This time, the venue’s something of an upgrade: Centro on Tib Street. The place is impossibly busy and loud on the weekend but reasonable enough during the week, and stocks some great beers (though the hand-pulls are usually off). It’s just past Matt & Phreds – but if you reach Big in Amsterdam, you’ve gone too far:

This Manchester blogmeet takes place next Tuesday, 10 March, 7-9pm. If those hours are adhered to, I’ll eat my blog. Leave a comment on the Manchizzle if you fancy attending.

[Photo by Flickr user conspicuous ID]

The first Manchester Twestival takes place on Thursday 12 February at the Living Room on Deansgate. Yup, you guessed it – it’s an event dedicated to all things Twitter. It seems the site’s really starting to take off… between my accounts I’ve gained over 30 followers in the past two days, for example, and Mancubist’s Twitter now has 125.

The event, which is one of over 100 being held simultaneously worldwide, is a fund-raising concern – it’s sponsored by those clever people over at Code Computer Love and will feature a charity auction. All monies raised globally will go to charity:water, which brings safe drinking water to developing countries.

Manchester Twestival begins at 6.30pm. You should register your interest here and buy a ticket for £4 here. And, of course, follow the festival’s MancTwester here.

The second event is on Friday 27 February. It’s called Speak to the Geek and, again, it’s a charity event. This time, a few self-proclaimed ‘internet techie experts’ are donating their knowledge and time to help non-profit organisations in the North West. Here’s how organiser Guy Dickinson explained it to me:

Basically, as a bunch of geeks, we’re trying to get our skills used into the community, and thought running a panel of internet strategy ‘micro consultancies’ for decision-makers in the non-profit sector would be a good start.

It takes place from 2pm until 4pm at the Manchester Digital Development Agency on Portland Street. Check out the Speak to the Geek blog for more information and to sign up.

BLOG LAB
On Saturday 8 November, 1pm-3pm
At Manchester Digital Development Agency, 117-119 Portland Street, Manchester M1 6ED

Stuck on posting images in Blogger? Need someone to walk you through switching platforms? Want to pimp your blog up with all the latest cool widgets, or just get some feedback on your new site? Two experienced bloggers will be on hand to help solve your practical blogging problems in these open ’surgery’ sessions. Some computers available, or bring your own and use our wireless. Drop in whenever you like during the session, but please let us know you’re coming.

BLOGGING FOR BEGINNERS
On Saturday 22 November, 10am-12pm
At Gorton Library, Garratt Way, Gorton, Manchester M18 8HE

On Saturday 29 November 10am-12pm
At Crumpsall Library, Abraham Moss Centre, Crescent Road, Crumpsall, Manchester M8 5UF

So you think you’d like to create a blog, but you’re not really sure where to start? In this workshop we’ll take you through the basics, and by the end of it you’ll have your own blog.

All three sessions are free – but space is limited and the previous workshops have been packed out, so get in there early if you’re coming. To book, call the Manchester Literature Festival office on 0161 236 5555 or email admin at manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk.

We had 107 separate nominations this year, coming in from as far away as San Francisco. There was such a wealth of great stuff that it was harder than ever to do the shortlisting, particularly in the Best Writing on a Blog category (by far our most nominated-for).

Best New Blog:

Dear Kitty
Coco LaVerne
Follow The Yellow Brick Road
14sandwiches

Best Writing on a Blog:

Diary of a Bluestocking
Every day I lie a little
Nine chains to the moon
Chicken and Pies

Best Arts and Culture Blog:

Scatterdrum
Quit This Pampered Town
Northernnights
Max Dunbar

Best Personal Blog:

Travels with my baby
Single Mother on the Verge
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
40three

Best Neighbourhood Blog:

Hyde Daily Photo
Mancubist
Lady Levenshulme
Manchester Bus

There are plenty of good blogs in the shortlist – and loads of new names too, which is obviously great to see. I’ll be checking out my competition in the new neighbourhood category over the next couple of days… (thanks for the nomination).

Judges this year are the MEN’s online editor Sarah Hartley, MDDA’s Dave Carter and Chris Killen, who writes Days of Moustaches and runs No Point in Not Being Friends.

The Manchester Blog Awards event takes place on Wednesday 22 October, again at Matt & Phred’s on Tib Street. If you like music and literature with just a hint of geekdom, do come down.

