BEST OF THE BLOGS 7/1 - 7/8

1. I love PostSecret (see sidebar for link) so much I used to look forward to Sundays just so I could see the new secrets. Lately, however, they seem to be getting a little redundant. Or maybe the secrets of the human heart are just more limited than I thought. In any case, these were my favorites of the week:

In the best first line for a novel category:




In the existential angst category:




And this week's all round favorite. Just the photograph of that little house is enough to make me weep for my lost childhood:



2. M.J. Rose, one of the most innovative marketing minds on the literary scene, premiered this vidlit on her blog, Buzz, Balls & Hype this week. For every blog that features the vidlit before July 19th, M.J.'s supporters will donate I five bones to the Reading is Fundamental program. Another brilliant marketing scheme? Absolutely. But it also helps a great program.

The video only asks a minute and a half of your time. After you've seen it, I'd be curious to know your reaction. Would it
a) Make you more likely to buy the book
b) Less likely
c) Not influence your buying choices one way or another

In my house,out of three occupants, it was a draw. However, one thing it definitely accomplished: it got us all talking about The Halo Effect.

3. In our secret hearts, most of us pity the writers of former generations, sentenced to toil away on archaic typewriters or even worse--in longhand. But arguably, the world's greatest masterpieces were written in these primitive ways. The proprietor of Tingle Alley poses the question: How much time to we lose to the distractions of the internet by writing on a computer. And is it worth it? The answer is thoughtful, and well worth your time, even if it is, ahem, another distraction from writing.

4. And finally, Natalie D'Arbeloff (see sidebar) posts a very poignant and personal photograph of her frail and suffering aunt in a post called "For the Unseen and the Unsung." She asks us to "take a moment, and go via imagination to the side of all the little people and stroke their foreheads, hold their hands." It is a worthwhile trip.

5. I know that #4 opened with the words "And finally...", but just found "Slow=Know," a wonderful piece of advice to artists on Danny Gregory's blog, Everyday Matters. (Scroll down to 7/7.) The advice is intended for visual artists, but I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be inspired by reading it.