For those of you interested in repurposing all those plastics bags you get when you go grocery shopping rather than just throwing them away and harming the environment and sea life, take a look: (Sorry, it seems I don't know how to upload videos either, but I learned how to include hyperlinks!)
Sewing with plastic - (you can fast forward to 1:40 - 4:44 min. if you don't want to watch the full video.) It basically explains how to cut, iron, and then sew the sheets of plastic into items such as reusable shopping bags. I tried this once but I couldn't get the heat at the right level to properly fuse the plastic together.
Making plarn - (very quick, 52 sec. only) A quick slideshow of pictures that shows you how plastic bags can be turned into plarn (plastic yarn). Plarn can then be used in place of regular yarn and since it is much more durable, you can make nice reusable bags out of them as well as various other items. The user in this video has turned the plastic into a very durable twine like material. There are also other methods for making plarn, some may be easier than others.
Example of Bags made from Plarn - Skip to around 2:50 min for a very beautifully crocheted example of bags that can be made out of plarn.
Just wanted to share a few ideas for all those plastics bags. Another simple way is to recycle them at locations that accept bags with the recyclable logo on them. Or use them as trash bags rather than buying them.
Sad Fact: "Over 1 million plastic bags are consumed per minute globally."
Gut Wrenching Fact: "Marine wildlife mistakes plastic bags for food and dies."
Frustrating Fact: "Supermarkets and politicians will take years to sort it out."
- Taken from morsbags.com, a site whose message is to: "make your own cotton morsbags and distribute - each one has the potential to eliminate 100's of plastic bags over its' lifetime." They encourage volunteers to make bags in pods, sort of like a tupperware party with sewing machines and fabric.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
totes umbrellas
I think Tuesday was the day it was pouring. So with so much rain, I decided to use a bigger umbrella. I walked out of the house and to the bus stop. It was a good thing I had my big umbrella because the rain was coming down hard and sideways with the strong wind. I got on the bus and closed the umbrella. I then opened it up when I got off the bus to walk to the train. Once I got down the stairs, I tried to close the umbrella but only the top part closed, the part where the fabric was. The metal rod part would not collapse in towards the handle no matter what I tried. So I took a very crowded train ride with a halfway closed umbrella, it was about 3ft long and others probably thought I didn't know how to close it properly. Then halfway through the ride, I realized it was pouring out and I wouldn't be able to use my umbrella when I got off the train. Since I couldn't close it properly, it wouldn't open up because of the spring loaded thing or whatever. I ended up walking from the 6 train manually holding the umbrella top open with my hand. Not only did I look like an idiot, but my arm was so tired because the umbrella was very heavy due to its huge size and I had to hold it against the wind.
So I was very upset since this was a tote umbrella and they are supposed to be great and work well all the time and are expensive. I think it cost 35$ for the size I was using and that's alot for an umbrella. I think I have 10 various different Totes at home and 4/10 have broken which is ridiculous. And all the defects are due to the umbrella itself and not poor care etc.
Totes do however boast a lifetime warranty and I just looked it up. I think I can get it replaced, I need to send it back, pay for the shipping, and then give them another 5$ for s&h in order to fix the problem :( Why can't they just make umbrellas that live up to their promised superiority?
Wow I can't believe I am posting on my blog though my phone.
So I was very upset since this was a tote umbrella and they are supposed to be great and work well all the time and are expensive. I think it cost 35$ for the size I was using and that's alot for an umbrella. I think I have 10 various different Totes at home and 4/10 have broken which is ridiculous. And all the defects are due to the umbrella itself and not poor care etc.
Totes do however boast a lifetime warranty and I just looked it up. I think I can get it replaced, I need to send it back, pay for the shipping, and then give them another 5$ for s&h in order to fix the problem :( Why can't they just make umbrellas that live up to their promised superiority?