The event’s format has worked well (I would say that, wouldn’t i?) but this year Kate’s refreshing things a bit by dropping the Best Political Blog category (so 2006/7…) and bringing in Best Neighbourhood Blog, to recognise a growing number of locale-specific blogs such as Mini Manchester and Roblog.

The awards, backed by the Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Digital Development Agency, will take place on Wednesday 22 October back at Matt & Phreds on Tib Street. There’ll be readings by local bloggers including Chris Killen from Day of Moustaches, plus DJing from Manchester’s music bloggers (full information here).

In the meantime, voting is open until Thursday 18 September – so email mancblogawards AT googlemail.com, clearly stating your name, where you live, the name and url of of the blog(s) you’re nominating and which category or categories you’re nominating for. Check out the Manchizzle post for everything that you need to know, including details of who qualifies.

That’s the question posed by Julie Delvaux over at her Notebooks – Los Cuadernos de Julia blog. A year or two ago there were semi-regular events organised by and for Manchester’s blogging community – but in 2008 not even a quiet pint in a dingy pub (the Castle has shut down, after all).

Julie wants to right that wrong and is therefore appealing for anyone interested in going to a monthly/bi-monthly event to get in touch. Craig McGinty and several other Manchester bloggers have already posted comments in response, and a September date is in the offing.

Sarah Hartley over at the MEN’s The Mancunian Way blog has mentioned it too, in post explaining a new initiative she has just set up. Starting this week, she’s going to be highlighting some of Manchester’s ‘internet stars’ – people who have blogs or websites in some way connected to the city.

The profiles, including of this week’s www.manchester-blog.com, will go online as well as in the Saturday edition’s e-view section – so if you want to nominate yourself or someone else, email Sarah now.

Saturday night welcomes this month’s instalment of Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Dancing – or HOTDCD, to shave off a couple of milliseconds. Named after this poem by feminist writer Margaret Atwood, the clubnight features a suitably female-heavy playlist, ‘from Patti Smith and Janis Joplin to PJ Harvey, The Ting Tings and M.I.A’.

The night, which teamed up with the like-minded Girls on Film network in April, runs from 10pm until late at Charlie’s Nightclub on Harter Street and returns on the second Saturday of each month. Join them on Facebook and follow their new blog, Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Writings, which they aim to update twice weekly.

Then on Sunday Islington Mill in Salford hosts an eight-hour music marathon culminating in a set by psychedelic Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple and The Cosmic Inferno (it’s obviously The Weekend For Things With Long Names…). This ‘psyche-fi all-dayer’ also features Vienna’s Primordial Undermind and a bunch of well-fitting local bands, with tickets priced at just £8.

The Guardian seems to love mentioning ‘The’ Islington Mill, by the way – they’ve recently referred to it as an ‘alt.lifestyle commune’ and ‘Andy Warhol’s Factory meets Coronation Street’.

But while Thursday’s Metro, Friday’s CityLife and, occasionally, Saturday’s Guide do a reasonable job of previewing a few of the dozens of nights going on around Manchester each week, print space dictates that the coverage is far from comprehensive.

The folks over at Northernights have realised just this and have decided to bypass trivial things like word limits by doing it all online. They’ve got the main site – containing a club directory, previews, features and a calendar – plus a blog, which is updated a few times a week, and the obligatory MySpace and Facebook group.

What’s particularly handy, however, is the weekly mailer they’ve started sending out. ‘WARNING – CONTAINS SOME MAJOR PARTIES THIS WEEK,’ it declares. And indeed it does, as it goes on to list a couple of dozen club nights happening around town – thus saving you the effort of hunting through half a dozen other sources.

Northernights is still pretty new but I like the sentiment and I like the service they’re providing (for free, let’s not forget). It goes to show that it doesn’t take much to build something useful in Manchester – just an idea and some time.

