TypePad Featured Blogs

Popwatch

Here it is - the mother lode of gossip, games, music and movies. It's Popwatch, a blog that keeps an eye on pop culture", and it's put out by Entertainment Weekly - which virtually guarantees you inside information, front-row reviews, great photos, interviews, and much more. Looking for celebrity gossip? See what might be in store for Rosie, Want to know the front-runner in this year's Oscar race? Open the envelope. What's going on between breaks on Dancing With The Stars? Get the story here. There's more -much more - from the Hollywood Insider blog; charts that map box office winners, top-selling DVDs, books, and albums; and insightful columns on Hollywood goings-on.  Some of the industry's top reporters, observers, and insiders contribute their skills here, plus the site is constantly being refreshed, making this a funny, smart, and sometimes shocking source of all things entertainment - so sit down and be prepared to be…entertained!

meevee

What's on? The writer's strike for one thing, and it's sure to have an impact on your television watching. How do we know? We read meevee a blog that covers everything that's on - and off - the screen. With its insightful postings and reviews of current shows (Heroes selling out?), what to watch during the strike, and just what Tyra Banks talked about on her show.  There are robust archive and category sections filled with posts and pictures from virtually every show on the air, plus links to TV blogs collected from around the blogosphere, so you're assured on great reading, no matter how long the strike lasts. (Memo to The Family Guy that was a…memorable… 100 episode!)

Grow A Brain

Hanan Levin has been called "the human vacuum" and once you scan his Grow A Brain blog, you'll understand why.  It's filled with links vacuumed from all corners of the Internet, creating a fascinating, useful, humorous, and just plain fun site. Everything's grouped into categories (over 100 and counting!) such as animals, travel and jokes.  Each of the categories contains several links to related posts; along with the photos and designs, this is definitely a rainy day/lunch hour blog designed to amuse and entertain. Hanan's also a co-owner of a Riverside, CA-based real estate company; you'll find links to his business as well, so dig in and Grow A Brain"!

Gerd Leonhard

Ever been in the middle of a convergence zone? You will, with Gerd Leonhard a blog that explores the future of music, entertainment, and technology and brings them all together to create fascinating reading. Music and media futurist, author and blogger Gerd Leonhard draws from outside media and his own experience and explores such topics as the next small thing  in viral marketing, what the Major Record Labels and digital music are doing now  and what next-gen radio might be like. Lots of interesting categories here too, from Audio to YouTube, so get back to the future today!

Retrothing

Remember 8tracks, Blip, and Pong? Retrothing does. And what’s more, it can get them for you!

This cool site operates like a time machine in reverse – that is, it brings the past to you. Some of the best, wildest, and just plan weirdest toys, music, robots, and more from decades past are your for the buying.

Each of the products listed at Retrothing has great commentary on its history; some have video clips of the original commercials. There are recommendations and links for additional retro-style products such as furniture too. So even if you can’t afford Dracula’s Castle (a steal at $135 million), you’ll find something to bite on.

The Scenestar

Ah, Los Angeles. Land of the palm trees, movie stars, and the hellish 405 freeway. It's also the land of an awesome music scene. The Scenestar covers anything and everything related to music in the Southland, with news, reviews, and interviews to keep you up-to-date on all that's happening on Sunset and beyond. They also boast an impressive photo gallery featuring your favorite bands (what's up with Beck's hair?), and of course, a giant list of shows waiting to clean out your wallet. If you live in Los Angeles and you're into music, The Scenestar is the place to be seen.

The Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts

The Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts is fantastic in every sense of the word. Founded in 1987, this is "an organization dedicated to literary, visual, and performance arts rooted in myth, folklore, and fairy tales." Who can resist that? Fans of all things legendary can keep up with the latest books, films, and even music dedicated to other-wordly fiction. Topics covered include the esoteric, like French fantasy fiction, and the mainstream, like Disney. And what blog on the mythic would be complete without a post or two on Tolkien? Check out the early word on the recently-released The Children of Hurin, a return to Middle-Earth taken from the master’s unpublished manuscripts and completed by his son, Christopher. Now that's an event in any realm. 

