Super Cute Rendition of Hey Jude

Super Cute!

It's a late Wednesday night post... But I saw this on a friend's Facebook wall, too cute not to share here if you haven't yet already. Plus seems apropos considering they just released the newly digitally remastered Beatles albums...

Belated Happy Hump Day! TIFF officially starts tomorrow... I was at the Box Office today to pick up my tickets... I'm seeing a total of seven films, starting Sunday! I can't wait!

xo,

ej

Getting excited for TIFF, and a film premiering at UN Climate Week

Wow, 43 Google Followers!!! Welcome to all the new subscribers... Perhaps many by way of PegCityMomma's Giveaway, enter here, if you haven't yet already... Giveaway ends September 14th :D

Just a quick Tuesday hello... I was reading the Globe this morning when I came across this fantastic photograph of the Snowbirds ("Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron) in Toronto.

Photo: Ryan Enn Hughes/The Globe and Mail

I'm still wondering how this was shot... Helicopter? One of the other Snowbirds? The latter seems unlikely considering how much attention the pilots need to pay when they're that close to each other as it is.

Keeping this short 'cause have you ever noticed how a short work week after a long weekend seems to pile up the to-dos? But before I sign off just a quick ecoFilm plug...

I was visiting Inhabitat.com this morning when I came across this film trailer for "The Age of Stupid." After watching the trailer, I quickly logged on to the TIFF website to see if it's screening here before it premieres in the US on Monday, September 21 in conjunction with US Climate Week. Unfortunately, it's not screening at TIFF, but I am hopeful it'll open here too.

I'm getting really excited about TIFF, and I'll be sure to share my thoughts on the films I get to see. I'm seeing at least six in all, the most I've ever seen at one festival! Should be tons of fun, and for those of you who are in Toronto, and didn't know there are many free events. All the TIFF Free Events are being held at Yonge and Dundas Square, including not just screenings but concerts as well! Full details and schedule here.

xo,

ej

Happy Labour Day + Happy Birthday DesignerJots !

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Originally uploaded by torontofoto

Just thought I'd do a quick post... To greet you all a Happy Labour Day! Here's hoping that you're having a wonderful long weekend!

I sure am :) The weather, albeit a bit chilly at night has been sunny and delightful. A perfect clear day yesteday to watch the Air Show. I didn't go to the EX, but instead went to the pier across from the Toronto Island Airport to catch a free glimpse of the summer ending Air Show...

Whenever the EX comes to end, it feels like the end of the summer to me. I am hoping however that like last autumn, we have a nice sunny end of summer, beginning of autumn... Especially with the weather we had this summer!

Also, a quick shout out to DesignerJots, who's birthday it is today! Happy Birthday Carolyn :)

xo,
ej

One Man's Trash is Another Man's New Home

I woke up relatively early this morning and came across this article titled "One Man's Trash" on the NYTimes.com and was instantly intrigued... I pulled some photographs from the the Slide Show, but for more pics click here.

"AMONG the traditional brick and clapboard structures that line the streets of this sleepy East Texas town, 70 miles north of Houston, a few houses stand out: their roofs are made of license plates, and their windows of crystal platters.

They are the creations of Dan Phillips, 64, who has had an astonishingly varied life, working as an intelligence officer in the Army, a college dance instructor, an antiques dealer and a syndicated cryptogram puzzle maker. About 12 years ago, Mr. Phillips began his latest career: building low-income housing out of trash."

The photographs just draw you in, especially the one of Mr. Phillips' ceiling made of sample frames! I was particularly intrigued since I recently read an article, also in the NYTimes about how "LEED Seeks to Beef Up Its Credentials." As you may recall, I wrote about LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a couple months ago. I was pleased to hear that they're seeking to improve their credentials, considering it turns out may LEED certified designs are not living up to their green name.

The simplicity of Mr. Phillips' desire to help others by way of preventing trash to otherwise end up on a landfill and instead be made useful to provide a roof over heads is very inspiring. Not to mention the fact that it resulted in both his town and Houston to set up a donation site for recycled material.

I like to come up with new uses for things I would otherwise through away, but Mr. Phillips takes it to a whole new level... He's built 14 homes made up of 80% recycled materials... Kudos!

Am going to finish my fluffy pancakes covered in wild blueberry syrup and maple syrup, then enjoy the day!

Happy Labour Day Weekend! Not sure if I'll be posting on Monday, but I'll definitely be back on Tuesday ;)

xo,
ej

PS- If you call Guelph home, don't forget that next Saturday, September 12th, I'll be at Wyndham Art Supplies, 164 Wyndham Street North, Guelph, Ontario from 12-4pm for my second Ecojot Fan Appreciation Event!

Pie for Life... Mmm, that's a LOT OF PIE!

So I love pie, and if you will recall, I loved the movie Waitress starring Keri Russell and a many many many pies!

So imagine my excitement when I heard via UrbanDaddy about a café in Texas called Royers Roundtop that offers a "Pie for Life" membership! I am just filled with random ecoCOOL and delicious info aren't I? Sadly I don't have the ~$10,000 entry fee for having a pie shipped to me once a month... However, I just couldn't help giggle with delight at the thought of being mailed a pie every month of my existence!

Apparently Royers has several different pie-a-month plans from 3, 6, 12 and of course your life. My friend Dave calls it a "Pie Annuity"... Except pie in lieu of cash! Browse their site like I did, but be forewarned, the images are mouth-watering!

