Back-Patting the Blogosphere, Part I

This post is an apology to all the fantastic bloggers out there, who produce an amazing body of work every day, every minute, every second. I have way too many blogs in my feed to be able to catch up with every news and every outstanding post that pops up sometimes. You know this, because most of you are probably in the same situation. There's always life to happen.

Still, I have a very bad conscience for not visiting your blogs for such a long time, especially the ones that are in my LINKS list, because those I have been following for a very, very long time and I know that all of them are not just one-post wonders that linger in my feed. You have been commenting on my blog or at least reading it and I want to cherish your work in this post and the following ones, as I'm working my way through my LINKS page and read one post from almost each blog. Sadly, many blogs (especially Bollywood ones) have been abandoned since I last checked, but there are still many wonderful things to read out there.

Here's the first bunch of links I want all of you to read:

RUTH reviews Summer Wars, a Murakami-looking Anime movie that sounds really cool and looks even better. After Akira, I'm all in for this.

VERACIOUS is hosting a blogathon in May: The Red Salute Blogfest, which will be about the Indian Naxalite movement and the movies that have been made about it. I'll definitely join in - and you better do the same.

DAN shares his Top 10 Male Adventures in Self Discovery, which include many an unknown film to me, but also two great ones I know.

NOSTRA asks what makes your blog stand out, and got me bathing in self-indulgence. Kind of.

ANDREW writes a very personal review of Pulp Fiction, comparing it to the Sergio-Leone-blowjob (those were his - fitting - words) that is Django Unchained.

SCOTT explores the roots of movies like Harold and Kumar with a movie called Up in Smoke.

EMIL realizes that he knows more great male performances than female ones and wonders how that can be - as have I been doing ever since I started eating movies.

ALEX simply sat down and wrote the first 101 that came to his mind about why he loves the cinema of the 40s. Easy peasy.

DIANA apparently decided to cut down on blogging in February already, I hope she'll have time to write a post or two soon.

NIK(HAT) who is one of the only bloggers that have no reason to miss me and my unspectacular comments at all, wrote another of her addictive Thoughts posts. Always fun to catch up on gossip and trailers.

BETH, one of the few Bolly bloggers left, is just as pissed off by the Anniversary Edition of Filmfare Magazine (a Bollywood magazine), "celebrating Indian film". Because there are NO. WOMEN. ON. IT.

THE MIGHTY MANGO admits that she loved Himmatwala, a crappy-looking Bollywood flick.

GAJA GAMINI reviews a movie that isn't great but not bad either. So that's not spectacular, but I wanted to have her here because she too is one of the few Bollywood bloggers and I adore her blog.

BONJOUR TRISTESSE makes me realize how much of a teenager I still am, because the only thing I could think about when reading his post on the Un Certain Regard category of the Cannes Festival was "OMGASDFGHJJKL-SOEXCITEDFORBLINGRING-LKJHGFDSSA!!!!"

Bottom line: Keep up the great work.

Random fact: Magnolia was awesome.