To those of you caught in one of the many fires currently burning, our thoughts are with you. To those who are helping to fight these fires, we hope for your safety. To all who are watching these fires on the news somewhere, give thanks that it isn’t you in the middle of it, and try to think of ways that you can help those who are.
Good luck to us all.
Back when I first started writing this column, the very first conference I ever covered was an Audiophile convention called T.H.E. Show. I was totally new to this whole writing thing, and had no idea what to expect, but a nicer bunch of people I couldn’t have stumbled upon for my first try at interviewing. That first trip found me going from exhibit room, to exhibit room, listening to some of the highest end Audio systems I had ever encountered. Everyone was willing to answers questions, and hang out with this, then, newbie. It was an experience to remember. Sadly, a couple of years later, I received an e-mail announcing the passing of the head of this organization, Richard Beers.
“T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 is dedicated to Mr. Richard Beers in Memoriam.” T.H.E. Show Newport info@theshownewport.com Mon 3/14/2016, 1:30 PM
There was, at the time, a question as to how T.H.E. Show would go on, which seems to have ultimately found the membership choosing to split the organization into two. Some stayed with the new leadership, and continued attending and exhibiting at T.H.E. Show, while others ventured forth and formed a new Convention, going by the name LA Audio Show (LAAS for short). Periodically I would hear from both set of show organizers, letting me and others know about their upcoming events, and which various exhibitors would be there.
However, all of this seems to have ultimately culminated with the demise of the LAAS. Earlier in the month I received this notice:
“Wednesday, May 2, 2018
An Open Letter to the Industry. LAAS Cancelled.
Dear Industry Friends,
It is with sadness and regrets that I announce the cancellation of the 2018 LA Audio Show — Orange County. Refunds will start to be issued immediately to those exhibitors who have already paid deposits and/or full remittances for space and other services. These refunds will be in the form of checks and will arrive by USPS Mail to the address provided on contracts. Attendee tickets will be refunded through the system they were purchased.
Once more, I remind you that as Robert Evans stated, “There are 3 sides to every story: Your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each differently,” but he also stated that “any man who thinks he knows the mind of a woman is a man who knows nothing,” so please allow me to touch briefly on what has changed since my last note.
There have been a series of events — much like “Murphy’s Law” or even “God’s Plan” both on the professional and personal level — that has overtaken my ability to perform at the level I expect of myself and the industry deserves. I put in the maximum efforts I could to absorb the chaos and protect the community, but I have run out of fuel in every sense of the word. My shoulders can no longer bear this weight.
It has been an honor and privilege to carry on the legacy of my mentor, Richard Beers. I have sought to do right by him by keeping his traditions and adding innovations I believed to be vital to the future of our industry. It was always my hope that Richard’s divided inheritance would be unified again in the end, and for me, it has been evident that this year presented multiple opportunities to end the separation and I could no longer ignore the dangerous reality of our circumstances. It is my sincere belief that while the lessons and blessings earned were worth everything and part of His plan, I must also admit this LAAS should never have been created, to begin with. We should have collectively worked harder to stay unified in our efforts, and I hope that is how you are able to collectively move forward at this time.
With that said, I urge all those who can, to make arrangements to support The Home Entertainment Show, June 1-3, 2018 at the Marriott Irvine Spectrum Hotel. I am truly apologetic for any inconveniences this may cause the industry……..
I am truly grateful for all of you, for all the lessons and blessings, and I look forward to perhaps meeting and working with you again in a different capacity. I wish much success to T.H.E. Show Newport and its patrons and truly hope that Richard’s legacy will be honored for years to come.
It has been an honor serving you. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)”
So, for anyone who had been planning to attend LAAS, fear not, there is still a way for you to get your Audiophile groove on. You’ll just have to make a day-trip into the O.C. to do it. For anyone still looking to obtain tickets to T.H.E. Show, you can find all the information at the official website.
Happy Earth Day everyone. Despite the continuing lack of Earth Day celebrations around the nation (they’re harder, and harder to find each year), this is still a day celebrated by millions each April. It just means you might have to look in different places to participate this time around. So, to help you get started, here’s a few ideas on where to start.
Today marks the second-to-last day for this year’s Natural Product Expo West, taking place in Anaheim California, and the exhibit floor is still hoping.
For those who haven’t heard, New Hope puts on two of the Natural Products Expos every year (East and West). Over a four-day period, every exhibit hall that the convention center has to offer is filled to the brim with every green, organic, and natural product you can imagine. It is ‘The’ show to spotlight what you have to offer consumers, and debut what will be coming up.
So far this year, there have been green make-up brushes, Eco-friendly diapers, allergen friendly sweets, and that’s just a drop in the bucket of what attendees are seeing.
Literally thousands of options were on hand to see. Check back here to get an insider’s insight into some of the best of the lot. It’s been dirt work having to peruse those exhibitor aisles, and sample all those goodies, but hey someone had to do it 🙂
Today is the last day of February, and although tomorrow may not be the official start of spring, for anyone looking to travel in the next couple of months it might as well be. For the last several weeks there have been a wide variety of spring travel deals being posted. Which means that if you wanted to travel with your family over spring break, then you need to make haste.
There are plenty of local options still, but the longer you wait, the higher the prices will go (that is until in desperation they post last minute deals, so if you’re reading this in a couple of weeks, don’t give up hope). Theme parks, museums, and zoos are starting to promote special events now as well, but you don’t want to head to those on a spur of them moment decision. If you do then you’ll absolutely pay more than you needed to.
So to avoid any of those costly mistakes, let’s review the basic travel rules.
You know the drill:
1) Do your internet searches ahead of time, and read the details of any deals you find.
2) Check your work, school, churches, and memberships (Costco, AAA, etc.) for discounts.
3) Make sure to take advantage of any student, senior, military, and teacher discounts if you qualify (and don’t forget your relevant I.D. is you plan to use one).
Things that you might have missed, or forgotten:
A) Don’t look for airfaire or hotel rooms on a computer or laptop, only do those searches on a tablet or you phone!!!!! Yes, these companies are actively discriminating when they charge you higher rates for using your computer, but the only way (right now anyway) to combat this, is to make sure you use the right machine.
B) Some airlines are now offering truly horrific versions of coach. Think before you click, as bad seating may have you starting off you vacation with a sore back, or a really pissed off attitude. Avoid the pain, and pay a little bit more for that better seat if you can.
C) Finally take advantage of every perk you can find. Does your ticket come with two free suitcase wavers? If not, then see if that’s a perk your credit card, or AAA membership might offer instead.
Remember, the point of any of this is to have fun. In addition to saving you some cash, planning ahead can help you enjoy your free time even more.
Happy travels…….
As the New Year quickly marches towards its second month, the rest of us are expected to stop and take stock of our lives before January is completely in the rear view mirror. So, here’s an insight that, well logically we all know, but is still shocking: All Gen X-er’s, and many Millennials, have lived a good chunk of their lives up until now, in a different millennium. That’s right kids, I said Millennium, not Century (although that’s true as well I suppose). I, for example spent a little over a quarter of a century in that other millennium. Even some Millennials spent at least ½ their lives there too.
So, what you ask? We’ve been in the 21st century for 18 years now. Time marches on for all, right? Absolutely! You are completely correct, but it’s still a relevant fact to consider; when trying to figure out where you’re going, you must occasionally look back on where you’ve been. It’s a central part of that whole taking stock thing that many are attempting this month.
Now, don’t freak out on me. I’m not trying to make you feel old. I’m simply pointing out that there might be a reason your life feels a bit out of whack these days. The way you grew up had a set of rules that matched the world as it had been progressing for a while. With the turn of the millennium, many of those rules changed. In some cases, the adjustment was easy, but in others it really wasn’t (and in some cases still isn’t). People took note of this during the first couple of years, but then forgot about it. As the years have marched on, and more changes accumulated, they didn’t always go down easy.
We adjust, as we must to many things. However, perhaps the problem isn’t that change itself is occurring, it’s that we are no longer told that we have a right to refuse some of the changes that are occurring, or demand that the pace slow down. The voices demanding that we all just take it and shut up, have grown so loud that they are now drowning out the concerns of many people who aren’t so sure that these changes are a good thing.
It’s like that argument presented in “Jurassic Park” about being so concerned about being able to do something, that no one stopped to think if they actually should.
Online banking wasn’t really ready to deal with the potential hacks that took place, but it was launched anyway, and we’ve been playing catch up ever since. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice that when someone steals your bank info, you can get the money put back in with a lot of help from the bank itself; but how sad is it that it occurs so frequently that we have a massive workforce set up just to handle that. Everyone it happens to is outraged, but there’s never any discussion about addressing the existence of a system that has so many holes in the first place.
We like the convenience, and that’s the problem. Who wants to give up 24hr access, even if that means sharing it with a complete stranger who want to steal from you? Weird argument right, but here we are making it every single day?
What started this reflective, morose attitude today? Cashless businesses, that’s what. Have we truly considered the ramifications of this? Don’t buy the excuse that this will mean a greener life, as we won’t have to print money in the future, because paper bills have a much smaller footprint than all the electronics that will now be needed to simply shop.
Already have a smartphone, that’s great for you, but over 30% of the US population doesn’t (many because they can’t afford the expense). If the trend of cashless businesses grows, then those people will be told that they must suck it up, and get one anyway, just to buy food. Also, smaller businesses will be forced to pay a company to process electronic payments, increasing the expense of starting a business even more.
Even if you can afford a smart phone or tablet, consider the wisdom of giving a company the power to force you to buy one item, in order to have the privilege of buying more items from them in turn. That Starbucks that won’t take money, and the Amazon convenience store that makes you check out with a smartphone; they’re both already telling you that! What happens to you the day you lose your smartphone (or god forbid someone steals it)? They don’t have any workarounds for you, because no one is insisting that they have to.
Many people around the nation are talking about their unease regarding this latest change with friends, but that won’t truly let their voices be heard. If you are wondering how a company can tell the public that they refuse to accept our “Nation’s Currency,” then you’re not alone. If a store wants to encourage more electronic sales, that’s one thing; but to tell us that the good-old dollar bill isn’t welcomed there, is another. I’m not arguing a Luddite philosophy here; I’m simply saying that it’s time to actively participate in these decisions that are shaping our lives. If you’re not ok with changes like this, then the time to speak up in NOW! Failure to do so might just mean you end up with a tomorrow that you really don’t like at all.
Twas the weekend before Christmas, and all through your house your relatives, and their various special diets, and food allergies are hanging about.
When what to your wondering eye should appear, but your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe that you’ve always held so dear. Alas, you know that if you were to make it this year, there would arise such a clatter, with calls of “why are you trying to kill your young cousins!”
So, back into the cupboard you stash your ingredients; only to later make a wish to good ole St. Nick, that there could be a way to still have a taste of those warm peanutty cookies……
Well, Merry Christmas folks, because here’s the answer to your peanut butter troubles. I like to call it the “Tale of the peanut butter cookie rescue.”
If you’re honestly trying to figure out how to make your usual spread of holiday cookies, while also avoiding triggering one of the many allergies your extended family has, then you need look no further than your local grocery store’s shelves. While what I suggest here may not solve all of your family’s food issues, what I found at this year’s IFT17 Food Expo, in Las Vegas, will help you hang on to your favorite peanut butter cookies.
What I learned is that those pesky peanuts can be swapped out for sunflower seeds instead. Crazy, right? Yeah, I know.
Now, before you close that window, and declare this site to be fake news, hear me out. While it’s true that sunflower seeds by themselves don’t taste like peanuts, when they’re turned into sunflower seed butter, the results shockingly do taste exactly like peanut butter. Yet another thing to file under, “Weird, but true.”
I sampled some this at the SunButter booth this summer, and was amazed. I’m a Skippy peanut butter fan myself, but was happily shocked to find Sunflower butter is just as creamy as I would expect peanut butter to be. So much so, that if I had done a blind taste test, I would have sworn it was made with peanuts instead. The texture, taste, and color, all match, but there really are sunflower seeds in there instead.
With only about a day before Christmas to go, you can still get SunButter in time, because it’s sold at Sprouts and Whole Foods of course, but it is also sold at regular grocery stores like Ralphs as well. I’ve spotted it in the peanut butter aisle in several stores, so all you have to do is make a quick grocery run, and then start whipping up your batter. One minor note to make though, since you’re using a different product (aka a seed butter instead) you may have to make a minor adjustment with the baking powder in your recipe (according to the product website you have to decrease it a bit). For more details, or to check out their version of a sunbutter (aka peanut butter) cookie recipe follow this link. As you’ll see there, they even come with that traditional fork crisscross imprint. While you’re there you can read up on more recipe ideas, and product details.
Merry Christmas Everyone, and make sure to share those cookies with Santa too. Oh, and thanks to Clement Clarke Moore for this little poem’s inspiration.
For a start to the holiday season I thought I’d open with an article on the importance of HOPE. Now, I know with all that is going on in the word, this may seem like a conversation that is, well, hopeless for lack of a better word; but it is for that very reason that we must discuss its true importance. “Hope” is not lost, and we must all remember that. Even those who work in the various environmental fields, and deal with the facts day to day, can become discouraged. So, to bring this to the forefront of everyone’s mind, at this year’s ESRI User Conference, organizers hosted a mini-science symposium
in which the main topic wasn’t individual research projects, but instead the collective need to keep hope alive.
Lead speaker Jon Foley from the California Academy of Science, started out the panel with a talk on why not only should we scientists keep hope alive for ourselves, but why we must also help to keep it alive for everyone else too. The idea being that if scientists present their findings to the world, but fail to also mention that there are ways to correct the problems that were found (be it from climate change to endangered animals); then that’s when hope can truly die, and we all begin to fail. What followed his opening remarks was a lively “conversational reaction panel moderated by Mike Goodchild (University of California, Santa Barbara, emeritus) with Shaowen Wang (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Sheila Steinberg (Brandman University), Andre Skupin (San Diego State University), and Christina Boggs-Chavira (California Department of Water Resources) as well as Jon Foley”
Each panel member took turns expressing their concern about the issues surrounding loss of hope, its consequences, and possible solutions. All agreed however, that maintaining hope is critical to gaining the support of the population, and finding solutions to what is going wrong in our world today.
To give an example of what they, and now I mean by all of this, allow me to focus on the negative for a moment. 1) More of the ice in Antarctica continues to be lost. 2) Tap water in Flint, Michigan is still not clean enough to safely use for cooking or cleaning. 4) Hurricanes just demolished the Keys and Puerto Rico, and finally 5) there are multiple patches of garbage swirling in each of the world’s oceans.
If this was the only part of the story that you heard, then this would explain why so many people have become discouraged about helping with environmental issues. In fact, it may also explain why so many people have instead chosen to pretend like none of these issue are even real, because they if they were, they’d have no way to solve them. The depression and/or feeling of being overwhelmed by it all easily leads to inertia.
This now needs to be a major concern, because for many people out there this is seeming like a problems that we can no longer solve, especially in the face of so many other crisis going on at the same time (ex: terrorism). I’ve heard from some that they have even stopped recycling because “what’s the point.”
I must admit that occasionally I too feel overwhelmed by it all, but then I’ll stumble upon another story of how something has succeeded, and that win (no matter how small) can reignite the hope that we can make a difference, if we only try.
This is why it is so important that when we teach, give talks, write about, or just talk to our friends and family, that we don’t leave out the positives (the all so important wins). As the ESRI science panel said, there are success stories out there too. So, don’t forget about them when we’re sharing with others what is going on. They need to be part of the story too, and that includes not just the struggle, but the win as well. So, with the goal of keeping that spark of hope alive this holiday season, here are a few wins worth noting……..
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/tibetan-monasteries-at-work-for-the-environment#
http://www.iflscience.com/technology/new-wind-turbine-looks-tree-coming-paris/
Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!
For some kids the scariest part of Halloween can often be what’s inside their candy pail. For anyone that has ever had to worry about a loved one’s allergy, they fear this too. Nut allergies, as well as many other food issues, seem to be on this rise these days. So, when it comes to Halloween, parents’ don’t want to leave their little monsters out in the cold when it comes to the time honored rite-of-passage known as Trick-or-Treating; but they also don’t want to cap off the night with a visit to the emergency room. That’s why the Teal Pumpkin Project was started.
Started by FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) in 2014, this project “provides an alternative for kids with food allergies, as well as other children for whom candy is not an option, and keeps Halloween a fun, positive experience. Participating in the campaign is as simple as painting a pumpkin teal, buying inexpensive non-food treats such as glow sticks or small toys and placing the teal pumpkin on your doorstep to show non-food treats are available. FARE’s goal in 2017 is to have at least one home on every block in the U.S. with a teal pumpkin. (Courtesy of the FARE website)”
This is where you come in. If you would like to participate, the FARE website has plenty of ideas on what you can substitute out for candy. However, I would take some of their ideas a step further, and dress it all up with a nice green tint. Glow Sticks for example aren’t necessarily great for the environment, the plastic tubing alone is just destined for a non-recycled future. So, think outside the box. For example, small boxes of playing cards can usually be found at party supplies stores, and even the Dollar Store sometime. Whatever you decide to contribute to the allergy friendly mix will help, just make sure the you register on the FARE site as a participating house though, so that parent’s in your area know where to go.
The other piece to the puzzle is, of course, you sporting a TEAL pumpkin on your porch to also announce your participation. Now, the FARE website suggests that you “simply paint a pumpkin Teal.” Well, that sounds nice and all, unless you’re also trying to be green at the same time. If you’re willing to make sure that you’ve chosen an Eco-friendly paint that is low/no VOC, and is also non-toxic to local wildlife that might encounter it once it’s thrown away, then great. Oh, but it’s just a couple of days before Halloween, and you don’t have any of that special stuff on hand? Then do what all would-be pumpkin painters should do, and DON’T!
I’ve written about this problem before, and sadly this still seems to always pop up on decorating websites year-after-year. Painting pumpkins can lead to plenty of problems once they’re not on your porch. In place of this horrible option, try one of these other options. First, there’s the ready-made TEAL pumpkin that’s available at most CVS stores. Yes, it’s plastic, but it already sports that Jack-o-Lantern face, and can be used for many more Halloweens to come. Second, there’s the DIY pumpkin option that you see above, which is a foam, carvable TEAL pumpkin that can be found at Target Stores. This allows you to still have the multi-year use, while also giving you the creative freedom to design the Jack-o-Lantern of your dream (or um nightmares, depending on what you have in mind). Finally, if you’d like to go the totally natural route, then you might try locating a Blue Pumpkin (according to pumpkinnook.com these are also known as Australian Blue Pumpkins, or Jaradale). These more rare pumpkins are a light blue color, but in a pinch could stand in as your TEAL house marker. If you can’t locate one this year, you could always try to grow one for yourself next year, and make a Eco-friendly family project out of it.
No matter how you participate this year (or next year for that matter), the key is to do something. While you’re at it, you just might serve as inspiration for others to find out more, and become participants themselves. Who knows, you might just start a TEAL trend while you’re at it (just make sure to add a dash of green too 😉
Happy Halloween Everyone!
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to my new site, Practically-Green.com. I’ve been writing about the environment for several years now, and after bouncing around from news site to news site, I’ve decided to finally lay down some permanent roots. So, this is the address where you can find my column from now on.
For those of you who have never come across my column before, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Prof. Salena Wakim, and my day job title is Anthropologist. I’ve been teaching at the college level for over twelve years now, and decided to add columnist to my CV about six years ago. I primarily cover topics centered around Green Living, but also occasionally will venture into events, and entertainment as well. There will be some how-to type postings, but there will also be a section I’m calling ‘Insider’s Out,’ where I’ll be sharing news that I come across while at industry meetings, and conferences. If you have questions please feel free to send them in, and I’ll try my best to fill you in with any answers I can share.
More changes will be posted to my new virtual home in the coming weeks. So, make sure you stop back to see the updates, or just go ahead and subscribe to get the updates as they get made.
Practically-Green.com 