The Blogs Beneath My Wings

I read lots of blogs. LOTS. Probably around 120. Most, I just glance at and briefly comment to keep up with friends and their doings. Other blogs are about things that I’m not very good at. Like cooking blogs where I drool over the pictures of summer berry crumbles or adorable cupcakes, after which I have to settle for a light string cheese, because I can’t afford things like pancetta, real vanilla beans, or a cast-iron skillet. Photography blogs make me wish I had an artistic eye and a fancy camera so I could take pictures that make lovely people lovelier or capture the late afternoon light in a way that you can’t look at in real life because it’s just too bright.

But then there are THE blogs. The blogs that make me happy. The blogs that keep me blogging. The blogs beneath my wings.

This is Marie. She's a photography and Deaf Studies major. A shared Harry Potter fanaticism brought us together and we have been friends for over seven years. She is the one who told me about and encouraged me to audition for Blogger Idol. If you ever need a biggest fan, well, too bad, because I already got her!

The author of Rie Around the World, her travel photography blog, Marie’s been lucky enough to travel Europe a bit, all over our lovely state of Utah, and she’s saving up for a trip to Estonia next summer. Give her some love!

I met my fellow English major, Tyler, nearly two years ago in African Lit, and he is the man responsible for introducing me to the bottomless reservoir of joy that is Arrested Development. After we both graduated with our degrees (eep!!) last December, he grew up and ran away to teach English in Korea. 

He’s a good teacher and a fantastic writer, but he’s an even better snacker. Which is why his blog about Korean snacks, K-snacks, is such a fun read, because he sort of blurs the line between literature and food, so it’s hard to tell exactly what is meant to be feasted upon, his writing or the edibles that he’s describing. Uncanny. Snack on that.

Emmy, or Emmles, as I like to call her, is also an English major. Intensely private about personal information, she is liberal with English geeky insider information. At Ramblings of a Devoted Bookworm, Emmles reads cool nerdy things, while wearing a fedora, and then she tells everyone about the cool nerdy things she is reading. Or about the fedoras or gothic heels she wants to buy.

Sometimes, she posts funny comics or pictures with witticisms that nerds like me appreciate. It makes me want to be a better reader, because the last thing I wanted to do after I graduated was read. I’m still having trouble wanting to pick up a book, so when the mood strikes me, I go to her blog to get a recommendation. You should probably say hi if you feel like being smarter.

Maeven’s eponymous blog is just an eclectic mix of funny videos, pictures, and comics gleaned from the Internet, self-drawn sketches, scribbles, reminiscings, and the hilarious laugh-out-loud shenanigans that occur in medical school. Seriously, stories the likes of which I can hardly believe occur. Like this one:

Click HERE to read the story behind the doctor (pictured)
heading Maeven's practice nerologic exam.

Like Emmy, she’s also an anonymous mystery, so the possiblities of her identity are endless. ENDLESS. Aside from that intriguing puzzle, Maeven’s is the kind of blog that is just fun. I have such a good time following it, no matter what she writes. It’s just enjoyable, and it makes me want to make sure my blog is just super fun times, regardless of what I post, no matter when someone drops by and reads it.

Cody is my favorite ginger of my entire life. I met him…in my first official English class. Holy crap, do we see a trend here? Sorry. But he doesn’t blog about that stuff. 

No, at Paper Badge you’ll see things like the Top 10 Cutest Cartoon Babies and music ranging from the Muppets to Rihanna to Arcade Fire. Road trips, concerts, football, roller derby, and his Little Orphan Annie Halloween costume (pictured). You probably want to go to his blog and see the rest of those pics because they'll have you in stitches.

Do you like eating challenges? Cody and his roommates had the brilliant idea to down the 50 McNuggets for $9.99 deal in one sitting. They also tried the KFC Double-Down. He's totally disgusting. Hilarious. Eclectic. A genuinely caring dude. You’re never bored reading his blog. However, he doesn’t blog nearly enough, so maybe you could encourage him?

And last, but certainly not least, (drumroll please!), my favorite blog to read of all time: Suzy Krause + the Skyscrapers. Suzy goes by Elena, or maybe Elena goes by Suzy, and I still haven’t figured how that works, even though I’ve been reading her for well over a year. This delightful read is equal parts humor, whimsy, Post-It Note art, way hip music, and Schmaltz Thursdays. 

But the shining accomplishment of Suzy’s blog is her own true original creation—the paper rant.

  

Read the rest of “keeping a conversation alive is harder than keeping a plant alive and that's saying something” 

or the entire collection of paper rants archived at her old blog 

These paper rants are simply insights, people watching, and human behavior condensed and translated into Suzy’s truly beautiful, sophisticated, and endearing version of stick figures and commentary. I only wish I could’ve thought of them first, they’re that amazing! I hope you’ll go and find out for yourself!

It's not an easy thing to narrow six favorites from a pool of 120 blogs, but I tried to highlight the ones that resonate with me, that are appealing and relatable to anybody, that make me glad to be part of the blogosphere. I hope that when you read them, you’ll feel the same way--amused, inspired, and happy!

 

Can't get enough? Drop by Chester the Best-er for additional recommendations.


Judges Comments:

"These blogs/bloggers are great! I love good funny, entertaining blogs. Those seem to be the ones i lean towards more often. Thanks for sharing these! I love the comments you made about each blog and the pictures you added. It really made them more interesting and appealing. "
Erica, from Good Job Momma

"I do like funny blogs and I'm glad you found some ones that you really identify with. That being said, without XKCD on the list, I just can't take lists of comic blogs seriously."
Allison Duncan, from SVALLIE.NET: The Nerd Connection

"How do you all keep doing this? I mean, sharing blogs I have to now add to my reader like... now!

The descriptions and why you like them make it that much more of a necessity to go and check them out. And that is what paying it forward is all about. "
The Dude, from The Daddyyo Blog