19 S’s. Here we go:
Blog: S/FJ
Blogger: Sasha Frere-Jones
Location: New York
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: A longtime writer for the Village Voice, Sasha (yes, he's a dude) recently became the New Yorker’s official music critic. The blog has music writing, along with some excellent photography.
Best. Post. Ever.: This, which is (I think) a parody of that Nigerian e-mail scam.
Blog: Sanity’s Edge
Blogger: Paul
Location: Unclear
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: Another funny comedy blog from the Bloviating Inanities stable.
Best. Post. Ever.: His brilliant “how to blog” series from earlier this year, featuring such advice as “Coming soon: Blogroll Policy, Melodrama, Hiatus and Threatening to Quit.”
Blog: The Sardonic Subversive
Blogger: Matthew Sheren
Location: Canada/New Jersey
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: A New Jersey native who went to college in Montreal, Matt shares all sorts of keen insights on sports, politics, and the US/Canada divide.
Best. Post. Ever.: A tribute to the Sports Guy (see below).
Blog: Scott Keith’s Blog of Doom
Blogger: Scott Keith
Location: Canada
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: Long a leader in the internet’s pro-wrestling community (and with several books on the subject to his credit), Scott has turned his attention to a blog, where he covers TV and other pop culture in addition to wrestling.
Best. Post. Ever.: A review of the most recent “24” season finale, and the comments are great too.
Blog: Scrolling Through the Madness
Blogger: Aaron Kardon
Location: New Jersey
Have I Met Him? : Yes
Why He’s On The Roll: My college pal Aaron started out on Blogspot a few months ago before switching over to something called “Mindsay”- it’s his fiance’s server, you see.
Best. Post. Ever. : Some analysis of that recent Scarsdale sex tape scandal, straight from a Scarsdale native.
Blog: Senor Sneer
Blogger: Wes
Location: South Dakota (my mother’s home state)
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: Wes re-started his formerly-defunct blog just to join in the ‘Roll Call. That’s why.
Best. Post. Ever.: This one, I’d say, says it all.
Blog: The Seth Bulletin
Blogger: Seth D. Michaels
Location: Boston area
Have I Met Him? : Yes
Why He’s On The Roll: Another guy I went to Brandeis with, Seth D. was my colleague both on The Justice and the comedy troupe Boris’ Kitchen, where he once wrote a wicked Mamet parody called “Two Old White Men Argue.” Since college he’s become accomplished in both comedy and journalism.
Best. Post. Ever.: Seth doesn’t post much anymore, but when he does he’s got some very cogent political analysis from the left, such as this look at ‘Fahrenheit.’
Blog: Seth Speaks
Blogger: Seth Stohs
Location: Minnesota
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: This Twins (and other other Minnesota sports) fan provides intricately detailed game recaps, as well as analysis of movies and TV shows.
Best. Post. Ever.: An exclusive Father’s Day message from Lew Ford’s dad.
Blog: Sheila A-Stray’s Redheaded Ramblings
Blogger: Sheila O’Malley
Location: Weehawken, NJ
Have I Met Her? : Yes
Why She’s On The Roll: At one point we were the only two bloggers in Hoboken, and while neither of us remain there we’ve since become real-life friends. And our ten-person field trip to opening night of “The Passion of the Christ” remains legendary.
Best. Post. Ever.: An exegesis on Hoboken bar girls (more on them later), which I’m probably linking to now for the fourth or fifth time.
Blog: Short Strange Trip
Blogger: Joe
Location: Arizona
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: If for no other reason, because he helped set me up on MT, though Joe’s blog is still pretty good on its own merits.
Best. Post. Ever.: An Alanis Morrissette homage.
Blog: A Shot in the Dark
Blogger: Mitch
Location: Minnesota
Have I Met Him? : No
Why He’s On The Roll: This right-leaning Minnesota blogger, who parlayed his blog success into an upstart radio network, also played a role in the exposure of the Plain Layne hoax (the author turned out to be a former co-worker of his).
