Free Admission to Museums in Montreal

Yesterday, Montreal held an event that allowed people to go to museums free of charge. I'm not a very artsy type of person, but I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to experience something new. I decided I'd leave home around 10:30 AM and set out for some of the destinations.

The first one I wanted to go see was the Planetarium. When I got there (near Bonaventure metro), a line spilled out the front doors and around the block. Only then did I realize the amount of screaming, crying, playful young families the building attracted. I left Saint-Jacques street and walked to Saint-Paul street in Old Montreal, toward the Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum.

Now, in the pamphlet it lured us in saying, "come explore 2000 years of history," but this wasn't the case. In fact, I think there was a typo, and it may have had to be "200 years." Basically, all I learnt was that a woman named Marguerite Bourgeoys instilled an educational system in order to please God. The only thing I enjoyed about that one was the look-out facing the Old Port. It was nice, and i even saw some newlyweds posing for some pictures. After that I left and walked towards Sherbrooke.


The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts was the last stop. Despite visiting only two others, the walking ended up tuckering me out, I had no energy due to my stupid cookie diet, and it was getting late. The Fine Arts Museum can't ever disappoint me. I went to see an Andy Warhol exhibit a little while ago, and despite not appreciating his art, the exhibit was quite nice.

I went to go see the Mediterranean artifacts first. There were pieces from Ancient Greece and Egypt. I'm fascinated by both cultures but I have a slight preference for the Greek stuff. Aside from being half Greek myself, I took an incredible class in Cegep on Greek mythology. The sculptures were absolutely exquisite and thoroughly detailed. The Egyptians' were less so, but hauntingly intriguing nevertheless. I was also surprised by the fact that despite both cultures' artifacts to be from around the same time, their perception of the human face differed completely. The Greeks really seemed to grasp the concept of individual "faces", while the Egyptians seemed to focus mostly on the characteristics of a "population."

I finished off my stay by going to their permanent paintings collection. Do you have any idea how many paintings there are?? Most were really lovely, some really strange. The paintings from the Victorian era were really beautiful; completely realistic, but the people painted all had the same shaped eyes and mouths. I thought it could have something to do with the fact that there were far fewer inter-racial and inter-cultural pairings than there are today. I find today I can discern people's eye shape specifically, we're all truly different.

The paintings portion was probably my favourite part of the day. The paintings went from anyone between Monet, to Renoir, to Warhol. It was great to see the progression of art, the imitations of skill, the use of colour evolve over some 200 years. Looking at another person's work who is no longer around leaves a fast ocean of mystery to navigate through.

I thought this experience as particularly important because I think it raises the concept of free education. Why do we pay to learn about another person's painting? Or why do we pay to see a sarcophagus? Why can't we just be told what everything means? In my opinion, art is an important factor of culture, and within culture is education, so it is all related. If I relate this to Orr's article, education merely "emphasizes theories instead of values... abstraction rather than consciousness." Education will teach us about the method of brush strokes, but looking at the relief of paint against a canvas, and seeing those brush strokes with your own eyes, is a completely different story.

According to Orr, one principle in rethinking education would be:"education is to master your own person." Art is a very personal thing; it allows one to express herself with no constraints, no limits, no censoring, nothing. It's completely free-will. Art tells a story, but is open to interpretation at the same time. Despite not connecting completely with art, some pieces can really evoke strong emotion in me, whether sadness or serenity, happiness or confusion.

Want to know more?
All images are from Google.
Read Orr's article, What Is Education For? to learn more.

Oh jobs, where art thou?

The school year is over and it is finally summer, which means only two things: summer classes and working. An excellent time to catch up on classes and make dollar bills. I have a problem though; I have my summer classes set, but I am still unemployed.

Now, let's be clear on one thing: I am a saver. I saved enough of money from my last job, but I really hate digging into that amount. It isn't being refreshed and the dwindling number is really starting to get to me. I would work either way, but aside from the experience, money is an excellent incentive. I like working. It makes me feel useful, I like being busy, and the reward is a lot faster than that of school, for example. I'll work for two weeks, and get paid in two weeks. I go to University for three years, and I'll reap the benefits in my 30 when I get a kick-ass job. Getting paid gives me a sense of accomplishment, and it definitely gives me something to look forward to.

And yet I am jobless. I've left my CV off at 7 places including today. And still nothing. The thing is, I'm trying to get a job in a normal, retail store. I've never worked in one, and I really think I should get the experience if I'm going into marketing. I want to learn how to work with customers, see how to look at them from a seller point of view, and observe their behaviour. I'm bracing myself for rude people though...not looking forward to that part.

I've only ever had office jobs, also, which leaves me with little sales experience and virtually no client interaction. So in a way I guess I could see why I'm not getting any bites. Still, my former jobs were good ones, why wouldn't they think I was a worthy investment?

I think part of the problem could be attributed to the fact that I might be applying too late in the season. I only finish my finals by April 30th, then started summer school straight after, so I didn't exactly have time to give my resumes out. Also, maybe the mini recession that touched Canada could have to do with it. According to International Human Resources, from May 2010, Canada's current unemployment rate is 8.1%. However, there have recently been an increase in jobs in Canada. Nevertheless, Quebec's rate remains at 7.9%.

It's too bad there is such a long wait before you here back from opportunity. The other day I got a call on my cell, and I didn't know and I got so excited! Wrong number. "That's okay. Bye," I said, but really I was hoping someone was going to offer me a job. I guess I'll be printing out a couple more and try to hit other areas besides Laval; downtown and Saint-Laurent must have some potential. How about this, if I get a job, I promise to blog about it!! Right, now my wish is out in the universe.

Want to know more?

International Human Resources site: http://www.hrmguide.net/canada/jobmarket/canadian-unemployment.htm

Image from Google.

Spring Cleaning!!

Well it isn't really spring anymore, but it's never too late to clean out a sacred place.

My room is messy approximately 10 out of the 12 months of the year. So when I actually do decide to clean up my room, it is brought on by an act of God or purely by boredom. But this time, my tidying up had nothing to do with the need for being clean: I wanted to get rid of all the stuff that I felt was tying me down.

