Grateful for Snow: Make Yourself Some Merry Little Snow Flakes
A few simple steps and you soon will be decking the halls with a score of singing snowflakes! It’s that easy and they look that great!
They’d make a great stencil. Wouldn’t that be a fun costume for the Santa Ride–come as a snowflake!
For immediate release: Nov. 19, 2009
Photos available from previous Santa rides
contact Gwendolyn Alley
email gwendolynalley AT yahoo DOT com
Save Santa! The Ventura College Eco-Pirates Present:
Eco-Fest– A DIY Day for Action Thursday December 3, 2009 8:30am-1:30pm
and Ride to Save Santa Dec. 4 5-10pm
Can’t go to the UN’s Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen this December?
Join the Eco-Pirates in Ventura College quad 4667 Telegraph Road Ventura
and learn how you can “Do It Yourself” to help preserve the planet and ourselves.
Keep the North Pole from melting! Read more…
How would Malcolm Gladwell of “The Tipping Point” explain Christmas?
In the December 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, satirist Craig Brown does a Malcolm Gladwellesque analysis of Baby Jesus, Santa and Presents. For example:
He is grotesquely overweight. He is childless. He lives in the chilly and undesirable North Pole. He insists on dressing in a bright-red jumpsuit with fur trimmings. He can only ever find employment on one day a year, and, even then, it is night work.
On every accepted level, Santa Claus is a total loser.
Yet this is a man who heads up a brand that commands 98 percent global recognition. Furthermore, he is universally adored.
How does he do it?
In a controlled research investigation involving uninterrupted surveillance videotaping, a sustained loop of twinkly music, and state-of-the-art merriness-determination equipment, a Dutch santologist named Hans Bunquum discovered the secret to Claus’s phenomenal success.
“The conclusion is both remarkable and inescapable but also—most importantly—counter-intuitive,” Dr. Bunquum told me over a glass of organic lemonade in his stunning waterstulp, or waterside studio, near Rotterdam. “To become the object of universal love, one must first live with a red-nosed reindeer, and then gain a premier position as the sole registered employer of elves in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s as simple as that.”
Speaking of Santa, what’s going to happen to the North Pole if nothing but talk happens at Copenhagen?
Participate in the solution: learn about Hopenhagen, sign a petition, make a video, change carbon emitting behaviors, join us on the next ride, Santa Ride, Dec. 4. Meet in Ventura at the corner of Telegraph and Day Road at 5pm or join us at 5:30pm at the Artists Union Gallery where California Street meets the sea. We’ll ride from there by 6pm and visit galleries and art studios ending with a wild party!
Is the fate of the world at stake this December in Copenhagen? Many say yes.
Hopenhagen Ambassador Contest: HuffPost Citizen Journalist Will Win A Trip To Copenhagen
Next month at the UN’s Climate Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, world’s leaders will decide what to do before the Kyoto protocol expires in two years–and this will indeed determine the future of our planet.
The effects of global warming are already lapping at the world’s shores, destroying species, threatening cities, and encroaching on our ability to produce food. This is real, and this is happening. But there is hope.
Hopenhagen.org wants to connect every one with what is happening at the conference in Copenhagen so that we together can push for limits on carbon emissions. Leaders don’t want to make these commitments because they will require deep changes (yes, sacrifices even) so we the people must show the politicians the way–and that there is a strong political will to set emissions targets — which would mean more green jobs, and a more sustainable future for people everywhere.
At Hopenhagen.org, people can become a citizen of the Nation of Hopenhagen by signing a petition, learning about grassroots climate efforts and spreading the word to their own communities. In addition,
a HuffPost citizen journalist will go to Copenhagen for the climate conference as the Hopenhagen Ambassador, to represent the global nation of people who are hopeful that leaders will come to an agreement.
How? Submit a 1 minute video. The Top 10 vote getters will then move forward to a panel of judges who will choose the winner who will receive a trip to Copenhagen from December 12-19th including airfare, accommodation, press accreditation for the UN conference, Media training with HuffPost Citizen journalism editor Matt Palevsky, HuffPost blogging privileges, and a flip camera to record events.
