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Freshly Pressed: Editors’ Picks for October 2012

Posted: 06 Nov 2012 08:56 AM PST

Narrowing down all the fantastic posts featured on Freshly Pressed in a month to just ten is a challenge, but one that we relish — it reminds us of how much great content you’ve published, and of the depth and diversity of the WordPress.com community. Here are some of October’s standouts:

Silk Road Ramblings: Lost Empires, Gobi Fugitives, and The Secret Meth Habit of Marco Polo

I have conquered the Silk Road—venturing through the wild frontiers of Central Asia all the way to the dynastic heart of China, through a land of unforgiving beauty and a blood-splattered past; a land of lost empires, camel caravans, mummies, treasure-filled caves, and Imperial tombs. I am a modern-day Marco Polo, except I can't grow impressive facial hair or call people 'Orientals' or 'barbarian mongrels'

We read many great posts about travel each month and scope out tons of great photography, but Backpackology gave us a rare fusion of beautiful imagery, hilarious storytelling, and accessible history. The combination of irreverent writing and deep respect for the history and culture of China had our eyes glued to the post. We didn’t just want to travel there — we wanted to travel there with the author as our guide.

Defining Crazy

Getting away with these things is a privilege of the well behaved, sane, and normal. The moment Dr. Doctor diagnoses (or even intimates) a Condition, you lose the right to behave badly. Suddenly, those spending sprees start to look like Mania. A hot temper resembles Emotional Disregulation. Moodiness fuels suspicions of Bipolar Disorder. Every move is scrutinized by doctors, therapists, loved ones. Dealing with a mental maladaption means living under a microscope.

This piece on the imperfect process of diagnosing and treating mental illnesses struck a chord with us, and with you — the post has over 300 comments. Trying to find balance in an area of health that’s still largely trial-and-error is nearly as challenging as dealing with the underlying disorder itself, something that came through loud and clear in this searching, candid post.

Interview With a Semicolon

Gething: You sound bitter.

Semicolon: I am bitter. I feel angry; I feel hurt; I feel betrayed. In speech we use pauses and intonation to convey meaning. Why can't we rely on perfectly acceptable conventions of punctuation, including the semicolon, for the printed word?

The much-maligned and oft-misused semicolon gets his (her?) fifteen minutes of fame in a witty post that immediately caught our eye. Blogger Tom Gething gave the venerable punctuation mark the opportunity to make a spirited defense of its continued usage. Hundreds of Likes, comments, and shares later, we feel confident in saying that the semicolon has more popular support that first suspected.

Oh Johnny . . . Honey. No. Just No.

His artist statement says that he "purposely does not denote a tribal affiliation to the majority of my subjects, rather, I attempt to give the paintings an authentic appearance, provoke interest, satisfy my audience's sensibilities of the subject without the constraints of having to adhere to historical accuracy." If that sounds like a load of wank to you, it's because it is. Sattler's "innate interest in the world's indigenous cultures" amounts to nothing more than cultural appropriation to create an exotic 'Other.'

Among the many Johnny Depp fans awaiting the release of The Lone Ranger, starring Depp as sidekick Tonto, blogger Alex offers a sharp critical perspective. Eschewing cultural criticism-speak for blunt language, she exposes and then picks apart the ways this portrayal of a Native American plays into tired stereotypes that re-victimize those communities all over again.

Going Home

Photographer Steve McCurry, best known for the iconic National Geographic cover photo of a young Afghan girl, one of the world’s most recognizable images, makes a home on WordPress.com. He organizes his stunning, saturated images by theme, interspersing them with relevant quotes and his own musings. Going Home collects images of the structures we call “home” and the people who really make them so. Hopping from Russia to Tibet to Peru to Mali, we couldn’t look away from these compelling photos.

Where we sand and stain the floor. But first try to kill each other.

