Blogrolling in our Time

I've just finished some updates on the "look"here ... Typepad only has a certain number of templates and while it's not as snazzy as other folks' blogs, it's fine for my purposes.  So, I hope you like it, and if you don't, either make a serious offer to pimp my blog, or bite me arse.

One of the things I did was re-vamp the Blogroll - the list of "Cool Blogs". I used to have a one-line description beside each - something to entice you, the reader, to go over and have a look at what these fine writers are doing.  But I found as I read through them that I was being a tad redundant - "Funny" appeared in almost every damn description.  Which they all are, or most of them, anyway.  But at some point, the impact of the word is lost.

So I've done away with all the descriptions and I'll just say that I check out each of these blogs every day, sometimes multiple times a day - and I think everybody should.  All are funny, most are very well written, some are downright brilliant.  I have my favourites, of course ... but I won't try to influence you.  Plus, what am I, stupid?  Most of these people read this blog from time to time and I don't see the gain in hurting somebody's feelings.

I don't use a reader to tell me when there are updates on my favourite blogs because I actually enjoy the physical action of clicking on a bookmark and watching the site appear ... and the little frisson that I get when I see it's something I haven't read yet.  But hey, that's me.  I also won't even look under the Christmas tree for anything with my name on it, lest I see the shape and guess what it is, thereby ruining my own Christmas.

I also note that of the 40 or so blogs I have listed, 31 are written by women.  A cursory glance through my comments indicates that there, too, more than 70% of the entries are from known or suspected members of the female gender.

Does this indicate:

1.)  That I am appealing to women?
2.)  That I am a girly-man?
3.)  That most bloggers and blog-readers are women?
4.)  Women have more to say that is interesting to me?
5.)  What I have to say is more interesting to women than to men?
6.)  All of the above  (except #1, because really, look at me - who am I kidding?)?

I've added some blogs to the list, and I do want to draw your attention to Mows - which is, to me, one of the most clever blogs I've come across on the Internet.  It is written by a dog - an Italian Greyhound named Mouse who is about as literate a dog as you'd ever want to meet.  It can be a little hard to read for we humans - dogs tend to spell phonetically, so it takes perseverance to slog through an entry.  But it never fails to make me laugh out loud, and both my daughters are also addicted to his writing. 

Look, you have time to kill or you wouldn't be hanging around here.  So, go check out some of my friends.  It's really worth the click.

Comments

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

You know damn well why all the women come here...you send out those mass emails promising free samples of tampons and Massengill, and you don't expect to be stampeded by females? Oh, please.

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

Oh, and I had to go look up "frisson" immediately.
It is now my word of the day.
Know that I will annoy everyone in my office with it.

"Did it give you a frisson when you opened your bonus check?"
"Nope, just a hardon."

[Effie]

*Phew* I still made the list....

mows is fun to read when you have a few minutes to think about it!

[suburban misfit]

I do like the new look. It's very masculine.

(There, does that make you feel better about being a girly-man?)

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

I find Mows is easier if you just read it out loud. That's always been my preferred method of Mows translation.

Don't tell him, because he would be skirred, but I have a mad crush on Mows. I'm not usually into the interspecies thing, but...

Hey! That sounds a lot more like a Penthouse Forum letter than anything I put on my site, huh?

[kalki]

Dude, why start being humble now? It's clearly #1.

Although, I do think that #3 is true, at least within the blog circle in which we run laps. And #4 is likely true as well.

Wait, was this a rhetorical question?

[Squirl]

There are very few male bloggers in my bookmarks. I think people with similar interests must group together naturally. Good writing, a sense of humor, and a sense of the absurd are common factors in all of these that I read.

I like the look of your knew blog.

[Davey]

I like the new template - simple yet tasteful... kinda like you.

How's about updating your photo, though, to one that resembles the new svelte you?

[Cyn]

Yes Nils...the photo must go.

[Torrie]

Hey I heard someone was giving away tampons. Am I in the right place?
Super absorbent?

[wordgirl]

New blogger here, but a big enthusiast of many of the sites you list among your favorites.

Back when I started reviewing books, my editor had me analyze the "types" of books that I read. Did I mostly read fiction or non? Were the authors men or women? Were the endings happy or tragic? What was a common theme?

After our discussion, he pulled out a book (with an author that was unknown to me) and said, "Go and read this". Interestingly enough it was a book that, by my own devices, I would have never selected. Yet, it was perfect for me.

Long story short (too late): It probably doesn't matter that your many blogger buddies are women. I mean, I don't think it signifies anything. But it's interesting to ponder.

[whfropera]

:)
new blog = good.

did you get the package I sent over a month ago?

mows rocks, even if he does hate kitties.

[wordgirl]

My Promise: To make your "list" of interesting bloggers. In the meantime, I just posted about Virginia Woolf. Check it out.

[Nils]

Wordgirl - next time I update my blogroll, you'll be on it ... you're already in my bookmarks.

[Closet Metro]

You're not alone: I have 38 blogs in my rss reader - 5 are written by men.

[marit]

Wee! I made the list---and my little dog too!

Have you ever thought that perhaps some of these girls with blogs are really 300 pound black men?

[Nils]

Well, they could be, I suppose. But then again, so could I.

My instincts (honed from years of chat room lurking) tell me that pretty much everyone on my list is who they say they are.

And if they are 300 pound black men, that's fine, too ... as long as a person amuses me, I'm not fussy on shape, size, colour, or gender ...

[Dawn]

Love the new look. Its very masculine and manly, yet appealing to women.
:-)

[Amanda B.]

Happy Turkey Day Nilbo!

[Effie]

Hey--love the new photo Nilbo!!

Happy day-after-American-turkey-and-too-much-stuffing-and-pie-Day

Whasssup?

[William]

I like the new look. And thanks for the reading suggestions. I plan to check them all out if only to see your comments.

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

*regains partial consciousness, rolls over, eats leftovers, passes out again*

[Lori]

Hey Nilbo! Thank you for listing all of those cool blogs. I put some of those links on my site too. I love it that Mows has comments now. Hunter my dog now has a place to vent. Thanks for telling me about that site because, yes, it is one of the most intelligent sites on the net!

By the way...VERY nice picture there...very handsome million dollar smile and beard.

[Ern]

I see London,
I see France...

Well, maybe just London.

I like your new look, and any man who makes stuffed peppers is very appealing to women. Mmmmmmm...

(Someone should poke Bucky with a stick and see if she's still alive)

[Nils]

Ohhh .. she's alive, alright. Trust me.

[JessicaRabbit]

Oh you know why all the ladies come here Mr. is that a bananna in your pants or are you just happy to see me...

[Monique]

I found you, I think, through Laura (Vitaminsea). While I don't get over here daily, I do enjoy that you are a literate and funny blogger.