Months have passed since I last brought you an honest-to-goodness edition of Stuff You Should Know. So here I am. This week's focus is on sites I've dug up on the Internoodle, just a few little things I think you need to see.
1) Sickdujour! On a whim, I started following the user sickdujour on Twitter last week. I soon realized that each day this guy features a rare disease or disorder on his blog, and boy, are they gruesome. If you've ever found yourself engrossed in the surgical removal of a 500-pound tumor, or fantasize about interviewing Tree Man's team of doctors, you'll love this blog. He features diseases I've never heard of, but will undoutedly make great conversation at the next cocktail party. That is, if I want to get vomited on/asked to leave. Check out his entry on freakish growths trapped in the gastrointestinal tract... but only if you have a strong stomach. (Don't yell at me, I warned you.) Each entry is presented in easy-to-read, digestible little nuggets, ending in a 0-10 ranking on lethality and disturbing scales. The perfect thing to read over your morning coffee. Looks like the blog has only been around for a few weeks, but sickdujour has already won a dedicated reader in me.
2) I make no bones about the fact that I love a good parenting blog. Sure, I have no kids, and frankly don't want any, but reading merry stories about the trials and tribulations of parenthood is endlessly entertaining. I do love kids, and maybe if I just continue to read about other people's, I'll be able to avoid the gentle tug of my maternal instincts until it's too late! Anyway. One of my favorite bloggers is Jim at Sweet Juniper!, who writes beautifully about being a stay-at-home dad in Detriot. The tender stories and pictures of his two kids will make your heart melt. But some of my favorite entries are his stories about what he finds on his walks around the city. He adroitly juxtaposes the odd and aching pairings of dilapidation and economic depression with beautiful public parks, museums, and neighborhoods, all of which go undiscovered in a city that most of the country wrote off as a lost cause. But today I wanted to feature his "Terrifying Nixon-Era Children's Books" tag, where he scans in books from the 60s and 70s that are perplexing to say the least. Seeing books like these makes me wonder if I should try my hand at my long-forgotten dream of book publishing. If they can do it, I can, right? Here's the complete collection. Scroll through, and let me know your favorite book.
3) I was devastated last December when John Marshall announced his blog News Gems, published through the Society of Professional Journalists, would close. It was a consistent resource for some of the finest writing in print and on the Web, and I always came across articles I never would have seen otherwise.
While it's by no means a replacement, I was heartened to see The New York Times relaunch their Ideas blog this week, now calling it Idea of the Day. They say, "As suggested by the new name, we’re streamlining the blog to a single post daily, to highlight one article or current of thought on the Web that, out of a wealth of reading choices, seems worth your attention for its relevance, thoughtfulness, provocativeness or quality. We’ll also recommend additional readings at the bottom of each morning’s post."
In the era of a lighting-paced news cycle, I love to see any publication seize the opportunity for depth and research in its reporting, even if that comes in a quick write-up and list of links. Taking the time to look at one issue closely, and encourage readers to delve into it thoughtfully and critically might be at the heart of good media practices of the future. Party on, New York Times.
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