Blogs and cool sites
Jul. 9th, 2008 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Ok, so this is the post in which I reveal myself to be vacuous and superficial. Because it turns out I like really stylish, almost text-less blogs like this. :D They go well with my morning coffee.
Before I get to blogs, I feel I should pimp a website/enterprise that deserves more fame: Wine Dogs. It's two of my favourite things! Wine + Dogs (photographed superbly well) = endless entertainment. I found the Wine Dogs book at a local winery and have been obsessed ever since. It features portrait shots and profiles of wine growers' dogs, with little clip notes about them like 'known accomplices' and 'worst crime' or 'favourite food'. Adorable! And the photography is gorgeous.
OK, the blog stuff:
Bop's essentials
The Sartorialist -- street fashion photographer extraordinaire and style genius. I'm obsessed, and kind of want to do a 'Sartorialist favourites' picspam one day.
Yoga Buzz -- the Yoga Journal blog. I recommend their site in general for getting heaps of tips on yoga practice and lifestyle and generally keeping motivated as a yogi.
TreeHugger -- I hate the name (it makes me squirm) but it's an essential site for anyone interested in sustainable living. Things are moving so fast with this trend, but sometimes it's a while before we hear about them in Aus--this is a good way to keep informed on a more global level.
I have lately become obsessed with Etsy, and so their blog The Storque is a must. I trawl it to find new sellers and pieces. Etsy is the best for online window shopping!
Zen Habits has fabulous organisational and lifestyle advice for simplifying things and keeping motivated.
Design stuff
It's design blogs that I've been most fixated with recently. It's yet to translate into actually improving my own surroundings!
Design For Mankind -- indescribably delicious.
A cup of Jo -- another blog I find endlessly elegant and enjoyable.
Jenn Ski -- I love her retro/mod style and fascination with things mid-century.
Design*Sponge -- I like peeking into other people's incredibly-well-designed houses. Do people really live THAT NEATLY?! O.O
Apartment Therapy -- This site at least gives me the illusion that I could aspire to live in a well designed space... with a little bit of help from them. ;)
Other design blogs: Bloesem, Decor8
Food
Not a blog so much as a blog browser, Tastespotting lets you quickly skim recipes (by photo) from a range of amazing blogs. You can find some weird and wonderful stuff on her!
There are lots of great food blogs out there, but so many are European or American and every recipe needs translated. Taste is not a blog, but it IS a great source of Australian recipes--collated from multiple publications. Their recipe collections are particularly useful when looking for simple, practical but creative home cooking.
Miscellania
Vintage Childrens Books My Kid Loves -- the name says it all. I love vintage kids books--even as a kid I loved finding old books in second hand stores, so I'm quite fascinated.
Wooster Collective -- street art from around the world.
What Claudia Wore -- I had a Babysitters Club obsession, I admit it. 'What Claudia Wore' is the perfect amusing way to revisit it, with a particular focus on the fashions. Fashion is another thing I'm finding fascinating at the moment. Perhaps it's Gossip Girl rubbing off on me!
bark -- I admit it, I love dog portrait photography, and Erin Vey's blog is full of stunning dog + human shots.
The Tin Cocoon -- claims to be demythifying Central Asia one -stan at a time. I'm hooked.
Tiny buildings -- my token 'weird shit' blog. This woman makes buildings out of cardboard packaging. I don't know why.
Be Not Afraid Zine -- kind of a zine, kind of a blog, indescribable but cool, it has recipes and miscellania as well as fashion and design.
Book By Its Cover -- explores books visually. While this is a fascinating concept, I'm often left faintly dissatisfied.
Please, please do tell me what blogs or sites you visit regularly--particularly if they're stylish, pretty, whimsical or intelligent. :)
Before I get to blogs, I feel I should pimp a website/enterprise that deserves more fame: Wine Dogs. It's two of my favourite things! Wine + Dogs (photographed superbly well) = endless entertainment. I found the Wine Dogs book at a local winery and have been obsessed ever since. It features portrait shots and profiles of wine growers' dogs, with little clip notes about them like 'known accomplices' and 'worst crime' or 'favourite food'. Adorable! And the photography is gorgeous.
OK, the blog stuff:
Bop's essentials
The Sartorialist -- street fashion photographer extraordinaire and style genius. I'm obsessed, and kind of want to do a 'Sartorialist favourites' picspam one day.
Yoga Buzz -- the Yoga Journal blog. I recommend their site in general for getting heaps of tips on yoga practice and lifestyle and generally keeping motivated as a yogi.
TreeHugger -- I hate the name (it makes me squirm) but it's an essential site for anyone interested in sustainable living. Things are moving so fast with this trend, but sometimes it's a while before we hear about them in Aus--this is a good way to keep informed on a more global level.
I have lately become obsessed with Etsy, and so their blog The Storque is a must. I trawl it to find new sellers and pieces. Etsy is the best for online window shopping!
Zen Habits has fabulous organisational and lifestyle advice for simplifying things and keeping motivated.
Design stuff
It's design blogs that I've been most fixated with recently. It's yet to translate into actually improving my own surroundings!
Design For Mankind -- indescribably delicious.
A cup of Jo -- another blog I find endlessly elegant and enjoyable.
Jenn Ski -- I love her retro/mod style and fascination with things mid-century.
Design*Sponge -- I like peeking into other people's incredibly-well-designed houses. Do people really live THAT NEATLY?! O.O
Apartment Therapy -- This site at least gives me the illusion that I could aspire to live in a well designed space... with a little bit of help from them. ;)
Other design blogs: Bloesem, Decor8
Food
Not a blog so much as a blog browser, Tastespotting lets you quickly skim recipes (by photo) from a range of amazing blogs. You can find some weird and wonderful stuff on her!
