Oscar Shorts

I need to know by Tuesday night who wants to join me for the viewing of the Oscar shorts on Tues. Feb. 20th at 7:30 in LA. I am going to buy tickets as soon as they are available, so I need a head count asap. Tickets are $5 each. I will probably leave HB around 6pm on the 20th to make sure I have enough time to get to LA, so if you want to carpool, plan to be at my place by 6pm at the latest.

Greener Living #22 Don't Be a Butt Tosser

About 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide each year--making them the most littered item. The myth that cigarette filters are biodegradable is just that, a myth. Although the filters do eventually decompose, they release harmful chemicals that enter the earth's land and water during the decaying process. There is nothing earth-friendly about the breakdown. If you must smoke, carry a 35mm film canister to store your used butts in until you can properly discard them.

A weekend in San Diego

Shawn and I took off for San Diego this weekend. We have annual passes to the SD Zoo and Wild Animal Park, so we decided to take a trip to the zoo this weekend. Of course, we had a great time on Monkey Trail where we got to see a baby gorilla (one of my all-time favorite baby animals). We also love to see the elephants. One thing that is always a bit disheartening when we visit the zoo is when we read the endangered status of many of the animals. I can't imagine why someone would want to shoot an elephant or a rhino. These animals are so amazing to me that I can't imagine bringing harm to them. But to balance out all the bad people out there, it is great to read how many animal populations have been increased because of various efforts from zoos and other organizations. Shawn and I agree that even when we move to Colorado we will continue our annual memberships to the zoo and park as a way to donate to help save endangered animals. For less than $100 a year, it's the least we can do.

This afternoon we decided to take a tour of the USS Midway, a decommissioned aircraft carrier. We had a great time and highly recommend for you to check it out if you're ever in San Diego. Walking aboard this masterpiece is awe-inspiring for it is difficult for us to imagine building something so massive. It is 1001 feet long and 258 feet wide. It was first commissioned in 1945 I believe and was finally decommissioned or retired in 1992, a 47 year service which is an all-time record. It was originally built to house 3600 men, but ended up carrying 4500 instead. I cannot imagine sleeping in such close quarters as these servicemen did. I also can't imagine remembering where everything is on this beast. I would have gotten lost if it weren't for the arrows directing me. We got to see a lot of things like the sick bay, galley, mess deck, laundry room, main engine room, plus we got to see a lot of planes and helicopters they house on board because the Midway is now a museum. Shawn will post the pictures on shawnandmarisa.com so check there in a couple of days. On a personal note, this tour made me think of my Paka (grandpa Tomaselli) because I remember when I used to visit my grandparents when I was younger I always loved looking at the old pictures of Paka when he was on an aircraft carrier. When I talked to my dad today, he said he thought his dad was on the USS Enterprise or the Lexington. I'll have to ask Aunt Jeri if she remembers. It's days like today that make me miss my Nana and Paka so much, but I know they will always be with me.

Greener Living #20 and 21

#20 Insulate Your House: Good insulation is one of the best ways to reduce your heating bills and cut your CO2 emissions. Heating and cooling make up 50 to 70 percent of energy use in the average American home. Also, replace old windows and be sure to seal holes and cracks in your house with weather stripping or caulk. A well-insulated house can prevent hundreds of pounds of CO2 emissions per year and can cut your heating and cooling bills by up to 20%. For more information, visit eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/insulation.html.

#21 Turn Your Thermostat Down One Degree: If you turn your thermostat down by one degree, your heating costs will decrease by about 3%. Turn it down five more degrees for four hours a day and reduce your heating bills by almost 6%. If you're going to be away for the weekend or out in the evening, turn your thermostat down. It's not true that reducing the temperature means it will take more heat to bring it back up to a warm level (unless you have a heat pump in your home). Also, turn the heat down if you are throwing a party--every guest will be the equivalent of a 100-watt heater.

Greener Living #19 Stop the Water

By leaving the water running while you brush your teeth, you can waste 150 gallons of water per month, that's 1800 gallons a year! Turning the water off while you brush can save several gallons of water per minute. Also pay attention to this water-saving principle while shaving or washing your face.

