Da Count-Cogito Ergo Sum

Last week I counted creative people, this week I'm going to count people who make me think because Nancy Drew tagged me with a meme where participants are supposed to share the 5 bloggers who make them think most deeply. As much as I appreciate a wonderfully creative person, I am also grateful for those folks who really stimulate my brain, make me reason or consider something anew. Lots of other folks on my blogroll make me think plenty and there are those I haven't editted in yet who do the same. I wouldn't bother reading any of you if I thought you put out complete drivel. There are also some with whom I have personal correspondence that challenges me wonderfully. I chose these 5 based on the blog content that most regularly makes my grey matter sizzle.

Brian: I've been reading him since the first day I blogged. He's a single father (with full custody) of two terrific kids and a principal in Oklahoma. He loves history and music. He's got a thirst for his own learning and for stimulating it in others. When I started reading him he had a regular feature where he'd highlight historical figures. Sometimes they were well known and he'd offer a fresh perspective on them. Other times they were the unsung figures we ought to be more familiar with yet aren't. I'm going to take this chance to ask him to reinstate that feature, maybe not weekly since he's busy with PhD work, but could I ask for monthly? He shares openly about his and his kids' joys and struggles through a lot of transitions they've all had to make and even in the hard times he searches for what can be learned. I find He offers wonderfully thoughtful insights on the education system, acknowledging our weaknesses, suggesting alternatives, and engaging readers in sharing their perspectives in a climate that encourages dialogue. If he does half as well creating such a climate in his school I'd love to be a teacher there.


Jericho: He's been on a rather long hiatus with only the sparsest of postings recently but I'd be somewhat remiss in omitting him. His stated purpose is to make people think and I have to say he succeeds handily. He has addressed some very thorny issues that lesser thinkers would turn into a screaming match and he has handled them deftly with a calm, rational manner. Often he finds a perspective that most people have either ignored or have simply never considered, one that allows for common ground among those who disagree. He also offers up some beautiful original poetry and has turned me on to some terrific musicians I would have missed otherwise. Go dig around his archives, you may come away considering your positions in a new light.

Lacquer: Well, the man knows and loves Zern's so that gets him a lot of points right off the top, even if it indicates more aroma than thought, hahaha. He addresses the life of a transplanted East coast fellow in CA, along with art, music, and what makes people tick. He has a stream of conscious style of writing that is rather like riding a motorcycle down a meandering road in the wooded foothills. You start out pretty sure you know where you are headed but it looks and feels a bit different on a bike than in a car so you notice some things more keenly and other things whiz by......OOOF! was that a beetle than just hit me in the forehead???...You'll see some lovely sights along the way and perhaps narrowly miss some hazard as you are leaning into the curve and rounding it before the road opens up and you see the clearing you're headed for. It's a trip well worthwhile as he covers a lot of terrain and explores it without hurry.


Zombieslayer: After a VERY long absence he is back in the blogosphere and I'm glad to see him at his old haunts. He covers politics and culture. He's quite up front about his positions and makes no apology for holding them. That being said, he actually encourages his readers to express dissenting views in a civil manner and responds in kind. He's not afraid to be unpopular, nor to admit you have given him a new angle to consider. He is smart enough to listen to people with opposing viewpoints and learn from them rather than descending into name calling and mud slinging. He may point out what he views as weaknesses in the opposing view but he ultimately wants to sell you on the merit of his and not have you accept it by default.

Phaedrous: He chronicles his life as he cared for his beloved wife in the end stages of her cancer while battling his own. He covers the highs and lows of the months since her death as he adjusts to being without her presence and helps his teen aged children navigate as well. He's achingly honest and astonishingly eloquent about the grief process and other serious difficulties without descending into self-pity. He's also exhibited a wickedly funny side at times and has a political blog as well. If anyone can read him without being moved by his story, challenged to examine one's own life, or changed then I daresay that person has neither heart nor brain. Read him and I ask your prayers and positive thoughts for him and his family.