modern life vs. human nature

I am going to define a new category of people based on their lifestyles and perceptions (a psychographic class as they would call it in marketing speak) considering the new economy that is facing us and our old habits of doing things. It is an entirely useless term but it may help those of us who are trying to find out where we do, or don’t, belong in today’s over -marketed, under-achieving, instantaneously ungratified society. Also these marketing classifications were created so that it would be easier to sell ourselves stuff.

I think that the group might grow quite quickly once people realize that a) your yuppy life is over or b) you killed your yuppy life because it was shallow and useless or c) you are depressed and wondering why you and your friends are boring turds with no hope for the future.

Quite simply MUC means middle-aged, urban and cynical. Welcome to it. The age group would be 30-40 or even 35-45 depending on how long you hang on either way. Once you fall into the MUC in the first few years it’s a little overwhelming but then you kind of ease into it after a awhile and then midway through you may even start to get wise and realize that life isn’t about your ex-girlfriend being a bitch or your ex-boyfriend being a total douchbag. But more about that later, we’re only at the beginning here..and the beginning is  guys “god damn it I’m tired today and I don’t feel like doing shit.” and girls, well for girls it’s more internal, they just kind of look at the world in a different way and say things like “you know, there’s a lot of strollers around this neighbourhood. It’s kind of depressing sometimes.”  Honestly, I have no idea what girls are thinking. Maybe I’ll start asking…

Anyway, consider the fact that you have a good education, understand in small various ways how the world works, live in the richest part of the world and that we are all going to die from catastrophic climate change so there is no hope..oh, and you will probably make less money in the next few years while everything gets more expensive..and you are there. Welcome to the MUC years!

Enjoy…or not.

I recently found this interesting tidbit about sustainable sushi while browsing the internet trying to figure out how I would eat fish again after hearing that farmed fish was not such a healthy alternative to wild fish.

However, I was not satisfied with the tiny bit of information that was provided in this clip. I wanted to know more and figured that others would too.  So then I found this little guide to sustainable sushi by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

It gives you the straight up facts on the best choices, the best alternatives and the fish to avoid at all costs.

For example, it says quite point blank to avoid farmed salmon unless you like eating pesticides and PCBs. On the best choice board I found that I could still eat shrimp and prawn by the bucket load as long as it was from BC or Oregon.(sorry tiger shrimp but you are on the AVOID list.)

For a great in depth read on what fish are healthy and sustainable this is the guide.

enjoy.

Just came across this…

I found it on the Swobo site: How to avoid the bummer life

This was just sent to me from my friends at Adbusters.  God bless them for seeing the humor and opportunity in this latest economic crisis.  Of course, Adbusters has been publishing the wrongs of North American society for years and they generally come off as a little negative.(the truth hurts!)

In this case, I laughed out loud when I saw this spoof cover of the Economist because it makes a few things very apparent; mainly that humans really can’t understand the global or even local economy because it is natural and fallible.(just like humans)  Any one philosophy of the market, human relations or even religion is never absolutely right because we are all different.  It’s seems apparent that multiple economic theories can and must work together in order for us to have a healthy, flowing economy that involves more than one nation.

Global economies… global communication… global religions…global citizenship and global survival means working together…kind of like a team…hhhmmm..novel idea; team work. It is something that Bush and Cheney don’t understand. It is also something that greedy people don’t understand. They don’t understand that it is us and us…not us vs. them.  As Bush tried to say once at the wrong time and for the wrong reason…if you fuck someone over again and again…over time you are going get fucked over yourself.  You can call it justice, karma, revolution or even market adjustment but it comes down to irresponsible behaviour on the part of mortgage brokers, regulators, banks and the US government.  The only problem with this is that a lot of people were duped. a lot of people jumped onto the greed wagon so they could get more money for retirement or for bigger houses with bigger tvs.  Now there is a general panic among those fearful of financial failure.  Of course, the easy way out of this mess is to let it all go.  Maybe go for a bike ride and take in nature.  After all, it’s only zero’s.

Enjoy.

I didn’t start this blog because I was an environmentalist or an activist. I am a sportswear designer and marketer but what I’ve come to realize is that there is so much that goes on underneath our noses in North American culture that is truly remarkable in so many ways that I’ve become thoroughly engrossed in finding out more. I mean, reading about green fashion is relatively boring compared to reading about how Nestle buys cocoa from farmers in Africa that use child slave labour or that Jack in the Box fast food killed people in California and they are still operating, or that China kills nuns or even that teflon causes cancer and on, and on…It’s so interesting because it lets you see all the warped things people will do just to make money. I am amused, saddened and encouraged all at the same time. Just like this next article. Who could have guessed that one of the key people behind getting aspartame to market after almost all clinical tests linked it to every bad thing that could ever happen to someone, would be Donald Rumsfeld! Mind you I think you would have to ingest a lot of it to really harm yourself like say…5 diet cokes a week for an entire year.