Change in plans

Since Greg needs to pick up Violet from doggie day care, we are now going to see P.L. tonight at 7:50 at the Regal Theater off Chapman. Everybody is on their own for dinner. Hope to see you there.

Pan's Labyrinth

Here's the plan. The movie starts at 7:30 at Bella Terra. We can grab a quick bite to eat before hand at Tacone or Corner Bakery around 6:30, unless people can meet earlier and we can eat dinner at CPK or Islands. Let me know what time you can meet.

Friday Night Movie

Movie times are not listed yet for the Century at Bella Terra for Friday. I will look them up tomorrow morning and post them here. Let me know if you are interested in seeing Pan's Labyrinth tomorrow night, since I think that's the consensus for what people want to see.

Greener Living #18 Take Showers, Not Baths

The average American household consumes about 60 gallons of water a day from showers and baths. To reduce this number, take quick showers and install a low-flow shower-head that used fewer than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, as compared to about 5 gallons with an older shower-head. Baths are relaxing, but it can take 50 gallons of water to fill a tub.

Solution to icy windshields

I know some people have been experiencing icy windshields in the morning. Online I found this do it yourself tip: For windshields, mix a 50/50 water and white vinegar solution in a spray bottle. Spray it on the night before. Voila! No ice the next morning. I'll have to try this out soon and let you know if it works.

Judi Dench is a witch

I went and saw Notes from a Scandal today. I am pleasantly surprised by how good Dame Judi Dench was at playing a friggin' psycho. I would even go so far to say her character freaked me out. I love the fact that this character is very different from the usual characters we see Dench play. I thought Cate Blanchett did a great job as well, but the movie belongs to Dench. I also noticed how perfect the music was in creating an eerie mood throughout. I recommend this film, but only to those that like creepy storylines. In case you don't know, this film is about Dench finding out about Blanchett's affair with one of her 15 year old students and how Dench uses this secret to manipulate Blanchett into being her friend. Like I said, it's not your average happy-go-lucky story but well worth seeing.

Greener Living #17 Save Water Indoors

A typical American household uses 350 gallons of water each day. About half that--175 gallons--is used indoors (toilets consume about 30% of the indoor total). Unnecessary water usage comes in the form of leaks. Fixing leaky faucets and toilets is a quick and easy way to conserve water. A steady faucet drip can waste 20 gallons of water a day. Leaky toilets are even worse, wasting upward of 100 gallons a day. Since toilet leaks are generally silent, check for them regularly by removing the tank cover and adding food coloring. If the toilet is leaking (and 20% of them usually are), color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes.

Movie Friday Night?

Would anybody be interested in seeing Letters from Iwo Jima or Pan's Labyrinth Friday night? They both got a few Oscar nominations today, so I must see them soon.

Greener Living #16 Drink Shade Grown Coffee

Shade-grown coffee is for the birds, literally. According to coffeesearch.org, about 150 species of birds live in shade-grown-coffee farms, while only 20 to 50 inhabit full-sun farms. With increased demand for cheap coffee, many Latin American growers have moved toward full-sun plantations, clearing the habitat of numerous native birds and increasing the use of pesticides and fertilizers. By drinking shade-grown-coffee, you can help bird habitats and reduce the need for farming chemicals. Shade-grown cofee beans can be purchased at many grocery stores. Starbucks offers shade-grown coffee as well.

Greener Living #13-15

I got a little behind since I was under the weather, so I'm getting caught up on the green tips today. These are excellent suggestions given how easy they are to adapt.

#13 Food Miles Matter: Food is traveling farther than ever. Once upon a time people ate seasonally--artichokes in the winter, cherries in June. Now you can buy most fruits and vegetables practically year-round. The average American meal contains ingredients produced in at least five other countries. The transportation of food and agricultural products constitutes more than 20% of total commodity transport within the US. To help reduce CO2 emissions (released from trucks, airplanes, and cargo ships), it's best to buy food that's in season, organic, and grown locally. Go to ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets to find the farmers' market nearest you.

