Simple

I was intrigued by Fimoculous and absolutely loved Indexed. With my ongoing obsession with the way the blogs look and how that attracts readers, I always try to both react naturally and analyse a blog when I first view it (how stupid does that sound). I've come to realize I like darker colors and clean lines, certainly a feature of Fimoculous. I also like sites that I can learn something from, or one that makes me laugh. Fimoculous also attracted me because it gave me a limited number of blog choices that someone took the time to vet. This, I realize, is also important to me. I love books but get depressed in bookstores, especially the big ones. There is so much I want to read, but I can't read them all, and I can't decide , and I walk out even more depressed than I entered, without a book. I like it when someone says,"hey, read this." I was in a book club several years ago and read some great books. I read more often because I had a deadline and the opportunity to discuss what I read. When I think about it, my blog is an opportunity to fill the discussion void when I now read or see something. I think many of us attend graduate classes to read and discuss and use the furthering of our education as the excuse to do so.

Now, Index. I liked it because of its visual simplicity, its humor, and its thoughtful complexity. I believe that poetry, specifically haiku, is a wonderfully thought provoking literary art form. These seemingly silly little cartoons also force you to think, and then think again. It's neat to think about a person who thinks in terms of words and the visual. Cartoonist obviously fit into this category. It is an art form we take for granted, but it can frame or dissect an issue more effectually than many, many words. I use the Cagle site in class when I teach Dante to discuss how Dante uses words to create visual images that satirize the person or topic. My students always remember the cartoon not Dante - some teacher.