soon to be switcher - looking for blogging software

hello all -

taking the plunge, after gobs of research and 10 trips to the apple retail store...went with a MBP 17in 2.5. shipped 5/27 - update from today says the package is in sacramento woot!

can't wait.

anyway, have been looking for a freeware blogging package (compatible with WordPress), hopefully similar to Live Writer, but it seems everyone wants money.

any suggestions are appreciated.

thanks in advance,
pardo

ps - i originally posted this elsewhere - wanted to see if anyone had any ideas over here. i am not trying to be cheap, i will pay for ecto (although am a bit leery as i just read the publisher sold off ecto recently) or mars edit if that is all there really is. i dont prefer to use a word processor to blog, nor do i want to use the admin interface.

I would recommend Mars edit if you're really sold on a standalone app.

Personally I used Fluid to create a site-specific browser for my wordpress admin area. That gives me a standalone app with some nice extras (clipboard feature etc.) for blogging.

@Aptmunich - Fluid. I will look that up. Thank you.