SFD: Six Degrees

Today, dear reader, I am going to take you on an adventure through the blogosphere. However, (as some of you may have come to expect from me), instead of a bland list of links with some minor commentary from yours truly, we will follow the path I took from blog to blog. It will be a "six degrees of separation Kevin Bacon" sort of thing, except without the bacon (mmm... bacon...)

Also note that this isn't an exhaustive list of everyone who I read, or who reads this blog. It is a collection of blogs that I've been reading for a while that I wanted to trace a path to.


Around The World by Daft Punk
In the spring of 2006, my wife started blogging (on her old, now defunct, blog) but I didn't really read it, instead leaving her to write in peace. I had started and stopped several blogs previously, so I knew about the concept. Then, in April of 2006, I broke my ankle and was laid-up for a while. During that time, I happened to read an article in a parenting magazine about dad blogs, and got the link to Laid-Off Dad from there.

Having read all of Laid-Off Dad's posts (literally; I went to the first post and read from the beginning over the course of a week), I was eager to read something else, so I prompted my wife for suggestions. She hadn't blogged since my injury, being too busy, but she was starting up again, so I read her stuff. Then one day she added a blog roll, and from there I discovered Rebecca Eckler's blog, ninepounddictator.

From ninepounddictator, I learned about reading the comments to find new bloggers. Using this method, I found Haley and her blog, The Cheaty Monkey. Through Haley directly, I found her friend (and now mine) Ali of Cheaper Than Therapy and Chris of Rude Cactus (through whom I found his wife, Beth of so the fish said), and through Haley's blog roll I discovered Rockstarmommy (from whom I found steenface!, Dad Gone Mad and Chag of Cynical Dad [where I found Mama Tulip]).

It was around this time that Laid-Off Dad mentioned MetroDad in one of his posts, and made me an instant fan once I clicked through.

Back to my wife's blog roll I went, in search of more bloggers. There I found Her Bad Mother, who asked me to join Better Than a Playdate (at the time known as MommyBlogsToronto) where I met motherbumper and Redneck Mommy, and where Motherhood Uncensored found me (and subsequently I found her). In Her Bad Mother's comments I also found IzzyMom (who in turn invited me to write for Moms Speak Up, which is where Julie Pippert found me, and I her.)

Of course, not everyone I have "discovered" were part of an active attempt on my part. First, a friend of mine who I met through my sister years ago found me through a comment I left on ninepounddictator, and shared her blog, Becspeak, with me. Then, a reader of my wife's clicked over and became my first "stranger" comment: Miss Perfect of Working on Perfect. Finally, more recently, AndreAnna of Diary of a Modern Matriarch found me as well.

So there you have it: a brief tour of the blogosphere through my footsteps. If you are so inclined, take a moment to click through and read some of the blogs that are unfamiliar to you, and while you're there, leave a comment. Also, if anyone else out there wants to go through a similar exercise, I'd be fascinated to read it, so please leave a link in the comments, or email me, and I'll include it at the end of this post.

And for those interested, here is a graphical representation of my wife's "tree" (click to enlarge):

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I also have a new post up at Babies Online, where I take a look at the changing nature of fatherhood.