Some of My Highlight Blogs of 2009

I’m still stunned about how many words I commit to this blog in a year. As is the tradition around this time, each year I manage to summon enough ego to come up with a list of my best or favorite blogs that I’ve written over the course of the year. I define “favorite” as blogs which elicited the most discussion/angry e-mails. It’s a bit of a jump on point and, as usual, there’s a mix of spiritual, race, and writing discussions. In no particular order:

Emotional Affairs (AKA No Longer Just Friends) – Might as well get this elephant out of the room right off. There was much debate about whether I should have gone so public with so private a matter. Then again, have you met me?

Obviously, the blog took an introspective turn in light of this: Walls, Forgiveness Takes Time, God’s Failed Ambassadors, and Wounded Story Tellers. And I Hate(d) Nicknames.

"Just a Servant" - A few ideas on the idea of leadership.

Post-Racial Church: the myth and the hope – with all this talk about things being “post-racial”, the more things change … the more they stay the same

Worf’s Journey of Blackness – Because someone has to tie the idea of ontological blackness and Star Trek geekery together

I’m Just Praying – Sometimes I just struggle with what it means to pray in faith

RaceFail ’09: Why horror ignores the elephant in the room – I keep saying I’m not going to wade into these debates, then somehow someone (read: Chesya) pushes the right button …

FNDP: Believing the Lie and Embracing the Truth – I still get requests to resurrect the Friday Night Date Place column. Maybe one day. However, this was a fave.

Belly Pride (Eat THAT Kate Moss) – Ok, I still giggle that my wife posed for that pic.

Oddest Places – My essay for the Spirit and Place Festival. You can also hear it read by me.

My Best Blogs 2008

As you can imagine, this is a busy time of year for me. Teh Interwebz rejoice at the fact that I haven’t been blogging at nearly my regular clip (though, I have found that if I’m working on new fiction, as opposed to editing, I can’t put my head towards any blogs or reviews).

Anyway, between Christmas parties, Christmas preparation, church and family duties, our church moving and making some major changes, Kwanzaa, New Years Eve party preparation, and Christmas deadlines as I wrap up a few projects to clear the deck for next year, I’ve been swamped (and weary). Although, now that I’ve wrapped up the most recent fiction project and before I begin my next, I’ve been thinking about a few blog themes for next year. I know that race will be a recurring theme probably tying in with the administration of our first Black president. I’m sure I’ll be having the spiritual thought or two, and I am waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind on reviews.

With that in mind, I see that everyone is turning in their best of 2008 lists. The only subject I can speak with any authority on is … me. So I give you, in no particular order, my best blogs of 2008 (a wholly subjective list with me defining “best” as the blogs which received either the most comments, most hits, or were simply my personal favorites):

Emerging Frustrations – as always, I both love and am frustrated by the church.

Spiritual Perspective on Culture – it’s just something I love to do. Ironically, a “criticism” I often get is that I can “find Jesus in anything.” I don’t really see that as a bad thing.

My Name is Earl: A Doubter’s Faith – this just spoke to where I can find myself all too often. And it’s not necessarily a bad place.

Fundamentalist Atheism – I really liked this blog though apparently some of my atheist friends weren’t as keen on it as I. Then again, once I posted my An Atheist and a Pastor Go to a Convention series, I think it became more apparent the kind of atheism I was talking about. Sure, I could have simply called it “Militant Atheism”, I just love the juxtaposition of some atheists adopting the worst of the tactics they call out about religion.

Notepad Worship? – I just like it.

Why I Haven’t Self-Published – yeah, I got letters on this one.

Not Dancing to the Tune of the Pied Dobson – okay, I got hate mail on this one.

The situation of homelessness weighs on me, be they Panhandlers or simply their state of Invisibility.

Some Fools Exhaust Me – During my nearly three year tenure writing for Indy.com, no column was praised more. Though it’s strange sitting in a restaurant and having white men in business suits come up to you and say “black people, we do not get to pee on our youth!”

Yes, I’m Still Pro-Life. Are You? – um, did I mention the hate mail?

http://www.mauricebroaddus.com/2008/05/friday-night-date-place-true-beauty
The Burning Ceremony – a personal favorite. Dedicated to far too many of the ladies in my life. (True Beauty was another personal favorite though).

http://www.mauricebroaddus.com/2008/08/god-of-boobies
God of the Boobies. Come on, you HAD to see that coming.


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Weekend Link Salad Round Up

And here are some blogs which caught my attention over the last week:

Undercover Black Man exposes more political chicanery as an anti-Obama site pretends to be a black power site. Note to all would be political saboteurs: you probably don't want to register sites in your own/real name.

An ocean separates the issue of diversity on television. Over here we wonder why is TV so white? Whereas over on the BBB, we have execs lamenting that there are too many black and Asian faces on TV.

On the writing front, have you ever read a blog post that not only makes you want to be a better writer, but think more creatively in terms of what it means to even write? And then there's a blog on posts that draw in more than the usual number of readers to a blog.

On the spiritual front, the question for the day: Is “Christian humanism” a good expression for central themes in the emerging movement? And then there are a few thoughts on James Dobson's comments on Barack Obama.

In the "feud" between Ice-T and Soulja Boy, game set match to the creators of this video. Speaking of which, here are 25 Things That Killed (and are Still Killing) Urban Music.

And in my continual struggles with BET, we have a new video produced by BET executive Reginald Hudlin whose theme is that “coon-ass rappers” who traffic in negative images are “sellout niggas” who ought to be lynched. Then again, we had the BET Image Awards where Li'l Wayne felt the need to thank God. (Of course, I'm obviously would be in the camp of needing to thank God for His patience with me considering what I write).


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If you want to make sure that I see your comment or just want to stop by and say “hi”, feel free to stop by my message board. We always welcome new voices to the conversation.

My Blog Birthday

Today is my third year birthday for this blog. It's finally coming out of the terrible two's: it is learning to talk back, throw tantrums, and still often drool on itself.

Though a lot of my friends had blogs/Live Journals at the time and some spoke of the marketing advantages such things had to aspiring writers, my first comment to the blogosphere involved nothing related to writing, spirituality, race, or pop culture. No, it was an encounter with a crazy @$$ squirrel.

That, ghetto weddings, and white trash weddings are my legacy to teh interwebz.

Now, instead of checking to see how much my blog is worth, let's check its readability:

P.S. - My friend, Richard Dansky has a new story up over on Pseudopod. Go forth and check it out.


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If you want to make sure that I see your comment or just want to stop by and say hi, feel free to do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

Writer’s Blogs

Every time a bell rings, another person starts a blog ... and apparently that bell is ringing a lot. As writers, I wouldn’t say that it’s mandatory for you to have a blog, but I would highly recommend it. I’m going to confess something: I’m subscribed to around 100 or so LiveJournals, Xangas, MySpaces, and blogs. Many just to keep up with friends and colleagues, some for industry (both writing or religious) news, some just to read other writers. Writing is a solitary pursuit and the blogosphere has allowed a sense of community by being our water cooler.

Continued in today's Blogging in Black.


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If you want to make sure that I see your comment or just want to stop by and say hi, feel free to do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.