I noticed as I was going through my stuff that I would hesitate throwing out stuff, or giving stuff away because I attached some hypothetical value to it. First of all, I'll make it clear that I'm not a bit shopping buff, so I don't have a tone of clothes (in my opinion). So when I'd come across a shirt I only wore once, or maybe never before, I'd rationalize that it would be wasting if I didn't keep it. Or maybe I can keep it for workout clothes, or what if I need this colour at some point? ...All useless limitations I've imposed on my decision-making in order to avoid throwing something out.

I threw out a lot of stuff. Clothes and various knick knacks filled about 5 full clothes store-sized bags. I replaced little porcelain decorative things with pictures of friends and family. It's a lot more personable, and it means more to me. But as I was packing up everything and carrying the bags out of my room, I felt like I could throw out more. What is with getting rid of stuff all at the same time that makes me feel so liberated? To see a little extra space on a shelf to put up more books, or a little more room in a drawer, is actually a really comforting feeling for me. I feel like all the extra materialistic things in my room were kind of suffocating, and I hadn't notice to what degree until I go rid of them. I felt like such a hoarder! But I was really pleased to see everything I could declutter from my life.

So I got kind of curious about what it is that renders getting rid of unimportant possessions that somewhat therapeutic to people. Katherine Gibson from Canadian Living Magazine says that, "If left unchecked, clutter not only poses physical constraints, but it can also pollute mental well-being. [...]Clearing clutter not only liberates your physical space but also evicts emotional clutter."

What Gibson is saying pretty much coincides with what I was talking about earlier. When I think of it, the people I talk about thorough cleaning, or big "give away" days, they feel good about getting rid of stuff because of the amount of stuff suffocates them. It's not only attributing an issue of less space or mobility, but also the mental struggle with it.

I also personally find that a simpler environment to live in reduces the amount of stress I feel. When I'm studying in my room and there are piles of clothes I need to hike over, or books collecting in piles against drawers I need to open, I get frustrated. I feel like I shouldn't put so much effort into feeling calm in my own bedroom, or moving around in it for that matter.

I also noticed I was holding on to broken or way too old things. For example, I kept an old pair of jeans with a massive hole going across the knee. But they fit right! They were comfy! And my mom would give me a disapproving look whenever I'd wear them! But I threw them out. Only after I had I told myself I should look for places around Montreal that take thoroughly damaged clothing, or a jeans-recycling plant type of place. I just looked it up and nothing seemed to come up. I kept stained or faded tshirts, again for the fit and the comfort, but those are gone now too. I feel bad about everything I threw out. I know clothing that isn't organic doesn't disappear quickly. However, I rationalize that I used them to their full use, right?

Finally, with the things I didn't want anymore, I intend on giving them to the Salvation Army. Their mission is to meet human needs and help change the community for the better. It would be a great way to recycle and reuse goods that can still be used. It would provide useful things for people in need. I'm really happy my room is cleaner, and even tried making my bed everyday. It just makes me look forward to resting, it makes me feel comfortable, and it makes me feel neater, or healthier.

Want to know more?

Canadian Living article: http://www.canadianliving.com/health/mind_and_spirit/6_ways_to_clean_up_your_home_life_4.php

Salvation Army's mission statement: http://www.salvationarmy.ca/missionandvalues/

All images are from Google.

HOME

HOME is an environmental documentary featured on YouTube that focuses on human impact on natural resources. You can watch this short movie here. It mixes concepts such as human rights, globalization, and global warming all together.

The introduction of the movie tells about how in 200,000 years out of the 4 billion since life first appeared on planet Earth, the presence of humans has unbalanced our own environment. The movie is my story, it is your story. This is what I/you have done.

The Earth is made up of intricate processes that create a balance in life. The balance itself is of these links; it allows us to live, our food to live, it provides our society with resources. The life of one being depends on that of another, and so forth. Even the death of natural elements helps to maintain the balance. For example, when a tree dies, it decomposes and goes to creating soil. Are we just a species that is going to disappear? Will we go extinct just as millions of other have over all of Earth’s history?

The documentary makes us seem like such an invasive species. The narrator makes the point that we have taken control of every habitat we could. We’ve taken control of a large portion of coastal region. However, we are the only species to be able to adapt to every environment. The first humans were very labour-oriented. Children were considered assets if they would help around the house and food was tough to find.

Then came agriculture. Humans experienced food surpluses for the first time. To this day, agriculture is still the occupation to a vast majority of the population. Most of this work is even done by hand in most cases.

We then found oil. Oil was really the changing point of humanity. We use is every day for many uses. In 50 years, the health of the environment has degraded quicker than at any other point. This change came about most particularly in the US. The country has particularly harnessed the power of fuels. Pesticides came about in order to kill parasites. Famines and bad harvests became a distant memory, the biggest problem nowadays being where to put all the surpluses. Pesticides and herbicides would be absorbed into the soil, and discharged of into our waterbeds…
Which humans drink water from. Yes, these can be harmful to our species.

Our abundant use of water has caused problems also. We have been able to transform the most arid land into vast green fields. We can raise more cattle for our increased meat production. The cattle eats grain… it takes 1,000 litres of water to produce 1 kilogram of potatoes, 4,000 litres for 1 kilo of rice, and 13,000 for 1 kilo of beef. The numbers are revolting. Our agriculture is oil-dependent. Imagine the amount of it we use a day. Time is most relative now to our oil; when we run out of it, we’ll run out of time too.

We also severely stress the world’s minerals. Due to excessive mining, we will have exhausted all of the planet’s reserves. It’s a terrifying thought. A good example of a high consumer of minerals is Dubai. The country itself has few natural resources, yet has been able to achieve the impossible. It even created its own separate island by shipping desert sand into the ocean. But because of the key resource it does have – oil – they gain enough profit in order to import millions of tones of minerals.

Our society focuses strongly on consumption. In 50 years, we’ve increased our fish consumption from 18 to 100 million metric tones a year. We’ve caught so many large fish that the adults don’t have enough to reproduce, leading to an exhaustion of fish supply.

