The Commonspace > June 2004

You would think in a town that so desires validation as a "big city" that St. Louis-related blogs would be everywhere. But finding quality (and frequently updated) blogs concerning the river city can be a challenge. You can visit www.stlbloggers.com and usually find a bunch of updated reads, but they tend to be of the confessional variety. And though some are more entertaining than others, many fall into the "went to work, watched tv and went to bed" snoozefests.

Here are a few of my daily reads you may or may not have happened upon:

==aDJustaFresh: Uncommon Sense== Pontificating on pop-culture and politics
I started reading aDJusta's blog on a bet — his posts on STLtoday's forums dared people to read his blog and I took the challenge. Usually there are numerous posts of the weirdest stories you may have missed on the web, links to even weirder games, or a photo caption contest that you just can't resist. For web design geeks, it's also a fine example of how to use cascading style sheets in a unique web design.

Arch City Chronicle
One of the newest blogs on the block, the Arch City Chronicle debuted its new online presence in March of 2004. Publisher Dave Drebes promised a new post everyday and has been diligent about meeting that guarantee. Besides tidbits and gossip from around town, the print edition is also available for viewing in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format. The blog version of the ACC has been a great source for updates on fundraising by the candidates in the 3rd congressional district. (In the interest of full disclosure, I help with the html on this blog).

Blog St. Louis & Arch Pundit
Amazingly, Larry Handlin covers politics from both sides of the river. His Blog St. Louis was recently the subject of a Riverfront Times story about local wingnut Earl Holt's now famous email tirade. The Illinois counterpart, Arch Pundit, has been a wealth of information on the Illinois Senate race. But most entertaining is the frequent posting of Bill Haas emails — what could be more amusing than that?!

Casa Christy - A Saint Christina the Astonishing Site
Is Casa Christy reality or fiction? It's hard to tell, but either way she is always entertaining in a car wreck sort of way. Casa Christy takes confessional blogging to a new level. Why? Because she tells you the about the meaty stuff that life is really about. I'm talking no sugar coating — warts, bumps and all. Her brutally honest posts tell adventures at her neighborhood bar the Cat's Meow and other local watering holes. There's a great cast of characters like Bob and Fred, who you start to think you could recognize on a barstool, and always references to shows on KDHX. Try this post on for size. Recommended drink: whiskey.

Joe Frank - Ramblings by Joe Frank, urbanist
Match up this blog with the ACC and Blog St. Louis and you have the trifecta of local politics. Joe's specialty seems to be posting obscure links concerning the city of St. Louis. If you're up for a little more than light reading, check out his paper on the correlation between race and lead poisoning in the city of St. Louis. And Joe, please update a bit more frequently!

Old Tasty
"Old Tasty" is an anagram of Kurt Groetsch's former employer, STLtoday. What's most notable about Kurt's present blogging is that he's been living in China for the last year. Click on over to read his tales of an American in China. Check out posts on the two crimes committed against him in the last year — a backpack pickpocket and how his brand spanking new bike was stolen — the one he owned for one hour and which had two locks on it. Really. Don't miss the great photographs also.

The Commonspace Blog
Brian Marston and Amanda Doyle have already given us all so much [Editor's Note: we have no money, so you know we didn't pay him to say that] — The Commonspace online magazine, the physical space on North Grand (and the home of People's Coffee), and now, a blog. TCB (not "Taking Care of Business," though it does, but "The Commonspace Blog") comments on news that can't wait for the next monthly addition. Topics range from the latest Tim Boyle shenanigans to streaming videos of the hip hop kids from Breakin' at the Commonspace. But if you're reading this you probably already knew that — didn't ya?

Dale Fisher is an infrequent contributor to the Arch City Chronicle and The Commonspace. He also may or may not be affiliated with Diatriber.com. He still pines for an Uncle Tupelo reunion though he knows it could never live up to his expectations.