Read These Guys, Sayeth The Joe.My.God.

Taking my cue from the scene in "Miracle On 34th Street" in which Macy's employee Kris Kringle tells customers that they could find what they were looking for at over at Gimbel's, Macy's archrival, I'd like to offer up a few suggestions to my gentle readers.

If you find yourself unsatiated by the "endless tales of death, drugs and disco nonsense" that appear on Joe.My.God., I recommend checking out a trio of New Yorkers, all Gimbel's to my Macy's. Actually, wait a minute...these guys aren't my archrivals. Bad allegory. I'll go rewrite this lead while you guys go check out the blogs below.

For gorgeous, florid descriptives, startlingly vivid metaphors, and almost achingly old-soul takes on the Catholic Church, his decades-long relationship, or the ritualized behaviors of secretive men visiting adult bookstores, all woven through through the endlessly ribald adventure of his life, a frank and unblinking picaresque , I recommend Perge Modo. However, if do you step into the erstwhile Father Tony's confessional, be aware that he may try to slip you something through the partition. And it won't be no rosary.

Next up is Daily Blague, easily the most erudite destination on my blogroll. Delivering thoughtful takes on literature, film (not "movies"), restaurants, New York City, and many other topics, the prolific R.J. manages to tread that elusive line between common-man opinion making and intellectual punditry, a blogospherically rare achievement. Shamefully, the man behind Daily Blague is a self-confessed heterosexual, yet he can still write a fawning review of Rufus Wainwright, which is doubleplus cool.

My last recommendation, while technically not a New Yorker, still gets full Gotham cred for his keenly aware posts on Manhattan life, which he delivers from the far edge of the Hudson River, atop his Jersey City highrise. Aaron, at Meanwhile, is an devoted foodie, so expect reviews of unusual cuisines and dishes. Also expect reviews of beers, dissections of urban gay cliques, clear-headed opinions on world events, and anti-jingoist commentary on what it means to be American. First time vistitors might start with this brilliant recent post.

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