What journals do you like, and why?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Xeney : One Thread
Jette suggested we resurrect this topic. What are your favorite journals? Any hidden gems you'd like to recommend? What is it that draws you to a journal and keeps you coming back?

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

Answers

Love Erm, because of what someone else has called the 'Bridget Jones-esque' quality of her writing. She's funny, witty, sassy, smart, and unfortunately hasn't been updating regularly since she got knocked up. But it's still worth it to go over and read through all the archives.

Also loving Digital Ink, written by a high-school girl who reminds me of myself at that time, except that I could never have written so well.

I know I'm way behind on this one, but I just discovered Bobofett. It's hilarious, and after fucking reading it, I always fucking want to use the fucking word "fucking" in every other fucking sentence.

Let's see... what else... I read Xeney on a daily basis, obviously, and I read Pamie, and Stasi.. I have a bunch of other journals in my rotation, but the ones I've just mentioned are the ones I keep coming back to.

Wow, do I ever have too much spare time on my hands.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

Oh good, hopefully we can put all the negative energy of the previous forum thread behind us and generate some good karma instead.

I have tried to streamline my journal reading, as it was occupying WAY too much of my time and distracting me from work.

The journals that I read every day without fail are: Bad Hair Days, Ellipses, Perfect Way, Squishy and Plaintive Wail. I think Tomato Nation is great, but I wouldn't really call it a journal. I also read Nobody Knows Anything, and I think Diane is an interesting and engaging writer, but the whole baby thing threw me off a bit, so I haven't been keeping up. And recently discovered - Vignettes (at least I think that's what she's calling it, the url is: mop.diaryland.com)

I look for humor (very, VERY important), edge (which is hard to define, but I know it when I see it, and it is extremely difficult to master. All the journals I read have it) solid writing and stories that I can relate to. And pets - anyone with pets is alright by me. There are SO many journals out there, and alot of them are really good, but I just don't have time these days to surf endlessly, so I have had to control myself.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

My dailies are: Algernon (thanks, Beth! He's awesome!), Bad Hair Days (thanks, Beth! You're Awesome! =), Interleaves, Moments of Bliss, Perforated Lines, Plaintive Wail, Say Hello To Bobofett (I know, I know, It's just Bobofett to some, that's the way it shows up in my bookmarks), She's Actual Size, Squishy and Weekends & Paydays (Even though he HARDLY is a daily updater.)

I'm also on about 20 notified reads including (but not limited to), Stasi, Mar, Lew, Ali, Rob, Chuck, Beth A., and a bunch of others.

My "get to them" file is still insanely huge and I really really do want to start reading a bunch of others, but I just never seem to have the time (or remember for that matter) to get started on them.

Some day.

Oh. And as for the "why?" Well, I think I'm just nosy. I start reading someone, and I don't pay so much attention to their writing or their style as I do to what's going on in their life. So, if there's some sort of "cliff-hanger" type situation going on when I read, it'll keep me there. Then, before I know it, I'm just all wrapped up in knowing what's going on with them in all aspects of their lives.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Yes! Algernon is great. I'm normally not into male journals, because it seems that I can never relate to them... but David is awesome. I'd probably have a secret crush on him while pretending to be best friends with his wife.

On the subject of male journals, I also like Rushing Into Something by Dean. I don't think he'd ever talk to me in real life, he's like one of those guys you drool over at the bar but just know he's way too cool for you... I guess that's what keeps me interested. How do the young and cool half live...

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

I honestly can't say exactly _why_ I like some journals better than others. Some journals that by all rights, I should enjoy, just never click with me.

Some baseline things that I like about journals: a direct, personal style. The ability to tell a story. A nice layout/design that tells me something about the person writing.

That said:

Obviously, I like Bad Hair Days, or I wouldn't be here every day without fail.

I also love First Person Particular (http://rosamundi.com) and Interleaves (http://svaha.net/journal)

Old favorites, who don't update as often as they used to, or who don't necessarily keep "journals" anymore include Michael http://otherside.org, Alexis http://thelegacyproject.net/is/alexis, Maggy http://moments.org, Gabby http://fellaheen.net, Olio Jen http://flawed.com and Allura http://allura.net

I don't spend as much time reading journals as I used to -- something about no living in front of the computer anymore. But I'm still here trolling for stories.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

Oh, you know, the cool kids.

Squishy. Fresh Hell. Plaintive Wail. Perfect Way, sometimes.

I like reading Bad Hair Days and its forum because Beth participates so well in the discussions she has spawned. I read the Garden Project, even though I am not a gardener, because I would like to learn about being one. And really, it's great when writers write about what they love.

I also read fisticuffs.org written by Meg - a teenager in, I think, Syracuse, NY on the verge of going off to NYC for college. Her writing reminds me a great deal of my own at that age (hey - only 10 years ago!), even though our backgrounds are completely different. It's sort of like reading a note that was slipped in my locker on the way to Biology. She's a smart one and not embarrassed to talk about things that make her happy, and I'm impressed with her continual self-examination: a rare thing in teen girls.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

Beth's site as a whole still tops my list because of her personally (or what I've constructed in my head, whatever), the forum, the garden, and the dog.

