F Bush

OK it's a cheap shot, but I couldn't resist going out for the long weekend on this lovely portrait of W made entirely out of pieces of porn magazines by Jonathan Yeo. Apparently the Bush Library commissioned him to make a portrait, but after they canceled his services Yeo decided to forge ahead and create one anyway. For detail views (which are definitely NOT work safe) go here.

via Juxtapoz

PARK(ing) Day: September 21

Started in San Francisco in 2005, PARK(ing) Day is now an international event of small proportions. City dwellers worldwide are encouraged to build a mini-park in a parking spot to draw attention to how streets are utilized and the lack greenspace in urban areas. Find out more and directions for making your own Park(ing) Space here.

Thanks Mim!

Clothesline Activism

It may seem ridiculous, but homeowners in many areas are actually restricted from doing a simple activity that can help the environment while saving money and energy. Yep, the old fashioned clothesline has been banned in communities across the US as an ugly blight on neighborhoods (and more specifically on property values). Happily there are some folks that are working change the situation. Project Laundry List is spreading the word about the benefits of air drying and the bigger issue of unsustainable energy consumption, while working to change the laws that prohibit drying clothes outside. Find out more and how to get involved here.

Stop The Bullets. Kill The Gun

A simple, striking commercial from the UK based Choice FM...



via ID United

Blog Action Day: October 15th

There a lot of talk about the power that bloggers wield, so the folks behind Blog Action Day decided to test it out. Their simple plan: to have as many bloggers as possible post about environmental issues on October 15th. Will it make a difference? Wait and see or participate and see. More info here.

Open Source Restaurants?

In a move rare in the commercial restaurant arena the UK based Pret a Manger chain, which sells preservative-free foods is now offering it's recipes to the public...for free. Download a wide selection of soups, sandwiches, and deserts here.

Thanks Mica!

Corporate Vandals

Corporate Vandals Not Welcome has a clear agenda: treat advertisers who use the guerrilla style advertising that mimics graffiti as the vandals that they really are. Their site gives a concise overview of the reasons behind the campaign and images of their work.

via Anti-Advertising Agency

Iraq War Soldiers + Blogs = Peace?

Members of the Iraq Veterans Against the War speak out about the power of blogging at the recent Yearly Kos convention...




For more on the event read "Iraq: The 'Gift' That Keeps On Giving" from the Center for Media and Democracy.

New York Times on the Problem with Organic Certification

A recent New York Times article "How to Add Oomph to 'Organic'" talks about the dismal reality of the current organic certification program:

THE organic industry has gone wild in the last decade, but you wouldn’t know it at the Department of Agriculture. Despite year after year of double-digit growth, organics receive a pittance in financing and staff attention at the department, which is responsible for writing regulations about organics and making sure that they are upheld.

The National Organic Program, which regulates the industry, has just nine staff members and an annual budget of $1.5 million. A Florida real estate developer named Maurice Wilder received more than that in farm subsidies in 2005, some $1,754,916, to be exact, according to a subsidy database maintained by the Environmental Working Group.

Read the entire article here (login required).

Not again.

When the current Iraq war started someone (I wish I could remember who) told me that we would see Iran targeted for a war next, and apparently, according to FOX, that time has arrived...

Kevin Nealon is NOT a vegetarian.

While I'm generally not a fan of PETA's marketing tactics, this new video featuring actual vegetarian Kevin Nealon (from Weeds and SNL) is quite entertaining...



You can also seen an amusing PETA interview with Mr. Nealon here.

Thanks Mica!

The truth about Ronald McDonald.

This image has been around for a while, but I just ran into it the other day, and it's satisfying to me on so many levels. I wonder what Miss McDonald has been up to this last couple of years.

via DieYoungAndSaveYourself

Shopdropping: Call for Entries

Ryan Watkins-Hughes from Shopdropping.net sends this Call for Entries (too bad I'm too old to participate!)...

SHOPDROPPING.NET is currently seeking 20 artists in their twenties for
a new project that will consist of an upcoming book and exhibition. 20/20
will profile each artist and copies of the limited edition book will
be shopdropped into bookstores throughout the world.

In the spirit of shopdropping, we are seeking artists who are
exploring new forms and pushing boundaries within their field. Bands
and musicians with hard to define genres, Internet filmmakers and
compulsive bloggers, curators and gallerists working out of their
homes, post-vinyl dj's and digital vj's, actors and writers working
outside of film, theater, and television, artist collectives, culture
jammers, and other hard-to-define creative minds are in demand.

