Five Blogs Friday: Olympic Blogs

Marathon blogging was removed from the
Olympic games as it tended to damage eyesight.

I'm going to start a new recurring feature for Daily Dotventures which will henceforth be called Five Blogs Friday. Got this bit of inspiration from Blog Day 2007 where upon registering at the Blog Day site, you get to cite five other blogs in keeping with the celebration (as well as to spread some "love").

This time however, Five Blogs Friday will feature themed or topical blogs every week. Hopefully this will spark some interest in you folks into exploring thousands of other blogs you otherwise would not even come across in your regular blog searches. I also hope that this new mid-year resolution will keep these blogger fingers of mine busy, at least once a week. :)

While the blogs we will feature here are mostly random uninitiated picks, if you have any suggestions for future editions of Five Blogs Friday send me an email (see my profile below).

For this initial salvo, let's look at five noteworthy blogs that have taken on the sometimes controversial, always nostalgic, and mostly hyped up 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Matt in Beijing

This one is hosted at Windows Live Spaces and is the blog of Matt Plowright, "MSN UKs man" to the Beijing Olympic games. It's got nice pictures and well-written commentaries although it lacks the blow-by-blow coverage other Olympic-themed blogs offer.

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Deadspin - 2008 Olympic Coverage

From the friendly fellows at Deadspin, an edgy collaborative work on everything sports. Their coverage of the Beijing games are an entertaining read. That is, if you find no-BS, in-your-face sports editorials entertaining. I for one do. I'm bookmarking this one.

Beijing Olympics Blog

Over at Wordpress, "Bob" gives us a spectator's look at the Beijing of the 2008 Olympics. It's a rather intimate behind-the-scenes perspective that began way back in December 2007. You may want to look at the Olympics Blogroll here for more resources on the Beijing Olympic games.

Beijing Olympics 2008

If you want detailed accounts of the games, this niche blog at Blogspot got game. It's simple, straightforward, all text, all news about the Beijing games, and even more text. It's just text after text of every breaking update on the Olympics. Enough said.

Beijing 2008 - Olympics News and Info

Here's another Olympic results-oriented blog like the previous one mentioned but with a bit more pizazz. It's got color, it's got pictures, and the texts are shorter. Just the highlights, just the stuff at the finish line.

So there you have it. Our first Five Blogs Friday. Enjoy and have a safe and happy weekend.

Listen Up! MusicLiberation Samples Latest Tunes

"Black is back"
SiD, our young Brit blogger with a passion for sound, created a no-nonsense music blog with an eclectic earful of tunes from upcoming bands and records. With a taste ranging from hip-hop to metal, punk to ska, rock to alternative, and everything else in between, expect the unexpected from MusicLiberation.

What's exceptional about this blog is that you come to realize that there is a universe of music out there that's not restricted to the Grammy winners or the celebrity in rehab or such other "musical talent" molded by the gatekeepers of so-called pop culture. Exploring different kinds of music is one of the things that does liberate the mind and soul. MusicLiberation helps us all in that respect.

It's a veritable gallery of artful album covers and music samplers, although it is stated that availability of links to samples beyond 14 days will be restricted (probably for copyright purposes). Therefore, frequent visits to SiD's blog would be a good thing (wink, wink).

Imagine getting hold of an FM radio station's broadcast transcription. You would be reading some background info on the artists and the album, with occasional music related news or trivia tidbit here and there, you click on the links to the riffs and just enjoy the tunes. If you like the artists' works, head on over to the nearest CD shop and purchase the record. Or click on the related links for more info.

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The design of the blog is straightforward. No ads cluttering up the space. Content in the middle, navigation to the right. As simple as controls on a radio. It would be nicer though if good ol' SiD can setup space for quick links to music categories (i.e. hip-hop, metal, rock, polka... you get the idea) so that guests won't have to look over the categories along with other tags. Of course, the Blogger search at the top Navbar can do the trick for you (well, sort of).

MusicLiberation folks! 'Nuf said.

Mad Reporter On The Loose!

This made me smile today from Nick's little blog site at madreporter.blogspot.com.

How God Created Man

On the first day God created the cow. God said, "You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years."

The cow said, "That's a kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty years and I'll give back the other forty." And God agreed.

On the second day, God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said, "That's too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I'll give back the other ten." So God agreed.

On the third day God created the monkey. God said, "Entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh. I'll give you a twenty year life span."
Monkey said, "How boring, monkey tricks for twenty years? I don't think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that's what I'll do too, okay?" And God agreed again.

On the fourth day God created man. God said, "Eat, sleep, play, have sex, enjoy. Do nothing, just enjoy. I'll give you twenty years." Man said, "What? Only twenty years? No way man. Tell you what...

To get to the punchline, visit Mad Reporter.

Nick's blog is pretty much his notebook for jotting down jokes he's found all over the Web. Expect that its full of humor and wit. It's a very simple blog, regularly updated and uncomplicated. Apparently he's got a penchant for Chuck Norris jokes.

So if you need to humor your blues away, hop on over to Mad Reporter. Tell Nick I sent you... then run as fast as you can!