Then there are wetlands, which take up 6% of the Earth. But even their moisture is being reduced. The Amazon’s river has been depleted by 20% due to the deforestation. In Borneo, important forests were chopped down to replace it all with palm trees. Borneo happens to be the largest producer of palm oil, which is not only used in food, but in cosmetics, detergents, and even as fuel.

Humans have created huge disparities. Nigeria, for example, is the largest oil exporter in Africa.

However, though the country has wealth, 70% of the inhabitants don’t have access to it. Half of the world’s poor live in resource-rich nations. Half the world’s health is in the hands of 2% of the world’s richest.

¼ of the Earth’s species can go extinct by 2050: 1 mammal in 4, 1 bird in 8, and 1 amphibian in 3. Why do we try to save species? Is it for our own use, or for a less-selfish cause? Are we interrupting as natural rhythm through which some species disappear and new ones appear? Not necessarily.

Today, extinction rates are 1,000 times faster than the natural rate should be. Maybe humans are only still alive because we want to survive. We won’t go until we’ve tried our very hardest to stay.

Want to know more?

All pictures are from Google.

The movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

The Cookie Diet, or Why I Will Be Unhappy for a Week

Today I started myself on the cookie diet for a week. This diet suggests you eat 6 cookies a day: two at breakfast, two at lunch, and two more as snacks or to fill your hunger. For supper, you can have "people food" so long as it consists of a large portion of low-fat meat and a narrow range of vegetables.

The cookies are really expensive to buy. Also, the 6 cookies are in separate wrappers for every days, and there is a lot of waste; the plastic case is #6 so it isn't recyclable in Montreal. 7 packs of waste can add up.

So ideally, you would heat up a little cookie to really "bring out the flavours" and munch on them. Also, you're supposed to drink 8 cups of water per day. You're supposed to drink loads of water when you eat the cookies so they expand in your stomach and make you less hungry. But the idea of getting myself to drink 8 cups of water is actually a bit of a chore... It's easy to drink a lot of water when you're eating the cookies because the fiber makes you hungry, but between them it's kinda tough to remind yourself.

I begrudgingly ate 5 of the cookies up til supper. So supper I ate chicken and leaves of spinach, and had half a cup of cucumber with salt on it. I ate it so quickly and actually enjoyed eating real food. I'm already getting hungry...this no eating yummy food thing is already getting to me. I'm also a late night snacker, so I'm salvaging that last cookie like you would not believe. Yey, a cookie and a glass of water. So, so wrong!

I even keep thinking about my favourite foods, pasta and bread. These foods are in the 'marvelous' food category in the Canadian food guide. I also keep rationalizing that hey, I'm still kinda young, I can eat whatever the hell I want and feel super. But this is very very false. My eating habits are affecting me physically and mentally. I, like others, wish for better for myself. I'm not sure if I'll achieve this by eating yucky cookies, but it's worth a shot. I keep thinking that tomorrow, before my 6 o'clock class, I can go buy myself a big bag of chips and watch a movie. Or maybe a poutine, that's a food-drug right there. But alas, my packaged plastic-tasting cookies will be waiting for me patiently, and I really should not leave them hanging.

I wonder how many people have the same food rationalizations as me. There must be people who say, "I'll have this bag of chips, and walk to the bus tomorrow, so it'll cancel things out." No, no, no. I think society isn't aware of just how many calories we intake, and how many we spend out. We never compensate, we let ourselves eat too much of the wrong stuff, we stretch our stomachs, and we make ourselves unhappy. Whether it's that you don't like how your jeans fit, or that you're mad you can't go up the stairs without breaking a sweat, it still affects you.

So here's me taking the first step. It's an expensive, and a boring first step, but it still counts. I'll try to stop eating like a 400-pound man despite my complaining, and see if I see any true change this week. One thing I'm really happy about is that at least I don't have to stop drinking diet coke...No calories and no carbs!

Meet Sven

On Saturday, my mom and I went to our virtually yearly visit to the wonderful world of Ikea. Many people have gone missing in this colossal store, but despite this you can find everything you've ever dreamt of for your home there.

Even though we wanted a little bit of everything, we stumbled upon little things we found kind of cute, like strangely-shaped ice cube trays, new curtains, and other trinkets. I even found some solar-powered desk lamps: the base of the lamp consisted of a solar panel that would charge up and then the light would work. I thought this was so innovative and really forward-looking: the average customer can already begin to make better choices at an affordable price.

One of the things I wanted to do for my social context class was buy and care for a plant. I found a baby plant and a tiny pot, and the whole thing cost about $3, so really affordable for what I was hoping to get. According to the label, I bought a Tropisk. It looks like it can be a really nice-looking plant (as far as nice-looking plants go) when it gets bigger, with long stems and wide green leaves (as seen on the right). The instructions for taking care of it call for light but not to place it in direct lighting, to let it go dry, then to basically flood it, and repeat. When I showed it to my dad, he suggested I call it Sven since I got it from Ikea. I liked the idea. Sven it is.

The watering method actually reminded me of drip irrigation. This entails watering crops in a specific way. You would wait for them to get dry, then give them ONLY the water necessarily for their survival. This saves water, and seeing as how the agricultural sector uses a huge amount of water, whether from wetlands or other communal water areas.

I was wondering how much of a difference houseplants can make on an air-filtering basis compared to trees. I did a little research and if I'm understanding the information correctly, the advantage of trees lies in the fact that they have more leaves. Trees and plants filter the air by converting CO2 into O2.

Let's take a look at an example. At rest, an average person consumes 53 liters of oxygen per hour. An average houseplant, if it has about 30 leaves, produces approximately 5 mililiters of oxygen per leaf. My plant has...13 leaves :(. It only produces 65 mililitres of oxygen per hour. I would need approximately 815 house plants to produce the amount of oxygen I would need in only one hour. To put things into a different light, one single tree would produce more oxygen in only one season than 10 people would inhale during the entire year. So advantage: trees. In other words, if I planted one tree now, and waited maybe 10 years for it to grow, it would produce, seasonally, enough oxygen for the four members in my family as well as my neighbour's to consume in one year.