I have had favorites and other favorites in my time, and I still miss Kim Rollins, but the past three months have turned up two really special ones: Jenn, who writes Elphaba, Diary Of [elphaba.diaryland.com], and Jessie, who writes Blueberry Hill [avocation.org]. Jenn writes these short, perfect gems and seems to elucidate and articulate whatever I was just thinking of. Jessie is my favorite sort of flibbertigibbet--meaning, she imitates elephants and reads children's books and is actually brilliant--and writes every day.

Besides Beth, Jenn, and Jessie, my daily list is Columbine [who thinks and writes], Dana, Jen Wade [writing, dedication, scholarship], Kymm [funny, plus keeps me up to date on the gossip], Lucy [writing, professionalism], Rob [for his Robness], Shelley [for her shelleyness], and Willa [for her Willa-ness].

Recently finds: Gail of Quiddity through Shelley's links; I like her tone and her house. Melissa of Planning a Sky, because she reads children's books. Moira of Freak Magnet, who I thought was gone but has only moved, because she reads and works in publishing. Jessamyn of Adaba Adaba, because she reads and is a librarian and an anarchist and has that great barn in Vermont [Beth, remember how you said you liked my journal because it works better on the web than in print? If that's true for me (not really), it's abundantly, multiplously true for Jessamyn].

People I've known about for longer: Amy of When in Doubt, Use Parsley, and Gwen with her evil nasty petty judgmental thoughts, because they crack me up, plus Amy teaches. As does Mary Anne, which is one reason her journal is only Erratic, but I'm glad she keeps it Ongoing despite also writing for sale. Ann of Jellyfish Absolution for her artistry. Kim of Fresh Hell and Georgiana for their webgoddessness. Nancy of Perforated Lines because she's a pleasant short daily refresher.

I can't put my finger on exactly what draws me to a journal and keeps me coming back, and I have tried. For my absolute favorites, I can: I really want to meet and love Beth and Jenn and Jessie and Shelley in Real Life. I have met Jenn, and I did experience that brain-to-brain connection she described. For the others, it's because they love their lives or they write for a living or they teach or their writing styles resonate or they amuse me or they think Good Thoughts and do Good Deeds or any combination of the above.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

So many journals and so little time!!

The ones that draw me back? The ones that make me stop and think, or laugh or cry or cringe and think 'I've done that' or go 'Yaaaay you' because I care about what happens. People who are honest. There's so many different reasons the list would go on for ages.

Thank God for links pages - here's the ones I read (although it's always being added to - anyone know of a job that would pay for reviewing journals?.

Caoimhe



-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Here's a few selected links from my full-bodied list (http://tesserae.org/misc/misc.html):

erasing : http://www.erasing.org/ - I have a crush on Scott, even though I'm married and he's thousands of miles away.

shamed : http://www.shamed.com/ - I relate to 'Ana. A lot.

sticky fingers : http://www.palefella.com/sticky/index.html - she's inspirational and artistic (Sark! in Oz)

glitter : http://eggplant.simplenet.com/glitter.html - she's sparkly and shiny

perforated lines : http://www.perforatedlines.com/ - brie, gouda and boboli bread sticks. Satisfying and delicious.

journal of a writing man : http://www.btinternet.com/~john.bailey/ - absolutely awesome. Mellow, introspective, and full of wonderful words.

there's more -- but if I keep going, I'll recopy my link list. tess (lantern waste - http://tesserae.org/jou

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

Beth, how do I format my a href tag so that the link breaks out of your frames? I can't remember the proper code (I'm so lazy about HTML). Where does it go within the tag? If someone could fake an example I'd appreciate it. I am a bit slow today.

Then when I get home I can post some links here in a perfectly correct and proper fashion. :)

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

Jette, like this:

A HREF="http://www.xeney.com" TARGET="_top"

That's what the tag should look like. Again, folks, if all that HREF stuff looks TOTALLY unfamilar to you, just ignore this post and type in the URL.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

I want to thank the people who called me a "cool kid" and "webgoddess"! I've been feeling a little down about my journal lately (hence, the lack of updates) and that just made my day.

Anyway, most of the journals I read are already listed here, but here's a few from my bookmarks.

Footnotes by Secra Terri - because she has had such an interesting and at times difficult life, but still manages to have a positive outlook, and she seems really happy now.

Gwen because she always has something unique to say and she's dead sexy.

I Wasn't Built To Get Up At This Time because Tim is a cross between Tim Hunter from The Books of Magic and Adrian Mole, and I like to hear all the British slang.

Plus journals from people who post here, like Jette, and Rob and Dave Van (when he's updating) and Diane, but I'm assuming you all have those URLs or can find them easily.