The Theater Loop

All the world’s a stage. Well, at least Chicago. A great theater town with a great theater blog, The Chicago Tribune’s The Theater Loop, is written by the paper’s dramatic critic, Chris Jones. Chicago theater news, criticism, and gossip abound here. Buy a front-row seat to a Windy City perspective on the 2007 Tony Awards, a profile of Frost/Nixon playwright Peter Morgan, and the latest happenings at the legendary theater groups Second City (currently showing Between Barack and a Hard Place) and Steppenwolf. Or read about the local Jeff Awards, devoted to recognizing achievement in local non-Equity productions. With play recommendations and video reviews rounding out the program, this blog's a must for anyone making a stage pilgrimage to America's most-celebrated theater town after New York City. (Okay, no emails, please, Boston and Los Angeles theater-lovers.)  Bravo, Theater Loop! We hope you run for a long time.

AMC Monsterfest Blog

It's alive! AMC's The Monsterfest Blog is a monstrous collection of all that's fit to print in the world of fangs and fur. From film classics like Dracula and the Wolfman to modern-day fiends Pinhead and Freddy, they're all in here ready to give you a right good scare. As the horror genre spans across all media, there's also information about monster-inspired games, music, and festivals. Don’t forget to participate in the Monsterfest polls (we here at TypePad rated “Misery” the top Stephen King movie), and take a look at the collection of videos they’ve garnered from around the web. With cheeky writing and witty commentary, this blog is entertaining as it is informative. And let’s face it – how can you resist a blog that includes “zombies” as a category?

Wonderland

Alice Taylor invites you to visit Wonderland, her excellent TypePad blog on computer games and gaming. She spends her days working for the BBC, but in her free time she explores her "socialable software of choice." Whether it's applauding the latest release in the Guitar Hero series or noting off-beat discoveries like Super Mario plush toys (with sound effects!), Alice and her colleagues (Jen and Jez) are observant, insightful, and well-versed in the trends and transitions that the game industry faces. Keeping up with all the latest hardware and software innovations can feel like falling down a rabbit hole, but happily, for readers of Wonderland, it doesn't have to be a disorienting trip.

StarPrompt

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Whether you're a small business or a sole proprietor, you can use TypePad as your entire web site. It will cost your less per month than a single Fancy Coffee Drink™ and you'll be able to modify your message in an instant without calling a third-party web developer or agency. Take, for example, the excellent StarPrompt Teleprompting Services, which offers these fine features: contact information, snazzy branding, client photos, lists of past clients and recent jobs, a sign-up form for a newsletter, an ad for additional services, a live feed of entertainment news, and perhaps most importantly -- a sense that there are real (and really entertaining) people behind the rented teleprompter. Honestly, it's a beautiful example of getting a lot of crucial information on one screen where the most important people can see it. I guess it's no surprise that pros like StarPrompt make it work, but we think TypePad makes it easy enough for anyone to pull off. High five!

Popnography

Out.com has always been a leading chronicler of the intersection between "gay" and "culture." Their excellent blog, Popnography, offers a gorgeous parade of entries about entertainers, public figures, and pop icons, with the stated aim to "push your buttons and play with your heart -- and make you love every minute of it." All we can say is, "Mission accomplished!" We're pretty much a sucker for the kind of gossip, commentary, and eye candy that Popnography dispenses, especially with dished up with such enthusiasm and wit. If loving Popnography is wrong, we don't want to be right.

Gamedrop

MTV Games has a brand new TypePad blog called Gamedrop. Joining their sister network's excellent online resource, VH1 Game Break, this younger endeavor is similarly genuine. For gamers, by gamers -- that's pretty much the rule of thumb for this eclectic collection of off-beat observations about videogame culture. You'll find quirky entries on subjects such as a Yoshi made of snow and "Goodies for the Crafty Gamer." So, while you'll find plenty of anecdotal posts about current and upcoming titles for your Wii, your Xbox 360, or your PS3, you won't find a laundry list of screencaps, cheat codes, and 1.000-word game reviews. If you ask us, we're thankful for the respite. Gaming, just like MTV, is first and foremost about having fun. And this vibrant site certainly reflects that attitude.

The DVD Dossier

The DVD Dossier is a treasure trove for movie lovers. Especailly those who augment their theater-going experiences with a healthy amount of DVD purchases and rentals. Even without considering the commentary and links in the site's main feed, we can see bookmarking the Dossier for the visual listing of recent and upcoming DVD releases in the left-hand sidebar. That resource alone, updated weekly, would be plenty, but then you've got the main Dossier blog with in-depth news, previews, and even humor pieces. There is an amazing wealth of DVD-related content here, proving that the folks at the Dossier truly love movies. Don't be overwhelmed by you initial visit. Just bookmark or subscribe to their feed and let the cinemania flow.

