Fashion fast-forward and beautiful clothes. I blogged about them once here. My love has not subsided. And now they are being sold by Yoox. And Urban Outfitters in Europe. And hopefully lots of other places. Because when I finally re-enter the ranks of consumers with discretionary funds, I would like some Le Mont St Michel waiting for me.
Oh, the perfection that is Steven Alan shirts.
I want to be wearing this Holiday Reverse Seam shirt.
I want to be in NYC smelling dirty city and pine simultaenously as I walk by Soho Garden, the bodega by my old apartment.
I want to be wearing this shirt with grey J. Brands, my black lace up boots and my furry black jacket.
Instead, I am wearing boring jeans, topsiders, a t-shirt and a cardigan, and smelling my co-workers anti-bacterial handwash.
Food, Inc.
So old news to some of you, but last night I finally got to see Food, Inc. I thought the movie was so powerful, and not just because of its portrayal of animal treatment, but because of it’s demonstration of the impact of the food industry on human rights. For instance:
—> Corn artificially subsidized and sold below cost of production.
—> NAFTA puts Mexican corn farmers out of work due to the influx of subsidized corn from the U.S.
—> Jobless Mexican farmers then recruited and bussed to U.S. to work in the U.S. food industry.
—> Illegal Mexican immigrants with no workers rights exploited in dangerous food production operations.
—> Food corporations cooperate with INS to have same exploited immigrant workers deported gradually- 15 at a time so as not to deplete their workforce.
Or, if you prefer to think of things in terms of the American farmer, how about this:
Joe Schmo (don’t remember his name) is a seed cleaner, which means he cleans seeds of debris so they can be reused and planted the following year. Monsanto, the huge corporation that patented soybean seeds that are immune to the effects of their soybean Round Up, decides to make him the black sheep of farmers and accuses him of cleaning their soybean seeds for other farmers (Monstanto requires the seeds to be purchased new every year). He loses his farmer friends of 50 years, because they don’t want to be associated with him. He has to settle out of court, because he can’t afford the lawyer bills. His bank account records for the past 10 years were subpoenaed, allowing Monsanto to go after his clients who may have cleaned Monsanto seeds unbeknown to Joe Schmo.
Ok, so I am rambling and it doesn’t have any depth or meaning here, but you can tell that the whole thing got me thinking at least. :)
Here are Food, Inc.’s “10 Simple Things You Can Do to Change Our Food System.”
1. Stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages.
You can lose 25 lbs in a year by replacing one 20 oz soda a day with a no calorie beverage (preferably water).
2. Eat at home instead of eating out.
Children consume almost twice (1.8 times) as many calories when eating food prepared outside the home.
3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.
Half of the leading chain restaurants provide no nutritional information to their customers.
4. Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks.
Over the last two decades, rates of obesity have tripled in children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years.
5. Meatless Mondays—Go without meat one day a week.
An estimated 70% of all antibiotics used in the United States are given to farm animals.
6. Buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.
According to the EPA, over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S.
7. Protect family farms; visit your local farmer’s market.
Farmer’s markets allow farmers to keep 80 to 90 cents of each dollar spent by the consumer.
8. Make a point to know where your food comes from—READ LABELS.
The average meal travels 1500 miles from the farm to your dinner plate.
9. Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.
Each year, contaminated food causes millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths in the U.S.
10. Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.
Make Christmas Come Early
Hey, bear with me for a sec- this is for real, not just some random email from an ambiguous source. Cynthia is a friend of mine from grad-school. This is her job, and this a real family she is friends with. I plan on getting some cards today at lunch, addressing them, putting a stamp on them and giving them to anyone around me who would like to send one as well. Please read below:
A family friend’s 5 year-old son, Noah, is in his last stages of a 2 ½ year battle with Neuroblastoma cancer. His family wants to make sure they have Christmas together so they’re celebrating this weekend. Noah asked for only 1 gift – to receive Christmas cards in the mail. We’re trying to rally as many people as possible to send cards and we’d like your help. If you or anyone you know would like to send a card, they can be sent to:
Noah Biorkman
1141 Fountain View Circle
South Lyon, MI 48178
Thank you,
Cynthia
Cynthia Obsitnik
Associate Brand Manager, Johnson & Johnson RED CROSS® Portfolio
Hulger Phones are at Green Grass Design. The phone hooks up to your cell phone.
The AC/DC concert last Friday in Jax was so much fun. I can’t claim to be a rockin’ AC/DC girl from back in the day, but I had an awesome time. I loved how there were people from every age group. Check out these two boys dressed as Angus Young. And how about that larger than life blow-up stripper doll straddling a life-size locomotive that crashed on stage with a full pyrotechnic display? Craziness.
Lovely Poster Love
I very much love this screen-print poster by Slide Sideways that was featured on Etsy today, and I need wall decoration. I am really into graphic posters with large, creative fonts, simple but thoughtful messages and great color. This poster has it all!