Hopefully, they let you keep the flip camera!
What an adventure! I’m already thinking about what I’d like to say to win that trip–although I really think Rachel Morris of VCCool should go for it–and soon!
But more important, I think, is to create a buzz about what’s happening in Copehagen in December, and how necessary it is to make a commitment to a drastic reduction in carbon emissions in order to prevent more radical climate change.
Already reports are pessimistic. The Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012.
Connie Hedegaard, the Danish climate and energy minister who will chair the Copenhagen summit, said that the Dec. 8-17 event will be “a moment of truth” and “countries are very worried about the consequences of global warming and expect the developed countries to perform in Copenhagen.”
The discussions start in earnest Dec. 2, 2009 … and may not end in our lifetime.
August 12, 2009 3:15am
for Ginga Paul in AUS where it’s winter
It’s summer inside
and when you wake up in the
middle of the night
and when you get up in the
middle of the night
it is easy to be naked
to roam the house
to lie in bed & write
It’s summer outside
and when you look out the window
in the middle of the night
orange lit fog fills the barranca
the power lines crackle & pop
vague outlines float
it looks spooky like Halloween
like it should feel like fall
but we have 6 more weeks of summer.
even if we don’t see
a blue sky during the day
or glittering stars at night
the days are warm enough
for us to walk naked
& that’s all that really matters
that & not having to be anywhere
like school or work
in the morning
It’s definitely no longer summer inside or out here in southern California (camping over the weekend nearby at Rose Valley was way below freezing by bedtime!), but for GingaTao Paul Read more…
When one walks into the theater to see “Precious,” the film made from the novel, Push, by Sapphire, one walks directly into the violent, hidden underbelly of American society which is seldom talked about, let alone displayed on a movie screen.
Claireese “Precious” Jones, played with haunting perfection by Gabourey Sidibe, is a 16 year old girl, extremely overweight, barely literate, (she tell us that the tests she takes score her as being “less than dumb”), and Read more…
When’s the next meteor shower? When’s the full moon? What’s up in the skies for 2010? Tidelog knows!
What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving season? I’m grateful that my 2010 Tidelog came in the mail today! Tidelog helps me know about everything from the low and high tides to solar and lunar eclipses, meteor showers, full and new moons, and all other interesting oddities in the sky! I received my first Tidelog back in 1993, and I’ve had one just about every year since. I find them an invaluable source to plan evening hikes and bike rides as well as camping trips. 
So what’s up for the rest of the year according to my 2009 Tidelog? And what will be some of next year’s high points according to my 2010 Tidelog?
In case you forgot to consult your Tidelog, this past few weeks we’ve had some nice meteor showers and as the Taurid shower wanes, the Leonid is due on Monday with potentially strong showers of fast, bright meteors especially around 11pm PST as we roll through a denser filament of the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Mid-December brings us the Geminid showers and the year ends with a blue moon–that’s two full moons in the month of December with the second full moon on New Year’s eve.
Next year starts the Quadrantid meteor shower being drowned out by the light of the waning moon, but Jupiter is bright at sunset in January and at the end of the month Mars shows up. Read more…
A visit to a Cork Forest in Portugal & a few words about TCA
EWBC Day 2: A visit to a cork forest–but first, a word about TCA
Randal Grahm, forgive me, I know you believe in the screwtop closure, but after visiting the cork oak forests in Ribatejo, Portugal today as part of the European Wine Bloggers Conference, I am now a firm believer in cork. And, if you’re listening, and I hope you will be, I will tell you why. I may not convince you in this post but hopefully by the next one I plan about the importance of the cork forest ecosystem.
Cork as a closure for wine got a bad name because some wines became “corked” which means that they became infected with TCA and turned bad. Tasted awful. Smelled worse than you can imagine.
While this is a rare occurrence, if it is YOUR special wine that got corked, you’re not going to be a happy camper about it. You will be tempted to turn against cork. (Read another post about cork taint here.)
