Blogroll

by

by publius

As I mentioned in a prior thread’s comments, I cleaned up the sidebar on the left by essentially removing most of the links (I essentially made “Hilzoy’s” to “Blogroll” and removed everything else, just as a starting point). This was just a first step, not a final one.

So without further ado, the floor is open for suggestions from the larger ObWi community about what links to add to the blogroll. If your own blog was removed, please let me know that too. Also, please don’t limit the suggestions to liberal blogs. Thanks for the help.

109 thoughts on “Blogroll”

  3. Does this mean that the 48 hour grace period is over?
    You may want to check into sidebar widgets that permit pulldown menus rather than the list.
    I liked the idea that there was a separate list of regular commentators blogs that was separate from a bloglist of what people were reading.
    A mashup feed of the blogs recommended might be cool. see here and here for some possibilities.

  4. that’s a good idea lj.
    my only question is whether asking for the extra step to show the dropdown menu is too much (i.e., wouldnt’ a lot more people visit if just left them visible?)

  6. This is a bit OT but…um…this blog’s template is…uh….ancient. Just sayin’
    I’m sure if you held some sort of contest, web designers from around the world and beyond would be delighted to submit high-quality entries…..

  9. If Lawyers, Guns and Money doesn’t find its way onto that blogroll, there’ll be trouble.
    We don’t play nice.

  13. This is the first blog I check everyday, and from here I used the blogroll to check Balloon Juice, Matt Yglesias, Ezra Klein and Kevin Drum.
    Klein still has a spot on there, and I can understand why Balloon Juice would be dropped off (it’s good fun but definitely a different kind of content than most of the others), but I think Yglesias and Drum are worthy of spots on there.

  14. Jackmormon must be forced at mousepoint to blog.
    I then demand she be added to the blogroll one way or the other.

  15. I had a blogroll link under the old “backscratch” category. If you’re planning to bring that one back, I’d appreciate being included again.

  18. bw – there was quite literally no editorial judgment involved — removing the different categories as described was done purely for administratie convenience. I will absolutely have Balloon Juice up there – John Cole is one of the best people ever.

  20. Kevin Drum and the Great Orange Satan should probably be put back on, as should Crooks and Liars for their video feeds alone. [And maybe only.] John Cole and Jim Henley as well, representing the non-crazy conservative/libertarian set; I’d suggest more devotedly conservative sites except that, well, all the ones I know are batsh**. [Would love to find ones which aren’t, though.] Ummm… Arthur Silber, like Gary, could use both links and ducats.
    Let me also suggest alicublog and Sadly, No! if those are your cuppa, though they might be too… pugnacious for the blogroll here. Tbogg too, though I’m unconvinced by his new FDL digs.

  21. I’d add my voice to those above promoting Matthew Yglesias and Balloon Juice. They are, with Obsidian Wings, my favorite blogs out there, though I also agree that Balloon Juice is on average less measured of tone than Obsidian Wings.
    Another obvious couple from the Overlooked Juggernauts department are Andrew Sullivan and Talking Points Memo. Especially the former, which was kind enough to invite Hilzoy to guest-blog on at least one occasion. Or do I have that backwards, and the extra blogging load was an imposition?
    Some others worth considering:
    The American Prospect’s group blog TAPPED
    Lawyers, Guns, and Money
    Mark Kleiman et al. at SameFacts
    P.S. Don’t think I didn’t contemplate suggesting that Obsidian Wings should include, in its blogroll, Obsidian Wings …

  22. “(I essentially made ‘Hilzoy’s’ to ‘Blogroll’ and removed everything else, just as a starting point)”
    I only have a could of minutes here, but might I asked why on earth you’d remove the “Shared” blogs, which were the ones so universally liked by Hilzoy and all the other blogowners that they were the ones that everyone agreed upon?
    I don’t understand the logic followed there.

  23. With apologies to Fermat, I have discovered authored a truly marvellous proof of this comment regarding the blogroll, which this margin blog’s Spam definition is too narrow to contain permit.
    Ah well, I’m sure the moderators will see the comment and treat it at least well as it deserves.

  24. “You may want to check into sidebar widgets that permit pulldown menus rather than the list.”
    Speaking as an owner of a blog, I hate those, because it’s a fact that one gets almost no hits from them, because they’re effectively invisible and demonstrably almost never used.
    A blogroll is also an advertisement for the blogs on it. When it’s hidden from view, it works as well as most invisible ads.

