Random Photos

OK, I'm just putting these out there because I'm too lazy to do more. Enjoy (click for the whole album)!

2008_07

PETA, Forest Whitaker, and True on being Veg

Is PETA backing off the in-your-face stuff? This is so sweet!

Quake!

Wow, we just had a 5.8 (now maybe 5.6) earthquake! That was kind of exciting, a little scary. Everyone is fine, it wasn't much over here (maybe 30 miles from the epicenter). Marnie lived in California for 15 years before she ever felt anything - how lucky am I? (OK, kidding.)

 

Name that sci fi vehicle (hint, see Dr. Horrible post for whose ass was in it)! :)

For me, the highlight of Universal Studios tour. What a geek I am.

Oh, HELL Yeah!!

Joss Whedon? Neill Patrick Harris? Nathan Fillion? A freaking MUSICAL? Where do I sign up? Drhorrible.com, that's where!

Ah, Judy Blume

CurrentTV, the cable channel Al built, is like a mix between YouTube and MTV and CNN. It makes me feel old but it is generally excellent.

These Target Women "pods" are really good, too:

Speaking of love...

and, yes, this should have been first - happy lucky 13th anniversary to my Nummy Muffin Cocoa Butter. (And it was even yesterday! I suck!)




I love you!

I Heart My...

French (not Freedom) Coffee Press.

I like coffee. Happily, I am not to the point where I NEEEEED coffee. However, when I have an urge for a cup of my organic, shade grown, fair trade, dark roasted beans, I always hated to make a whole pot - or even 4 cups's worth - just for me. This totally fits the bill. Heat the water, grind the beans, pour both together, stir, press, DONE! It's magic. Love love love.

What Offshore Oil Drilling is About

I just read this really intersting analysis by Andrew Leonard of Salon's How the World Works really cuts to the heart of this:

But maybe the most fascinating aspect to the debate about offshore drilling -- to this profound choice between two worldviews, two ways of being on the planet -- is the harsh light it sheds on the value systems at the heart of how political identity is traditionally seen in the United States.
Republicans have made hay for decades by portraying Democrats as spendthrift, reckless liberals. Their side is supposedly "conservative" -- sober-minded, prudent, levelheaded -- while their opponents are "radical" -- dangerous, risky, foolish.

But what is the truly "conservative" position on offshore drilling, or energy policy in general? Recklessly exhausting all available resources now, and letting the future take care of itself -- or conserving those resources, investing carefully for the future, and thinking about the long term? Where does prudence reside -- in attempting to shave a few pennies off of gas prices now, or on planning on how to cope with high gas prices for the foreseeable future?

Read the whole thing here.

Note: NOT Complaining

Who else has had to have the conversation with their kid this week about why the two boys on TV are talking about getting married?

That's what happens when WordGirl turns off and local news pops back on from the DVR.

I said, in essence, no big deal, some people are just born that way. She said 'ok'. :)

Congratulations to the happy couples!

Who woulda thunk?

Who would have known that there would be a correlation...

Dear Amazon.com Customer,
We've noticed that customers who have purchased or rated Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism or other films in the ( G ) > Greenwald, Robert category have also purchased Xanadu - Magical Musical Edition (With Complete Soundtrack CD) on DVD. For this reason, you might like to know that Xanadu - Magical Musical Edition (With Complete Soundtrack CD) will be released on June 24, 2008. You can pre-order yours at a savings of $4.99 by following the link below.

Xanadu - Magical Musical Edition (With Complete Soundtrack CD) Olivia Newton-John
List Price:
$19.98
Price:
$14.99
You Save:
$4.99 (25%)
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Other Versions and Languages
Video Download
Xanadu

And who would pay $14.99 for Xanadu?

It does make me feel like puttin' on some skates!

I'm Going to Peak Oil Land!

