From the savvy to the satirical, the eye-opening to the jaw-dropping, TIME makes its annual picks of the blogs we can’t live without. For the record, we have added uncluttered white spaces covertly into the list.

It is an interesting list with a few surprises in here. Certainly for us, it is a crime not to see GOOD.is on the list. Maybe GOOD is just a little close to the mark on covering the content that TIME should be covering?

Enjoy and visit TIME for for more lists and great blogs.

Time’s Best Blogs

• Zenhabits
• PostSecret
• Climate Progress
• HiLobrow
• Hipster Runoff
• Kottke.org
• Cake Wrecks
• The Oatmeal
• S___ My Kids Ruined
• Deadline Hollywood
• Everything Everywhere
• The Sartorialist
• Information Is Beautiful
• The Daily Kitten
• uncluttered white spaces (hmmm)
• Apartment Therapy
• Double X
• Strobist
• Roger Ebert’s Journal
• The Awl
• GeekDad
• Engadget
• The Washington Note
• The Consumerist
• Pitchfork

Essential Blogs

• The Daily Wh.at
• TechCrunch
• Gawker
• Politico’s Ben Smith
• Boing Boing

Overrated Blogs

• FAIL Blog
• The Big Lead
• Perez Hilton
• Mashable
• Daily Kos

Ian Lyons has pointed us in the direction of the the Bicycle Portraits project was initiated by Stan Engelbrecht (Cape Town, South Africa) and Nic Grobler (Johannesburg, South Africa) early in 2010.

Whenever they can, together or separately, they’re on the lookout for fellow commuters, and people who use bicycles as part of their everyday work, to meet and photograph. They’re finding out who rides bicycles, why they ride bicycles, if and why they love their bicycles, and of course why so few South Africans choose bicycles as a transport option. There is no specific range of questions asked, they’d rather just establish a conversation around the rider’s life and where his or her bicycle fits into it.

Please bear in mind that these recordings were transcribed verbatim and that english is not the first language of many of the characters they met. Being avid cyclists themselves, this project is as much an investigation into South African bicycle culture as it is an excuse for them to ride their bikes and take photographs. Follow the project on Twitter or contact us atdayone@me.com

They are currently raising funds to launch the book on KickStarter so head on over and make a bid and help the project along. At time of post, they were 67% funded.

uncluttered white spaces and 6.2 Digital is giving you a chance to win a website to the value of $7500. The website will be a wordpress based blog or website created by 6.2 and will include all content pages, seo, newsletter feature and social networking capabilities.

To win, simple tweet this hash tag #freewebsite and include @white_spaces letting us know is 140 characters or less the answer to this question!

What the world needs right now is: “ ………….”   @white_spaces #freewebsite

All contestants need to be subscribed to uncluttered white spaces to be notified of the winner.

1) All the above details provided by you will be held by us and used in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
(2) The Prize: A wordpress website valued at $7500 and includes all content pages, search engine optimization and newsletter feature.
(3) There will be 1 prize drawn on the 30th of June 2010 and is not redeemable for cash.
(4) The winner will be selected by uncluttered white spaces and the decision will be final. It will be based on the coolest idea as to what the world needs right now.  The winner will be notified by e-mail or phone and the prize must be redeemed within 6 months from the day of the respective draw.

Thinking of starting a Book Club or opening a new book store. An interesting devlopment in the current age of the emergance of the e-book but Aaron Bondaroff unveils his latest project as an extension of his OHWOW art movement. The newly opened OHWOW Book Club Store houses a selection of OHWOW-published books and items with the store designed by Rafael de Cárdenas. The address can be seen below.

Looks amazing. Visit the store here:
OHWOW Book Club Store
227 Waverly Place (between Perry St. & W 11 St.)
New York City

Via Hypebeast.

In the annual business cycle there is a particular period I dread – February (for our northern hemisphere readers this would be September … but think return of the masses from summer holidays). The logical conclusion you are drawing is that I don’t enjoy February because this is when I return from summer holidays … partially correct, but I love my job so only partially.

The key problem I have with February is this – during this month I get my annual intake of business literature regurgitated at me from various second hand sources or zealots who did nothing but read business books on the beach.

