LKL’s Blog

Celebrate Arbor Day by joining the Arbor Day Foundation. For $10, you get to help fight deforestation as well as 10 trees to plant anywhere you like.

Happy Earth Day! I usually miss this day, only hearing about it after the fact, but this year I’m paying attention. In celebration of this day of environmental awareness, I thought I’d share a cool little gift idea - for a friend or even for yourself: Starter Kit for Change. This biodegradable box includes a handmade shopping bag, so that you can stop deciding betwen paper and plastic and go for reusable instead; a seedling to plant; an energy-efficient lightbulb; fair-trade cocoa; a journal made from treeless paper; and more treats to help you get started (or continue) on the path to environmental awareness. It’s $40, a portion of which gets donated to the international charity Action Against Hunger.

Long before spam, junk mail was - and continues to be - a huge waste of resources. Most people just throw it away, some recycle it, and a few think it’s the height of cleverness to send it back to the company. Personally, I think the best solution is to cut it off at the source. You have to do a little bit of legwork, but the end result is virtually *no* credit card offers, flyers, and unwanted catalogs. I think it’s well worth it - maybe you do too.

Note: When you fill out one of the US Post Office’s change of address forms, they immediately sell your new address, so be sure to head to the DMA right away to get your new address removed too.

• Direct Marketing Association - Start here by letting them know you don’t want any junk and it will start to slow down
   
• ADVO - Stop getting stuff addressed to “Resident” or “Occupant”
   
• Catalog Choice - choose which catalogs you actually do want, and the rest will stop coming
   
• OPTOUT - Call 888 5 OPTOUT (888-567-8688) to tell the credit reporting agencies to stop sharing your financial info - this will cut down on the credit card offers you receive (not to mention maintain your financial privacy)

If you continue to receive garbage, look for contact information (phone, address, website) and let the company know directly that you don’t want their stuff.

This is an interesting site with “A weekly start for a healthier America” (though I see no reason why the rest of the world can’t participate).  Anyway, Meatless Monday is a national campaign to help people eat better by eating less red meat, pork, and poultry. You may not be vegetarian, but that doesn’t mean you have to eat meat every single day, so why not try one “meatless Monday” and see how you feel? The site includes recipes, meal planning, tips, and more to help you make a great meatless meal.
More:  Vegetarian recipes | Vegetarian menus

On 5 and 6 April 2008, the southern French city of Hyères hosted its annual flower festival with an open day event at SICA (Société d’intérêt collectif agricole) / Marché aux fleurs d’Hyères. 500 growers produce over 180 million flowers a year, making it the largest flower market in France and the fourth largest in Europe. With information booths, wine and flower tasting, and a flower parade, it was a fascinating look at this colorful aspect of the Hyérois community.
Photo Gallery: Hyères Flower Festival

While I was in New York, I received my Kindle in the mail, and I absolutely love it. The books download very quickly, the screen is easy to read, it’s lightweight… everything is good. Plus, it’s amazing to hold this device that is about the size of one book and know that it can hold 200! Sure cuts down on luggage. Of course, I can’t use the wireless feature in France, but all I have to do is attach the Kindle to my computer and transfer the new books that way. All in all, a great buy.

While we were in New York, we saw two completely different shows, and both were excellent.

Next to Normal is about manic depression, and while I wouldn’t have thought that a musical would be the best way to discuss such a serious subject, I thought it was a fantastic performance. The music was terrific, there were a couple of totally unexpected plot twists, and it was quite dark and funny to boot. I wish I’d managed to blog about this sooner, because it has already closed.

Jump on the other hand is for the kid in everyone. A Korean family in which every member is essentially a martial arts expert has to deal with two burglars. There’s very little dialogue - the story is told through action and mime, and every cast member is incredibly talented in martial arts, acrobatics, gymnastics, and/or dance. There are some great “special effects,” and it’s absolutely hilarious. If you like The Matrix, Jackie Chan, or the Three Stooges, you should see it. If you love all three, then you won’t want to miss this for the world.

I know, you’re all wondering whether I dropped off the face of the earth. No, but close: I had no internet access for a month. OK, sure, I could go to cybercafés and use a friend’s computer, but seriously, when you’re used to being able to go online at any time of the day or night, not having your own connection is a real drag. It finally got connected on Tuesday and since then I’ve been dealing with a huge backlog of email, forum posts, and the like.

So anyway, we left Costa Rica on 28 February, spent the weekend in NYC, and got to France on 4 March. Info about all that soon.