Want to know more?

All images were found on Google.

Plant info: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/newton/askasci/1993/biology/bio027.htm

Tree info: http://forestry.about.com/od/forestandtreeuses/ss/trees_value_3.htm

Green Marketing1 - Vitamin Water

I think there is a new, important trend that is emerging, and that is green marketing. I define green marketing as selling a product to customers, and providing them with information on how to dispose of it after they finish it, or that a product is made of 60% recyclable plastic, or even that it will biodegrade in less than 5 years after its use is complete. People are more and more environmentally conscious, and hold forward-looking companies in high esteem.

I'm majoring in marketing and minoring in environment. I think I was always interested in business because I find there is more opportunity and more chance that I would make money (this is important to me, to be honest). The environment, on the other hand, has always been important to me in a different way. My mom always made us recycle when we were young, and the habit carried on with me until now. I'm very precise in what I recycle and throw away, and in what I waste, in my opinion. Like, I literally freak out if I see someone throw a paper in the trash bin. It seems unnatural, wrong, and I actually get mad.

So I figured I would couple the two and make a difference. There has got to be a way that I can change people's habits, or make people feel better about purchasing something that won't hurt their planet. I know one of the main drivers that makes me recycle, or make better environmental choices, is that I don't want to live in a degrading environment. When I'm only 50, I don't want to be obliged to walk around with an oxygen mask, or fight others for water, or only have two meals a day because there simply isn't enough food to go around. I don't want to contract serious illnesses because of a higher population. I know these scenarios are probably over-exaggerations, but I'm afraid of these outcomes, and I want and need to change them.

The most important and pending question I can think of, as a marketer and as an environmentalist, is how can we get people to want to be environmentally conscious?



For today's blog, I will be focusing on Vitamin Water. It's a flavoured water drink that's supposed to contain vitamins people usually don't get enough of. Despite the fact that is one of the most disappointing new hyped products I have tried in a long time, they advertise the recycling symbol on the bottom of the bottle in a great way. Next to the typical recycling symbol, it reads, "30 may be the new 20, but green is definitely the new black. please recycle."

First of all, all the lettering is in lowercase. This really gives and informal appeal to the ad, like it's speaking to us in a casual conversation. Next, "green is definitely the new black" makes recycling sound like the "it" thing to do, the hottest trend for today's modern person. This little sentence relates to people on a deeper, personal level. It makes you appreciate the creativity and entices you to make an effort and recycle the bottle. I think it's a great way of giving more space to the recycling logo on the bottle and I even think it can increase the chances of it actually being recycled.

Want to know more?
The image was retrieved from Google.
See more about Vitamin Water on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/vitaminwater?v=app_352976184252#!/vitaminwater?v=wall

Jello Shots: Mixing Awesome with Awesome

One of the things about social context that I really like is that it allows us to try things we never have before. So today's blog might not save the planet, nor may it change the way society works, but it will make the long weekend a hell of a lot funner.

I never had jello shots before and really wanted to try making some. It sounded pretty easy to do when I looked it up. You can see the full recipe here. Here's what it calls for:

What You'll Need
(Note: 1 cup = 8 ounces)

1. 6 ounces of Jello or gelatin mix (usually 1 large package) - Any flavor except sugar-free
2. 16 ounces of boiling water
3. 6 ounces of cold water
4. 20 small plastic cups or shot glasses
5. Mixing bowl 1
6. 10 ounces of 80-proof hard alcohol (cold).

Note: While vodka is the most common type of alcohol used in Jello shots, any type of hard liquor will do. See below for various Jello/alcohol flavor combinations.

How to Make a Jello Shot
-Pour the contents of your Jello packet into a large mixing bowl.
-Mix in the boiling water while stirring gently. Let it sit for a minute so that the gelatin can fully activate.
-Stir in the alcohol and cold water.
-Set up your small cups or shot glasses on a serving tray.
-Give each cup a small spray of cooking oil. This will help keep the Jello from sticking to the bottom.
-Pour the alcohol/jello/water mixture into the cups or glasses
-Place your tray of Jello shots in the refrigerator and let them cool for at least two hours.
-Remove from the fridge, serve and enjoy!

I changed the recipe a bit to fit whatever I had. I thought I had vodka but it ended up being gin. I bought two interesting sounding flavours of Jello: strawberry-kiwi and strawberry-banana. I decided to use the gin with the strawberry-kiwi one, and a bit of leftover rum with the strawberry-banana one (I called my mom and we rationalized that rum tastes good in fruity drinks so why wouldn't it work?).

Around two hours later, the liquids jellified inside the small bowl. I didn't use any plastic so as to not use plastic cups uselessly. I tried cutting the jello into squares but that was rather pointless, so I resorted to using spoons as our shot glasses. My test subjects were my boyfriend Anthony, and my mom.

So first, we started with the strawberry-kiwi gin shots. No joke, it smelled like Purell or Febreeze. They both gave me similar reactions, and when I tried it for myself, I understood why. Gin should neeeeever be used in these shots. Oh wow, it tasted the way I imagined Purell would. Then we tried the strawberry-banana rum jello shots. Oh God. It smelled better than the gin ones, but tasted soooo baaad. They were actually pretty strong. Anthony and my mom's facial expressions intensified and I laughed.

I enjoyed this experiment even though I will probably throw everything out. I never tried jello shots and figured it would be worth it to kill two birds with one stone and try to make them at the same time. It was really fast to make - aside from waiting for it to turn to jelly - and I took too much pleasure out of watching people try it. Next time I will definitely use vodka, and I might need to buy little shot cups if I don't want to serve people mush.

Want to know more?
Jello shot instructions: http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-make-a-jello-shot
All images were retrieved on Google.

1% for the Planet

One Percent for the Planet is, in my personal opinion, one of the most innovative environmental movements of recent times. There are currently almost 1,300 companies that donate 1% of their annual sales to non profit organizations that benefit positive environmental change. I even keep checking if they have job openings because I would love working with them somehow. I'm majoring in marketing and minoring in environment, and to deal with such a positive movement would truly be fulfilling. Here is a small clip of the company, explaining a little about how it works.