Wow I can't believe I am posting on my blog though my phone.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
New Orleans - "The City That Care Forgot"
New Orleans, Louisiana is an especially unique city, maybe one of its kind in the United States. Take for example, the fact that soil from 31 states flow from the Mississippi River and empties onto New Orleans. What other state can boast this fact? The area is a river delta and is the prime reason for its establishment. This port city was once essential to the shipping industry, but has fallen short in recent years (though still is a major contributor to NO’s economic base – aprox. 13 billion annually)(Brinkley, 31). The city has also become a site for oil extraction as well as commercial and game fishing. NO was unique from the beginning. Sieur de Bienville searched for years for a site for a great port and settled on the land where NO now resides. He chose the site because “he calculated that it was about ten feet above sea level; it was probably not quite that high, but the site was distinctly above the surrounding waters in those early days”(6). Since the beginning, this land has been in danger of flooding and damage from storms.
New Orleans is also very culturally and historically distinct. The city has a great mix of European, African, Caribbean, American, and Southern roots. This is reflected in NO’s language, zoning, architecture, hierarchy, surnames, food, and music. In Brinkley’s words, the city’s architecture became a “favorite location for Hollywood movies.” “Filmmakers could find practically any sort of backdrop in [NO], from Spanish colonial mansions and Creole cottages to American Greek revival, art deco European, and postmodern ranches” (30). As for music, Jazz was cultivated and born in the NO neighborhood of Storyville (30). The city is also widely known for its Cajun and Creole food and some still speak the languages. Its Mardi Gras season and parades are also world renowned.
During the times of slavery, NO also set itself apart as their slaves, as opposed to the British, were given the chance to work and make money to buy their freedom. NO was also the first city in the south to integrate schools as well as being home to the first black newspaper, The Tribune. Its’ citizens were holding train car “sittings” before Rosa Park became famous. The city also led politically as it was one of the first to have a legislation of which more than half of its legislators were comprised of Blacks.
While the “city was unique in many ways, it was not immune to the various ills that America’s urban flesh is heir to.” As A. J. Liebling once remarked: “I realized that New Orleans might be exotic in some respects but that in others it was exactly like everyplace else.” A city which once experienced a more kindly type of segregation (if you could call it that), suddenly saw itself as a spitting image of others, if not worse. The “alienation of black and white populations, and the decay of inner-city neighborhoods and public services” wrecked the city socially, economically, and physically (Lewis, 71). Its education system was in shambles and with the integration of schools, able whites fled the city into the nearby suburbs where there children would be protected. Crime and murder rates rose along with drug and gun violence. The tourism industry was limited to more well off white areas rather than the slums where tourists were in danger. The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson turned segregation into legalized discrimination. Urban planning also cut parishes in half, Treme for example, with the I-10 highway in the 1960’s.
As much as the city of New Orleans became a paradigmatic urban area, it was still at greater risk than others. As mentioned above, the city itself was settled on land that was barely above sea level, and this was in the early 1700’s. NO was prone to flooding/storms and have experienced a few major deadly ones within its history (1893, 1909, 1927). As the many years passed, “subsidence” described as the “sinking effect that had taken hold of coastal Louisiana through a number of contributing factors both natural (invasive flora eating insect species, shifting subsurface faults), and man-made (dredging, canal digging, polluting) (Brinkley, 12). As a result, NO has “sunk to an average of 6ft below the waterline” (13). Man-made factors especially contributed to the disastrous results of storms such as Hurrican Katrina. These factors had reduced the city’s wetlands at an alarming rate of one tennis court every thirteen seconds in 2005 (9). The city without its natural marshes/wetlands would see an increase of one foot of storm surge for every 2.7 miles of disappearing land (13). Not only were these facts ignored by the government in favor of oil/shipping, seafood, tourism, education, crime, and other economic and social issues, but they were a clear indicator of what would be expected (not if but) when faced with a category 5 hurricane. Another indicator is the fact that the the Red Cross “refused to operate a facility in [NO] because none of the commonly used emergency sites was much above sea level (17). They also didn't have a Hurricane Command Center or a network of communications established in advance.
