Some Journals I read

These are the public journals which I read regularly (last updated 1 August 2003). Few of them are updated daily, so it's actually less work to keep up with them than it might seem:

1. Abstract Thoughts, by Jennifer B., former Bay Area journaller (now in Seattle working for The Worst Thing That Ever Happened To The Computer Industry, a.k.a. Micro$loth) and science fiction fan. She's heavily into LARPs (Live Action Role Playing). We met face-to-face in 1999 and get together for lunch from time to time.
2. Bitter Hag, by, uh, the Bitter Hag. Bicyclist, curmudgeon. We met at Journalcon.
3. Kismet, by Cindy. We apparently met back in 1992, but I have no memory of it. Nonetheless, her journal is very entertaining.
4. Peter David.net, by the famous Writer of Stuff (particularly comic book stuff).
5. Lilibat's LiveJournal, by Carmen M. Graham, whom I knew when we were both members of APA Centauri.
6. Laurel Krahn's Journal. Laurel wrote perhaps the first journal I ever read, back in the mid-90s. She started this one in late 2000. We met very, very briefly at a convention in Minneapolis around 1998, but only really know each other through the net.
7. The Shared Journal, by Stephen Leigh and Matthew Farrell. Both professional SF writers, Steve is the author of the outstanding novel Dark Water's Embrace.
8. anyone's any, by Monique. A grad student who moved from LA to the Bay Area in 2000. We met at Lucy's party for Kymm in December 2000.
9. Nobody Knows Anything, by Diane Patterson. This journal by one of the long-time journallers is back after a lengthy hiatus.
10. Jim Rittenhouse's Journal is by an old fannish friend of mine from the Midwest.
11. Thoughts from the District, by Rebekah Robertson. Rebekah is one of my readers who started her own journal. We've also corresponded a fair bit.
12. Darn Tootin', by Rob Rummel-Hudson. A Texan transplanted to chilly Michigan, Rob is one of those journalists with whom I don't have a lot in common (it seems), but his witty writing style keeps me reading.
13. Whatever, by John Scalzi. One of the most famous journallers in the net, no doubt. Also a very intelligent and pleasant fellow, as I learned at Journalcon.
14. Ceej's Black Book, by C. J. Silverio. Ceej is the person who inspired me to start my own journal. Her series on attending the Clarion West SF writer's workshop is not to be missed. Ceej and I met in person during my first trip to California, and she and her husband David have become good friends since I moved to California. CJ was kind enough to give me space on LeftField for my Web pages.
15. Demi-Geek, by Trish. Trish is a California resident with a remarkably and refeshingly bad attitude. One of the rawer journals I've come across in its frank expression of whatever she's feeling at the moment. We met face-to-face in 1999 and have become friends since then. She also has a LiveJournal.
16. Tight Science, by Jen Wade. One of the "big name" journals, Jen's a grad student in the Bay Area. I met her at her birthday party in April, 2000.

Some Weblogs I read

Weblogs are not quite journals; rather, they're a timely collection of links to sites that a person has come across on the Web and found to be of some interest. Like journals, they've gotten some media attention. Also like journals, they tend to be somewhat personalized, reflecting the tastes of the author. My journal is a bit of a combination of personal diary and weblog. (Last updated 12 June 2001):

1. Curse of the Bambino, by Edward Cossette, is a Boston Red Sox weblog.
2. Mike's Weblog, by Mike Gunderloy. Mike was long the publisher of Factsheet Five, a review of the national fanzine scene. His weblog is highly eclectic, leaning slightly towards the offbeat, whimsical and intellectual sites (often all three at the same time!).
3. More Like This, by Bill Humphries, a fellow Silicon Valley resident. MLT tends to focus on technology, science fictional, and political tidbits.
4. Windowseat, by Laurel Krahn, a midwestern SF fan. Heavy on television content; fairly eclectic otherwise. Laurel's the person who turned me on to Homicide: Life on the Street.
5. Train of Thought, by Michael Lee, whom I went to grad school with. We share an interest in science fiction and progressive rock music.
6. Ceej's Black Book Weblog, by CJ Silverio, the journaller mentioned above. Her Weblog also has the ability for you to comment on individual entries.

   •  The 'Blog Portal is a good place to find links to many, many weblogs.

Webrings

Once opon a time webrings were the main method to list and find on-line journals. They've since been eclipsed by several other methods and seem dreadfully archaic today.

• Open Pages: The first and largest journalling Webring, including anyone who wants to join.
• Often: Almost Daily Journal Entries: A list of journals which post at least 20 entries per month. Enforcement of this rule has been somewhat lax since 1998.

Other Journal-Related Pages

This is not a comprehensive list; there are dozens of "burbs" out there which list journals in different categories.

• Diarist.net, home of The Diary Registry list of on-line journals, and the DIARY-L mailing list. Perhaps the best place to find a comprehensive list of journals broken down in several different ways.
• About.com's guide to on-line journals has some sections on on-line journals.
• SF Bay Area Journals not-a-Webring: A list of journals in San Francisco, the East Bay, Silicon Valley, and the Peninsula.
• Where All The Journals Are, a very nice grouping of journals by region, state and country.