Interesting piece about peak oil and Disney:
"Several months ago, I used this space to muse about "peak oil," a phenomenon of the world starting to run out of petroleum and the effect on prices in general and Disney World in particular. Disney had commissioned a study, and if oil stays above $160/barrel, Disney was advised to sell off the WDW parks and just collect a licensing fee. The parks would still eke out a profit, but not as much of a profit margin as Disney wants and the parks would be a drag on the company's bottom line."

More here...

Oil today: about $135 a barrel.

Catching Up

So things have been busy - I work the early shift these days, 6 AM to 3 PM - or so. I'm still not sure what Amelie will be doing when school's out - but that's not for another month here.

So, around the ol' homestead here we have recently added to the family fold a bin's worth of composting worms. Amelie loooooves them.

She also had about 5 different roles in the town production of Alice in Wonderland, she was great in all of them. There was singing and dancing for all of them, but she only had one line - "I think she's pretty." She was excellent. I'll have it on YouTube soon.

In Disney nerd news, we got to ride the Lily Belle, which is the VIP car on the DL Railroad this week. If you ask at the right time, they let you in. So cool! We've got just about 2 weeks left on our passes so we're definitely making the most of it. We'll see how long we last without. I hear that there's some other stuff here in L.A., including an ocean nearby. We'll see about that.

I'm probably forgetting stuff, it has been a while.

The Electric Car Rises Again

The New York Times today reports that Nissan is bringing an electric car to the U.S. by 2010.

It's not super pretty right now, but then, neither is my Prius.

Arizonans Make This Call

And pass it on- they still haven't voted as of 4/24 A.M.:
Happy Earth Day!



Please call your Arizona Senator’s Office today.

Say No to HB2017 and Yes to Cleaner Air!



“If the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not suspend the catalytic converter rule, it will cause Ford to shut down and would result in: 1) reduction of gross national product by $17 billion; 2) increased unemployment of 800,000; and 3) decreased tax receipts of $5 billion at all levels of government so that some local governments would become insolvent.”

— Lee Iacocca, Former Ford and Chrysler President Lee Iacocca in a 1973 speech



Today, the Legislature is celebrating Earth Day by attempting to take us a giant step backwards relative to limiting greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. HB2017 is on the Senate Committee of the Whole calendar. It has a strike everything amendment on Greenhouse emissions; regulations; fuel economy. HB2017 will undercut Clean Car and clean air programs and significantly restrict the Governor’s ability to act to limit greenhouse gas emissions as well as other pollutants.



This is an effort to have Arizona sit on its hands while the rest of the western states act to reduce emissions.

This measure is being promoted by who’s who list of big polluters, starting with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (represents all of the big auto makers including General Motors and Toyota) and dealers, the Western States Petroleum Association (represents the big oil companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell Oil, among others), and the utilities (Salt River Project, Arizona Public Service Company, Tucson Electric Power, and Southwest Gas). The Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona and Peabody Coal are also supporting this effort to stall any action on limiting greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.



Tell them you want cleaner cars, cleaner air, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The auto industry and our economy survived the catalytic converter and we got cleaner air to boot – this combined with our auto emissions program has brought the Phoenix area into compliance with the federal health-based carbon monoxide standards. We still have a ways to go in cleaning up our air and our automobiles, however.



People in the Phoenix area have suffered from poor air quality for several decades. The Tucson area and other parts of the state have air quality challenges as well. Most of our pollution comes from cars and trucks and, on top of that, about 40 percent of Arizona’s greenhouse gas emissions also comes from vehicles. With our rapid growth and an increase in the vehicle miles travelled that outpaces that growth, our emissions could grow by as much as 200 percent from 1990 to 2020. We cannot afford that. Ask them to support moving forward with programs to clean up the air, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and to begin to address global climate change.



To find your senator’s contact information just click on http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S or you can call (602) 926-3559 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-352-8404 and just ask to be connected to your senator’s office.



For more information, please contact Sandy Bahr at (602) 253-8633 or sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org.