In addition, the Mayor at the time, Nagin, can also be blamed for the aftermath of Katrina. Rather than issuing a mandatory evacuation order, he was busy shooting his first film debut and meeting with lawyers regarding legal action from hotels and the tourism industry if he were to order an evacuation. He was too concerned with economic issues and tourism and overlooked the thousands of disabled, elderly, or individuals without vehicles to evacuate. The city itself also did not posses a realistic hurricane plan though it did have a evacuation plan. Though there were clear cut guidelines in the NO Emergency Management Plan booklet and federal guidelines, they were ignored by Mayor Nagin.
Though New Orleans was once a striking and unique city, it fell under the weight of societal norms, pressuring it into the same situations faced by other cities. With the city’s special location, it was bound to one day suffer the disastrous affects of a storm like Katrina. Though indicators in its history had forewarned of such an event, they were ignored time and time again. As a result, it will take years before NO will become the splendor it once was.
New Orleans is also very culturally and historically distinct. The city has a great mix of European, African, Caribbean, American, and Southern roots. This is reflected in NO’s language, zoning, architecture, hierarchy, surnames, food, and music. In Brinkley’s words, the city’s architecture became a “favorite location for Hollywood movies.” “Filmmakers could find practically any sort of backdrop in [NO], from Spanish colonial mansions and Creole cottages to American Greek revival, art deco European, and postmodern ranches” (30). As for music, Jazz was cultivated and born in the NO neighborhood of Storyville (30). The city is also widely known for its Cajun and Creole food and some still speak the languages. Its Mardi Gras season and parades are also world renowned.
During the times of slavery, NO also set itself apart as their slaves, as opposed to the British, were given the chance to work and make money to buy their freedom. NO was also the first city in the south to integrate schools as well as being home to the first black newspaper, The Tribune. Its’ citizens were holding train car “sittings” before Rosa Park became famous. The city also led politically as it was one of the first to have a legislation of which more than half of its legislators were comprised of Blacks.
While the “city was unique in many ways, it was not immune to the various ills that America’s urban flesh is heir to.” As A. J. Liebling once remarked: “I realized that New Orleans might be exotic in some respects but that in others it was exactly like everyplace else.” A city which once experienced a more kindly type of segregation (if you could call it that), suddenly saw itself as a spitting image of others, if not worse. The “alienation of black and white populations, and the decay of inner-city neighborhoods and public services” wrecked the city socially, economically, and physically (Lewis, 71). Its education system was in shambles and with the integration of schools, able whites fled the city into the nearby suburbs where there children would be protected. Crime and murder rates rose along with drug and gun violence. The tourism industry was limited to more well off white areas rather than the slums where tourists were in danger. The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson turned segregation into legalized discrimination. Urban planning also cut parishes in half, Treme for example, with the I-10 highway in the 1960’s.
As much as the city of New Orleans became a paradigmatic urban area, it was still at greater risk than others. As mentioned above, the city itself was settled on land that was barely above sea level, and this was in the early 1700’s. NO was prone to flooding/storms and have experienced a few major deadly ones within its history (1893, 1909, 1927). As the many years passed, “subsidence” described as the “sinking effect that had taken hold of coastal Louisiana through a number of contributing factors both natural (invasive flora eating insect species, shifting subsurface faults), and man-made (dredging, canal digging, polluting) (Brinkley, 12). As a result, NO has “sunk to an average of 6ft below the waterline” (13). Man-made factors especially contributed to the disastrous results of storms such as Hurrican Katrina. These factors had reduced the city’s wetlands at an alarming rate of one tennis court every thirteen seconds in 2005 (9). The city without its natural marshes/wetlands would see an increase of one foot of storm surge for every 2.7 miles of disappearing land (13). Not only were these facts ignored by the government in favor of oil/shipping, seafood, tourism, education, crime, and other economic and social issues, but they were a clear indicator of what would be expected (not if but) when faced with a category 5 hurricane. Another indicator is the fact that the the Red Cross “refused to operate a facility in [NO] because none of the commonly used emergency sites was much above sea level (17). They also didn't have a Hurricane Command Center or a network of communications established in advance.