There are lots of great food blogs out there, but so many are European or American and every recipe needs translated. Taste is not a blog, but it IS a great source of Australian recipes--collated from multiple publications. Their recipe collections are particularly useful when looking for simple, practical but creative home cooking.
Miscellania
Vintage Childrens Books My Kid Loves -- the name says it all. I love vintage kids books--even as a kid I loved finding old books in second hand stores, so I'm quite fascinated.
Wooster Collective -- street art from around the world.
What Claudia Wore -- I had a Babysitters Club obsession, I admit it. 'What Claudia Wore' is the perfect amusing way to revisit it, with a particular focus on the fashions. Fashion is another thing I'm finding fascinating at the moment. Perhaps it's Gossip Girl rubbing off on me!
bark -- I admit it, I love dog portrait photography, and Erin Vey's blog is full of stunning dog + human shots.
The Tin Cocoon -- claims to be demythifying Central Asia one -stan at a time. I'm hooked.
Tiny buildings -- my token 'weird shit' blog. This woman makes buildings out of cardboard packaging. I don't know why.
Be Not Afraid Zine -- kind of a zine, kind of a blog, indescribable but cool, it has recipes and miscellania as well as fashion and design.
Book By Its Cover -- explores books visually. While this is a fascinating concept, I'm often left faintly dissatisfied.
Please, please do tell me what blogs or sites you visit regularly--particularly if they're stylish, pretty, whimsical or intelligent. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-09 06:33 am (UTC)http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com
Not your usual pound puppy story that's for sure and gorgeous images.
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Date: 2008-07-12 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-09 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-12 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-09 09:49 am (UTC)Most of the blogs I read are movie/entertainment blogs but I have a couple others:
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ - It's generally NSFW because of the subject matter.
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/ - Botany Photo of the Day. Very pretty pictures.
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Date: 2008-07-12 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-09 10:20 am (UTC)These actually look pretty interesting - stuff I probably would never come across on my own. *starts clicking*
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Date: 2008-07-12 02:53 am (UTC)Isn't it wonderful?! I fully intend to do my Christmas shopping from there--I can't get enough!
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Date: 2008-07-09 04:52 pm (UTC)I do like grist.org for environmental news, though I fear it is quite U.S.-centric. My favorite part of it is the "Ask Umbra" column, which is an environmental advice column (e.g. is it better to be running 12 fans in your house simultaneously when it is hot, or is it more energy efficient to use central air).
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Date: 2008-07-12 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-09 05:35 pm (UTC)I'm definitely going to have to start reading The Tin Cocoon. It sounds way too interesting to pass up :)
By way of contributions, I give you the following blogs I tend to check out on a regular or semi-regular basis.
The Ministry of Truth (http://www.ministryoftruth.me.uk/) a deliberate reference to the ministry described by Orwell, this site is one I follow regularly. The writer is a bit too left-wing for my tastes and I disagree with him on some points, but he always writes intelligently and argues his points in depth. He's good at fisking politicians, loathes hypocrites and has the same stance on abortion I do. It's all generally UK specific, tho...
Dr Crippen's blog (http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/) is a blog written by a GP employed by the NHS, and like all blogs written inside an organisation I hear a lot about but don't know that much about, it's fascinating. Like all government departments, the National Health Service is being strangled - money is down, reporting requirements are up, business speak is in and targets steal away results by stealth. Sometimes, it's downright frightening - read the lead entry at the moment on alternative health care - but mainly what I love it for is the little once or twice a month entries about general issues he sees in his surgery, the ahces and pains of ordinary people like me. Seeing things from the doctor's side is interesting.
PostSecret (http://postsecret.blogspot.com/), a blog I now follow through the LJ RSS filtering thingy. You tell a secret via postcard, send it in, and twice a week Frank posts a selection up. Some are funny, some are sad, most are moving. I've probably mentioned this blog before - it's one of the few I've been reading religiously forever.
PC Copperfield (http://coppersblog.blogspot.com/) - another blog from the inside, this one is written by a police officer about all the things that happen on the job - and all the things that really aggravate ou when you're just trying to do your job.
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Date: 2008-07-12 05:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 08:42 pm (UTC)PostSecret can be depressing - but at the same time, there's really a week that goes by where there aren't a few in there that give me some hope for the people submitting the secrets. A lot of them are good for reminding me that lots of people have way more to grumble about than I do ;)
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Date: 2008-07-09 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-12 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-10 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-12 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-10 05:37 am (UTC)As for blogs I follow, I've been very bad at following them this year. Oh, to have more free time. *hangs head* But about six months ago, when I was still following a handful, I used to adore the music thrown up by Aurgasm (http://aurgasm.us/), and I still semi-frequently check in with GI News (http://ginews.blogspot.com/), and OSX Freeware (http://www.myosxfreeware.com/). I find the latest recipe feed for Taste.com.au is my best stand in for a food blog as well.
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Date: 2008-07-12 06:04 am (UTC)Thanks for the recs! OSX Freeware looks like a must! :D
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Date: 2008-07-12 06:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-16 11:01 pm (UTC)I used to read just food blogs...Simply Recipes (http://www.elise.com/recipes/) and Orangette (http://orangette.blogspot.com/) are good ones, although they are in American measurements.
I just stumbled on The Happiness Project (http://www.happiness-project.com/) today. Who couldn't use more happiness on their RSS feed?
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Date: 2008-07-17 02:41 am (UTC)