I'm sure I don't need to point out—that it is OBVIOUSLY not my fault that the actual stain was significantly different from the sample. Right? This is obvious to you. To anyone, really. Except to Paul. To him I was the wrench in his plan. And therefore the bane of his entire existence. And? When that happens? I think: oh really? This is the bane of your existence? You have not seen anything yet.

Anyone who’s ever attempted any kind of home renovation project (or even just disagreed with a partner about what color to paint a wall) will find themselves somewhere in this post, which follows the author from outrage to madness to surrender. In a classic example of how the blogosphere encourages schadenfreude, her exploits had us laughing all the way through . . . and swearing to never take on another home-improvement project.

My Dark Secret

At that time I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus. I was severely sick in the past, and my doctor was telling me the 'worst case scenario' that I would be on bed rest the entire last half of the pregnancy. I ran it through my mind, prayed, became numb, even put off the first appointment. But I didn't want it to draw out, I did what I thought I had to do: went to the clinic. I had an abortion.

We have nothing but admiration for bloggers who put themselves on the line in the name of healing and supporting others. We can only imagine the courage it took to publish this post about the decision to have an abortion and how it continues to haunt, knowing what a divisive subject it is. It was an emotional post to read, and it’s wonderful to see the outpouring of support and fascinating (and civil) conversation it sparked.

It’s Debatable

Democrats? Republicans? They're just two parents in the middle of a nasty divorce, and you have to decide who you're going to live with for the next four years. They're so busy hating each other and trying to take the biggest piece of pie that they have forgotten that they love you at all. And you're not sure you like them, either.

Here in the US, it’s hard to go thirty seconds without seeing, reading, or hearing something about the presidential election. While we read a lot of interesting political analysis on WordPress.com over the past month, this simple post comparing the acrimony of the campaigns to a squabbling family resonated with us.

Getting Old: The Side Effects of Aging

Getting older often means allowing novelty to be slowly superseded by nostalgia. You start talking about "the good old days" which was a time when music was better and people had their priorities in line. It was also a time that never existed.

A topic we can all relate to — check. Cartoons — check. Biting wit — check. Good advice — check. This post had us laughing at ourselves, which is a uniquely satisfying (and educational!) kind of laughter. This look at the lessons learned from aging also skewered some of the preconceptions we all hold about what getting older means. We cracked up while also resolving to buck the trends toward dogma, technological illiteracy, and high-waisted pants.

Ode to the Blogosphere

We were charmed by this poem extolling the joys of being part of the blogosphere, and so were you.

Social media?
Yes,
but not like Facebook
and not like Twitter.

Blogging is people
taking the time
to write
or photograph
or paint
their lives,
their loves,
their passions.

She nailed exactly why we love being a part of this world: finding others who share our passions, learning about lives drastically different from own own, sharing our stories, making connections. Reading through the poem and all your comments gave us the warm fuzzies, both as bloggers and as people who make blogging possible for others.

What were your favorite October reads? Sound off!

Want more? Read the latest Freshly Pressed picks; check out our writing challenges, photo challenges, and other blogging tips and inspiration at The Daily Post; visit our Recommended Blogs; and browse the most popular topics in the reader.

For editorial guidelines for Freshly Pressed, read: So You Want To Be Freshly Pressed.

The WordPress Bestseller List

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 03:57 PM PST

Move over, New York Times bestseller list.

Millions of people across the globe turn to WordPress to build their websites and blogs, and we’re proud to say WordPress is home to many bestselling writers and winners of prestigious literary awards and prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize. In other words, we have our own bestseller list!

Take a look at the bestsellers and award winners who use WordPress — and be sure to scroll down to read about the notable works and WordPress-powered websites of twelve authors we’ve handpicked from this impressive list:

Jami Attenberg
Released this month, Attenberg’s third novel, The Middlesteins, is a story of marriage, new and old love, family, and our culture’s obsession with food. In addition to her novels, Attenberg has contributed both fiction and nonfiction to many outlets, from the New York Times and Salon to The Awl and numerous anthologies and zines. We love that she took all of the photographs on her site (except the one of herself!).