In addition, the Mayor at the time, Nagin, can also be blamed for the aftermath of Katrina. Rather than issuing a mandatory evacuation order, he was busy shooting his first film debut and meeting with lawyers regarding legal action from hotels and the tourism industry if he were to order an evacuation. He was too concerned with economic issues and tourism and overlooked the thousands of disabled, elderly, or individuals without vehicles to evacuate. The city itself also did not posses a realistic hurricane plan though it did have a evacuation plan. Though there were clear cut guidelines in the NO Emergency Management Plan booklet and federal guidelines, they were ignored by Mayor Nagin.
Though New Orleans was once a striking and unique city, it fell under the weight of societal norms, pressuring it into the same situations faced by other cities. With the city’s special location, it was bound to one day suffer the disastrous affects of a storm like Katrina. Though indicators in its history had forewarned of such an event, they were ignored time and time again. As a result, it will take years before NO will become the splendor it once was.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Boots
I ordered these boots online and I just got them in the mail and I think I love them. I haven't worn them out yet so I'm not too sure but from the looks of them and trying them on at home, they seem great. They are eco friendly. The soles are made from old car tires and the suede is from an eco certified tannery (though I would've preferred to not have had to kill an animal for the shoes =\). The knit part of the shoe is made of hemp and organic cotton. You can also roll the knit part up to knee length or fold them down and wear as booties. (I just hope they don't stretch out too badly.)
The best part of all? They were originally priced at $85. I saw them when they first came out but i wasn't sure I wanted to pay that amount for them, especially since I couldn't try them on and I didn't have the shoe itself in front of me to look at. The picture online wasn't very helpful. But now they are on sale for $40. I also got free shipping and I goodsearched a discount code for the website which I was able to use. (TIP: When you shop online, you can often find extra discounts via google etc. You will have to check if the codes are valid, mostly through the shopping cart of that particular site. Ex: search: "GAP online discount codes") So now, I have new, eco friendly shoes for the winter which will also hopefully keep my feet warm. They look a bit different and not everyone may like the style. But if you do, you can find them at www.simpleshoes.com
The site also sells mens and childrens shoes and some bags. They are all eco friendly and even carry some vegan items.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Volunteers anyone?
Ok, so I know I already mentioned Sue Rock with my blog presentation but I had planned to do a blog post on her when we were first given this assignment so I'll just briefly say a bit more now.
So, Sue Rock Originals Everyone (SROE) collects donated materials such as yarn, fabrics, knitting/crochet tools and pairs these items with volunteers who turn the raw materials into finished goods (clothing, accessories). These items are then donated to victims of domestic violence.
I was looking to volunteer and do something I really enjoyed and through Goodsearch.com http://www.goodsearch.com I found this non-profit. The most appealing part to me was the flexibility I would have with time and the choices in items to make. Volunteers pick up yarn and materials and can then do everything from home (or on the train or whenever else you have time). When you are finished with your projects, you take them back to her. She really doesn't have a set deadline and you can do everything at your own pace (ex: beginners may take longer than veterans). You also get to be as creative as you want and can make hat and scarf sets, sweaters, tank tops, socks, bags, and even hair accessories. Of course, it all depends on what you know how to make. She makes donations 2x a year, once in October during Domestic Violence Awareness month and again in May for Mother's Day.
I finger knit (done with hands only and no knitting needles) the scarf in the photo. I learned the technique on Youtube.com which is also where I learned to crochet. I thought it was cute and wanted to try it out, maybe for a child or something. I'll probably blog about that another day.
So, if anyone is interested in volunteering, let me know. Or if you know others who knit/crochet or sew and have the time for this, spread the word. =] Her blog can be found at: www.suerockoriginals.blogspot.com
www.Goodsearch.com allows you to pick any charity or school and for each search you process, they donate 1 cent to your charity of choice. You can also register your non-profit or school with them and start raising money for your own cause.
does anyone know how to get the hyperlinks to work? please? Thanks.
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