And Now, a Digression

I don’t really buy into the Thinking Blogger award thing; that is, I understand it was a genuine meme at one point (how many of you actually know what meme means?) but like most things on the internet, it has proliferated into meaninglessness. Of course, perhaps this is the standard conclusion of a meme. The purpose of a meme is to “propagate from one mind to another,” so perhaps its reproduction across the blogosphere is natural. It’s kind of like AIDS. I appreciate that Michelle nominated me, which is to say she likes my blog, but I don’t think that this award has any real value at this point. No; I take that back. It has value, but an inherently local one. There is a pyramid of how much my blog means on the internet. Michelle is probably at the top, as she’s the only one who consistently reads this, and below her are her readers who sometimes venture here. So the value is relative to that pyramid. Our hegemony on the internet is limited, thus the thrust of this award is limited. But still; she gave it to me, an interesting maneuver in this post-relationship era, and I appreciate the gesture. Despite my fear of perpetuating this meme, I will link to five blogs that I enjoy regularly. In what may come as dead-horse-beating, I would like to suggest that by embracing this meme, I am indeed following my belief in social constructionism. The award has its own local (e.g., social) value, regardless of what other, unknown bloggers might say, and by participating I am acknowledging that I endorse this local value, I approve, let me into your little club. Oh right; dem “rules.” 1. If, and ONLY IF, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think, 2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme, 3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog). I like silver. So, without further ado, here’s my list (in no particular order): - A Cultured Left Foot (yes, it's a football blog, but it's good dammit) - Hitherby Dragons (a meta-fiction site, like Alcova) - Confessions of an Aca/Fan (this guy is way smart) - The Ken Pom Blog (okay it's another sports blog, but he's a fun read, although very technical) - Journey to Self-Improvement (Michelle already got nominated, but she really is the only other blog I read. So too bad, Shell, you're getting this anyhow.)