Interesting blogs you follow
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Topic: Interesting blogs you follow
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Subject: Interesting blogs you follow
Date Posted: July 16 2014 at 14:02
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I'll throw one out with http://scottlocklin.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - Locklin On Science ,
written by a computer programmer who works for several major American banks. The blog generally concerns scientific
method, theoretic philosophy and their relevance for the social
sciences not to mention how the interaction between these and how
they're covered in popular culture. Being not just a computer programmer
writing about economics and sociology but also from a decidedly
non-academic family and social background (he's a very "do it yourself"
kind of person about technology), there's something of an outsider
perspective to all of Scott Locklin's musings on these subjects. I
gather that's something that'll make or break his blog for most readers. Being from the humanities myself I don't always understand the advanced mathemathics Scott Locklin throws around, but he does get understandably frustrated at how many journalists and economists have a rather superficial grasp on the subject and how this ends up misleading the general public. My favourite blog posts of his have to be the ones about the Cold War's effect on technological development particularly in aircraft engineering, kinda reads like The Right Stuff as written by Maddox. ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Replies:
Posted By: Emmafrancesca
Date Posted: July 16 2014 at 16:18
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I started to follow this one a couple of weeks ago. www.ordinarymanslife.com . It's some guy writing his autobiography in the form of short blog posts. Obviously loves his mother and toy cars too. There isn't much into it yet, but I can't wait to see how it develops. |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: November 15 2015 at 13:57
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Time to resurrect this thread, to bring attention to my new favourite blog: http://yearlycider.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - Yearly Cider , ran by a computer programmer from the US state of
Maryland named Darcey Riley. (the blog's title is an anagram of her
name) She uses the mathematically rigorous systematic thinking learned
in computer science to analyze how humans find phenomenological meaning
in the world around them - both on the individual existential level and
the cultural structures through which their experience is mediated. A large part of her focus is on finding mathematically organized patterns in social and cultural processes where they're not immediately apparent, as well as finding methods how individual humans can re-program the thought processes by which they filter their experience of the world through specific culturally mediated narrative structures. What makes it such an interesting reading experience for me is that while these are very standard "Continental Philosophy" concerns, Riley is coming at them from a radically different academic background and as a consequence she approaches much of the theoretical methodology from a sideways perspective. Riley is also interesting to read because of how it fits into her entire life story and how she attempts to find meaning in life: It looks like she's been raised to think about life in an extremely rational and scientific manner, a worldview and ethos that she as an adult finds extremely unsatisfying. This is where her attempts to find a way of engaging with the world in a more immediate and intuitive way come from, the important factor being that she is constantly reconfiguring that project to fit into the rationalistic worldview and in turn adapt that. Her Tumblr account http://untiltheseashallfreethem.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow - Until the Sea Shall Free Them is also worth reading, as it's where she puts her less theory-heavy but still very insightful writings.------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: November 16 2015 at 09:38
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Nick Berry's blog http://datagenetics.com/" rel="nofollow - DataGenetics gives good expositions of math applied to everyday sorts of questions and puzzles. He's really very lucid, and I've actually stolen his explanation of Benford's Law for when I teach it. Jerry Coyne's http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - Why Evolution Is True deals with mixture of biology, politics, and anti-religion topics. Now that he's retiring the biological content is depressingly going down but I like his non-science stuff even when I disagree so that's generally a good sign. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: November 16 2015 at 16:22
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I've seen Why Evolution Is True linked to a couple of times, will check it out one of these times. ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: November 16 2015 at 17:26
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my wife's in the only one I can mention in good company unless I was to completely destroy what is left of my good reputation and mention the others I tend to follow. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: November 16 2015 at 19:23
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^ I've dropped in on Raff's blog a few times, and found some interesting music suggestions there. She's the reason I'm now into the Amazing. I'm a political junkie, so like Daily Kos and Plum Line. do those count as blogs? I'm also addicted to Wonkette.
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: November 16 2015 at 19:33
great group! She can thank me for that, and I can thank Jim (Finforest) who turned me to them on while I was turning him off to politics on FB   I do love politics... but I prefer discussing it rather than reading it. I have often thought of starting my own blog. I do have a lot of interests outside of music, women's fashion, military history, sports, men's footwear, and work related interests like explosions and fires. I just never got around to it. It would probably be just like my failed attempts at having a FB life. I'd see or hear something that rubbed me the wrong way and I'd start foaming at the mouth and laying waste to all around me. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
emigre80 wrote:Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: November 16 2015 at 19:52
| my life is complicated enough without starting a blog. I'm fine with reading everyone else's. start one and I will drop in. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: November 16 2015 at 19:55
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I might just do that. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: November 17 2015 at 03:15
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For political blogs I can also recommend http://k-punk.org/" rel="nofollow - K-Punk , ran by a British Marxist named Mark Fisher who is basically the Slavoj Zizek of the UK. I don't find him quite that consistently insightful as Zizek, mind you, but his writing is probably more accessible. Also check out http://fredrikdeboer.com/" rel="nofollow - Fredrik DeBoer , an American rhetorics professor who's one of the very few US academics of his generation who can be called "Old Left". (I've just interviewed him for a major political magazine here in Denmark) As far as right-wing blogs go, there's http://dryhyphenolympics.com/" rel="nofollow - the rather witty libertarian journalist Dain Fitzgerald . He's somewhat in the H. L. Mencken/P. J. O'Rourke vein, though somehow at the same time a level sillier than those and thinks about political divisions in a more abstract way. In any case, if you enjoy reading those two you'll probably find a lot to appreciate on his blog. (that Scott Locklin guy I linked to in the OP also appears to have similar political views as the people who write for The American Conservative, which I think he might have contributed to a couple times, but his blog isn't focused on that) ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: November 17 2015 at 07:22
| ^ Nice suggestions, I will check them out. thanks. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: November 17 2015 at 09:42
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Uh...these blogs sound a bit heavy...anyone have a fun blog? ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: November 17 2015 at 11:09
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wonkette is hysterical. I recommend it highly. http://wonkette.com/" rel="nofollow - http://wonkette.com/ The forum's subtitle is "Nasty Vile Snarkmob."
