The blog roll has been updated. It was time to do so.
FREQUENTLY READ BLOGS
Those blogs which I read anywhere from daily basis to once in a blue moon have, of course, been kept (the dailies, in the order in which I read them: Dovbear, Steg, Jameel, Search for Emes, Treppenwits, Midianite Manna).
A few blogs have been added - not all of them are j-blogs, but trust me, they're all kosher - heck, they don't come any koshererderererererer).
[I particularly recommend that if your name is Graham, Spiros, or Steg, you start visiting Shapeless and Cofusing Monstrosity (http://shapelessandconfusingmonstrosity.blogspot.com/).]
Some blogs have been removed. I no longer read them, and in one or two cases the links had become pointless due to inaccessibility or the author's hibernation or stugheid.
MANGA
One link has been added that is by no means a blog - onemanga, for the best in modern Japanese literature. If you are a teenage bocher, or uptight about tz'nua, you might want to avoid it....... OR, on the other hand, plunge right into that site (depending on your level of internal conflict and hormonal angst, I guess).
I can recommend some fine ecchi stuff, but after a while you'll probably discover that the best reading is manga with a teenage female protagonista, perhaps some mild fanservice (panty shots, non-photo realistic breasts, thighs), a high-school as part of the story environment, and a lot of character development and humour. A strong story-line and a boffo set-up are also very important. Romantic manga can be fun, often not so much in the standard boy-girl (or girl-girl) developing-love sense as the boy-girl (or girl-girl) seething-dislike category. Any manga in which the sentence "aack, you pervert!" occurs is worth investigating.
Please note that in much girl-meets-girl manga there will be less fanservice (if any), gentler humour, more character development, plus more sweetness, than in stuff aimed at teenage boys and salary-men. Consequently it is far more rewarding to read.
If it occurs, the occasional groped gland is icing on the cake (and may actually be accidental).
[Seasoned lesbians may find the heroine's vulnerability irritating, but it is quite Japanese - hard edges discourage the reader's feeling for the character and make for an unsympathetic story. For more on the girl-meets-girl category, please see the link to the Yuri Blog.]
NEWS SITES
Just for the heck of it, I've also included a list of news-sites. These should not be seen as 'blogger-approved news dispensers' so much as mutually balancing sources, perusal of which will give a broad-spectrum view and a surfeit of stomach acid.
Some of the news-sites are in Dutch: Algemeen Dagblad, Gazet van Antwerpen, NRC Handelsblad, Parool, Trouw, Volkskrant.
The first one mentioned, if you read Dutch and are capable of civilized thought, is guaranteed to eventually give you headaches and heartburn.
If, on the other hand, you are a normal Dutchman, what are you doing reading this?
MUTTAWA
The link to the Muttawa blogspot has been left on the blog roll. Yes, he hasn't written anything since June of 2006, but he is still the model for bloggers from his part of the world, his writing has humour, eloquence, and point, and he is very much worth rereading.
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THE PRICE OF EGGS
Despite the pervasive gloom in Democratic circles, and the giddy intoxicated optimism in the Republican, neo-Nazi, Fascist, and Authoritaria...
6 comments:
Thanks for your hope!
I'm honored.
No comments on the Kissinger song?
What can I say. I miss him.
Aw man, that's a lot of pressure. Now I feel like i have to actually update my blog! ;)
The end of muttawa blog is a sad story. I believe in the end he was forced to choose between his family's safety and his own freedom of expression. It says all you need to know about the sad state of KSA that even from abroad, he felt had to stop blogging to protect his family.
Beachhutman,
You are absolutely right. It stands to the credit of the Arabs and the Muslims that despite the dangers of blogging, despite the dangers of taking stands or disagreeing with their leaders, there are still people who speak, who write. The anti-blogging campaign in Egypt and KSA, as well as the very real dangers of political speech in Syria and Lebanon, make it a miracle that such people ever existed, and illustrate why there are so few of them still blogging.
It isn't just personal fear - that is easily overcome - it is fear for everyone around you. Anonymity is safest for orphans.
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