Margaret Atwood
We’re thrilled that Atwood, one of the most honored authors of our time, has a blog hosted on WordPress.com. (Hooray for the Pilcrow theme!) As you scroll through her posts, you’ll find a surprising mix of content: notes on publishing conferences, poetry, ideas, and even galleries of personal photographs. Just like her active Twitter handle, the blog adds an extra dimension to the author’s public persona.

Lauren Beukes
Winner of the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Zoo City — and shortlisted for various other awards — Beukes is a South African novelist, comics writer, and screenwriter (she’s currently adapting Zoo City into a screenplay). We dig the simple yet modern design, with a splash of yellow: it’s bold, fresh, and inviting.

Michael Chabon
We love poking around on the pages of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon’s website. On the About page, you get lost in an entertaining timeline of his youth, educational and romantic pursuits, and other morsels of information, and the Uncollected section is an archive of literary introductions, political pieces, and other essays you’ve probably never read.

Junot Diaz
Clean and elegant, Diaz’s website reminds us of his simple book covers — bold black type and abstract imagery against a plain, light-colored background — suggesting the power of his words. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award in 2008 for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Diaz maintains a minimal site, though keeps his interviews and publishing news section up to date.

Anthony Doerr
No stranger to prestigious awards, author Anthony Doerr has won four O. Henry Prizes for his short fiction, and has received two Pushcart Prizes, the Rome Prize, and numerous other awards and fellowships. Essays and science columns can also be found, respectively, at The Morning News and the Boston Globe. We enjoy the variety of writing on his site and especially like his ever-changing footers devoted to biological classification. (Take a peek — you’re guaranteed to learn something new.)

Tim Ferriss
“The rules of reality can be bent. It just requires thinking in different terms.” You’ll find this advice on the blog of Tim Ferriss, a business innovator and bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, a guide to lifestyle design. His blog, ranked number one among the top 150 management and leadership blogs and shortlisted by Inc. Magazine, is regularly updated with a mix of inspirational and practical content and out-of-the-box thinking.

Laura Hillenbrand
For 42 weeks, Hillenbrand’s first book, Seabiscuit, stayed at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Unbroken, a World War II biography of Louis Zamperini, has spent nearly 100 weeks — and counting — on the list. On her website, you can listen to an audio excerpt, read about Unbroken‘s characters, and read discussion questions.

Salman Rushdie
British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie is the author of 11 novels, including Midnight’s Children and The Satanic Verses; his books have been translated into over 40 languages. The featured slider on the home page highlights some of his work, and the imagery evokes his magical realism style and themes of East and West. His newest book, Joseph Anton: A Memoir, was released last month.

John Scalzi
A WordPress.com VIP blog since October 2008, Whatever is science fiction author and online writer John Scalzi’s long-running blog, which was created in September 1998. It’s one of the most visited personal blogs on the web, and is generally updated daily (and sometimes more than once a day, which we love!). Here, you’ll find anything and everything, from books and politics to technology and photography (his outdoor shots of Ohio are lovely).

Rebecca Skloot
Skloot’s first book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were cultured to create an immortal cell line for medical research without her knowledge. An important piece of nonfiction on ethics, science, and reporting, it was named by more than 60 critics as one of the best books of 2010 and is required reading at many schools and universities. Her site has teaching resources, a HeLa Forum to engage the conversation between the scientific community and the public, and other extras like videos.

Gene Luen Yang
We love the color and energy of Gene Luen Yang’s site, which complements his comics and graphic novels. In 1996, he began self-publishing his own comics under Humble Comics, and ten years later published American Born Chinese, which became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award. Yang is an advocate for using comics and graphic novels in the classroom, and we like reading about his projects and efforts that promote this education.

Feeling inspired by this crop of literary powerhouses? Here’s a tip for November: participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and write a 50,000-word novel by November 30. Learn more on the NaNoWriMo website.

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marți, 6 noiembrie 2012