GIRLS AND BOYS, tell me you understand my frustration: You buy a disposable razor system, like the Mach 7 by Schtick or Gillette or whatever the razor companies are called. You use it for a few weeks, then find yourself needing new cartridges. At the store, everything looks the same and there is no way in hell you can possibly remember what brand razor you bought. Am I right? I mean, who keeps track of something that ridiculous? Is there really a difference? In terms of a shave, no. In terms of what cartridge fits with what razor, you betcha there is. If you’re like me, you just grab a pack that looks familiar. Then you get home and find that you bought the Quattro or the wrong Mach number and your new $12 pack of razors doesn’t fit the handle. Believe me, I’ve done this a number of times. Then I toss the handle, and buy a new one as the handles cost less than new razors. From an environmental point of view, it’s all destined for the landfill and it’s terrifically wasteful.

THIS TIME I got fed up. This morning I found myself with another mismatch. And I needed a shave badly. So rather than waste more money supporting Gillette (a company who snaps surreptitious photos of unsuspecting shoppers: LINK), I decided to craft myself an all-purpose handle. Out of a stick. With a knife.

Here’s how the difficult process went:

1. I walked around outside until I found a stick. Took about 45 seconds.

2. I picked up a paring knife and removed a notch from the stick. About two minutes, including the minor hack job on the cartridge itself.
3. Shoved stick and cartridge together.

4. Cemented relationship with non-toxic chemical-free animal glue from free range, biodynamically-grown grass fed cows.

And you know what? It works absolutely fine. My skin is smooth and soft, same as with a plastic and chrome job. And far more biodegradable. Even has a nice little grip and a curving arc so as not to sit flat in the soap dish (stays dry this way). Entire process took about six minutes. Cost me not a penny.I don’t know if I’m ever going back to the branded shaver handles. Why should I?

Song o’ the Day is awarded to DJ QBert for “Razorblade Alcoholic Slide”. Click and rock:

Okay, so this is off topic, but I’m very, very curious about a company called ORENDA INTERNATIONAL. Their website is straightforward (www.orendainternational.com), with details about their anti-aging and immune system products. I do know that it’s a direct marketing company and while I’ve no interest in this aspect, I do want to know about the products they offer, as I can find ZERO INFORMATION on the web. Mind you, this is a BILLION dollar company. No Wikipedia entry. No blog entries to speak of. No product reviews. No criticisms. No endorsements. The web has been scrubbed clean somehow of Orenda information.

As it stands, the ONLY SOURCE of information on their products is on the their website. That’s some very, very, very slick marketing–how do they do it? I’ve never seen this achieved before. Can anyone out there clue me in as to how this is possible?

Does this strike anyone else as odd? NOTHING in Google Groups. No references in any medical boards. No web-based entries outside of direct marketing sales info. Yet, they’re selling millions and millions of dollars worth of ingestable product.

Before trying a product, wouldn’t you want to find some info from independent parties? I do. So I need some help. There’s something odd going on here. . .

UPDATE: I’ve received an email from a former Orenda user who tells me that she has discontinued use due to concerns that Orestra is actually Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is noted for its potential side effects, including the possibility (seen in lab rats) of ACCELERATING the aging process despite initial gains. I’ve queried her as to the source of her concerns, but have yet to hear back. Another site visitor concluded that, as Orenda’s products are not under FDA jurisdiction, they could be marketing HGH under the Orenda brand name. That’s two people with similar concerns within 24 hours of posting. Very interesting. I’m not going to say that Orenda is HGH, as there is no proof of this. However, I would like to know what, exactly, it is!

Oh, their Marketing Director, Kindra McGrane, voted Democrat in 2004. This is the ONLY information I’ve been able to find about the company outside their website.

