40 posts tagged “qotd”
Today is Repeat Day, so we want to know: what song do you have currently have on repeat? Bonus points if you share it with us!
I have K'naan's whole album on repeat at the moment, but two songs in particular, Waving Flag and Fatima. This album really is fantastic. While K'naan has mainly been labeled as hip hop before, he sings many more of the songs on this album, and he has a wonderful voice. This album has also been labeled as folk, due to the political and social messages in it, and I think this is one of its strongest points, K'naan has written some really poignant songs that are powerful without being cliched or sentimental. These two songs are getting some radio play on CBC, and I've heard other tracks from this album on hip hop stations, but I'm not sure how much other play he is getting. At any rate, these tracks are fantastic, and I'd strongly suggest taking the time to listen to them. Waving Flag is a repetitive freedom ballad; Fatima is a sweet, catchy song that actually tells quite a sad story. I was in tears by the end of it when I listened to it the first time, and then nearly fell over when K'naan said at the end of the song, "Hey, don't cry! This song is a celebration!" I try not to cry, but it gets me every time.
I don't know how to embed tracks (Rockr/Junkii, help me out here!) so I'll put in links to clips from QTV's session with K'naan and another from Youtube.
How could you better “green” your life? What’s holding you back?
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I have to get religious about being green again. I used to go to much greater lengths to be environmentally friendly, but I have found, as life has become more hectic, and I have had to rely on the habits of others around me (i.e. those I live with) to keep the house green, I have found I've been slipping. I need to re-commit, and I'm going to start with trying my hardest to only use reusable shopping bags, even for retail, and picking up the habit if my little sister, where of I have forgotten to bring a bag, and the store has reusable ones, I make myself buy one. (BTW, Loblaws has new, bigger shopping bags, and they are half price this week). Toronto is going plastic bag free soon, so at least when I am shopping in the T-dot, I'll be forced to not use disposable plastic bags. And I did find some fruit and veggie bags that are machine washable, so I'm trying to remember to take those to the grocery store to use instead of the plastic bags, but it hasn't become habit yet. (I threw out the label for these bags, so I can't tell you their brand name, but I bought them at Planet Organic). The other thing I really need to do is to stop using disposable drink containers. Coffee cups, water bottles, whatever, they are used for such a short period of time, and then go in the landfill for who knows how long. If I don't have a reusable cup, I will try to just walk away from buying another cup of coffee/whatever. Yesterday, I bought a bottle of water, and then when I got back to my car, I found that I had a full bottle of water in my aluminium Kleen Kanteen. I am going to try to make yesterday's bottle the last plastic bottle of water I ever buy. I may just need to increase my supply of portable coffee mugs/thermos', and metal water bottles, as I find that they don't always make it into the dishwasher, and then I don't have a clean one, and buy something in a disposable cup.
After jumping on the green bandwagon so long ago, I didn't think I would still have to revisit these things at this point, but we live in a society that supports a disposable lifestyle, so it really does take some effort to stay green.
Something else I've been resisting is buying a new cell phone and laptop. I have found, while on business trips, that having a Blackberry or similar device would be exceptionally helpful. I have also found that my 5-year-old VAIO is breaking down, and I would love to get one of those new Apple MacBooks or whatever they are that are built with higher environmental standards (more recyclable parts, fewer nasty chemicals, longer lasting batteries, etc.) but I am going to try to get my VAIO repaired instead. My fear is that they will say it isn't worth the price, and I completely rely on my laptop for my work. It hasn't broken down completely yet, and I do have a remote back-up of all my important stuff, so even if I end up having to get a new laptop for work, I'm going to try to keep this one in working order, just so it doesn't get pitched in the landfill.
Do you have any stereotypical Type-A personalities in your life? How does that affect you?
I have one, her name is greenhouse, and I love how she gets things done. She makes me look like a Type-Z. Thing is, we're also both Aries, so the butting of heads comes with the territory. We function much better three time zones apart.
Love ya!
Today is the official start of the holiday shopping season. Are you planning on doing any shopping today? What are you going to buy?
I'm not doing any shopping today, but I did want to give two recommendations for gifts for Christmas. I am not one to promote consumerism, but if you need to get something either for a kitchenista or a kid, here are two things that I own that have stood the tests of time and utility:
My universal knife block. I saw one of these at HomeSense, and thought it was brilliant; but since it was HomeSense, I couldn't tell anyone with any certainty where to get one. They are now available through Lee Valley. And it's only $30. Here's the deal: rather than having pre-cut slots that only fit a certain number of knives of certain sizes, this knife block have condensed bristles that holds your knives (or scissors or whatever) safely and securely and without dulling them. I am now able to get ALL the knives out of our drawers, rather than just those that came with the knife block.
My second recommendation is for kids 2+. Our son has received five different ride-on toys as gifts, and the one that has proven to be the best is his Plasma Car. Now, this baby isn't cheap; but it is also not cheaply made. It runs about $60-70, if you get a new one, but this is one toy I would confidently buy second hand. It is very durable, does not require batteries, keeps kids low to the floor and thus reduces chances of injuries, can be used inside and outside, and has extensive instructions on how to fix it if it does stop working. By using arm power, rather than leg or foot power, kids who haven't yet learned to ride a bike can keep the Plasma Car going without having to balance or put their feet on the ground. And unlike pretty much every other ride-on, this one is built to accomodate adults as well. Getalife and I have both taken turns driving the plasma car around the house, and it was ridiculously fun. So the hardwood has suffered a bit, but it has been so worth it.