This February I was greeted with a few in particular … one guy kept asking me about where my cheese was (he was a few years late, I know), another was keen to explore whether I was a Jedi or a Storm Trooper (I was previously convinced I was Han Solo), and yet another was keen to embark on a week-long organisational restructure of his business … something to do with various measures of ‘affinity’ (yes, 1 week is a little short for a 200 person business!).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for reading and taking a long think about applying new concepts to your business. In fact we should all relentlessly pursue this.

The behaviour we need to weed out is when people get ‘ideas’, become myopic and don’t take the time to engage with their business colleagues, employees or customers before sprouting the virtues of a ‘new’ approach. Second, often this literature-fest leads to introduction of a new language … we know complex language is a large blockage to changing or improving a business.

So if you’re going to read a business book on holidays I have a few tips for you:

• Don’t become a zealot – take a balanced view of all theories and approaches put forward;
• If the book introduces a new language, change it back to plain-speak before you go public with any new concepts;
• Go and discuss any new ideas on your employees rather than a monologue about;
• Don’t start a discussion with someone with “I was reading a book on holidays, you should read it” … they will think you’re about to sell them Amway; and
• Don’t forget why you go on holidays.

Footnote: I am currently working on a management book … it is a big fat (phat) book so all purchasers can look impressive in the airline lounge, however all pages would be blank except the middle one. This would say “go talk to your employees and customers … and listen … then have a good beach holiday!”

]

Yesterday morning we had the absolute privilege of speaking with Seth Godin in regards to the release of his new book LINCHPIN.

For those of you who are Seth Godin fans, you will enjoy this discussion, for those of you who are not familiar (the very few left), you will be converted.

It was nice having over 20 questions armed for the experience and only having the need to ask a few. I found myself transported into the conversation as a viewer almost to the point that I had forgotten I was in fact “in it”.

In this interview, Seth discusses the Lizard brain, how he chooses his path and confronts fear and the changing face of industry, organizations and the people needed to create change.

Seth Godin is a New York times best selling author and rated as the most read, individual blogger on the planet by Technorati.

Forbes magazine wrote about Seth “”[Godin] is a demigod on the Web, a best-selling author, highly sought-after lecturer, successful entrepreneur, respected pundit and high-profile blogger. He is uniquely respected for his understanding of the Internet.”

Thank you Seth for joining us.

Buy the Book here: LINCHPIN.

The latest issue of VMAN is slated to hit newsstands on April 20th, with one of the issue’s highlights being a 14-page editorial by Hedi Slimane. The piece features inspiration from the cultural landscape in Copenhagen, narrowing in on several creatives to become a part of the shoot, with styling done by Clare Richardson. Images of the piece can be seen below.

Macrobiotic food, raw food, local food…the list of food trends that have popped up in restaurants in recent years is virtually endless. The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) recently surveyed 400 chefs to find out what they think about the future of food, with some surprising (and not-so-surprising) results.

As you might expect, sustainable food will be at the forefront of chefs’ minds over the next decade. That means non-traditional (read: sustainably-farmed) fish like red sea urchin, herring roe, mackerel, octopus, and sardines will become more popular. Vegan entrees will also gain traction, as will artisan meats that skip the factory farm production line. And yes, organic alcohol will probably start showing up on more store shelves.

Here are the 10 foods for the future, according to Canadian chefs.

1. Ancient grains: We’re talking kamut, spelt, amaranth, teff and other grains that haven’t been altered by plant science for commercial purposes like bigger yields and pest resistance. Proponents say ancient grains are more flavourful and richer in nutrients.

2. Gluten-free beer: Gluten intolerance or allergies sometimes extends to hordein, the gluten in barley. Buckwheat and sorghum are the most common no-gluten substitutes for barley in North America but rice, maize, amaranth, flax, millet, teff and soybean have also been used to make beer.

3. Vegan entrees: That means no meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs or for that matter, honey or gelatin. The term “vegan” was first used by Donald Watson, an American, in 1944. He used the first three and last two letters from the word vegetarian. He said it was the “beginning and end of vegetarian.”

