I think one of the most essential functions of a blog is to recommend other blogs. My automatic blogroll (to the right and below) is so gargantuan and unwieldy that I’d gladly forgive you if you’ve never explored it. I read a lot of blogs.

Here are a few favorites…

Big Happy Funhouse is a found photograph blog. The proprietor Ron hand-selects a new vernacular photo each day, and the results are often revelatory… not to mention touching and hilarious. The photos are a voyeuristic look into a different life. If you’re interested in snapshots, I’d also recommend Square America, a curated collection of same, and this older TSOYA, with Lorca Shepherd, director of the lovely film “Other People’s Pictures.”

If you listen to Jordan, Jesse GO!, you know about my interest in men’s style. Lately I’ve been checking out the men’s clothes blogosphere, and my two favorites are certainly A Suitable Wardrobe and A Continuous Lean.

A Suitable Wardrobe, run by a San Francisco clotheshorse named Will, is a catalogue of classic men’s style. Will posts daily, and each post is a nugget of timeless sartorial wisdom. This is a place to learn about grey flannel trousers, brown suede shoes and the finer points of repp ties. His advice is best followed by the stodgy and rich, but it’s also consistently on point, and is as useful to a guy shopping at H&M or J Crew as to the guy shopping at San Francisco’s famous Wilkes Bashford or Cable Car Clothiers. If you, like me, are of the poorer persuasion, you’ll be happy to know that he has softened his stance on made-to-measure pajamas, though he still recommends having six or seven sets, so you can have a fresh pair every night.

A Continuous Lean is also focused on classic men’s style, but with a contemporary, streetwearish twist. Here’s a place to learn about classic American-made workwear and how to wash your raw denim, as much as when to use which tie knot. It’s another stop where if you take the recommendations literally, you can quickly start spending a lot of money, but of course learning to recognize quality and shop effectively can blunt that blow. ACL is curated with a keen eye, and the articles are informative and clearly written.

It wouldn’t be a blogroll without personal friends, right?

I’m not a tumblr myself, but some of the sharpest internetizens I know are, and their short-form, link-heavy blogs always give me something to think about. Merlin Mann, Scott Simpson and Adam Lisagor from You Look Nice Today (and of course The Monsters of Podcasting) are my very favorites. I can always rely upon them to dig up something that will fascinate me. While Paul Scheer has a higher tolerance for so-bad-it’s-good than I do, he and his Human Giant comrades do a great job as well. In my book, Kottke is the world’s #1 linkdumpy blog, but you probably already knew that. (And if you want to hear every time comedian-related media shows up on the web, check out the aptly-titled Jumbo Dump).

What are your favorites? I just made a forum thread for this, and I’d love to learn more from you.