You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2008.
pssssst…Do something.
-Cara
Bert and Ernie go gangsta rap wit M.O.P.’s Ante Up.
Say what..microphone check, microphone checker….
-Cara
I am all wrapped up in this cat condo business. In doing some research today I found this attractive cat, functional, object of art, scratching post, cat tree, a hiding spot, and condo all in one. It is on the pricey side for something my cats will drool on and destroy, but I still think it’s hot. It’s designed by Warren Lieu for One Form Design.
Specs
Dimensions:
Exterior: approx. 28″L x 21″W x 15″H
Interior cavity: 25″L x 18″W x 13.5″H
Materials: 83 laser-cut double wall corrugated cardboard shapes, hand-laminated into the final pod.
Scratch it up.
-Cara
I know it’s blasphemy, but I am not really feeling anybody…I’m not feeling this Obama or McCain.
I need to get into it, research the candidates and see which one is less of an ass. I feel like I should go Democrat as the last Republican has been such a disaster and lately these Republicans have been somewhat evil, working all the angles in a negative, self-fulfilling way. Their focus is on money and power, not on people and definitely not on the planet.
On the other hand, Democrats seem to be wishy-washy, very easily bullied, controlled, not very organized and somewhat dull. Where has all the revolutionary spirit gone?
Both sides aren’t super fresh or exciting to learn about, but I am speaking out of ignorance, you never know what may come around the corner….well sometimes I know, but on occasion things surprise me.
I’ll list some sites I intend to use for research in case anyone else out there is stuck like me or just interested. If I happen to come across anything, i will update this entry with more on this issue.
Here’s some 2008 Campaign Research Links:
I want to get excited about elections and not feel doomed to choose between Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb.
What to do…
-Cara
Recycle Mania is a flash game and a pain to play, but I like the challenge. It is easy to get the papers….everything else is a challenge. You need to learn the tricks and way to move.
Here’s some stuff from the site…
RECYCLE MANIA
by Roman Sandoval
Did you know you can make energy out of what you recycle? You can do your part by testing your reflexes and see how much you can recycle in a minute! Be prepared because this game moves fast!
MORE FACTS ABOUT RECYCLING
Every day American businesses generate enough paper to circle the earth 20 times.
Each ton of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water–how many swimming pools is that?
Americans use more than 67 million tons of paper per year, or about 580 pounds per person. So, if we recycled all of the paper that we use, we could save over 1 billion trees every year. Which brings us to the next cool fact:
One tree can take out up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year. So if we save all of those trees by recycling, we can help the environment and improve the quality of the air we breathe tremendously.
This simple thing–making sure that paper and cans and other recyclables go into the right bins–can have a huge impact and can begin to address the problem of global climate change.
Recyling is fun!
-Cara
These cracker are good. I myself cut them in any shape I want to. You can even use cool mini cookie cutters. I love them with anything.
What You Need
3/4 cup organic, unbleached white floor
1/4 cup organic fresh mango purée
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon organic coriander powder
What To Do
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients together to form a dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough 1/16th inch thick and cut into 3 inch squares for the perfect crackers. Prick each cracker 3 times with the tines of a fork to prevent puffing during baking. Bake the crackers on a lightly oiled baking sheet for 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove crackers from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
So good.
-Cara
Code Pink, who knows how I found this site, but I was cleaning up my bookmarks today and rediscovered it. You’re welcome!
According to their web site,
“CODEPINK emerged out of a desperate desire by a group of American women to stop the Bush administration from invading Iraq. The name CODEPINK plays on the Bush Administration’s color-coded homeland security alerts — yellow, orange, red — that signal terrorist threats. While Bush’s color-coded alerts are based on fear and are used to justify violence, the CODEPINK alert is a feisty call for women and men to “wage peace.”
CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education and other life-affirming activities. CODEPINK rejects the Bush administration’s fear-based politics that justify violence, and instead calls for policies based on compassion, kindness and a commitment to international law. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.”
In other words, they kick ass. They have a YouTube channel you can check out, Don’t Buy Bush’s War. There’s videos of these women getting arrested by Capitol Hill police and such. They’re no joke, and I’m glad they exist.
Represent.
-Cara
I thought it would be cool to put up some of my pictures once and awhile, that go along with this blog’s point, theme, mood, or whatever you want to call it. Not only just that, but my pictures and photography web site will get some exposure, which they both could use! :)
Sometimes I will include commentary and other times, like now, I will leave the photo for you to deconstruct.