Alternative closures to cork are nothing new. Really. But they have become more popular in recent years. So popular that it has had an impact on the cork industry and that industry is fighting back. With both fists. And a LOT of money–millions in fact into research and development to understand where TCA comes from and how it can be prevented.
Turns out, TCA infection can come from a variety of sources, not just cork. The cardboard box, for example. Just about anywhere, actually. But cork was and is the prime suspect so the cork industry has figured out ways to sanitize the corks and remove the risk of TCA almost completely so that instances of TCA from cork sources are reduced to the point where the many benefits of using natural cork (instead of a screw top or a plastic cork) shine and win.
Yes, cork is more expensive, than a screw top. Or a plastic cork which costs practically nothing and adds practically nothing to the value of the wine. Just say no to plastic. Period.
But there is more to the picture than a simple closure. And in an upcoming postt, I will tell you about the cork trees, cork forests, and the natural ecosystems and the human communities that revolve around healthy, productive cork industry–an industry which relies on YOU, the consumer and the wine producer, staying with cork.
And one day soon, I hope to show you pictures of my new beautiful cork floors!!
PS Thanks to Enoforum Wines for hosting my visit to Portugal!
Green Drinks & Wine Blogging Wednesday November Edition 2009
Tonight, Wednesday November 11, from 5:30-7:30pm Green Drinks Ventura County will be held at Wine Essentials, 2390 Las Posas, Camarillo. It’s a free networking gathering for folks in green lines of business and activism.
In his prompt for the next Wine Blogging Wednesday, #63, Rob Bralow of Wine Post suggests: Find Your Muse. Here’s his guidelines for the November edition to be posted NEXT Wednesday, Nov. 18:
- Choose a wine you know well and have enjoyed many times, but perhaps have not had the time or the motivation to write about OR a wine you have seen in your wine shop that you have been meaning to try.
- Time how long you enjoy the wine. Round numbers are more than acceptable but exact numbers get extra points.
- Take twice that amount of time to write your blog post. Use the time to find out something you might not have known about the wine and to edit your writing. A wise man once told me that there is no good writing, only good rewriting.
- NO SAMPLES! Too often the wines written about are out of convenience rather than genuine interest. Make this one of the wines that you decided to purchase.
- Last but not least, give your writing some flare. Use a style that will challenge you. Be creative and enjoy writing for the sake of the words. Be picky about which words you use. Think about the rhythm and the rhyme. Poetic phrase will be rewarded.
Writes Rob, “My coach always told me that the simplest tasks can sometimes be the most difficult. There is a lot of room to maneuver in this challenge, but do not make the mistake of waiting until the last week to begin writing. You may find yourself running out of time.”
Send submission by e-mail to Rob by Weds. November 18.
Rob’s prompt seems to be pointed at the myriad wine bloggers who get free samples from wineries, drink them quickly, and post a quick response that would fit into the 140 character limitations on twitter. Hmmn. Time how long I enjoy the wine then take twice that much time? Sometimes I taste a wine for a week or more. I hate to admit how much time I take to write some of my posts. I am a poet. If I didn’t enjoy writing for the sake of the words, I wouldn’t be here. I always try to write with flair, with imagination, with heart and meaning. I do admit however that I usually do the prompt the night before.
Now choosing a wine that prompts my muse: that I can get into! Too bad I have already enjoyed all my bottles of RBJ Theologicum…but I am sure I will find something in my cellar to break out for the occasion. Or maybe I’ll be able to find some wine from Portugal. The muse sure inspired me there on my recent trip sponsored by Enoforum Wines!
What will you do for Wine Blogging Wednesday? Let us know over here also!
PS Hey Lenn, how about letting me host it one month sometime soon? Let’s do wines of Portugal–even better, wines of the Alentejo! I know some good ones!
Graham Greene: I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint manage to escape the madness…
“Writing is a form of therapy: sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear which is inherent in the human situation.” Graham Greene
Maxine Kumin says that writing poetry enabled Anne Sexton to endure life for as long as she lived. One who agrees might point to this poem as proof: Read more…
art predator 