NEWS
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
"Blog it Forward"The idea is simple: pick one blog you read and briefly recommend them. That person then does the same. Started, apparently, by this person:
"The rules are really simple. For those of you who are new to this, all you have to do is pick someone from your blogroll and post (on your site) just what makes them blogworthy. Whassat? Ok, you can pick two people. What? Ok fine, three if you must! Be sure to track back to this post so that we can all find out who you chose and can discover some new sites."
First, a little history. Michigan native swirlspice sent it to Hillary and Steve over in Ypsilanti, saying "they both just seem like really nice people. I enjoy keeping up with the local goings on through their eyes, which is a perspective I never really had before." Steve bounced it to Murph's "Common Monkeyflower," praising his blog where "The threads of urbanism, civil libertarianism, and activism come together in an enthusiastic yet metered voice." Murph sent it to Dread Pirate King, "another person who the planning world can look forward to," (who has yet to pass it on) and Brandon's "Past the College Grounds," who sent it to me, calling this site "blogworthy for its sheer exhaustiveness" But wait a minute, let's not forget Hillary Blough at The Bunker who bounced hers to Mark Maynard, another resident of Ypsilanti who you may have read about in this month's Current magazine, describing him and his wife Linette Lao this way: "I can't think of nicer people I'd like to bump into while shopping over the coming 50 years." How's that for being invested in your community!
Thus, we get to the point where I have to suggest someone. After deciding sending it to Arborblogs would cause a postmodern rupture in the time-space continuum, I have decided to tap none other than the Cadillac of Ann Arbor blogs - Ann Arbor is Overrated. (Or, as the historically minded know, Ann Arbor Sucks) This anonymous blogger has been skewering just about everything about this "city" since May 2002, where all the fun began with the following post: "After living here about nine months, I feel that I'm ideally qualified to report on the lameness of Ann Arbor (or A^2, if you're one of those locals who insists on this cutesy, gag-inducing nickname. That's pronounced "A squared.") Why? I've been around just long enough to absorb the soulless, yuppified, no-fun atmosphere, but not long enough to forget why these things are wrong." AAIO helps me remember some of the myriad of reasons why between 1990 and 2000, Ann Arbor lost 20,340, or 10.7%, of its adults aged 25 to 34 (To compare to Lansing's 54%, East Lansings 27%, and Ypsilanti's 16.8%) and why exactly I'm doing this Cool Cities Task Force anyway. The blog's design is minimalist, the wit is sharp, and the comment discourse is always interesting. Good work!
Posted by Rob at 10:35 PM
