Buy nothing

NothingTM
Shopping is a buzz, an energy, but it uses energy too, all the energy needed to make all the things we shop for. So if you've got to shop but want to see the global temperature drop, buy the green thing that took lots of love to create but zero energy to make. Shop your sustainable heart out and Buy NothingTM.

Cut and paste the following link to purchase.

http://www.dothegreenthing.com/amazero?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2009-11-23+24th+November+email

Center for Biological Diversity Press Releases

Take action for polar bears here:


http://www.savethepolarbear.org/


watch the television ads by clicking on this link:

Center for Biological Diversity Press Releases

You don't own me

I've always loved this song, especially as it's from the 60's, and the second wave of feminism was merely a splash on the beach. Here are the lyrics from http://www.lyricsdepot.com/lesley-gore/you-dont-own-me.html, and a performance by Ms. Gore herself. My favorite version is by a little known punk band (with a female singer of course) called Jack and Jill that Pandora played for me on my girl!grrl!girl! station that I created for myself. That was not available on youtube though. Enjoy!




You Don't Own Me

Artist: Lesley Gore (peak Billboard position # 2 in 1963)
Words and Music by John Madara and David White


You don't own me, I'm not just one of your many toys
You don't own me, don't say I can't go with other boys

And don't tell me what to do
And don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display, 'cause

You don't own me, don't try to change me in any way
You don't own me, don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay

Oh, I don't tell you what to say
I don't tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That's all I ask of you

I'm young and I love to be young
I'm free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want
To say and do whatever I please

A-a-a-nd don't tell me what to do
Oh-h-h-h don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display

I don't tell you what to say
Oh-h-h-h don't tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That's all I ask of you

I'm young and I love to be young
FADE
I'm free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want


Transcribed by Ronald E. Hontz
ronhontz
worldnet.att.net
****************


Having a Jane moment: For her time, the idea that her heroines turned down marriage offers because they wanted to marry for love (ex. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Collins, and Jane herself with a proposal from a well off neighbor) instead of security was a radical idea. Elizabeth Bennett would have liked this song.

Haiku for an afternoon nap

teddy bear pillow
hot high sun, heavy eyelids
snoring smiling dream

Silly Nonsense Story, Part 2

When Leila the Dragon entered the village, she saw two of her friends, Jake the Dog and Lars the Dog. Jake the Dog had found a flower to sniff that he could reach, and Lars the Dog was racing in circles around the village green.

"Hello," said Leila.

"Hello," replied Jake. Lars jumped back in alarm.

"Oh, it's you, Leila," he said in relief. "Hi!"

Jake the Dog sighed at his friend's jitteriness.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure how I got stuck with him."

"Excuse me, Mr. the Dog," said a passing bicyclist. Jake wiggled out of his way, while Lars jumped back, startled again.

"What will I serve for this dinner?" Leila mused to herself. "I know! I will ask Jake the Dog. He is the oldest and wisest being in the village."

When asked, Jake merely smiled. "Leila, dear," he said, "you may serve whatever you like and would eat yourself. Princess Charming is a lovely human being and will appreciate whatever you choose, and Christopher Charming is a horrible human being who will complain no matter what you serve. So do not choose your menu to please him."

My Personal Ad

Short, quirky, not really older woman looking for slightly younger man.
Must be willing to dress up occasionally as Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) or Captain Wentworth (Persuasion). Hopefully will not like moonlit walks on the beach due to the inevitable presence of man who should have his shirt on ogling young
girls in bikinis. No blondes please, prefer at least 5'6" or taller. Vegetarian or at least very tolerant of vegetarianism. Should like to read, and not want children. Ability to watch endless hours of crime drama required. Looking for someone willing to go dancing, cuddle, and yet be willing to give me space when needed.

Silly Nonsense Story, Part 1

Leila the Dragon, wearing her bright blue hat and carrying her pale pink purse, was skipping merrily down the road when she passed Lucy the Chicken's coop.