I think this video makes us feel like we can indirectly be donating to the environment by purchasing certain goods; munch on a Clif Bar, wear a Pantagonia, or go to a Jack Johnson concert. In the end it's the consumers that generate sales for the company, so really we're all working together!

Now, to me it seems that 1% of sales is a reasonable goal to achieve, but I'm not sure of the scale of things from a corporate point of view. I mean it is 1% from the revenue, not net income, so it might represent a bit of a high price for companies. Either way, I can't underline how much I love the whole concept. This would definitely be something I would donate to if I had my own company.

I first heard about One Percent for the Planet a while ago, but then again in one of my marketing classes last year. One group was presenting a small company's product, which happen to be high-scale reusable bags. They actually brought the entire class a bag so that already won big bonus points with me (I'm a sucker for free shit). Anyways, the bag company happened to be affiliated with One Percent for the Planet, which is fitting when I think about it. The bags sported the little 1% logo, and when I saw it I developed such a deep respect for the bag company.

My hope is that these logos spread and tattoo various products in various fields. I feel that 1% gives a sense of community to its members but also to the consumers who buy these members' products. It feels as though you are somehow contributing to saving the planet by buying something you want, like you are the indirect cause of bettering your environment.

In North America alone, there are 1,033 members. There is so much potential on this continent. But I also realized how ironic it is that the part of the world that is most responsible for climate change is the part that is spitting out the most members willing to help. When I was going through the list of the members, I noticed that there were a good handful from Canada. I didn't go through all of them since there are quite a few, but the assumption I make is that they are these little companies with few franchises who want to do some good, so they decided to help the environment. I have a hard time imagining that there are a lot of big Fortune 500 companies that have joined 1% (though there surely must be).

To finish I guess I would just have to say that I fully support One Percent for the Planet's mission, which is to create a healthier planet through nonprofit funding. I think the bulk of environmental change should come from corporations: either their are energy innefficient, their packaging is absurbly polluting, they are completely environmentally oblivious or careless, etc. These are the people that should be reaping the costs but who maintain a free-rider stance. The ethical, conscious, and modern 1,300 companies that have joined One Percent for the Planet are the ones that will make the difference. One percent of my own income will certainly not generate the same amount as one percent of the sales of a successful company. It's an oppotunity for companies in varrying fields to pull their money together to save the source that is actually providing them with their resources.

Want to know more?

The video was found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfnGOiFJUoo

The logo was found on Google.

Other information was found on One Percent for the Planet's site: http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/

Makeup Conclusion: Less is More

Today marks the end of my makeup experiment. So: Natural vs Makeup? It consisted of wearing makeup everyday for a week, and seeing how I felt at the end of it. I have to admit that I really got back into the habit of putting on makeup every morning rather quickly. I became more used to putting everything on than I did when I first started the experiment. I also noticed that once I got more into it, I’d experiment more, or use different colours.

There’s one thing I would have changed about my experiment had I had the time. For one, my mom would sometimes take my face in her hands and say, “Are you wearing any makeup?” She suggested I actually wear a lot of makeup and see how that goes, but I didn’t feel entirely comfortable doing so. She didn’t think I had put on enough, so I would try putting on a little more next time.

Honestly I don’t even think it was a very noticeable change. When I explained my experiment to two guy friends, both gave me blank stares. The makeup wasn’t showing enough for it to be a big change. My dad and brother hadn’t noticed a difference either, and I hadn’t seen my boyfriend enough this week for him to see it and compare, but I’m willing to bet he wouldn’t have noticed anything. It’s a guy thing, you see.

Putting on a face every day was a bit of a chore, but I was surprisingly dedicated to not skipping a day. Even on the days where I wouldn’t feel well, I’d still put on something. I guess in some ways getting dolled up is kind of fun; I felt cute, nothing special, but a little different. I was also able to put my guilt aside about feeling shallow for wearing makeup, rationalizing that it was actually for school, for an experiment. I also think I noticed that people would look at me when they spoke to me instead of away. I’m saying that I think I did because it’s possible that this has always been the case but that I just felt as though they did because I had stuff plastered to my face. There have been no big behavioural changes on my part, nor on that of the people I have dealt with as of late (that I noticed).

Taking off the makeup was more annoying than putting it on. I had to use makeup remover stuff, which was really thick, and I just scrapped everything off. Even then, though, there would be remnants of mascara that would stay stuck to my eyes and I couldn’t get it off properly. It would also prevent me from going to bed right away; I had to be responsible and take everything off so my eyelids wouldn’t be glued together the next morning.

Overall, I did not notice a big difference. I was a nice little challenge but that’s about the extent of things. I maybe felt as though people listened to me more, but I only think it’s because I had my experiment on my mind and thought I could notice more. I’ve come to realize that makeup doesn’t really mean much to me, nor do I have much interest in it.

The image is from Google, and it was for Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty.

Jog for my blog

Ahh, the awesome shape joggers are in. Now that's something to be jealous about. Their incredible endurance, their seemingly professional and serious exterior. Jogging, an excellent way to stay in shape and an outlet to concentrate all one's stress into. The trim body and the calves of steel, incredible!

And yet completeeeelyyy unattainable.

Just went jogging. What the hell was that?? I feel like the universe just made me its bitch.

I woke up this morning feeling good about the idea of going jogging. I haven't gone jogging in months, and quite frankly I kind of miss that satisfying exhaustion one feels after a good run. So I put on an old t-shirt and soccer shorts and shoes, grabbed my iPod, put on some Ludacris, and left my cell and keys at home. I left through the garage, stretched quickly, and was on my way.

It was going pretty well for the first let's say 4 minutes. It's not too hot today, not too windy, and best of all, not very many people were outside. I was initially intending on jogging at home on the treadmill, but when I went downstairs it was surrounded by stuff, and I didn't feel like moving everything. I also rationalized that I would save energy if I jogged outside. So there I was, running to the beat of a song, and things were going rather well. Obviously certain weaknesses appeared more readily than others, notably my breathing increased really quickly, as did my heart rate.