UPDATE #2: Clearly, no independent studies of Orenda’s ingredients or the longterm effects of their products exist. Taking this product constitutes a roll of the dice, especially given the numerous studies which indicate huge risks are associated with growth hormones. Now, Orenda may be on to something special here, as their product is a ’stimulator’ and may thus avoid the side effects. However, there is no proof of this. The company is owned and run by marketing people, not health experts. Read the comments below. The supporters all spout identical, robotic sales talk. CONCLUSION: AVOID ORENDA until they allow independent testing or until you’ve read up completely on Human Growth Hormones and the associated risks. If you’re willing to then pop a mystery pill, that’s your choice.

Which nation is going to lead the global “sustainable revolution”? While I’m well aware that this revolution is a pipe dream, with ‘leaders’ like Clinton and Obama (both are total fucking disasters who mirror perfectly the ignorance of their ‘liberal’ constituency) in love with tar sands and liquid coal, it’s a fun thought experiment.
As a citizen of the United States, I tried to envision a revolution lead by Old Glory. But then it hit me: Her glory days are over. In fact, after doing a bit of research, I’ve come to the conclusion that the U.S. is no longer a first world nation. Here’s what I found:

INFANT MORTALITY RATE: The United States is not only last among first world nations, it’s way down the list in the middle of the second-tier nations at #37. Nestled between Croatia and New Caledonia, the United States is decidedly second rate when it comes to taking care of its newborns. (Source: U.N. World Populations Prospects: 2006)

LIFE EXPECTANCY: What do you think? U.S. ranks top five? Top ten? Not even top twenty. According to the U.N., the U.S. has fallen to #38, just above Portugal and Slovenia. First world nations ring in consistently with life expectancies three years longer than the U.S.. Could it be the water? The PVC? The complete lack of monitoring of our food supply for carcinogens, heavy metals and other nasty shit that isn’t allowed in the E.U.? Nah, it’s our health care system that Hillary will fix. Ahem.

PRESS FREEDOM: An important indicator for so many reasons. Here, the United States ranks #44, behind Namibia, South Africa, Benin and forty other nations. (Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2005). We in the U.S. take it for granted that our press is a shining example of freedom and democracy, but we rarely examine this notion for truth.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: The U.N. measures Human Development using a fancy metric that combines longevity, literacy and GDP. Norway, Sweden and Australia top this list, with the U.S. coming in at number eight. Not too bad, but certainly lower than most U.S. citizens would expect. (Source: U.N. Human Development Report 2004)

LITERACY: According to the International Adult Literacy Survey, the mean prose literacy scores of U.S. adults with a high school diploma or GED (but no college), ranked 18th (tie) out of 19 countries. That’s awesome!!! A nation of semi-literates is expected to lead the green revolution? I think not.

EDUCATION: Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree. Twenty years ago, the U.S. ranked first in both categories. This marks a RAPID slide. Just wait another twenty years! (Source: OECD.org)

++

So, there you have it. When it comes to leading the revolution, we’re better off looking at Norway, Sweden, Japan, the E.U.. The time for U.S. leadership has come and gone. What’s more, I think this is a good thing for the world. The Greeks and French–both second-tier nations–for example, have solid quality of life. And neither nation tries to hold the U.N. over a barrel when things aren’t going their way. A less dominating United States with a diminished consumer appetite will be a blessing. Sadly, I doubt we’ll slip a few rungs without trying to take down the rest of the world with us (this is exactly what is happening in the Middle East).

Maybe Gore should run for office in Norway, where he can do some good.

Technorati Tags: climate change, ipcc, united nations

The teens, they aren’t buying into the ‘green thing’, but they sure are BUYING!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/homestyle/07/31/student.luxury.ap/index.html

Given that they are the next gen voters, if they’re lost, we’re lost.

