(bits) by bill keaggy

My new book: "50 Sad Chairs"

2008-03-29T11:11:00.002-06:00

I probably should mention that my new book is out. It's published by the weird and wonderful folks at BlueQ. It's a nice little photo book of the sad chairs of St. Louis. No, really. Discarded chairs in alleys. Abandoned chairs on street corners. Abused chairs on loading docks. You get the picture. You're gonna like it.

Check out www.50sadchairs.com to see some page samples and (if you want) by it at Amazon or Blueq.com.

C'mon!

Well, that's that

2007-08-28T21:53:00.000-06:00

Hey all -- I left the PD to go back to XPLANE so I'm no longer doing the blog of the week. This here Bits page will be rethought, as I have threatened once before.

Happily, it looks like the Post will continue to do the blog of the week feature though, every Tuesday in the Here and Now section. Later!

Comically Large Things

2007-08-21T06:44:00.000-06:00

All I can say is if you don't think the Comically Large Things wbelog is a huge laugh, then you're a big loser. Whether it's giant boots, oversized checks or really, really big slices of cherry pie, site proprietor James loves his stuff extra large. Get your big on at comicallylarge.wordpress.com.

Yard Sale Bloodbath

2007-08-14T18:49:00.000-06:00

Yard Sale Bloodbath contains reviews and recaps of yard sales, swap meets and such, and includes photos of some of the weird stuff you sometimes find for sale. An example observation: "Oh my God, I can't believe that person was trying to sell their used granny panties." Witness the carnage at www.yardsalebloodbath.com.

Strange Maps

2007-08-07T07:48:00.000-06:00

Attention map geeks: Strange Maps is a blog full of delicious cartographic oddness. Want to know what a map of the world would look like if land and water were switched? Want to see the what the state of Sequoia would have looked like had it been split from Oklahoma? Want to see the fictitious "Map of the Truelove River," and old postcard featuring terrain that includes "Indifference Hill" and the "Valley of Disdain?" Then go to strangemaps.wordpress.com.

What Did You Buy Today?

2007-07-31T07:37:00.000-06:00

Kate Bingaman-Burt has been running her Obsessive Consumption site for years now, fueled by the slogan, "consume/document/make." She's best known for making highly-detailed drawings of her credit card statements, which she plans to do until they are paid in full. She also draws the various things she buys every day at her new blog, What Did You Buy Today? Find out what Kate bought today at obsessiveconsumption.typepad.com.

Indexed

2007-07-24T08:15:00.000-06:00

Jessica Hagy's blog, "Indexed," isn't just clever -- it's brilliant. Every day she draws a deceptively simple diagram on an index card, scans it and posts it to the web. Hagy does this to "make fun of some things and sense of others." The result is sometimes hilarious, occasionally sad, and always insightful. And take note: A book is in the works, due early next year. Get indexed at indexed.blogspot.com.

Was on vacation

2007-07-17T18:45:00.000-06:00

No posts from me for 7/17. I was on vacation and someone else wrote the blog column.

Neatorama

2007-07-10T07:58:00.000-06:00

The world of Harry Potter is strange and the Simpsons' universe is pretty weird, but the truly odd things in our world are almost always real. Neatorama is a blog dedicated to finding those unlikely (or underappreciated) things and writing up quick, photo-driven blog posts. Topics have included the World's Worst Molasses-related Disaster, the 30 Strangest Animal Mating Habits, Missing Body Parts of 10 Famous People and the 30 Strangest Deaths in History. It's not just neat, it's Neatorama: www.neatorama.com.

How to Photograph Fireworks

2007-07-03T08:10:00.000-06:00

Fireworks -- they look and sound great in real life but your 4th of July photos always turn out dark and blurry. Well, we can't make your pictures louder but professional blogger and amateur camera geek Darren Rowse can help make them better. He writes the Digital Camera School blog and he recently published a post called "How to Photograph Fireworks," featuring 10 useful tips plus some reader suggestions. Light the fuse, back away, and click on over to http://digital-photography-school.com/blog.

One Sentence

2007-06-26T22:15:00.000-06:00

The group blog One Sentence is filled with fragments of real lives. Many of the one sentence stories are just chilling enough to cause you to worry about complete strangers, though some are humorous or insightful and some are just inane. In the founder's words, "One Sentence is an experiment in brevity. Most of the best stories that we tell from our lives have one really, really good part that make the rest of the boring story worth it. This is about that one line." Browse the good parts at www.onesentence.org.

