Rarely do I plug music on my site…it’s just not my thing. But when it comes to friends, I make exceptions. Correction, I’m making ONE exception. Kelly Bauman’s new release “Gomorrah” is going to blow the doors off a whole lot people and make Kelly, well, a big deal. We all have talented friends, we all say, “Oh, she’s going to be huge! Blah, blah…” I try not to make such predictions unless I’m very confident that my jaded perspective isn’t talking. With Kelly, I’ve no compunctions about heralding his arrival.

Go HERE to listen to some tracks (his site is down today, so won’t link there).

Or try out one song right here. Wedding Day

Not EVERYTHING I post about has to be ‘green’ related.

Today I’m extra-special-excited about my photo-pal, Julia Galdo, and her newly remodeled website.
Check out JULIAGALDO.COM right now! Oh, and she’s for hire. Grab her while you can still afford her! She’s in San Francisco, she’s amazing, and, most importantly, she’s TBA (Tod Brilliant Approved - the works of TBA artists are known to appreciate in value nearly twice as quickly as non-TBA artists.)
Song O’ the Day is dedicated to Julia, of course. Enjoy The Bird & The Bee’s “I Hate Camera”. [audio:Camera.mp3]It’s how I feel after I look at her work. . . totally incompetent with my photo gear and inspired.
art, photo, photography

Hot off the presses! A taste of the world’s most important book (no, not the ‘Good Book’), ‘Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress & a Civilization in Trouble’.

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PLAN B BUDGET FOR SAVING CIVILIZATION

http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/Seg/PB2ch13_ss4.htm

Lester R. Brown

Mobilizing to save civilization means restructuring the economy, restoring the economy’s natural support systems, eradicating poverty, and stabilizing population. We have the technologies, economic instruments, and financial resources to do this. The United States has the resources to lead this effort. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University’s Earth Institute sums it up well: “The tragic irony of this moment is that the rich countries are so rich and the poor so poor that a few added tenths of one percent of GNP from the rich ones ramped up over the coming decades could do what was never before possible in human history: ensure that the basic needs of health and education are met for all impoverished children in this world. How many more tragedies will we suffer in this country before we wake up to our capacity to help make the world a safer and more prosperous place not only through military might, but through the gift of life itself?”

It is not possible to put a precise price tag on the changes needed to move our twenty-first century civilization off the overshoot-and-collapse path and onto a path that will sustain economic progress. What we can do, however, is provide some rough estimates of the scale of effort needed.

To fund the needed restructuring of the energy economy, we rely on shifting subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. For meeting our social goals, the additional external funding needed to achieve universal primary education in the more than 80 developing countries that require help is conservatively estimated by the World Bank at $12 billion per year. Funding for an adult literacy program based largely on volunteers will take an estimated additional $4 billion annually. Providing for the most basic health care in developing countries is estimated at $33 billion by the World Health Organization. The additional funding needed to provide reproductive health care and family planning services to all women in developing countries is less than $7 billion a year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Business as usual for the oil monsters.

Read the article here: Chevron Execs are a Bunch of Evil Mother#$%rs

From the article:

Nine Nigerian plaintiffs sued Chevron in federal court in San Francisco in 1999 for deaths and other abuses in two incidents in 1998 and 1999, in which Nigerian military and police using Chevron helicopters and boats shot and tortured protestors and destroyed two villages associated with opposition to Chevron’s oil activities in the desperately poor Niger delta. The judge found that there was evidence that Chevron had assisted its Nigerian subsidiary, known as “CNL,” in these operations, including that Chevron “approved payments from CNL” to the Nigerian security forces and that, “after the attacks, [Chevron] engaged in a media campaign to cover up CNL’s involvement in the attacks.”

Guerilla News Network adds: Chevron is also responsible for the violent repression of peaceful opposition to oil extraction. In Nigeria, Chevron hired private military personnel to open fire on peaceful protestors who oppose oil extraction in the Niger Delta. . . Chevron subsidiary Unocal, in December 2004 settled a lawsuit filed by 15 Burmese villagers, in which the villagers alleged Unocal’s complicity in a range of human rights violations in Burma, including rape, summary execution, torture, forced labor and forced migration.

Of course, this is OLD NEWS AND JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.

Next time you pull up at the Chevron pump, think about who died for your oil - maybe at least take the time to learn their names. Odds are, most eco-blogs have ‘tired’ of talking about the truly evil nature of Big Oil. Instead, they focus only on the economic and environmental impact of Big Oil, completely forgetting the rest of the story, the part of the story that tells exactly how they get away with their destructive actions - through brutal, state-sponsored opression.

