Blogroll

Austin Bloggers

• cakeaustin – takes a look at how we got to this “let them eat cake” moment in history (American conspicuous consumption) and how we can get out of it.  Also makes beautiful, tasty cakes and cupcakes which I’ve personally had the pleasure to eat!!  She quotes Wendell Berry a lot.
• Edible Aria – Ren’s blog of good food.  Lots of fantastic recipes.  Ren isn’t a vegetarian but he does post a vegetarian recipe every Monday for Meatless Monday and he takes beautiful photography with that cheap camera of his!
• RLC – the blog of Richard Lawrence Cohen, writer and traveler.  His posts are what Jack Kerouack described as “Scribbled secret notebooks, and wild typewritten pages, for yr own joy… Submissive to everything, open, listening… Something that you feel will find its own form.”  He has been on a bit of a blogging sabbatical of late.
• The Dirt – the blog of Austin’s Sustainable Food Center.  SFC “cultivates a healthy community by strengthening the local food system and improving access to healthy, affordable food.  SFC envisions a food secure community where all children and adults grow, share and prepare healthy, local food.”
• Wendi Aarons – did you ever see the open letter to Mr. Thatcher, President of Always Maxi Pads?  It was all over the web for a while and can now be read on Snopes.  If you haven’t read it, read it!  It’s hilarious.   It was written by Austin’s own, Wendi Aarons who updates her blog about once a week – sometimes equally hilarious and always entertaining.

Friends

• Ben’s Blog - Ben Kimball is one of the best read people I know!  He reads an enormous amount of books and provides his thoughts on them along the way.  He hasn’t been posting as much, lately, probably because he just embarked upon a new career.  He is studying to be an integral medical practitioner.
• Ephemeral Thoughts – Kay’s blog of spirituality, mysticism, philosophy, religion, books, and humor.  She posts various items of interest and shares her views, which , like mine, are ever changing.
• Light and Storm – Kristen has eclectic interests, ranging from mysticism, existentialism, gnosticism to martial arts, photography, gaming and Muse.  Her blog showcases her new found love of photography and also snippets of wisdom from various authors, philosophers and mystical thinkers, as well as her own.
• Lindsay’s Lobes – Lindsay is a scholarly, Australian gentleman with eclectic interests.  He shares interesting stories from both his past and present, provides summaries of fascinating books he is reading (usually scientific or historic),  offers the occasional poem, and quotes Albert Schweitzer frequently.
• withinsite – Gary lives in beautiful Nelson British Columbia, Canada, works with Amnesty International and travels throughout the world.  His blog provides details of his travels, work, activism, and various interests.

Philosophical/Spiritual Blogs

• Blog of the Grateful Bear – Darrel Grizzle, Grateful Bear, is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia, an Emergent Episcopalian, and an ordained minister and spiritual caregiver by an interfaith healing ministry.  His spiritual writings have been published in several magazines.
• Book Crazy – A lawyer by trade who loves literature and dreams of being an author.  He doesn’t consider his blog to be a literary blog, but rather a blog by a reader and lover of literature who thinks a lot about what he reads. He says his blog, “basically records my thoughts on literature, authors, books, and ideas that they have successfully implanted in me.”
• nakedpastor – Presbyterian minister in Canada with a different approach to Christianity.  He provides wonderful daily cartoons that speak to those who take issue with the some of what goes on within the institution of Christianity.  He also posts more serious art, explains his Z theory and shares his personal struggles.
• The Website of Unknowing – the blog of Carl McColman.  I was reading his blog back when he was still a pagan! Carl is Catholic, now, and his blog focuses primarily on Christian mysticism, Celtic wisdom, and interfaith spirituality.  He even dabbles into integral spirituality every now and then.
• MyOutSpirit.com – founded by Clayton Gibson to encourage the LGBT community to come out in their spirituality.  I’m a heterosexual female, married with kids (both who seem to be heterosexual), but I get so much out of reading this blog in terms of perspective and spiritual orientation.  It’s a fantastic spiritual blog!
• Transcend and Include – Teri Murphy considers calls herself an integralist and believes in honoring one’s opponent.  Her blog is about “juxtaposing things that normally don’t go together in order to elevate debate about politics and religion”.
• Seeds for Sanctuary – This is Dr. Susan Corso’s personal blog. Dr. Corso is an omnifaith inister, published author and spiritual counselor.  She has written for Ode, The Huffington Post, Beliefnet, Science of Mind… (you get the picture).  I always seem to calm down and lighten up whenever I make my way over to her blog.

Food Blogs (besides those of Austin Bloggers)

• mattbites: A Man Obsessed with Food, Drink, and Everything Inbetween.  Matt is originally from Austin.  By trade he is a chef and food photographer.  He shares beautiful pictures, interesting stories and snippits from his personal life.  Oh – and of course – wonderful recipes!
• 101 Cookbooks – Healthy Recipe Journal – Heidi Swanson is a foodie and world traveler. She regularly posts vegetarian recipes based on whole food ingredients accompanied by beautiful pictures and stories about the recipes.  Her blog has become quite popular over the years and has really irritating advertisements on it now.  But it remains a wonderful source of vegan and vegetarian recipes.
• What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway? – fantastic vegan recipes with beautiful pictures and every Wednesday there is raw food Wednesday.

Miscellaneous Topics

• I’d Rather Be…in Japan – an interesting blog about a young family that left New York City to live in the mountains of  Gifu in rural Japan.
• No Impact Man – the blog of Colin Beaven (author and subject of current film) “about what each of us can do to end our environmental crisis, make a better place to live for ourselves and everyone else, and hopefully come up with a happier life along the way.”   Maybe a little gimmicky, but inspiring none-the-less!
• SoundRoots – SA Stevens very cool world music blog.  He offers reviews, interviews, opinions, and exposure to global culture.