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Unfortunately, a handbag with solar panels for charging gadgets doesn't fit my everyday inside office lifestyle. Green energy aside, I'd rather set my purse with gadgets inside on a SplashPower device.
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Gap's concept stores for female baby boomers are being shuttered after 18 months of lackluster sales. Forth & Towne opened 19 stores to attract older women with personal service, chic but comfy fashions, matching accessories, large dressing rooms, and bottled water. But the stores didn't catch on and after the removal of Gap's CEO last month the company needs to refocus its established, but suffering, Gap and Old Navy brands.
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security is proposing to relax the upcoming passport requirement for children entering the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda via sea and land. The original requirements specified that everyone would need a passport, but if the proposal holds, children 15 and under can use a certified copy of a birth certificate instead. Older folks and those who arrive by air will still need a passport.
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The secret is out. Academy Awards presenters and performers did not go home empty handed on Sunday, despite the removal of the lavish Oscar gift baskets. TerraPass has announced that the Academy presented each presenter with 100,000 lbs of CO2 reductions from TerraPass to offset a year of carbon emissions. The gift was physically represented by a glass sculpture from Simon Pearce and TerraPass added a conservation handbook to the box. There's a website set up for purchasing the same sculpture and a year of emissions reductions (30 metric tons in this calculation) for $650, or you can get a 5 year version (including a tour of the glass factory and a meal) for $2,100. (big thanks to Erik!)
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Monday, February 26, 2007
I haven't read many graphic novels, not because I have anything against the medium but mainly because of a lack of exposure and lack of interest in the typical subject matter. At the library on Saturday I picked up "To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel
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Behind a simple storefront on San Pablo Ave in El Cerrito, CA you'll find a treasure trove of buttons. Those in the know visit Exclusive Buttons to pick out little gems of buttons in all sort of colors, shapes, sizes and materials (except for plastic). Store owners Vincent & Mary Sortile took great pride in their wide selection. Vincent, known as the Button Man, passed away on February 16. Mary is keeping the store open as much as she can, since she knows that is what her husband of 65 years would want her to do. LucasFilm and the Seattle Opera have come calling in the past to embellish their costumes. Word of mouth among crafters and button collectors have kept the store and Vincent Sortile's fascination alive.
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Friday, February 23, 2007
Lighthouses are wonderful icons on our shores; it's a shame to see them go to disrepair. Five lighthouses in the San Francisco area are being taken over by the National Park Service as the Coast Guard no longer has a need for their reassuring beacons. Four are in the Golden Gate Bridge vicinity (including the one on Alcatraz) and one is near Half Moon Bay. The Park Service is assessing the restoration and maintenance needs and hopes to eventually open most of them to the public.
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"I'd like to thank the Academy"
Having been deprived of my big research project of the year (and all the attention and hits that came with it), I do feel a little out of sorts. After four years of compiling the contents of the official, but not publicized, Academy Awards gift basket the task is no longer necessary as the basket no longer exists thanks to IRS concerns. I didn't have to spend the week sifting through press release sites and Google's news search trying to pluck out the official gift bag contents from amongst all the publicity hungry celebrity giveaways. I didn't have to use a spreadsheet to track the finds and eliminate duplicates. No reporters emailed me asking how obtain the official list (um, ever heard of good old-fashioned research?). No eager publicists emailed me their clients' good news. It's the end of the line for my official Oscar bag gig. And it was fun while it lasted so I'm sad to see it go. The NY Times has an article on the "branded retreats" set up for Oscar week. These gifting suites on steroids take over Hollywood mansions where celebs can go to relax, eat, get a spa treatment or two, and perhaps take home a few lavish free gifts if they sign the waiver acknowledging their tax liability. Here's to keeping celebrity tax accountants busy and well paid. Enjoy the Oscars!