  25. my only question is whether asking for the extra step to show the dropdown menu is too much
    probably, but if you’ve got a huge number (as it seems to be shaping up), you might still have this problem and a few drop down menus might reduce it. The question of categorization is always a problem, and the standard blogroll way is to think up some witty names for your divisions. I’d certainly suggest a drop down menu for regular commentators blogs, unless they would prefer to be with the big dogs, because I think a list like that might serve to reinforce community. I’d also suggest a pull down list of blogs that aim to provide assistance/aid might help highlight them in a good way.
    Also, fafblog

  30. http://joshua.trevino.at/
    On occasion, you’ll want to read what Josh writes. You may even agree with him.
    http://theforvm.org/
    Where the old Tacitus.org crew is hiding (Harley, Macallan, Timmy the Wonder Dog [now just Timmy], Bernard Guerrero, luisalegria, Traveller, etc.)
    http://www.counterrenaissance.com/
    And not just because I’m supposed to have a hand in it. Eventually. (It’s just starting up & far from complete.)
    Second Belgravia Dispatch … if Dj-man ever posts again, that is.
    DailyKos and Redstate: get your partisanship on.

  33. von: I delinked to josh a while back, after he set his site up to redirect all links from here. I figured that it wasn’t worth setting people up to be redirected to I forget which page saying something like “you are an idiot.”

  34. I figured that it wasn’t worth setting people up to be redirected to I forget which page saying something like “you are an idiot.”
    That’s funny! Instapundit, The Corner people, etc are all idiots, too, according to some people. Jonah Goldberg is especially stupid. Some people say on this very blog, “I never read anything he says.”
    Ace of Spades is a complete idiot. Must confess that I readnow and then.

  35. GroupNewsBlog, Driftglass, WelcometoPottersville, BrilliantatBreakfast, and MoonofAlabama are all daily stops for me.

  36. A teensy suggestion: “The CarpetBagger Report” ought to be alphabetized under C, and ditto the other blogs that begin with “The.”

  38. DaveC, what on earth are you talking about?
    What hilzoy is referring to is a configuration that Trevino made on his servers whereby links to his servers that come from OW (i.e., have an http referrer set to OW) get automatically redirected to a spacial page on his blog that says “You’re an idiot”. It is ridiculously immature behavior that shuts down all discussion. hilzoy is right: why should OW have a link that Trevino’s sites will automatically redirect to a page insulting OW readers that what to read what Trevino has to say? If Trevino doesn’t want to have a conversation, there’s no sense talking to him.

  40. Wait, Fafblog isn’t linked already? Well damn. No question: it’s a Fafnecessity!
    Randoms: The Oil Drum is always worth a read, even if it’s sometimes dry. Juan Cole, Abu Aardvark and The Lounsbury for things Arabic. Making Light and Hitherby Dragons for literary (and all-around) wonderment. I can rustle around for some specific math-blogging — the general caliber of math-blogging isn’t particularly high, which is odd because there are plenty of decent mathematicians blogging — but even the top-level Scienceblogs is indispensible. [Uncertain Principles, Pharyngula, Aetiology and Deltoid and my usual stops of choice.] Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention Magistra Et Mater, which is a veritable haven of mediaevalist excellence.
    PS: DaveC already linked to it, cleek.

  41. DaveC, it’s the difference between saying someone is an idiot versus going up to them, pointing to a imaginary spot on their shirt and when they look down, flicking their nose and then telling them they are an idiot. Both may be disrespectful, but the latter should be reserved for the lower half of elementary school.

  42. Horse’s Ass
    Naked Capitalism
    who is IOZ
    Sadly, No!
    Beat The Press (Dean Baker)
    EconoSpeak
    A Tiny Revolution
    Dennis Perrin
    I am still in mourning for the demise of MaxSpeak!

  43. Balloon Juice, Crooked Timber, GroupNewsBlog, CalculatedRisk. My own toothsome favorite at present is TheHousingBubbleBlog but I must admit it’s a guilty pleasure.
    Anyone run across good blogs in other languages? We have enough international people here I’d like to see some non-English suggestions.

