thinking (and funny) bloggers

Considering I've had my nose to the grindstone for weeks now and haven't had time/headspace for any reflective thoughts -- and therefore posts -- I was quite surprised to check out one of my own favourite places for insight and perspective, Bibi's Beat, and discover she'd given me a Thinking Blogger's Award. My immediate reaction was that there had been some mistake, followed by the normal run of suspicion, blame, and, ultimately, acceptance. (Just kidding, Vicki ~ and who paid you..?) Since I'd pretty much run out of gas over here anyway, I was just thrilled to have something to write about. Thanks for that, too, Vicki.

But which five of my regular blog reads would I choose? In my current narrowly-focused way I've mostly only been reading art blogs for the past couple of months, and though they're endlessly fascinating for me, don't really fit the criteria. So after scrolling through my blogroll I decided to change the rules a bit and choose blogs (a) that I've been reading for awhile (staying power!) and (b) are where I go for a bit of a laugh. It's been written that a good sense of humour is a by-product of intelligence. I'm not saying that all intelligent people have a sense of humour (if only...); I am saying that all funny people are intelligent, and there is usually more than a thread of something deeper underlying their humorous reflections on the world.

Of course funny people can also be very complex (read: self-centred bastards) so sometimes they quit reading my blog. You know who you are. But I forgive you anyway. I give you:

1. Kyknoord of The Other Side Of The Mountain ~ One of the first blogs I ever read, I have been a loyal admirer of the razor-sharp wit of Kyknoord for almost two years. He writes about his personal life in a way in which Shakespeare would approve: tragedy and comedy seamlessly intertwined. He also keeps his picture of himself to himself. I'm guessing that this guy, from his Flickr site, is him. (And this is how I get you back for getting a digital SLR before me, you cad.)

2. Cherrypie of Dipping My Toes Back In the Water ~ Take a single mum who is a practitioner of the noble legal profession, add a major dose of self-deprecation and hilarious commentary on pop culture, and you get the most readable blog north of London. (Not only that, her legs have an uncanny resemblance to those of Sienna Miller.)

3. Belinda at Ninja Poodles ~ Belinda has that rare ability to combine mask-off honesty and lack of pretentiousness with an intelligence and wit that deserves a little crowing about now and then -- but she never does. It's completely charming. Not only that, she's a Southern Baptist who votes Democrat, appreciates real art and drinks her tea hot. I love that.

4. Chitty at Riding the Slipstream ~ What is it about Africa anyway? And why do many of my favourite blogs come from South African men? (You, too, Nomad.) (My secret obsession with Africa started when I was 10 years old and bedridden with a severely-broken leg, reading Born Free books -- but I digress.) Like Kyknoord, I have been reading Chitty's blog for a long time now. I love his hilariously no-holds-barred accounts of the life of the single(ish) guy on the urban corporate ladder: no punches pulled, no weak spots unprobed.

5. Finally, an actual art blog. I must admit that I've been irregular about reading Bad Art I Am Compelled to Share lately because, in spite of his blog's title, The Unknown is lousy at sharing -- and since I'm a self-centred so-and-so then I'm no good unless I'm getting direct stimulation myself -- but I always enjoy my visits to his blog. He cuts to the heart of the matter faster than a speeding bullet, and when not commenting on the state of American and world politics, there's a gentle humour about his art and writing that is impossible to resist.

The Thinking Blogger Award Rules

If you were named above and choose to carry this meme forward, remember to tag only those bloggers who stimulate your cortex … or something like that. Please make sure you pass the rules to the blogs you are tagging.

If, and only if, you have been tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

Link to the original post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme. http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/02/thinking-blogger-awards_11.html

Optional: Proudly display your 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).