You must have heard of Pinkberry (LINK) by now. The ubiquitous yogurt shop that is popping up all over Los Angeles and Manhattan. They serve two flavors, the classic which is just Japanese yogurt/calpis/calpico/yakuruto-flavor and then green tea which, though I haven’t tried it is supposed to vaguely resemble green tea flavorings.
I held out, not wanting to endorse yet another new fast food chain, but finally knuckled under last week while walking around Venice, California. Technically, Andi knuckled under and I’ve still yet to support this ‘worst-of-all-things-generically-asian-pop-culture’-styled junk food shop.
What I noticed first and foremost is that EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING in Pinkberry is disposable. Every cup, spoon, napkin, fixture. Not exactly atypical for fast food, but also not exactly responsible. Especially when coupled with the fact that there are NO RECYCLE CONTAINERS AT PINKBERRY!
I asked the pyt behind the counter if I could recycle our container, as well as the heap of plastic and paper spilling out of the garbabe container.

No dice.

Okay, but what about your business recycle. You must have recycling out back in a recycle bin, right? Can I take my container and spoon out there.

We don’t recycle AT ALL.

Ouch. A brand new business, opening in the age of environmental hyper-awareness, and it makes ZERO effort to do the right thing.

If YOU give a damn about your world, find a dessert shop that at least shares your commitment. Handing Pinkberry your money is a bad, bad idea.

Oh, and I got an extra treat when I walked in with my vintage Polaroid land camera. It was pointed out to me that there is a big NO CAMERAS sticker on the door. As if someone is going to capture their secret formula.

To sum it up, Pinkberry is:
Paranoid.

Irresponsible.

Environmentally unconcerned.

Flavor-free.

Expensive.

NOT yogurt. (check out the lawsuit (LINK))

Overall, I’d have to say Pinkberry is incredibly overrated. If you’re a fan, do let me know just what excites you about this new junk food chain. Is it more their contribution to the waste stream or is Pinkberry’s willingness to help you put on a few more pounds?

Song O’ the Day is SHUGGIE OTIS’ “Sweet Thang”. You have to know Shuggie.

los angeles, pinkberry, polaroid, recycle, shuggie otis, venice, yogurt

!CALENTAMIENTO GLOBAL!

Most of you know that it’s 2007. A great portion of you know that we need to reduce global greenhouse emissions 90% by 2030 if we’ve any hope of stabilizing runaway global temperatures. Here in the United States, instead of working together to achieve these goals, we politicize the subject (thanks, Al! thanks, George!), meaning we make it a whole lot harder to achieve a national consensus on what steps we need to take. This is a problem that is close to insurmountable, but I’m a closet optimist, so I think that, with the help of a new political party and a series of crippling general strikes, we’ll get there! Is Eugene Debs running in ‘08? (Perhaps three of you got a chuckle out of this.)

But even this problem of politicization of a fundamentally nonpartisan issue is, I think, secondary to a massive and largely ignored language and cultural barrier. Specifically, while the U.S. “CAUTION: GLOBAL WARMING” chorus continues to swell in number and volume, it delivers its message almost exclusively in English. Given that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (LINK), the Hispanic population is going to be responsible for nearly 50% of the U.S. population growth between now and 2030, this is something we need to fix immediately. Some forward thinkers, like the Earth Policy Institute (LINK), responsible for the publication of Lester Brown’s seminal “Plan B 2.0″ (think “Inconvenient Truth” but with ANSWERS: LINK) are publishing their output in dozens of languages, but a direct targeting of the U.S. hispanic population by everyone (including yours truly) is required.
As of 2007, the eco-community is overwhelmingly white-midde/upper class. By 2030, over half the Western United States will be non-white. We won’t achieve our reduction goals unless we expand our ranks to include a representative slice of the population and citizenry.

If the eco-community doesn’t start making websites (Grist, Treehugger, Worldchanging, etc), and if Hollywood doesn’t start making films that at least partially cater to the surging populace of Hispanics in the United States, their critical messages will not reach the population that is making itself, each day, more and more of a powerful consumer and voter force. As a result, we’ll all be poached (LINK).

Song o’ the Day = Baja La Luna Mexicana by Concrete Blonde. Do you remember it? I have a real soft spot for this one . . .

