DisneyLand!

All these years I've spent my trips going to Europe and back packing in remote foreign countries- I'm poetic and like it simple, you know? So, Disney has never been a thought. It was not exotic enough, interesting enough, far away enough, adventurous enough or romantic and mysterious enough- not to mention the major issue of American commercialism.
But, I had a chance to go as part of a last minute boyfriend work related offer- and I must say, it is magical (not in a 'Bali sunset' kind of magical mind you, but a 'cartoon come to life' world magical)and innovative and you really do feel like a little girl. At least I did. All the little ones were dancing and laughing and smiling and they sang about dreams and being nice. Walt does bring joy and 'live your dream' inspiration to millions of people (even if that dream is in a land far away living simply and donating your time. Whatever it is. ) It is no small feat and I would like to see many more businesses of all kinds have the same kind of incentive to start and run a business as Walt Disney, the man, did. Making money but bringing quadruple that in joy and encouraging that positivity in others. All of the films had a message of environment and kindness in them..not just fun. There are many green incentives on the property as well, otherwise I would be a bit more turned off as to waste management. And ask me how much it made my maternal instincts go crazy! lol It was so fun to see families together laughing and having fun. Sharing it with family and littles ones would make it all the more fun! If you've never gone and ever get the chance- do it. Worth seeing.
Thank you Walt. You really did make a magical, fun place.

"Believe that you can do it, under any circumstances. Because if you believe you can, then you really will. That belief just keeps you searching for the answers, then pretty soon you get it."
– Wally "Famous" Amos

SOTD- Steady As She Goes- The Raconteurs

I'll just always want to purchase things that involve Jack White- won't you? :)

Graduation Outfit Dilemna Solved!

'Don't worry ma, I don't need a new tie, this here corona shirt I won at a wet t-shirt concert will do just fine!" Classy.

Hot Lemon Water

Water, water, water! I've touted it before on my blog, and I will surely tout it again. There are few things better for your body than this lovely, clean simple liquid. Wake up in the morning and start your day with a yummy glass. Nutritionists say that if you change nothing in a poor to mildly healthy diet, but to drink lots of water (especially starting your day first thing with a glass ), your liver will detoxify 50% better and you will see many visible health changes.

Today's little tip is for the upcoming cold weather days. I used to find myself craving hot soup, an extra cup of coffee, hot chocolate or herbal teas (which are nice) throughout out the day during the colder months. That is, until I started cutting up a fresh organic lemon and always having a container at my work place and in my fridge at home. With my water drinking quotient slightly declining in the fall/winter due to cold weather (even though I drink it room temp), I find drinking hot water with lemon is a wonderful alternative to help to keep me toasty and warm when I have a chill. It also keeps my up my water intake.

I realize the concept of hot water with lemon is not anything new, but how many of you really have fresh lemon accessible easily at work? Lemon also keeps your skin vibrant and healthy. So, next daytime reach for coffee or teas, try doing a simple hot water with lemon. Yummy and clean!

SOTD- I Can Change - LCD Sound System

Everytime I hear this song on the New York Underground, I could sware it's some old school 80's new wave song- but alas, it's current band 'LCD Sound System'. They are so reminiscent of that genre, that if you are an underground synth new waver from the past or like it currently as 'old school', you'll love this song.

There's A Little Extra Sexy Work For Fashion.......

..and then there's this. These heels were 2 inch platform in the front and 6 inch stilettos in the back. Now, I'm all for rockin' it high if you've got the legs to work it, but this poor girl. I was behind her for four blocks and she was wobbling and struggling and tripping. :( As crazy as I've been with fashion, I've always been wise enough to know that a visible struggle will take away any bit of sexiness or cool vibe the piece you are wearing has to offer.
One of the greastest fashion tips that I can give, is to wear what you are also comfortable wearing. Confidence and feeling good is the best ribbon to wrap around your look.

*ps- Though I don't believe in 'rules' like no white after labor day- (White in winter can be so classic) -the bright white heel died in about, oh, 1976 . 1970's Easter with bad clear pantyhose. Save white heels for the occasional summer/spring dress. And never with black! That is, unless you are dressing intentionally as a Mod.

Global Warming -Part 2 "Energy Blues" SchoolHouse Rock

I wrote a blog this past July regarding the flooding in China and linking it to the careless global destruction of natural resources as a cause, (You can read it here:
(http://trennylynn.blogspot.com/2010/08/global-warming-its-for-real-and-its.html) and as a result I received the most reactions ever from a blog, and ones that were the most heartfelt, (sometimes angry) and passionate. I wanted to follow up and post some of the reactions here:

"What are you talking about? You live in the state with a city(NYC) that is considered one of the most crowded, polluted, consumeristic and populated of them all."

"What are you doing then to change this? I hear alot of talk, but what about suggestions?"

