Archive for November, 2007
Bad, Bad Bar.
The other night I went to a bar called Rosemary’s Greenpoint Tavern on trendy Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, expecting a good time becuase I heard they had the best Halloween decorations around. The bar gave me a good fright, indeed, but it wasn’t because of the skeletons and witches hanging from the ceiling. It was because of this: (more…)
Soft, Green Skin
I recently had to buy new facial moisturizer (it’s getting cold out now and it makes my skin dry), and I had a hell of a time trying to find something that wasn’t laden with carcinogens and other chemicals that are too hard to pronounce. In the end, I actually kind of failed and settled for a Body Shop moisturizer that has parabens in it (parabens are a nasty preservative and I’ve currently got them all over my face).
So you don’t fail like I did, I recommend using the Green Guide’s “Dirty Dozen” to learn about cosmetics ingredients you should avoid. The New York Times ran a good article about the green beauty industry today that you should check out, too. And here’s a list of brands that I like for their natural ingredients and high-quality products:
Dr. Bronner’s – best soaps ever – especially lavender and peppermint
Desert Essence - I like their shampoos, toothpaste (tea tree) and lotions
Burt’s Bees - good lip balms, lipsticks, body lotions
Tom’s of Maine - they’ve got great toothpaste and deodorant
Dr. Hauschka - pricey but really nice skin care (good for sensitive skin, too)
Greenercise
It kind of astounds me when I see people using machines that suck energy out of the wall to work out. Why would you need electricity to get exercise? Why use a stairmaster when there are stairs all over the place? Why run on a treadmill when you can dance?
After work I often run into these drummers on the subway platform:
I know this isn’t the best picture, but can you see their arms? The guy’s got biceps bigger around than my thigh, and the chick’s arms are like pythons. Big, swamp-dwelling, small-child-swallowing pythons. You can’t get this kind of muscle on a treadmill, people. Plus, they’re making music (and money).
There are lots of good reasons for getting a gym membership – climate-control, profressional assistance, high-tech machinery, etc – and I don’t intend to make light of them. But it just seems to me that electric gym equipment is a big waste of energy.
