Well, a few people---a few good people---open the doors of their mind and let you wander through, giving you glimpses as you travel down the information highway...

To show---Lives On-Line.

Welcome to Lives On-Line, a monthly weblog/ezine that looks at the best of the journals/blogs on the Internet; I have a few self-imposed rules---that I try to find entries between the seventh of last month and this month, that I give preferable treatment to journals I've never linked to before, and that I try to group them by categories.

All excellencies are the individual authors'. I'm just the guide in a strange land---and if you feel I lead you astray, blame the guide, not the terrain.

Humor:

We all have days like this...when our personal demon is laughing uproariously. So do we...after the fact. Days like the delightfully awful "Expletive Deleted"(that's not my self-censorship of the title, that's how it's titled in her archives) from LUNATIC RAVINGS.

Read "SMashing Good Clothes" and meet the Uniboob. That's from THE BITTER HAG.

"Oh, I'll Memorial It, All Right"...why it's not a smart idea to get drunk, in the pool, and then have your friends dress you afterwards. Somewhere, blackmail photos are lurking...that's from JAMIESTAR.

Drama:

In "This Is It" a woman overdoses on her medications and wakes up in the ICU. I'd call that dramatic---and life-changing, as it turns out. That's from REVELLING AND RECKONING.

Patrick's back! And if you don't know Patrick, I suggest you go to ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? and find out. I suggest "Behind My Right Knee" as a good starting place, of beds and bedsprings and lugging European Queens down the fire escape from the fourth floor---and what ensued.

"The Death of Evangelism" is a thoughtful piece, and dramatic in its own right, on the subject of what works...and what doesn't...if you think there is some truth in religion to be spread...and how to spread it. That's from Matthew Sturges' WEBLOG.

"A Rant" addresses innocence and perversity, and what we're doing to our children. Taken partly from headlines about the Catholic church's problems lately (from a prominent Catholic journaller), but more than just the scandal-of-the-month---a reflection on what's happening in all of society, and the overworked phrase, "the death of innocence". That's from AND IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE...

Slice-of-life:

In "I Love Rock'n'Roll So Put Another Dime in the Jukebox, Baby" involves a music survey, written by NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND....and some wonderful (and oftentimes funny) memories evoked.

"Quotations" quietly reflects on the simple wisdom of words, from FROM DAWN TO DUSK. Sometimes less is more.

"Oh,I do Like to Be.."...beside the seashore, and a visit to tawdry but fun Blackpool is recorded and illuminated. That's from the marvellously named HEAVEN AND WOOLWORTHS.

Can education---can learning ---be an epiphany? Don't answer till you read "Regaining What's Lost" about what going back to schol has meant to her life. That's from the always-excellent PLANNING A SKY.

--Miscellaneous:

There are many journallers, it seems, who are getting into exercising, especially biking. Bev Sykes from FUNNY THE WORLD, who makes so many suggestions for Lives On-Line that I should list her as a co-contributor, suggested that my miscellaneous section deal with exercise, diet and health...and was kind enough to find many entries to link to. (I suspect many will be on the Babes on Outrageous Bikes Burb.)

Many of these entries go further back then May 7th---but hey, they're my self-imposed rules, nobody else's, so I break 'em at will. Nyaaah.

"Thank You" show the comradie between journalling bikers...after one's bike is stolen. That's from FOOTNOTES

"Bike-O-Rama" describes how the THE BITTER HAG got pedalling again...

"The Glory That is Bike Riding"---or why bike riding is spiffy---from ANYONE'S AMY.

"The Birth of the Boobs" traces the genesis of this bike-riding cult---uhh, pastime---and that's from FUNNY THE WORLD, of course. Also check out her "It's All Relative" on reflections on self-esteem and self-worth...and self-image.

"Operation OFB" which stand for One Fine Butt gives another impetus to the movement---by making them make move...and that's from BITCHYPOO.

"Self Esteem in Blue Jeans" gives a good reason for joining OFB---that's from RED NOSE.

"When It Began", of why she joined Weight Watchers, and seriously dieting, from ROCKFOX.

"A Day on Bikes" deals with a glorious day on the road, and the ravenous hunger afterwards. That's from MY LIFE, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.

"Getting Into the Swing of Things", about biking in general and deciding to go on the Ride for Hunger in particular....that from A CAT BY ANY NAME.

Well, I'm almost motivated to ride a bike---except I prefer to walk...but I hope you'll be motivated to join me next month for some more---

Lives On-Line.