You've prolly all seen this already, but just in case, may i present the teaser...



And some info...

"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" will be streamed, LIVE (that part's not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that's still playing. Like, everywhere.) From a mysapce announcement by Joss himself

We're then promised a DVD with plenty of shiny extras - yay :D. I <3 Fillion!

Just pimpin' my future wife's new vlog (well one of my future wives*, i seem to be accumulating a potential harem, i imagine that's nowhere near as fun as an actual harem but much less work ;)).

Watch her introductory video here and subscribe on youtube if you wanna see a hot geeky stripper talk nerdy! She has very hot nerdtastic tattoos and plans to wear a different cute outfit every time while discussing geek topics of interest, i think the virtues of different consoles may be up next - she's a playstion girl like me, it's why we can marry see no arguments about consoles in our house ;p.


Oh and it's all thanks to "An Engineer's Guide to Cats" which you should all watch (if you haven;t already) if only for the cat yodelling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHXBL6bzAR4


*we know each other irl (through lj though lolz), i didn't just see her video and propose ;p.

Seen in veganpeople
Man this has kinda ruined my night, i was all set to go to bed but now i am going to have awful images in my head. I need a hug :(.

Please sign this petition!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/37/justice-for-mimi

Media contact info for DA of Memphis

Media inquiries should be directed to:
Jennifer Donnals, Communications Director
901-545-5988
jennifer.donnals@scdag.com

Please take action, sign the petition and e-mail and call all the contacts below . Permission to cross post and appreciated.

TAKE ACTION CALL THE NUMBERS BELOW AND DEMAND AN ARREST IN THE CRUEL DEATH OF MIMI. SHE WAS SET ON FIRE WHILE GIVING BIRTH!!

THE FULL STORY IS PASTED BELOW THE CONTACT INFORMATION.
THE DOG'S OWNER HAS EYE WITNESSES AND HE HAS THE NAME OF THE KILLER! YET NO ARREST HAS BEEN MADE!
( Read more... )

http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/10/environmentalis.html

People ask me if the reduced use of consumer conveniences that goes with the No Impact project doesn't mean a lot of deprivation. I say that I spend more time with my family, eat more healthily, get more exercise and am a better dad. Then I ask: "Was I more deprived before or am I more deprived now?"

The point is that the money we make, the things we buy and the planetary resources we use--or waste--aren't what make us happier. This is the finding of the forthcoming book The How of Happiness by University of California, Riverside researcher Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky.

Her findings show that contributions to our happiness come:

* 50% from a genetically-determined set point (which we can do nothing about)
* 10% from our life circumstances or situations (which means we could trash the entire planet to get ourselves the biggest house and fastest car and still barely feel better)
* 40% from--are you ready?--how we act and how we think.

This confirms my No Impact experience that environmentalism--preserving rather than using up planetary resources--means nothing like depriving ourselves of happiness. Instead, it suggests that using less and treating the planet kindly means we get to stop distracting ourselves from what really makes us happy.

Of our assumptions about happiness, Lyubomirsky writes:

"Perhaps the most common error is that we assume that positive events ... will provide much more happiness than they really do. Take materialism, the pursuit of money and possessions, as an example. Why is it so hard for us (even myself!) to believe that money really doesn't make us happy? Because the truth is that money does make us happy. But our misunderstanding, as one happiness researcher eloquently puts it, is that 'we think money will bring lots of happiness for a long time, and actually it brings a little happiness for a short time.' Meanwhile, in our effortful pursuit of such dead ends to pleasure, we end up ignoring other, more effective routes to well-being."

What are the more effective routes? Well, that gets you back to how you think and how you act, and for more on that, you'll have to read Lyubomirsky's book. But a few bullet points include:

* Nurturing and enjoying relationships with family and friends
* Being comfortable expressing gratitude
* Being the first to offer help to coworkers and passersby
* Practicing optimism about the future
* Savoring life's pleasures and living in the moment
* Exercising at least once a week
* Committing to lifelong goals and ambitions
* Coping with challenges with strength and poise

UN report mentioned in my earlier post about Al Gore.

29 November 2006 – Cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation, and smarter production methods, including improved animal diets to reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions, are urgently needed, according to a new United Nations report released today.

“Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems,” senior UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official Henning Steinfeld said. “Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”

( Read more... )

They fail to mention EATING LESS/NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS as a solution o_O. I agree we need to do all the things they mention, but that's kind of an obvious way to help, ya?

From - http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20772&Cr=global&Cr1=environment

Everything after the first paragraph is copied from the peta site where you can send or add to the form letter - http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/p2_gore_environment?c=918

I don't agree with all off petas methods, but i think its good to get this message out there. Animal rights and ethics aside (not to say they aren't important of course!) being a vego is an environmental issue too.