To be considered for this project please submit examples of your work
via web link to:

submissions AT shopdropping.net

DO NOT send jpgs, mp3s, or other file types directly. Links only please.

Please repost this information and pass it along to anyone who may be
interested. A deadline will be announced soon.

For additional information please see:

http://www.shopdropping.net
http://www.shopdropping.net/2020.html

Iraq War e-mail Scam

I guess it was only a matter of time, but it's still shocking to see this variation on the Nigeran Scam appear in my inbox today:

Hello,

I am. eric miller, I am a British soldier attached to UN peace keeping force in Iraq, I Am the commanding officer of the First Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment, as you may Know everyday, there are several cases of insurgents attacks and suicide bombs going on here. We managed to move funds belonging to some demised persons who were attackedand killed through insurgent attacks.

The total amount is US$15 Million dollars in cash. We want to move this money to you, so That you may keep our share for us until when we shall come over to meet you. We will take 70%, my partner and I. You take 30%. No strings attached, just help us move it out of Iraq, Iraq is a war zone. We plan on using Diplomatic courier and shipping the money out in two large metallic Boxes, using diplomatic immunity.If you are interested I will send you the full details, my job is to find a good partner that we can trust and that will assist us. Can I trust you? When you receive this letter, kindly send me an e-mail signifying your interest including your most confidential telephone/fax numbers for quick communication also your

contact details.This business is risk free. The boxes can be shipped out in 48hrs.Please If you are Interested in Assisting, Then kindly Reply Through this Private and Confidential Email For further documentations and briefing" (XXXXX@XXXXXXXX).

PLEASE, TREAT THIS PROPOSAL AS TOP SECRET.

Respectfully,

MAJOR. ERIC MILLER

Going Local

A few nice articles about the local food movement have come out recently:

From the Christian Science Monitor: More Restaurants Going Green by Going Local

and an entire section in Plenty (written by my friend Tracie McMillan):
Local Food Movement Hits Urban America which includes...

• Motor City Harvest
• One Stop Shop
• Not Your Average Turnip Truck
• A Zucchini Grows in Brooklyn
• Mapping Out Meals

Purple Hearts

Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq, a new book from photographer Nina Berman, features intimate images of soldiers who were injured in the line of duty while serving in the current Iraq war. More information and images here.

(image copyright 2004 Nina Berman)

Stay Free: Baby Vids Make You Dumber

A recent Stay Free article discusses a new study(PDF) that shows that the educational merits of videos like Baby Einstein are dubious at best and possibly bad for mental development at worst. Also interesting is the debate that continues in the comments section between the author and a supporter(representative?) of the chidren's media industry. Read the entire post with comments here.

This American Life: Tweezerman in Iraq

The always entertaining, frequently moving, radio show This American Life's recent episode "#337: Man vs. History", contains a fascinating story about the socially conscious entrepreneur Dal LaMagna A.K.A. Tweezerman and his attempt to curb the violence in Iraq:

He thought he could get the Sunni resistance to sit down with Coalition forces to negotiate a cease-fire. So he hooked up with a member of the Iraqi parliament named Mohammed Al-Dynee and headed to Baghdad and Amman, where, remarkably, doors opened to him.

You can listen to the show online (and even find out how download it as a podcast) here.

Pennies and Dimes

This is a video I created for the band Gaskets for their recently released Loose Change album/DVD, it's created entirely with public domain footage from the Prelinger Archive. and made under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Here's Teddy Blanks, one half of the duo, with the story behind the song/video:

“Pennies and Dimes” is a song that was written when I was close to graduating college and entering what people call the ‘real world’. It deals with my own anxieties about the prospect of making a living as well as some of the frustrations I had with corporate consumer culture, informed by many of the ideas discussed in the “Design Rebels” class I took with Noah. It seemed fitting that Noah direct the video. He expertly cut together a hilarious selection of economic cartoons and food packaging assembly-line footage into an ironically optimistic visual accompaniment to an overtly cynical song.

Tick Tick Cough

World Clock. Trust me. It's a lot cooler than it let's on with the name world clock. Whenever bad things happen in the world, the World Clock is there to calculate and quantify it. Four hectares of forest were lost in the time it took be to blog this entry.