"I agree with you and me and my debate team have started a "Green Missions" group on out college campus"

" I say screw it. There's no going back. It is our destiny to destruct ourselves and anything we do won't be enough."

Those were just some of the points from emails that I thought exhibited the overall top feelings that were conveyed in most emails. Whew- well, let me try, as concise as possible, to answer and defend that I still feel the same way about the environment as I explained earlier, and also list some things that we can do daily (that I do) to limit some of this destruction. Having a response and rebuttal does not mean that you're thoughts are not valid. They are great and true and I've thought them all myself. I like that they made me think more.
I am not naive to the world that we live in. We were born as creatures meant to evolve. The urge for man to evolve and advance sealed it's fate the day that there was the invent of fire. There is not a generation today that could understand life without a light bulb, without electricity, many, that are not city dwellers, without a car, etc.. I watched 'No Impact Man" (the documentary where a man, his wife, and baby live in NYC for a year, as close to foraging cavemen as possible) and though I loved many of the things they did (ie-composting, recycling, biking more, growing their own food), there were many things that living in this society would deem impossible for them to continue for long. So, I am in full understanding that there is a slim chance that we will go back in our progress- but there is a fine line. Even the commune living hippies drive a car into a near town once a month to get 'supplies', so even they cannot do it in this society, as romantic as they think the idea. That's ok. That's reality. The point is we can try harder. We tend to (especially Americans) live in a 'too much' world. There is surviving and functioning happily, and then there is ego and greed. Big difference. No, we don't need a TGIF every 5 miles or another mall. I don't need 10 different fast food choices in a town with a 10 mile radius. I don't need my lettuce in a plastic bag and box and another bag. We live in a very "piece of cake wrapped in plastic, put in a plastic container, in a plastic bag with a plastic fork, eat in in five minutes and dump it all in the garbage" society. Many times followed by a cigarette which smokes up the air and gets thrown on the ground. It's not right and we can do better.See my point? .
There is a great article I read in the NYT's last week about an 82 year old Vietnamese man who came to New York to meet long lost family. At one point in his visit, they had taken a walk in Central Park. In doing so, they came across tree cutters cutting down tress. He asked his walking partner- a native New Yorker- 'why' they were cutting down such pretty trees? His friend told him that it was because they were putting in a concrete basketball court. When the Vietnamese man saw the chips going into a dumpster, he recounted his feelings the next day to the reporter. "I couldn't believe that not only would they cut down beautiful trees, but that they wouldn't use them to put back into the earth. In Vietnam, we make compost for other plants, re- plant them somewhere else or build houses and make things like paper resources. I had never seen such careless waste"
Yes I do live in New York. Not New York City, mind you, but Long Island, which is a whole different world. The reason I don't live in NYC is because I agree that it is too crowded and too polluted and I agree that because of that, it does promote attitudes that can be sometimes fear based. Very "me first, take what you can" kind of greed. Though anyone who does not live here does not know that there also is a lot of passion, kindness and intelligence in this city too. It is not like you see it portrayed on TV in criminal shows. There are many people who have great green incentive ideas and organizations here. Hopefully, I can be a small little bit of that group. So, onto solutions. Very briefly, here is a quick summary of global warming and how waste and pollution is affecting the earth and why these tips are necessary.

**Scientists have determined that a number of human activities are contributing to global warming by adding excessive amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide accumulate in the atmosphere and trap heat that normally would exit into outer space.

Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming
While many greenhouse gases occur naturally and are needed to create the greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth warm enough to support life, human use of fossil fuels is the main source of excess greenhouse gases. By driving cars, using electricity from coal-fired power plants, or heating our homes with oil or natural gas, we release carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. Deforestation is another significant source of greenhouse gases, because fewer trees means less carbon dioxide conversion to oxygen.

During the 150 years of the industrial age, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 31 percent. Over the same period, the level of atmospheric methane has risen by 151 percent, mostly from agricultural activities such as raising cattle and growing rice.

The Consequences of Global Warming
As the concentration of greenhouse gases grows, more heat is trapped in the atmosphere and less escapes back into space. This increase in trapped heat changes the climate and alters weather patterns, which may hasten species extinction, influence the length of seasons, cause coastal flooding, and lead to more frequent and severe storms. ****PS- we are seeing the latter happening right in front of us!!!

Below, are some of my simple tips that, if we all practiced them, would make a tremendous difference:

1. Recycle. Just do it. More than half of American's waste is recyclable. That everyone isn't doing it is ridiculous

2. Eat less meat. Two times a week maybe. Id like to say be vegetarian so no animal gets killed, but the jury is still out on that whole animal kingdom food chain order. Buy the meat organic. The eggs and chickens 'free range'. Those farmers grass feed their cattle and chickens, and are much healthier. Also, we would save thousands and thousands of farm land acres as we wouldn't waste it growing corn and rice feed to get them fat fast so we can kill them faster and supply fast food chains and fat bellies with meat.