This is the view of the building across the street, from my roof, in NYC.
Unplug.
-Cara
Rainforest Action Network has 25,000 stickers, a database of household products containing the not-so-awesome palm oil (which they compiled with the help of people who love the rainforest) and a date: August 13.
Bring all three together by signing up for RAN’s August 13th Stick it to Palm Oil Day of Action.
Sign up online and you’ll get a Day of Action packet including “Warning: Product May Contain Rainforest Destruction” stickers and a step by step guide to taking part in the action. I hope the stickers are made from recycled stickers and not new paper, which comes from trees…I’m just saying.
Rainforest Action Network is also sending letters to every company that uses palm oil encouraging them to be responsible by joining forces with RAN to put pressure on agribusiness giants ADM, Bunge and Cargill to stop destroying rainforests for palm oil. They should send emails instead of letters, every piece of paper we can save is fresh…that’s right I said that too.
Help stop global warming, and support the rights of frontline communities across the world, by going here and doing what you can.
Stick it to ’em.
-Cara
I feel a bit stuck in a rut with this blog lately and I’ve been thinking about why that is. What I came up with is themes. I think I am over the responsibility of theme days. I am going to just write whatever I feel like writing about each day. It will still be “green” and beyond, just the day’s writings will be whatever I feel like.
Like this one, instead of being about a heroine, it is about me giving up themes. I am, of course open to patterns developing..that’s different. :-) It is also about me finding a bunch of coupons for Organic Valley Farms’ products. :-D
Nice.
-Cara
This is just an update of what is going on in my life as far as the television is concerned. I still have no satellite or cable TV. I have gone on a few trips where there was a TV in the hotel, house, etc., and I was drawn to it like a bad habit. With no restraint, I would put on the E! network…there must be some trashy TV show on right now full of stars and their drama..Talk Soup perhaps…
After the first few times I wasn’t as excited, and that made me sad. Then last month I went on a family trip which included a million people and 2,000 kids and a TV in the main room that was on…a lot… I don’t miss TV anymore, in fact it is super annoying.
Here’s what I do sometimes, in the background I play really bad, “you-may-have-thought-it-good-at-one-point” shows like Charles in Charge, and Knight Rider and bad stand-up comedy on Netflix “Watch Instantly”. I play stuff to have sound around. I need to slow down.
Turn it off, see what happens.
-Cara
The Eco Zoo is pretty fresh. It has four animals that live in this tree zoo. Three are real and one is a mythological figure. It is done in one of my favorite mediums, Flash (Papervision 3D engine in Flash to be precise). Two of the animals in the zoo have gorgeous pop-up books, that teach us eco tips for a better world…well one did and the other talked about the actual animal… You can also grab the tree, climb it, and spin it. There are sun rings if you are at the right spot…I love details like that. See for yourself!
Go Japan!
-Cara
I came up with this sauce using my brain and perusing other peanut sauces on-line. It’s great on cold organic Lo Mein noodles or whatever else you want a cold peanut butter based sauce on.
What You Need
organic Lo Mein noodles (Roland Organic makes some)
1/2 cup organic peanut butter (crunchy or smooth…I myself like it crunchy style…)
1/2 cup of cold water
2 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 tablespoons organic lime juice
1 clove organic garlic, minced
2 teaspoons organic grated ginger
some salt and pepper to taste
What to Do
If you are making the cold Lo Mein noodles, in a large pot of boiling water, cook the noodles, gently separating the strands with a long fork as they soften, until barely tender (about 2 minutes). Drain and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking; drain well. Dump into a bowl and toss with 1/2 tablespoon of the sesame oil to prevent sticking, cover, put it in the refrigerator.
Take all the above ingredients (except the noodles!) and put them in a mixer or food processor and mix well. Makes about 1 cup.
Depending on how many noodles you make or how saucy you like your noodles is how much of the organic peanut sauce you should use. I like to then put the sauced noodles in covered glass container or a covered ceramic casserole dish and let them sit around for a few hours or until the next day lunch to soak in the flavor.
Do it how you do and enjoy.
-Cara
I have written about BioBags before in my 100th post, concerning some composting ideas I had. I really think their concept is a good one, but I have still not actually tried them. :) Anyway, I came across these Biobag Dog Waste Bags and BioBag Cat Pan Liners and thought they sound like great ideas.
