a complicated city

New Orleans is a very interesting city. I mean that in a good and bad way. The history is extremely colorful. The mix of cultures is fascinating. But it's overrated as a tourist destination.

The Garden District is full of beautiful antebellum homes and a public cemetery. We came across a wonderful Mexican restaurant called Superior Grill that had amazing hand-made flour tortillas. We took a dozen home. And that's the only thing we bought!

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

The French Quarter is pretty run down with a lot of touristy shops and bars. Mixed in are a few nice restaurants, art galleries and antique shops. But those are few.

In front of St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square.

The infamous beignet at Cafe du Monde.

Lax alcohol laws.

Joan d'Arc statue given to New Orleans by France. Unfortunately, a Saints flag has been plastered over the real one.

Bourbon Street after a Saints game.

The last day of our stay, we hired our taxi driver, Mr. Henry Lee Tennessee, to give us a two-hour tour of some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina, especially the Lower 9th Ward, before we headed for the airport. He was extremely knowledgeable and gave us an insider's perspective that was both informative and moving.

Musicians' Village sponsored by Habitat for Humanity.

Brad Pitt's Make it Right.

The writing is still on the walls.

big easy bound

We're off to New Orleans tomorrow. We've never been and weren't particularly chomping at the bit to go. But all the attention the city got for the 5th anniversary of Katrina really piqued our interest. So be looking next week for some postings from the Big Easy.

Here's a music video from New Orleans local Vince Vance, written for the 5th anniversary. I hope it will pique your interest too.

wal-mart and h&m green up their act

September 23 2010 - People say you can tell the latest color trends in fashion by looking at the shade of the rivers in China. Each season's dyes get dumped into Chinese waterways after they are circulated through poorly operated textile mills, leaving a string of hazardous chemicals in their wake.

There are cleaner, more cost-effective ways to produce textiles, but many factories -- particularly the smaller and older mills -- stick with the status quo until their customers demand sustainable practices.

Yesterday, Wal-Mart agreed to give their suppliers that added push. At the Clinton Global Initiative, the retail giant announced it would work with Chinese textile manufacturers to embrace better industry techniques.

NRDC will be helping guide this process through our Clean by Design program, which has identified 10 simple, low-cost practices that dramatically cut water, energy, and chemical use in textile dyeing and finishing.

The Wal-Mart announcement comes on the heels of similar initiative NRDC launched with H&M several days ago in Shanghai. This means two of the world's largest clothing retailers are committing to clean up one of the biggest sources of industrial water pollution in the world.

Few Americans realize what textile manufacturing entails, but it can be very dirty business. Dyeing and finishing fabrics can pollute as much as 200 tons of water per ton of fabric. The process also consumes an enormous amount of energy for steam and hot water.

Now that the industry is centered in China, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam where government are still developing environmental regulations -- the industry has a huge environmental footprint.

I went on a tour of textile factory in China a few years ago. Our visit was scheduled in advance, but when we arrived, the facility had been shut down. We walked through the mill and saw the giant dying equipment, but they didn't give us a chance to see it in operation.

My colleague wandered off to the edge of the plant and struck up a conversation with a woman who lived nearby. She said the plant leached so many chemicals into her backyard that she had stopped going outside.

Fortunately some factories are beginning to see the value in cleaner practices. The 10 techniques that NRDC has identified can actually save factories money. Reusing cooling water, for instance, requires an initial cost of $1,500, but that investment is recouped in just one month. The Redbud textile factory in Changshu China -- also a Wal-Mart supplier -- reaps nearly $840,000 in annual savings with upfront costs of only $74,000.

Just a few weeks ago, NRDC's Executive Director Peter Lehner traveled to two Chinese textile factories participating in the Clean by Design program. When Peter asked the CEOs what it would take to get more nearby mills to embrace these cleaner industry practices, they both answered: "More name brands."

Big names like Wal-Mart and H&M have the purchasing power to drive improvements all the way up the supply chain. They send a signal to manufacturers that there is a market out there for textiles made using cleaner practices.

By Frances Beinecke
Source: Greenbiz.com

today is the first day of fall

Wednesday, September 22 at exactly 8:09 p.m. PST, comes the First Day of Fall.

Technically known as the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of Fall is symbolic in many ways. It is during this time that the sun is directly above the Earth’s equator, resulting in an exactly equal time period for day and night.

The term Equinox has been taken from the Latin words ‘aequus’ and ‘nox’ that mean equal and night.

The First Day of Fall is followed by the Harvest Moon on the 23rd. It is during this time that the weather patterns start to shift. Dark Winter starts November 7 where nights will be longer than days.

a heroine for the 21st century

Lady Gaga goes political in Maine. “If you are not honorable enough to fight without prejudice, go home,” she told the crowd at a rally to repeal DADT.
Read it here.

sony prop auction

Although it was designed as elegantly as a Craigslist posting, the recent two-day online auction of items from Sony Pictures' vast property department by liquidation firm R.L. Spear offered some incredible deals.

Among the finds: garden statuary, pots and Tiki heads, above left, and a rainbow of midcentury metal lawn chairs with shell shaped backs, above right, that is part of a huge stash of patio furniture. For adventuresome landscapers, there is a grove of lawn ornaments, traffic signs and parking meters.

Oddities such as a giant bear wielding a mallet and a black painted bust of Richard Nixon make the life-size bearded warlords, right, and phosphorus green bobbin chairs, far right, look tame.

I bid on two Kartel file cabinets, left, but a bidding war started and I couldn't compete. I lost out on the canvas army cots, right, by 50 cents because I wasn't paying attention - very sad.

So this is what I ended up with - nine garden pots, four of which I'm giving to the neighbors. I only paid $63 for all of them.

