Rocking chair for the hip parent.

(Via Monte)

   

Depicts 8 million toothpicks, equal to the number of trees harvested in the US every month to make the paper for mail order catalogs.

This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs. ~ Artist, Chris Jordan

(Chris Jordan vis a vis Von Lintel Gallery, NYC)

   

According to a recent report, the plethora of antibacterial soaps, cleaners and detergents may be doing us harm in the long-run. These products are designed, of course, to eliminate bacteria that would otherwise inhibit diseases/conditions like tuberculosis, food poisoning, cholera, pneumonia, strep throat and meningitis - to name a few.

The old school approach is to use products with soap, bleach, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide in them. Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide eliminate all bacteria in its path while leaving no residue because it simply evaporates. Soaps on the other hand lift, trap and carry away the dirt and bacteria. The newer antibacterial products do a more selective cleaning of a given area while leaving a slight reside behind which is meant have a prophylactic effect on a given surface. But what lab tests are revealing is, there is a potential for the residual bacteria (that is exposed to the antibacterial residue) to mutate to a resistant strain. Think of it in terms of a given disease mutating against a given antibiotic.

The other concern is that this residue (most common compounds in cleaners and soaps are something called Triclosan and Triclocarbon) when washed away has the potential of causing problems in the enviorrnment.

Both chemicals are efficiently removed from wastewater in treatment plants but end up getting sequestered in the municipal sludge, which is used as fertilizer for crops, thereby opening a potential pathway for contamination of the food we eat, Halden explains. “We have to realize that the concentrations in agricultural soil are very high,” and this, “along with the presence of pathogens from sewage, could be a recipe for breeding antimicrobial resistance” in the environment, he says.” ~ ScientificAmerican.Com

They already know that these ingredients are prevalent in the enviorrnment because they have found trace amounts in mother’s breast milk which means it’s systemic, meaning it is also in mother’s blood system. Granted, there is no evidence this is harmful to humans, it stills seems unsettling to me that an ingredient known to kill harmful bacteria on my kitchen counter has been found in mother’s milk.

Furthermore, according to the FDA they have found no great benefit over these new antibacterial cleaners over the old ones. The advertising industry has done a wonderful job convincing us otherwise. It needs to be said that these products do serve a purpose but I think it is best to have a better idea of how they work so we can all use them properly and with reserve.

Related Links;
Scientific Amercian | Sidebar Article

   

Contents Include:

1. The Baby Owner’s Manual
2. Growth Chart, with stickers for marking baby’s progress
3. Diaper Changing Instructional Poster
4. Babysitter’s Memo Pad
5. Decorative Magnet

(Chronicle Books vis a vis Amazon)

   

So we all already know that cancer rates in this country are some of the highest in the world. I always wondered if there is any one thing that is the influence or if it is a dubious array of influencers that heighten our chances for cancerous growth. Is it those high voltage power lines that draped through the neighborhood I grew up in? Is it the toxic fumes that leak up through the soil of my old elementary school? Maybe it’s the LA smog I breath everyday? Or the benzene in my soft drink?

Yeah, that’s right - benzene. Like a high school science experiment, you can cook it up by combining ascorbic acid (otherwise known as Vitamin C - a common preservative in soda) with any form of sodium benzoate (a broad spectrum antimicrobial, inhibiting bacteria, molds, and yeasts) like potassium benzoate or sodium benzoate. And if you’re pressed for time, just throw in a pinch of citric acid (another common additive) into the mix - it seems it is a decent accelerant. And, viola - you have yourself a potent carcinogenic. Now keep this in mind as you stumble around to some of the related links below, especially the article from the Independent;

the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the “power station” of cells known as the mitochondria… the mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson’s and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing.” ~ The Independent

Evidently the F.D.A. is aware of this but has not shared it’s findings with the general public. The general finding is that soda contains four times the amount of benzene then what is found in tap water. Heat, light and shelf life are major contributors as to whether benzene will form in soda, according to the F.D.A. The products that concern me the most are the new soda products like Diet Coke Plus that are vitamin enriched, meaning they have extra vitamin C in them - great.

Related Links;
Wikipedia: Benzene in Soft Drinks
The Independent: Some Soft Drinks May Seriously Harm Your Health
FDA: Benzene in Soda Above the Limit of Tap Water

   

So now that global warming has been shifted to the front burner again, it seems as if everything with a combustion engine is under the microscope - which it should be. Like most guys that have gone nuclear (i.e. married, kids, dog, house, et al.), I have my weekend routine of chores which include mowing the lawn. Big whoop, grass grows, you cut it. Evidently, lawnmowers put Hummers to shame when it comes to spewing noxious fumes into the atmosphere.

For example, regulators in California estimate that using a chain-saw for two hours produces as much pollution as ten cars each driving 250 miles (400km)—though the outdoor-power-equipment lobby, of course, vigorously disagrees.” ~The Economist

Now what bums me out is there are programs out there (especially here in California) where you can get an electric mower at a great discount through government-sponsored programs, but they are not really advertised. Check on-line and through your local sources for any similar programs available in your area. So I want to share some links for people in the L.A. County area - and mark your calendars for next spring (they are sold out for this year already) and get on their mailing list at the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which covers Los Angeles and Orange County, is offering residents a $399 electric-powered lawnmower for $100 if they trade in an old petrol-burning lawnmower.

I know in parts of Nevada, New Mexico and Texas they will pay you to get rid of your lawn (”Cash For Grass Programs”) and replace it with a “zero-scape” (rock garden, cactus-scape, etc.) which saves the municipalities millions of gallons of water annually.

Related Links:
It All Adds Up | The Economist
South Coast Air Quality Management District | Lawn Mower Exchange Program
South Coast Air Quality Management District | Leaf Blower Exchange Program
Consumer Guide: Electric Lawn Mowers
San Diego Union Tribune | Smart Yards

   

Okay Mr. Dad, pop quiz; your newborn baby seems to have a bad case of eczema and your breastfeeding mom is probably pretty concerned about it - what do you do? Make mom laugh. Tickle her. Do some prat-falls. Pull out all the stops, if you get tired rent her favorite funny movies. I’m not making this up, no sir. Now - go, go, go.

…he showed breastfeeding mothers either a feature length Charlie Chaplin movie or bland footage of weather information, and took samples of breast milk at regular intervals afterwards. Two milk feeds later, he also measured their babies’ allergic reactions to dust mites and latex. Those infants whose mothers had laughed had markedly reduced reactions (Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol 62, p 699).”

“…Kimata also found significantly higher levels of melatonin in the laughing mothers’ milk. The hormone is associated with relaxation, and levels are reduced in people with eczema.” ~ NewScientist.Com

Now go put on your best funny face and make the woman giggle. Come on, do it for the children. And for heaven’s sake, shut off the weather channel.

(Via NewScientist.Com)

   

Gosh, I miss NYC.
(Via 43Folders.Com)

   

Letter-shaped crayons from StoryBlox

(Via Etsy)