-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000
Hey, I'm a cool kid! And Kim, I read you every single day. I just don't bug people about uploading, unless, you know, it looks like they just disappeared and I get all nervous. But I catch you on mbtv and I read your weblog, so I know you're just busy.

The other pages I read (and I read each of the journals just about every day) are here, but I also read pamela's midnight garden http://www.midnightgarden.com/pamela/journal/ , allison's secret page, http://www.concentric.net/~alibee/journal/, columbine: http://www.inu.org/scherzi/ , and recently discovered that mali is back: http://members.tripod.com/malinchista , and annegrrl: http://www.chickpages.com/rants/annegrrl/entries.html

there's more, but i'm starting to realize that i have a lot of spare time between projects at work if i read that many and still maintain my own.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

I'm going to just list the ones I read on a regular basis (and hopefully I do it correctly):

< a href="http://www.abeyance.net">Abeyance
Algernon
Alone in a Crowd
Anenigma
Bad Hair Days
Bobofett
Ellipses
Icebear
There She Goes
As far why I read them specifically, well, it's hard to say. I like journals that I can relate to. I like honesty. It's nice to know there are others out there like me, who write because they enjoy it.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

I'd like to join the Kim appreciation society; Fresh Hell is one of my favorites, even if she did steal the name I wanted for this journal. Okay, she thought of it before I ever wanted it, but I think she was psychically raiding my brain. Or maybe she traveled into the future to steal my cool journal name. I don't know how she did it, I just know she stole my name.

And I'm really glad that you guys are liking Algernon. I love that, when I find a cool journal in my referrer logs and I tell you about it and you like it and you all become friends and send each other birthday presents and forget all about me and form secret clubs and plot against me and stuff.

That's my very favorite thing about journaling.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

I'd like to recommend the Austin Stories links page that Greg Bueno maintains. Some of my favorite frequent reads are on this list: Estoy Nueces, Digital Chaos, and that Squishy site that whatshername does. Must be something in the Central Texas air that produces good journal sites.

I love reading some of these little-known journal sites -- it's like knowing where all the small, hidden but amazingly good restaurants are in town. Many of these site can be pretty "plain-jane" with few graphics or fancy design elements; the focus is on the content, which is often marvelous.

Sure, I also enjoy some well-known journals with sparkling prose and lovely photos (First Person Particular is one that leaps to mind as exceptional). But you all know where those are. It's fun to share the ones that few people have read yet.

By the way, a fun way to find new journals or weblogs is to browse the Nibelung rings. You never know what you might find there, and I've found some entertaining sites that way.

P.S. I wanted Fresh Hell as a journal title, damnit. It should have been mine, cause I'm the huge Dorothy Parker fan. I'd be crankier about it if I didn't like Kim's site so much -- her weblog rocks too.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

The only journal I read *every* day is this one, even before my newspapers and sometimes between surgeries if I have to! (I even check on the weekends, just in case I might be pleasantly surprised by an entry...maybe on my birthday Beth? )

Almost every day and/or shortly after notification I read: [noise], Alone In A Crowd, Blissful Moments, Elphaba, erm..., Estrogen, First Person Particular, Magic Purple Crayon, Many Coloured Days, NKA, Plaintive Wail, Snoozebar Redux, squishy, The Longest Aisle and the.good.things

I enjoy journals that let me inside someone's life. I particularly enjoy reading about relationships, marriage/living together and child related topics (pregnancy, childbirth, babies, etc). I also enjoy reading about someone's pets, as long as they care for them properly, otherwise I get frustrated and have to stop reading. Literature, music and pop culture also make for interesting reads. Most importantly however, I enjoy reading journals by intelligent women that I feel I would want to know in 'real life' if I had the opportunity.

(Well women and Stee...but he's kind of a girlie man anyway. He also likes Rottweilers *and* he had an entry with Pug pictures so what's a reader to do?)

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

I'm new to posting here, but I wanted to put a plug in for one of my favorite journals. Marilyn's What is. What was. What will be. has been a long time favorite of mine. I love her writing because she really doesn't hold anything back. If she's had a bad day, she tells you and doesn't try to sugarcoat it. She's very honest, which is perhaps my favorite thing about her journal. There are others that I read and adore (of course). Those are listed here. I hope I did the coding right. Sorry if I didn't :-)

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
"Bad Hair Days" totally rules. BHD towers above all other journals like a TRex in prairie dog town. Beth has created a real portal and community. I gave her a write in vote for a Webby for best personal site, and you should also. I'm not sure how much I'd get along with Beth in person seeing how she is a commie-lib, and what's worse, a morning person. But the girl really knows how to write and how to design and run a web site.

Rob of "The Book of Rob" can be a little irritating at times when he goes into full Alan Alda mode, but he is a great humor writer and has sustained a great journal for several years. I can't wait to see what will happen next.

(parenthesis) is wonderful, you really have to admire Lynda. Her life experience gives real depth to her writing. I'd have a real crush on her if she didn't smoke.