Technorati Tags: earth policy institute, eugene debs, greenhouse emissions, hollywood, lester brown, treehugger

See that washed out mugshot? That’s me. All in all, I’d say my life is pretty good. I live in a nice place with nice people and we all try to do nice things. I enjoy what I do - working to help people and companies increase the sustainability (oh the quagmire of the definition of this word!) of their activities. I have an amazing family. I am part of the small percentage of the global population who doesn’t have to daily fear war, famine, disease and myriad assorted brutalities. Believe me, I am every day grateful for each of these things.

Yet.

This business of every moment trying to do the right thing for the global community can be a bit of a ball and chain. I can be a bit of a buzzkill around family and friends with my “Is there chicken stock in the soup?” or “Sorry, I can’t come to that fabulous event because the sponsor company supports Arctic drilling.” My penchant for screening all consumer purchases with tools like Alonovo (LINK: ALONOVO.COM) and analyzing origin source and chemical properties of my foodstuffs certainly allays some of the instant gratification that would otherwise be associated with consumption. With family in Hawaii and Australia, I worry about how to visit them now that I’ve sworn off jet travel (LINK: JETS SUCK). While I endorse a move back to the 55-MPH speed limit as a way to cut oil consumption and reduce emissions, I know damned well that I will chafe at the bit. With a four-year-old son (LINK: Justice Brilliant) to whom I feel great pressure to act a perfect role model, the heat is on to lead by example.

If you’re slogging through this waiting for a nugget of profundity, I’m sorry to disappoint. The only thing I have to say is: It’s awfully hard to do the right thing even when doing so means only giving up luxuries that were inconceivable as little as fifty years ago. I’ve been conditioned to expect easy comforts: instant heat, year-round blueberries, hourly flights to New York. Educating myself that these comforts are not only trivial but harmful is one thing. I can accept this academically and even spout my newfound education with much passion. Practicing what I preach? Not impossible, but more difficult every day.

Do you wrestle with similar issues?

Song o’ the Day is my personal theme song. “Be Thankful for What You’ve Got” by William DeVaughn. It’s in my top ten, all time.

alonovo, climate change, eco-buzzkill, jet travel, william devaughn

The corn used to produce the ethanol needed to fill a 12-gallon Prius tank will feed a person for Sudan for six months.

Just something to think about.

Technorati Tags: ethanol, prius, sudan

You’re in college. You see the world going to hell in a handbasket. You’re really into composting and gardening. One day you decide to start a wee company that produces organic plant food, using worm poop as the basic goodness.

“Inspired by a box of worms, they had a dream: a company could be financially successful while being ecologically and socially responsible.”

That’s pretty much how TerraCycle started. A few years later and TerraCycle is a small but thriving business. Pretty remarkable, quite ingenious, and more than a little inspiring to people looking to create their own ecologically responsible business model.However. . .

The shit disturbers over at the Scotts Miracle Gro (a $3 BILLION company) have now SUED little TerraCycle claiming that TerraCycle’s packaging remotely resembles theirs. Both packages have round caps. Both have some yellow in them. And both are printed primarily in English using sand serif fonts. Oh, and most importantly - they both say “PLANT FOOD” on the front. All in all, I’d say they resemble each other about as much as Paris Hilton resembles beauty or intelligence - very , very little.

In short, this is utter bullshit. You can help TerraCycle by visiting THIS PAGE.

You try to do something good, and The Man (in this case, the douche bag CEO of Scotts, Jim Hagedorn) picks up a 2×4, pounds a few rusty nails in the end, and takes a mighty swing at your head - all while you’re sleeping, having been knocked out by the Ambien his lackeys slipped into your peppermint tea.

Song ‘o the Day goes out to everyone at TerraCycle.

“Earthworm Pt. 2″ by the Make Up. Click play and dig the dub.

