Infinite Monkeys

One Hand Washes The Other: 2006 Edition

Remember when the Web used to be all about the linking, maaaaaan? Neither do we. But during a lull at the office the other day, in between the screaming and the ranting, some of us wondered about some of the blogsites on the Infinite Monkeys blogroll. Did we not list them for a reason? Perhaps. But those reasons -- flimsly at best -- have been washed away by the intervening months and years of alcohol abuse.

Still, it seemed to us -- well, to H.L. Monkey, anyway -- why not pay a visit in hopes of reviving some fond memories? Or possibly to inspire newfound contempt. And so, the first annual "One Hand Washes the Other Infinite Blog Round Up... uh, Thing" was born. Please link to us!

• We cannot recommend Monkey Watch. No, wait. We cannot recommend Monkey Watch enough. On account of the monkey news. Could use more on lemurs, however.

• Zonitics (which is supposed to rhyme with "lunatics"... possibly) has consistently good political commentary, with a nice spice of personal accounts (the "what I did last night" section of blogs appeals to those of us who don't work in an office and miss the water cooler conversations). Here's a good example of the former (how lovely that the blogiverse keeps the Plame flame alive, focusing on how fishy Wilson and Plame's behavior has
  been). And here's a wonderfully odd example of the latter. This blog has really grown in 2005 into one of the few must-reads of '06.

• It was Orson Scott Card who said that good science fiction focuses not on the science, but the people--it tells stories about how humans behave wherever they are, and is able to put humans in extraordinary circumstances to explore those ideas. It's one reason that the Monkeys are hooked on "Battlestar Galactica." Wallo World has an interesting exploration of the idea. As Jacob at TWOP wrote (in contrasting with "24"), "...the point of 24 is radically not feelings, psychology, ontology or theology, while the point of this show kind of...radically is."

• We love a good fact-check slam of the MSM, as Mr. Cranky does here. Of course, Coleman is a fish in a barrel.

• Yes, we know it's silly, but a good Photoshop effort always makes us smile. Look at it this way: The power of a political cartoon is now available to those who can't draw. But, as that post points out, it also means we can no longer believe our lying eyes.

• You think our posting is sporatic? Check out Brainstorming. "DC" hasn't blogged since last February. Could it be she's decided to devote more time to her family and her business? Preposterous! Seems Daly Thoughts has similar difficulties. But his commenters are top notch. We truly miss Dimpenumbra, who was alive as of April 25, 2005. But now? Who knows? And Dan and Ben are just slacking. Pathetic, boys. Just pathetic.

• Truth is, Christianity is not all about, you know, faith and works, or fire and brimstone. As our friend Tim at Broken Masterpieces reminds us, there is plenty of room, too, for flatulence humor as well as forgiveness. Not necessarily in that order.

• Did you know that California Yankee doesn't actually publish much about California? It's true. But if you want to learn something about the squalor of Connecticut politics, then he's your man.

• Among the resolutions we neglected to make for the New Year was to read Chicago Boyz on a regular basis. This was an oversight, not unlike our inadvertent failure to pay our car registration last year. (Sorry, officer... an oversight, we assure you.) Among the gems we would have missed, had we not clicked the aforementioned link: why colonial Americans were right to throw that famous tea party, the perils of political opposition, a view from the past and some fascinating thoughts on the market value of higher education. Those boyz sure have a knack for the Life of the Mind.

• Damascus Road agrees with us that Pat Robertson needs to go away.

• Floyd declares that he sucks at video games. So do we. Well, except for Halo. We own Halo.

• When you have kids, silence can be a blessing and a curse, as Jared Keller patiently explains.

• What's the difference between Al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri and John Murtha? Well, one is a congressman from Pennsylvania and the other one is not yet dead. But Ex Vigilare offers another answer.

• For some reason, this post generated tremendous traffic for the Great Satan. We couldn't figure it out, but we've been too busy putting together this post (three weeks and counting!) to actually watch that episode of "Lost".

• Laird's Applejack: New bottle, same great taste. (Click on "Apple products" under "products" in the nav bar. Sheesh. What a pain.) (Incredibly, part of Laird's own website features the old design.) (Also, the new bottle costs three bucks more at Liquorama. Dammit.)

• Cars and guns. Guns and cars. Lay Lines posts on both. Well, guns mostly. God bless 'im.

Good Lord. What a waste of time. The rest... uh, later.

Posted by H.L. Monkey at January 16, 2006 11:59 PM | TrackBack