  46. I do think it’s funny that “opened minded people” will not link to “teh brutes”. True, I didn’t see the Trevino thing, but as you know, the more subtle unwillingness to acknowledge other peoples’ POV is not lost on me. Typically I have to rant and get the “OhMyGodHowCouldDaveCsaySuchaThing” responses in order to get people here to even consider how everyday, run-of-the-mill guys think about things.
    My 2cents, and I’m pretty busy w/ real-life stuff. If you want to get the give and take from one guy, look at LT Nixon, who will hopefully be back in the USofA soon, and think “I’m tired of all that blogging crap”.
    If he goes away, I understand it, but he has been one of the best blogs recently.
    Dutchmarbel, I think LT Nixon is kind of hot for you. Just saying.

  47. DaveC,
    I don’t think you understand why hilzoy doesn’t want to link to Trevino. I think it has nothing to do with his political beliefs or whether or not he’s a brute: it has to do with the fact that HE HAS CONFIGURED HIS BLOG TO SHUT OUT OW READERS.

  51. BTW, rekindling the “Backscratch” section for regular lurkers/occasional commenters isn’t a bad idea…

  52. I’m surprised Eric hasn’t mentioned it: but the OW blogroll really ought to have a link to that brilliantly insightful foreign-policy blog: American Footprints – a “mustn’t miss” for everyone’s day!

  53. I don’t think you understand why hilzoy doesn’t want to link to Trevino.
    Actually I think he understands perfectly well.
    Hey, I’ll put in a plug for Adventus. Kind of a niche perspective on things, but worth a look.
    Thanks –

  54. http://joshua.trevino.at/
    On occasion, you’ll want to read what Josh writes.

    This has yet to happen to me.
    On a more positive note: “Second Belgravia Dispatch”
    Yes, certainly.
    “DailyKos and Redstate: get your partisanship on.”
    Why bother? Are there many ObWi readers unaware of those two blogs? Do they not get enough publicity? Why not instead link to some lesser-known blogs, rather than add a link to blogs everyone already knows about?

  57. I recommend Abu Muqawama for great apolitical insight on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. My favorite right-leaning blogs are Hot Air and Gateway Pundit. My favorite lefty blog is Crooks and Liars, mostly because it has videos you can download.
    DaveC,
    I have no life, ergo I’m not going away anytime soon. Thanks for the rec, but ObWi is the sublime and my blog is in the gutter. haha.

  58. Any other milbloggers to recommend?
    [Oh, and Randy Paul too, seeing as how he was a casualty…]

  60. http://joshua.trevino.at/
    On occasion, you’ll want to read what Josh writes.
    I don’t know, I kind of started to have second thoughts about this guy when he tried to convince me that throwing nuns off helicopters after having tortured them (as the Honduran secret police did) was a legitimate tactic in the fight against communism. And then there was the time when he advocated turning large swathes of Iraq into a British style Boer war concentration camp. His vile temper and predilection for below the belt ad hominem attacks didn’t help either.

  64. There’s this guy, let’s see, Edward something…Winkleman, that’s it. Edward Winkelman. He’s got an interesting blog.
    😉

  68. I don’t know, I kind of started to have second thoughts about this guy when…
    Yeah, same here.
    Seriously, does anyone know what the hell came over Trevino? He used to be kind of a thoughtful guy, now it’s all “The Song Of Roland” and will to power crap.
    The piece about his cat dying was kind of beautiful, though, if a bit overwrought.
    OK, enough hating on Trevino from me. For today, anyway.
    I recommend Abu Muqawama for great apolitical insight on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Lebanon.
    Seconded. Thirded even.
    Thanks –

  69. von: I delinked to josh a while back, after he set his site up to redirect all links from here. I figured that it wasn’t worth setting people up to be redirected to I forget which page saying something like “you are an idiot.”
    Ahh. Didn’t realize that.

  70. Why bother? Are there many ObWi readers unaware of those two blogs? Do they not get enough publicity? Why not instead link to some lesser-known blogs, rather than add a link to blogs everyone already knows about?
    There is another perspective, Gary. A lot of folks use a blogroll as an easy way to do their blog-rounds. I certainly do that: I come to ObWi first thing in the morning, and then use the roll at lef t to check out all the blogs that I ordinary review. I use ObWi as my blog “gateway.” I am probably not the only one.
    Thus, there is a reason to list well-known blogs in addition to lesser known ones. If most people click on popular blog X a couple times per day, it makes sense for ObWi to put popular blog X on its sidebar because it encourages such folks to use ObWi as their gateway. This increases the number of people checking ObWi regularly. If popular blog X is not on the sidebar, such folks are more inclined to use some other blog as their gateway.
    I have no idea how many people use ObWi as a gateway (like I do) or how many will change if their favorite blogs — which are also likely to include the more popular blogs — aren’t around. I do know that it’s pretty cost free, however, to include RedState, DailyKos, Instapundit, and the like on the blogroll.

