Weblog of the Week: A Fool in the Forest
Why I Like It: A Fool in the Forest is described in its banner as a "personal & cultural & political web journal." I think of it more as an "arts" weblog, but with a twist: in A Fool in the Forest, the author's writing style, artistic sensibility, and subject matter have coalesced in a way that makes it truly unique. On the surface, it's just a weblog--with posts, categories, and comments about matters of interest to its author. But beneath the surface, its various parts have gelled in a way that makes it seem to exist outside of the blogosphere. If you regularly read the posts, as I do, you will begin to feel as if you are involved in an extended conversation with Wallace about the things that interest him.
What interests Wallace? Ironically, I find that the things that interest Wallace often aren't the things that interest me--at least, that is, unless I grant Wallace the opportunity to be my guide. In A Fool in the Forest, you'll find discussions of literature, film, current affairs, and whatever else is engaging Wallace's mind at the moment. Often, his mind is engaging thinkers or writers whom I haven't thought about since college and was happy to have left there. Nonetheless, I welcome the chance to have Wallace prove me wrong about my prejudices. Why read weblogs if it's merely to confirm your pre-existing opinions and tastes?
By the way, I'm also fascinated by A Fool in the Forest because George Wallace is a lawyer. As regular readers know, I never grow tired of witnessing proof that lawyers are not the one-dimensional money-making automatons that some would have you believe. Wallace's law-related weblog is Declarations and Exclusions.
Recommended Reading:
1. Two posts on one of George Wallace's common themes, the double dactyl: Yabut-Dabba-Doo and Quintessence of Folly.
2. A post in which Wallace discloses that he is a "one-time champion on Jeopardy!": Beyond Our Ken.
3. A post in which a line on The Simpsons is taken as an opportunity to write an extended post about Shakespeare's The Two Noble Kinsmen: TNK: Now Playing at Canterbury (or Springfield).
[Below the Fold: Other Posts in the Weblog-Review Series]
I've moved the posts in the weblog-review series to the "Blog Reviews" category. You can find the others there.
No fair, Evan. It's just not any fun when I agree with absolutely every word you've written. Of course, there's always tomorrow, as every fool knows.
Posted by: david giacalone | February 12, 2005 at 12:29 PM
Or perhaps later this afternoon . . .
Posted by: Evan | February 12, 2005 at 12:32 PM