I don’t have a dog, but live in NYC where everyone has to pick up after their dogs. I always think about how many plastic bags these people must go through, just to throw away dog poo. This bag is a great idea. It would also be a great idea in New York City to have by every other garbage can be a compost can. Just for dog owners to throw their dog poo in, instead of throwing it into the regular garbage cans. Then the Parks Department could compost the dog poo and use it as fertilizer in all the City Parks. You’re welcome New York City Department of Parks and Recreation! :)
Here’s some info about the Biobag Dog Waste Bags from the BioBag’s site:
BioBag Dog holds the distinction of being the first biodegradable and compostable “plastic” pooper bag in the world.
[When] pet owners put 100% biodegradable dog waste into plastic bags that can take over 100 years to decompose. (I read on another site that BioBags will degrade within 45 days.)
BioBag dog pooper bags are to help divert all naturally biodegradable waste from entering our landfills.
The best solution for disposal of pet waste has always been to separate it from the bag or paper and flush it down the toilet. Using BioBags…the waste and the bag can be thrown in your backyard compost, where both items can decompose naturally; the waste and bag can be buried, where micro-organisms will quickly eat both; the waste and bag can be set at curbside with other yard waste where communities collect biodegradable waste for composting. Please check with your community for disposal options.
I think the cat liners are another great idea for people who use them. I myself do not as I have scoopable litter and then the litter pan itself gets clean out fully. I guess a bag would make it easier to clean…we will think about it.
Here’s some info about the BioBag Cat Pan Liners from the BioBag’s site:
Cat waste should not be composted, as its composition can be quite toxic (What? Toxic…I had no idea. :P). Cat waste should always be scooped from the litter box and then put in your trash. There are a number of new biodegradable cat litters on the market. We also do not recommend flushing it down the toilet because cat poop may endanger sea otters.
Using these biodegradable cat pan liners to dispose of the remaining biodegradable litter makes good environmental sense.
Biodegradable cat pan liners are non-allergenic. Cats can be allergic to plastic and other known allergens. Allergies usually build up over time from constant contact with the allergen. Calicos, Tortiseshells, Black cats and Siamese cats are more prone to allergies than other breeds.
If you suspect your cat has an allergy (red, itchy rashes), consult your veterinarian to determine the source. It is best to use hard-fired ceramic bowls, instead of molded plastic, for serving your cat food. Using a biodegradable cat litter made naturally from renewable grain crops may protect your cat from certain chemicals. Using BioBag non-allergenic liners is an environmentally safe way to further protect your pet.
Eco-pets rule!
-Cara
What happen to all the poets? I remember growing up reading, loving, and writing stream of conscious poetry that went on forever. I would go to hear poets read, speak, connect…There are not really any modern, media saturated stories about the famous, righteous poets, like Adrienne Rich, Audre Lourde, Dorothy Allison, e.e. cummings, or Alice Walker around. If there is any media they are not talking about their poetry. Nobody wants to be America’s Next Top Poet…or am I just running around in the wrong circles these days…
I’ve decided to publish a poem I like using this blog sometimes. It may inspire me, you, or somebody to write…you never know…
Muriel Rukeyser
Here is a poem by Muriel Rukeyser entitled, Looking at Each Other, I really think is powerful. Words with depth that I connect too. That’s what I miss…and meeting others who connect as well. It is powerful.
Looking at Each Other
Yes, we were looking at each other
Yes, we knew each other very well
Yes, we had made love with each other many times
Yes, we had heard music together
Yes, we had gone to the sea together
Yes, we had cooked and eaten together
Yes, we had laughed often day and night
Yes, we fought violence and knew violence
Yes, we hated the inner and outer oppression
Yes, that day we were looking at each other
Yes, we saw the sunlight pouring down
Yes, the corner of the table was between us
Yes, our eyes saw each other’s eyes
Yes, our mouths saw each other’s mouths
Yes, our breasts saw each other’s breasts
Yes, our bodies entire saw each other
Yes, it was beginning in each
Yes, it threw waves across our lives
Yes, the pulses were becoming very strong
Yes, the beating became very delicate
Yes, the calling the arousal
Yes, the arriving the coming
Yes, there it was for both entire
Yes, we were looking at each other
Muriel Rukeyser 1978
What happen to our revolution?
-Cara
According to the the Petition Site, “the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced plans to kill America’s wild horses rather than effectively manage our wild natural heritage.