"Aries Moon", "Nobody Knows Anything", and "Word Salad" are all though-provoking and useful. These journals show how much is possible without giving a lot of really personal information.

"Ceej's Black Book" is very interesting, especially to those of us in the software business. Many liberals hang out in her forum, ripe for baiting. Ceej has shared a lot of herself in her journal.

The weblog "Ghost in the Machine" shows a lot of promise, even though the author works for Satan.

"Chuck's Stake" is a lot of fun

Dana of "Bobofett" is the rookie of the year, I hope she develops enough confidence in her writing to stop saying "fuck" every third word. Really Dana, you don't need all the "fucks", your writing is great on its own.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

I would just like to thank Jan for giving me a link in the same sentence with Pamie's link. I had about 20 people come over and see who this person was who was in the same sentence as Pamie. I'm sure they were all sorely disappointed, but that matters not!

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
I tend to read most journals rather erratically  I wont be there every day, but once a week Ill do a catch-up.

Ive recently cut down on the number Ive got bookmarked, because I was wasting far too much time at work, so the daily reads are now Squishy  because Pamie is the funniest thing on the web, Bad Hair Days  because I really admire Beths strength of character, and because this forum is always an interesting place to be, and Lucidity because Anna is great, and is living in Sydney and talks about Southern Hemisphere stuff like rugby and cricket.

Two journals Ive recently started reading daily as well are Covet What Was Mine and the Book of Rob. And Plaintive Wail  that birthday entry was hilarious. Stasis account of pregnancy should be required reading for anybody starting to think about a family.

My favourite diary to catch up on over a lunch hour is Patricks Inside because he writes so well. Im always impressed.

The only other one I regularly peek at is Georginas Shimmer Like a Girl although youre best off joining her notification list, because she doesnt update all that regularly these days. Shes also in Sydney, and she sent me lots of Aussie lollies for Christmas!!

All these journals are well crafted, professionally written, and constantly interesting. I'm only amazed that you people write like this for free, because if I had that kind of talent I certainly wouldn't be giving it away!!

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Apart from BHD, which is an all-in-one stop for me, what with the forums, links, and journal entries, The Might Kymm, Willa, and Nobody Knows Anything, all of which are daily stops, I read the following journals on a regular basis:

Blue and Green

Lagniappe

My Life in 12-Point Font

Snoozebar Redux

One Long Autumn

Plannin g a Sky

As I was checking links, I realized that I really need to clean out my journals bookmark file...

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Alan Alda? Hey, now... (And thanks!)

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
Most of my favorites have already been listed, but there are a few that I'd like to add.

Elsewhere - Bobbi lives in Houston and its fun to read local stuff.

Lazy Daysies - Kathy is a Houstonian also. I've been reading her for a while. If you check out her archives, you can really see how her journal has evolved.

Earthmovers and Sandcastles - Carrie writes about her librarian job and her efforts in trying to conceive.

Me too! Me too! - KT writes really down to earth. She seems like someone who would be fun to know irl.

GabGab - GabGab (not exactly a journal, but kinda)

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

One that absolutely has to get a mention is jellyfish (http://www.bway.net/~sio bhan/jellyfish) and not just because she's my buddy, either. Though she is, so full disclosure, okay?

She may not be daily but damn she's good, y'all. Crisp and confessional and shameless like Ron Jeremy on a talkshow. If you haven't read it you are in for SUCH a treat.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

I read Bad Hair Days first thing every day. Reading Beth feels like sitting down for coffee with a close friend.

Then, I'm usually off to Algernon, which is more like a short chat with a funny and engaging neighbor, though I consider him my closest journalling peer.

Jessie and Lisa are two peas in a pod. They're both delightful and write with this excited, breathless anticipation that makes me wish more adults approached life like they do. Besides, Jessie is an elephant and Lisa liberates tigers.

Eleanor is on the brink of something and I read every day to watch her discover how she's growing.

I also read Stee and Pamie and Rob and Kymm and Diane and think they're all wonderful, but I have to admit, I don't hold quite the same affection for them as I do for the above.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

I just realized what it is about that last group I mentioned. Like Allison said, they're "the cool kids." For some reason, Beth is exempt from the cool kids stigma in my book, even though she's consistently listed as one of the "popular" journals.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
I don't think I have any that haven't been listed here. I'm not sure what makes me like one journal and not get hooked on another. Humor is really important. Kind of a smart alec attitude is really important. I don't like the ones that are more inspirational.

Every day (or whenever they update) I read Aries Moon, Bad Hair Days, Bobofett, Book of Rob, Ceej's Black Book, Erm, First Person Particular and Shelleyness. One I don't think anyone's mentioned is Journal of a Writing Man, another Brit. He's a poet, a retired guy in the UK with an eye for detail and a droll sense of humor.