Sandy Bahr

Conservation Outreach Director

Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter

202 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 277

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Phone (602) 253-8633

Fax (602) 258-6533

sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org

amelie & the inchworm

amelie & the inchworm
Originally uploaded by mberringer

Mill Flat is not Sequoia although it is in the S. Natl Forest. We would have frozen our butts off up in Sequoia though so things all worked out pretty well...until the wallet incident! But good times, good times.

102 Years Ago Today

I just paid my first easthquake insurance bill and I noticed that today was a historic date. Funny coincidence, that.

This is What It's Like Here

So, Friday, Amelie had her "Spring Hat Parade and Egg Hunt" which was a little late for Easter, but as it's a secular school - SPRING. Anyway. I felt like coffee and I hadn't tried the coffee shop around the corner from school (the Daily Grind). So I popped in. I notice that the white board says "cash only" but that the coffee advertised is organic, fair trade, and shade grown (Do you like birds? Buy that kind of coffee.) . So I stand there counting my pennies and the nice owner lady is telling me about her great coffee and how she doesn't mind if I live nearby if I pay her tomorrow (seriously) and THEN this guy comes from across the room and gives her $2 for my cup of coffee. It's this TOWN. I do not carry cash, I guess I must start, I did have some but I spent my last quarter on strawberries at the farmer's market on Thursday. Those looked good. Amelie snuck into the fridge and ate them ALL. And then he went back to sit with the very cute girl he was with. Altruism. I am too cynical for this!

Anyway, so we did the parade and hunt (super cute, photos soon). I met one of Amelie's classmates moms and she basically told me this IS a small town - everyone knows everyone else either by blood or friendship, so be careful what you say. It's not L.A. Funny. Then I hit the Methodist rummage sale (maybe I was an hour too late but that was a bust) on the way home.

And, I miss my dogs. They are back in Phoenix as they couldn't get the hang of timed elimination. Mom and Dad will be fostering them until we are in a more suitable living situation. Aloha oe, Bonnie and Jake, until we meet again.

10 Things to Do in the Dark

No, it's not that kind of list!

Tomorrow is Earth Hour, 8-9 PM. See how much you can turn off! Then, try these things:

WWF Presents: Ten Things to Do in the Dark
Wondering what to do when the lights go out for Earth Hour? Here are ten fun ideas to help you, your family and your friends make a change and make a difference on March 29.

Host a Green Party

Get your friends together for an Earth Hour eco-party. Fire up the flashlights and battery lanterns, serve organic food, avoid the disposable utensils, use natural décor (like flowers and hanging plants) and have a friend provide acoustic music. Talk to your guests about how you’re each reducing your environmental footprint and share ideas and solutions for saving more energy, money and carbon dioxide.

Give Yourself an Energy Makeover

Use Earth Hour to make your home more energy efficient: Replace your old light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs; install power strips (so you can turn computers and electronics on and off more easily); and change your air conditioner filters. Or go one step farther and install one new energy-efficient item, like an EnergyStar qualified DVD player. And on Monday, call your local utility and sign up for green power—like wind, hydro or solar.

Go Green with Your Kids

Earth Hour is a perfect time to talk to your kids about the environment and why we need to protect our planet from the dangers of climate change. Check out books on the environment from the library and read by flashlight, or head into the yard and have a night picnic. Or how about a night of board games? There are even Earth Hour kids’ activities you can download at www.earthhour.org.

Do a Recyclables Scavenger Hunt

Get your flashlights and scour your cabinets and shelves for cans, bottles and cardboard (like cereal boxes) that you don't normally recycle. Make a list of all the non-recyclable containers you’re using now (like plastic shopping bags and butter tubs), and figure out ways to reduce your consumption of items that end up in landfills. One easy tip: get reusable grocery bags...and reuse them!

Green That Workspace!

Working the night shift? Even if you can’t turn off all the lights at work, look around and see what you can unplug, turn down or use less of (like consuming less paper by printing double-sided). Every day millions of computer screens and speakers are left on overnight—shut ‘em off! And talk to your coworkers about what they can do to help make a difference too.

