Updating the “Friends” List on the sidebar:

1. Blinking Against the Brightness – Laurel is a new friend of mine, but I’ve secretly been stalking her blog for over a year now. She’s a photographer, taxidermy and furs enthusiast, cocktail creator, Wii boxing champion, and one of the best damn storytellers I’ve ever met. Topics range from jewelry, fashion, shoes, photography, the central coast, Long Beach life, dive bars, whiskey, culinary arts, and shoes. Sharped witted good times.

2. Mauster – This blog simply features the work of artist/musician Matt Maust.  I love the way he titles his work  - “Frank Lloyd Righteous and a bigtime horse” and “Seriously who wouldn’t dig a good pair of jeggings”. He was recently interviewed by RevampLA and said this about his work “It’s funny because most of this art is created digitally but the fight to make it look analogue is what I really enjoy. Like as if it existed before the digital age, that is kind of my biggest challenge is to make this stuff look like it is not digital.”

3. Hamster Mountain Casino – The subtitle clearly states – “It’s super chills”. I can’t really add more than that. This blog is the brainchild of Carlos Moran, literally – his brain had a child and it’s walking around collecting sweet oddities from around the interweb, like the video above.

4. Rosemarried – It’s a food blog! Lindsay and her husband Nich love food! You’ll find an account of their gastronomic adventures as they navigate the local, seasonal delights of Portland, Oregon. From curried carrot soup to sea scallops to tomato sauce, you can feel like a guest in Lindsay’s kitchen even if you’re sitting in a dreary office 1000 miles south.

5. Olive Ike King – I love hiking!  Keeping with the theme of adventures, we turn to a blog penned by Noel Russel who shares the tales of hiking with her wise sherpa and husband Jonnie.  Not only do you get to read about their run-ins with various wildlife, but there is some solid information on hiking specific trails.  It almost reads like a guidebook, with friendly anecdotes sprinkled here and there.  In the last month they took a hiking/road trip covering California, Arizona, Utah, and Oregon.

6. 52 Songs – Poem a day/Song a week/Film Reviews/etc. Chris Davidson teaches composition and poetry at Biola University and also leads the Society of Interested Persons Salon that I’ve participated in. (pssst, there is a salon this Saturday!). This blog is full of goodness, and I especially like his film reviews.  He’s on sabbatical this semester, so the blog will be updated consistently with original poems, songs, reviews, etc.