There are weblogs and web sites more popular than James Lileks' blog/web site but it would be difficult to find any as good. In the short lifetime of the web, Lileks has crafted an online presence marked by incisive commentary, warm stories of family and friends and fun sidelines into Americana.
The
heart of James Lileks' web site is his marvelously written daily journal/weblog
known as The Bleat, a blog that can cover anything from the adventures
of his young daughter Natalie (better known to Bleat readers as Gnat)
to the questioning of a politician's motives and actions. Along with the
blog, Lileks occasionally pens an extended piece on one subject, such
as his recent hammering
of Sen. Paul Wellstone, which he refers to as his screeds.
From there his web site radically expands with The Institute, "where we bring pop culture history back to life so we can cruelly beat it to death again", exhibits of horrible comics from the old days, studies of buildings, "ghost ads", matchbooks, classic motel postcards and "flotsam cove" -- a dumping ground for everything else.
Is Lileks a conservative? If you read The Bleat long enough you'll notice
the fine pattern of traditional conservative thought but you'll also find
a streak of libertarianism. Throughout, however, there is one constant:
Lileks loves freedom and he loves his country for being the world's finest
example of it. While that is hardly an exclusively conservative belief,
it would be hard for anyone to argue that Lileks swings more to the right
than the left. Either way, his web site is a must for everyone.
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