 I thought that title would get your attention.
After revealing
that only 30% of Salon Blogs are authored by women, and the drop-out
rate of new bloggers is astronomical, I wanted to give the nod to 22
of the newer (joined in the last 6 months) female Salon bloggers who
are hanging in there and providing IMO a disproportionately large
percentage of the wit, insight and entertainment in the 'Slogosphere'. Salon blog number and inbound blogs (number of people blogrolling them) is shown after each blog:
And Baby Makes Seven
[#2504, 6 inbound blogs]: Anita Blanchard's personal story about the
wisdom and struggle of trying to have a first (the other 'six' are the
parents and pets) child later in life, and juggle it with everything
else.
Doublethink [#2551,
28 inbound blogs]: Heavyweight political blog with long,
well-researched, important articles, a great sidebar of all things left
of centre, and a neat technique of using colour to 'highlight'
important passages in media quotes.
Chronicles of an Anti-Apathetic
[#2556, 8 inbound blogs]: Cat. M.'s progressive political blog. A
Wesley Clark fanatic, Cat writes in flurries with long gaps in between,
but the writing is excellent and the rants are funny and inspiring.
Doubly Gifted [#2569, 2 inbound blogs]: Artist/poet Susan Hales presents personal anecdotes (her Garden of Memories is wonderful), and articles about the arts and politics.
Life in L.A. [#2608, 16 inbound blogs]: I've mentioned Claire Smith's personal public diary before. Absolutely amazing writing. If her latest post doesn't move you to tears, check your pulse.
Thistle & Hemlock
[#2614, 5 inbound blogs]: Sam Mills' extraordinary personal diary of
transformation, survival, self-sacrifice and the search for inner peace
on a 26 acre farm. Inspiring, impossible to stop reading, laced with
awesome photos and even better poetry. She's a published writer, and it
shows.
Glutter
[#2681, 12 inbound blogs]: World traveler Yan hops between Hong Kong,
Australia and California, and teaches us that everything we thought we
knew about culture is wrong. Fascinating photos, anecdotes, and stories
of courage and keen political insight. Older site is here.
Marya Morevna's Battleground
[#2687, 11 inbound blogs]: Marya is the fictional alter-ego of the
mysterious writer, who is herself the heroine and villain of her own
huge and wonderful anthology of stories. Exquisite photos and poetry.
Strange and cryptic tales. Sheer magic.
Mambrino's Helmet
[#2737, 9 inbound blogs]: This blog extracts and analyzes stories
mostly from the British and Canadian press that seem strangely to have
received little attention in the US. The blog reads like a foreign
correspondent's diary, with some personal asides and first-person
narratives. Acute analysis and tight writing. Read the article
about Canadian Maher Arar's ordeal in a Syrian prison that suggests the
US is using Syria to torture terrorism suspects that are citizens of
countries 'friendly' to the US. Also read the author's 'about this
blog' post.
It's Not Me It's You
[#2747, 13 inbound blogs]: Leslie Talbot's hilarious personal escapades
and observations about the single life. Writing comedy is very hard,
and Leslie makes it look easy and carries it off brilliantly. Read this priceless skewering of wine snobs as an example.
Alien in My Buddha
[#2846, 5 inbound blogs]: Liz Humphreys McCarthy writes good-humouredly
about being in her forties, pregnant, and helping out her ailing
parents. Very imaginative wordplay (the medicine is "traffic-cone
orange") and the future baby is a "space invader") and clever
story-telling. Would make a great sitcom.
World O'Crap
[#2874, 30 inbound blogs]: The woman known only as "SZ" writes scathing
political satire, so biting she has reached the 30-inbound-blog level
faster than almost anyone in Salon history, and caught the attention of
several A-listers who have sent her a huge volume of traffic. Her
celebrity is completely deserved.
Impulse Control Problems
[#2880, 1 inbound blog]: Raucous, raunchy and addictive free-flow of
consciousness from Gwen. Wonderful conversational style -- you feel
like you're sitting opposite her in your favourite coffee bar hearing
all the intimate details of her life. And you are.
Don't Die Wondering
[#2888, 1 inbound blog]: Dixie Darr, novelist and writer looking for a
publisher, describes life in Denver, and gives us comfort by showing us
that the strange things that go on inside our heads also go on in hers.
What Happens When You Tell a Lie
[#2889, 9 inbound blogs]: Marijo Cook relates profound moral and
philosophical questions to her busy life as a social worker. Read this article
if you want to see just how valuable people in 'public service' can be
when systems break down and people become numbers. Profound, moving,
different.
WiseBabe [#2959, 1 inbound blog]: Sudi gives us rich insight into what it all really means -- by providing brief, strange, creative, engaging connections. Here's what a dog's squeaky toy tells you about the labour movement, for example.
Broken Windows
[#2967, 3 inbound blogs]: New Orleans blogger Kate talks about jazz,
dance, arts, ritual, politics, archeology and more, with a decided New
Orleans flavour. This is evolving into a true 'blog of place'. Charming, full of offbeat information, great photos and anecdotes with smart observations.
Death & Eros
[#3044, 1 inbound blog]: Nora Sawyer's 'engagement with ideas'. In its
infancy, and already thoughts about the nature of work, Freud,
inevitability, and science. Novel thinking, enormous possibility.
Poet Girl [#3053, 2
inbound blogs]: Head straight to the poetry page, and allow yourself
lots of time. A heart-rending and smart collection. Some of the phrases
will stay with you a long time. Then go back to the home page and start
to discover the author.
Kidding Isn't
[#3063, 2 inbound blogs]: Alas, this promising whimsical blog by Alice
Wan has come unglued. Keep checking back. If she gets the broken links
fixed, this one will be a hit.
Gripes from the Grumpy Girl
[#3115, 3 inbound blogs]: Alyssa Ettinger is a pro-choice activist
talking out loud to us on her new blog. She's not sure what she should
do, and tells us in a quirky conversational style all about it, and she
makes a lot of sense. Expect some great rants from Alyssa -- she's got
style.
Jef Klein [#3118, 2
inbound blogs]: An awesome and prolific debut from Jef (yes, that's a
girl's name) describing with startling candour her past and present --
relationships, beliefs, fears, crises. When she writes it's as if she's
looking you right in the eye, and her writing is tight, relentless,
almost brutal.
Whew! This was a more
ambitious undertaking than I thought. Twenty-two great new blogs by
women in six months. Please check out as many of these wonderful
writers as you can, and blogroll the ones you like. They all deserve
enormous recognition for helping to keep Salon Blogs the most
interesting and provocative corner of the blogosphere. Brava, ladies!
Postscript:
This is not to take anything away from the twenty active (posted in the last 30 days) veteran
(around more than 6 months) female Salon bloggers. My bloglife
wouldn't be complete without checking in with (in longevity order): Kat, Neva, Susan the Human, Maxine, Elsa, Julie, Paula, Kriselda, Rayne, Kristi, Amanda, Fiona, Leah, Catnmus, Penny (come back!), Meg, Michelle, Julia, Marie and Voodoolulu. I'm sure I'm missing some -- if you know of any, or if I've missed you, please let me know. And I'm convinced that Dr. Omed is female, although two fellow bloggers say I'm dead wrong, and Dana, the name on Dr. Omed's poetry, is androgynous.
This post could be the start of a Complete Active Salon Blog directory that Ted Ritzer's been talking about.
|
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
