Top Ten Reads

Tosy had an interesting post on Thursday about his top blog reads, and I thought I'd steal the idea and do the same. As of this moment I've got 99 feeds in Google Reader; here's my top ten percent:

10. Whedonesque - a weblog about all things Whedon. This site is maintained by an obsessive-compulsive community that tracks the comings and goings of everyone even peripherally associated with Joss Whedon with the tenacity and diligence of the NSA. Where else can you find out that vampire thug #3 from Buffy episode 3.17 is playing bass Thursday at the Algonquin? Or that Joss's high school geometry teacher is competing in this weekend's shuffleboard tourney down in Boca?

9. The Loom - Carl Zimmer's blog on the biosciences. Right now, this is a great place to go to recover from the MSM's hyperventilation over Venter's new work. Innovative and groundbreaking, yes. "Playing God", no. Zimmer gets a lot of loony commenters, but that's because the ID proponents keep going off their meds.

8. Dick Cavett (NYT) - the driest, cleverest, wittiest, and anti-Nixoniest of them all. Posts certainly aren't daily. They aren't even weekly. But when they come...hell y'all, it's Dick Goddamn Cavett! It's gold every time! Whether he's bagging on Tricky Dick or dishing on the Mailer/Vidal feud, it's always worth reading.

7. Talking Points Memo - Joshua Micah Marshall runs a topnotch news gathering organization that puts much of the MSM to shame. With a small staff (and the occasional assist from the hive mind,) Marshall accomplishes more than many larger organizations dream of. USA purge? McClatchy gets the kudos for great work, but TPM broke it.

6. Chris's Invincible Super-Blog - an irreverent look at comics and the occasion B-minus movie from a warped mind. Especially noteworthy are his infrequent crayon masterpieces, like Civil War in 30 seconds.

5. Kung Fu Monkey - John Roger's blog on comics, television, politics, and popculture. The fact that he got his physics degree the same year I would have (had I not bailed on those final 12 credits,) writes my absolute favorite comic book, evah - Blue Beetle, and wrote the brilliant unaired pilot of Global Frequency probably accounts for some of my major affection.

4. Neil Gaiman's Journal - uh, the title says it all. If you don't love Gaiman...what the hell are you doing here??? Posts on the act of writing, on travel, on bee keeping, and Maddy's awesome guest spots make this a definite must-read.

3. By Ken Levine - a blog on television, baseball, and popculture by a culture hero. Don't know his name? Suffice it to say if you've watched any television in the last 30 years you've seen some of his great work. He and his partner David Isaacs have given us dozens of hours of incredible quality. Also, got Aaron Sorkin's panties into a bunch. And in case you're curious, Hawkeye Pierce beats Jed Bartlett with one hand holding a martini behind his back.

2. What's Alan Watching? - the Star-Ledger's star critic on all things television. No shock Tosy and I both have this on our must-reads. Anyone who watches television should be visiting Alan's blog regularly. Plus, Alan's a genuinely nice guy who engages his readers in a healthy back and forth in comments.

1. Philosophers' Playground - Professor Steve Gimbel's blog on philosophy, politics, ethics, and comedy. As the founding father and leading light of Comedism, his weekly sermons are essential to those who have been baptized with the holy seltzer. Also, he's likely to pick on Objectivists every now and then just to get their dander up. It's so much fun to watch those loons rend garments and bend arguments.