Friday, September 14, 2007

From Around the Net

I read about 100 blogs a week nowadays. I don't expect everyone to share my passion for blogs, but I figure I'll point out some of the posts that impressed me within the last week or so, and then let you decide which to click on.

Amuirin has put up a moving, passionate piece of writing about a young woman deciding to keep her baby. You can read it here.

Mystic Wing wraps up an interesting discussion of the Four Noble Truths here, and invites anyone and everyone to debate his interpretation with him.

Last year on 9/11, Decrepit Old Fool offered some eminently level-headed advice here. Since nothing has really changed from last year to make his advice any less relevant or urgent, it's still worth careful consideration.

Nita has completely changed the look of her blog, and also put up a post on what Asians think of each other and America here. What they think of America, at least, is surprisingly favorable.

Mahendra has started a lively discussion of objectivity in journalism here. I think everyone should drop by his blog and claim with a straight face that the most objective source of news today is India's Communist Party.

Hume's Ghost writes on the Culture Wars here. His article is exceptionally long by blog standards but very much worth reading in whole or part.

A Whore in the Temple of Reason asks, "Will there be free will in Heaven?", and then shows how problematic that question can be. The article is very brief and to the point. Find it here.

Chanson writes about the psychology of oppressed peoples here, and includes some shrewd insights into human nature as it impacts on international conflict.

Jonathan writes passionately about the pernicious influence of some religious beliefs and doctrines on human sexuality here.

Daylight Atheism discusses the lack of consilience in Biblical stories here.

Ass of Steel has put up a funny FAQ and Surprise Announcement here.

Rambodoc has a witty and irreverent take on President Bush's recent speech here.

Loren, who I think has some of the best nature photography on the net, put up three magnificent photos from his trip to the Denver Zoo here.

If you are not reading Glenn Greenwald on a regular basis, you are missing out on some of the best, most honest, and hard hitting political commentary I've been able to find on the net. You can read his blog here.

Gary has put up a beautiful, almost haunting post on children's literature here.

Marxsny has a poignant post on the fortunes of life here.

Last, Zeno has a post about what has to be one of the most insufferable asses to ever hold a tenured position in academia. You can read it here.

That's about as much as I can remember at the moment. It occurs to me the blogosphere is a huge place and there's no way anyone can keep up with it, but I hope these brief blurbs about what's up on other blogs will help you find something you'll enjoy.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paul,
Thanks for the list. Please consider making this a weekly affair: Paul's Weakly Download! :-)

Ashwin said...

Ditto.

Set aside a new folder each week and save your discoveries for the weekend. Then the ripest electrons will be ours without picking.

Anonymous said...

Paul, thanks for the mention.
I think its great that you managed to go through so many blogs.
To me blogs are different from media in the sense that they are people. A newspaper or a mag or a channel is an organisation, but a blog is a person. Therefore I too like to read as many blogs as possible, but its difficult!

C. L. Hanson said...

Cool, it's like your own impromptu carnival!!! :D

Hume's Ghost said...

Arg! Now I feel compelled to go back and actually finish that post rather than let it sit there in draft form ... maybe tomorrow or after I finish my review of Greenwald's book.

Gary said...

Thanks Paul for the mention and bravo on getting to so many blogs!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you are an impressive reader. I sometimes have trouble keeping up with the 20 or so on my list. I bet you learn a lot everyday.

& thanks for the highlight. *blushy smile*

Anonymous said...

Thanks. I like you too.

Paul Sunstone said...

Hi Rambodoc and Musafir! I've decided to take your advice and try to do this on a weekly basis. I've set up a folder in my bookmarks to make it easy to note an article I like.

Hi Nita! That's exactly what I like most about blogs too -- they are so much the people who write them.

Hi Chanson! That's a good way to look at it!

Hi Hume's Ghost! Welcome to the blog! I'm always pleased when something I do results in more work for someone else. :-D

You're both welcome, Gary and Amuirin. Thank you for such good articles on your blogs!

Hi AOS! That's so sweet!

Anonymous said...

Paul,

First of all, thanks for the mention!

Second, I'm glad you've taken up Rambodoc and Musafir's suggestion. Your picks are surely very interesting.

Third, I observe that your clock in the blogosphere runs much, much, faster than most others! What I mean is, you read 100 blogs a week - that's phenomenal by any standards. You post so frequently, that we humble readers struggle to catch up with your posts!

As an aside, do you think you tend to neglect comments on your earlier posts as you move ahead with your fast paced clock? I mean you make us think with a post, and then leave us poor readers cold and dry thinking and commenting on your post, while you move forward with your fast paced clock to newer posts?! :-D

I personally think you and we are losing out on the opportunity to have a good discussion on many of your excellent thought-provoking posts, just because there are newer posts to be read. I don't think you're posts are getting the level of serious discussion that they deserve because of this!

But I don't have a solution. I do not wish to discourage you from your prolific posting, but at the same time, think that many jewels are going past us on this blog without being adequately admired.

PS: I tried several times to comment on Decrepit Fool's excellent post, but somehow the word authentication examination seems to fail me every time. I tried many, many, times, and ultimately gave up.

Once again, thanks for choosing these ripe jewels!

Reason's Whore said...

Thanks for the link! I like your site.

Glad you enjoyed my photos ;D

Paul Sunstone said...

Thanks, Mahendra! That's very good advice. I'm going to make an effort to keep up with the comments better. It will probably take me a bit to adjust to doing so, so don't expect fast results, but I think you're spot on that I need to improve on that. Again, thanks for the excellent advice!

Paul Sunstone said...

Hi Sacred Slut! Welcome to the blog! I'm glad you like it. And thank you for the article I linked to!