#14 Go Vegetarian One Day a Week: To produce one pound of beef requires 2500 gallons of water--that's 40 times more water than is used to produce a pound of potatoes. Before buying beef, think about the immense cost of energy used to raise cattle and to transport meat to your supermarket shelf. Besides all this, cows consume enormous amounts of antibiotics and are a prodigious source of methane, which is the number two greenhouse gas; livestock are responsible for almost 20% of the methane in the atmosphere. (Plus, by upping your fruit and vegetable intake one day a week, you will increase your daily fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. Also, did you know that our bodies digest fruits and vegetables daily, but it takes several days for a steak to digest, which gives it time to rot in our body? There are so many reasons why going vegetarian one day a week is good for us, and it is one we can all do so easily.)

#15 Buy Eggs in Cardboard Cartons: Cardboard egg cartons are normally made from recycled paper, which biodegrades relatively quickly, and are also again recyclable--Styrofoam or plastic cartons take a much longer time to biodegrade and their manufacture produces harmful by-products. (With this I would also recommend buying milk in cardboard containers rather than plastic containers.)

I'm back

I am finally getting over this stupid cold I got last week. I ended up getting some medicine and am finally able to breath again. Hooray. I toughed it out and made it to the Ice Dogs hockey game on Friday with mom and pop. We had fun, even though the Dogs got their butts kicked and we sat next to idiots. Why do fans yell at players and tell them how to play? One, the guys on the ice cannot hear what the fans are telling them to do. Two, if you seem to think you know more about playing hockey, then why aren't you out there on the ice? The one idiot even went down to the team box and said something to the assistant coach. I hate stupid people.

Saturday, unfortunately when I was feeling the worst, Shawn and I met up with Mike, Nina, and the gang at the Santa Anita races for Juan's birthday. I felt miserable, especially because I was blowing my nose every 2 minutes, but I had already made a committment and didn't want to leave Juan short on the money. None of us hit it big, but we did see a man two tables down win $14,000 on the final race. That was pretty exciting. Brian was entertaining as usual as he would yell and scream at his horses. The boy has issues. Overall, it was just fun to hang out with friends, but I was glad to be home curled up on the coach that night.

Now that I'm feeling better it's back to work for me. We've got tons of laundry to do and I have an Arbonne party tomorrow night to prepare for. Wish me luck!

Last post and then I'll go rest

The Century Theater at Bella Terra has quite a few Oscar hopeful films showing now. I'd love to take in a couple soon. The ones I'm most interested in are The Painted Veil, Last King of Scotland, Pan's Labyrinth, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Dreamgirls. Anybody interested in going to see any of these with me?

Feeling blah

I hate getting a cold. Michael and I are infamous for not only getting sick at the same time (mom says we're definitely connected in that way), but we also get killer sore throats. I hate sore throats more than anything. I'm going to be a bum and lay on the couch all day, minus the couple loads of laundry I have to do. At least I can catch up on my reading. I watched Devil Wears Prada yesterday, so I figure I should read today instead of watching TV.

Greener Living #12 Play It Cool

Avoid placing your air conditioner next to a TV, lamp, or other electrical appliance that generates heat. A heat source will confuse the unit's thermostat, causing it to misread how hot the room is and make the air conditioner run longer than it should. You can also program an air conditioner to start running 30 minutes before you arrive home. There is no need to cool a home if no one is in it.

An Avery story to make you laugh

Yesterday I got to hang out with Kristi and Avery and I have to share with you. We took a trip to My Gym which was quite an experience. It's cool seeing all the fun toys My Gym has to offer. They have a lot of gymnastics-type equipment, as well as lots of ladders, a couple trampolines, and jungle gym-type structures. Avery seemed to like climbing stairs most. My favorite part of her climbing stairs though is she likes to sit and watch the other kids running around. She looks so deep in thought probably thinking, "Wow. These kids are animals." One of her other favorite activities was the trampoline, but she seemed to like sitting on it while other kids jump up and down. I was impressed by her ability to do a dead hang on the straight bar. Bulk up that upper body strength, Avery! The sad news is Avery cried 3 times while we were there: once when she hit the top of her head when she stood up underneath a maze thing and once when she bonked heads with another little girl when they were playing on the wheelbarrow. The first time she cried though it was warranted: she got sacked my a little boy charging 90 miles an hour. ESPN's Chris Berman would have definitely shown that one on his best hits reel. And before I forget, Uncle Jason will be proud that Avery loved to point and say monkey at all the paintings. (My Gym's logo is a monkey.)