Involve Your Local Leaders

If your city or town isn't already hosting an Earth Hour event, ask your local government to set up a community "green" discussion in a public building from 8 to 9 p.m. on March 29. Help organize attendance by reaching out to local environmental and community groups, and come prepared to ask your leaders what they’re doing to make your city greener.

Clean Up Your Neighborhood

Grab a flashlight and take a long walk through your neighborhood, picking up trash and recyclables as you go. It's a great chance to do some stargazing too!

Unplug and Chill Out

Most of our daily activities—like watching TV, shopping online and texting friends—require loads of electricity, but do we really need to do so much stuff all the time? Take one hour for yourself to just chill...turn off the screens, put down the handheld devices and just take some "you" time to reflect, read or talk to your family. After all, why do more when you can do less?

Take Your Temperature

Your thermostat and your refrigerator are responsible for a huge portion of your carbon footprint. If you lower your thermostat by just 2 degrees and set your fridge to 37° F. and the freezer at 0° F., you'll make a big difference.

Make a Pledge for the Planet

Earth Hour shouldn't end at 9:01 pm—it's a chance to take a first step toward lowering your overall impact on the environment. So use part of that hour to make a personal pledge to do more—recycle, drive less often, remember to turn off or unplug electronics, and beyond. The only way we're going to stabilize our climate is if we make real changes in our everyday lives. That change begins with Earth Hour, and ends with a healthy planet.

Yes, finally, pictures!

Sorry, all, I have been technically challenged these last weeks, and though I have been online, it is company equipment which I can't upload onto. So I finally dug up the necessary infrastructure to get my photos online. Here are the ones I took of the empty-and-therefore-spacious-appearing house before we filled it chock full of our sh*t. And you should just SEE the stuff we left in Phoenix!! Yeesh!

I hope to have more about the lovely and scenic El Segundo on here soon. And we found out that indeed, parts of town smell bad, but not our part.

On the Carbon Tax

"Free market" solutions to pollution have always been a problem because the costs of pollution are not part of the market, instead, they are borne by society without costs to the polluter. So, there lies the need for a carbon tax. Policy makers in many cases have already moved on from that fact to the issue of what to do with the revenues. But, if a carbon tax is doing what it should, it's a tax you should never want to collect. For more, an enlightening article from the NYT Op Ed Page is here.

Just a couple of things...

Hi from Sunny California!

This is just too good (thanks, laist.com)!

And Battlestar is coming back, fools! Rent the DVDs now & thank me later. Watch this to see why you must watch this show. You must watch this show!!

And also, the cast doing last night's Top 10 on Letterman here.

NYT Quote O' The Day

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"The problem is time. There just isn’t enough time. Men won’t spend a whole day away from their family anymore."
WALTER HURNEY, a real estate developer, on the decline of golf.

Earth Hour 2008

Lights Out, 3/29/08, 8 PM.


Generic e-mail w/the link:
I just signed up to the new Earth Hour website for 2008 and I thought you might like to take a look and possibly sign up too. Earth Hour is on 29 March 2008 at 8pm, and it looks like it's going to be really big. So far, as well as Sydney, there'll also be Chicago, Tel Aviv, Manila, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Brisbane and Toronto all turning off their lights for an hour in the name of fighting global warming. And I'm sure there'll be more cities by March. Sign up for Earth Hour with me by visiting http://www.earthhour.org/user/s6vR and join the movement.

Yeah, baby!!

Let's hope this is one long-coming sequel that George Lucas didn't screw up!!

Going to California

Well, pretty officially now, Amelie and I will be joining Greg in L.A., specifically in El Segundo. Now, El Segundo is an odd little town.


