As 2008 comes to an end, I’ve decided to come up with a few lists of a few different things bloggers I think you may find interesting along the lines of what I did in The Lists 2007.  For further information, be sure to read the disclaimer at the end.

Now it is no secret that I am all about Personal Bloggers (hence why this List is twice as long as the rest).  Being one myself, there is a certain kindred amongst them along the same lines as the innocent childhood game of I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours, minus having your mother smack the crap out of you… usually.  So here are the bloggers that I found to be the most personal of 2008 and I look forward to continuing our “little game” straight on through 2009:

Poppy Cedes - There are usually two types of Personal Bloggers, journalers and chroniclers.  Poppy Cede fulfills both those roles magnificently.  Everything from her daily commute, to a not so mundane meme, to events big, and events small are blogged about… and dare I say it… she probably does a better job than her wonderful, illustrious, handsome, and eccentric boyfriend does when chronicling his daily goings on as well.  One of the wonderful things about Poppy, at least in my opinion, is her very unique perspective on things… which really makes you re-examine how you saw something from your own perspective.  She also loves cereal, so that in itself is points galore.  Have I mentioned her extremely hot boyfriend?

Dave2 - I was really torn into where I should stick Blogography this year, because there was no doubt he was making it onto one of these Lists… he’s just that damn good.  I chose this one because he is the proof against the blogging philosophy that No One Wants To Know What You Had For Lunch.  I want to know what Dave2 had for lunch each and everyday… because I know that somehow he will make it funny, interesting, or a statement on the sad condition of Streamliner stock at Johnny Rockets worldwide.  There is no greater power for a Personal Blogger… to make the mundane extraordinary and the extraordinary pale in comparison to the mundane.  He also has mad illustration skillz that make me laugh and provide me with about 30% of my wardrobe.  He’s like the Swiss Army knife of bloggers.  Seriously.

Hilly - It’s one thing to know someone, but I totally different thing to truly know one’s self.  Personal Blogging is not just about getting to know someone else… it is also about the journey of self-discovery through introspection.  This is something that we find Hilly doing quite often.  Her travels down the path of finding her inner being draw us along for the ride both to discover new things about her and new layers about ourselves while providing us the tools to be able to see one of the most wonderful sights one can imagine… the gift of sight from someone else’s perspective.  Did I mention that the whole time she’s doing it she’s totally funabulous?  I definitely think one of her defining moments was saying grace to Sweet Baby Jesus over the Tequila… Hillarious…

Amy - Now I have something to confess, when I first met Amy at the Hot Blogger Calendar Dinner I had her pegged as a “tech princess”.  You know the kind… modern looks, cappuccino sipping, moderate gadget usage normally limited to the newest Nokia model or maybe even THE iPhone without the slightest clue as to what HTML is.  Thankfully I was so wrong!  She’s a happily married mom who works in the tech field with code and programming… but you would never know it from just idly perusing her blog.  She shares everything across the board… great times, bad times, and most recently her Twilight times.  Yes, she’s a Twilight fan, but don’t hold that against her… because she’s going to Disney in 2009 so she obviously hasn’t been totally sucked into the vampire life!  Amy’s pretty much always a good light hearted read and definitely someone you should check out if you haven’t already.

Miss Ann Thrope - Anyone who knows anything about Star Wars knows that every Padawan needs a Master.  Miss Ann happens to be my own personal Yoda.  While I thought that PHP was the true knowledge strength in blogging, she instructed me otherwise.  Honesty, transparency, and a willingness to both share and defend your viewpoint intelligently were key to becoming a strong Personal Blogger.  She continues practicing these very values, whether it be blogging about The Sims or the often tragic events of Darwinism in action, to this very day.  Don’t be fooled though… her hard fought reputation as the Komodo Dragon Lady of the Blogosphere is still intact.  She will gladly rip your genitals out and shove them down your gullet… for which you will say, “Thank you.  May I have another?”, because at least she has done it with the sword of honesty.

