NYC bagels for Turkey Day

My favorite city in the whole entire world is New York. The energy. The excitement. The possibilities. It is full of life. Others may comment that it is full of mean people. They are not mean. I feel that NY is full of introverts. People that don't need to smile and say hi to everyone. It's not rude. Introverts prefer the realities in their own heads rather than getting their energy from others. Yes, there is something about common courtesy and a slow lifestyle, but I am an introvert so I am going to head with my flock in New York.

Stay out of my way, I will stay out of yours. I can experience without attention and I can live without the gossip. It's a great place. My kind of people. I forgot to mention the fashion sense in NY. That's a winner too.
Christmas in NY is an experience in itself. The city is all lit up. You have to experience it just once in your life.

While you are watching the parade on Thursday in your nice warm house, keep an eye out for me. I will be the cold one. At least the Broadway strike isn't going on so there should be decent musical acts (unlike last year).

I will post you next week to update you all on the Big Apple. Enjoy your turkey and have a nice long weekend.

Give thanks to the Earth

Here are some eco-friendly tips for turkey day.
1. Have your entire feast organic and all grown less than 100 miles away. Yes, start looking for local cranberries today. No, I am kidding. I don't think any of us have the budget or the time to do this. Go green, don't go nuts.
2. Use real plates, glasses, utensils, and napkins.
3. Eliminate meat wherever possible. Do you really need sausage in the stuffing? Is meat really a side dish?
4. Make sure you recycle and compost when cleaning up.
5. Every 2 hours, make a run around the house turning off lights, tv's, etc in empty rooms.
6. Consider your decorations. No styrofoam items. Use things that can be used year after year or find your inner-Martha and make something festive from the backyard.
7. Remember to carpool.

I am going to try my hardest to do all of the above, but I have no control over my meal this year. The good news is that we will be taking the train all over Philly, Jersey, and Manhattan, no cars.
Go green, don't go nuts.

Who would Woo?

I have been waiting all morning for this to get up online.

How I Met You Mother. The show is genius. It is the Seinfeld of today when it comes to quoting. It is so much more than that too. (Please see earlier entry from September about the superiority of this show).

I have to touch on last night episode:

The Woo girl "is a type of young woman, who like the cuckoo bird or the Whip-Poor-Will, gets get name from the signature sound she makes.""Wooooo!""A woo can be elicited from a certain song coming on the jukebox ("Sweet Home Alabama" plays); to half-priced shots; from a ride on a mechanical bull; to, well, pretty much anything,"

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) showed up at the bar after hearing about the presence of Woo Girls and, when Lily (Band Camp girl from American Pie) questioned the world's need for Woo Girls, gave a classic Barney speech that deserves a full transcription here:

"The world absolutely needs Woo Girls. If there were no Woo Girls, there would be no 'Girls Gone Wild,' no bachelorette parties, no Las Vegas poolside bars. All of the things that you hold dearest, Lily, would be gone.""Those are none of those things --" Lily tried to interject, but Barney continued. "The souvenir shot-glass industry would collapse; so would the body-glitter industry -- and, the stretch Hummer rental industry. Tiny cowboy hats would be worn only by tiny cowboys. And when 'Brown- Eyed Girl' would come up on the jukebox, all you would hear ... would be silence .... and 'Brown-Eyed Girl.' But who would 'woo,' Lily? Who would 'woo'? Would you? Would you ... 'woo'?"

If I could get the video, I would create a link because Barney can deliver it like no other. I apologize, I can't access video right now.

Mondays 7:30pm CBS. You deserve this.

Go Green, Don't Go Nuts

In the past couple of weeks I have been catching a few episodes of Dawson's Creek on The N. It is on weekdays at 4am. Why am I up at 4am? My neighbor's dog likes to wake me up at about 3:45 am. Sometimes she barks for a half hour, sometimes she barks until after 5am. Either way, I am up. It is getting really old, but that's not the point of this.

The N is a channel for the teens. It has many shows that I don't watch, but as I said, it has Dawson's Creek. Yes, I do enjoy this smart, interesting teenage drama about smart kids that don't jump into bed with each other, don't focus on the latest trends, and don't seem to over indulge in the partying. It helps raise the social consciousness. If all kids see on TV is Paris Hilton, kids are going to think that is the proper way to act, dress, and moralize. We need Dawson's Creek.

OK, my love of Dawson's Creek isn't the point of this either. The N has commercials about going green. They are amusing commercials about crazy environmentalists that want to go to the extreme that no one can live up to. One commercial shows a girl showering in a bucket to save the water to use elsewhere. Yes, it's a great idea, but I don't use that much water for other things. The point of the commercials are go green, don't go nuts. I like the realistic approach. Many people seem to give up. If they can't save the world entirely, they are not going to do anything at all that may help save it. It's about the little choices we make. Add every little thing up and we make a big difference.

Dawson's Creek is still teaching me things. Will we ever stop uncovering the many layers of Dawson's Creek and its sponsors?!

My guilt has temporarily lifted.

Go green, don't go nuts.

Real or Fake?

Do you have a real Christmas tree or fake one? Here goes the guilt again. There is no clear answer for one or the other. I really struggle with my choices sometimes because there is not a black and white answer. I like black and white answers, I thrive on right/wrong; good/bad; milk/juice. I do enjoy a philosophical debate with no clear answer; just valid reasonings put into the universe. When it comes down to making a choice on how to not destroy the Earth, choosing from the lesser of two evils just disheartens me. So here are my arguments:

Real: Pro: renewable resource and bio-degradable. Con: It takes a long time to grow a tree. It's not annually renewing like pumpkins and crops. Last time I checked we were in desperate need of trees, cutting them down doesn't seem like the best idea. From the non-environmental prospective, it's really messy and expensive. However there is a better chance that a real tree is from a one-man farm rather than a massive plastic-producing mega-company. Please don't comment about how it makes your house smell good. I have never experienced that. You all must have noses like dogs. If that is the case, I am sure there is a nice pine scented soy candle out there to burn.

Fake: Pro: Reuse it over and over. My parents have had 2 Christmas trees in the 35 years they have been married (instead of killing 35 10 year old trees). Con: Another example of America's love affair with oil and the fact that the first tree my parents had is still sitting in the landfill 15 years after they got rid of it and will continue to sit there for another 100 years. From the non-environmental perspective, it's much cheaper and I can put it up the day after Christmas and it's still fresh when I take it down New Year's Day.

I will be honest, I have never had a real tree. I may like trees, but trees don't like me. So I guess this is just a philosophical debate that needs no clear answer. I just need a new Christmas tree and have for about the last 2-3 Christmases, but my plastic guilt paralyzes me. So I start debating the whole issue and that's how you wind up reading this.

Malmo, Sweden

I have been in love with Malmo, Sweden since I laid eyes on this building. It was built by Santiago Calatrava. Calatrava is currently building "The Spire" in Chicago. I can just stare at this building all day. It is such a marvel. It is called "Turning Torso."

I just found out that Malmo is one of the greenest cities in the world. It was Sweden's first Fair Trade City (does the US even have a Fair Trade City?). They have set a goal (and well on their way) to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2020 and there is an entire section of town that runs on 100% renewable energy.

If you are ever in the neighborhood, take a trip to Sweden. It has definitely moved up on my to-do list.

Vote!

Don't forget to vote today. If you vote, you can get a free doughnut at Krispy Kreme, a free coffee at Starbucks and free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's!

God Bless America!