October, 19, 2005 archives

the kite runner by khaled hosseini is a novel with events in afghanistan from 1975 up until the present day as the backdrop. but it isn’t really about those events — it is about two boys who grew up together in kabul.

it is an absolutely wonderful book. the writing is amazing, the story is awesome, and overall i can’t recommend it highly enough. easily one of the best books i’ve read this year, if not the best.

these are the almonds from the farmers’ market that i mentioned last week. you can’t have any. they’re all mine.

these things are dangerous. while i was waiting in line, and after having a sample, i talked myself up from the $2.50 snack pack to the $6 medium bag.

five years and two days ago, i wrote my first blog entry. i started out using blogger. four days later, i made my first entry with my own blog software.

evan williams (of blogger and odeo) says that most people read blogs via their web sites, and not an rss reader. (he doesn’t cite any evidence, but i believe it is probably true.) this was in response to information from bloglines about how many feeds “matter.”

i’m one of those — i like reading personal blogs via their web pages, not in an rss aggregator. it is why i built blo.gs. it is why i might have to build something to replace blo.gs, now that blo.gs has become nearly useless for tracking updated blogs.

why do i prefer to read blogs via their sites and not rss? i like to see jason kottke’s remaindered links, reviews, and longer posts in their overall flow. i like to see the random pictures and latest comments on blogdowntown. i like to see what picture of herself shannon has decided to feature now. i like to look at the comments left on recent posts i found interesting by jeremy zawodny.

and for all of the blogs i read, the design of their site gives me a little context, and a little reminder of who they are. (not in the “who the hell is that?” sense, but the “hey, shannon likes pink!” sense.)