After My Gym, we went back to Kristi's house. I was going to babysit for a little bit while Kristi attended a lecture at her church. As I was finishing feeding Avery her dinner, I noticed she started leaning to one side and was concentrating really hard. Jacked! Why is it that every time I babysit she fills a diaper for me? And why is it that babies think it is so funny when an adult is gasping for air while changing a stinky diaper? So I'm changing her and I reach in the diaper stacker to get a fresh one. I start putting the diaper on only to be puzzled by how small it is on her. Jacked #2. Kristi only had a couple of the right sized diapers left and they were in the diaper bag. (For those of you who don't know, diapers come in sizes. Avery currently wears a 4. The one was trying to put on her was a 1. It looked as bad as a very heavy set man wearing a speedo 5 sizes too small.) So I carried Avery in her sized 1 diaper around the house with me to hunt down the right sized diaper. Soon after all was well. I got her in her jammies and we sat in the rocker to read a couple bedtime stories. She was snuggled up on Auntie Marisa's lap reading along, when she did the most adorable and pathetic thing ever. Avery looked up at me with the saddest eyes and cried out, "Beeeeenkeeeee." Kristi and Thane are trying to break Avery of her binky habit, but as many adults know a binky makes the world perfect. Avery then slid off my lap, sleepily walked to the kitchen counter, pointed up, and once again cried out, "Beeeeenkeeeee." This time with tears in her eyes. How could I say no? Besides, I figured if I didn't give it to her, she might start crying and I didn't want that of course. I handed her binky, she raised her arms to me to pick her up and rested her head on my shoulder. I walked back into her room, rocked her to sleep for a few minutes, and before too long the kid was out. I gingerly manuevered her into her crib. To end the night, she cried out once more for her binky which had fallen out of her mouth. I gave it to her and she was asleep in no time. I'm just grateful that I was actually able to get her to sleep this time since the last time I babysat she only wanted Unk Sha to put her to sleep. Yes, Unk Sha is what Avery calls Uncle Shawn. Drat. I wanted her to say my name first. I guess I'll have to work harder on Kristi and Thane's next baby.

Greener Living #11 Get A Green Roof

As I previously stated, these suggestions for greener living come from a handout published in an old issue of Vanity Fair. I remind you of this because today's tip is a bit odd, something I am totally unfamiliar with, and quite honestly, a bit scared by when I visualize what a green roof is. Hopefully, this at least brings a chuckle to your day.

A green roof is more than simply a roof with plants growing on it. It functions like a "breathing wall," consuming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and emitting oxygen. Green roofs generally use low-maintenance, drought-resistant plants. Vegetation is planted or laid down as pre-vegetated mats on a thin layer of soil. More intensive green-roof systems may contain trees and larger plants, but these require deeper soil and are more expensive. One of the biggest benefits of a green roof is water management: it can absorb more than 50 percent of rainwater, thereby reducing runoff, a major source of pollution in our waterways. Plus, it can help reduce air-conditioning costs during the hot summer months. The vegetation looks after itself through the seasons and creates a habitat for insects, which, in turn, provide food for birds. Green roofs can also last more than twice as long as conventional rooftops. They look better too. For more information, visit greenroofs.com.

Greener Living #10 Build Green

Before embarking on any home remodeling, make sure your architect has green credentials. Although there is no national organization of green architects in the US, that doesn't mean you can't get an architect who will build along sustainable lines. Ask where he or she sources materials, and request that energy-saving devices, such as solar paneling, be installed. Visit directory.greenbuilder.com or enviromentalhomecenter.com for more green-building information.