BLM claims it can no longer afford to round up wild horses and confine them until it finds people to adopt them, and the agency wants to euthanize these majestic wild beauties or sell them to the highest bidder “without limitation” – meaning sell them to anyone, even if the bidder also plans to kill these horses.
Why does BLM need to round up wild horses and send them to slaughter? The BLM claims that the agency can’t “allow horses to multiply unchecked on the range without causing an environmental disaster.” But there are less than 30,000 wild horses on the range versus at least 3 million grazing cows. So rather than address the environmental damage caused by cattle overgrazing and expanding oil and gas exploration on our public lands, the BLM would rather placate corporate cattle ranchers who view mustangs as competition for forage, and drive wild horses – our country’s symbol of freedom and independent spirit – to extinction.
This plan is simply outrageous. Stand up for our wild horses and send a comment to BLM today. Urge our government to abide by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971 and effectively manage the land to preserve wild horses rather than kill them!”
Stop the killing.
-Cara
In 1871, when she was twelve years old, Florence’s father, United States congressman, William Darrah “Pig Iron” Kelley, (a self-made man who renounced his business activities to become an abolitionist, a founder of the Republican party and a judge, and worked for numerous political and social reforms, including the NAACP), took her to a Pennsylvania glass factory on a tour. When she went inside she observed dirty, exhausted children laboring with pots full of acid and crouching over fires in sweltering heat. She discovered that there were over 1 million children working in these hot, crowded and unsafe conditions. Every year tens od thousands of children died or were seriously injured in work related accidents. Kelley knew something had to be done.
Kelley moved to New York City where she married a fellow member of the Socialist Labor Party, the Polish-Russian physician, Lazare Wischnewetzky in 1844. The marriage ended in divorce in December 1891, after many years of estrangement (it was said he was physically and verbally abusive). She changes her name back to ‘Kelley’, and assumes custody of the three children, who also adopt her maiden name. She left Lazare and moved to Chicago (where it was easier to attain a divorce) with her children. Soon after arriving in the city she joined Jane Addams, Ellen Gates Starr, Alzina Stevens, Mary McDowell, Edith Abbott, Grace Abbott, Julia Lathrop, Alice Hamilton, Sophonisba Breckinridge and other social reformers at Hull House, an amazing group of women, whose faith, strength and intelligence made a huge difference in how women, African Americans, and children were regarded and treated.
In 1899 Kelley helped establish the radical (for its time), watchdog group, the National Consumer’s League (NCL). The main objective of the organization was to achieve a fair minimum wage and a limitation on the working hours of women and children. Kelley, the first head of the NCL, traveled the country giving lectures on abhorrible working conditions in the United States; this helping to educate consumers, so they in turn put pressure on companies, who were prospering off their paychecks.
An example of this type of “pressure” was the NCL White Label, thought up by Kelley. The program offered the NCL’s White Label for display in advertising and businesses to employers whose labor practices met with the NCL’s approval for fairness and safety. The NCL then urged consumers to boycott all companies that failed to meet the NCL’s standards.
[Two girls wearing banners with slogan “ABOLISH CH[ILD] SLAVERY!!” in English and Yiddish, one carrying American flag; spectators stand nearby. Probably taken during May 1, 1909 labor parade in New York City.
George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).]
In September 1905, Kelley joined with Upton Sinclair and Jack London to form the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. Over the next few years she was a frequent speaker on American campuses. This led to meeting Frances Perkins, a students she recruited to the cause, who was eventually to become the country’s first woman cabinet minister and responsible for bringing an end to child labor in America.
[Mine Kids]
Some other groups Kelley was involved with dealt with women’s suffrage and African American civil rights issues. Kelley helped to establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. A committed pacifist, Kelley opposed USA involvement in the First World War and was a member of the Woman’s Peace Party (WPP) and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
Kelley wrote several books including, Some Ethical Gains Through Legislation (1905), Modern Industry in Relation to the Family (1914), The Supreme Court and Minimum Wage Legislation (1925) and Autobiography (1927).
Florence Kelley, 74, died in Germantown (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) on 17th February, 1932.
Florence Kelley is someone who inspires me.
-Cara
The last few Sundays have been games, games, and games, so I decided it was quiz time.
It’s the Green Quiz straight out of Yale. This one is all about product consumption and disposal, and its impact on the world. The design is clean and done well.