Rough Guide: Shopping with a Conscience

I recently picked up the Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience and I can't say enough great things about it. Rather than a listing of "green" stores, this handy guide gives a thorough and well-reasoned overview of the issues that face consumers who are interested in consuming from an ethical perspective. From food and household goods to travel and investing, the guide gives a fair assessment of the pros and cons of the different options that currently exist (including opting out) as well as plenty of resources for further investigation. The introduction clearly sets the tone:

"Socially responsible shopping – and ethical consumerism in general – is about taking responsibility for you day-to-day impact upon the world. It doesn't mean deluding yourself into thinking that shopping with a conscience can solve all the world's problems, or that the check-out is the new ballot box. And it doesn't mean following a prescriptive list of evil companies and countries that need to be boycotted. It means taking the time to learn a little about how your lifestyle affects people, planet and animals, and making your own decisions about what constitutes an ethical or unethical purchase."

I couldn't have said it better myself! And unlike the similar, but much heftier tome from World Changing, The Rough Guide is easy for someone new to the issues to pick up and read without feeling daunted. Plus the small size makes it more likely to get thrown in a backpack and carried on shopping trips. I highly recommended it for new and seasoned ethical shoppers alike.

Find out more or purchase it at the Rough Guide site or ask for it at your local bookstore.

John Emerson: "When Should Designers Make a Political Commitment"

My friend and fellow socially conscious design blogger John Emerson has an excellent article in the new issue of Communication Arts. He's created a fictional conversation between designers discussing their role when it comes to politics, addressing many of the questions that get asked of activist designers on a regular basis:

Sam: Sounds great. But do you ever feel conflicted? I mean, look at those posters about the genocide in Darfur. I’m all for rising to the challenge, but don’t these things just take advantage of the cause by exploiting some tragedy as an excuse to make a clever design?

Robin: Well, if I care about a cause, why shouldn’t I respond and communicate that? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with clever, as long as it helps you get your point across.

Read the entire article here.

Freitag's Recycled Shipping Container Store

Freitag, Swiss manufacturer of sexy recycled bags, has built a new flagship store in Zurich out of recycled shipping containers! More details at Telstar Logistics.

via Superuse.org

The First Zero Emissions Computer

EcoGeek has a review of the Zonbu, the first zero-emissions computer. The small PC, which has no moving parts and runs on Linux seems to be a good choice for basic computer users. The one catch is that you are required to subscribe to their service for storing files online, since internal memory is limited (though they explain why this might not be a drawback). Read the full review here.

What's wrong with Ethanol.

Co-op America's new exposé on corn ethanol gives a detailed explanation of why it will not be the environmental panacea that the U.S. government touts it to be and how it could actually make the situation much worse. Get the facts here.

Carbon Conscious Consumer

New American Dream wants you to become a Carbon Conscious Consumer. Their site posts monthly challenges (last month's was to eat one pound a week of local food) and lists the carbon emissions saved by the folks who pledge to participate. They're even offering eco-friendly prizes to folks who get the most people involved in the campaign. Find out more here.

Lewis Black on Gun Violence

Comedian Lewis Black has made this short video for the Brady Center which is hosting an anti-gun violence video contest (warning this site has audio when you first open it). Current submissions to the campaign can be seen here.

Ikea Sleepover Party?

In some kind of creepy ultimate consumerist fantasy the Ikea flagship store in Oslo has opened a hostel in it's warehouse for shoppers who just can't leave. There's even a bridal suite. Read the details in The Guardian.

via Boing Boing

Social Atelier

Social Atelier is a collective of artists/activists who are using fashion to talk about social issues. Their current collection of 100% Organic Cotton T-shirts feature text on issues of global warming, war, body image, genocide, gay marriage, poverty, and AIDS. Sales of the the shirts, which were launched in an Ethical Night Out event, benefit the Solar Cooker Project. Read more here.

NYC 2057AD

According to designer/director Stephen W. Brandt's short animated film "nyc 2057ad" the future of dating will be determined by your personal corporate sponsor. Watch it here.

I "heart" NY Photos

Picture New York is urging folks to sign a petition against the newly proposed rules from the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting which would require permits for 2 or more people at a single site for more than 30 minutes and groups of 5 or more people using a tripod for more than 10 minutes. The rules were proposed with little publicity and the public comment period ends this Friday. If you're concerned about retaining your first amendment rights in the Big Apple you can read more here and sign the petition here.

Thanks Christine!