Marginal Utility

by Tom Bozzo

Drek honored us with a "Thinking Blogger" tag. Thanks, Drek! There's nothing we like more than blog homework, as the "award" is a thing-called-meme. Since Drek contributes here from time to time, and I sometimes add my two cents over there, this could pretty quickly degenerate into a circle jerk. [*] I'll try to avoid a visit to One Infinite Loop in naming some thinking bloggers who don't blog here.

Also, if you're a blog pal and your blog doesn't appear in the list below, there's surely a good explanation. Maybe you put your blog on double secret probation and we never got the password for some reason. [**]

Anyway, here goes, in alphabetical order:

Blue Monster. Dan Myers does the "Wisconsin Ideas" blog style [***] all the way from South Bend! Hey, anyone can embed a mostly funny YouTube video on urinal selection conventions — how many can follow it up with Actual Research Blogging? I don't know that I needed to be reminded of a certain class of power ballad, though. (As a sign of increasing age, or maybe an index of the suckitude of what little contemporary pop music I hear, stuff like Guns N' Roses that I despised back in the day now are occasional guilty pleasures. But I draw the line with Journey.) Dan should be a shoo-in for the defunct-and-deleted (RIP) Pub Sociology's slot in the "Learning is Fun" section of the Fafblog! blogroll, such time as the Faf-gang returns to the four puny dimensions of our limited perception.

Orgtheory.net. A bit heavier on the learning than Dan's or Jeremy's, not that there's anything wrong with that. From a blogeontological perspective, Orgtheory strikes me as the sociosphere's closest thing to the major econoblogs — a la DeLong or Marginal Revulsion Revolution.

WaxingAmerica. The blog of former Madison mayor Paul Soglin and UW telecommunications professor Barry Orton works several valuable angles: the Wisconsin Wingnut Watch, analysis of City of Madison policy issues, and the most in-depth coverage of telecom regulation issues affecting the state. You may not see eye-to-eye with Paul on the city policy stuff all of the time, but you shouldn't disagree with him without figuring out why.

Whiskey Fire. Thers is too big to meme, but he makes fun of Ann Althouse so some of us don't have to, except when he doesn't, and thus should earn Suzanne's gratitude. [****] Usually. And, Altmouse fans (you know who you are), see here. Elsewhere, Thers provides useful perspective on the Duke Lacrosse Scandal scandal, and observes the dangers of letting Republicans fiddle with higher education accreditation rules.

Xtinpore. Prior my extended busy period at work/blog funk, I'd gone so far as to try to recruit proprietor Xtin to round out the hypothetical Marginal Utility basketball team, to serve as the Marginal Utility European Correspondent, and to be the all around Philosopher Queen of our Whole Sick Crew. Hope springs eternal, but meanwhile check out her blog! While there has been a flurry of updates lately, the life of a proto-academic makes for some lengthy gaps at times. But that's why there's RSS. Check out the Best South Park Avatar Ever, consider that the northern hemisphere Moon is all wrong from some frames of reference, and wonder what it's like to have a thesis adviser you'd call Professor Agent Smith — as a term of endearment.

---------------------------

[*] Just as soon as I typed the linked term into the Google search box, I figured I should add "band" to the search string or I was going to get unpredictable results.

[**] Ahem, Tonya. [*****]

[***] Loosely put, a blog where the content, for the most part, is not overtly scholarly, but the perspective is observably warped by one's academic background. Jeremy Freese's Weblog is the archetype.

[****] Decorum may prevent me from asking "how 'bout that Jessica Valenti business" at the housewarming of Condo di Nina.

[*****] Or, tailor a story to your particular circumstances. [******]

[******] Don't forget that this is a blog "meme" and should be taken with the appropriate level of seriousness.

Labels: Meme-A-Riffic