Lucy the Chicken poked her head up from gathering her grain and asked, "Where are you going, Leila the Dragon?"

"I'm going to town to buy flowers, Lucy the Chicken," replied Leila the Dragon.

"A special occasion?" asked Lucy.

"Princess Charming is coming for dinner!"

"Oh, how exciting!" exclaimed Lucy. "But is she bringing her horrible brother?"

"Yes, unfortunately Christopher Charming is coming too," sighed Leila.

"But what will you serve?" queried Lucy. "You know how squeamish you are about meat, dear."


-----
I will be using this silly story as part of my word count in the NaNoWrMo. That means November is National Novel Writing Month (website in places to go area). No one said it had to make any sense. Jane Austen may not have wanted to take part in something like this. She wasn't a public writer, often hiding her work under letters to family so the servants wouldn't see it. But that was partly due to the stigma still associated with women writers during her time. Now she may have cheerfully gone to the write-ins. She would most likely not have been writing about dragons and chickens though.

Websites from The Color Purple and Miss Teen Earth posts.

The Color Purple: www.colorpurple.com

Earth Pageants, Beauties for a Cause: www.usearthpageants.com

Central Florida Future: www.centralfloridafuture.com

Clean the World Foundation: www.cleantheworld.org

The Color Purple

I should be writing a paper right now on how the brain relates to juggling. You read that right. Instead, I went to my village, Sitolo, on joinmyvillage.com and unlocked my donation for the day. And now I'm working on this instead.

One of my friends had free tickets for The Color Purple yesterday. When I heard free tickets, I pictured the seats for the opera I went to free: I should have brought binoculars. Or the half price deal for the ballet: Not quite binocular seating, but close.

Then we found our seats yesterday, and I sat there with my mouth open for probably two minutes. They were literally about 7 rows back, and not far from center. It was amazing, as was the whole play.

I went in wondering what Alice Walker would think about making The Color Purple into a musical. Before we go any further, Alice Walker DOES have something to do with Jane Austen. Alice Walker, Jane Austen, Gloria Steinem: these are all members of my personal pantheon of goddesses...I mean, cool women to admire. Yeah, that's it.

Oh, and any mention of John Cusack from here on out is acceptable, too. He stars in my favorite movie, which has not yet been made. It is a Jane Austen modern redux (think Clueless, Bridget Jones) starring John Cusack.

So back to the play. The actor playing Celie could show her character's character with minimal effort, like the awkward swing of a hip when trying to dance. The actor playing Sofia was brilliant, and I would have to say almost larger than life. The comedic and musical elements smoothed some of the more depressing moments I remember from the movie, and there was some mad talent involved in bringing this book/movie to the stage. The who's who in the playbill is a who's who of the dancing and acting world in general.

The only issue I had was the African dance right after intermission. Maybe I was just tired of sitting there for the last 15 minutes, maybe my knees hurt, maybe I needed my afternoon nap. But there was just something off. I know it's simply an interpretation of what an African dance looks like, adapted for the stage. But somehow I doubt that a front handspring by an African male wearing a purple thong is even close to authentic.

Overall, I'm sure Ms. Walker is not disappointed. And it left me looking for my copy of The Color Purple to reread, since it's been years. But I seem to have checked it out when I read it, since there is no copy among all those books cluttering my place. So it's on my reading list. Again.

Miss Teen Earth

Most people I know have experienced the feeling of losing interest in the shiny new journal. The one that caught your eye at the bookstore, and you vowed that you were going to start writing again and keep it up this time. So you splurge on the beautiful journal, carry it carefully home, write three entries and then leave it sitting on the shelf with all the other journals you bought over the years.

This blog was in danger of becoming one of those journals. Shiny new free blog, with all the shiny new gadgets to enter and fiddle with, clever (to me) idea, and then nothing for the last week. Until I read the student paper today, optimistically called The Central Florida Future.