Technorati Tags: terracyle, jim-hagedorn, miracle-gro, inconvenient-life, gardening

This evening, late though it is for me (no, really, my eyes are drooping even though I’ve had iced tea and I never have iced tea because caffeine and I just don’t mix - don’t tell anyone but I think it gives me gas), I have something which one or two or three or four or five or more of you may find interesting (note that I did NOT choose the easy rhyme of ‘four or more’ but I point it out nonetheless).

What is it, Tod, that you have for me, you ask?

It’s on page 42 and 43 and 44 and 45 or so of Kurt Vonnegut’s last bit of whimsy, “A Man Without a Country.” Go buy it. You can get the paperback so it won’t break your bank. Besides, you waste too much money on booze and eating out, don’t you? Tomorrow night, why not invite your friends over to your place for drinks? It’s Wednesday (the day that fantastic things happen), much more sociable, the liquor is far cheaper (Bev Mo always has sales) and besides, you’re not really going to get laid if you go out to a bar, are you? And if you do, what of the quality? Ever asked a happy couple, Wheredya two meet? and hear “At a bar” as a response? If you have, you’re hanging out with some scary people and you need to just . . . walk . . . away. Come on, my friend. Buck up and try the at-home-social hour. It can be really fun. Especially if you have marbles. Do you know how to play marbles? With the chalk circle and the shooters? Ye olde timers call real marble-maestros “mibsters”. You can learn about this and so much more at the Marble Museum? I’m telling you, there are some swift-looking bits o’ glass at which to gander at the Marble Museum. When you’re finished learning about Vitro Agates and the like, you’ll be well-prepared for having the pals over to your place.

Slap me. I’m going on about nothing. It’s the fart-inducing tea, I swear to god.

From KV’s book, reprinted entirely w/out permission (forgive the typos as I’ve been using a typewriter a lot lately and the switch back to the keyboard is a bit jarring and I’m much to lazy at present to correct miskeys. do you forgive me, sweetest of sweet loves?):

“. . . my car back then, a Studebaker as I recall, was powered, as are almost all means of transportation and other machinery today, and electric power plants and furnaces, by the most abused, addictive, and destructive drugs of all: fossil fuels.

When you got here, even when I got here, the industrialized world was already hopelessly hooked on fossil fuels, and very soon now there won’t be any left. Cold turkey. Can I tell you the truth? Here’s what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we’re hooked on. . .

Yes and we are presently touching off nearly the very last whiffs and drops and chunks of them (fossil fuels). All lights are about to go out. No more electricity. All forms of transportation are about to stop, and the planet Earth will soon have a crust of skulls and bones and dead machinery.

And nobody can do a damned thing about it. It’s too late in the game.

Don’t spoil the party, but here’s the truth: We have squandered our planet’s resources, including air and water, as though there were no tomorrow, so now there isn’t going to be one. So there goes the Junior Prom, but that’s not the half of it. ”

Told you I found something good. Good old, dead Kurt. He knew. He knows. His nose knew and continues to grow or is that your nails and that’s only if he hasn’t been cremated. Does anyone know if Vonnegut was cremated?

If I had my songs with me, the Song O’ the Day would very much be “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant (he had a nice post-E.A. career, founded his own studio “Ice Blue” or something like that down in Barbados or T&T or some island nation that makes rum. Far from a one-hit-wonder, Mr. Grant). Not only because it’s appropriate, but because the apartment in which I am holed up is on the flip side of Abbot Kinney from Electric Avenue in Venice, California. I tried to take a Polaroid of the sign for posting somewhere online but it came out too dark. Correction, I didn’t try to take a picture, I did take a picture, I simply failed to take a good picture. Kind of like tonight at the Miranda July reading at which I not only invaded Ms. July’s space with my camera and awkwardness, but took a pair of middling shots.

Ah well. I never went to Junior Prom. Three high schools in three years spared me that particular bit of spectacle (RIP Raoul Vaneigem).

**bonus points and a free gift by mail for anyone who gets the obscure title reference***

climate-change, eddy-grant, fossil-fuels, kurt-vonnegut, miranda-july, negativland, raoul-vaneigm