Anyway, the latest information I have found is about aspartame and it’s harmful effects and increasing usage in a lot of food.

An article in The Ecologist about Aspartame.

The New York Times article

Read the full article in Common Ground.

Here are a few excerpts:

Aspartame was discovered accidentally in 1965 by James Schlatter, a scientist and employee of the pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle, while working on new drug formulations. Despite disastrous safety studies done by G.D. Searle itself and later by the FDA, aspartame was approved in 1981 with the help of G.D. Searle’s then CEO Donald Rumsfeld who was also the secretary of defence in the Reagan administration at the time.
In 1985 G.D. Searle sold the rights to aspartame to Monsanto, the company that has also given us Agent Orange, recombinant bovine growth hormone and a wide variety of chemicals and genetically modified plants.

In 2000, European researchers demonstrated that one of the breakdown products of aspartame, formaldehyde, accumulates in the brain and other organs of regular users leading to immune, nervous system and genetic damage which consequently may result in diagnoses of multiple sclerosis, lupus, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, as well as birth defects in children of aspartame users.

The reason I put the Dentyne gum picture up(read the ingredients) is that most gums now have aspartame so you might not want to chew as much…or more…your choice.

Even though I own a biodeisel SUV i decided that I wanted to ride my bike more often to work so that I would contribute less pollution to our air. Coincidentally, my SUV broke down soon after I made the decision and so I threw myself wholeheartedly into the commuter biking thing.

Last season I bought a $300 (made in china) Nishiki hybrid bicycle that I used to get around on because my downhill mountain bike was just too heavy. As soon as I started riding the Nishiki more often it started to break down. The more bike shops I went to the more I was told that my bike was basically a “piece of shit” and that If I wanted to get a “good” bike I would have to spend some dough. Feeling a little depressed at having to shell out more money for what I thought was an inexpensive way to get around the city I decided to shop around more..and low and behold I found the best bike shop in the world! Our Community Bikes on Main St. in Vancouver is a non-profit cooperative bike shop where they don’t tell you your bike is a piece of shit and they help you improve it inexpensively with used or donated parts from other bikers.(You still pay for parts but they are super cheap.) The other great part about the shop is that the volunteers teach you how to fix your bike too. So instead of just dropping your bike off and waiting for the repair guy to fix it you bring it in and fix it yourself with their help. What a concept?

So a few months later I have created the bike in the above picture(my CHUB!)

It is a pretty sweet ride, has all the gears of a ten speed and front shocks. All for below $500..which includes the original cost of the bike a year ago. For me it is the perfect combination of all types of bikes. In other words, it works for a curb jumping, wheelie popping, fast commute to work.

My car is now fixed and when I drove it the other day I was not happy.  Traffic sucked and people in cars seemed a lot less happy then the people I meet who are riding or walking to work or just plain cruising around enjoying the outdoors.

I have read that there are other such shops in most major cities and I hope that more open in smaller towns as well because this seems like a progressive way to help solve our pollution problem and enjoy our lives.

If you live in a democracy you are lucky. It means that you might have a chance to have dreams and do something…maybe even contribute in a meaningful way. It means you have the freedom to choose your path in life. It means that when you stand up for yourself, your values, your rights or others you can make a difference. You might lose some friends, your job or your fame but in the end you can keep your integrity.

Or you can choose to do this…

The engine on my Biodeisel SUV died the other day.  Not because of any major engine failure, it died because a little tube from the coolant fell off and I kept driving it. I kept driving  it because the BCAA guy who was going to tow it told me it was  fine.  Unfortunate for me,  his advice led to the meltdown of the engine.  Lucky for me that I found an acquaintance who said he could have his diesel mechanic fix it for me for a good price. Then his mechanic caught the flu.  Then he had a heart attack.  I rented a car and it got a flat tire.  I borrowed a friend’s car and left the lights on so it wouldn’t start. This time the BCAA guy that came to boost the car suggested that I must have bad car karma. He was right. I generally do not treat my vehicles very well.   As a pampered, spoiled consumer I have been used to driving a leased Xterra that had all of the “bells and whistles” and a great return clause. I didn’t take care of it because I didn’t own it.  Now I drive(and own) this 1991 SUV and it is more of a utility vehicle than a “convenience” vehicle. I have to do things like change the hubs when I want to put it in 4×4.(This requires getting out of the car…something I didn’t realize until I starting spinning out on a snow covered highway), remove the sunroof by hand and use a key to open the doors.  In a recent tantrum after leaving my lights on(my xterra warned me if the lights were on) and finding the battery dead I kicked my SUV and put a sizable dent in it.  My SUV has had it’s revenge. I have realized I had come to expect some of the modern conveniences of an affluent society and that not having them has sometimes turned me into a whining, complaining spoiled consumer.  Lesson learned.

My SUV before I kicked it…