4.19.2007

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I believe Jack Johnson states it best in “The 3 R's” song from the Curious George Soundtrack:
“We’ve got to learn to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”

It amazing to me how easy many people and places have made it for us to recycle, but “we the people” as a whole don’t take advantage of these opportunities. And many of us our guilty, including myself (on occasion), of finding it easier to ignore the FREE resources put in front of us.

For starters Memphis has had curbside recycling program in the city of Memphis since the mid-80s. Growing up my family home was selected as a test-market neighborhood, which supported the recycling project. I was lucky enough to be old enough to tote our bin back and forth from the curb every Wednesday. And it taught me just how easy it was for one family to care enough about the environment to use the bin to recycle our bottles, cans and newspapers.

The streets and recyclable pick-up days may have changed, but my parents are still faithful to the habit of recycling. And when I purchased my house the first question I asked the former owner was when recycling & trash were collected on my block.

And during this school year our religious school is collecting aluminum cans for recycling. In exchange for the money earned from recycling, the kids are able to purchase animals through Heifer International. These gifts help struggling communities worldwide fight hunger and poverty, while continuing the mission of caring for the earth.

My hope is that the kids will take away how recycling can benefit not just us, but those around the world.

My latest adventure in recycling came this past weekend. For the first time ever I attempted to rid myself of some of my E-Waste. It did not go quite as smoothly as I would have anticipated. I thought it would be easy, but after some additional information I was able to clear all the obstacles and dispose of my old dead Ipod and defunct laptop battery. I think we probably as whole don’t realize how much waste we really generate, until we seek out solutions on how to dispose of those electronic gadgets.

If you have concerns check out the manufacturer who created your product or find a local electronic recycling drop off center. But please don’t just toss it in your curbside bin. It will just sit in that landfill for… WELL FOREVER.

Or donate your outdated equipment to your favorite charity. They might be able to turn that obsolete cell phone or computer equipment into recycled non-profit cash.

Again, we should all head Jack’s words:

“If you’re going to the market to buy some juice
You’ve got to bring your own bags and you learn to reduce your waste

And if your brother or your sister’s got some cool clothes
You could Try them on before you buy some more of those
Reuse, we’ve got to learn to reuse

And if the first two R’s don’t work out And if you’ve got to make some trash
Don’t throw it out
Recycle, we’ve got to learn to recycle,

We’ve got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”

4.12.2007

Where My Peeps At?

Now that Easter has come and gone all that remains our the precious peeps (which are NOW in the 1/2 price bin) next to the broken chocolate bunnies...

Of course some folks were up to the challenge of not just eating, but also playing with their peeps this year! And the Washington Post threw down the gauntlet with their first-ever Sunday Source Peeps Diorama Contest. The peep show really brought a grin to my face and I hope it will brighten your day too!

Below is a picture of my favorite scene titled:

"Say Anything: I Gave Her My Heart, She Gave Me a Peep"
By Julia Morse

But don't take my word for it. Check out these Masterpeepers for yourself. Thanks to KCJ for directing me to this little afternoon pick me up. My only hope is to make others have a good old fashion giggle with my peeps.

4.10.2007

Going To The Zoo...

Well I headed to the zoo again to FREE Cranbeary, unfortunately she's still sacked out in the animal hospital recovering. And since it was Easter Sunday and quite slow, I decided to rethink my escape escapades. My friend Sarah (a.k.a. - my twin) and I decided to pal up with the Pandas, before heading over to visit Payton & Haley. All the animals seemed to be living the laid back life on this fine Sunday morning. Anyway, it probably would look way to obvious if I tried to escort a large white bear from the grounds. Here are some picture from our visit with some musical captions...

Sleeping In - The Postal Service

Get Up - R.E.M.

Here With Me - Dido

Hospital Food - David Gray

Hands Open - Snow Patrol

4.08.2007

Life On A Chain

I came across this video of Pete Yorn shot at his Memphis concert last November. It made me laugh out loud remembering our night with Pete at the New Daisy. I believe this video was shot by the smelly fellow that was standing quite close to us that night. Which could only mean that you can hear me straining/singing along with Pete. And you might actually hear the crazy girl that was standing near us screaming "I WANT YOUR HAT!"

4.02.2007

Fantastic Fabulous

"Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today."
-The Princess Bride


I have to say this weekend was fantastic fabulous! I was able to share most of the weekend celebrating my friend Lisa & Dave’s wedding. It was definitely a grand Weddingpalooza extravaganza that brought people in from around the country and France.

The bride who is a childhood friend of mine, looked amazing – you couldn't wipe off that smile on her face if you tried. And Dave is such a sweet and caring guy. You can see how they balance each other within minutes of being around them both. I wish them the best of luck as they begin their new journey together.

The other fantastic thing about Lisa’s wedding was that it brought together so many folks from her various stages of life thus far. I was ecstatic to celebrate her simcha with her, but also it gave me an excuse to catch up with old pals from religious school, jr./sr. high school, camp and college. And as I get older the divide that separated me from the rest of the world seems to shrink considerably. I’m constantly reminded how small the world is, through the levels of connections we have between people. This wedding is a reminder that we really do live in world filled with 6 degrees of separation. And these connections, re-connections and encounters really make life blissful.