I forgot it was Earth Day until this morning when I found I had a crapload of spam in my inbox telling me so. Here are some of my favorite subject lines:
· Get Green with Online Banking
· Win a free Green T Shirt!
· How much money will you save by GOING GREEN?
· Best Deals Ever! Earth Day early birds SAVE!
· Red Light Goes Green
· Get a Free Roll of Reynolds Wrap Foil from 100% Recycled Aluminum
I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's for the greater good. On the other, it's turned into a total marketing ploy. I, for one, am a bit tired of being told to be green. I way too cynical a person maybe. I can’t just recycle a can, I have to figure out what’s really green. Does the can go to your regular old dump anyway? Or when it goes to a “good dump” do they cart it off 500 miles in big gas guzzling trucks?
Yea, yea, I know I'm overthinking. And I already know a couple of you who are probably laughing right now. (Bishand comes to mind first.) I think trying to do our home remodel as green as possible put me over the edge in this area. It was a giant exercise in contradictions. Yes, I want eco-friendly cabinets that don't offgas chemicals, but if they come from replenishable wood that's soft aren't they going to warp over time and end up in a dump anyway? And what about the fact that those special cabinets have to come from Oregon - on a truck - which requires fuel?? (Can you see my eyes roll to the back of my head?)
So today, to celebrate Earth day, I’ve decided to.... let go. Fine. I'll be GREEN. I'm just going to toss this can of Diet Coke in the recycling bin and go ahead click on that last email.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Earth Day
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Fall pics
When M&B and their boys came out for the baby shower, we got a little taste of what the world might look like in 2009:
My last Bears game for this year...
And of course, I was proud the baby was there in spirit...
Friday, August 29, 2008
Obama 08
Yep, that's me. At the acceptance speech. With the baby. I've been hosting an Obama intern in my Denver apartment and at the last minute she found a ticket for me.
I've never been in an environment like that before -- where young and old, white and black and rich and poor were all truly united. Everyone smiled at each other in the lines. When you went to sit down, people introduced themselves to you and shook your hand. There were a lot of pictures being taken and stories being traded. It was as if we all understood we were about to experience this once in a lifetime event together, so, you know -- let's be friends. At least for today. And maybe maybe, if this guy gets elected... our kids will never think this vibe is so unique.
During the speech I consciously tried to be in the moment. At one point I looked up into the crowd and noticed that several people were choosing to stand rather than sit, even though we were all the way up in the highest seats. And then I saw the vast majority of people standing were black men. Some holding their sons. All of them staring in awe. I got choked up. As wonderful as it was, I realized it wasn't my moment, it was theirs. I was so happy for them. To witness history in this way is such a gift. Despite an aching back, swollen feet and a 1 hour wait in line, I was so incredibly proud to be there.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
My run in with a charming protestor
So the DNC is here in Denver this week and I'm enjoying every minute of it. The vibe downtown is festive and celebratory and well organized, which is nice to see. Plus everyone you run into has an interesting story or opinion on what's going on with the race, domestic policy, or international affairs. My kind of atmosphere!
There are lots of loons, too, which only adds to the experience in my opinion. In fact, Monday night there was a mini-riot/protest outside my apartment building (which I got to experience first-hand from the lobby because, like an "I love Lucy" episode, I happened to lock myself out of my unit at the exact same time.) Unfortunately they had confusing signs and no leadership, so the press couldn't figure out their cause. Hmmm. Not smart, right?
My favorite nutjob story though: This morning on my way to work an older white man stopped me by sticking a flyer in my face and urgently blurting, "Help stop overpopulation!". I actually stopped, looked straight at the guy and said, "You can't hand a pregnant woman a flyer on overpopulation!" He responded quickly and unphased with, "No! Your baby's fine!! We don't want illegal babies!"
I was stunned, I admit it. I had no return for him. I just took the flyer and walked on. By the time I was two blocks away I was fantasizing about all the things I should have said. I should have told him how much he offended me, and how little Jorge Anderson has just as much right to the American dream as his kids do. Or tomorrow, if he's there again, I'm going to ask him what native American tribe he's from.