Why bananas are a super food

Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:
Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power:
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin.. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control:
Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking:
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress :
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes:
According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine," eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

Greener Living #9 Green Paint

Most paint is made from petrochemicals, and its manufacturing process can create 10 times its own weight in toxic waste. It also releases volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.'s) that threaten public health. (V.O.C.'s are solvents that rapidly evaporate, allowing paint to dry quickly.) They cause photochemical reactions in the atmosphere, leading to ground-level smog that can cause eye and skin irritation, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, and nervous-system and kidney damage. The best alternative? Natural paints. Manufactured using plant oils, natural paints pose far fewer health risks, are breathable, and in some cases are 100 percent biodegradable. Remember: Never throw your paint away. Check out Earth 911's "Paint Wise" section for re-use programs in your community.

Greener Living #8 Get a Gold Laundry Star

An Energy Star-qualified washing machine uses 50 percent less energy and could reduce your utility bills by $110 annually. Standard washing machines use about 40 gallons of water per wash; most Energy Star machines use only 18 to 25 gallons, thus also saving water. Whenever possible, wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents (designed to remove soils at low temperatures). And do your laundry only when you have a full load. If you must do a small load, adjust the water level accordingly.

HB Relay for Life

One of the goals I set with my wellness coach is to participate in a charity walk this year. On Friday, I attended a Chamber of Commerce breakfast and received a sign so to speak. There was a rep there from the American Cancer Society to encourage people to sign up for the HB Relay for Life. I know a few friends who have participated in Relays in the past and I have always been interested, so this is the year I am going to look into organizing a team. The dates for the race are June 9th and 10th. I am looking for people to join my team, so if you're interested, please let me know. As the date gets closer, I will post more info. It is scary to think that 1 in 3 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, so let's do something to help raise money and awareness by doing the relay together.

Book recommendation

I've been reading the Donald Trump/Robert Kiyosaki book Why We Want You to Be Rich. I recommend for everybody to read this one. They have so many great points we can all learn from that will help us stop living a paycheck-to-paycheck life. I started reading this book because I need to get motivated again to work Arbonne after losing momentum during the holidays. I got something better out of it. What Trump and Kiyosaki say is actually pretty scary but hopefully eye-opening for people my age and younger: our financial situations are only going to get worse if we don't do something about them now. Too many of us have the employee mentality which will never give us financial security because employers really don't have any commitment or loyalty to employees. The only way to get ahead in the world is to become an entreprenuer, to become our own boss, to get control of our lives. The employee's life is totally controlled by the man, those with power and money. Do you know the 90/10 rule which states that 10% of the population earn 90% of the money? This means 90% of the population is fighting for the remaining 10% of the money. No wonder so many people are living close to broke. We need to become part of the elite 10% in order to earn more money. Many people set a new year resolution to get out of debt. I promise you that once you start reading this book your brain will be jump started to take action and do something to improve your life.

Greener Living #7 Hang Up Your Dryer

It goes without saying-clothes dryers are huge energy gluttons. Hints to reduce energy use: Clean the lint filter after each load (improves air circulation). Use the cool-down cycle (allows clothes to finish drying from the residual heat inside). Better yet, abandon your dryer and buy some drying racks, if you don't have a clothesline. Generally, clothes dry overnight. (This last one is hard for me because I love the fresh scent from dryer sheets and want my clothes to feel soft, so one thing I do is only dry my clothes for half the needed drying time. Then let them air dry the rest of the way. They still get the fresh smell and feel, but I only need to use half the energy.)

Greener Living #5 and 6

#5 A Class Act
Recycle glass (think beer bottles, jars, juice containers) either through curbside programs or at community drop-off centers. Glass takes more than one million years to decompose. Americans generate almost 13 million tons of glass waste a year. Glass produced from recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related water pollution by 50 percent. Go to earth911.org for local recycling information.

#6 Banking on the Environment
Want to have a more efficient-energy home or office? Save green by being green. Purchase appliances and electronics with the Energy Star certification. Begun in 1992 by the EPA to rate energy-efficient computers, the Energy Star program today includes more than 40 product categories, and it also rates homes and workplaces for energy efficiency. Energy Star estimates that, with its help, Americans have saved enough energy in 2004 to power 24 million homes, amounting to savings of $10 billion. To learn more about Energy Star, visit energystar.com.