Anyways, I kept going. I passed a couple of people and looked down when I did. I really wanted to jog at home. To be honest I was really embarrassed to run in front of people when I hadn't in so long. I didn't wanna look as exhausted as I felt. I hit the ten minute mark and then I started having a sharp pain in my stomach and felt dizzy so I slowed to a walk. I was half way into my run, which also meant I was at the furthest point away from home.

So, stomach hurting, dizziness. I walked home and tried to do so quickly. I was sooo tired and just focused on dragging my ass home. I tried opening the garage and it wouldn't open and I got mad. Finally it did though, and I walked in, lied down on the couch , and quite frankly almost fell asleep. I was exhausted and disappointed.

In any case, I plan to try jogging again. I want a healthier lifestyle, and I miss being active. I think I'm going to jog at home next time though, to avoid walking home again. Maybe I'll be able to adjust the settings on the treadmill so I can get back into it gradually despite the pace I THINK I should be going at. I need a lot more time to get into this than I thought, sadly. But I'll definitely try it again. Imagine if our entire society jogged! Just millions of sporty men and women in great shape keeping up healthy habits. It is an encouraging thought.

All of the images are from Google.

Fifty People, One Question

Fifty People, One Question is a social experiment that was conducted in a couple of places. It works by interviewing 50 passers-by and asking them an in-depth question. A couple people pause before answering, others don't even take a second. These short videos reveal so much about how people act, what they use to convey meaning, and emotion, and even how they behave in front of a camera. The first one was conducted in New Orleans, and is also my favourite video out of the bunch.


I love how the beginning of the video features a blurry lens, while the people being interviewed are preparing to answer the question. We only find out the question through the people that repeated it. They were asked: By the end of today, what would you wish to happen? While watching the video, I could help but put myself in the participants' shoes. When they said something funny, I laughed; when they said something sad or maybe unclear, I listened attentively and searched their faces for more information. The first theme that arose during this short is work. Some people wanted to get more accomplished, others wanted to find some. Next, money was a popular wish. "I want to be a millionaire" or "More money" were some answers that came up. Finally and most importantly is the theme of relationships, whether friends, family, or lovers. One man wished that "a nice lady would join me smokin' a cigar", and another wanted to get married one day. One young man hoped the adoption papers would be approved, another hoped his son would come back.

These kind of videos often prove to me how tightly knit people really are to one another. We all want similar things. We want more money. We want to work somewhere we'd like. We want to have people in our lives to love. This experiment has really proven how human we are. Now, on to Video #2, by PostSecret.


The question of this interview is once again expressed through one of the interviewees: What's your secret? I was expecting to see more resistance from these people, but some jumped right in. Some became serious, others were more humorous. The first theme would be love. One guy admitted that he can't only date one girl, another admitted his sexual orientation, and a young girl admitted to transferring schools to be with an ex-boyfriend. Some people had funnier secrets that made me smile: a young boy said he hated peanut butter and jelly, and another man told the story about how his computer broke because he actually urinated on it, not spilled coffee on it.

There were moments during the short film where you hear people say something that can be very personally revealing when they don't even notice it. For example, a young man said he fantasized about being a special agent. At the end of his interview he nonchalantly suggested that it might be because of the lack of excitement in his life. This got me thinking: Is he unhappy about it? Does he dream of doing funner stuff, or going out more? Is he shy, introverted? Another girl, who I found tried looking tough and cool in front of her other friends, said something I don't think she initially intended to reveal: "I act like an idiot 'cause...I don't know, 'cause I have a void in my heart." What or who is this void about? Does she try being funny to avoid other emotions? Does she even like how she's acting?

Finally, and definitely the most touching part of the video, is the interviewed couple. I think it's rather unclear if they are friends or dating, so there are different assumptions that I couple with the type of relationship between them. I personally am assuming they are friends. He guiltily admits that he ran over the girl's cat. The interview cuts to other respondents, then goes back to the couple, and the girl admits that the books she doesn't let him read consist of love poems about him. Now, the only thing that tips me off that they might be friends is the face he makes. The looks that spread across his face range anywhere from surprise, to flattering, to shyness, and it almost looks like he's even in love with her. The look on his face when she divulged the secret was incredibly heart-warming.

The last video takes place in Brooklyn. The question is revealed to be: Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow?


The answers for this question were a bit tamer than the last two videos. The two most prominent themes were home and places around the world. When asked the question, a lot of people simply said they'd like to wake up where they woke up that morning, in their bed. I think people attribute a feeling of safety when they are in their own bed. Others wished they'd wake up in Alaska, Kenya, Paris, and London. These represented the dream places of the people who answered. Some interviewees wanted to wake up in fictional or unfeasible places such as Paradise and outer space. The rest of the respondents wanted to wake up next to someone they loved/ wanted to love.

My overall opinion of these videos is that I loved the concept. You can really see the different facets of a person just by letting them speak, or describe something in a certain way, or in an ever so subtle gesture. I don't think people can often see how revealing these can turn out to be, even if they don't mean it or were not hinting at it.

It makes me think about how much attention we pay to the people we talk with on a daily basis. When you ask your wife how her day went, does she say, "Good," look away and tuck her hair behind her ear? Does that mean something went wrong at work, or did she just have an off-day? When you ask your friend how they are today, would they ever be honest enough to admit that they feel really homesick today? Why are people in such a rush to answer verbal questions unless they are stopped and asked to elaborate? Why does everyone automatically say "I'm good, you?" instead of "Not that great. I lost my car keys and was late for work this morning"? Why can't we speak to each other? We talk too much, only to fill the silence. It looks to me as though we're dealing with a colossal population of people who have trouble speaking with others, and the members of this population talk to each other, further exacerbating the situation. Where are those people you can always go to to talk to? People are embarrassed about, or ashamed of, or hurt about stuff that is normal, but no one thinks there are others that feel similarly. It sounds strange to say it, but when I watch these videos, I can see how truly human people can be. They're real: some things make them laugh, other things make them worry, feel sad, mad, scared, excited. People are just melting pots of emotions, yet we forget others are just the same way. Everyone should have someone to talk to.


