this question has been asked a lot, I can’t explain the exact answer but one way to do it is using Multiple Loops. So you might want to look that up in the codex.
Start Loop 1
Call the headlines of Category 1
End Loop 1
Start Loop 2
Call the headlines of Category 8
End Loop 2
etc
so this would be like a loop inside the sidebar? can that be done?
Yes, you can put another Loop in the sidebar. You just need to learn how to do Multiple Loops, I can’t explain it. You do one loop, then you “reset” it and you can put another loop somewhere else, such as side-by-side, above/below, or in the sidebar.
There are plenty of examples (and explanations) about The_Loop and multiple Loops.
im not being mean, but it’d be nice if the wp_get_archives had an excluding parameter 🙂 much easier that way…wouldnt it?