It's the new black!

I love blogging!

I know I have said it many times before, but blogging keeps me sane. How else could I off-load the maelstrom of ideas that occupies my ever-inquisitive mind, how could I satisfy my desire to write stuff down for posterity, and how else could I share (and store) this cornucopia of junk than with a blog?

I know sometimes it seems like a lonely business, when you can see statistics that show that there are people who read your stuff but nobody has left a comment. If you are bothered, of course. I know that compared to, say, Facebook, the interaction is not constant and some people don't like it like that.

But that is exactly the point, dear reader. The main reason I do not entertain something as trivial as Facebook (nor indeed MySpace any more - where at one stage I felt a sense of a community of artistic interests until one day someone turned it into a tragic "FB-lite" shell of pointlessness) is that I like structure. I like constructing my own environment, one that I can populate or "decorate" to my heart's content. I like creative space. I hate random, pointless, compulsively streaming chit-chat with people I don't know or, more importantly, don't care about. I have even less time for the pea-brained "let's précis everything" mentality that gave the world Twitter. I'm sure all these sites have their uses, but...

I chose Blogger completely at random when trying to find a solution to my attempt to move my blog away from MySpazz. Of the two main contenders - WordPress and this one, I reasoned that I preferred the stability of something that already belonged to a giant such as Google. At least it might not just "disappear" overnight as did Geocities when it was trampled on by Yahoo. [I hope that my gamble was correct, given the "Big G"'s recent attempt to piss on FB's fireworks with Google+, and its closure of several services such as Sidewiki and Google Labs, but I digress]. I know there are others, including Tumblr, that purport to offer "blogging" but to me they just look like sexy Noticeboards.

Anyway - the point of all this?

I want to share with you some of the delights and joys of other brilliant minds out there in (the tackily-named) "Blogosphere", with a series that focuses on the best of the best blogs/bloggers I regularly visit, and who have provided me with the ammunition and inspiration to carry on.

Today's chosen ones, in no particular order...



1) Thombeau is possibly the most prolific blogger I have ever encountered. From my first discovery of the rarified delights of the now defunct Planet Fabulon, and the more recently closed Chateau Thombeau, I realised I was not alone in my obsession with Hollywood and showbiz divas, vintage photography, peculiar foreign television programmes, bizarre artworks, gay history and hats! Latterly the Queen of Bloggers has unleashed a couple more projects, roughly divided between the esoteric at form is void, the surreal at Wunderkammer, and the glitteringly whimsical world of TV song and dance spectaculars at The Redundant Variety Hour. He is an inspiration to us all!



2) Deep Dish - groovy gay pop culture (to give it its full title) is a real joy to visit. Its curator Marc is not merely a "man-flesh addict" (which is always joyful), but also a theatrical, cultural and musical afficianado. He regularly hosts competitions - I recently won a copy of MegaBabs' new album in one of his prize draws - votes (for "Dish of the Day", "fantasy dinner party" guests or favourite obscure songs from the Hit Parade) and other interactive gems. I love my daily dose of Dish!



3) Post-Apocalyptic Bohemian is a lovely trip into the world of Stephen, his husband and dogs, in the wilds of the American Northwest. If you like antiques, interior design, flea-markets and occasional tid-bits of theatrical gossip, as well as comprehensive biographies of famous gay people, all written in a laid-back conversational style - then why not pay a visit?



4) Stirred, Straight Up, With a Twist was one of my favourite blogs for a long while (and a serious competitor to Thombeau), but has been scarily quiet of late. I hope everything is OK. However, in his magnificent heyday curator TJB entertained the unworthy masses with his own particular obsessions - photos of screen beauties of the 30s, 40s and 50s, quotes, fashion, gossip, bitchiness and major campery of the highest order. Although the blog as it exists is one of the finest archives on the interweb, I sincerely hope he swooshes back in with some more soon...

I will be highlighting many more of my favourite blogs over the coming weeks (months?), a few at a time.

And why not?

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[2019 NOTE: ONLY DEEP DISH IS LEFT STANDING!]