1. Panda Bear – Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
The universally acclaimed album of 2007, from what is technically just a side project of Noah Lennox from Animal Collective. It’s crammed full of reverberating fuzziness, self harmonies and more samples than should be healthy. People are comparing it to Pet Sounds – which does Person Pitch a disservice – Buy here

2. Pinback – Autumn of the Seraphs (Touch & Go)
Now almost ten years old, San Diego’s Pinback are only just beginning to get the attention they deserve. This album – like their others – is in essence heavy math rock… so it’s surprising how many glamorous indie kids were down the front when they played at the Roadhouse in November. If you like shouty pop songs but dislike emo, Pinback may be your missing link – Buy here

3. Herman Dune – Giant (Source)
Despite losing one-third of their membership, Swedish-French band Herman Dune have produced their most memorable album to date. I’ve often found myself whistling the lead track, I Wish I Could See You Soon, and Take Him Back to New York – probably much to the annoyance of whoever I’m sat next to on the bus – Buy here

4. Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha (Fargo)
‘Professional whistler’ Andrew Bird is another artist who finally seems to be breaking through. Two gigs at Academy 3 this year have surely helped, as anyone attended no doubt ranted to ten friends about his bewildering live show. On record, the Texan is no less impressive – and Armchair Apocrypha is crammed full of witty, classic songwriting – Buy here

5. Jens Lekman – Night Falls over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian)
Lekman’s first fully realised album is rightly being played everywhere – from Manchester indie discos to H&M on a Saturday afternoon. I think his compilation Oh You’re So Silent Jens is the best long player he’s released, but there are still some gems on here: The Opposite of Hallelujah, A Postcard to Nina and Friday Night at the Drive-in Bingo, for example – Buy here

6. Sunset Rubdown – Shut Up I Am Dreaming (Rough Trade)
An as-yet undiscovered classic from Spencer Krug of Montreal’s Wolf Parade. They’re touring in May – Buy here

7. Beirut – The Flying Cup (4AD)
Not quite as good as Zach Condon’s debut, Gulag Orkestar, but there are some breathtaking tracks on this French-inspired follow-up – Buy here

8. Menomena – Friend and Foe (City Slang)
Portland’s Menomena (pronounced like the Muppet Show song) take the all-singing, all-dancing spirit of the Flaming Lips and run with it – Buy here

9. Malcolm Middleton – A Brighter Beat (Full Time Hobby)
A surprisingly upbeat (hence the name) third album from Falkirk’s finest misery meister, and former guitarist in Arab Strap – Buy here

10. Akron/Family – Love is Simple (Young God)
A veritable party album from the New York folk collective. Be sure to catch them live if you ever get the chance – Buy here

And here are a bunch of honourable mentions…

• Low – Drums and Guns (Sub Pop) – Buy here
• Efterklang – Parades (The Leaf Label) – Buy here
• Bill Callahan – Woke up on a Whaleheart (Drag City) – Buy here
• The Twlight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat) – Buy here
• Frightened Rabbit – Sing the Greys (Fat Cat) – Buy here
• Ulrich Schnauss – Goodbye (Independiente) – Buy here
• Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam (Domino) – Buy here
• Amiina – Kurr (Ever) – Buy here

And here’s my 2006 list, for comparison. The stalkers among you can also see what I’m currently listening to on Last.fm.

On top of all the current Urban Screens activity – including the aforementioned A Wall is a Screen tonight – there’s also a short film night happening at Islington Mill tonight. Future Shorts features work from Poland, France, Denmark, Japan, USA, Australia and UK. It runs from 7.30pm and carries on until 2am thanks to a link-up with art club night Subtefuge, which promises ‘pyscho goulash’ from Hungarian trio Agoskodo Teliverek.

Next, if you thought Manchester International Festival was an over-hyped waste of money, look away. If not, you might consider voting for it in the UK Festival Awards 2007. MIF is up for both Best New Festival and the Innovation Award – and the only negative is that you have to register before voting.

Staying on the MIF tip, The Pianist – one of my highlights of the programme – is being broadcast on Radio 4 next Saturday, 20 October, from 2.30pm. More details here, or read my review-of-sorts here.

Also, something called mashup* Manchester takes place in Sale next Friday. It’s an event for those involved with ‘personal digital identity, social networking, Web 3.0 and TV 2.0′, which will probably mean diddly-squat to most of us. For the rest – or for those who just can’t get enough of networking – check out the mashup* website for more details.

I also want to mention New to Manchester, a blog by Tom. I’m embarassed to admit it’s taken me six months to discover it, but now that I have I’d say it’s one of the best new(ish) blogs I’ve read in a while – check out his guide to scamming Globe takeaway in West Didsbury, for example. Consider yourself blogrolled Tom.

And a quick mention for the ominously-titled The Leader’s Blog too. It’s written by Sir Richard Leese, Labour councillor for Crumpsall and leader of Manchester City Council. He got off to a flying start last month but has gone a little quiet lately. Hopefully the novelty didn’t wear off in little over a fortnight?