The Beer Mapping Project

2007-06-19T08:21:00.000-06:00

Mix hops, maps and geeks and what do you get? You get The Beer Mapping Project, a web site for folks who like to know exactly where they are and how far they need to go for a good beer. The goal is admirable and ambitious: Use Google Maps and an army of volunteers to locate and review places that brew and/or serve delicious craft beers. Find your way to www.beermapping.com to get your map on.

Dad Gone Mad

2007-06-12T08:15:00.000-06:00

Who's hilarious, insightful and (almost always) a good dad? Dad Gone Mad, that's who. Written anonymously, the Dad Gone Mad blog makes up for that with well-told stories featuring a rich cast of nicknamed characters (Hot Wife, Wondersis, The Champ and The Artist Formerly Known As Barney's Biggest Fan). The language is sometimes Rated R -- but that's just how dads talk when they're having a conversation with the entire internet. Visit the madhouse at www.dadgonemad.com.

(bits) lives!

2007-06-10T07:59:00.000-06:00

The blog of the week will return to the Post-Dispatch on June 12 as part of the new Here and Now section. Yay!

Rethinking...

2007-05-18T05:24:00.000-06:00

The Everyday section in the Post-Dispatch is no more so I'm no longer writing up these shorts on cool web sites and local blogs for the paper. But I'll probably be continuing to post here.

How to make the best paper airplane in the world

2007-05-13T21:20:00.000-06:00

Do you want to know how to build "the best paper airplane in the world?" This site makes that bold claim -- and it takes 35 steps, so it better be good. The author includes both text/photo instructions and a video how-to, as well as the story behind the airplane. Fly on over to: http://zurqui.co.cr/.

16 Must Read Articles For Bloggers

2007-05-06T11:34:00.000-06:00

Usually the best way to figure out how to do something right is to do it wrong so many times, in so many ways, that you learn what works. But some of us would rather not learn the hard way -- so let's learn the easy way! If you want to become a better blogger, read these "16 Must Read Articles For Bloggers" by those who've had some success in the blogging nation: thewrongadvices.com.

Twitter

2007-04-28T09:27:00.000-06:00

Maybe you don't really have the desire to start a full-fledged weblog or maybe you're afraid of technology, but you still want to broadcast yourself to friends and strangers online. Well, Twitter is here for you. The site makes it easy to post short updates about your life via the web, text messages or chat software. And you thought starting a blog was the only way to tell the whole world what you ate for lunch. Twitter your life away at www.twitter.com.

No new sites this week

2007-04-22T06:06:00.000-06:00

No new site this week. Sorry!

WebsterBloggers.com

2007-04-15T21:21:00.000-06:00

Featuring posts on topics ranging from homelessness to music venues to fruit smoothies, WebsterBloggers.com is a new weblog for students at Webster University. It's produced by school's online journalism class. Point your web browser to Webster: www.websterbloggers.com.

No new site this week

2007-04-07T07:58:00.001-06:00

No new site this week. Most of the Everyday section featured winners of the Peeps contest!

Foos On First

2007-04-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

Is this an April Fool's joke? No, it's real. A rag-tag squad of avid kickballers has publicly challenged Dave Grohl and his rock band Foo Fighters to a game of kickball to take place July 1 in San Francisco's Delores Park. It gets better: If you help spread the word you could land a spot on the team. Follow these fools as they follow their dream at www.foosonfirst.com.

On My Desk

2007-03-25T22:28:00.000-06:00

What is On My Desk? It's just what you think: A place where artists, illustrators, designers and creative people from around the world share, via photos and descriptions, the stuff on their desks. Join the clutter at www.onmydesk.com.

ghostco.org: with hands and hair and eyes and bones and knees

2007-03-17T09:04:00.000-06:00

Matthew Woodson is a wildly talented young illustrator working in St. Louis. His weblog, "With hands and hair and eyes and bones and knees" is where he explains his artistic process, showcases his beautiful in-progress and finished works, complains and curses. Be in good company at www.ghostco.org.

what's in rebecca's pocket?

2007-03-10T08:21:00.000-06:00

Rebecca Blood has been involved in weblogs since the beginning. She's been running her site, Rebecca's Pocket, since 1999 and she wrote a popular book titled "The Weblog Handbook," which was released in 2002. She also interviews bloggers for a recurring web feature called "Bloggers on Blogging." Get some blog in your blood at www.rebeccablood.net.