I like Artist at Large, Gwen, Pamie, Perfect Way, and Scott but have gotten behind on them. I'm still reading Diane when she updates, but with a lot less interest now that she's writing so much about the baby.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

I MUST put my vote in for my very newest top favorites:

Jabberwocky

And Bev Syke's journal that I don't have the darn url handy for.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

My top two will always be Beth and Pamie, with Diane, Rob, Lucy, Tracing, Jen, Melissa, Colleen, Kate and Deb close on their heels. And Amy. And Columbine. And Patrick. But there are so many, too many to list here, that I love as much! Clearly, I read way too many.

My new faves are Ephalba (even though I'm too cool for her to love very much) and Caoimhe, whom I am not caught up with yet.

O, just go here and you'll see most of what I read on a weekly, if not daily basis, though there are others that aren't there because I haven't read the whole thing yet.

And I wonder why I haven't got enough spare time...

Kymm

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Fuck a duck. Sorry about that. I've never left an /a at the end of a link off IN MY LIFE!

Never mind me...

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

I fixed it, Kymm, you big pussy. We know you secretly use Frontpage, and that's why you don't know how to do a REAL tag.

(I don't have to use a goddamn smiley with you, do I? Tell me I don't.)

Jenn: the reason I'm exempt is that I'm a bitch. All those other cool kids are very nice people, which makes them suspect.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

I'm glad that I'm not the only person in the world who uses the phrase "fuck a duck". Sometimes it's the only way to say what needs saying, ya know?

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
Hmm. I just realized, Jenn, that you could be lying, and you could just be saying that I'm exempt from the cool kid stigma because this is my forum and you're afraid I'll start editing your posts to say things like, "I gave head to everyone in Open Pages! I am such a slut!"

Either way, I guess it all comes back to my being a bitch.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

No more Plaintive Wail! Take Stee off my list!! (See yesterday's entry, eh? Need I say more?)

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
Gawd, Beth, you promised you wouldn't hint around about me and the Open Pages thing.

Thanks to y'all who like my journal! My list is Abeyance, Kate If I Wrote you (but join the notify cause her computer at home is dead), Rob, Never, Tracing, Lynda, Ann Jellyfish Absolution, Michelle There she goes, Deb The Last Girl Scout, Deb of Many Colored Days, Christine Ordinary Ups and Downs, Elspeth of Jabberwocky (if you love kid stories, go there!), Sara of Perfect Way, Amy of Parsley, Corina Copacetic Castle, Toni of Lagniappe, Heather more.than.this

and Chuck and Beth Atkins, and Daily Epiphany, First Person Particular, Shellyness, Aries Moon, Fresh Hell, Anita's book of days, Blue and Green, Footnotes, Elphababa.

Dude, I read too much. Most of them are notifies, so I just check when they update. And some I check in a group and read three or four days at a time. I have others too, that I just check in with when I have time. I always keep up to date on the notifies, but on the others besides Beth and Kymm I get lost sometimes.

I've got a list here but it's not everything thats in my bookmarks.

Anyhoo, here's praying I didn't screw up any links.....

Colleen

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Hey, I want to jump on the Elphaba, Diary Of bandwagon, too!

I found her through Beth's site, and something about the way she routinely phrases something so eloquently makes me say, "Yes! THAT'S what I'm feeling!" It keeps me coming back, and in many ways gave me the courage to launch my own journal.

And yes, Beth, we've swapped e-mail and at any moment could form secret clubs and plot against you. It could happen.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Wow! Thanks Amy for the recommendation!

I read Pamie (doesn't everyone) Book of Rob Chuck Steak Man @bout Mufreesboro

and some gems I read that aren't as well-known - you can find these on my favorites page http://www.siliconaddiction.com/kthx2/meread.htm

among these is

Random Scribblings by Matt he is by far the funniest person I've ever read... the main problem is 1) he hates the OLJ "community" and so isn't registered with any web rings and 2) he only updates about once a month or so... but really... he is hysterical. My favorite entries are C is for Cookie and Mechinically Disinclined Parts I & II

KT

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Guess I'd better say 'fuck a duck' too. Cause I did so well and then screwed up the last one. Beth! Save me!

Colleen

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Ha! Glad to know that I'm not the only duck-fucker today! And don't even start with that Frontpage crap again, Miss Girl - Who - Pretends - to - be - a - Bitch - But - is - in - Reality - as - Sweet - as - Sugar - Pie!

Hey, Gwen reads me! I never knew that--that's pretty cool. I would have ended that last sentence with an exclamation mark as well, but I thought that that would make just one too many.

Kymm

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

You're all better now, Colleen.

Kymm: oh, yeah? Well .... well .... so's your mom. So there.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Re: hidden gems, let me mention My Diary by Sarah Femme. Be advised: it's dark. Beautifully written and clearly the product of a complex, intelligent, mature mind struggling to make sense of difficult times.



