Awards and some blog suggestions

My astronomy blog, Blogstronomy, was lucky enough to be mentioned in Literarygeek's response to an award meme that's doing the rounds. Now, I'm not really one for joining in with memes, but I thought I could write a post about some of the blogs that I read and enjoy.

So, in no particular order, here are a few of the blogs that I subscribe to and look forward to reading, with a little description about each of them. These first few are relatively unestablished bloggers who are worthy of a read and your support. Please have a look at each of their blogs, especially if you have similar interests, and subscribe and comment if you like what you see.

Feel free to comment with a link to and brief description of your own blog and who knows, you might get a few more follows out of it!

1. No Love Sincerer... - This is Literarygeek's food blog, and the one in which she posted Blogstronomy's award. No, it's not included here just because she linked to me! It's a blog of random recipes, seasonal suggestions, restaurant reviews, and other assorted food-based things that I can't think of alliterations for. It's well written, entertaining and informative, and regularly includes mouth-watering photos. Not one for anyone on a diet...
2. Peter Claridge's Blog - Peter's a guy I went to school with who now lives and works in India. His blog posts are a nicely eclectic mix of thoughts, opinions and comments on new technology, consumer advice, personal experiences, being an expat and being a grumpy young man (something I can identify with wholeheartedly).
3. The Foxes of Nevis - Rob's a distinctly unadventurous, singularly untravelled mate of mine who's suspicious of anything that hasn't been a daily part of his twenty-six years so far, which makes the fact that he's decided to put together an expedition of Leicester City Football Club fans to climb Ben Nevis and rake in some cash for the charity LOROS while they're at it all the more interesting and entertaining. I hope he succeeds in his quest!
4. Challenge That! - Emma's my girlfriend, but that's not what has earned her a place on this list. Like me, Emma's a teacher. Unlike me, she's enthusiastic about it to the extent that she puts in far too much lots of work outside school, and this where she posts her thoughts, experiences and ideas regarding working with Gifted and Talented (G&T) primary school students, which is one of her particular career interests.

And here are a few of my favourite more well established blogs:

1. Bad Astronomy - Written by American astronomer, lecturer and author Phil Plait, Bad Astronomy centres around issues in astronomy but also discusses subjects and events relevant to skepticism and anti-science (including the anti-vaccination movement, homeopathy and climate change denial) as well as other things from time to time. Well written and considered, Bad Astronomy is one of my favourite followed blogs.
2. Blogtor Who - For the Doctor Who fanatic in your life... This blog covers all Who-related issues including forthcoming DVD releases, reviews and production news and photos. Don't worry; there aren't many spoilers, and the few that there are are warned about well in advance so you can avoid them if you want to!
3. Edgalaxy - Edgalaxy has two taglines: "Where education and technology meet," and "a cool site for nerdy teachers," which just about sums it up. It's a website and blog for the teacher who's not afraid to get stuck in when it comes to new technology and use it in the classroom, with ideas, news and links to online tools and tech that is relevant to the school environment.
4. New Scientist: Feedback - The blog for New Scientist's Feedback column includes a humorous and often irreverent commentary on anecdotes from readers and dubious science claims from around the internet and in the press.
5. NewsArse - A spoof news website satirising UK news stories. It's usually funny in a dry, sarcastic kind of way, and sometimes includes language that some readers may find objectional.

A bonus for anyone who's read this far: A 'reader' is a website or piece of software that keeps all of your blog subscriptions in one place. It automatically finds and stores updates from each blog that you subscribe to, allowing you to go through updates in much the same way as you might go through your emails. This removes the need to keep track of potentially hundreds of websites, and trawling through them all checking for updates. I use google reader to keep up to date with my blog subscriptions. It's free, web-based (so requires no downloads) and easy to use.

#Updated to add that Emma's just this minute created a new blog, Em's Craft Corner. She's into her card making and other crafty stuff, so if you're into that kind of thing as well, give this a perusal, follow and comment!#