I've been thinking a lot about blogging lately. I've been wondering whether or not it's worth my time to continue having a blog. I've been contemplating what makes a blog worthwhile, and I've been realizing that the answer is interesting content (duh). Whether or not I have that, I don't know. I don't think I do, but google analytics tells me I have 7 to 9 unique visitor each month that come directly to drone alone. I take that to mean a handful of loyal readers interested to read what I have to write. And what I do publish is not nearly enough. Ten posts a year? Maybe? I like to think that I have a blog to practice writing, which is true, but that's not the whole truth. I keep thinking that I will conceive a project that will set the blogging part of my brain on fire, and the result will be hundreds of posts of material, but I'm too critical of myself to publish my words without a second thought. I often reread my old posts and cringe. I must stifle the urge to delete them because that's not the point. Also, the writing exercises I do publish receive no feedback other than, "Oh, hey, I read that thing you wrote. It was good," which is nice, but isn't helpful.
I keep thinking that I should use this space for autobiographical content, as a journal, but I'm a secretive person, and all the stuff I think would be interesting is not stuff I feel comfortable sharing in this public forum. All the other stuff is stuff that I don't think anyone would think is very interesting.
While I find my own blog painfully inadequate, there are a handful of blogs that I follow regularly. All of them are by dudes, and all of them are artist of sorts: two are writers, two are visual artists, and one falls somewhere in between. Why exactly they are interesting, I don't know. I wish I could distill what makes their blogs successful. I think it has to do with the personae that comes through in their content.
Whenever I click a link to a blog I've never read, besides reading the most recent posts, I always go back and read the archives. I always go back and read the very first post on the blog to see how these people introduced themselves. (My very first post is here.) If the initial posts are interesting enough, I'll continue reading through the archives as well as subsequent new posts. What follows are five blogs that I follow.
Alec-Longstreth.com
I went to high school with this guy, and then we graduated. Ten years later I saw him one christmas at a movie theater. I've been reading his blog ever since. He's a comics artist and his dedication to his craft is inspiring. Makes me want to be a better person.
Joe.My.God
This guy is an uber-popular blogger from New York named Joe. His blog these days is primarily focused on politics, but his early stuff was what he called "short stories", but they're more like autobiographical essays. Memoirs. He's like a butcher version of David Sedaris. He's alternately hilarious and heartbreaking and has an impeccable eye for detail. Any young gay person who wants some insight into what the previous gay generation had to overcome in the battle with HIV/AIDS should read his stuff.
Toothless Alcoholic
This guy's name is David Kramer. He's a visual artist and father from Brooklyn. I first started reading his blog after his writing appeared on a New York Times blog about alcohol. I like his artwork and have commented on his blog a few times. He followed me back to the Clandestine Logbook and commented on my drawings (he gave favorable reviews). I seemed to have jumped on his bandwagon right as he was going from obscurity to recognition. I wish I could experience the same thing, but unfortunately I haven't dedicated myself to any career.
Where's Wetzler
So this guy's name is Mark Wetzler. He's from the Seattle area, but right now he's in Alaska. I first got linked to his blog by the Stranger where he worked as an intern. He hated it. He also speaks Spanish, seems to have decent taste in books and music and is an aspiring writer. I'm actually a big fan of his writing, but I can't tell him that because his blog has no comments. His writing is funny in a Chuck Klosterman sort of way. I just you all to know that when he becomes a big shot writer, I can say that I linked to him first.
Sissydude Warning! Contains pornography!
I know nothing about the proprietor of this blog accept that he's a graphic designer or something. This blog contains virtually no writing. It is all visual content. And while it does contain porno, it is not typical internet porn. It's mostly vintage homoerotica and other gayish ephemera. There is a thread of humor that subverts the sleaziness. The aesthetic of the whole site transcends gay kitsch and becomes something sublime. Every few weeks or so he designs a new masthead, and this is my favorite part of the blog because somehow he defines his aesthetic each time while each time creating something unique. Most of all he is prolific, filling up his blog with hundreds of posts a month. It's a fun blog to scroll through and say "Where the fuck does he find this stuff?"
While I find my own blog painfully inadequate, there are a handful of blogs that I follow regularly. All of them are by dudes, and all of them are artist of sorts: two are writers, two are visual artists, and one falls somewhere in between. Why exactly they are interesting, I don't know. I wish I could distill what makes their blogs successful. I think it has to do with the personae that comes through in their content.
Whenever I click a link to a blog I've never read, besides reading the most recent posts, I always go back and read the archives. I always go back and read the very first post on the blog to see how these people introduced themselves. (My very first post is here.) If the initial posts are interesting enough, I'll continue reading through the archives as well as subsequent new posts. What follows are five blogs that I follow.
Alec-Longstreth.com
I went to high school with this guy, and then we graduated. Ten years later I saw him one christmas at a movie theater. I've been reading his blog ever since. He's a comics artist and his dedication to his craft is inspiring. Makes me want to be a better person.
Joe.My.God
This guy is an uber-popular blogger from New York named Joe. His blog these days is primarily focused on politics, but his early stuff was what he called "short stories", but they're more like autobiographical essays. Memoirs. He's like a butcher version of David Sedaris. He's alternately hilarious and heartbreaking and has an impeccable eye for detail. Any young gay person who wants some insight into what the previous gay generation had to overcome in the battle with HIV/AIDS should read his stuff.
Toothless Alcoholic
This guy's name is David Kramer. He's a visual artist and father from Brooklyn. I first started reading his blog after his writing appeared on a New York Times blog about alcohol. I like his artwork and have commented on his blog a few times. He followed me back to the Clandestine Logbook and commented on my drawings (he gave favorable reviews). I seemed to have jumped on his bandwagon right as he was going from obscurity to recognition. I wish I could experience the same thing, but unfortunately I haven't dedicated myself to any career.
Where's Wetzler
So this guy's name is Mark Wetzler. He's from the Seattle area, but right now he's in Alaska. I first got linked to his blog by the Stranger where he worked as an intern. He hated it. He also speaks Spanish, seems to have decent taste in books and music and is an aspiring writer. I'm actually a big fan of his writing, but I can't tell him that because his blog has no comments. His writing is funny in a Chuck Klosterman sort of way. I just you all to know that when he becomes a big shot writer, I can say that I linked to him first.
Sissydude Warning! Contains pornography!
I know nothing about the proprietor of this blog accept that he's a graphic designer or something. This blog contains virtually no writing. It is all visual content. And while it does contain porno, it is not typical internet porn. It's mostly vintage homoerotica and other gayish ephemera. There is a thread of humor that subverts the sleaziness. The aesthetic of the whole site transcends gay kitsch and becomes something sublime. Every few weeks or so he designs a new masthead, and this is my favorite part of the blog because somehow he defines his aesthetic each time while each time creating something unique. Most of all he is prolific, filling up his blog with hundreds of posts a month. It's a fun blog to scroll through and say "Where the fuck does he find this stuff?"