The Sonic City Blognik

It's been 15 years since a superfast hedgehog named "Sonic" sped onto the scene, collecting gold rings, launching a great videogame franchise, and setting the stage for any number of trickster-character  - come-lately's. Fifteen years and still going strong, Sega's standard-bearer has two new games coming out: "Sonic Rivals" on the PSP and the eponymous "Sonic the Hedgehog" for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The latter title looks like a mind-blowing mashup of Final Fantasy, old-school Sonic, and a blockbuster CGI chase scene. For the insider scoop on Sonic's upcoming moves in the videogame marketplace, check out The Sonic City Blognik, which promises a great mix of eye candy, community updates, and insights straight from the game developers. If you're a Sonic fan and want more than just a flash-travaganza marketing site to slake your thirst for all things hedgehog, make a pilgrimage to Sonic City's true-blue blog.

Army Archerd

In Hollywood, the name Army Archerd is pretty much synonymous with "inside scoop." He's been reporting on the entertainment industry's biggest movers and shakers since the 1950s, and for more than five decades he's been a columnist for Daily Variety. Put his daily dedication to his subject together with his writing style, which varies from short anecdotes to longer stories, and we'd have to whole-heartedly agree with his site's tagline, which hails Archerd as "Hollywood's Original Blogger." For more on the man so adept at making celebrities share their lives that he became a legend himself, just check out this appreciation, which appeared on the 100th anniversay of the Variety's launch.

Lindsayism.com

Lindsayism.com is the online home of Lindsay Robertson, a NYC writer who is pretty awesome, if you ask us. Check the bio for the specifics, but suffice to say her blogger cred is impeccable, thanks tor publication in Gawker, McSweeney's, a recurring gig on Jane Magazine's excellent blogs, and her day job at Comedy Central. (We love all those places!) Lindsay's self-appointed beat is decidedly personal, as evidenced by the impressive category cloud in the sidebar of her blog, which includes such delightful topics as "highdeas," "eyeroll," and "brilliant!" That said, Lindsay definitely has a favorite subject -- comedy and comedians. If you're a fellow aficionado of stand-up, sketch, video shorts, and the men and women who are blessed with the talent to induce gut-wrenching laughter, you'll undoubtedly find a lot to like at Lindsayism.com.

TED Blog

At the risk of repeating ourselves, we'd like to point out that the TED Blog continues to post great video content from their TEDTalks series. When we first featured TED back in June, they had only released a couple of clips. Now, there is a real wealth of material, including recent additions from Nicholas Negroponte, former director of MIT's Media Lab; Larry Brilliant, winner of the TEDPrize and executive director of the Google Foundation; Julia Sweeney, actor and playwright; Amy Smith, MacArthur grant-winning inventor of amazing low-cost products; and Jennifer Lin, 14-year-old concert pianist. Every week, the TED blog features a pair of new speakers. With the amount of whimsical video frippery that circulates online (which we love!), it's great to see that enlightening filmed content is also finding its place on the Web, giving everyone a chance to enjoy new ideas.

A+E Interactive

A+E Interactive is a cool entertainment blog from the San Jose Mercury News, one of the world's most thoroughly wired newspapers. This deceptively modest, yet stylishly designed blog offers a "hangout for gaming, music, movies and culture" for San Francisco Bay area readers. Of course, since we live in a global village, just about anyone who is entertained by video games, television, and popular music will be able to enjoy the content here. Divided into a dozen helpful "channels," with the aforementioned Gaming, Music, Movies at the forefront, but also including subjects such as Celebrities, Teen Views, and Concerts for good measure, the blog does a great job of putting faces on their writers. In fact, you can browse the archives by clicking on the names of one of the 10 Mercury News reporters who man the blog.

Lukira

Aiming to become the Engadget of whimsy, Lukira is for the young at heart. That said, it looks like this month-old blog is well on it's way to global whimsy domination. Built by the Browski family and named after daughters Luca (age 9) and Akira (age 7), they aim to provide an alternative space for kids to be entertained and educated. This is a great bookmark for parents with a sophisticated sense of play who want to share gems of amusement with their kids if, and only if, their kids are cool enough. And the Browski kids are. Find daily YouTube laughs, online games, artists worth commissioning, an assortment of toys you can't imagine why you don't already have, and lots of cartoons and music. If you had any doubt that family of designers behind Lukira were game-lovers, just try and find the links to the products. (Hint: click the photo.)

