Create Better Impact
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While catching up on one of the episodes of House, MD that occurred while I was away in Haiti, I noticed a theme that flowed quite well with my experience. So much so that I paused the video and began to write.
The theme was ‘privacy.’ While House and his team had a short debate on the topic and whether it was a modern innovation, totally unnecessary or socially irrelevant, I began to think of my visit to the town of Cabaret just outside of Port-au-Prince. Read the rest of this entry »
My Facebook status reads: Taxes
Steve responds: Spends
As I tried to think of a funny way to continue this conversation the words that came to mind were ‘Drains’ or ‘Exhausts.’ While debating, my internal semantics critic began to shout. “Do you realize,” the critic asked “that all of those words are about draining and taking away?!” Read the rest of this entry »
What is green?
We all see initiatives and products advertised as being green or sustainable. Whether this is done as a component of corporate strategy or arises from a true belief of inherent ‘goodness’ most of the time on the scale of true worldwide sustainability, they are not without some impact.
My answer is that there is no black and white definition.
Within communities, corporations, small businesses, governments, and families there are different degrees of progress. When a corporation is announcing a greening strategy or movement, good for them. They have made progress. But by no means are they now officially GREEN with nothing left to do.
Think of this situation like being in a dim room. In a room that the occupants are used to they can see and because that is what they know, they accept it as being good, normal or right. There is no questioning whether or not the light can get brighter. They think it’s as bright as it can be perhaps, or they might not even question that more is possible.
If additional lights were added to the room it would be obvious to the occupants that at first the room was dark and now there is more light. Who is to say that it can’t get brighter still? Why settle for what we have if we can have and create a better world and society for ourselves?
It’s obvious when you see a green product. It’s obvious when you see a sustainable community. I think the question that we need to ask is can it get brighter? Can it get greener? And I believe it can.
Tags: Advertising, Green, Light, Marketing, Sustainable
I’m referring not to the haunting of the hills but the abandonment of villages.
Empty buildings. Why? They have the food they need. The homes are beautiful. Why would they leave? I expect that these typically family-centric communities of 5+ houses become nonviable as the younger generation moves away and the older one dies. Driving around, we passed two of these housing clusters that were empty and another that was at half its potential occupancy.
Another challenge evident exists in housing prices. According to one local, after the release of the book Under the Tuscan Sun and then the movie, prices of Tuscan villas shot sky high. It makes me wonder if those detritus filled decaying homes might be bought and inhabited if the locals weren’t priced out. I wonder if this same effect happened after the release of the book Eat, Pray, Love in the countries it referred to.
Tags: Alive, Community, Italy, Local Living Economies, Sustainable, Tourism, Under the Tuscan Sun
While hunting for a flight to Norway I came across one that was $300 less than the rest. I was thrilled because the trip seemed to get more expensive by the moment. The down side of the ticket was a 12-20 hour layover in Amsterdam. At the time I thought that sounded like a great idea - go in to the city, check out a museum, eat, go to bed, and then fly out the next morning.
Reality has struck.
I enjoyed my long walk around the city. By the afternoon I wasn’t really feeling my initial plan of staying at a hostel. Sharing space with strangers can be interesting and entertaining for sure, and hostels are great. I just didn’t want to wake up at 5AM or earlier to shower and catch a train into the city. My boarding time is 6:46AM, you see. I would rather be in the airport and know that the morning noises will wake me up eventually as well as the alarm that I am setting.
Some thoughts about how to spend the night…
- walk the terminal to get some exercise and tire myself out a little
- read the second book in the Twilight series ‘New Moon’
- find one of those great lounge chairs that the airport has and crash for a few hours
- stay up all night in efforts to get myself back on East Coast time
The side of the wheels on Fredrikshavn’s bikes, where the spokes are, have a cute plastic disc advertising that they are city bikes. At least they were cute until the wind picked up. Then they acted as an impediment to travel- part brake and part sail working hard to stop me in my tracks and blow me sideways.
I should have known the bike ride was doomed when the back wheel began to squeak rhythmically while in motion. Maybe the tip off could have come from the loose steering, the drunken appearance of which had the bike moving in anything but a straight line.
Another glaring sign that I should have walked may have been when my skirt flew up all the way up when I reached the first busy intersection. Rather than cause an accident and perhaps getting in trouble for indecent exposure or being lewd in public, I decided to go back to the hotel and change into pants.
That’s probably when I should have decided to walk around town instead of biking. But I didn’t.
I got back on the bike and headed to the Palm Beach.
Up an enormous hill.
With the wind pushing me back down.
Funny thing, biking back into town felt like I was still going uphill… Maybe it was just the heavy rain that hit while I was at the beach that made it feel that way.
My citybike is now retired to the front of the hotel where it lives and I will be walking the rest of the time with the umbrella I bought to replace my lost raincoat.
So to conclude, please keep in mind any one of the following might be reasons to avoid going for a bike ride on any given day. Simultaneous occurrence of all results in a definite suggestion from me to walk.