View Larger Map

Note it is happily situated adjacent to LAX. The other mud-colored areas on the map are the L.A. wastewater treatment plant on the coast and a Chevron refinery to the south. Despite this (or because of it?) there is this great little town. It has clean coastal air (they have really worked on the smell issues), the BEST schools, no traffic, a great tiki bar, independent coffee shops, good Thai food, and the walk score for this house is 89 (my current house is 54 and I think that's too generous by half).

We're hoping to be out there by the end of the month, if all goes well! Here's hoping, anyway!

Obama is the guy

We saw Barack Obama in Phoenix on Wednesday. He was inspirational. The energy was palpable. I'm actually excited about his candidacy. I went back and read this article by the late, great Molly Ivins on why she would not be supporting Hillary, and it still rings true. So I am for Obama. We'll see what happens Tuesday. I would support her over any Republican (and take it from an Arizonan, McCain may be no conservative to some, but he is certainly no moderate). Would I be sorry about a split vote resulting in a floor fight ending in a Gore nomination? No, I'll admit that would be a dream scenario for me. However, Barack Obama is an exciting candidate and I think that his candidacy will signal the new direction I think that America is desperate for. Vote Obama!

Dump Your E-Hog Xmas lights

If you, like me, have a bag of old fashioned Christmas lights (my C-7, C-9, and even icicle lights are HISTORY) that you just can't bring yourself to throw away, here is your chance. HolidayLEDs.com will recycle them for you for free, you just have to pay postage. They have to be postmarked by January 31, but you can send them parcel post, so that may not cost you too much. Or, take them apart yourself, I hear that the scrap metal market is way hot right now. But do NOT give them to Goodwill, because someone will use them as Christmas lights (duh) thus negating any positive benefit you hoped to achieve by replacing your guzzly bulbs in the first place.

Oh, and also, a tip for next year- Greg disliked the cold, bluish lights our LEDs gave off, so I used squares of red and white tissue paper on top and secured them with the tiny rubber bands used for girls' braids (the Goody area of your drug store will have them) which made the light far more pleasant. It only took me about an hour and a half to do 150 lights. The packaging said not to cover the bulbs, but they burn so cool that with supervision I think the risk is minimal.

We took a nice brief trip to Seattle over New Year's - we're thinking about maybe moving up there some day (?) and the Stevensons were soooo nice to put up with us for a few days and even show us around town. So, a big thanks to Amy, Matt, Liam & Lochlan. You guys so rock. We had a great time, depite the C-O-L-D!! This is a video of A. on the Seattle Monorail during our whirlwind act-like-a-tourist day.

MY Prius!!

OK, no photos of the actual yet but FINALLY I got one. Loooove it!!

And ALREADY I found myself being one of those overbearing you-won't-believe-my-mileage people at a kid's birthday party yesterday. Is there a reason it rhymes with "pious"? Whatever, it's cool!

Cute polar bears

My aunt sent me an e-mail with misattributed pictures of Knut the Berliner polar bear. Cute! Looking for the proper link, I found this game. As treehugger says, you can use it to jump start a convo with your own youguns re global warming and all that. But it's just fun. Merry!

World clock

This actually gave me vertigo, a little bit.

Help Wildlife this Christmas

Order an adoption from Defenders of Wildlife by Saturday and save 10% with code KID10.

Choose your favorite species and doom the ugly ones to extinction (just kidding)!

Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die?

Frrrrrraaaaaaacccccckkkk.......

We're Number 75

Wood is number 75 of most common surnames (I would have guessed higher, actually)...but up 3 from 1990, interestingly. Try your name here. This is why I hyphenate. Well, that, and I CAN, because I am not chattel. Thank you.

Save These Dolphins (Hayden Rawks)

Anyone notice I have gone a little YouTube crazy?

So they announced yesterday that Hayden Panettiere (the cheerleader of "save the.." fame from NBC's Heroes) has a warrant out for her arrest in Japan for trying to stop a dolphin hunt last month. In this day and age, where so many young celebs' only noteworthy actions are crotch flashes and trips to rehab, I really have to admire her.