-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
Michelle's There She Goes is one of the first journals that I started to read and simply could not stop. She has a way with words - they wrap around you like a warm blanket, and they soak in for effect. One of the things that I like the most about There She Goes is that Michelle is totally open and honest in her writing. She also delves deep into the issue and covers all the bases, not leaving anything of importance out. Not only is Michelle a great writer and journaller, she's a great friend.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
What attaches me to a journal is mostly just clear, strong, honest writing. A sense of humor. Intelligence. An eye for detail. A feeling that the writer's not pandering to an audience, nor trying to win a popularity prize. A minimum of bells and whistles and bandwagons. Not too many links to other journals.

Generally, I like to read people who seem to really have the desire to write the stories of their lives, rather than those who seem like their lives are the journal. (And it helps if the lives are sorta interesting, too.)

Of those referenced above, I try to keep up with jellyfish, plaintive wail, squishy, bad hair days, perfect-way, and sleepwalker... some of my not-yet-mentioned-here faves include:

saranwarp
terrapindream
whatever, whenever (Formerly "I wouldn't make this up. Honest." Not exactly a journal anymore, but still good.)
toasted spiral
mono-nad meets the pink anorak
lifestyle tips for the dead
welcome to my life. it's perfect.
stranger than fiction
swerdloff dot com
I put a spell on you
heyoka + reckless sleeper

And, you know, ahem, there's particulars, which is really pretty much the best of all. Yeah. The bestest.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Of course it's because you're a bitch, Beth! Why didn't I think of that before? When I sit down to coffee with my closest friends, we spend the time making snide remarks about all of our other friends and, if time allows, the people around us at the coffee shop. It's all falling into place now.

Kymm, babe, you're like REM after they got popular. Jumping on the bandwagon now would totally ruin any chance I had at a holier-than-thou elitist vibe.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Fuck my browser (and a duck) for cutting me off. Kymm, I should have specified that I only skim your journal to see if you're calling Beth a bitch. Maybe if I type a bunch of gibberish, the above stuff won't get cut off. ldkfjkdjfkdjgkjdkgjkshgkhgkjgksjd! Woo!

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
At my last job, I sat in front of a computer all day without much to do. I use to read mystery sites and any other reading content I could get my mouse on. I found Kim's Real World recaps and I fell in love with her. She was so funny, she still kills me. I read all her reviews and had a hard time waiting for another week to roll around. I stalked her site and found her journal. On the day I found her journal, one of the first things she mentioned was how sad she was that Pamie's Lillith had died. So I followed the link and found Pamie. The rest is history.

I love to read. This is why I love online journals, period. I really don't care who is talking shit about who or meeting who (OK I did get excited when Stee went to Austin), basically I just like to read and listen to lives that are mostly very different than mine.

My daily read includes Shelleyness, Squishy, Plaintive Wail, Perfect Way, Bobofett, The Book of Rob, Fresh Hell, and Bad Hair Days.

I also love to read Man About Murphysboro. Mike is so intelligent and his views on politics are exactly what mine would be if I knew anything about politics. His journal is like a political science course, with some Max and Dolly thrown in so you don't get bored.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

God. I'm mainstream. Kill me now. I'd better start calling Beth a bitch in entries, that'll make me ride that ragged edge of disaster again!

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
I like a lot of the journals mentioned, particularly this one of course. The forums are kind of addictive ....

Here are a couple I don't think have come up:

James Lileks' The Daily Bleat -- As well as an amusing daily journal this site offers The Institute of Official Cheer (delights include The Gallery of Regrettable Food and The Grooviest Motel in Wisconsin). Mr Lileks can be heard on Radio Five Live here in the UK but at an insane hour - - 3.45am every second Thursday or something.

Life as it Happens -- If you liken a site to a cafe, this is a quiet, cool haven where you're sitting enjoying an espresso and reading poetry when suddenly The Brothers of Elvis erupt through the door.



-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Just had to respond to that last post. James Lileks can also be heard every weekday live sitting three desks away from me -- we work at the same newspaper. And yes, he does have a great site, which he's successfully spun off into several book projects.

Gael Get your daily dose of Web weirdness at Pop Culture Junk Mail

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

I say "fuck a black duck" but maybe that's because I'm great (thanks, Jackie!)

cheers anna lucidity

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

My current favourite journal is The Dojo of Love. I love it so much I'm talking about it everywhere.

And of course I have all of my old favourites, most of which have been mentioned -- BHD, fellaheen, Willa's Journal, NKA, Estrogen, Notes to Myself, Deb's today...,

They're all in my Nibelung ring.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

Ack! Forgot Deb changed the name of her journal. That should read "Deb's Many Colored Days". And I forgot the target="_top". Ok, going to bed now. No more posting for me.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000
My current favourites are :

Digital Ink, Memory & Desire, Squishy, Alone in a Crowd, Letters to Sparky, Plaintive Wail & Blue and Green.

Lucidity and Shimmer like a Girl are also up there for their wonderful Australian content - gotta stop the Americans from taking over the place!!

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000

In defense of my fuck: I say "fuck" an awful lot in real life. It's verbatim from my life, motherfuckers! It's me! It's how I fucking talk! For fuck's sake, lots of people say fuck. Stop harshing my fucking buzz.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000
I like Dana's fucks.