  71. Lance Mannion is middle-aged, funny, wise, and equally likely to do straight politics, or to sidle up to his thorough critiques of the media/McCain/campaign-nonsense/bad-history by way of discussing a movie or television show. Or he’ll write about relationships or John Adams or Shakespeare, and make Romeo and Juliet interesting to me for the only time ever. He’s superb.
    Bats Left Throws Right is to me the funniest left-wing site going: far more grumpy, complex, hypereducated, and hyper-educational in its ranting than any of the (often excellent) competition.
    I completely second the endorsement of Jim Henley and company’s Unqualified Offerings for intelligent and amusing left-libertarian perspectives.
    It’s David Brin, though — brilliant science fiction author turned political/cultural essaysist — who first made me aware that self-described libertarians could be intelligent, empathetic, Democrat-voting, and not blinded (or even impressed) by Ayn Rand. He’s excellent at catching themes, news stories, and explanations that the left blogosphere would miss: partly because he’s a contrarian, partly because he’s keeping abreast of high-tech and futurist discussions, partly because relating to current events as an amateur historian seems to be second-nature to him.
    Mutualist Blog is academic but readable, passionately anti-government, passionately anti-corporate, communitarian, anarchist, and seems designed to try and change your/my life. A recent discovery of mine, so I don’t know if it will succeed, but I’m happy to let it try.
    Bouphonia is an excellent liberal blog with strong enviro and feminist leanings, and often gives environmental and technological news (some of it hopeful) that I’d never find otherwise.
    Bradford Plumer is an excellent liberal blog that, again, seems to focus on important stories that everyone else is missing.

  72. Lance Mannion is middle-aged, funny, wise, and equally likely to do straight politics, or to sidle up to his thorough critiques of the media/McCain/campaign-nonsense/bad-history by way of discussing a movie or television show. Or he’ll write about relationships or John Adams or Shakespeare, and make Romeo and Juliet interesting to me for the only time ever. He’s superb.
    Bats Left Throws Right is to me the funniest left-wing site going: far more grumpy, complex, hypereducated, and hyper-educational in its ranting than any of the (often excellent) competition.
    I completely second the endorsement of Jim Henley and company’s Unqualified Offerings for intelligent and amusing left-libertarian perspectives.
    It’s David Brin, though — brilliant science fiction author turned political/cultural essaysist — who first made me aware that self-described libertarians could be intelligent, empathetic, Democrat-voting, and not blinded (or even impressed) by Ayn Rand. He’s excellent at catching themes, news stories, and explanations that the left blogosphere would miss: partly because he’s a contrarian, partly because he’s keeping abreast of high-tech and futurist discussions, partly because relating to current events as an amateur historian seems to be second-nature to him.
    Mutualist Blog is academic but readable, passionately anti-government, passionately anti-corporate, communitarian, anarchist, and seems designed to try and change your/my life. A recent discovery of mine, so I don’t know if it will succeed, but I’m happy to let it try.
    Bouphonia is an excellent liberal blog with strong enviro and feminist leanings, and often gives environmental and technological news (some of it hopeful) that I’d never find otherwise.
    Bradford Plumer is an excellent liberal blog that, again, seems to focus on important stories that everyone else is missing.

  73. http://www.realclimate.org/ is an essential reference for global climate change discussions and science. You really do get the folks writing the primary science describing the state of matters for a lay audience, and there is no comparable resource elsewhere.

  75. The one daily read for me that is not on the blogroll currently is Convictions (Slate’s new blog).
    In the interest of blogwhoring, I like my own (just started back up).

  76. Ad my blog to your blogroll.
    My writing sucks so bad that you will look like Hemingway by comparison, and my predictions are so frequently wrong, you can use me as a reverse barometer.
    At least, there is symmetry.

  78. Thanks Jay C.
    Newshoggers. That’s a great blog.
    Tbogg too. Alicublog.
    Definitely LT Nixon.
    Abu Muquwama and Aquol.
    Army of Dude is a great millblog as well.
    Attackerman.
    Needlenose.
    Wonk Room (Think Progress’s blog where you get all the Matt Duss your heart desires)
    Whirled View (the fabulous Cheryl Rofer and others)
    So many more….