I’m joining the environmental Mean Girls today. I apologize to anyone I’m going to be mean to in this post. Also, remember that as I write this I’m sitting on my derriere in the library at a computer in a long row of computers that sit, turned on, for long hours every day using who knows how much energy.

With these caveats, let’s let ‘er rip:

In an article entitled “Miss Teen Earth gives back” author Amy Simpson tells us about Ms. Jolie Schamber (jolie means pretty in French, by the way) who states “ ‘I finally reached my goal. It was kind of the one thing I was really working towards’ ” (Simpson, 2009, A3). Ms. Schamber recently won the crown of Miss Teen Earth. Good for her. This pageant, “aside from the usual swimsuit and gown contest” includes “other specialized events and qualifications, such as a ceremonial tree planting, long interviews and a speech about the environment” (Simpson, 2009, A3). Wow.

There is no mention of any requirements that the swimsuit and gown be made from recycled materials, such as old gowns found at Goodwill and then remade. No mention of animal testing or ingredients in the makeup worn by Ms. Schamber and evidently the retiring Miss Teen Earth who is crowning her in the picture. There is a mention of “ ‘hidden judges’ ” by Schamber, who states that the contestants “ ‘had to be on [their] toes’ “ (Simpson, 2009, A3). Evidently the judges were watching for poor grooming, unladylike behavior, and whether plastic water bottles were thrown away in the garbage and not the recycling bin (not a quote from the article). There is no mention of how or of what the huge glittery crown is made. No mention if the pageant was held in one of the new “green” hotels popping up, which though they may not be perfect are much more energy efficient than most pageant venues that I remember.

Yep. I was Miss Oregon USTA when I was eight. USTA stands for United States Twirling Association. I was a twirler and a pageant contestant. ( Is there an AA for ex pageant participants?) The year before I was the Junior Queen of the Timber Carnival, which was the big summer event in the small town in which I grew up. In the article the pageant director, Evan Skow, is quoted as follows: “the system is really designed to take the word ‘competition’ out” (Simpson, 2009, A3).

From personal experience: Puh-leaze.

However, there may be a couple of positive things to be gleaned from this article. For one, my Developmental Psychology professor, Dr. Hollister, stated during a discussion of these pageants that the general wisdom is that after the age of ten, young women may be able to make up their own minds about taking part. I wanted to quit when I was ten, which seems to back this up. Ms. Schamber evidently started at 14 (Simpson, 2009), which implies that she is taking part in pageantry of her own volition. Also, it’s not all bad that a young woman may show some signs of caring about the environment. Maybe this bit of involvement will lead to more awareness by her about the glitter and its impact.

Ms. Schamber is now a spokesperson for Clean the World Foundation, a non-profit which recycles soap and shampoo from hotel chains to donate to developing countries. She has also participated in a lake cleanup and will be planning an environmental event at the university (Simpson, 2009). I made sure to rinse out my Coke (full of sugar and preservatives) cup and drop it in the plastic recyclables.

Of course, in the same paper there is an article on an alumni who started a business on campus to take the car wash to the car in the parking lot or garage, armed with nothing but a green cleaner and one bucket of water. With these he can wash a whole car with less water than people use to brush their teeth (Renzulli, 2009). Talk about earthy. I nominate him for Mr. Adult Earth.

Long post, I know. One more thing: Jane Austen, of course. She was on a very tight budget, especially after her father died. And she lived in a time where after a dress was worn out, the fabric and lace was saved to use on another. Bonnets were pulled apart and refashioned into a “new” one. Meat was not a staple at every meal, and produce would have been grown locally. She wins my personal Ms. Earth Writer crown. Though she would not have known what to do with it.

Sources:

Renzulli, Kerri Anne. Alumnus starts car-washing service that comes to you. Published in The Central Florida Future November 5, 2009, p. A2.

Simpson, Amy. Miss Teen Earth gives back. Published in The Central Florida Future November 5, 2009, p. A3