And here's what I've done with them so far:

Succulents on the lower stairway.

Coral Fountain at the front door.

And these I haven't figured what to do with yet.

rue : new online magazine

Today was the launch date for the new online shelter magazine, Rue. It's decent; heavy on content, light on ads. That will probably change as time progresses but hopefully the content will stay. Check it out here.

postcard from provence

The Rhône at Avignon
21cm x 13cm (8"x5"), oil on gessoed card

Today's painting will be sold by auction - auction starts today at 8pm GMT
and ends on Thursay 16th September at 8pm GMT (4pm EDT / 1pm PDT)

Starting price: $100
To register or login to the auction visit: http://auction.shiftinglight.com

tinker bell and the great fairy rescue

Here's the preview to the next Tinker Bell movie that John worked on. It's being released at The El Capitan Theater for two weeks only that starts today and runs until the end of the month. It will be available for purchase as a DVD starting September 21st. It's pretty cute, even for adults!

This is John's "Pixie Preview" that he wrote and directed about this latest movie.

feed the kids

GAP releases bags to FEED U.S. school children

Co-designed by FEED project founder and Patrick Robinson, Gap's EVP of Global Design, canvas bags will be sold throughout all U.S. Gap stores by September 20 to support nutrition in America's schools.

This is a limited edition collection costing $29.50 for the tote, $39.50 for the bucket bag and more styles priced up to $98 which will be featured at the label’s NYC pop-up shop. $5 from each bag sale will go to schools. It is the teachers who choose where the money ends up, according to the equipment they most need to create a healthy eating culture.

These bags are not available online, only in GAP stores.

By Rosie Hart

a tale of two restaurants

There seems to be a mini-trend with Los Angeles restaurants; re-invigorating old, established eateries that either don't have a very good reputation for their food or have simply fallen off the radar but seem to stay in business because of their location or their age. The most recent examples are Gladstones, Saddle Peak Lodge and Inn of the Seventh Ray.

I recently had a friend visit so we tried two of these.

SADDLE PEAK LODGE

I'd heard a lot about this place, mostly how expensive it was. But a new chef came up with the idea of a happy hour menu that is a fraction of their normal prices along with half price drinks. It was superb! The menu is all about game so you can't be a vegetarian here. Now I want to go back for the weekend brunch.

Read the LA Times review here.

INN OF THE SEVENTH RAY

Don't bother! Our obnoxiously precocious waiter tried to explain how duck could be vegan, then let it slip that it was really tofu. The food was OK but not great. The prices were way too high. We probably won't go back.

Read the LA Times review here.

Still to visit is Gladstones, which has probably undergone the most extensive face-lift.

banning of sandblasted jeans

Levi Strauss & H&M ban sandblasting

Distressed jeans are the goal for any sandblasting apparel worker. The two labels ban this potentially very harmful finishing technique due to the exposure of the toxic crystalline silica component, effective from September 8.

Levi's distressed denim

Counterfeit operations are the real problem as the factories do not tend to implement the correct safeguards for the workers. So despite H&M and Levi's rigourous health and safety precautions, a ban has been put in place, effective immediately to take a stand in the industry, so other companies can eventually follow suit.

Ethical concerns of denim manufacturing is a hot topic. Fibre2fashion reported in July this year that the making of one pair of Levi 501s required almost 920 gallons of water, 400 mega joules of energy and expelled 32 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Levi's said this was equivalent to running a garden hose for 106 minutes, driving 78 miles and powering a computer for 556 hours. While more than 520 million pairs of jeans are sold in USA alone each year environmental regulations in less developed countries are particularly insubstantial.

Sandblasting worker. Photo : Corbis

Alternatives to silica sandblasting for “worn” denim techniques still consist of repeated washing and rinsing and bleaching, chemical blasting with toxic substances, dye stripping or bleaching with potassium permanganate.

Karl Gunnar Fagerlin, Production Manager at H&M says monitoring the practices’ standards at all levels of the supply chain, particularly with subcontractors has proven difficult for the label so any purchasing or retailing of sandblasting will no longer take place and from the end of the year active production of this type will have disappeared completely.

By Rosie Hart

life in topanga

Wild grape jelly - part 2

Sterilizing the jars.

The bubbling brew.

It was so hot that day, John cooked outside on the grill.

The fruits of his labor!

autumn/winter 2010-2011

Mudpie : Cleanse - Male & Female

Technology and simplicity combine in response to a compelling need for a fuss free, efficient way of life. The extreme formations of deconstructivist architecture and the visionary designs of retro futurism join for a juxtaposition of linear compositions and fluid lines. Softening the trend, the harmony of light reflects a sensual approach to eco issues and organic influences which are integral for a peaceful morality.

Fashion interpretation:

A sense of serenity is evoked with inspiration taken from the tranquil East, the fluidity of water and minimalist architecture. Essentially a muted palette, the base fuses subdued lilac, steel grey and a cool flesh tone, freshened with fragrant tarragon and a versatile deep midnight blue. A tonal palette ensures a utilitarian approach to graphics and prints with geometric shapes and linear designs reflecting the ethos of futuristic visions. Eastern aesthetics are embraced with wrap-around styles, voluminous trousers and subtle use of print and pattern. Spiritual practices and the sanctuary of nature enhance themes introducing a sense of fragility, interpreted with intricate and refined detailing. Sensual designs are complimented by soft, sweeping fabrics with dynamic flashes of colour breaking through an otherwise subdued palette.

the audacity of taupe

I just couldn't help myself. That title is so terrific - I think coined by Arianna Huffington - that I had to post it here.

The NY Times asked several people to comment on Obama's re-do of the oval office. Read their comments here. I personally think it looks terrible.