Green Living: Oscar Goes Green

The Oscars are given out annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and are the world's top film honours.

While all the winners walked off the red carpet with a golden Oscar statuette clutched in their hands, it was a troupe of environmentalists led by global warming advocate and former US Vice President Al Gore who painted the Oscars green this year.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which tells of Gore's 30-year campaign to warn people about global warming, was named the year's best documentary, and singer Melissa Etheridge was given the Academy Award for original song with I Need to Wake Up.

"I have to thank Al Gore for inspiring us, inspiring me and showing that caring about the earth is not Republican or Democrat. It's not red or blue. We are all green," Etheridge said.

Backstage, Gore told reporters: "The Academy has gone green this year."

Watch the official announcement made by Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio here.

I was also very happy (I actually screamed) to see Alan Arkin win Best Supporting Actor for his role in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, as not only was that my favorite movie last year, but I absolutely loved Arkin's role in it!

Did anyone else notice that the silver backdrop used in the Oscar's (and seen in the video clip above) is the same signature design motif used by interior decorator Kelly Wearstler in her own Los Angeles home?
Coincidence?

Read last month's blog about Kelly here. Watch her movie too!

Photo of Director Davis Guggenheim (lucky you, Elisabeth Shue), Al Gore and Melissa Etheridge above by Reuters.

Art News: Picasso Collector Berggruen Dies at 93

Heinz Berggruen, an influential collector of Picasso's artworks and longtime friend of the artist, has died in France, the Picasso Museum in Paris said today. He was 93.

"I was struck right away by his gaze," Berggruen recalled of meeting Picasso in 1949, according to the Picasso Museum's biography of him.

Berggruen's Picasso collection was one of the world's biggest, with more than 130 works.

Read the full story here.

Podcasts: Zentertainment Talk Radio

Zentertainment Talk Radio is conscious radio discovering life's possibilities.

In her very first podcast, Jo Davidson reveals some deeply personal things about her life, talks about the book Zen Guitar, and shares new music from some cool artists . . .

Listen here.



House as Mirror of Self: Winston Churchill once said, "We shape our dwellings, and later our dwellings shape us." Who are you when you are home? Who is the "I" that your home expresses? What messages and symbols does your home hold? Join Jo as she talks to Clare Cooper Marcus, an award winning expert . . .

Listen here.

Music by Jo Davidson here.

jodavidson.com

Thank you Jo, you are an inspiration! You go, girl!

Art Galleries: Andy Warhol: In His Wake

CVB Space
407 West 13th Street, 2A
New York, New York 10014
646.336.8387
February 22 - March 14, 2007
Opening: Thursday, February 22, 6:00PM - 10:00PM


Andy Warhol: In His Wake is a group exhibition of works by four well-known celebrity artists from Warhol's Factory: Ultra Violet, Taylor Mead, Billy Name, and Ivy Nicholson that honors the twenty-year anniversary of Warhol's death. Also featured will be Anton Perich and Steve Joester, two artists who documented Warhol, as well as seven artists who have been influenced by him including: Amy Cohen Banker, Cynthia von Buhler, Pamela Martin, William Tisdale, Molly Weingart, and Gary Azon. Andy Warhol: In His Wake features paintings, sculptures, projections, and photography by exhibiting artists. The Carrozini von Buhler Gallery is also transformed to look like Warhol's infamous Silver Factory with glittering silver walls, disco balls, silver pillow balloons, and aluminum foil drapes.

Image from CVB Space.

Scenic Art: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Scenic art photos taken during the filming of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, a Julie Taymor Beatles musical to be released this year:

Environmental Activism: Dying For A Home

Along the Gulf Coast, in the towns and fishing villages from New Orleans to Mobile, survivors of Hurricane Katrina are suffering from a constellation of similar health problems. They wake up wheezing, coughing and gasping for breath. Their eyes burn; their heads ache; they feel tired, lethargic. Nosebleeds are common, as are sinus infections and asthma attacks. Children and seniors are most severely afflicted, but no one is immune.

There's one other similarity: The people suffering from these illnesses live in trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Read the full story here.

Green Living (ha): Medical Larceny

There is a great new post about medical larceny on Barbara Ehrenreich's blog at The Huffington Post . . . . read it here.

Barbara writes: But universal health insurance won't work, at least not for long, if the medical system treats it as an open vein gushing with profits.

Happy Valentine's Day!

FOLLOWING THEIR HEARTS . . . .
Interests Outside of Work Good for Creative Careers, Survey Shows


In the creative field, all work and no play can get in the way of career advancement, a new survey suggests. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of advertising and marketing executives said employees who are passionate about interests outside the office typically perform better on the job.

“Creativity doesn’t operate in a vacuum,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of The Creative Group. “Most employers recognize that original concepts typically have building blocks, and a person’s hobbies and interests are an important source of inspiration.”

Read the full story here.

Environmental Activism: OUT OF BALANCE

Activist Movie Showing this Friday, Feb 16th at 7pm at
Alchemy Juice Bar
203 New Britain Ave,
Hartford, CT 06106
Tel: (860) 246-5700

OUT OF BALANCE - The film highlights ExxonMobil, the world's largest corporation, and their quest for greater power and wealth, their impact on policy, people and the ecosystem. A good flick that exposes the history that has brought us to the place we are today. All films at Alchemy Juice Bar are FREE, including organic popcorn - so take this opportunity to expand your mind!!!