I wonder if I could bake a pie month myself... Hmm, the thing is I'm more of a cook than a baker... That's why I left the baking of the three-colour-layered cupcakes to my sister ;)

However, it has gotten cooler here in Toronto, and I have definitely found myself very much in the mood to cook more. In fact, I brought some Hot Italian Sausage (and Veggies of course!) Spaghetti for my colleagues for lunch today =) I think next week, I will prepare a tuna casserole for them.

I love cooking for people... I just can't cook for myself, just not as satisfying! I think it's because I grew up in such a big family (5 kids!) and so there was no such thing as eating alone. In fact, my older brother, hates eating by himself. I don't mind, but I always cook big portions, and invite people over when I can, and freeze what I can save for another day ;)

Maybe I'll go to a farmers market this weekend and find some ingredients for a pie!

It's the last long weekend of the summer. I don't have any big plans. Do you have any?

Finally, you know how I love to host giveaways, and tell you about others... Especially Ecojot ones... Well Ecojot is sponsoring one on PegCityMomma.com, click here for full details! Really simple to enter ;) Thanks to Shannon for hosting! Contest ends September 14, 2009, 8pm CST.

xo,

ej

PS -- Appreciated all the comments here and on Facebook, re: my last post on Sigg water bottles. It was definitely much swig for thought!

Sigg in serious troubled waters...

In case you haven't heard, Sigg the well-known Swiss metal water bottle makers admitted "last Friday that the closely guarded secret ingredients of the lining inside all Sigg bottles made before August 2008 contain traces of BPA."

Tsk, tsk, considering the popularity of Sigg bottles grew dramatically as word-spread of the potential harmful links of BPA.

In case you're wondering what exactly BPA is (a.k.a. Bisphenol A)...

"BPA is a chemical used for making polycarbonate plastic baby bottles and sippy cups. It's also a material in the resin linings that coat metal food cans (think soup, beans and the fruits and veggies in your pantry) and beverage containers, (think Coke, Pepsi and all the brands that wish they were)."

As author, Nena Baker continues to point out in her article titled "Why I'll Swig from My Sigg No More," she "learned how stacks of peer-reviewed studies plausibly link BPA to infertility, prostate and breast cancers, a decline in semen quality, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. And [she] saw chemical manufacturers using tricks straight out of Big Tobacco's playbook in an attempt to downplay the hazards of BPA."

You can read the full Sigg CEO letter here, that state "To be clear, all SIGG bottles made since August 2008 contain our new BPA free EcoCare liner. SIGG bottles manufactured prior to August 2008 have the former water‐based epoxy liner which contains trace amounts of BPA. These bottles have been thoroughly tested and showed 0% leaching of BPA."

Regardless, I think Sigg is in serious hot water. And I must admit, I for one, am glad I do not own one! I have a metal water bottle I picked up in Paris at Au Vieux Campeur before my trip to India last year. I'm not carrying it with me at the moment, so I don't recall the brand, but I do recall checking to see it was BPA-free. Anyway, I'd been considering buying a smaller one to carry around. Loved the designs of Sigg, and I can honestly say now... No thank you. Talk about serious greenwashing, in fact, more like plain out consumer-lying!

So I just thought I'd pass along this email forward from my friend Simon, "How Can [You] Tell When A Product Is Being Greenwashed?" Thanks, Simon. And thank you, Leiko for posting this original Advertising Age article, "Marketing News: Sigg Does Damage Control" that lead me to investigate all this further.

Tell me... Do you own a Sigg bottle? Are you concerned? Would you mail it in for a new one, OR consider switching to Klean Kanteen? They may not have designy patterns... But they have beautiful bright colours to choose from!

Okay, all this water bottle talk is so serious... I know many of you already follow DesignerJots' blog, but if you don't, and/or didn't know, she's hosting a cross-blog giveaway (two giveaways!) check it out here... You can win a signed copy of Illustrator Claudia Pearson's "Tribal Alphabet" and/or DesignerJots' newest jumbo journal designs!

That's all the news from Ecojot headquarters... I have to pack up some little ecoWorkbooks for Spencertown Academy Arts Center's Fourth Annual FESTIVAL OF BOOKS! It's a great event that will "explore the relationship of books and readers in the digital age with twenty outstanding guest authors including Francine Prose, Mary Gaitskill, Lynne Sharon Schwartz, poet Sharon Olds, and many others."

The even starts this Friday, but since it was a last minute request, they'll be getting the ecoWorkbooks next week =) If you live in and around Columbia County in Upstate New York be sure to check the event out!

xo,

ej

And my end-of-August / Back-to-School WINNER is...

according to RANDOM.org is #3...

And for the first time ever, it happens to be someone I know! Miss Agnes Bolinkska, who just so happens to be a PhD student at UofT studying the History of Science. Congratulations Agnes... And thank you for suggesting that we all (students and non-students alike)...

Great advice! In fact, all your Back-to-School tips were great!

I hope the ecoAgenda, ecoWorkbooks and ecoKids sketchbook come in handy to write all your notes about how science came to be ;) Agnes, please shoot me an email or Facebook message to claim your prize. And thanks again for all the entries... I'll be having a September Giveaway soon. In the meantime, for a chance to still win an Ecojot Back-to-School Giveaway, visit GreenEarthJourney.Blogspot.com, I attached the direct link. Green Earth Journey's giveaway is going on until tomorrow, so you still have time! If you haven't yet already ;) One of the entries is simply following me on Twitter ;D

xo,

ej

PS - I've never used RANDOM.org until now, but I was not working from home or Ecojot's headquarters, and didn't really have scrap paper, so I wanted to save on paper and go electronic. More helpful when I have more entries, I suppose, but not as fun as pulling something from my straw hat. Have a lovely evening everyone!