Song of the Day = Outkast’s “Gasoline Dreams”. Not the most original pick, I know, but there’s enough anger to the song that it fits a bit. Could have picked “Greed” by Fugazi, I suppose. You can go ahead and hum that one in your head. [audio:oukastgas.mp3]

Well, it looks like Rep. Ron Paul is running away with the victory in my informal 2008 Presidential election poll (see below). This speaks to two things: That Paul’s organization sniffs out every internet lead (smart) and that the eco-sphere isn’t really gearing up yet for 2008. I believe the latter is partly because many of the “sustainability-set” don’t mind being taken for granted, knowing they’ll cast their vote for whatever candidate the Democrats serve up, irrespective of that candidate’s environmental record or position.

While I know that Paul is a staunch Constitutionalist (and this is a very good thing in my eyes - have I mentioned that I have Thomas Jefferson’s profile tattooed on my left thigh?), I don’t know much about his environmental record, position, or agenda. Maybe someone from Paul’s camp will read this and enlighten me.

Yet, to be fair to Paul and the other candidates, they don’t have to have much of an environmental agenda, as voters aren’t pushing for this as a top-five issue. Those who are will be neatly gobbled up by the Democrats, so their voices, no matter how shrill, will be rendered mute by a party whose track record on environmental issues is very mixed, at best. Yes, I can hear the “but they’ve done more than the Republicans” protests even now. And this means, what, exactly?

 UPDATE: Paul seems to have ZERO environmental agenda, judging from early responses by his adherents. Guess we’ll have to keep on looking for a candidate.

Sustainable luxury leather products. Sounds like an oxymoron, no? Not if your name is Larry Olmstead, founder of Entermodal. Not only is Larry recognized as one of the world’s top outdoor bag designers, but he and his wife Holly have a commitment to sustainable design that will push/drag the leather industry toward reducing its environmental impact.

From the newly launched Entermodal website:

…to assist in the assessment of our environmental impacts, we follow the Natural Step Framework, which contextualizes relevant considerations by comparing them across four categories to create a balanced and honest outlook. This process enables us to create yearly goals for improvement and annual reports, both of which facilitate our participation in sustainable industry and education, and provide transparency in our operations.

Aside from Entermodal’s dedication to sustainability, the bags are unparalleled in terms of quality and comfort. I don’t mean they’re simply really good. I mean that one would be hard-pressed to find a leather bag of finer build quality and ergonomic design. In short, Entermodal’s launch is one of great significance in the small but significant leather bag industry, as the company has instantly dethroned, by way of its revolutionary blend of responsible design and patented ergonomic advances, such high-end stalwarts such as Luis Vuitton, Hermes and Prada.

Check out all of Entermodal’s offerings and read up on their design philosophy at www.entermodal.com.

Today, I intoduce you instead to the world’s greatest hip-hop band, GRAND BUFFET (pictured above). These guys give a damn, and were recently rated by “Street Gyrations” magazine the top lyricists in the nation. Oh, and they’re funny as hell. Lyrics from their monster jam “Pink Deadly” are posted below. FYI: “Pink Deadly” was the #2 hit in Luxembourg last year - like I said, they’re the world’s greatest and the only reason they didn’t take the top slot is because the Pope’s son (a whole different story - trust me I have the inside scoop on this juicy bit) runs a record label and greased the payola wheels of Luxembourg’s radio stations and dance halls, offering mafia-supplied cash and access to the Vatican’s secret sex chambers, propelling his pet band, Quick Tricks with an Open Mouth, to the top spot.

PINK DEADLY - GRAND BUFFET

I was thinking of a parable last night, the one with the wise crow

Sitting by the accent light with my exacto
Ears splitting, stereo heat wave emitting

Motivation to move the sharp blade

Down the construction paper page rounding the edges out

Until the lion mask was made

And when the downbeat played I would command

Every ground beef kid and briefcase business man

Twilight comes nightcap lies flat

Over an old bed spread, dreamscapes with hi-hats

Metropolis chitchat, don’t let it brand me

Run along stop eating medicated candy

Charm school regrets bets that I placed and lost

My right arm’s regarded as a saint in ring toss

Spanning the globe on a tanning bed

Wearing a helmet to insulate the bullshit in my head

Driving a Malibu tank through edited scenes

A steady diet of beans and franks and Marines

I’m happening, not meaning in a fashionable sense

But if your car breaks my flight path I’m making a dent

So riddle me this, why is it griddle cakes taste so good,

After a night of capture the flag in the deep woods?

Jaminator pro, Casio rap control

Death by shark attack, that’s my final goal

I seen a monster in my backyard on the swing set

He said, “Sir I’m taking this with me.”

I said, “That’s some bullshit. I’ve got the wherewithal

Got power in my veins, got rugged hands

That stuff belongs to my two kids

I want your ass up off my land.