Greener Living #4 Forget Pre-Heating

Ignore cookbooks! It is usually unnecessary to pre-heat your oven before cooking, except when baking bread or pastries. Just turn on the oven at the same time you put the dish in. During cooking, rather than opening the oven door to check on your food, just look at it through the oven window. Why? Opening the oven door results in a significant loss of energy.

Greener Living #3 Rinse No More

According to Consumer Reports, pre-rinsing dishes does not necessarily improve a dishwasher's ability to clean them. By skipping the wash before the wash, you can save up to 20 gallons of water per dishload. At one load a day, that's 7300 gallons over the course of the year. Not to mention that you're saving time, dishwashing soap, and the energy used to heat the additional water.

Happy Birthday Mikey

Today is my brother's 29th birthday. Everybody sing happy birthday. Ready. One. Two. Three. Go.

Strange first thought of the day

Do any of you ever wake up with an unusual word or phrase, maybe a song lyric or a movie quote as the first thought of the day? I do this quite often, practically daily actually. I sometimes find myself waking up with a strange name on my mind, such as some random football player. I don't mind when I wake up with a song lyric as the first thought because it provides the opening track for the day. I don't know what to make of the movie quote I found myself thinking this morning though. "Oh god. Oh god. We're all going to die" is not the best start to a day. In case you're wondering, it's a quote from Serenity, one of the most awesome movies of the last 5 years. It has some of the coolest lines ever, but I'm still not sure I want to start my day thinking about death.

Greener Living #2 Ditch Plastic Bags

Californians Again Waste (cawrecycles.org), a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, estimates that Americans use 84 billion plastic bags annually, a considerable contribution to the 500 billion to one trillion used worldwide. Made from polyethylene, plastic bags are not biodegradable and are making their way into our oceans and waterways. According to recent studies, the oceans are full of tiny fragments of plastic that are beginning to work their way up the food chain. Invest in stronger, re-usable bags, and avoid plastic bags whenever possible. (It's even recommended to bring your own cloth bag to the grocery store if possible. I've even noticed several stores have recycle bins for plastic bags. I'm curious how they recycle them though.)

50 Things to Do to Help the Environment

I found this list of 50 Things to Do to Help the Environment in an old issue of Vanity Fair, so I decided to post one thing a day to share with my friends to help us all find easy steps we can take to live a greener life. Here we go. #1 Lightbulbs Matter: Switch from traditional incandescent lightbulbs to compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL). If every American household replaced one regular lightbulb with a CFL, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road. A 30-watt CFL produces about as much light as an ordinary 100-watt bulb. Although the initial price is higher, CFL's can last 12 times as long. CFL's are available at most home improvement stores.

Pan's Labyrinth

The National Society of Film Critics named Pan's Labyrinth as the Best Film of the Year. I love to see an underdog win, especially a foreign language film. I'm dying to see this one. It's my plan to see it this week, so look for my review soon.

Maya Angelou

Today I finally watched the Sundance Channel's Iconoclast with Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou. I found myself crying, moved, inspired, and humbled all at once because listening to a voice like Dr. Angelou's is like listening to the voice of a god or at least what I imagine a god to sound like. She speaks with such grace and eloquence where you hold on to every word that she carefully chooses. Also, Dr. Angelou is living history like no other I can think of. She was a friend to Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, something very few have the privilege of claiming. As I sat and listened to her speak, I am reminded of the not so distant past of civil unrest, discrimination, and hated and am left feeling shame, shame in our current society for not having any icons like Dr. Angelou to look up to, to follow, to be inspired by, or to inspire our children. Instead, our culture looks to the current celebrity pop culture star, those who will make the most money for the media giants, and I'm left wondering what will happen if we don't have such influential icons as King, Kennedy, or Gandhi who actually spoke for something of importance. I have always been tied to the revolutions of the 50s and 60s, interested because this was a time my parents personally experienced, and have realized how important it is to never forgot what our country has gone through. However, as I look at the younger generations, I wonder if they will ever appreciate what our parents and grandparents went through to provide them with the spoils of today, wonder if there will ever be a time that people will stop hating so that we can put an end to this vicious cycle. I wonder what icons my children will learn from as Maya Angelou has taught me.

Biff from Back to the Future

Check out this YouTube video of Biff from Back to the Future.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y