Vegan Living: Red Meat Increases Breast Cancer Risk

Now more reason to consider a vegan diet . . . New data from Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study II show that women who consumed one and a half or more servings of red meat per day had nearly double the risk of developing hormone receptor-positive breast cancer compared with women consuming three or fewer servings of red meat per week. Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer is the most common type of breast cancer and has been on the rise in recent years. This study involved more than 90,000 premenopausal women age 26 to 46 who completed food surveys during a 12-year period. Animal fat and red meat intake were found to increase premenopausal breast cancer risk in a previous analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study II. Possible reasons for this association include carcinogens produced as meat is cooked, hormones given to cattle for growth promotion, red meat’s high content of heme iron, which has been shown to increase estrogen-dependent tumor growth, and red meat’s high fat content.

Source: Cho E, Chen WY, Hunter DJ, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Hankinson SE, Willett WC. Red meat intake and risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:2253-2259.

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. ~ Albert Einstein

Green Living: Automatic Dishwashing Soap Recipe

Like Cascade and Sunlight.

Homemade natural formula will safely cut through grease and sanitize your dishes as well.

1/2 cup liquid castile soap
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 drops tea tree extract
1/4 cup white vinegar

Combine water and liquid Castile soap. Stir and then add lemon juice, tea tree extract, and vinegar. Stir until blended evenly and store in a squeeze bottle.

Use 2 tablespoons per wash in a standard-size dishwasher.

Source: Casey Kellar, author of Natural Cleaning for Your Home: 95 Pure and Simple Recipes

Political Activism: AMERICA: FREEDOM TO FASCISM

The official trailer for AMERICA: FREEDOM TO FASCISM, directed by Aaron Russo



Watch the entire full-length movie here.

Read about medical fascism (defined as: healthcare that destroys individual choice and empowers Big Pharma and the healthcare establishment) here.

"It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician." ~ Meryl Streep

Green Living: Burning Incense May Cause Cancer

Burning incense, a popular meditative and medicinal aid, can expose people to cancer-causing chemicals.

Incense burning also creates more local pollution than road traffic.

Levels of highly carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) inside a poorly ventilated temple in Taiwan were 19 times higher inside the temple than outside, and also somewhat higher than at a nearby local intersection.

The PAH benzopyrene, which is thought to cause lung cancer in smokers, had a concentration in the temple that was up to 45 times higher than in homes where residents smoke, and as much as 118 times higher than in areas with no indoor source of combustion.

Total suspended particles (the range of particles that comprise most of the emissions from human activity) were three times higher inside the temple than at the traffic intersection, and 11 times higher than outside the temple.

The concentrations inside the temple exceed the standard "safe" levels for air set in Taiwan.

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 2001 Sep; 67(3): 332-8

Environmental Activism: $25M Prize To Beat Greenhouse Gas

LONDON, England (AP) -- British tycoon Richard Branson on Friday announced a $25 million prize for the first scientist to come up with a way to extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

The Virgin Group chairman was joined by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and other leading environmentalists as he announced the challenge to find ways to significantly reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

"The Earth cannot wait 60 years. We need everybody capable of discovering an answer to put their minds to it today," Branson said.

Gore said the planet had a "fever" that had to be taken seriously.

Read the full story here.

Until man can duplicate a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so called scientific knowledge. ~ Thomas Edison

The Political Compass

Not sure what you stand politically? Then take this test to find out where you are on The Political Compass.

I am Economic Left/Right -6.63, which means I am more to the Left than Nelson Mandela, and also Social Libertarian/Authoritarian -7.03, which means that I am more Social Libertarian than The Dalai Lama.

I am directly opposite to George W. Bush, and proud of it!

Political Activism: Noam Chomsky on Responsibility

Noam Chomsky talks about government crimes, media complicity, personal moral responsibility, and the popular struggle for justice.

Political Activism: Noam Chomsky on Human Destiny

"Noam Chomsky . . . is a major scholarly resource. Not to have read [him] is to court genuine ignorance."
--The Nation

"Chomsky ranks with Marx, Shakespeare, and the Bible as one of the ten most quoted sources in the humanities."
--The Guardian

"One of the West's most influential intellectuals in the cause of peace."
--The Independent

"He will not be bullied.
He will not be intimidated.
He is a fearless, formidable, totally independent voice.
He does something quite simple, but highly unusual.
He tells the truth. Noam Chomsky."
--Harold Pinter presenting Prof. Chomsky at St. Paul's Cathedral, Dec. 2002.

Environmental Activism: Global Warming Deniers

Ignorance is Bliss!

According to this article, an alarming number of Americans are ignorant:

Thirteen percent of Americans have never heard of global warming even though their country is the world's top source of greenhouse gases, a 46-country survey showed on Monday.

While this ignorance may, indeed, feel quite blissful, I thought it worth pondering what some great thinkers of the past have said on the subject of ignorance:

Thomas Jefferson - "No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity."

William Hazlitt - "The ignorance of the world leaves one at the mercy of its malice."

Samuel Johnson - ,"He that voluntarily continues in ignorance, is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces."

TS Eliot - "All our ignorance brings us closer to death."

It seems T.S. Eliot was right, for, according to the UN report out this week, imminent mass death seems to be what our ignorance has brought upon us. Yep, shockingly enough, humans seemed to have caused it. Who would have thought?

Despite this knowledge of imminent mass extinction, Exxon is offering $10,000 to scientists willing to deny this climate holocaust.