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
Here's more Academy Awards gift suite water (picking out all those free goodies can make a movie star so very thirsty). Aquamantra is bottled water that "contains more than just water." Each bottle has a mantra printed on the label. "By saying or thinking the positive affirmations and then drinking from the bottle the consumer exudes positive energy, creating an attraction for love, luck or health into their life." This special bottled water is based on the work of Masaru Emoto who claims that the ice crystals of frozen water are more beautiful when positive thoughts are directed at the water or positive written words are attached to the container. Not surprisingly, skeptic James Randi has offered his usual $1 million award if these results can be demonstrated in a double-blind study.
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In "The Physics of the Buffyverse" science writer Jennifer Ouellette takes phenomenon from the Buffy and Angel series and describes how they might be possible in the real world. It's meant to be educational, though some hardcore physicists take issue with her simplification of complex subjects like quantum physics. Oullette feels she's also fighting the stereotype of women in science by upholding the example of a blonde, (ex)cheerleader who fights vampires.
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Water in a box. This is the type of thing I find cruising around the lesser Oscar gift bag sites now that the official Academy presenters' gift bag has gone the way of the dodo. Yes, AQUA2GO water in a box, available at an exclusive gifting suite where celebrities can also get their hair styled with a diamond-encrusted flat iron and sprinkled with diamond dust. And they can use a Celebrity Sharpie Pen encrusted with Swarovski Crystals to sign a board that will be auctioned off for charity. Don't worry, you're probably not invited. (more Sharpie bling here)
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Every second Friday of the month (except in August) the members of the New York C. S. Lewis Society meet at the Church of the Ascension in Greenwich Village. In the NY Times, Lily Koppel observes the personalities present at a recent meeting and their frank fondness for Lewis' fantasy world and his philosophies. The group began in 1969 and claims to be the "oldest society for the appreciation and discussion of C.S. Lewis in the world."
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007
I'm always on the lookout for eco-friendly kitchen countertop ideas. The one I noticed a few years ago was Richlite, a paper and phenolic resin surface. Eleek has popped up recently in a few places like Sunset magazine. They make a recycled aluminum countertop which resembles stone thanks to a powdercoat that resists fingerprints. The Portland, OR company also creates lighting, sinks, and fixtures out of recycled metals with a commitment to sustainable practices.
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Many articles about the probable permanent shelving of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip mention a Canadian show called Slings and Arrows and that it does the backstage plot thing much better. The show takes place at a Shakespearean theater festival in Canada. One of the writers and actors is Mark McKinney (who also pulls double duty on Studio 60). It's been showing on the Sundance Channel in the U.S. and you can purchase Season 1
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Friday, February 16, 2007
Wrigley Field has finally joined the ranks of every other ballpark and installed advertising amongst the ivy in the outfield. I'm still getting over the lights they installed in 1988. Night games and advertising on the walls...what will they think of next?
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What's it like waiting in the standby audience lines for Letterman, Conan, Colbert, and SNL? In the winter? COLD. Well, at least Ben Sisario actually got in to see the shows and survived the freezing gusts to write about it for the NY Times. Subfreezing temperatures worked in his favor as it reduced the competition for seats.
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Flu (or a bad cold?) and work have kept me from posting, but for Valentine's Day I offer up a plea to owners of those special cats who enjoy munching on bouquets. Keep the florist's flowers away from the kitties. Even if you're sure you have all non-toxic varieties, they could be coated in pesticides. Some quotes from Amy Stewart's book Flower Confidential: "unlike fruits and vegetables, flowers are not tested for illegal pesticide residue. After all, they're not going to be eaten. That creates a situation in which growers have an incentive to use the maximum amount of pesticides to eliminate the possibility of a single gnat turning up in a box." Stewart witnessed bunches of roses being "dipped, blossom first, into a barrel of fungicide to prevent botrytis." There's also an AP article circulating about this issue.
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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
A video clip of Julie Andrews as a special guest speller in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The scene of her rather, ahem, long word is interspersed with interviews of the cast all ga-ga over sharing a stage with this legend. (thanks Brad!)
