team green

When I was at Utah State University, I was a biology major for a while. I took an ecology course from a perma-tanned and be-teva'd professor with a ponytail who had just come from studying rain forest ecology in Costa Rica on sabbatical. He was an excellent teacher with a true passion for nature and I learned more about biology in that course than I did in both AP Biology and Biology 105. I loved learning about life cycles, environmental factors, saving local species, the importance of riparian vegetation and studying indicator species. He was really good at teaching moderate environmentalism and sustainable development. And after taking his ecology class, I was well equipped to recognize that douchebags like Al Gore are NOT true environmentalists no matter how much they try to manipulate you into thinking they are (did anyone else recognize the emotional tactics that he put into his mockumentary, An Inconvenient Truth to distract you from the fact that he has no scientific or educational credentials and that he didn't provide any kind of scholarly research?)

The Kung-Fu master showed me a video clip on treehugger.com the other day by a guy named Michael Pollan. Now this guy understands ecology and how to work with nature and not against it. I grew up riding horses and that idea of working with something and not against it appeals to me - you cannot ride a horse unless you understand that principle. It's ideas like this that give me hope for finding a sustainable way for population to live a healthy, natural lifestyle without thinking we have to do irrational things like chain ourselves to trees. There is a way to create a symbiotic relationship with the earth that both produces a high quality lifestyle for us as well as benefitting our natural surroundings. I highly recommend watching this clip - there are some amazing truths/ideas in it.

A couple quotes from the clip:

"I was seduced by a potato"

"We are all now being manipulated by corn"

Happy Holidays

I was on the phone today with someone at work and before we hung up, she said, very chirpily, "happy Valentines Day!" I'm sorry, what? Since when is Valentines Day a holiday that is expressed vocally? I think it should begin and end with Merry Christmas. I'm not a V-day bah humbug. I even made V-day treats for my neighbor, visiting teachees, friends and mom without the slightest expectation of getting any treats in return. But to have co-workers exclaiming, "Happy Valentines Day" all over the office is a BIT much. So, for everyone who agrees with me that Valentines Day, much like Ground Hogs Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Veterans Day (but at least we get this one off work), is not a REAL holiday, here are tee-shirt sayings to go along with the non-holiday:

Love is for losers
My mommy is my valentine
If I do die alone, my cat will wait at least two days to eat me
Olive Juice
I listen to bands that don't even exist yet
I like movies, long walks on the beach, and cliches

kung fu chicken

sometimes, we have too much kick. this is pretty much the best commercial of all time. click here to watch.

Yo Vote

Did you remember to vote today? When I was leaving the elementary school where I voted, I saw quite a few cute little older couples shuffling up icy sidewalks to go and cast their vote. If they can brave the icy roads and sidewalks with their canes and polyester pants, we should all be able to get out there and vote!