4. Organic alcohol: There’s organic produce, organic meats, and clothing. Why not alcohol? Organic wines in B.C., for example, are made with 100 per cent certified organic grapes and at least 95 per cent of the ingredients must be organic. Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides are not allowed.

5. African cuisines: It’s a big continent with many countries, many tribes and regions. Some of the foods that could become more mainstream are tajine (been to the trendy Medina Cafe recently?); injera, a spongy Ethiopian flatbread; groundnut (peanut) stew and African-style curries. Heaven knows Vancouver lacks a good Moroccan restaurant.

6. New fabricated cuts of meat: It’s an extension of artisanal foods. Small, traditional butchers are gaining momentum and they’re offering more variety than large commercial operations. At Refuel, chef Robert Belham is teaching his staff the art of butchering pork.

7. Gluten-free cuisine: At one time, fear of gluten was confined to people with celiac disease, but there are increasing numbers with wheat sensitivities. And yes, I’m starting to see gluten-free options available on menus.

8. Middle Eastern cuisine: We’re no strangers to Persian food in Metro Vancouver (especially on the North Shore) and we’re quite accustomed to falafel and some Israeli food, but there are many more cultures in the Middle East with unique and regional dishes and ingredients.

9. Quinoa: It’s pronounced keen-nwa and it’s a grain-like crop. Since it’s a good source of complete protein, it ties in to the other food trend, veganism.

10. Non-traditional fish: We have only to look to Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar and its annual Unsung Heroes Festival, encouraging people to try these non-traditional fish. Last January’s Unsung Heroes included red sea urchin, herring roe, mackerel, octopus, sardines, sea cucumber and jellyfish. C Restaurant is another local restaurant pushing these sustainable seafoods, taking the pressure off at-risk species.

mstainsby@vancouversun.com

This is a conversation for books-makers, web-heads, content-creators, authors and designers. For people who love beautifully made things. And for the storytellers who are willing to take risks and want to consider the most appropriate shape and media for their yarns.

Craig Mod takes a look at where printed books stand in respect to digital publishing, why we historically haven’t read long-form text on screens and how the iPad is wedging itself in the middle of everything. In doing so I think we can find the line in the sand to define when content should be printed or digitized.

As the publishing industry wobbles and Kindle sales jump, book romanticists cry themselves to sleep. But really, what are we shedding tears over? READ MORE ON CRAIGMOD.COM to find out and have your say.

Source Craig Mod via Twitter

This Valentine’s Day, celebrate love in all forms with Steve Powers’ latest book “A Love Letter for You”. The book explores Powers’ fascination with using graffiti to tell a story.

A team of 40 painter collaborated to create Love Letter, a series of more than 50 huge, text-based rooftop murals.

Love Letter is a public art project by Stephen Powers, a West Philadelphia native, with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and is sponsored by the Pew Centre for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative.

The murals, which are stretched along the Market Street corridor, collectively express and document the process and installation of the “Love Letters” adventure.

To mount an ambitious urban beautification project, affectionate messages like “Forever Starts When You Say Yes” or “If You Where Here I’d Be Home Now” have been used to tell us about love and reconciliation to form a single, serial urban work, whose hopeful messages might resonate with a kind of universality.

“Drawing input, inspiration, and work from the community Powers created a letter to and from west Philly.”

Melanie Mueller for uncluttered white spaces
Trends Analyst

[via Cool Hunting]

fear.less is a free online magazine that empowers people through unique stories of overcoming fear. From entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists and scientists to survivors of extreme experiences, these stories demonstrate the hidden potential we have to confront our fears and come out victorious.

Co-founded by Ishita Gupta and Clay Hebert, fear.less is their answer to an emergency.

Every story you read is an example of conquering fear, whether an immediate physical danger, the looming threat of failure, the pressure to compete in a changing world, the incessant quest for identity, or the overwhelming uncertainty of death.

These people embrace their circumstances with resolve and courage.

Fear.less are looking for people to join them for Fear.less 2. They want readers from all walks of life and from all over the world. They want the public to know who we are and benefit from our stories. They want fear.less to be the global conversation for fears and how to conquer them.

Visit at www.fearlessstories.com