Junk to Funk
… bringing trashion edutainment to the masses.

November 14th will mark the fourth annual Junk to Funk Recycled Fashion Show Contest. Junk to Funk aims to educate about waste-reduction and recycling issues, and to inspire creative re-use. Up to 40 pieces of wearable art and couture fashion are showcased based on the creative use of “trash” in an eclectic and downright humorous production.

Contestants will compete for prizes up to $500 and will be judged by the “Junk Jury,” comprised of local designer Adam Arnold and representatives from Scrap and the Oregon Association of Recyclers. Winners will be determined based on the percent of recycled material used, design innovation, out-of-the-box use of materials, craftsmanship, and presentation “wow” factor.

The event will again be hosted by Portland’s Mayor Sam Adams and will feature a live performance by Portland’s first junk orchestra, “Junquestra,” recycled jewelry and accessories created by local artisans, and a DIY junk accessory table provided by SCRAP. As always, audience junky costumes are encouraged!

Tickets are available through the Crystal Ballroom: $17 advance, $20 at the door, or $40 for preferred seating. For more information visit the Junk to Funk Web site.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Copenhagen this December. The agreement they craft may or may not have a significant impact on saving our planet.  350.org is a grassroots movement via the Internet to build awareness and “join people all over the world to take a stand for a safe climate future.”

Our planet is dying. Life on Earth simply will not survive in an atmosphere that sustains CO2 emissions greater than 350 parts per million.  It’s critical that our world’s countries reduce emissions to a livable limit.

Check out the 90-second 350.org animation on YouTube and the more recent Because the World Needs to Know.

And visit 350.org to see how you can become involved in the October 24, 2009, Global Day of Climate Action.

Boilerplate in Alaska. Photo by permission: Abrams publishing.

Boilerplate is a robot. Two Portland, Oregonians, illustrator/author Paul Guinan and author Anina Bennett, have created the Boilerplate Web site, which has become an “Internet phenomenon” that is a lot of fun. Their new book will be available in bookstores on October 1, 2009.

Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett with their hero. Photo by permission: Abrams publishing.

“Now, the adventures of Boilerplate have finally been chronicled in this stunning, full-color visual masterpiece, Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel. The husband-and-wife creative team seamlessly inserted their richly imagined characters into accurate retellings of history, illustrated by hundreds of exceptionally convincing graphics in period style. The book is sure to appeal to robot fans, history buffs, the steampunk community, and just about anyone who loves great design, a creative concept and a good yarn.”

The following Boilerplate book release events are happening in Portland and Seattle.

October 1 – Boilerplate Art Opening at Art Bar (at The Portland Center for the Performing Arts), 1111 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon

October 2 – Powell’s Bookstore (1005 W Burnside, Portland, OR) – Boilerplate presentation, Q and A, raffle and signing

October 23-25 – Paul will be a guest of honor at Steam Con in Seattle, WA; http://www.steam-con.com

Ongoing: Boilerplate Gallery Exhibition at Portland Center for the Performing Arts Sept thru Nov with special events on each First Thursday

Thanks to:  Leslie Ann Henkel, publicist with Abrams, for photos and quotes.

Talkin' about seeds. Photo credit: Kate Lucas of the Seed Ambassadors

Eugene, Oregon, had a fun offering in Skinner City Garden this August: Saving Seed, presented by our favorite Seed Ambassadors. The event was free to the public and hosted by City of Eugene Parks and Open Space Division.

The shade at the west end of the community garden was filled with folks listening and asking questions. Andrew and Sarah spoke about the importance of saving seed and about seed-crop population and isolation requirements. They also gave lots of practical information and demonstrations on how to save seeds. Everybody loves Andrew’s seed stomping dance.

Sarah and Andrew, seed savers extraordinaire. Photo: Kate Lucas

The Seed Ambassadors will attend the Eugene Permaculture Gathering (August 28 – 30th: Meeting Our Needs Closer to Home), where they will facilitate a discussion about Creating a Local System of Seed.

Too late to garden? Not in the Willamette Valley. The Seed Ambassador’s have updated their Winter Gardening Crop Chart. There is still time to plant for winter eating.

To find gardening workshops in your city, search the Internet under your city’s name for “city parks gardening workshops” or your county’s name for “county extension gardening workshops.”

Fresh-picked beans from Diana's garden. The remay-covered wire hoop protects beet seedlings.

Hopefully you’ve been lucky enough to eat fresh from your backyard veggie patch all summer. But if you’re still on the fence, so to speak, about starting your very own garden adventure, you might enjoy reading about a Minnesota urbanite’s first stab at it.

The New York Times has a blog by Michael Tortorello, “The Starter Garden,” on the trials and tribulations of  a first-time gardener. His latest, “What to Plant As Summer Fades,” discusses which veggies to start RIGHT NOW in Minneapolis (including lettuce, cabbage, spinach, winter radishes, and snap peas). Tortorello’s enjoyable blog started April 1, 2009, and the series is still available on line. Just click “The Starter Garden” at the bottom of his current entry.

Blueberries from Lilia's farm in Hood River, Oregon.

Blueberries, cherries, whatever is ready in your part of the country, now is a lovely time to get into the fields and pick your own fruit.

Blueberries and strawberries are especially fun for kids, as the bushes are low and the berries easy to pick. If your afternoons are hot, mornings are better.

Some U-Pick or Pick-Your-Own farms list in the classifieds when their fruit is ready, but many small farms don’t advertise or even have Web sites. If a Web search doesn’t get you much, try the Pick-Your-Own site to locate U-Pick farms in your area. It’s best to call the farm, check their hours, and ask if they use organic practices. Most small farms can’t afford to be certified “Organic,” but they may not use any spray, and they may fertilize with organic products.

Blueberry heaven.

I thought you all might want to check this out! A clothing designer from New York and she’s selling last year’s line for crazy low prices. Check it out!

Photo courtesy of Crazy-Jokes.com

Environmental Magazine Asks: What’s Hiding in Your Sunscreen?

The July/August 2009 issue of E – The Environmental Magazine looks at how nanotechnology has changed what we eat, wear and apply to our skin-unfortunately with little regulation and little understanding of the long-term consequences, both to our own health and that of the natural world.

Sunscreens, energy drinks and high-tech clothing are just a few of the 800-plus consumer products made with nanomaterials: those manufactured at the scale of atoms and molecules. Sunscreen that turns clear on the skin contains titanium dioxide, an ordinary UV-blocker in extraordinarily small particles. Odor-eating socks are made with atoms of germ-killing silver. Supplement makers boast of amazing health effects from swallowing nanosolutions that are completely untested for effectiveness or safety.

Nobody — not even the world’s leading nanoscientists — knows what nanoparticles do inside the body or in the environment.

Nanotechnology, a fast-growing global industry, is essentially unregulated. “This is basically virgin territory,” says Rutgers University environmental scientist Paul Lio. “The fact that it’s virgin territory is not good for the field, and it should be fixed really quickly.”

Advocates and independent scientists agree that we need to get ahead of the risks before it’s too late. They are worried about unleashing a powerful new technology that could have vast unintended consequences.

“The take-home message for me is, the behavior of these particles is very complex,” says Cyndee Gruden, a civil engineering professor at the University of Toledo in Ohio. “When you take a nanoparticle and put it into the environment, you have to know how it’s going to behave. And we don’t.”

Click to read full article.