It’s fun.
-Cara
This mac and cheese is so good. The way you cook it makes it crusty on top. I switch the cheeses around to experiment.
What You Need
3 tablespoon organic butter
12 oz organic Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
12 oz organic extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 pound organic elbow pasta, boiled in salted water, until just tender, drained and rinsed under cold water
1/8 teaspoon organic cayenne
sea salt
2/3 cup organic whole milk
What to Do
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Use 1 tablespoon butter to thickly grease a 9 by 13 inch backing dish. Combine the grated cheeses and set aside 2 heaping cups for topping.
2. In a large bowl, mix the pasta, cheeses, cayenne and salt to taste. Place in prepared pan and evenly pour milk over surface. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top, dot with remaining butter and bake, uncovered, 45 minutes. Next raise the oven’s temperature to 400 degrees and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until it looks crusty on top and bottom.
Good summer fun.
-Cara
We all need a calculator now and again, most of which contain replaceable batteries or are disposable. As I have said before there is no such thing as disposable, so here is my calculator solution, a H2O’s Water Powered Business Calculator.
To maintain a constant supply of energy simply refill as the water evaporates, they say typically every 2-3 months. The H20 water-powered battery is eco-friendly and all the components of the calculator are recyclable.
I haven’t tried this yet, I will update when I do, to whether it rocks or not
Water powered is fresh.
-Cara
It has been a few weeks since I’ve done a new mix, so I put together some songs for your listening pleasure. It is cathartic for sure. Hope you enjoy.
Sing out loud.
-Cara
Victoria Woodhull, was born September 23, 1838, in Homer, Ohio. Her father was an itinerant con man and a thief; her mother was illegitimate, illiterate and a religious fanatic. Victoria was raised in filth and squalor, beaten and starved, given little education and exploited in her father’s traveling carnival show as a clairvoyant and fortune teller. She demonstrated psychic powers, located missing objects and people, cured ailments and was said to be a medium.
At 15, in order to escape her father’s brutality, Victoria eloped with an alcoholic doctor, 28-year old Canning Woodhull from a town outside of Rochester, New York. Dr. Woodhull was an Ohio medical doctor at a time when formal medical education and licensing were not required to practice medicine. He fathered a mentally retarded son, Byron and so botched the delivery of their daughter, Zulu (later Zula), that the baby nearly bled to death. After five grueling years, Victoria left him.
Victoria’s belief in the spirits enabled her to form alliances with such powerful men as Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, enabling her to become the first female Wall Street broker. She opened Woodhull, Claflin & Company in 1870 with the assistance of a wealthy benefactor, and her admirer, Cornelius Vanderbilt. She was also the first woman to found her own newspaper, Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly, which stayed in publication for six years, and was notorious for publishing controversial opinions on taboo topics. The paper advocated, among other things, women’s suffrage, short skirts, spiritualism, free love, vegetarianism, and licensed prostitution. The paper is now known primarily for printing the first English version of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto in its December 30, 1871 edition. She spoke before Congress demanding that women be given the right to vote and finally, ran for U.S. President in 1872 against the popular incumbent, Ulysses S. Grant, and powerful newspaperman, Horace Greeley.
Victoria’s era was a difficult one for women, who had almost no rights to property or person. If a married woman worked, her wages were given directly to her husband. She could not dispose of her property upon death. If she divorced, she automatically forfeited custody of her children. Women could not enter universities, law schools or medical schools. They could not serve on juries, and they could not vote.
There were no laws to protect women from physical abuse at the hands of their husbands or fathers, although some states stipulated the size of the objects that might be used to inflict discipline. They had no right to deny their husbands sex. The professions open to women were few, domestic housework, factory work, teaching, prostitution and, for the privileged, writing.
Only women who committed adultery were subject to a jail sentence, not men. In 1868, Victoria Woodhull bravely instructed women to demand a single sexual standard and not to accept the view that sexual desire in females was vulgar. “What! Vulgar!” she said. “The instinct that creates immortal souls vulgar…be honest…it is not the possession of strong powers that is to be deprecated. They are that necessary part of human character.”
Victoria was a pioneer in diet, exercise, and dress. She adhered to the diet prescribed by Sylvester Graham (known for inventing Graham Crackers!). Graham was a sickly child and cured himself through proper nutrition. He recommended no alcohol, caffeine, meat, lard or other types of shortening. Victoria was a vegetarian.
