I’ve made my fourth Kiva loan! Miraculous. This means I have been reimbursed in full three times by third world farmers, and people who don’t own shoes, while receiving not one (NOT ONE) piece of junk mail from Kiva or an affiliate. I’m so pleased I’m damn near speechless (as demonstrated by pic). Luckily I can still type. To put this accomplishment by developing world businesses in context… Roller coasters have more stability than the US stock market, which continues to plunge and climb... [Read more]
On July 16th and 17th, Los Angeles, CA, a city built for the automobile, braced for a predicted disaster known worldwide as Carmaggedon. A ten-mile stretch of the infamous 405 Freeway would be closed for 53 hours due to construction. The shut down section, between the 10 Freeway and 101 Freeway interchanges, normally sees almost 500,000 cars on a summer weekend. When Angelenos (myself included) found out about the impending closure during tourist season we panicked like Godzilla had just walked... [Read more]
I have an addiction to veggie tempura. It’s shameful. I don’t like to fry things at home because of grease splatter so I’m relegated to hunting down the appetizer at the most sustainable sushi joints I can find. Is there such a thing as sustainable sushi? Probably not, but if you’re a pescetarian you can check menus to make sure your restaurant of choice doesn’t serve endangered fish. Even as a vegetarian I will always avoid restaurants that serve endangered species like Bluefin... [Read more]
Dirty, Tiny Kitten There are advantages and disadvantages to being thegoodmuse. Advantage – people come and ask you to help them like you are a superhero. Disadvantage – people come and ask you to help them like you are a superhero. Couple thegoodmuse reputation with the fact that I’ve gained a certain notoriety, in my circle of friends, for fixing minor animal maladies and the result is when an animal in distress is found within a 10 mile radius I get the call. Often, I think I should just... [Read more]
I wonder if Philippe Cousteau ever feels frustrated that some of his words are lost in a sea of sighs and giggles. The first time I heard him speak in Los Angeles, almost a year ago, I didn’t notice. Maybe I was too rapt up in his insights into the BP Oil Spill or maybe sitting in the middle of the audience obscured the sound. On the front row, however, one can definitely appreciate the affect he has on female audience members especially when he drops a phrase like, “We’ve made a Faustian... [Read more]
Due to the recent tragedies in Japan and particularly the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant I’ve been asking myself a series of questions that many of you may be asking: What is radiation poisoning/sickness exactly? How much radiation does a person have to be exposed to to get ill? What are the symptoms? What are the treatments? Why was a nuclear power plant built in a freakin tsunami zone!?!?!?!?! (This last question is off topic and will not be discussed here – it just pisses me... [Read more]
Almost 1 year after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico officials in New Orleans are baffled by the appearance of another massive oil slick, possibly 100-miles wide, spotted in the Gulf over the weekend. Though the oil sheen is close to the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster authorities have no idea where it came from. Word from on high (meaning no one is sighting a source) is that the Deepwater Horizon well is not leaking. Reports so far have been, as one news outlet stated, “sketchy and... [Read more]