So, here's the video (graphic & sad, be WARNED):


And, NOW:

Write to the Japanese Embassy and urge them to stop the yearly slaughter of thousands of dolphins!

We can put pressure on Japan and help bring a stop to this cruel tradition, it just takes a second:
http://takeaction.oceana.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=17309

Those Subversive Long-Hairs

Today's offering: "Pleasant Valley Sunday", The Monkees

The local rock group down the street
Is trying hard to learn their song
Seranade the weekend squire, who just came out to mow his lawn

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Rows of houses that are all the same
And no one seems to care

See Mrs. Gray she's proud today because her roses are in bloom
Mr. Green he's so serene, He's got a t.v. in every room

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land
Mothers complain about how hard life is
And the kids just don't understand

Creature comfort goals
They only numb my soul and make it hard for me to see
My thoughts all seem to stray, to places far away
I need a change of scenery

Ta Ta Ta...

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday...


See? Even then, they knew the 'burbs sucked.

The Best Bags

Obviously now everyone knows the correct answer to "Paper or plastic?" is "Neither." I have had the same string grocery bags since 1995 and I love those, don't get me wrong, but I don't know how many times I have been caught without them (too many). So that is why I am CRAZY about are these bags I got at Claire's, the accessory store at the mall, of all places. They were $1 with any purchase and they are fantastic! They're made out of umbrella-material nylon and they pack away into a teeny tiny tote bag. I just saw them recently and they were about $6 now, still in a bin by the register. They have a variety of colors if rainbow polka dots are to chicky for you. I keep them in my purse and I am never, ever without a bag anymore.

A Little Perspective, Please

Actual video of "Earthrise" and "Earthset" from the moon. Very cool!

Go See This Guy

OK, kinda late now, but a week ago we saw this guy who does a one-man show of all three original Star Wars movies (yeah, 4-6, WHATEVER!! 1 to 3, you are DEAD to me). The whole show is one hour and FUNNY. We scored discount tix at showup.com. What I don't get is that Greg and I bought before Jamie and his friend and yet they were two rows in FRONT of us? WTF? Oh well, small theater, it was actually the top half of the former IMAX at the Scottsdale Galleria. That place didn't get anything right, eh?

The show plays until the 11th and after that he travels, look for him at a theater not far, far away.

Good News for Oregon

When we first visited Oregon in November of 2004, they had just passed measure 37 which was what is commonly referred to as 'takings legislation' which heavily restricts the ability of government to regulate property by zoning. Most people, when you talk to them about it, like zoning, as they don't want a factory or motel built in that nice empty lot across from their house. But on the surface, Americans, a freedom-loving bunch, viscerally connect with the notion that people should be able to do what they want with their land, and with ballot measures, a lot of times it's the visceral that wins out.

Which brings us to the present day. Yesterday Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved measure 49 which strictly curtails the effects of 37 and will hopefully keep the worst consequences of the former measure from taking place. A lot of that will depend on the courts. The story says this was an expensive and vicious fight, so it's nice to see that the good guys won. Yay, Oregon!

Jamie's photos from the party last weekend

Here's Jamie's version of the Pirates of the Carribean ride skeleton (rags blowing, wheel turning - nice effect):

Our host Random Jedi Jamie and his gal Dawn of Gryffindor:


The annual and each year more elaborate Pirate Bar hosted by Greg:

Such cuties - Amelie, Eleanor, and Eileen:

Alex, me (pirate/coctail waitress), Greg (pirate/bartender), Connie, Irene, and Vik:

Fun party. Grownups are so silly.

Joss is back!

FINALLY Joss Whedon is doing a new show! Joss is the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly/Serenity. He's teaming up with Eliza Dushku (Faith on Buffy) for a show due next fall by the name of "Dollhouse". Let's hope that it lands on a network that will give it a chance before dropping it (Fox - looking at you). For lots of discussion on all things Whedon, try Whedonesque.com.