Best. Post. Ever.: The Plain Layne thing
Blog: Sim1Koo
Blogger: Simone Koo
Location: New York (formerly DC)
Have I Met Her? : No
Why She’s On The Roll: This Georgetown grad interpolates smart economic analysis with gorgeous fashion photographs of herself. It’s an approach I wish more female bloggers would try.
Best. Post. Ever.: Another anti-Michael Moore post.
Blog: A Small Victory
Blogger: Michele Catallano
Location: Long Island
Have I Met Her? : No
Why She’s On The Roll: Generally considered one of the most influential bloggers in the 'sphere, Michele emerged post-9/11 as a powerful voice of emotion and anger, and has carried it all the way up to the present.
Best. Post. Ever.: A wonderful post about what really happened on 9/11.
Blog: Smitten
Blogger: Deb
Location: New York
Have I Met Her? : No
Why She’s On The Roll: Part of the coterie of NYC lady bloggers that’s well-represented here in the ‘Roll Call, Deb tells hilarious, very personal stories about the city, most of which involve her boyfriend Alex (hence the name). She also recommended Vinnie the Mover, making me quite glad, several months later, that I decided to read her that day.
Best. Post. Ever.: A subway story. ‘cause we’ve all been there.
Blog: Somatesthesia, aka Containdications and Love Songs
Blogger: Julia
Location: Michigan
Have I Met Her? : Yes
Why She’s On The Roll: Another Brandeis contemporary of mine who I don’t remember ever meeting, med student Julia took the opposite life path as me, moving from the East Coast to the Midwest. She’s both openly gay, and openly a Nets fan.
Best. Post. Ever.: Not much lately, but I’m partial to this birthday post.
Blog: Something’s Always Wrong
Blogger: Jeremy Wahlman
Location: Brookline, Mass.
Have I Met Him? : Yes
Why He’s On The Roll: I’d say it’s because his blog was my idea. A friend of mine going back to high school, Jeremy followed pretty much the same career trajectory I did (grow up in Minnesota/write for the Echo/go to college in Boston/get job as ajournalist/lose job/start blog/get another job as a journalist), except now he edits hockey highlights for a living.
Best. Post. Ever.: The time when he took credit (accurately) for a piece by Michael Lewis in Sports Illustrated.
Blog: Spinsanity
Blogger: Ben Fritz, Brendan Nyhan, etc.
Location: Various
Have I Met Them?: Now
Why They’re On the ‘Roll This excellent, totally nonpartisan site tackles- and debunks- political spin from all sides. If you’re like me and can’t stand bullshit whether it comes from Michael Moore or Michelle Malkin, this is the site for you.
Best. Post. Ever.: Their now-legendary takedown of “Bowling For Columbine.”
Blog: Sporadic Thoughts
Blogger: Dahlia
Location: Waltham (until recently)
Have I Met Her?: No
Why She’s On the ‘Roll This blog has become even more sporadic since Dahlia graduated Brandeis in May, but she previously provided interesting analysis both of politics and the ‘deis scene, especially last fall’s near- race riot.
Best. Post. Ever.: Dahlia laughing at an “anti-hate” rally.
Blog: Sports Guy’s World (More Cowbell)
Blogger: Bill Simmons
Location: Boston Hollywood
Have I Met Him?: If only.
Why He’s On the ‘Roll The blogger-turned-columnist-turned-TV-writer has finally come full circle and has returned to writing a blog-like column for ESPN.com. Simmons gets the current generation of sports fans the way few others have- and when all is said and done, he may very well be remembered as the most influential sportswriter of his generation.
Best. Post. Ever.: There are so many dozens of classics to choose from, but I’ve gotta go with the column from the day after the Sox lost to the Yankees in last year’s ALCS. “If the Red Sox were a girl, you’d probably just break up with them” really boils the Simmons sensibility down into one sentence.