Archive for May, 2007
May 29, 2007 at 11:28 pm · Filed under Crafts, Interviews, Non-Fiction
Cover of Get a Hobby! by Tina Barseghian
I recently had the privilege of chatting with Tina Barseghian, author of Get a Hobby!: 101 All-Consuming Diversions for Any Lifestyle; the book is exactly that—a most-excellent compendium of 101 different hobbies you can take up, from mushroom hunting to Polaroid transfers. Tina explains it far better than I do, below the fold.
Want to snag my free copy of the book? Comment below and let me know how a hobby (or two, or three) has impacted your life. I’ll pick a winner at random on June 5.
Update: Dustywheat is our randomly picked winner!
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» 
Gone fishing till June 27 or roundabouts. I’ll still be posting at Treehugger.com every day during the week—thanks to the magic of prescheduling posts—if you miss me, awww. I’d get Chekhov to take over, but he’s kind of flaky. (1) #
May 21, 2007 at 7:40 pm · Filed under Art & Design, Chekhov, Sustainable Style
Photo by Tamar Schechner
I so rarely make personal purchases these days—a combo of ecological living and cheapskatednessa high joy-to-stuff ratio—but I just had to treat myself to one of Tamar Schechner’s beyond-gorgeous fairy-tale dreamcatchers, which she tells me makes use of fabric scraps and vintage buttons. I’m enormously pleased with myself to have gotten my hands on this, because I’m usually beaten to the punch by quicker fellow admirers—the same ones, I’m sure, who snapped up Alicia Paulson’s cagelets minutes after she put them up for sale. (Whoever you are, quit it, okay? Or I’ll be forced to hunt you down and cut you.)
Equally charming are Tamara’s paper flower pins, made from recycled magazines, catalogs, and other pretty papers she gets her hands on. For more eye candy, check out her exquisite blog.
Now to figure out a way to hang my dreamcatcher without a certain kitty noticing the plump, pink bird.
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» Evidence that pesticides can cause Parkinson’s disease is stronger than ever. Tip: Anything being touted as “antibacterial” has pesticides in it, even antibacterial soaps and sponges. (0) #
» Cigarette use may explain asthma epidemic in children. I want to make a shirt that says “Smoking Stinks.” And on the back: “Butt Off, Smokers!” If I had it my way, I’d start setting smokers on fire, but my husband informs me that it’s just not done in proper society. Whatev. So the shirt would be the next best thing. That and maybe a super soaker. (2) #
» Pesticide drift turns into poisonous risk. Chemicals bad, people. For the love of all that is pure and holy, don’t let them into your house. (0) #
» I’m majorly bummed: We just found out that the city has taken back our community garden, padlocking it so no one can get it. Now we have nowhere to take our food waste to be composted, which is a damn shame when I’ve been so proud of the fact that at least 95 percent of our waste is either composted or recycled. (Which saves a ton of money on garbage bags, by the way, especially when they’re hoity Seventh Generation recycled-plastic liners.) Jersey City needs more gardens, not less, amid the soulless sprawl of concrete parking lots. In fact, I’m so incensed I’m thisclose to chaining myself to the garden’s gate and belting out Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” at the top of my lungs, which, trust me, won’t be doing any favors for anyone within earshot. Let’s pray, Dear Reader, that it doesn’t come to that. (5) #
May 16, 2007 at 1:27 pm · Filed under Conscious Consumption, Environmentalism, Green Sweep, Money Matters
Photo by distinguish, under a Creative Commons license
(Part of my Green This House program.)
It was time to put my money where my mouth was: My workplace 401(K) plan didn’t leave me much room to maneuver choice-wise—although I consciously avoided any funds that paid out Exxon—plus, I wanted to put some extra coinage towards a cushy retirement. That’s where socially responsible investing (SRI) came in. Co-op America defines SRI as a way of “integrating your personal, social, and environmental concerns with your financial considerations,” so that your investments have a “positive impact on people and the planet.” In other words, stocks with scruples.
Below the fold is a list of funds I sent my financial-wiz father-in-law before we narrowed down our options and signed me up for a spanking new Roth IRA. (Remember, kids, it’s never too early to start saving for your retirement.) It’s by no means exhaustive, but it’s a start if you want to use that cash under your mattress for the common good and sock away some tidy profits. Learn more about SRI here and here.
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» 
From boring ol’ bike to CARTBIKE! (Don’t get into trouble with the law and/or karma by stealing a shopping cart, though. The local dump might have what you need.) (0) #
May 14, 2007 at 9:44 am · Filed under Biodiversity, Chekhov, Comics, Life, Mini Post
Comic by Patrick McDonnell
Chekhov wants to remind you that June is Adopt-a-Cat month! He was first adopted as a 3-month-old ball of fluff with mad ninja skillz on June 1, 2002, by sheer coincidence. (We had both just been dumped.) That night, he made it unequivocally clear that he thought Woody Allen was overrated. What a cat.
[via my supercool sister-in-law]
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