3.Change your lightbulbs. CFL lightbulbs are great and you can get them here: http://letsgogreen.biz/pages/lighting.html?gclid=CNLe5aLjyKQCFc9L5QodIlf7iw

4. Just turn off that light behind you when you leave the room , k? And you don't need to rock that tv all the time. You'll save brain cells this way too! ;)

5. Heat off when you leave the house, fresh air, open windows and less ac

6. If you can take the train to work a day or two in the week or carpool with a co-worker, just try it. One less day of driving from everyone would make such a HUGE difference!

7. When it's the season, shop at farmer's markets . Not only does this reduce waste of traditional grocery store packaging, you also support the farmer and the nearby land. What he/she grows puts healthy green oxygen back into the world. And, if you add it up, all these tips of following the natural order of the world the way it is, has the wonderful off shoot of making your body healthier and your mind sharper.

8. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth! This is such a habit to have this sound for many people. A habit that makes no sense and causes such waste. You are suppose to brush for two minutes and it is said that leaving the water running that whole time wastes 8 gallons of water! So unnecessary. :(

These are some of the things that I think are easiest and that I practice. You may think it naive or impossible. But, I am telling you if everyone just did the above, we would get progressively better at it and our bodies, minds and world would change. It would! For more earth friendly tips, go here:

**In closing, any of you from my generation will remember the Saturday morning PSA above. As a kid at 8 years old, it made me sad then. That was 30 years ago and we were in trouble already! Not many listened. If it helps to have his little energy head in your mind, then think of him. It helps me, oddly enough. Be good to your planet and it will be good back to you :) **

SOTD- Six Underground- The Sneaker Pimps

"Take me down...Six Underground.."
I've always thought this was a sexy song.

John Lennon Would Have Been Cool At 70. SOTD- Woman

SOTD- "WOMAN"- JOHN LENNON

You can think he was self righteous and outspoken because he was famous and rich. You can think that all his publicity on peace and love was just to kill time and use up the spotlight. That he was just bored and had spare time, a public voice and lots of money. That maybe he meant it, maybe he didn't. You can think, like everyone else has, that Yoko Ono was a screeching little foreign girl who was narcisitcally controlling and dying for a spotlight that her flailing art did not provide on it's own. But, to all that, I will disagree. I see the easy assumptions with this public figure of a man.
But, I truly feel that John Lennon was a brilliant man. A gifted songwriter. A man of the times who spoke to people. He was a man who didn't mince his words and I've always loved that about his personality. He meant what he said and he didn't give a fuck, yet he had the heart of a poet and believed in the idea of love. ("Imagine"? I mean come on, one of the most beautiful songs ever) He and Yoko were very much in love. You can just tell by the body language in photos and old video footage. The way they were together in life- to love at the cost of much ridicule. It is wonderful to see true soul mates. There are many John and Yokos out there, and I can't imagine a woman truly in love that would not be swept away by a song such as "Woman" written for her. I would have to put it in my top 5 of favorite love songs. What a tribute to the woman he loved. How special. Though I love many of his songs (within and without The Beatles), this is my birthday tribute pick. If you haven't listened to it in awhile, or never really got into the words, do. It truly is so sweet and beautiful.

Hand to Hand With Cher

Atlantic City Boardwalk Sunday, after seeing Jerry Seinfeld and I was astounded at just how big my girl Cher's hands were! Although, maybe her's are average and mine are teeny. No matter...she is still the one and only and I adore her.

SOTD- Al Green - You Should Be With Me

The greatest hits of Al Green is one of those records you throw on while you're cooking dinner and drinking a glass of wine. Or, when you want to just mellow out and groove. However, not many people know alot of his songs outside of that record (ie- Love & Happiness, Let's Stay Together, etc..) This song is a great, sexy Al Green song that has always been a favorite of mine and I would reccomend you add it to his collection in your library. Or, at the least, check it out now while you're browsing other things online. I know you've got many other things to do than stay on this blog all night! :) Happy Groovin'!

The Social Network Trailer -Creep by Radiohead

With the sometimes ever too pervasive -and contradictory- mix of narcissism and self loathing that is exhibited on Facebook at times (I have been guilty of it myself), can anyone else acknowledge with me how brilliant a choice it was to use the first verse of "Creep" by Radiohead for the trailer of The Social Network? With it's brilliant lyrics and sung by a boy's choir--- good damn choice to convey a point.

Watch it here: http://tinyurl.com/29xxv2l (you may have to copy and paste address into your browser)

And Dammit. It is still two weeks and I have not written my response to Global Warming as promised. I will do it before Monday. I have to admit to you all that it is truly only because I have been so bogged down with work 6 days a week, that my brain is mushy when I am not working. But I'm changing all that......well trying :)