What I read and Why I read it...

After reading Dr. Crazy's post about Blogging Angst, I've thought a little about what I am doing here...or, more accurately, not doing here, and maybe what I hope to do here. The answer to those questions really lie in the title of this post. I created this space because of the blogs I read. In their own ways each of the blogs on the list to the left inspire me. They make me want to become a part of a community that is larger than the people I see everyday. Don't worry I'm not going to run down the list. There are just a few places that I need to acknowledge.

It all began a little over a year ago when I started reading Shakesville. It started because as a part of a class assignment I followed Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan's resignation from the Edward's campaign. For a while I read both Pandagon and Shakesville, but eventually Pandagon slipped under my radar. What kept me reading at Shakesville was obviously the content, but also the sense of community. It doesn't matter that I've only commented once, I still feel like I know the people who contribute. About that content...I don't automatically agree with everything I read at Shakesville, but everything I read at Shakeville makes me think about myself, my own ideas, and my relationship to the world. So, when I do manage to put up a decent post about something happening in the world, it is because I would like this to be a space where I raise my own teaspoon.

Another inspiration, perhaps one of the biggest, is Dr. Crazy at Reassigned Time. That really isn't shocking given the beginning of this post. What Shakesville does for me in terms of the world and feminism, Dr. Crazy does for me in terms of my profession and work. Her posts, whether they are about the Man-Kitty and Mr. Stripey or Academic Life vs. Personal Life, always make me think about what it is I do and why I do it. They also generally give me hope that I will be able to find a place within this profession that will allow me to find a balance between all the aspects of this crazy job.

I read Shakesville and Reassigned Time nearly every day. Although I know that this space will always be something a little different from those blogs, they are my models for what I hope to accomplish here on a much smaller level.