This week, with the Irish Blog Awards ’09 approaching, we take a look at some of the nominee blogs from our indigenous and ever-growing blogosphere.
Most of us know food and wine critic Ernie Whalley from his weekly wine column in the Sunday Independent and, of course, his time at Food & Wine Magazine.
Like all clever journalists, Whalley has found a cosy home on the web in the form of ForknCork – a place where he can, as he says himself, write as he pleases on culinary pleasures “unfettered by commercial or any other considerations”.
This blog runs the gamut of restaurant reviews to recipes and wine critiques – a veritable cornucopia of opinion and information for the gastronome and bon vivant.
I know absolutely nothing about sport. In fact, generally speaking, I want to know absolutely nothing about sport. That was until I began to read Russell Brand’s column in the Guardian.
Ah, sport might be boring to watch, I thought, but that’s only until you get a good writer who gives you some insight and, bang, you’re tempted to watch a game of rugby or two.
For me, Jump the Fence, Baby, is a bit like a friend who somehow manages to give me some insight into the sporting world without stooping to my level of ignorance.
This group blog is for the Irish gay/bisexual community, and provides an intelligent and alternative look at everything from cinema and art to politics and sports.
There are also some good articles about parenting and fostering options – not something we read about enough in the mainstream media.
The politics section is pretty informative and covers important topics relevant to all members of society, including same-sex marriage, Proposition 8 and World AIDS Day.
Don’t consider your reading list from the Irish blogosphere complete until you have at least paid a visit to this site.
Robin Blandford is a busy man. His start-up Byte Surgery created a fantastic web application called Decisions for Heroes (www.decisionsforheroes.com), which is designed to help rescue teams streamline their resources and information.
Aside from this, Blandford has been a creative force in the digital media world for quite a few years, and his blog is nothing short of inspiring. His motivational posts will really get you thinking about your job and your place in life.
Blandford talks about the six forces in life: fame, fortune, force (change the world), family, fun and freedom – problem is, if you want to succeed, you can only pick two. What will it be?
By Marie Boran