  79. A lot of folks use a blogroll as an easy way to do their blog-rounds. I certainly do that: I come to ObWi first thing in the morning, and then use the roll at lef t to check out all the blogs that I ordinary review.
    I also–or, rather, used to–do that with the ObWi blogroll.
    (To work around the ‘streamlining’, I’ve saved the cached version of the ObWi front page, which, at least for now, still has the old roll up.)
    Oh, and I second SamChevre’s recommendation of Tiny Cat Pants. Aunt B is teh awesome.

  80. I’ve just skimmed comments and I’m trying not to duplicate.
    Calculated Risk.
    Irvine Housing Blog.
    Brad DeLong.
    Ezra Klein.
    The great blue satan aka Atrios
    Kevin Drum
    Crooked Timber
    I agree with Von about using ObWi as a gateway, so a well-thought out blogroll is very useful.
    What do you think of thematic grouping? Liberal Politics / Conservative Politics / Humor & Snark / Law / Libertarianism / Economics / Milbloggers etc.
    It won’t be perfect, but it would probably encourage me to visit blogs i’ve otherwise never made it to.

  81. “Seriously, does anyone know what the hell came over Trevino? He used to be kind of a thoughtful guy, now it’s all “The Song Of Roland” and will to power crap.”
    He drank the Kool-Aid. And it makes me sad.

  82. I specifically think we shouldn’t break it in to conservative/liberal politics. In keeping with the theme of the blog, it would be best to leave it as ‘politics’ worth reading. Otherwise, groupings sound good to me.

  86. Slightly OT and excuse the hijack, but does anyone have some links to blogs with good blogrolls that focus on culture, e.g. art, literature, music, comics, film, aesthetics, lit-crit, anthropology and so on?
    Cheers

  89. How’s about a not-updated-regularly blog on fatherhood (e.g. daddyology.com)?
    😉
    Other than that, most folks have already listed my faves (Carpetbagger and tbogg).

  91. I tried recommending some overlooked-so-far (I think) sites with links and descriptions, and my comment got flagged as probable Spam. So I guess I’ll just list names:
    Lance Mannion
    Bats Left Throws Right
    Contrary Brin
    Mutualist Blog
    Bradford Plumer
    Unqualified Offerings
    James Woolcott

  93. Henry Jenkins has an interesting blog about culture, fandom, and society, but no blogroll, alas.
    I am conflicted about reccing my usual fare in cultural commentary, because most of it is on livejournal.com and feels less “public” than the political blogosphere.
    But I will definitely recommend Girls Read Comics for a different insight into comics than you may usually get.

  96. This is blog-pimping (like blog-whoring, only on behalf of someone close, rather than oneself), but I’d like to second Anarch’s nomination of Magistra et Mater. Unique – genuinely unique – combination of medi(a)eval history, leftish British politics, and musings on motherhood.

  99. does anyone have some links to blogs with good blogrolls that focus on culture
    Destination Out is really good for modern day and/or free jazz. Good blogroll, including links to the home sites of lots of working jazz players.
    The music links are, perhaps, not recommended for those who startle easily.
    But there’s lots of good writing.
    Thanks –

  101. You’re welcome, Gary. I was hesitant to put your name on it because I wasn’t 100% sure that it was, in fact, yours.

  103. Typically I have to rant and get the “OhMyGodHowCouldDaveCsaySuchaThing” responses in order to get people here to even consider how everyday, run-of-the-mill guys think about things.
    THe rest of us, of course, are all monarchs of Europe. DaveC is the only everyday, run-of-the-mill guy around here.
    Don’t flatter yourself, toots. If you’re the everyday, run-of-the-mill guy, I’m moving to Australia.

  104. Phil, only true everyday, run-of-the-mill guys understand that the best way to get people to consider how you think about things is to accuse them of treason. After that, they’re bound to be more open to you future arguments, if you ever remember to come back and make them.

  107. Ooh! Forgot languagelog! Good stuff that.
    Also, a suggestion: in addition to (y)our other regular features — which reminds me, we haven’t had a poetry thread in a while — can I suggest a, say, Bimonthly Blogroll Thread? That way we can add new additions to the ‘sphere as they arise, instead of waiting several months/years to hear about them.

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