Blogs replacing need for editors, talk

I'm into reading my feeds the RSS way, but sometimes I love visiting the original sites. The venture can lead me to new places, new ideas and new ideas. So a hop over to Dave Winer's Scripting News then led me to Word Wise's One (Isn't) the Loneliest Number. He gives us 25 phrases to replace with one word. Example:  Replace at all times:with always. I really like these blogs about language and words because I don't often get the chance to talk about this now that I've left the newspaper.

Plus some of the blogs give us the headlines that could easily be featured in Jay Leno's Headlines on Mondays.

So Dan Sartow's Word Wise joins the other "word" blogs I follow:

• Editrix is "for those who think grammar is hot," which is nice when it is cold.
  
• Headsup is self-described as "thorts and comments about editing and the deskly arts." Expect to learn about headlines such as "Patient buried before Cherry filed report to pathologist" in posts with headlines like When zombies handle the paperwork."
  
• Languagehat is about language and I like it just because I never know what I will be reading.
  
• That's the Press, Baby is the only blog I know of that talks about copy editing and department stores. Author David Sullivan and I once worked on the same copy desk so I knew of his fascination with department stores and his skill at copy editing. These days, he also writes often on the future of newspapers.
  
• The Engine Room is by a sub editor (what we in the U.S. call a copy editor) in the UK. I like getting a non-U.S. viewpoint from time to time. Plus he led to me to a book: Grumpy Old Men, the official handbook. Who knew.
  
• Watch Yer Language is from an editor at The Billings-Gazette and led me to
  
• You Don't Say, is by John McIntrye, a "mild-mannered copy editor."
• Words at Work often reminds me of loaded words such as entitlement that a copy editor or editor once helped with (we all need some help, right?)
• Writer Way is written by Karen Anderson, who knows her way around the web so includes posts about wise web practices as well as advice on writing.
  
• Writing Tools.
• A Capital Idea by a Dallas Morning News copy editor talks about commas, grammar and newspapers.
• Mr. ReWrite whose last entry was about Canada geese.
• Words to the Wise has cleared up a number of food-related words for me recently and shared why -0 wasn't wise to use in a headline near math students.

The advantage of leaving RSS behind is I can see the blogs the writers are reading. Here are some from the blogs above that are about words, writing and editing.

• Common Sense Journalism
• Conjugate Visits
• Grammar Police
• Language and Grammar
• Language Log
• Motivated Grammar
• Talk Wordy to Me
• Testy Copy Editors
• The Editor’s Desk
• The Grammar Vandal
• The Slot
• The Word
• The Word Whisperer
• Triangle Grammar Guide
• Word Porn
• Wordfeeder
• Mike Billings' Copy Editing Corner

This fascination with words must be why the family still won't play Scrabble with me. (and yes, I've shared how many games I've lost on the Internet.)