Women of the day were thought desirable if they were delicate, frail, but Victoria advocated vigorous exercise. She rode horseback and walked at least three miles a day. She advocated drinking at least two pints of water a day and eating fresh fruits for good health.
She often wore men’s clothing and urged other women to do the same.
Victoria, used alternative medicine. She practiced homeopathy, a treatment begun by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, who took a minuscule amount of a disease-causing agent and diluted it with liquid to create what he called a “spiritlike essence.” Dr. Hahnemann believed that when this substance was introduced into the body, the person would become immune to the disease. Victoria was also a well-known “magnetic healer.” The use of therapeutic magnets dates to the ancient Greeks, who used them to halt bleeding, soothe inflammation, purge infection and promote general healing.
Because Victoria Woodhull said what she thought and antagonized certain people, a campaign was organized against her. She was jailed repeatedly on charges of sending obscene material through the mail, and the press depicted her as “Mrs. Satan” and “The Prostitute Who Ran for President.”
She died on June 9, 1927 at Norton Park in Bredon’s Norton, Worcestershire, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom. She had moved there in October 1876. She met her third husband, banker John Biddulph Martin, and married him on October 31, 1883. From then on, she was known as Victoria Woodhull Martin. Under that name, she published a magazine called the Humanitarian from 1892 to 1901. As a widow, Woodhull gave up the publication of her magazine and retired to the country, establishing residence at Bredon’s Norton.
The End.
-Cara
History of the Eco-Shopping Game (according to their site):
The Eco-Shopping game is a game local to the North Central Texas region and was originally created by TXU Electric and Gas in 1997. The purpose of the game is to help educate the consumer on three aspects of product packaging:
- recyclability of the package,
- reducing the amount of packaging waste going into the landfill by buying products with less packaging, and
- giving preference to a packaging made with recycled content materials.
Click Here to Get to the Game Link
It reminds me of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, with the talking bull, Longhorn Larry. I found it on timetorecycle.com. There are three different games in one. My favorite is the one where you separate your recyclables from trash before the garbage truck comes. :) I can’t get enough of it.
Fun stuff.
-Cara
I am strange in the sense that I don’t like certain foods solely based on their texture. For example, I don’t like the texture of raw bananas, pudding, Tiramisu, warm fruit, and eggplant depending on how it is prepared, pretty much anything with that thick mucus texture grosses me out.
I try foods I don’t like every year just to see if anything has changed. I never liked peanut butter, but now I do, olives as well, and a plethora of other fine foods I will not list here. Raw bananas since birth has been on my, “not going to happen” list. It is a shame as I like the flavor of bananas and they are good for you with their high potassium level! I did discover that I like banana chips, banana bread and I can even handle some smoothies which contain bananas. This organic banana nut bread recipe happens to be my favorite way to eat bananas. :)
What You Need
2 1/2 cups organic flour, sifted
3 teaspoons organic baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup organic sugar
3/4 cup organic walnuts
1/3 cup organic butter, softened
1 organic egg
3 small organic ripe bananas, cut up
1/2 cup organic milk
What To Do
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the flour, baking powder and sea salt in a medium bowl.
Put the walnuts in a blender or food processor and chop for 4-10 seconds. Add to the bowl with the flour and such.
Put the sugar, butter, egg, bananas and milk into a blender or food processor for 6-15 seconds. Then pour over the dry ingredients and mix.
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
It is great in the morning, toasted with a cup of coffee.
Enjoy.
-Cara
I was talking the other day to my dad about different ways to conserve energy in his house and it reminded me of this switch, called GreenSwitch, which I discovered watching a “Living with Ed” (If you don’t know the show, I wrote about it here.) episode. What it does, simply put, is turns off the juice to your outlets, lights, thermostat and whatever other electric entity you wish to control, with just one switch.
If you know my dad, this is the perfect invention for him as he wants to save the planet and money, but can only be guaranteed to do so regularly if it’s a simple process.
I cannot personally recommend this product never having tried it; I just think the idea is fantastic. I myself craw behind things and under things to unplug as much as I can remember, but less than I should. When I do build my dream house, this feature will be included.
Turn off, unplug.
-Cara
Babeland is going to think this is some sort of miracle. They sent me some products awhile ago (because of a Valentine’s entry I wrote with them in it) that I said I’d review…fast forward a hundred years later to the first of a few reviews I intend to do for them.