Lisa - I’ve been reading Lisa for quite a long time… back when she was known as The Rock Bitch and through her current manifestation at Clusterfook.  Evolving, as many of us bloggers do, she has always kept truthful to her readers and most importantly, I believe she has remained truthful to herself.  Through the ups and downs she has always been unapologetic when her honesty and transparency seemed a little harsh for the world to see.  Even now, although being unrelentingly pummeled by the physical side effects of chemotherapy in her third battle with Ovarian Cancer, she’s keeping it as true as possible when she is physically capable.  It’s reality.  It’s personal.  It’s what Lisa is all about… and what we should all strive to be.

B.E. Earl - Now here’s a guy living the life in the suburbs of New York City, and has probably gone to more cool places in Manhattan than I have which is a pretty sad state of affairs considering I’m now spending most of my day on that damn island.  B.E. Earl is a great chronicler of his many adventures into dining venues that I’ve only read about in The Village Voice.  He also has a quirky sense of humor (my favorite kind), is a beer connoisseur, and runs a Daily Trivia Challenge that all the cool bloggers are doing.  B.E. Earl (the B.E. stands for Bug Eyed by the way) is as fine a purveyor of interesting tid-bits as he is a chronicler, so even on days when he really hasn’t gone anywhere (because really… every now and then it’s nice to just stay the fuck home in your jammies) you’re guaranteed something worth your while.

Crys - Last year Crys was listed as one of The 2007 Most Entertaining Bloggers for her Midnight Therapy With Crystal.  This year, Crys has had some changes go on including some changes to her blog that is now called Clearly Crystal.  Change is not always bad… and these changes she made remind us of that very fact.  What clearly hasn’t changed is the power of her wisdom, introspection, and perspective.  No longer exclusive to video (although there is still plenty of that), they are shared in a myriad of formats (although she continues to deny ease of mobility through podcast)… and maybe it’s just me… but I feel I see more of Moose now than I ever have before.  What can I say, I love the Moose.

Soda - One of my oldest and dearest reads, Soda is a complete and total sharer.  Now don’t let her URL fool you… she’s no longer in Las Vegas.  Now she’s in the wonderful state of Kentucky and working damn hard for her money.  She painstakingly chronicled that journey through her blog and continues to take us along for the ride like a reality show without the over acting and annoying blonde drama queen.  She shares it all… the good… the bad… the happy… the sad… and she always gives you a new perspective to look at things from with just a simple twist to the system.

Wayne Hall - As classic a diarist as you will find utilizing today’s technology to document his daily routine, both in words and in his 3-Minute DITL videos.  Wayne also finds the time to speak out on technology issues that affect the blogging community and assist the not so technical blogger in harnessing the power of their install to its greatest potential by translating Geek into English.  As one of the few fellow Republican bloggers, Wayne is always able to put things into a perspective I’m familiar with and at times into a point of view I am not as versed on… such as Guitar Hero.  I know… I’m such a fuddy-duddy… luckily Wayne isn’t and he will take you where you yourself may not be ready to travel.

As a reward for being the best of the best for 2008… I designed this complex thing-a-ma-bob for those who may want to display their Listed status proudly:

Additionally… because I am beyond benevolent and loving contrary to what some people believe… here is the code for you to use with a permalink directly to this post.  So if your blog was Listed upon today, all you need to do is copy and past the code:

The Lists is a yearly compilation of interesting bloggers that I currently read.  Due to the volume of blogs and the 10 blogger limit, there may be authors who do not appear.  This is not to say that you did not have a good blog, or an important blog, or even a blog I did not read because in all likelihood I do indeed read it.  This simply means that for that year that you are excluded… well… I thought other bloggers were better choices for the Listing.  This does not mean I don’t like you, I don’t love you, or that I don’t read you.  It just means that for that year(s), I chose other bloggers but there is always the possibility of next year.  Unless.

Unless you cry, whine, send me e-mail messages begging me to feature you, send e-cards with links to the blogs you want linked, tell me how I don’t love you, tell me how I don’t like you, tell me how sad you are, tell me how I don’t read you even though you know I did because I commented at some point, and/or try to muscle me with threats of large “goombas” paying a visit.  If you do any of that… then hold your breathe until you see yourself on the Lists again.  While your doing that… go get a white hat and get yourself some Smurfberry Pie ‘cause you’ll be blue before you see it.