I tend to talk like that too.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000

Now that I've been all Pollyanna on the journaling community thread, I figure I'd better come on over to the forum that's meant to be just sweetness and light, and hang out in the mutual admiration society.

I like a journal that's: (a) well-written (b) not ugly (c) written by someone I might like. I don't read a single train-wreck journal. I don't actually mind reading the Cool Kids, cuz they write so well. I read Kymm every morning before I go to work. Diane, Lucy, Rob, Beth, Pamie, I'm too lazy to put in URLs for these people.

And I don't have to link Elphaba because other people have, or Patrick. I like Estrogen, and Speaking Confidentially and anhedonia and visions and revisions and Notes to myself although someone, ahem, doesn't update very often these days.

And my hidden gem is Bec's happybox. She's dry and self-deprecating and really funny in an absolutely deadpan way which I admire. Check out Mean Day and if it doesn't make you laugh like crazy, well, well, you probably wouldn't like it. Or my journal either.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000

Let's see... I read a lot of the biggies already mentioned: Rob, squishy, BHD, Patrick, Diane, Ceej, bobofett, Aries Moon, Stee. Aside from those, I find these to be really excellent and unique:

Exist

the circadian pool

Everything at brandx

Ftrain

All of them tend to be a little darker than most... guess that's my college-age angst showing through.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000

"The movie won me over right off the bat when Jason Biggs is shown indulging in the long-standing suburban tradition of trying to watch scrambled porn; if I ever start a band, I will name it Scrambled Porn. " --- Erasing [www.erasing.org] How can you not love a journal that invites you to send messages to his mobile phone (but only in iambic pentameter), to which he then writes a funny smartass reply? If Scott could only be arsed to break up his paragraphs a bit, and maybe use a bigger font, he'd be, uh, ... better.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000
I adore journals that are well written. Here's a few that haven't been mentioned--in no particular order.
Naked Juice: Journal of a Tangerine Girl
The Pillow Book
Artist At Large
at the water's edge
Thin Veneer
phoenix rising
Man Out of Time
Nova Notes

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000
Bless you, my child. *Grin*--Al of NOVA NOTES.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000
anytime Al! *grin*

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2000
Have you all become hooked on girlhero yet? If not, start here and thank me later. Which number does your journal fall under? I am, obviously, number four.

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2000
Hey cool...someone reads me! I mean...I knew they exsisted...they can't hide from the hitcounters (I have like eight, since all of them keep dying at unexpected intervals) but I was beginning to think they were all spider robots, or something, since NO ONE EVER WRITES ME! Except my dad. My dad writes after every entry. Ain't that just sweet enough to make you puke? My faves...

River Reflections

A Statue Turned Its Head

She's Actual Size

I Put a Spell on You

Visions and Revisions

Besides, of course, Rob, Pamie, Kymm, and Beth, who simply do not need any more links in this forum. Oh, and Gonkgo, but I finally kinda gave up on her ever coming back from her Interminable Hiatus. (And yes, Kymm, I hand-coded the links, so if they're all completely flubbed, tell Beth to fix 'em so I don't look like the blonde pussy I am. Meow!

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2000
Gonkgo? *cringe* Um...everyone just pretend I didn't do that...

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2000
Clickworthy:

jellyfish http://volatile.org/

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2000

Wet Paint is particularly good. Also Snoozebar Redux. I read Ceej now and then. I don't know why exactly, since she's unbearably smug. Her husband's a real horror, IMO.

Kymm [of course]. The Scotts [Berlin & Michigan]. Diane Patterson [but I'm getting sick of baby anecdotes]. Viv of First Person Particular, Book of Rob. Others as well, but I can't remember at the moment.

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2000

Some other peeps not mentioned who (whom?) (don't yell at me, as of June 1 I'm not a teacher anymore) I enjoy are This Journal at www.brtom.org--he is just so crazy cool and an awesome teacher and intelligent writer. I wish I had hung with him more before I quit.

I guess everyone I love enough to include here has been pimped already. But I am amazed and flattered that anyone mentioned my little pink journal because I know I don't update enough to be truly cool.

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2000

Hey now! 4 entries today. 4! ahem.

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2000
Y'know, you know you're reading someone fabulous when you need only refer to them by their first name, and everyone lights up and goes "ohhhh yeeeah...word." They are the Madonnas, the Chers, the Dipsys, La-Las and Pos of the online journalling community.

I read just 'bout everyone up there in this long, long thread-a- thon. Everyone I don't read yet I will probably check out now. Because I have this developing journal fetish thing going.

Did anyone mention Blue & Green? Dammit, I can't page back and find out how to get out of the frames -- but here's the url: (http://members.xoom.com/Mopie/archives.htm).

She's funny and evil. I mean that as mondo-mega praise.

-- Anonymous, April 30, 2000

Well, obviously I read Beth, and of course Squishy, Kymm, Nova Notes and Nobody Knows Anything. And I'd just like to add that I love the baby anecdotes! I found NKA towards the end of Diane's pregnancy,and that's what got me hooked.

