Blogger Mark Frauenfelder pose for a photo at his home in Tarzana, Calif. Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005. (AP Photo/ Ann Johansson)
In today's tour of the blogosphere, we'll visit six more pop culture Web logs you should be reading. As a reminder, for the comfort and courtesy of the bloggers around you, please refrain from any eating, drinking, smoking or flash photography. During the second leg of our trip, we'll discover the artful prose of Boing Boing, Fark, Vodka Pundit, Gizmodo, low culture and PostSecret. Please feel free to bookmark or heckle along the way. (And if you missed our first installment, see it here: http://asap.ap.org/stories/1714.s )
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Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net )
Subject matter: everything but the kitchen sink
Blogger: Mark Frauenfelder
He says: "Boing Boing covers popular culture and important news the mainstream media misses or misinterprets."
We say: A little nerdy? Sure. Rich in content? Absolutely. Boing Boing is very popular, devouring all other blogs with savvy commentary on astutely unearthed topics ranging from sexy tool belts to vintage computers.
His motive: "To quote Bukowski: `An idiotic urge.'"
Unhealthy obsession: "Stories of celebrity misbehavior."
His fave: Eye of the Goof (http://reality.sgiweb.org/mattm/balihai/ )
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Fark (http://www.fark.com )
Subject matter: news served sunnyside up
Blogger: Drew Curtis
He says: "We read 2,000 news articles a day, find the 50 to 75 funniest ones and post them in a constantly updating list."
We say: With tags such as "Obvious," "Scary," "Dumbass" and "Spiffy," Fark filters the glut of news with more innovation than a Ron Popeil infomercial. Sure, the minimalist interface is IKEA-ish, but it's more comfortable than lounging on one of those KLIPPAN sofas.
His motive: "My career as a goat herder pretty much wasn't going anywhere."
Unhealthy obsession: "I play soccer four times a week, so that probably counts as an obsession. I'm not sure if it's that or going out for beers afterwards."
His fave: Wil Wheaton (http://www.wilwheaton.net )
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Vodka Pundit (http://www.vodkapundit.com )
Subject matter: boozy politics
Blogger: Stephen Green
He says: "You know that drunk guy sitting by himself at the end of the bar, talking back to the TV news? That's my blog."
We say: Green has an informed opinion on everything from the Iraqi war to the termites in his house. With Vodka Pundit, he thoroughly explains political goings-on while Nancy Grace will only scream about them for a few seconds.
His motive: "Discovered InstaPundit on 9/11/2001. Thought, `I could do that.' Turns out I couldn't, but I keep on trying, anyway."
Unhealthy obsession: "That with just enough effort, I'll find a martini and a spicy Italian sausage that go well together."
His fave: "That changes on an almost-daily basis."
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Gizmodo (http://www.gizmodo.com )
Subject matter: gaggles of gadgets
Blogger: John Biggs
He says: Gizmodo is "an irreverent look at everything shiny, electronic and pocket-sized."
We say: The bay doors have been opened, HAL, and Gizmodo is flooding the blogosphere with handy news, links and reviews of all things electronic. Their coverage of kooky Japanese thingamajigs is out of this world.
His motive: "It's easier than working."
Unhealthy obsession: "Mechanical watches."
His fave: Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net )
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low culture (http://www.lowculture.com )
Subject matter: the bottom rungs of our world
Bloggers: Jean-Paul Tremblay, Matt Haber and Guy Cimbalo
Tremblay says: "We at low culture are incredibly, remarkably solemn, serious and sanctimonious about current events, culture and politics, which sort of makes us that guy in the corner of the room at the dinner party, studying from afar and occasionally yelling out purposeful, important utterances like, `Tim Robbins's work in "Code 46" was exemplary, totally outshining that basement-bound performance in the recent Speilberg film. That's to be expected from any actor working with Michael Winterbottom though. Did you see `In This World'? You know, that semi-fictional film about Afghanistan? You didn't? OK, well, yeah, then. Incidentally, I think pine needles are sharp. Just wanted to share. Yeah. Ok. This is some thrillingly awesome silence, yeah?'"
We say: low culture galvanizingly seperates pop and politics into two handy-dandy columns. As you can see, that doesn't mean this bitingly sarcastic blog is always easy to understand. low culture travels past the superficial but isn't afraid to be silly. And, no, we didn't see "In This World," but we loved what Winterbottom did with the sextastic "9 Songs."
His motive: "To spread the word about this compelling new phenomenon. Did you know, for instance, that it gives voice to the powerless? That old media is dying? Blogblogblogblog!"
Unhealthy obsession: "Invoking the fifth amendment whenever possible."
His face: Torontoist (http://www.torontoist.com )
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PostSecret (http://www.postsecret.com )
Subject matter: shhhhh-worthy art
Blogger: Frank Warren
He says: "PostSecret is a place where strangers from around the world share their soulful, funny, tragic, intimate secrets with each other. The secrets must be submitted on one side of a homemade postcard, they must be true and they must be a revelation that has never been shared with another person. Many of the secrets are illustrated or written on a photograph."
We say: The postcards displayed on Post Secret, updated every Sunday, are both humorous and haunting. One card reads, "I sit in public and pretend to read, but I'm actually eavesdropping on your conversation," while another reveals, "I may smile at older people but I'm thinking, `Why are you alive and my parents are not?'"
His motive: "It is a way the PostSecret art project can reach a larger audience."
Unhealthy obsession: "Monitoring StatCounter to see what countries people are visiting PostSecret from."
His fave: "Still looking..."
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asap staff writer Derrik J. Lang won't tell you about his unhealthy obsessions.
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