TED Blog

We've always been fans of TED -- the long-running, annual Technology, Entertainment, and Design conference. It doesn't hurt that they're good bloggers, who are constantly sharing insights on an eclectic mix of topics from advertising to wunderkind.  (Check our their impressive tag cloud.) Starting today, they have some even more amazing material to share -- video and audio posts from the participants of the annual TED meetups. These are presenters like Al Gore, Hans Rosling, Sir Ken Robinson, Tony Robbins, David Pogue, and Majora Carter. The organizers of the event have always wanted the ideas discussed there to flourish and spread beyond the conference hall. Now, they've got the ultimate outlet -- their TypePad blog and the integrated VideoEgg service. That means you can get the content how ever you like -- via your browser, your feedreader, or iTunes. You can also visit the standalone TedTalks site, which compiles all the videos in one convenient location. You can even cut and paste a snippet of code to serve the videos from your own blog. According to June Cohen, the Director of TED Media, the the idea is simple, "to share these profound ideas with the widest possible audience." Look for more and more speeches from this amazing lineup of thinkers in the weeks and months to come.

Bad Hair Day

Everyone has a bad hair day from time to time. Most of us skate by with a baseball hat and the silent forgiveness of our friends and coworkers. If you're a celebrity, you don't have that luxury. Leave the house with a lackluster coiffure or, worse, a full-blown hair disaster, and you're definitely going to hear about it. Keeping up their end of that bargain, Bad Hair Day delights in celebrity shame -- a well-worn blogging formula that, well, just works. What Go Fug Yourself is to clothes, Bad Hair Day is to locks. And just like the super-popular Fug, Bad Hair has teased out some repeat offenders. Nicole Kidman, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, the Hilton sisters, Britney Spears, and the cast of American Idol have all earned their very own categories. So, if you revel in split ends, bad dye jobs, bizarre bangs, and other hair horrors, make sure you bookmark this blog. They comb the web for celebrity embarrassment, so you don't have to.

The Disney Blog

Here at Six Apart, we have a deep affection for all things Disney. From the theme parks to the classic animated movies to the newest Disney property -- Pixar -- and its amazing visual artistry. Of course, we're not alone; Disney has some of the most passionate followers in the world. The Disney Blog is meant to feed the cravings of all those Disney fans, wherever they are. Posting family-friendly news and links, the blog is updated frequently and offers a ton of content about the House the Mouse built. You'll also find a sidebar full of theme-park trip reports submitted from readers, plus several related TypePad blogs -- MouseGoods.com and Movieland. The Disney Blog is associated with The Laughing Place, a huge online community of Disneyphiles. So, if you find yourself stuck far away from the Magic Kingdom, visit the blog and picture yourself there.

Celebrity Baby Blog

Founding editor Danielle Friedland leads several contributors in staying on top of all things pink & blue to show biz darlings. Called "the US Weekly of baby blogs," the Celebrity Baby Blog posts several times a day to keep you informed about which star is preggers, what top-shelf products they're buying for their bundles of joy, and where the trends in celebrity motherhood are headed. You'll find oodles of baby photos and a weekly newsletter, in case your own kids have you too busy to check in every day. And if you want to stay ahead of the gossip at your next cocktail party, keep tabs on their Pregwatch, a roundup of rumors. Addicted yet? They have an extensive blogroll of baby blogs and are open to new writers. It's a fun site, and it's no surprise that the Celebrity Baby Blog drives enough traffic to allow advertising to help support their post-natal pondering.

Jancee Dunn

Long-time Rolling Stone writer and former MTV2 VJ Jancee Dunn recently penned But Enough About Me, a funny memoir about being a journalist who mostly writes about celebrities. You know the type: Brad, Ben, Madonna, Beyonce, Dolly -- just about anyone who can get by with one name. The book was just released, so once you've perused Dunn's press clips (Entertainment Weekly gave the book an "A"), read some excerpts, and reminisced over the M2 years, you'll be able to instantly gratify your desire to buy a copy. The site has everything you could want from an author blog -- tour dates, blurbs, links to Dunn's essays and stories -- but, of course, the frosting on the cupcake is always those bits you don't expect, like recipes from Jancee's mom or mini-reviews of assorted so-bad-they're-good TV movies. The one thing that's clear, besides the fact that Dunn is a talented and accomplished writer, is that you're unlikely to regret spending time being charmed by her tales from the celebrity trenches.

