Sunday, January 27, 2008

Stop Junk Mail

According to Melissa Breyer, Senior Producer of Care2 Green Living:
In a single year Americans receive 19 billion catalogs in the mail. That boils down to 3.6 million tons of paper at the cost of 53 million trees. Ouch. And that's not to mention all the rest of the junky junk mail that seems to flood our mailboxes like a swarm of locusts. We've collected the information here that you need to tame the catalog beast and stop junk mail in its tracks. Production of the paper used for American catalogs uses the same amount of energy required to power 1.2 million homes in a year, and contributes annual emissions equal to that created by 2 million cars. That's incredibly significant! All to get us to buy buy buy more junk. It's just madness.
For a some tips on reducing the junk mail delivered to your home, from stopping catalogs to removing your name from mailing lists, check the tips compiled at Stop Junk Mail, Save a Tree.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Friday Pet Blogging (on Saturday) | Denim

Cats love denim. At least Otis loves sleeping on it.

And one by one, the pet blogging posts steal my sanity ...

More Pet Blogging
  1. See the Friday Ark, featuring a compilation of today's pet blogging posts, over at The Modulator.
  2. Check the M&O Archives for some previous Milo & Otis appearances.
  3. Carnival of the Cats, coming at you every Sunday.
  4. And one of the funniest/cutest/obsessivest (OK, I know that's not a word!) sites for cat photos, StuffOnMyCat.com is a must see. Take it from them: Stuff + Cats = Awesome!
  5. And for a funny and saccharin sweet photo collection of cat, kitty, and other critters that have been tagged with LOL, go see I Can Has a Cheezeburger? Really, these are good.

The Cult of Celebrity?

I've read a number of polls that seem to indicate that celebrity endorsements do not affect Joe Average's voting decision. Yes, these polls are not conducted scientifically, and most of them are for entertainment purposes. Really, I get that.

So why does this cartoon strike me as being so close to the truth? Why does each election for government office seem more like a pageant or popularity contest than a means for selecting someone who is qualified to do the job and willing to be a public servant (hey, we even have the concept of a "popular vote"!)?




On the other hand, one person is willing to at least ponder what affect such endorsements might have ("Ten Effects of Celebrity Endorsements on US Presidential Election 2008" -- Christi Bowers, associatedcontent.com, published Dec 13, 2007). And Christi could very well be right, or on the right track. The subconscious mind takes in all sorts of things without active filtering from the conscious mind.

Back to the idea of politics and entertainment, we have Obama delivering the following Top Ten list on Letterman's program.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Friday Pet Blogging | Boxing Milo

Hey! Here is one of those increasingly infrequent Pet Blogging Posts! Today, we have Milo in da Box.

And one by one, the pet blogging posts steal my sanity ...

More Pet Blogging
  1. See the Friday Ark, featuring a compilation of today's pet blogging posts, over at The Modulator.
  2. Check the M&O Archives for some previous Milo & Otis appearances.
  3. Carnival of the Cats, coming at you every Sunday.
  4. And one of the funniest/cutest/obsessivest (OK, I know that's not a word!) sites for cat photos, StuffOnMyCat.com is a must see. Take it from them: Stuff + Cats = Awesome!
  5. And for a funny and saccharin sweet photo collection of cat, kitty, and other critters that have been tagged with LOL, go see I Can Has a Cheezeburger? Really, these are good.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

HeavenO?

This item was posted on the last day of 2007, but it is officially the first strange thing I read in 2008. An individual or group or something has proposed replacing the standard greeting of "Hello" with "HeavenO". This will somehow "be a symbol, of peace, friendship and welcome." Just seems kind of awkward to me, though I am sure they had the best of intentions.