What did you think about the Vice Presidential debate?
The following exchange is the one that stood out for me:
First of all, I'm not sure that Palin understood the question. Gwen Ifill was questioning whether Governor Palin agreed with the way that Dick Cheney has redefined the role of Vice President. One of the things he did was assert that the Vice President is part of the legislative, not the executive branch of government, and therefore, not required to safeguard classified information. He then tried to have the Information Security Oversight Office abolished. Dick Cheney has, on the one hand, established an unprecedented (and potentially illegal) level of secrecy, around the Office of the Vice President, and on the other hand, is suspected to have allowed leaks of classified information when it suited his political ends (see Plamegate). Palin's response to Ifill's question was that she agreed with Cheney's interpretation of the role of VP.
So what is worse - that she did not know the context of the question, or that she agrees with Cheney's manipulation of the Office?
This is why Joe Biden said that Dick Cheney has been the most dangerous VP ever. You don't have to be a Washington-insider to know the context of this question. You just have to have read the paper or watched the news.
What’s a simple thing you could do to save money, but are unwilling (or unable) to put to practice?
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Only pay with cash or debit. This practice is espoused by financial advisors as a key way to not spend beyond your means. I wouldn't say I'm a big spender, but I do give purchases extra thought if it has to be paid immediately with cash on hand or in the bank. Buying things with credit cards obscures your actual cash-on-hand situation, and this is done purposely, so that you become indebted to the credit card companies. At 18.5%.
The reality is, though, that more often than not, I will pay with a credit card. It saves me trips to the ATM, I don't have to fiddle around with coins, etc., etc. And since 90% of my business-related transactions take place over the web, I rely heavily on my business credit card to cover those costs.
What is the scariest experience you've had with Mother Nature?
Submitted by jacolily.
My scariest moments with Mother Nature were those when I was out rowing, and there was a sudden and severe change in the weather, and we were not sure if we would make it to shore. Once on Elk Lake, while I was in high school, the rain and winds came up strong and hard against the starboard side of our 8, and we had to row in with only 3 people on port rowing (2 seat had to help balance the boat). Another time we were out on the Ottawa River, when I was in university, and the fog rolled in, and we couldn't tell how far we were from shore, or where the bridges were. We basically had to feel our way back to shore with our ears, listening for the sounds of traffic or other boats, to try to orient ourselves, and to not crash into anything. But the scariest experience happened one early morning when I was rowing for the Ottawa Rowing Club and we pushed off in the rain and pitch black (regular occurence) and were headed down the river aways, when a coach boat zoomed past and yelled at us to head to back to the docks, as the storm was coming down the valley. I wasn't scared until I saw all the silhouettes of people standing on the docks, pulling boats in and out of the water as fast as they could. This is highly irregular, as the regular practice dictates that everyone is responsible for their own equipment, and you don't touch anyone else's. As we pulled up to the dock, some large male rower bent over my seat and said "I've got your oar, just get off the dock!" and I scrambled out, again very irregular, as you never get out until ordered by the coxswain. I turned away from my boat and ran up the ramp to the boathouse, and watched the men's varsity crew bring up our 8. I still find it funny that the thing I found most unnerving wasn't the weather itself, but how all of a sudden the regular order of rower interaction was pushed aside and people were taking responsibility for getting me and my boat off the water. For rowers to willingly bring someone else's boat and oars up off the dock, sh*t has got to be bad.
If you could leave notes for the future, what message would you have left in the past for today?
Submitted by Nameless.
I don't get this question, as I can always leave notes for the future. Here's one: Remember when the box spring for the convertible crib-to-bed didn't fit up the stairs? That sucked. Shoulda just gone with Mr. Tinto's idea of replacing the crib with a twin bed.
Here's another one: remember when the air conditioner seized up in mid-July 2008? Ya, that sucked. Shoulda let Mr. Tinto get a brand new one when it broke down the last time. They had to cut the fan out with a hack saw. Cha-ching.
Now, if I could have sent notes from today into the past, they would have read: don't get the convertible crib and don't try to repair the air conditioner - neither are going to save you any money or grief.
How are you celebrating the 4th of July?
By wishing all of the Stateside Voxers a most excellent long weekend. Happy 4th of July!!
What do you do EVERY day to take care of the earth's environment? What could you do more of?
I've been trying to use re-useable shopping bags as much as possible. I have been trying to do this for a number of years, but I found two major stumbling blocks: not wanting to use my grocery bags to carry non-food items, like new clothes or books, since there may be traces of food in them; and having to struggle at the check-out to get grocery store clerks to pack my groceries into my cotton bags. In the past, more often than not, I would have to do it myself, and with a baby in a sling in the cramped grocery store we frequented downtown, it was very hard, so for most of ReRe's first year, I had little choice but to let them use plastic. Well, now that most major grocery chains have their own reusable bags, and the clerks have been instructed to use them, I'm finding I almost never come home from grocery shopping with plastic bags. As for the non-food items, thanks to stores like lululemon who provide re-usable bags that are sturdy and stylist (and don't just print 'Please Re-Use' on plastic bags) and are easy to carry, I hnow bring those for my other shopping trips, and have been able to cut down on the plastic/paper bags I bring home from other stores.