Past Deadline

Founded in 1930, venerable entertainment daily The Hollywood Reporter recently started a pair of TypePad blogs. Past Deadline, which covers television and film, is the work of Ray Richmond, while Risky Business, focussed on the big screen, in penned by Anne Thompson. Both cover the goings on behind the scenes in Tinseltown -- whether it's on screen, on the set, or in the boardroom. Richmond , author of a weekly column in the Reporter called "The Pulse," brings his own brand of wicked sarcasm to the table, offering up hilarious jabs at industry idiocy -- from absurd marketing ploys to assinine media personalities. You've got to love the off-the-wall journalistic style of Hollywood reporters in general, and The Hollywood Reporter and its bloggers are no exception.

Popwatch

Are you a pop-culture addict? Do you get depressed if you can't keep tabs on the Hollywood A-list? Don't worry. Entertainment Weekly has your back. Their blog, Popwatch, works like the Energizer bunny to keep you updated on all the entertainment buzz that's fit to print -- and then some. If you're brave enough to read a Lost spoiler, smart enough to check the trailer before hitting the theater, or dedicated enough to start analyzing Fall television line-ups before Summer has even started to sizzle -- you’ve surfed to the right place. Updating 8 to 10 times a day on weekdays, Mickey. Gary, Scott and the other Popwatch newshounds deliver the dirt on who America's obsessing over. And in typical blog fashion, Popwatch is so well organized that even if you miss a few days, you can skim through their archives and get caught up in no time. Bonus: If you think they've left something out, you're invited to send in your own entertainment news tips.

JANE Magazine Blogs

The folks behind JANE Magazine bill themselves as purveyors of "fashion, beauty, music, gossip, and news for 20-something women." Dirty secret: You don't have to be a 20-something woman to enjoy the fun. Check out the mag's site and you'll see that they've jumped into blogging in a big way. They've actually got four separate blogs. One group blog for all their editors, one for music and celebrities, one for fashion and makeup, and one devoted to a monthly guest blogger. This past month, the guest contributor was Lindsay Robertson, who posted up an eclectic storm on everything from American Inventor to leprechaun sightings. With that many blogs overflowing with content, plus friends like Lindsay, JANE is certainly one of the cool kids on the magazine rack.   

Gallery of the Absurd

It's one thing for paparazzi to steal a photo of your favorite celebrity in their most vulnerable moment, but it's even funnier when an artist blends famous art and pop culture with the latest Hollywood hotshots. Gallery of the Absurd, is just that. "If Dali Had Painted Angelina Jolie," "If Lichtenstein Had Painted Britney Spears," Kirsten Dunst on the cover of a faux Weekly World News, and more. Paris Hilton, Star Jones, Tom Cruise, and Jessica Simpson are frequent subjects. Someone call Christie's, these are priceless.

Pop Candy

One of ten blogs from USA Today, Whitney Matheson's Pop Candy is flat out addictive. She reports one-liner gossip about celebrities, TV shows, books, movies, you name it -- if something or someone is popular (or not) right this very minute, Whitney or one of her informants knows about it. She posts many times a day, and even answers questions. In one fell swoop we heard about a Lost party in LA, Brad Pitt is sporting a tattoo to honor Angelina and Maddox, that Leo's new girlfriend is a model, and learned about National High-Five Day. Add it to your feed reader so you don't miss a morsel.

Cute Overload

There’s no need to wait for Easter to get your fix of baby bunnies, chickadees, and sugargliders. Cute Overload is an insanely popular blog that exhibits pictures of  adorable animals year round. Puppies, kittens, farm animals, even baby hamsters. The smaller, the cuter. Sometimes they have cute contests where you, the reader, can vote for which image is cuter than the other. Got Cute? Meg, the webmaster, invites readers to submit photos of their cuties for consideration. Tip: Keep the "ear to head" ratio as small as possible.

Dilbert Blog

Scott Adams is the mastermind behind the comic strip that has rescued the sanity of cubicle-bound workers the world over. The Dilbert Blog is a window into the trivialities of Scott's everyday life -- only occasionally crossing over into the world of comics. Several posts invite readers to partake in discussions about topics such as Adams' theory on happiness, why smokers roll down their car windows while smoking, whether or not men are defective women, and the amount of time he spends thinking about the best way to dispose a body. The Dilbert Blog has been up and running for several months and Scott is answering questions from fans right and left. If you're tuning in now, don't hurl your stapler if you see acronyms you don't understand. Most of the lingo, like "BOCTAOE" for instance, is super easy to decipher. (But of course there are obvious exceptions.)