Blogs & bloggers that make me wanna blog. Blog.

Here is a list of just some of the blogs I follow and the bloggers who inspire me.

Julian Abagond (abagond.wordpress.com) writes 500 words a day on anything he wants, but particularly paying attention to history and racism. I admire his attention to detail. He is thorough while being concise and provides links not only to outside sources, but to his own previous posts which are relevant to the topic of discussion. He also gives advice to aspiring writers and bloggers on how to get started.

Ken Levine (kenlevine.blogspot.com) is a comedy writer (from the movie “Volunteers” to the TV series “Cheers”) who shares everything from advice on writing spec pilots to anecdotes about dealing with difficult people on set. His columns as a TV critic come from a very informed place. Every Friday, he answers readers’ questions, giving insider information on how the business and creative process of television writing works. He also talks sports, you know, if that’s your sort of thing.

Cosmic Hearse (cosmichearse.blogspot.com) is a music blog where Aesop Dekker, who has performed in bands such as Hickey and Ludicra, posts rare and out-of-print recordings by a wide array of bands. He is into a diverse set of genres: death metal; old school hardcore; skate punk; prog rock; and more. Hickey is definitely at the top of the list of my all-time favorite bands, and I am glad to have Aesop to turn me on to other music.

Swallowing the Camel (swallowingthecamel.blogspot.com) and Leaving Alex Jonestown (leavingalexjonestown.blogspot.com) are two blogs by S.M. Elliot, taking apart cranks and their faulty conspiracy theories. One blog covers weirdness in general, while the other is dedicated specifically to Alex Jones, the journalist who says strange things about “Adult Swim” shows on The Cartoon Network being a form of mind control and that schizophrenia is actually demon possession. Elliot manages to be funny while also debunking dangerous ideas.

My wife Megan Marie (nonotliterally.com) first started blogging about our wedding, but now blogs on a variety of topics, whether they be personal, musical, or scholastic. She does not blog as frequently as I would prefer, but I could never get enough of her photography of our adventures or her food concoctions. Anything good about my website or this blog was probably suggested by her.

Fred Clark is a politically liberal, evangelical Christian whose blog Slacktivist (slacktivist.typepad.com) serves as both a critique of the poorly written, biblically unsound Left Behind book series and a place for his commentary on current political issues. You don’t have to be a believer to appreciate his take on the Establishment Cause of the First Amendment, and in fact, he holds right wing Christians accountable for the dissonance between what they do and what they say they believe in.

Valerie D’Orazio is a comic book writer and editor who used to blog as Occasional Superheroine. Her site is now superheroeen.com, but she is still examining comic books and other pop culture. Her writing at Occasional Superheroine used to be more personal and controversial, dealing with sexism she’s faced in a male-dominated industry, but even in this new incarnation, she still tackles feminist issues.

Tumblr has a series of STFU blogs which call out idiots on the internet, particularly on Facebook walls, telling them to shut the eff up. They tackle bigotry: STFU Conservatives; STFU Sexists; STFU Homophobes; STFU Racists; STFU Islamophobes; STFU Xenophobes; etc. STFU Believers makes fun of the rude and cheesy things religious people say on other people’s Facebook walls, and STFU Parents does the same for people either far too zealous or negligent about their children. There’s even an STFU Glenn Beck. I have contributed to a few of these sites before (uncredited, by request), because I think they do a good service, and I appreciate the mix of reader submissions guided by an editorial voice.

I met Nina Bargiel, a transmedia storyteller (that is, writing for everything from television to alternate reality games), through Gene George, my partner on Shakeytown Radio (her episode is here). Nina, a.k.a. The Slackmistress, has her blog The Slack Daily (theslackdaily.com) and a Tumblr (slackmistress.tumblr.com). Besides making me laugh and keeping me interested with smart musings, Nina has been an inspiration for me to get organized with what I’m doing online and push myself out into the world as a writer.

There are more blogs and bloggers I enjoy and some I’m just recently getting into. I’m sure this list will grow.