So i'd encourage any omnis reading this to reduce your consumption of animal products, and when you do eat meat and dairy to try and source it locally and organically. If you're eating vegan a few days a week and avoid the processed vegan products you will save money, which can be spent on the more ethical animal products if you still feel the need to consume them.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Former Vice President Al Gore is a trailblazer when it comes to drawing attention to what has been deemed the world's most grave environmental threat—global warming. Through his work with a variety of events and organizations, such as Live Earth, The Climate Project, and the Alliance for Climate Protection, he has been able to reach millions with his message.

Unfortunately, Gore has not yet endorsed the most effective thing that any individual can do to help—going vegetarian.

In a groundbreaking 2006 report, the United Nations (U.N.) said that raising animals for food generates almost 40 percent more greenhouse gases than all the cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined. And Senior U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization official Henning Steinfeld reported that the meat industry is "one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems."

Although the Live Earth global warming handbook identified "refusing meat" as "the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint," the Alliance for Climate Protection, where Gore serves as chair of the board, has created a seven-point pledge designed to identify easy steps that we can take as individuals to help end the climate crisis. However, going vegetarian is inexplicably missing from the list.

Please take just a few moments to send a polite letter to Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection asking them to make their seven-point pledge an eight-point pledge by adding going vegetarian to the list. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk has already written to Gore and the alliance—read the letter here—asking them to alter the pledge, and now it's your chance to ask them to promote the most effective way to fight our climate crisis.

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/p2_gore_environment?c=918
_____________________________________________________________________________________

ps. I'm so excited that he won the nobel peace prize! :D

Wow, i've been wanting to get her new book for a while now but this has made me want it NOW so much so that if i didn't have so much to do i'd go spend some food money on it. I really do need something to kick-start my politics again, uni politics kind of burnt me out but i'm a pretty political animal so i want to keep informed and active without burning out.

Who knows, if Zombie Love does well on youtube i may one day become a big name director, and will be able to make political films and throw my money and influence around to make political change ;). And have tea with Robert Smith and Naomi Klein :P.

Thanks to ripper_jack for sharing this with me.

http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/09/the-power-of-on.html - Its a great blog & has a feed here on lj - i highly recommend adding it.

People ask me this a lot: what is the point of one person trying to reduce their consumption to help the environment? Isn’t that a meaningless drop in the bucket?

No.

It’s only meaningless if we think it’s meaningless, because if we think it’s meaningless, we’ll do nothing. Optimism, as I’ve said before, is the most radical political act there is.

Back in World War II, millions of Allied citizens changed their consumption patterns to help the war effort. They (largely) obeyed rationing rules, forwent metals and rubbers needed by the armed forces, taught their children not to waste valuable and scarce food, and even carpooled to save gas.

What made them believe their individual actions mattered? Why did they bother?

Because being told so by the powers that be—see the poster above—helped them see that one person trying to do the right thing makes a difference. If I remember my chaos theory correctly, one butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon can set off a chain of events that leads to a hurricane.

Recently, our Congress passed an energy bill that had no fuel efficiency standards for newly manufactured cars. I am personally appalled.

On the other hand, we the people are not helpless. We the people don’t need Government to tell us to do what is right. We the people can stop buying cars with poor fuel efficiency. We don’t need the government or the automobile manufacturers to do a thing. All it takes is for us to believe that how we purchase and how we act can really make a difference. And it can.

What I’d like to see are the big environmental organizations taking the place of the governments of World War II to remind us all that we can make a difference. I'd like to see Greenpeace and Sierra Club and Environmental Defense billboards all over our country saying: “Do your grandchildren a favor: drive a car that gets 40 miles per gallon.”

Because if a few big environmental organizations start shouting from the rooftops about the power of one, that each one of us can make a difference, more of us will come to believe it and will act as though it is so. And if more of us refused to drive cars that got less than 40 mpg, you better believe the auto manufacturers would not wait for the Government to tell them to improve their efficiency standards.

Watch the video below of the ping-pong ball and mousetrap chain reaction (You'll have to follow the link for this one obviously :)). We never know which of us will be the ping-pong ball that sets the others off. We never know which of us will start the chain reaction. But one of us will.

Another short piece from him about Getting traffic off our city streets
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http://environment.about.com/od/environment/a/cell_phones.htm

Dear EarthTalk: Could our health be negatively affected by all the radio frequencies being bandied about by cell phones and cell phone towers, wireless pagers and Internet systems, and other uses of radio frequency and microwave radiation?
-- Beverly Filip, Santa Cruz, CA
( Read more... )

Not the best site or source for this imo, but interesting nonetheless. And its something i've been worried about for years. Its rare that we really figure out the long-term affects of anything before letting it into the environment. (DDT anyone? Or Cane toads? Or genetically engineered crops? George Bush :P?)

Research conducted by the University of New South Wales has shed new light on chronic fatigue syndrome.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/05/1970542.htm