And while I am on the topic of TV news, The Amazing Race is back on Sunday (against the Simpson's Treehouse of Horror - boo!) and at least some of the teams espouse the hippies' race phil-osophy, so let's hope it's a good one.

Hard Sun

On the soundtrack of Sean Penn's new move "Into the Wild", Eddie Vedder covers (yes, covers) a 1989 tune by the name of "Hard Sun" from the band Indio of Toronto. It took some digging to find it. If you were listening to alternative radio in the late 80's as we were lucky enough to have here with KUKQ, you may have heard it, too. Some wonderful person has posted it here. Listen!

Oh, and on a side note, in another one of those god-I-feel-old moments last month, my nephew Kiefer (18) and I were listening to his Fall Out Boy cd and they covered "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division. And I had to explain who Joy Division was...and who New Order was (is?). Ugh!

More on the World Without Us

I was just checking out their web site, and it's really cool. The multimedia art on NYC is neat, and this week's journal post is of an exchange of the author with the formal local Sierra Club staffer, Raena Honan (now of Flagstaff), regarding population and the club's policies. Nice.

Plastic Blows

I'm in the middle of reading The World Without Us by Alan Weisman and I just finished the part about our plastics. There is a continent-sized island of plastic in the middle of the Pacific and we don't know if it will EVER go away. There's an article about the plastic graveyard from the SF Chronicle today here. I'm only midway through the book but I highly recommend it. I can also loan it out once I am through so let me know if you are interested. I just need to find it, I left it at the beach place somewhere....

Matching Donations at UNICEF

Double your donation right now at UNICEF. Also, don't forget about Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, you can pick up your boxes at your local Hallmark Gold Crown store or Pier 1.

On Death, Cats, Dr. King, and Hollywood

Saturday morning we were watching Elizabethtown, a Cameron Crowe film starring Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, and Susan Sarandon (who my dad says he had a date with in middle school, but he had no idea she was "that girl" until maybe 5 years ago). Anyway, towards the end of the film Bloom's character drives across America scattering his dad's ashes in various places. Amelie was watching with us and first we had to explain cremation. We related it to our dearly departed cat, Mookie, who sits, cremated, on a shelf in our house, and has for um, 4 years now. We discussed scattering those ashes, but that would just make the house (more) dusty with cat cremains so we offered a funeral. So she cried, briefly, over missing Mookie. Then, there was a scene where he visits the scene of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in Memphis. Amelie was very upset to learn that Dr. King was assassinated (and what that even meant). When I considered the appropriateness of our viewing choices that morning, I wasn't really considering the consequences of having to discuss these life issues with a just-turned-5-year-old. So, she cried about that, too, briefly (and I am really not sure how sincerely, she is sooo dramatic sometimes, honestly), and for the next four hours we were fielding questions on the mechanics of the assasination (I had to quickly google to get James Earl Ray's name on my phone at lunch, I admit, but I am LOUSY with names).

Lunch was in NoHo, L.A.-speak for North Hollywood. We trekked up there to check out North Hollywood Scooters, one of the better scooter shops in the country, as the industry mags report it. Nice people, low-key operation. Then, we drove around for a few blocks, saw the liquor store where Cher was mugged in Clueless (NoHo is actually in the Valley), and stopped at Pit Fired Pizza, which was decent.

After that, we toured back into Hollywood and decided to cruise a bit of the famous Mulholland Drive. In retrospect, I was wishing I had a $6 star map, it would have added to the interest a bit. We drove the non-Beverly Hills section (Laurel Cyn to the 101), so it was a bit less intensely populated with the homes of the famous. We did get a nice view of the Hollywood sign which was across the 101 and up another hill from where we were at.

Since we were doing the whole tourist thing that day, we headed to Universal CityWalk, which is like the Universal Studios version of Downtown Disney. At least at DD you can park for 3 hours free and then validate after that. Here it was $10 to park, at a MALL, and the only validation was if you were there for a movie. So lame. We ate at Wolfgang Puck's (it sounds so fancy - it's not, really). Then got ourselves back to the relative quiet of the South Bay.