Want to see more?
The videos in today's blogs can be found here:
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Chrq17zKI
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAQtbTqDefw
Video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJAUGg4081Q&feature=related

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! and a glass of milk.

Today, I took a walk on the wild side, and made vegan cookies! You see, I'm not very good at baking. To quote my loving mother, last time I made cookies, she asked "How can you butcher something like this?" Well Mom, I don't know, but this time, my uber delicious vegan cookies came out great. I would take a picture of them, but anyways, they are a lovely beige colour ( i.e. NOT BURNT). I was also supposed to take them out while they were still a bit soft, because they harden just a little more when you let them cool off. I'm so proud of the outcome.

First things first: the recipe. I found the vegan chocolate chip cookies recipe here. The recipe was written by a woman named Denise, and here's what she suggested:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp.salt
• cinnamon to taste (optional)
• vegan chocolate or carob chips - put in as many as you like
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:
VERY IMPORTANT-make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. It will work if they're not at room temp but it works MUCH better if they are. Also while your oven is pre-heating put the cookie sheets you are going to use on top of the oven so they get preheated as well. Preheat oven to 350.In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon (if you choose). Add chips. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium size bowl mix vegan sugar and oil. Mix it well. Add the vanilla and then add the water. Mix it well. Add the wet to the well in the dry. Mix it well but be careful not to overwork it. Add more chips if you need to. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Put them in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets.(top to bottom,and 180 degree rotation) Bake another 4 minutes and check them.

The results are great. My brother had the same assumption I did: we thought that as soon as we'd bite into one I'd taste vegetables (from the oil), but really it mixed into everything well and I wasn't able to discern it. However, the amount of vegetable oil this recipe calls for grossed me out. Especially when I was mixing all the liquids and the sugar together, I found it hard to wipe away the look on my face. It's the face you make when you find out about the bad ingredients that go into one of your favourite foods; you're mildly disgusted, but you shrug and eat it anyways.

Another plus is that vegan cookies take 3 times less time to be cooked than normal cookies! The recipe is also really easy to follow. I can definitely see people wanting to eat their cookies sooner with this recipe than later. The one thing is that I don't know much about vegan foods, and I don't know how unhealthy this compares to normal cookies. There's a lot of oil in there, but then non-vegan recipes might call for lots of butter, or cream, even milk, and eggs. So I'm not sure if I can consider this a healthier option in addition to being a faster one.

So let's compare vegan cookies with non-vegan cookies. Vegan cookies won't use any animal products, so the fat mostly comes just from vegetable oil. Non-vegan cookies typically call for eggs, milk, and butter. If everyone only used vegan recipes, animal products would decrease in demand, but then there would be a considerably higher stress on vegetable oil production. Would it then really change anything if now, instead of buying land for different livestock and cattle to live on, we are buying land to grow crops to turn into oil? Soil degradation would occur in both cases, wouldn't it?

In any case, I think veganism is an interesting choice. I'm not quite clear as to why vegans don't drink milk, or eat eggs, for example, because if the cow isn't milked it'll be in pain, and you can't stop a chicken from laying eggs, but I understand the staying away from animal food and clothing. It's more sustainable, as far as keeping animals for the sole purpose of food goes, and it might even be a healthier choice too. I enjoyed this cooking experiment and am happy that I didn't notice a huge difference from non-vegan cookies.

Want to know more?:

Denise's vegan chocolate chip cookies: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6391.0

Images found on Google.

Yoga. And…breaaathe.

My mom and I agreed to try something new for the New Year, and we decided on starting up yoga. We are both really stressed people, and for our health we chose to try to do something about it. We found this little place not too far from home and tried it out.

I have to admit that we didn’t take it very seriously at the beginning. Indian chanting began playing in the back of the room and she and I started to giggle. We couldn’t hold a position for more than a couple of seconds. Even breathing by inflating our belly demanded concentration; apparently, stress makes us breathe by our chest, and decreases the amount of oxygen to the rest of the body. It was hard to focus on our steady breathing, hold new positions, and stay concentrated simultaneously. We did notice that we felt better after class, so we signed up for a couple months.

A few things should be noted. I’m the type of person who loves sports. I played soccer for 10 years and started volleyball last year. I like the exertion and I like pushing myself, and I found neither of these things in yoga. Yoga underlines the importance of not pushing your body, “the breath needs to go where the body allows it.” It revolves around making sure you pace your breath; if you are struggling, you won’t gain length and you’ll tense your body.

My mom and I noticed that we felt really cleansed after class. I was surprised how cliché it was, but I actually did feel relaxed despite my scepticism. The feeling was exactly like having a really good two-hour stretch. I even apply the breathing techniques during times when I can’t sleep, or right before I have to give a presentation (I don’t do well with public speaking). And the best result of all? Drum roll please… I can finally touch my toes!!! In 20 years, I have never deliberately touched my toes without crying. I’m able to do it now! Granted it took me almost four months, but I think I’d rather train my body in a non-stress environment and reach the goal healthily.

There are some downsides to yoga, though. If you are looking for a workout, I wouldn’t suggest it. While this routine is great for the soul, and for getting a good stretch, I would definitely not assume you’ll be burning calories and working up a considerable sweat. Secondly, at the beginning, it’s hard to not push yourself. The whole point is that you breathe and give your body time.

Despite all of this, I would still suggest people tried yoga. I think people today live in a fast-pace environment, have unhealthy habits, and are overly work-oriented. Yoga is a great outlet to clear your mind (because it actually works, no matter what you’ve been thinking about) and get a chance to relax (since these moments are tough to squeeze into our schedules).

All pictures were retrieved from Google.

Experiment: To wear makeup, or not to wear makeup. THAT is the question.

At the beginning of this school year, I stopped wearing makeup aside from a little cover-up to hide the dark circles under my eyes… not flattering. I stopped wearing mascara, eyeliner, and lipgloss. I’m not sure why I did it. I think I just really got into the whole “natural” concept. Not that I looked like I had tonnes of makeup caked onto my face, but it was there. In a way, it’s almost like I wanted to train my face to not need cosmetics.