1.Wheel covers that act as brakes and/or sails
2. A squeaky wheel
3. Inability to steer
4. Inability to remain clothed while riding
5. Wind fighting you the entire time
6. When it is uphill in both directions
7. Ominous clouds in the distance
Tags: Bicycle, Bike, Denmark, Fredrikshavn, Sarcasm, Travel, Weather
The excitement of the fans was palpable as I entered the stadium. I was on the lookout for the woman and her daughter who I came in with. The ticket I bought was standing room in the top tier directly behind the goal. The other side of the field held 50-100 fans from the other team, which had come from Stockholm on a Monday night. Our side in the green and black, I have been recruited as a Gais fan, had a few thousand. 
I found out the the reason for the cops was because this particular match-up had a history of fights. Part of the tension comes from both teams being at the bottom of their league. This was a VERY important game for both of them. The winner would have a better chance of staying in the league. In Sweden, the team at the bottom drops down to the next lowest league based on performance. Also Göteborg is know as the second city in Sweden to Stockholm…
Goalie down! and the crowd chants 'You're sexy in pink!' to show their support
Göteborg has four football teams at this particular level. Gais is currently ranked lowest, but I can attest has some passionate fans. The stand roared with coached cheers, chants, and song even before the team came onto the field. I am not sure that that passion let up for more than a few moments at any time during the 94 minute game.
The game started and I hadn’t found the people I came with so I found a spot to stand in the bleachers and watched the game, chatting with the woman next to me. Goal! Gais scored first in the game.
I took a break just before halftime and when I came back found my standing place taken. So I had to move on to find a new one. Still no sign of my new friends. I found a spot at the very top row, got to talking with the people around me and got a great education about the details of the rivalry between these two teams and Swedish soccer details. The other team scored. Boo!
Finally, just before the end of the game I ran into the women I had come with. The game ended tied 1-1. But I ended the night with new friends and having had a great experience.
Tags: Football, Gais, Göteborg, Gothenburg, Soccer, Stockholm, Sweden, Travel
When I say local I’m referring to a store that is in walking distance from my house and food grown in my backyard. I go further out when what I need is unavailable.
Think of local like a bulls eye. You and your home is the center. You only go outside of each ring if necessary. There are varying sizes of the ring, but once you reach 100 miles away from home you are outside of local. Why 100 miles? Well the people of the 100 mile diet used that number and their argument sounds reasonable.
When buying locally the things I need, the first consideration is what is best for the environment (non-toxic, low footprint, little packaging) and and second how close can I get to home? I’m not talking about close to home as in a store in your town. I am referring to one that is locally owned and independent. Businesses such as large retail stores, restaurants and hotel chains are typically not local.
Local ownership results in 68% of the money spent returning to the community compared with 43% spent at a non-locally owned store. For the Andersonville study- where I got those numbers- click here. But enough about that: there will be more information on why buying local is important in another post or you can check some information out now at Pioneer Valley Local First.
Just remember that while in many ways the definition of the term is based on personal decision there are some things that according to the dictionary, local is not.
Local is not widespread or general.
Local is unique and gives you a taste of an area’s culture that you can’t get everywhere.
Tags: 100 Mile Diet, Andersonville Study, Backyard, Buy Local, Definition, Local, Pioneer Valley Local First
Welcome to Sweden.
I had little trouble finding my hotel and getting checked in although the pouring rain made me walk in to front door looking like I had taken a shower in my clothing. After I settled in I went for a walk to check out the nearby area and sniff out dinner.
I made my way down the street and noticed a something I had also seen and heard in Norway. Football (soccer) fans pre-game. Now while I had avoided the pub in Oslo I decided this time to go in. Why not? The place looked like it had food, and maybe watching the game in the pub would be fun. I might even get a chance to meet some locals.
So I walked in to the Gamle Port and squeezed my way up to the bar. What am I thinking? I should just go to some quiet restaurant and have a relaxing evening back at the hotel. But, I’ve gotten this far and am not going back now. One beer and some football and then I can move on if I still feel this way. I was still unsure at this time about tipping. The guidebook said not to leave a tip, but I saw other patrons doing so. I turned and asked the guy crammed up to the bar next to me what I should leave. Once that was taken care of I decided to go outside and get some air, the place was hot.
Outside I asked a nice woman why there were so many cops around. She explained to me that everyone there was getting ready to go to the Gais game and that the place would be empty in 5 minutes. We got to talking and she asked if I wanted to come to the game, which was only a few blocks from my hotel and where we were standing.
Knowing the reputation of European football fans, I figured it would be an experience if nothing else…
The lovely weather.
Tags: Football, Göteborg, Rain, Soccer, Sweden, Travel, Weather
In the elevator heading up to my room in Oslo I had to coach two young men to insert their card in order to press their floor number. While they had been having a conversation for a bit it wasn’t until I heard one of them say ‘fuck’ that I realized they the had been speaking English the whole time. The thick Irish accent had masked my ability to understand them.
I have found myself very quiet on this trip. You see, while I know that most Norwegians speak English better than some Americans, I feel uncomfortable assuming that they should speak to me in my language. During the time I have needed to I have asked questions in English, so for the most part I have kept silent.
I tend to be good with languages so it is frustrating to me to not be able to communicate with someone in their native language. I can read and understand most of the signs and some of the other writing, but I haven’t learned yet how to pronounce some of the sounds. It doesn’t help that they are different. For example the town I mentioned in my last post Skein is pronounced Schein and the letters sch are pronounced sk.
One or two words a day. I’ll be able to ask for a meal by the end.
Tags: America, English, Gøteborg, Irish, Language, Norway, Norwegian, Oslo, Travel