Do I even need to mention how traffic sucked? By L.A. standards it surely could have been worse - they had the I-5 closed down that weekend, I read about a family that had to wait that out near Anaheim, and the accident was in Santa Clarita by Magic Mountain. If you have ever been there you know these two places are in separate counties. They were parked on the freeway for 5 hours, in the middle of the night. Good god. Living in this place is so not for me.

Blog Action Day

It's the day for everyone to blog for Planet Earth, so first off I want to congratulate Al Gore on his Nobel Peace Prize for his work in raising climate change awareness. Awesome!!

More in a bit.

Mickey's Halloween Treat

We also did the Disneyland Halloween party for Amelie's birthday.

Done! Now time to paint.

They finished and it's nice! Plus, somehow that storm went just to the east of us and missed us by BLOCKS. So now the wood must be painted before the sun kills it. So I set off on a google quest for ecologically-friendly exterior paints (much harder to find than interior), and lo and behold, a nicely priced company, Ecological Paint, is based in Tucson! Here is their site. They say that they can match any color. Cool! Now, to pick some pretty colors....

Just My Luck

NATURALLY, for the first time all month (all summer, practically) that the weather is this:

The one day that my roof looks like this:

Perfect.

Pizza Hut Back on the List

Well, a while back I posted that Pizza Hut's sauce was non-vegetarian. Today our office is ordering in pizza, and of COURSE, it's PH. SO I thought I would get an update as I always hate to turn down free, meatless food! And the good news is, they reformulated, and the sauce is now OK. They don't say where their cheese enzymes come from, but honestly, I usually cross my fingers and hope for the best on that. But anyway, for anyone interested, here's a good resource. I'm thinking about cutting back on my dairy, just to avoid the methane from those dairy cows. We'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I still doubt we'll be regular patrons, too much good local pizza around, but when we're at an airport or on the run, it's good to know we have options.

Incidentally, I am really surprised at the lack of quality pizza in Redondo Beach. You would think that no Italians ever moved to L.A. The pier pizza is O.K. The funniest yet is when we ordered a fresh mozzarella/basil pizza from a place in Torrance and they put that on TOP of the regular cheese. You have GOT to be kidding me!

Sounds too Good to Be True, Right?

I've been watching Living With Ed on HGTV, which is a reality show about Ed Begley, Jr. He is so totally my hero right now. The show is about 1) product promotion for new, green technology, and 2) Ed's wife, Rachelle Carson's resistance to Ed's penny pinching (which so reminds me of my mom and dad). It's amusing though. Anyway, they had solar garden lights on this week and said they would be on the HGTV web site. You can get them cheaper elsewhere, but while I was there checking it out I see that Ed got his solar panels from this place where you don't own them, you are basically setting up a mini utility on your roof. Seems like a fair concept, though, right? It certainly made his neighbor Bill Nye (Science Guy, holla!) jealous. Anyone see a downside here?

Some random photos

This is Kiefer on line for the Matterhorn.K & G on the Tower of Terror with Joe & Patti.

Just a few recent pictures. We continue to make good use of our Disney passes, and here is the ACTUAL Vespa on the Palos Verdes peninsula. 100 MPG - sweet! The pink helmet is mine.

And

Also Amelie's birthday is next weekend....

Playing Around

Did I mention Greg got a Vespa?

"One Bomb Away"

I read this a couple of days ago, but I keep seeing people say that this administration has kept us safe since 9/11, so they must be OK. That's not really what they've been worried about - they have actually been more worried about taking away more of your freedoms. A quote:

"Dick Cheney Chief of Staff David Addington had an idea for getting around all of that. As Jack Goldsmith, the former head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, tells the New York Times, Addington once observed that the White House was just "one bomb away from getting rid of that obnoxious [FISA] court."

Read it here. But hey, if you don't care about freedom....