One of these products was the soy wax, chocolate hazelnut, massage candle. I love it. The candle wax, when dripped on your skin, has a soft, smoothness to it. It possesses a sweet, warm, nutty smell. The smell reminds me of growing up in Miami, and the fragrance of the women who surrounded me. When done you are softer and smell sweeter, as do your sheets and your lover’s hands.
As far as the packaging, I say lose the red and orange box (even though it’s cute). Candles already in a glass votive like that don’t need a box I would think, just a cover of a biodegradable film of some sort, if anything. Thus you reduce unnecessary packaging and have more of a sustainable product.
I also like the matches they include with the candle. I think they are more romantic than lighting a candle with a lighter. It made me think, I’m not sure which is worse buying a “disposable lighter”, matches or fluid for a refillable lighter. I say send the matches and counteract it with planting a tree or two every month for all the paper/wood products the company uses. Just an idea.
To wrap up this review, I think the product itself is great and I’m glad to have been introduced to it.
Thanks Babeland.
-Cara
According to MoveOn.org, “a new bill in Congress would ban paperless voting. It’s got enough support to pass, but time is short. This week, the Democratic leadership is deciding what Congress will take up next. If they don’t put voting on the agenda, there simply won’t be time to make the change by the 2008 presidential election. Sign this petition to ask the Democratic leaders in Congress to ban paperless voting before it’s too late.”
We need hard copy people. You can help out by signing this petition to Congress. Just click this link.
-Cara
Today’s super chic is, Charlotte Whitton, born March 8, 1896 in Renfrew, Ontario; died January 25, 1975, a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first female mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. Whitton is sometimes mistakenly credited as the first woman ever to serve as a mayor in Canada, but this distinction is in fact held by Barbara Hanley, who became mayor of the small town of Webbwood in 1936. Whitton was Ottawa’s city controller in 1951. Upon the unexpected death of mayor Grenville Goodwin that August, Whitton was immediately appointed acting Mayor and on 30 September 1951 was confirmed by city council to remain Mayor until the end of the normal three-year term.
Whitton attended Queen’s University, where she was the star of the women’s hockey team. At Queen’s, she also served as editor of the Queen’s Journal newspaper in 1917. From Queen’s she became the founding director of the Canadian Council on Child Welfare from 1920-1941 (which became the Canadian Welfare Council, now the Canadian Council on Social Development) and helped bring about new legislation to aide children in need.
Whitton never married, but lived for years with her lover, Margaret Grier. Her relationship with Grier was not widespread public knowledge until 1999, 24 years after Whitton’s death, when the National Archives of Canada publicly released the last of her personal papers, including many intimate personal letters between Whitton and Grier.
The two women met in Toronto, where they were both residents at the Kappa Alpha Theta Society house on the campus of the University of Toronto. Whitton accepted a position in 1918 as assistant secretary with the Social Service Council Of Canada, and Grier worked with the juvenile court, the Big Sister’s Association and the Girl Guides.
In Grier, Whitton had found a soulmate, even though the two had very diverse natures. Grier was shy, fair and quiet, with delicate features and a calm spirit. Whitton, younger by four years, was considered intimidating, confrontational, ambitious and egotistical.
In 1922, they moved to Ottawa together in order to advance Whitton’s career. They set up house and lived in a “Bostonian Marriage” type of relationship.
Whitton often wrote poetry to Grier.
So softly your tired head would lie
With gentle heaviness upon my breast
And knowing but each others’ arms
Desiring nothing more we two would rest
They owned a cottage together on McGregor Lake and escaped many a humid Ottawa summer weekend there. One letter written by Grier to Whitton while she was away on business – which was often – seems to sum up the nature of their relationship: “Just two nights gone and I’m so lonesome I could cry whenever I stop to think for a minute – Oh Lawrie, dear, I’m just about crazy all the time you are away from me.” Grier, the love of Whitton’s life, died in 1947.
Despite her strong views on women’s equality, Whitton was a strong social conservative and did not support making divorce easier. She did believe in and fought for equal pay and equal opportunities for women in the public and private sector. However, she did not believe in married women working outside of the home and held very conservative views on abortion and divorce. Her views on sexuality have been described as “prudish.” I personally feel she over compensated for being a lesbian, but that is just based on my own personal thoughts.
I leave you with her most famous quote,
“Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.”
;)
-Cara
The Day After An Inconvenient Truth 
What Did You Say?