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So a little while ago, I explained that one of the things I have loved about winter is settling in and finding interesting things on the internet.  Some of the things I found through pure procrastination (which, after I found these blogs actually felt pretty productive retrospectively) and others were found in the thickets of brilliance on other blogs.

I faffed around on Facebook (and “faffing” – that over-fed sounding word – is exactly what one does when one sits and scrolls down the news feed of every photograph and half-explained status (“What do you want from me?” or “I will never forgive you for all the things you said. #sohurt”.  What is with that????) when one could be doing something far more productive) but this time (if you managed to find your way out of that really long double aside that probably should have been a footnote) I saw a link to this great blog called “Hyperbole and a Half”. (Thanks, Sindile).

The post I started with is called the “alot”, which is a must-read for anyone who has ever come across that creature.  The concept of this blog is that each post tells a story (hyperbolically) and is then animated in large, colourful and child-like drawings.  Her animations are really affecting and her self-deprecating sense of humour and her abstract jokes really tease your brain for a while after you’ve read them.  

Then, I logged onto BlogLovin’ (of which yours truly is a member) and had a look at the blog feed.  I saw many many fashion blogs which are not my favourite things: endless pictures of people looking soulfully into the iphone-camera-instagram-app-created-picture...but Jerusha has already summed up why this is annoying really well.  Go read her description.

But then I saw a title that was made for me in that very moment: “100 Things to Do Instead of Procrastinating on the Internet”.   Needless to say, I bounded off in that direction (metaphorically speaking).  What did I find, apart from a really awe-inspiring yet totally do-able list, but one of the most stylish people I have ever seen.  Her name is Gala Darling, and she is an ex-New Zealander who now lives in New York City.  I like a lot of things about this lady: she has two rescue dogs, pink sparkly high-heels, two kick-ass half-sleeve tattoos and a seemingly endless assortment of rad head-gear.  I am not sure I buy completely into her “Radical Self-Love Project”, (anything self-helpy makes me a little squeamish.  And she quotes Ayn Rand.  Hmmmm) but I almost always feel determined to do something life-affirming after I have read it.  So there must be something in it.

AND she has this great weekly feature where she features articles she has found interesting over the week.  It was in this way that I found my next blog: “The Beheld”.  It is all about concepts of beauty and body image, and is particularly intriguing because it is written by a woman who has been a copy-editor for women’s magazines for many years so she knows the inside of the business.  Her latest posts have been about compliments and their role in facilitating or restricting meaningful social exchange.

She also has a weekly post where she writes about articles she has read, ranging from people’s blogs to mainstream newspaper articles.  She even drew my attention to this article in the Sowetan about the upcoming black hair show.  As someone who struggles with my appearance (you can read about why, here) I really appreciate this woman’s insight and effort that straddles scholarship and pop culture.

What blogs do you like following?  Let’s share the <3 everyone...