Fraters Libertas

We Really Like Us

The local alternative weekly newspaper, the City Pages, has gotten into the blogging business in a big way. They sponsor 20 or so sites collectively known as the Babelogue. The blogs are written by staff members and other contributors to the print edition of the paper. On the whole, it seems to be a going concern, in that at least some of them commit to posting more than once a week (which is quite a record of accomplishment for a bunch of people who consider themselves to be professional writers).

My favorite part of the Babelogue is the Babelogue Index, which is another blog run by City Pages. It's primarily devoted to linking to ..... other blogs in the Babelouge. It features the best of the material from those in their little circle that found the time to put something up that day (which granted, given their work habits, can be a challenge). Better yet, often times their links to themselves include shameless descriptions like “one of the funniest blogs in the lower 48” (which appeared last week in reference to a blog devoted to country music whose content primarily consists of a guy making lists of his favorite songs and all the albums in his record collection).

The Babelogue Index is kind of like Instapundit. That is, if Instapundit was limited to linking to only 20 blogs (whose editorial voices and writing styles are so similar, they’re virtually indistinguishable from one another). And if Instapundit was dedicated to linking to other blogs he had a commercial interest in promoting. And if Instapundit was really dull. Other than that, just like Instapundit.

The shamelessly self-promoting blog on top of a blog is an interesting idea. So much so, I’d like to start trying it out on Fraters. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to unveil the ....

Fraters Sunday Index (dedicated to posts done today)

The Elder, one of the most talented young humor writers in the country, drops another neutron bomb of hilarity in his continuing battle against ants. In his piece ‘Continuing Antics,’ he enlists the aid and comfort of the fine folks at Intergalactic Capitalist. Read it all, it’s f-ant-astic (heh).

That scamp Saint Paul brilliantly sends up the City Pages attempts at blogging their own blogs, in an insightful, yet poignant piece called 'We Really Like Us.' (Pssst - Saint Paul, we REALLY do.)