SO. I stopped wearing makeup. At first, I felt ugly, for lack of a better, honest word. I looked pale and tired, almost sick. My eyes looked bald and their colour seemed even blander than before (and it’s pretty tough getting brown eyes look more interesting). I felt boring and as though looking at people would allow them to try to figure out “what was wrong.” I would describe the feeling as being similar to that of when you decide to wear a colour shirt you’re not used to wearing, and you think everyone looking at you thinks it looks weird.

Then, after maybe two weeks, I started to notice a small change. I felt a little fresher. My morning routine consisted of putting on face cream and dabbing a little concealer on the inner corners of my eyes, the whole process taking about a minute. Even washing my face became easier; it went so much faster when I had virtually nothing to wash off. I feel better, but not necessarily “prettier” (an idea that differs from person to person); just neutral. And so my experiment begins.

I have chosen to go back to wearing makeup for a week. Today’s face is brought to you by concealer, mascara, and eyeliner. My eyelashes look longer than I remember them being, maybe because they had a chance to repair and grow more, I don’t know. My eyes are stinging a bit, actually. When I look up wearing my glasses, my eyelashes hit the lenses (the mascara ads length). It also took me a little while to put on all the makeup.

In the end, I like the look. It’s pretty basic stuff, really. I don’t feel overdone, and simultaneously I don't feel plain. The makeup is doing its job: accentuating what you want it to, hiding everything else you want it to. My eyes feel bigger and my skin looks fine, I guess. Maybe smoother.

So this is Day 1. It’s going to be a pain to take off tonight. I’ll see how I feel next Monday, but right now I’m just going with it pretty indifferently. I’m going to compare how I feel physically and mentally to wearing makeup everyday, and see if maybe I'll be treated differently by others.

Want to know more?
All images were found on Google.

Six Degrees...could change the world.

In 2008, National Geographic came out with a documentary called Six Degrees Could Change the World. This movie was meant to underline human effects on climate change, and how the world would differ if it were heated by one degree or six degrees. Each degree represents a radically different future.

ONE DEGREE

We are currently sitting at an increased global temperature of 0.8 degrees Celsius, so let's round it up to 1 degree. 40 years from right now, the Himalayas may be glacier-less. In 50 years, Greenland's ice sheet could be melting at an unstoppable pace. By 2100, we could lose the Amazon rain forest to an arid savanna. What have we done?

Let's take a look at some emerging evidence. At the present time, severe drought has affected dry regions such as Australia. Bush fires are getting harder and harder to contain. In the US, Americans eat, on average, 3 cheeseburgers a week. That works out to about 150 a year. The calculated carbon footprint of their consumption in the United States, considering methane production from cattle, works out to 200 million metric tonnes of CO2 a year. The entire world is pumping carbon emissions into the atmosphere at a surprising rate, heating up our planet and causing dire conditions.

Consequences at 1 Degree: The ice starts to melt in the Arctic and opens up the North-West passage for ships, flooding, hurricanes begin to hit the South Atlantic coast, and drought spreads across the Western US.

TWO DEGREES
The planet warming up by 2 degrees is characterized mainly by a large increase in CO2. This increase severely affects the world's coral reefs, which are home to millions of different aquatic species. Oceans are natural carbon sinks, and a large influx of carbon dioxide leads to acidic waters and to widespread coral bleaching events.

Consequences at 2 degrees: There’s such little ice that polar bears struggle to survive, insects migrate in strange new directions, a temperate climate moves north in the US, new forests take root in Canada’s melting tundra, some Pacific islands begin to disappear under rising ocean levels, and coastal cities fall victim to regular floods.

THREE DEGREES
At this point, there will be more drought. In 2003, a severe drought spread through Europe, killing close to 30,000 people. In 2005, The Amazon River ran bone-dry, followed by forest fires that destroyed one third of the Amazon forest.

Consequences at 3 degrees: The Arctic is ice-free all summer, the Amazon is drying up, snow caps on the Alps all but disappear, El Niño’s extreme weather patterns become the status quo, Europe suffers through intense summer heat, photosynthesis in plants and trees will break down, and the weather becomes the most violent humans have ever experienced (tragic events such as Hurricane Katrina may become the norm).

FOUR DEGREES

The hotter the temperature of the Earth gets, the harder it is to estimate its effects on the human population. Experts can give an example, though. New York City would be severely flooded. The subway system and electrical systems underground will be destroyed, and the city will be forced to be immobilized. Flooding could cause parts of the city to be 25 feet under water. Furthermore, the Himalayan glacier maybe be completely gone.

Consequences at 4 degrees: Oceans will rise and take over deltas (displacing 1 billion people), coastal regions could be flooded massively, Bangladesh will be washed away, Egypt inundated, Venice submerged, glaciers will disappear, Northern Canada becomes bountiful in agriculture, Scandinavia develops beaches, major rivers dry up, and megastorms can occur as often as every 5 years.

FIVE DEGREES

Heating to this degree suggests that people must always be mobile due to unpredictable weather patterns. Thankfully, it is likely that we never see this increase in our lifetime.

Consequences at 5 degrees: The number of climate refugees climbs to the hundreds of millions. Life on Earth becomes nightmarish and social systems break down (the poorest of the poor are left behind).

SIX DEGREES
Six degrees cooler was the reason for the last major glaciation period...imagine what 6 degrees hotter could do. A planet this hot has been associated with mass extinctions in the past. This could potentially suggest a total wipe-out.

Consequences at 6 degrees: Oceans are marine wastelands, deserts spread across continents, and natural disasters become common events.

So what can we do?

There are possibilities to get ourselves out of this situation. We can ensure proper insulation of our homes and appliances such as the freezer and fridge in order to avoid unnecessary energy loss. Next, we can kill "vampire loads" which are like the little red lights on your TV symbolizing that it is indeed off. Finally, we can move to renewable resources such as wind power and solar power which would decrease our dependency on harmful fossil fuels.

Want to know more??

All images were retrieved from Google.

Six Degrees Could Change the World. Bowman, R., Fields, E., & Mark, L. 2008. National Geographic.