Blogging Blogs: "coffee grounds"

I happened to find this blog on UThink: Blogs at the University Library, hosted by the U of M. Yes, that’s right, I’ve discovered that there are many universities out there that offer blog hosting for their students. I simply clicked on “coffee grounds” in the Blog Directory list of those that had been updated most recently.

This blog has some cultural flair…the author is a PhD. Student from New Zealand. (I wonder if he’s familiar with Culture Cat...different departments, but both PhD. Candidates) Many of his postings talk about differences between the USA and his home country. It was fun to see a different perspective on issues like U.S. politics, and just realize the general cultural differences that exist between the US and NZ.

It appears the blog has been kept for a few months, so its style is fairly well developed. It’s not maintained every day, more like once a week. Unlike the blogs I’ve seen thus far, this one has a ton of links. It seems like he has a link to just about every item he discusses in his posts. Often, the posts are reflections to something he has seen in the online edition of a magazine or newspaper, like the Strib, Washington Post, or the NZ Herald. Sometimes, he reacts to things he sees on other blogs. I’d classify the blog as somewhat of a filter. He does talk about personal observations, but mostly its built around what he sees in his travels around the World Wide Web.

Something that’s especially enjoyable about this blog is the author’s witty humor.

Like this post in response to a news headline:

“Suicide in the Washington Post
... Phelps Tops Himself at Trials: Sad story in the Washington Post. Apparently this guy set a world swimming record and then killed himself.
His coach then said "He was so far ahead I don't think I pushed him at all," which suggests that the coach also wanted to kill him, but didn't get the chance.
But then the article goes onto say that he'll be racing later in the week.
Which is it? Did he really top himself, or is he still alive?”


Obviously, “Tops himself” is slang for taking one’s life in NZ. Taking one’s life is of course no laughing matter, but the reaction to the headline certainly is.
( I post the entry here because the blog itself will not allow links to individual entries.)

I also like the blog stylistically. In addition to links and archives, the template also includes a search box. There’s a calendar, so you can see which days he posted, and jump straight to the posts for a particular day. Finally, the blog program has allowed him to categorize his posts, so that a reader can jump to all posts on a particular subject. I visited some other blogs on UThink, and these features seem to be present in all.

My Verdict: Witty, fun and interesting. Well worth a visit.