Antiphon's Favourite Blogs

Political Blogs

Slate

Slate is an on-line news magazine with feature articles that tend to straddle the 'left-right' divide as they have authors as varied as Robert Kaplan and Christopher Hitchens writing for them. Not solely a political blog, it also covers art, history, commerce, and pop culture. Something for everyone here.

Eschaton

Left wing US blogger. I am growing tired of the site frankly because it merely repeats what I am reading elsewhere but with more overt snark. Still a decent enough blog though. Worth noting that the author 'Atrios' is one of the two biggest left blogs in the US, and his opinions get noticed.

Andrew Sullivan

Still my all-time favourite blog. Sullivan is a gay-Catholic-Republican-libertarian, so he and I don't see eye to eye on many things, but he is so smart in his analysis (mostly - there are areas where he is looney tune like his one-size-fits-all 'Islamofascism', and his support for the war in Iraq) that I can't help but enjoy his stuff even whe he pisses me off. Technically he is on the 'right' but practically speaking he is a committed centrist.

Daily Kos

The other big lefty blogger is Markos Moulitsas. Often shrill, always antagonistic to Republican interests, 'Daily Kos' is the result of his efforts to create a 'liberal noise machine' to rival the Republican's Fox News etc. It has the virtue of being both democratic (the Kos diaries let you run your own page on the site) but it also tends towards hyperbole rather than analysis. That said, their collection of election data, their focus on netroots activism, and their support for Howard Dean all appeal to me.

Crooks and Liars

One of my all-time favourite sites. They collect video clips of public figures lying, etc. and post them with commentary. Simply awesome. My only quibble is that the site is video heavy so it takes a while to load. I also avoid the comments sections as they tend towards being all true believers nodding in assent.

Digby

An insightful analyst of American politics - definitely on the left, but not a radical.

Political Theory Daily Review

Another of my top ranked sites, this one is merely a clearinghouse for poli-sci articles on a wide range of subjects culled from academic and standard publications. No commentaries, no analysis, just the raw feed. I could spend days roving through this site.

National Review Online

The un-official mouthpiece of the Republican administration, it was originally started by William F Buckley (a conservative libertarian), but has degenerated to providing less critical analysis then in the past, and favours more ideological cant. Home to among others; David Frum (the guy who wrote the 'axis of evil' speech for Bush, and son of former CBC anchor Barbara Frum), John Derbyshire (a committed Theocon, but also easily the most reasonable fella in the bunch), John Podhoretz (a neo-con straight from the American Enterprise Institute) and Jonah Goldberg (the resident cryptofascist plutocrat). All in all an entertaining read (the way horror stories are entertaining), but never anything to take too seriously.

World O' Crap

Another site not to take too seriously is this one. Specializing in satirical rebuttals to rightwing mouthbreathers like Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter, it is often a breath of fresh air to see him take the piss out of the rightwing nuthouse.

Informed Comment

By far the most insightful place to get information on what is happening in Iraq. Professon Juan Cole has an insiders perspective on the region, language, culture and politics, and is also clearly well informed on everything the US is doing in the country. If I want to know how bad things are really going in Iraq, I check out his site first.

Free Dominion

Where Canadian conservatives go to get their intellectual masturbation. Heavy on the homophobia, but often light on analysis it is a window into the Canadian conservative thought processes. I've been using the site as a method of testing libertarian theory on the right wing in the hopes that it will give them pause for thought before enacting a social-conservative revolution. I might add that I am failing miserably at convincing anyone other than the other libertarians!

Science Blogs

Panda's Thumb

A collective of scientists interested in defending evolutionary theory from the hostile religious right. Essential reading for those interested in the background on the Dover schoolboard controversy, and Intelligent Design in general.

The Loom

Overall my favourite for long science essays. Subjects vary from brain parasites to the chimpanzee genome, but it is always handled with a healthy dose of 'awe'. This guy (Corante) LOVES science, and his joy is infectious.

Pharyngula

My favourite science blog, PZ Myers is a scientist who specializes in squids, but the blog covers ground from 'Cthullu' (cuz he's squid like) to bat skulls, to slashing ID proponents with razor logic. He can be a bit...heavy handed sometimes, but on the whole his is the best all-round site for interesting science stuff.

Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Another site devoted more or less to attacking the anti-science movement in the US, be it from the left or right (lets face it, it mostly comes from the right now). More political than other science blogs, it nevertheless has some great stuff going on.

Movies

Internet Movie Database

By far the most comprehensive listing of film products, people and plots ever compiled. I defy you to search for a movie and not find it in IMDB. As a resource it has quickly become essential as a reference tool for people like me in the entertainment biz.

Ruthless Reviews

"Where pornographers debate nihlists about pop-culture"
Couldn't have put it better myself. This site is worth the 'Guide to 80's Action Movies' alone, but don't miss 'Ten worst heavy metal pictures of all-time', as it was gut busting funny. My all-time favourite review is the one they did for Ashley Simpsons last album, and the ongoing fascination the one reviewer has with Werner Herzog is inspiring (I could do without the focus on death metal bands though). They may have poor grammar, and no sense of shame, but they do have taste in films! (I should add that their review of AHOV was poor).