Lately I have discovered Elphaba and Visions and Revisions and Shayalogue. All of these a beautifully written, which is the main thing that attracts me to them, as well, I suppose, as simply relating in some way to thair content. Also Shayalogue is written with the idea that it will be something for his daughter "to offer her a view of life as seen by her father". I liked that idea.

-- Anonymous, April 30, 2000

Ri, honey, your pants are on fire. You better not be sayin' I'm no one. Your whole family uses a weird phrase I gave you, admit it!

I'm highly amused by Kymm being designated one of the Old Geezers From Before Time Began Such That It's Almost Not Cool To Like Her Because Everyone Likes Her. Kymm, it's like you're the Beach Boys! Surf's up, daddy-o! I'm waiting for the reunion tour.

You know, everyone already knows who most of my favorite diarists are on account of the webring I run. But I imagine not everyone looks at Archipelago so I'll just mention the ones that haven't already been listed above: The Diary Thing, Evaporation, The Pillow Book, The Sole Proprietor, and Up from Sloth. I read others, but they've all been mentioned except, I think, naked eye.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

Hey Lucy, speaking of Archipelago, you say that if one is rejected, she'd hear within 48 hours. I applied for the ring about 3 weeks ago... I guess I should just take the hint, but your page lied to me!

dejected,
stasi

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

Lucy just moved - I'd say the 48 hour thing doesn't apply in that kind of travail.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000
How about:
Kym's the gaping lotus experience
Carrie's Earthmovers and Sandcastles
Cara's an inventory of being
Shannon's Betw ixt

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000
I forgot to mention Jen Wade, The Diary Thing, Exemplia Gratia [Snoozebar recommended her], Anita Rowland [for her unerring cheerfulness], and my latest bookmark, Lisa Houlihan.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000
yay, I got mentioned! Thanks, Joy!

Beth, you said in another thread that journal readership was growing (as a partial explanation for Rob's subscriber growth), but I'll admit that my page views have *not* gone up that much. If more people are reading, they are distributed among many more journals these days.

Just as I'm one of the webloggers who read a whole ton of other weblogs (see Jim Roepcke's mega-readers, and pay no attention to those guys who have more listed, they are just competitive with each other), I've had a great many journals that I read regularly for a long time now -- since before I started writing, some of them!

IE makes this efficient -- it notifies me when there are new entries, for most of these.

I rarely stop reading a journal, once I start. I like all these for different reasons, but not too many of them are train-wrecks. I really do care about the people.

Anita of Anita's BOD and Anita's LOL

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2000

Aiee, Stasi, my own pants are on fire! I must have put your request into my Archipelago folder thinking I'd answered it. Then I moved. My sincere apologies. I'd better go have a look and see what else is in there.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000
Not only are you forgiven, but you are promised that this journaller will NOT write a seven paragraph rant about how stupid and snobby webrings are if I am not accepted!

A masochist at heart,
stasi

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

Of course, Stasi *is* reserving the right to write a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8 paragraph rant! :)

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000
Hey, thanks for the mentions. I can happily live with funny and evil. I've always wanted to be evil. ("So evil it's pronounced 'e- VIL'...")

Anyway, I don't have my bookmarks to look up the url for Amy's Who I Am, but I don't think anyone's mentioned it. Also Areas of Unrest (www.areasofunrest.net) is one of my long time favorites. I also like the surreal creativity of Almost Another Jester's Journal (again, no URL available).

I know there are many more going unnamed. Then again, I'm on the notify lists for something like 70 or 80 journals. I can't keep track of most of them!

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

I love the MEN of the journaling world, and read them addictively, namely : Journal of a Writing Man (this guy makes me feel like I'm actually sitting beside him as he talks about his day; you should hear his real audio recordings), Daily Epiphany(real down-to-earth; I want to be his neighbor), Late Night Snacks (the only notify list I signed up for), Another Day, Nova Notes, Book of Rob (everyone needs a li'l humor), who else, who else...?

Yen of A Perfect Circle

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2000

Lucy...I have just one thing to say to you. Wah-as they say-hoo. And yes, my entire family does still use it.

And Stasi...don't feel bad...I submitted my page to Archipelago back in February of '99, and I still haven't gotten a "bug of, you stink" note. Oh well, back then my writing was terrible enough to warrant the silent treatment. *smirk*

-- Anonymous, May 05, 2000

Gah! Ri, you horrify me. I'm really serious about responding quickly to Archipelago queries. If you don't get an answer in 48 hours then I may not have gotten it at all. Great, now I'm freaking out. How many other queries have I missed? I'm going home and firing up my zip drive with my stored Eudora files in it to see if there's a bunch of unanswered stuff somewhere.

By the way, there are two openings on Archipelago right now.

-- Anonymous, May 05, 2000

... and they've been filled already. Thanks to everyone who wrote!

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2000
Moderation questions? read the FAQ