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Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: November 17 2015 at 11:52
it's a strange thing, but when men are interested in history it is almost inevitably military history. I have a degree in history, but I have to say the military aspect of it was always the least interesting for me. as to blogs: I used to be s regular visitor on the website of Terry Pratchett, but since he is dead now I no longer go there -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: November 19 2015 at 09:12
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In the lighter corner, there's the art webzine http://www.thisiscolossal.com/" rel="nofollow - Colossal which reblogs or shares interesting architecture/art/design from around the world. I think I first discovered it when it gave some much needed exposure to a now-famous collage artist I went to high school with? Which is so long ago that I now just can't find it. ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: NutterAlert
Date Posted: November 19 2015 at 09:25
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Sid Smith blog - Postcard from a yellow room. http://sidsmith.blogspot.co.uk/" rel="nofollow - http://sidsmith.blogspot.co.uk/ |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: November 19 2015 at 09:32
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Then there's http://karlshuker.blogspot.dk/" rel="nofollow - ShukerNature ran by a British zoologist Karl Shuker, who attempts to often with a good sense of humour find the "truth behind the myth" of many legendary beasts and cryptids. He goes into detail with both which real animals, living or extinct, that might be at work as well as how the cultural evolution of the surrounding folklore. ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: November 25 2015 at 10:01
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Irish heavy metal singer Alan Averill - known from the groups Dread Sovereign, Primordial and Twilight of the Gods - has started http://nemtheanga.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow - his own blog . He's one of my favourite lyricists in the genre, Primordial being one of the few overtly nationalistic black metal groups whose political musings I find particularly insightful, so to see his musings on life and society collected in blog format is quite something http://nemtheanga.wordpress.com/dublin-depression/" rel="nofollow - Alan's essay on mental health in particular comes worth reading. ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: JJLehto
Date Posted: November 29 2015 at 00:56
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How shamefully whorish would it be to say the one I just started? Latest post is a brief, semi evidence based, semi moral philosophy based musing about proceeding forward after the Paris attacks. An earlier post is about the devious political tactics used by one of our parties. Check it out? Lot's of politics, economics, history (my fascination with it has little to do with military aspects so appeal to everyone!) And seriously, I follow New Economic Perspectives which has been a fascinating blog about economics, centered on a heterodox school of thought, but has sadly declined over this year as some major contributors have either vanished, or gotten jobs in DC/with politicians. I've been interested in finding some more, ideally science-y ones, and there are some great ideas here!
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: November 29 2015 at 09:17
missed this earlier Jean  not surprising Jean. It isn't like you were likely brought up around guns, learning to shoot them at an early age and where you looked up to your father and grandfather that served. Of course it is a generality with many exceptions but yeah, boys do tend to grow up playing with plastic army men, hearing stories about those of our family who served and all that sh*t. Later many often feel the call to do what their parents and grandparents did and often serve and have our own firsthand experiences and knowledge we then bring to our studies. Combine that large group of predominantly males with those who have a natural love of history and you have a have pot of ready made military historians haha. I always thought military history is quite fascinating. Not just the dates and places but especially the in the individuals. Funny though one of the best books I ever read was by a woman though. You could tell it was a labor of love on her part exploring a little understood (overshadowed) military disaster that she had relatives involved with. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: November 29 2015 at 09:27
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So glad to have grown up in a country that does not worship the military (on the contrary). After a couple of so-called "heroes" destroyed my career as a language teacher, gushing praise of the military tends to rub me the wrong way. Sorry if I am politically incorrect, but sometimes I get tired of keeping it all inside. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I am glad to see my blog praised, though this year it has been half-dead. I will probably renew the domain for next year ($26 is not going to break the bank), but I don't see the situation changing too much in the future. Reviewing has become more of a chore than a pleasure, and the pace I used to keep in the past is hard to sustain when one is not feeling at his/her best. In any case, I will post my usual retrospective of the year, either in late December or in early January, because I want to give exposure to music that is not generally mentioned in most sites' Best of the Year lists. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: November 29 2015 at 09:33
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ehh.. regardless of the reasons. Anyone who volunteers to serve something larger than themselves deserves respect. However I did read something interesting the other day about the militarization of sports in this country. If there is a buck to be made by exploiting veterans in the guise of 'honoring' them you know American Capitalism will be johnny on the spot there man. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Disparate Times
Date Posted: November 29 2015 at 09:54
I must say i really enjoy capitalism but like the end of gentle giants career it does have its embarrassing moments ------------- Songs are like tightly budgeted meals Nobodies doing anything new or even real |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: December 01 2015 at 14:49
Gotten around to reading your blog this evening. I don't have time to listen to the podcasts yet, but I quite enjoy the photographs of scenic landscapes and historical buildings around the UK as well as the occasional history lesson.  ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |
Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: December 15 2015 at 11:12
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Time to plug a friend's blog: http://vomanomalous.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow - Vomanomalous , which deals with otherworldly folklore and the sociological/cultural history behind contemporary belief in the supernatural or the occult. The articles are often very long and detailed, bringing attention to cases and phenomena that are not very well known outside Denmark. ------------- "The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook |