December 2011 – Page 3 – Kristen Baumlier

Month: December 2011

Light: a “supernatural” short film about energy waste

Posted on December 21, 2011December 21, 2011 by Kbaumlier

“Light” is a short film directed by David Parker that is intended to bring awareness to energy waste. In the piece, we see lights that are dripping and oozing which parallel the way in which we waste our natural resources without much thought. The film is a poetic piece which provides eerie images of lights in the urban environment.

The film was shot during 2 nights in Los Angeles by two friends driving around the city with a camera exploring the architecture and abandoned landscapes.

In the future, the film will be projected in selected US cities in vacant storefront windows and onto walls in alleys as a moving piece of public art.

David Parker is part of the team Sunday/Paper whose goal is to create evocative, beautifully crafted images, that showcase stories that are thoughtful and compelling. “Light” was directed by David Parker with effects and production done by a team of support from places including the Mill and MassMarket NY.

Links:

Light – the film on Vimeo

David Parker and Sunday/Paper

2012: The Year for Local Food in Cleveland

Posted on December 20, 2011December 20, 2011 by Kbaumlier

In August 2009, the first Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit was held by Mayor Frank G. Jackson bring together hundreds of people interested in applying the principles of sustainability to the design of the local economy. The goal of the summit was to create a vision for a 10-year campaign for “building an economic engine to empower a green city on a blue lake” by the 50th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire, which will be in 2019.

One outcome of the summit was to create “Celebration points” for each year, so that the community can participate in making sustainable changes and choices in our households, neighborhoods, businesses, and institutions. The points are also designed to align with city initiatives and other community events.

For 2012 the theme of Local Foods is the Celebration Point which corresponds with the 100^th anniversary of the West Side Market.

There are several groups that formed out of the Sustainable Cleveland Summit that are working to support local food. One of these is Growhio, a non-profit group whose mission is to strengthen and support the local food economy in NE Ohio through branding, marketing and collaboration. Another is the the Community Kitchen Incubator Project, which aims to create community kitchen(s) and a incubator to foster entrepreneurship, educational opportunities and promotion of sustainable food production and preservation at a shared commercial kitchen incubator facility. One ambitious project is called 10,000 farmers, which is a initiative to support and mobilize 10,000 new farmers in 10 years in Northeast Ohio.

2012 will be the year of Local Foods with lots of workshops, community events, and activities in the Cleveland area. To get involved, or learn more about the 2019 Local Food projects you can goto localfoodcleveland.org.

Image Source:
Local Food Cleveland

Links:

Local Food Cleveland

Local Food Cleveland Working Group

Make your own Snow Machine

Posted on December 19, 2011December 19, 2011 by Kbaumlier

Want to cover your yard with white fluffy snow?

On the DIY website, Instructables, there is instructions on how to build your own snow machine that will make a unit you can hook up to your hose and make powdery white snow as long as the weather is cold enough to keep the snow from melting on impact.

To build your own, you only need around $100 dollars and a trip to the hardware store. The machine works by mixing air and water together – which is then blasted through nozzels, turning the water into snow.

The directions are available through the website instructables.com, where users create and share DIY projects, and there are weekly challenges.

Image Source:
MakeSnow

Links:

Make a Snowmaker – on instructables.com

Snowmaker Plans

Were you passed on your morning bike commute? CAT 6 Racing

Posted on December 18, 2011December 17, 2011 by Kbaumlier

Cyclists have a joke about “racing in CAT 6” which is not exactly a race or an official category of cyclists. CAT 6 is a term for commuter cyclists who race to work as a sport.

Also sometimes called “the commuter race” and “hipster racing,” CAT-6 racing is the unspoken urban tradition of trying to go faster than, and not get passed by, a stranger on your bike. A CAT 6 race starts when a stranger riding a bike tries to pass another cyclist and the other cyclist speeds up rather than let them pass. This creates an impromptu race. Sometimes the race is started by gender battles (a girl passing a guy for example), competitiveness, and also just for fun.

I’ll admit, I have started a CAT 6 race before (but didn’t know it had a name.) I often will pass someone on my bike and continue to ride faster so that the biker I passed would stay in my dust.

When I spent a summer in the Headlands near Sausalito, CA, I would ride once a week over to San Francisco, and would cross the Golden Gate bridge. While riding across the bridge I had to avoid the tourists who were walking, and also find your spot within the cyclists. It always felt like a race – a sort of pass or be passed feeling.

Did you pass someone today on your bike, or try to pass someone who passed you first lately? If so – you might be a CAT 6 rider.

Purslane: Edible, Healthy, and Growing in Your Yard

Posted on December 17, 2011December 12, 2011 by Kbaumlier

Purslane is a plant that represents edible landscaping at its best: it’s free, and there’s no work involved in growing it. Considered a weed, it is seen growing in garden beds, in sidewalk cracks, and in most urban neightborhoods. The plant is considered healthy due to the plant containing lots of vitamins including vitamin A and C, minerals, and alpha-linolenic acid, one of the highly sought-after Omega-3 fatty acids. It has only 15 calories in a 100-gram portion.

Purslane (also called Portulaca olearacea) has a stem that is round and smooth, and it trails along the ground like a small vine. When young, the plants hae a green stem, but as it ages – the stem takes on a reddish color. It has small, oblong, green leaves, which form clusters and are reported to be “juicy.”

In order to harvest purslane, it is best to pick it in the morning or evening. Purslane can either be used raw in salads or sauteed as a side dish. It has a crispy texture and a interesting peppery flavor. The plant has made it onto the menu of several restaurants, and there are lots of recipes on CSA and community garden websites.

The plant was one of Gandhi’s favorite’s foods, and Henry Thoreau ate it while staying at Walden Pond. It has been part of Chinese Medicine, Japanese cooking, and has been eaten in Mediterranean for many years. The Russians dry and can it for the winter, and in Mexico it is called Verdolaga.

Image Source:
Gradually Greener

Links:
Purslane Recipes

Eat the Weeds: Purslane Video