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Is Homer Simpson really from Connecticut like the "Rich Texan" he was quarreling with in a recent episode? Or was it just a jab at our Nutmegger-turned-Texan US President? No matter, fans have much more fun speculating over the true location of Springfield (definitely not Connecticut).
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Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Pay a visit to Kirkland, WA's Terra Bite Lounge and you can order anything you want off their menu and pay nothing. If you want, you can put money in a metal lock box (you'll have to decide how much since they list no prices), but no one will stop you if you skip it. The brainchild of Ervin Peretz (a programmer, hence the geeky name), the coffee shop opened late last year and is averaging $3 per transaction. Peretz thinks he'll "more than break even" when Terra Bite gets 100 patrons a day, even if some don't pay. But social pressures are making non-payment rare -- so far.
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It seems China is making and growing so many of our goods now, why not add wine to the list? I caught a little glimpse of the future in the Sunday paper's Parade Magazine: "China is rolling out its latest potential export: an $80 bottle of cabernet called Chairman’s Reserve. Part of the country is on the same latitude as France’s famed Bordeaux region and has similar soil, ideal for grapes." Grace Vineyard (Chinese is not required to view their site) produces the aforementioned cabernet and it's only one of 100 vineyards in the country, some with foreign investors. There's potential for huge market growth within the country as grape wine becomes popular, but will Chinese winemakers do well against the established vintners in the western world? Given time with imported training and talent, they may surprise us.
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Monday, February 05, 2007
Here are photos and a video from the Chronicle of the Queen Mary 2 sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to San Francisco. Captain Tom Miller, a San Francisco bar pilot, guided the ship into port. It cleared the Golden Gate at mid-span with 30 feet of room and anchored off Treasure Island to await more favorable conditions to dock at Pier 27. Monday evening it leaves for Hawaii after taking on 2000 more passengers. (flickr QM2 tag)
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According to the "Tidbits" section in Seattle Times' Retail Report, Jones Soda (234 Ninth Ave. North in South Lake Union) hands out free drinks on Fridays from 3-5pm (limit one). At other times you can buy 'em for 50 cents (limit two). (plus, Jones' CEO reacts to HFC controversy over switch to cane sugar)
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Friday, February 02, 2007
Being a person with a Chinese name, I get phone calls in Mandarin from people selling long distance service and junk mail for satellite TV service with special deals on programming from China and Taiwan. Yesterday I got a fancy letter from a local plastic surgeon touting eyelid surgery. Blepharoplasty, the technical term for it, is very popular among Asians who want a Western looking eyelid with a crease in it. In fact, it's the number one plastic surgery procedure in Asia and its popularity is increasing among Asians in the U.S. I hope this wasn't a targeted mailing. Keep your monolids Asian women (and men)!
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Coca-Cola has bought Fuze, "one of the last remaining core New Age beverage companies." Coca-Cola needs to play catch-up with PepsiCo in the non-carbonated category. They intend to keep Fuze operating as an independent entity.
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One Christmas season when I was in grade school our music teacher introduced us to the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors." A new production was about to be broadcast (on NBC even, not PBS!) and she wanted us to watch it. As she was describing the plot and playing us some of the music I assumed it was by just another one of those long dead composers. But actually the opera was composed by Gian Carlo Menotti and first performed in 1951. And Menotti was very much alive at the time. He died Thursday at the age of 95. (NY Times obit)
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
Do you have something floating in your eye, bothering you to distraction? Although many doctors believe the procedure is unnecessary, there are a few ophthalmologists who will zap your floaters with a laser. Dr. John Karickhoff of Falls Church, Virginia has been using this technique for 15 years with a better than 90% success rate. He's careful about who he treats, saying most people don't need their floaters removed, but there are people with extreme cases. I noticed more stringy bits in my eye during pregnancy and they've remained there, but I successfully ignore them most of the time.
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After years of campaigning on my part (OK, all I actually did was put the suggestion into their website a few times), Jelly Belly has finally introduced a pomegranate jelly bean. This probably had a lot to do with the recent increased availability and publicity of pomegranates and their health benefits. I'm not taking any credit.
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