I’ve been considering the subject of this post for some time; it’s been tricky attempting to call out favorites. I think of all my blog friends as one would children, loved equally for their different personalities and styles. That’s why the more the merrier since you really CANNOT be too inspired can you? But on the other hand, there are definitely a few sites I’m always excited to see in my feed reader, and in looking at their posts, I’m always like DAMN I wish I’d found that! I also think it’s worth pointing out that all of these blogs average 5 posts a day or less too. For me, it’s darn near impossible to keep up with high-volume blogs, no matter how stunning their content, because I’d have to spend nearly all my time on that one site. What can I say? I loves me some variety, plus it’s really nice getting to know someone’s specific point of view and than can be a little harder to find in a larger blog. Without further ado, my heart-quickening, drool-inducing picks from blogs started in 2009:

YASLY
Florida-based collective blogging about all sorts of lovely things
Photo credit: landscape photographer Nicholas Hance McElroy

All the Mountains
Art, design, photography by Amy Borrell.

Olive Juuuuice
Photography blog by Nuno Oliviera.
Photo credit: Nuno Oliviera

The Things That Hold Art
Tumblr site showcasing posters

i love hotdogs
Photography blog of movie stills. Never again shall you want for additions to your Netflix cue.
Still: Rocky: Don’t Call it a Comeback

My Austin-based homies, Public School. Often showcasing witty & irreverent content, their blog has really taken off this year & I’m thrilled to be able toss them the occasional post as well.
Image credit: Public School

Collage by Jacob Whibley. It even comes in 3D! Sweeeeeet. Via Jokemijn.

At the moment, I’m in Minnesota celebrating with family and it is a veritable winter wonderland up here, with 12-14 inches* of snow predicted in the next 3 days. And as the blogosphere falls to a lull for the holidays, I’m thinking I will be sporadic around these here parts until the new year as well. But I’ll send you on your merry way with many thanks & wishes for delightful and safe celebrations. Half the fun of blogging is the people at the other end of the computer and if it weren’t for y’all this space would be not nearly as rewarding. So thank you for that friends! Cheers & see you cats next year!

{Image credit: Gabriela D. Costa}

Check THIS shit out. Currently clocking in as the biggest artwork in the world, it’s carved into the Nevada desert from tire tracks. It is 9 miles wide. By artist Jim Denevan, whose work we can safely say is off the chain. Via What Made Me Look & the Improvised Life.

In passing, I’ve mentioned briefly about how I’ve had much, much less new music to digest in the past year. I’ve spent a little bit of time considering why this is exactly so and I’m pretty sure it has a lot to do freelancing & blog-writing. Somehow these activities which take up all my time seem to leave less brain-space for seeking, buying/downloading, and listening. It makes me a little sad, and it’s on my Howdy Do It list to work on incorporating music more…Anyway, I did a fairly comprehensive write up last year back when this was blog was brand-spanking new and I thought I owed myself to somehow document my year in music this year as well – despite feeling like there’s not much new to report that I didn’t talk about already last year. But here they are in no particular order:

{Right to left: Animal Collective (of course), Yeasayer’s Odd Blood (leaked I realized, so technically doesn’t belong in 2009 but thought I’d mention it!) Anni Rossi Rockwell, Bibio Ambivalence Avenue, and Grizzly Bear Veckatimest.

I’d also like to give a special shout-out to my buddies The Hood Internet because they’re most recent mixtape (#4) is absolutely my favorite of theirs. There’s a whole other level to these mash-ups that is sheer genius. It’s also a nice change from frenetic pace of Girl Talk and the like because The Hood Internet merges their samples into a more complete song so there’s a natural progression as the mixtape continues. Their tapes are free too, so download guilt-free and dance your face off.

And here’s a short list of musicians that intrigue me for one reason or another that I am on the hunt for…Now will ya help hold me to it, please?! Neon Indian, Here We Go Magic, XX, St. Vincent Actor, Fuck Buttons: Tarot Sport, the new Bat for Lashes, Royksopp, The Very Best, Atlas Sound’s Logos, Blockhead, Rural Alberta Advantage, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros…

Have a good weekend, catch you on the flip!

After working on Proximity magazine, it’s especially important to me to support local & smaller publications because I know the extra amount of effort it takes to them pull off, particularly financially. And now there’s this week’s news that ID is folding, on top of all our other countess magazine friends that have folded in the last year or two. With each subsequent closing announcement, of course I cling further to my beloved small-time zines & mags. That’s why I got so excited when I heard about At Your Leisure which will be a series of 4 issues and sounds like it’s pretty much the same concept as a blog, but in that delectable print form… “it’s page after page of ideas, images, concepts, & colors. An homage to those that inspire and a desire to do the same. A visual train of thought. A celebration of individuals that live what they love…”

Are you drooling yet? Get yours here for 10 bones. Oh, did I mention it’s an edition of 250? So go NOW.

And in case you need some more publication love in your life, here are some of my most favorites:
Proximity, Pyramid Power, Featherproof books, Uppercase, Lumpen, New Work, Lines & Shapes, Pie Paper, Jettison, Glasses Glasses, Anorak, and Esopus. And better still, go to Quimby’s, Golden Age, or Printed Matter and find your own new ones.