Campus Living

Follow Friday!

July 12, 2013

Follow Friday, for those not addicted to limiting our digital dialogue to 140 characters, is a weekly opportunity to “holla” at our friends and idols online, hopefully aquiring a handful of followers for everyone in the process.

Today, I’d like to extend this Twitter tradition to full-size blogs.

The murky waters of the web are sometimes difficult to sift through, but if you survive out here long enough, you’ll find gold. Here are some of the golden independent blogs that I have found – all by Winnipeg authors.

Need some news? Turn to www.chrisd.ca. They filter through other news sites, so you don’t have to.

Need photos from that arts event you went to? Leif Norman is your man. You name it – he was very probably there, and he quite possibly made one of his excellent photo essays about it.

Need photos of Winnipeg locations? Winnipeg Love Hate. We all love and hate this city sometimes.

Need some laughs, or need to be creeped out, or both? The classic Wpg Bus Stories. Started by Winnipeg Film Group’s Jaimz Asmundson, perhaps as a way to rant about some frustrating occurrences on Winnipeg Transit, this blog accepts submissions.

Need a hand choosing a beer? Colin Enquist and Cody from the Cranky Beer Blog. I started following both these gents on Twitter, and their beer suggestions and reviews have been very helpful.

Need to enjoy some rad chicks chatting about television? These young women cover it all. It’s entertaining when you’ve seen the shows and informative when you haven’t.

Need to learn how to write a blog? Liz Hover, a fabulous woman who transformed the National Screen Institute’s web presence a few years ago. Also, she has a cool British accent.

Need to see cats and dominos? Flippycat. Okay, this one is really a blog, per se…

My memory is not what it once was (I must have hit that 3 TB limit recently), so I apologize to all those fabulous bloggers who have been overlooked.

500 words per day may not sound like a lot, but after several posts of this length in a row, it is easy to feel the weight of those words more fully.

The admirable writers in this city who continuously crank out content deserve some recognition here. It seems to me that the goal of a writer is not to be a flash in the pan, but to build constantly towards a larger goal. I have been astounded by Winnipeg journalists and novelists alike.

Writing is not as easy as I thought it would be.

After my brain tires of finding fun ways to word phrases, all I can manage to eke out is, “It was good,” or “Very nice things.” The fractured vagueness crept up on me earlier this week. How simple it would be to allow myself to make Duplo-block sentences instead of Lego ones.

Readers, I am working hard to ensure that this blog provides some summer stimulation. If I ever fall into grade 1 writing quality, please knock me upside the head.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rylaan for being my sounding board for ideas. Rylaan, you have been amazingly helpful. Thanks!!

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