TypePad Featured Blogs

Blind Pig and the Acorn

For many, Appalachia brings to mind vast stretches of forest-covered mountains, small towns, country living, coal mines…and it is all that and more, as you’ll discover in the pages of Blind Pig and the Acorn, author “Tipper’s” loving tribute to her home and heritage. Tipper’s posts hearken back to the region’s simpler lifestyle, to family bonds, to music, to “understand how the love for the past can be woven into a hope for the future as well as an appreciation for the present.” And the moment you go to her site, you’ll see, read, and - courtesy of her country music feed – hear what she’s talking about. There are trips to the creek with the kids, the beauty of nature, regional crafting, and profiles of the unique individuals that call the area home. Central to Tipper’s blog are “Grannyisms” those wonderful bits of wisdom, humor, and common sense that seemingly spring from Grandmothers everywhere – especially those from the South. Tipper adds lots of local flavor with her links to other small-town/Appalachian sites and photo albums and spending time here is like dipping your tired, hot feet into a wonderfully cool, clear mountain stream.

Halbrook Associates

John Halbrook is a resident of Central Iowa and works in emergency services, an occupation that serves as the focus of his blog, Halbrook Associates. Both site and company spotlight the specialized services of Fire, EMS, Rescue, and emergency response in the state of Iowa. Those of us living in the United States know that Iowa – indeed much of the Midwest – has been in the news lately due to record-breaking floods that have impacted millions and will undoubtedly cost billions in damages. All of which means that John and people like him have been out on deployment dealing with the emergency and you can read an “on call” account of the disaster, get a sense of what’s involved with his job, and read about the aftereffects of the disaster. Lots of related links lead you to emergency resources, such as Search and Rescue and Radio Communications, and John’s postings will give you an in-depth look at this dynamic, rewarding profession.

Real Estate Snippets

What’s the state of real estate? In Minneapolis/St. Paul, at least, it’s alive and well in the pages of Real Estate Snippets, a blog written by Twin Cities realtor Bonnie Erickson. What makes the site special is Bonnie’s approach to buying a home: when you buy a house, you buy the total package, including neighbors, traffic, and potential issues. Bonnie may live and practice in Minnesota, but she covers topics that are universal, as her posts on neighborhood safety, the ups and downs of “found space”, and the money drain bear out. Her posts on home improvement and moving will strike a familiar chord with buyers and sellers alike, too. You may not be moving to the Twin Cities soon, but here’s a blog that you should call home for a long time.

NYBarfly

More fun to read than Page Six, NYBarfly is a laugh-out-loud blog about drinking in New York. This blog is what you'd get if Perez Hilton joined Charles Bukowski on a bar crawl. Dominant, deliberate, and drunk, there is a random mix of gossip and bar reviews that read more like personal diary entries than some stuffy bar guide. We love that they make up drinks for their readers' entertainment and enjoy their love/hate relationship with holidays. "New York City is built on a river of alcohol. Around a bend in that river hides the perfect, crystal-clear Martini," they say. Agreed. But reader beware, this blog is not for the faint of heart. NYBarfly contains nudity, violence, sexual content and all the other good stuff that would make the author of the original Barfly proud.

Juxtapose Photography

No poses. Never say "cheese." No clichés. Kate at Juxtapose Photography steals moments during a one- to three-hour adventure that reveals a person's individuality. Her blog, with the same name as her business, shows off some of her work and is updated regularly. "Life is chock full of adjectives and adverbs. I prefer to capture them ALL in our photo shoots," said Kate. It's obvious that she has a way with children and is able to bring out their true personality, and the testimonials on her main website attest to it. She loves working with teenagers, and does bridal portraits and couples as well. Occasionally the blog will point to a special sale or proud posts with photos of her own child and friends, but mostly Kate updates her fans on what she's working on. Warning: viewers might be inclined to pick up the phone and ask if  Kate leaves Texas for out-of-state assignments.

Yanksfan vs Soxfan

Not everyone  is interested in Yankee pitcher Chien-Ming Wang’s hamstring or a reported eBay sighting of Manny Ramirez's barbecue grill, but for Yankee and Red Sox fans, such a thing as irrelevant minutiae does not exist. Yanksfan vs Soxfan has been chronicling the vicissitudes of these two mortal combatants since 2003, and doing such a fine job that it logged hit number 1,000,000 last January. On the Sox side of the foul line, you’ll find posts on new Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and his amazing gyroball and Curt Schilling’s blog, among others. For Bronx Bomberites, there's nostalgia for the Reggie Bar and a triumphal but premature note at the Yankees 3-0 spring training record. And of course, the continuing saga of A-Rod remains popular. For those fans who'd rather spend a month of jury duty with Barry Bonds than root for either of these teams, check out posts on general baseball and baseball history. This blog's a home run.

Beerleaguer

A new baseball season is on the near horizon, and while the casual fan is probably gearing up for opening day, die-hard aficionados of the sport never have to endure down-time, thanks to a whole new league of blogs and fan sites that track the moves and maneuvers of their favorite teams.  One such site, Beerleaguer, covers the Philadelphia Phillies, who are coming off a 85-77 campaign where they narrowly missed a playoff berth. So, if you're a Phillie fanatic and want to go deep into the personnel and personalities behind the plate, on the mound, and in the batter's box, it's time to add this passionate, opinionated blog to your daily roster.

Owen Bloggers

U.S. News & World Report ranked Vanderbilt University's Owen School of Management among the top 50 of America's Best Graduate Schools. Owen Bloggers is a student-run blog with more than a dozen writers shedding some light on the lives of current MBA and MSF students. Now prospective students can see what life is like in grad school at Vanderbilt.Topics range from balancing academic life and marriage, all the way to the students' 2007 trip to China. Tyler has been bombarded with questions from employers and friends as to why he chose Owen Graduate School of Management and has written a series of posts about why he chose a health care MBA, why Owen, and his opinion about the finer things in Nashville. There are also plenty of posts that crossover into mainstream life from a student's perspective -- and you won't want to miss Sharran's 42 Reasons Normal People Can Switch to Macs.

Hedonia

Hedonia is either the food blog of an exceptional person or the personal blog of an exceptional foodie, we're not sure. But instead of worrying about categories, let's just eat! Follow writer Sean Timberlake as he traipses through the restaurants, markets, and food-related emporia of San Francisco. If you can tear yourself away from Sean's mouth-wateringly detailed posts on hearty home-cooked dishes, you'll also find hundreds of categories worth of entries -- from accessories (home of the Popener) all the way down to wine. In fact, Sean seems to accomplish more in a day than most of us could in a week, and judging by the depth and breadth of Hedonia's wonderful content, he gets more cooked in a year than most of us do in a lifetime. So whether you're looking for culinary tips for your own kitchen or just want to live vicariously through Sean's, a trip to Hedonia is a must.

Chicago Police Department

The Chicago Police Department Weblog is online and ready to help the men and women in blue "serve and protect." You could add the verbs "inform and engage" to that familiar law-enforcement slogan and you'd be reflecting what many police departments, large and small, already understand -- that talking with the communities they serve is a  key to affecting change and  reacting to challenges. Chicago's force has been blogging since the beginning of this year and you can already see the breadth of information that they're willing to share -- from crime statistics to technology initiatives to a prayer for a fallen officer. It's clear that this resource will not only benefit the citizens of Chicago, but also the officers of the department that protect its neighborhoods.