Oh - and the flyer? Their chief complaint about overpopulation? TRAFFIC!! More gridlock if we let illegal immigrants fuel overpopulation. Seriously. Of all things.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Arnie thinks he can stop his face from aging too. But it ain't going to happen.
LA is, like, sooooo not going to get two football teams.
First, Anaheim is not LA. It's just not. So let's break this into two arguments:
Why Los Angeles will not get a NFL team:
1) The LA coliseum is a hopeless venue. Even USC hates playing there. There are better high school practice fields in Texas. And you don't have to park in a crack den to get to them.
2) Jack Nicholson doesn't go to outdoor cement stadiums in crack dens.
2) City officials can't fund/coordinate bus schedules, let alone build a stadium.
3) If the city bigheads could figure it out, taxpayers won't want to pay for it.
4) If the taxpayers did pay for it, the money would never actually get to a stadium.
5) Kobe doesn't play Football.
6) No Kobe + no celebrities = no Los Angeles fans.
Why Anaheim will not get a NFL team:
OK, actually, if the team can be named "the Anaheim Titans" and can have its first season opener coincide with "Remember the Titans II"... I admit, it has a shot.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Tough Times for JC
Poor Jesus. He's having a rough week.
First, we’ve discovered prayer doesn't help the sick, it might actually hurt them.
Then we find out Judas might have just been carrying out the big man’s orders when he sold Jesus out to the Romans.
Now scientists are telling us that Jesus didn't actually walk on water. He walked on ice.
And then he started getting all sorts of crap for having a myspace page.
Being a modern day savior is clearly not as easy as you might think. Good thing Easter is coming. He needs a little boost, don't ya think?
Monday, March 13, 2006
Speaking of love for immigrants
No American city loves St. Patrick's day more than Chicago. Why else would you be silly enough to make your green river even greener!?
Photo credit goes to John Gress/Reuters
An accidental protest
I was out for a good 20 minutes when I swung around to Wacker and turned to the south. Out of nowhere I ran up against an enormous wave of people flooding onto Jackson. It was an incredible gathering – thousands and thousands of people. All moving west in a resolute march toward the federal building.
Having no clue what was going on, I stood back and read signs. There were men, women, and children from all walks of life protesting H.R. 4437, the Hastert/Sensenbrenner bill, which is an piece of legislation that could amount to dramatic changes in immigration law.
There’s a funny part of this story and a serious part. I’ll start with the funny…
I sorta ended up protesting with them. Here’s why: I couldn’t figure out how to get back to my building without jumping in with the crowd. There were people flooding down Jackson as far as the eye could see – and my office building is *on* Jackson. At that moment as far as I could tell I was going to have to wait 20 minutes for the enormous march to pass, or join in. So after reading a flyer and establishing that this was not some sort of Nancy Reagan-esque anti-drug event (you know, with Punky Brewster up front), I snuck in between a big group of Irish men and a huge Mexican church group and began to walk down Jackson. I rallied with my peeps for a good three blocks before sneaking back in my building. (Yea, yea, okay, I know I’m weird.)
Here’s the serious part: I suspect that many of you, like me, probably had no clue about the Hastert/Sensenbrenner bill, and its counterpoint, the McCain/Kennedy bill. They truly are worth learning about. While I was walking along with those passionate sincere people, it really embarrassed me that I had absolutely no awareness on the issue. In fact, I think the news report that I paid the most attention to on Friday morning was probably the announcement that Chloe Dao won Project Runway. (Shame shame shame!)
In any case, I really must salute the Mexican Homeland Federation for organizing the march. It was really well run, good-spirited, and succeeded in its goal of education and awareness – at least with me.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Booooooo
The office is (slightly) abuzz because George Bush is visiting the Board of Trade building next door. I went out at lunch to give him the bird check out the scene and didn't see him.
Doesn't trading have to stop while he's there? Isn't he supposed to be on a tour of the US encouraging economic growth? Does anyone else see the irony?
