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January 29th, 2013

Pronouns Seem Kinda Antiquated, Don’t They?

It’s a touch dusty around here. I know … I know … my ~~stupid~~ New Year’s Resolution is totally interfering with my “me time” (i.e. blog time). I need to put in an extra hour of walking in at night to be able to hit those 8,000 to 10,000 steps. And then afterwards, I have a spurt of adrenaline that is nice but not nice enough to provide me with any creative writing juice that will keep me up past my bed time. Yet once I get into bed, I end up feeling restless from this aforementioned adrenaline. And well, today I am feeling quite resentful about the whole thing as you can plainly read.

So I have decided to say ~~f*ck it~~ “too bad, so sad,” to my New Year’s Resolution for tonight and instead I am treating myself to some writing time before 10 pm. It may not go so well — not only is my body out of shape, but my blogging chops feel a bit that way too. But whatever. Let’s give it a go, shall we?

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This 48-year-old Australian identifies as neuter and is the first person in the state of NSW to be neither man nor woman in the eyes of the government.

Photo credit: Wolter Peeters / Source

One of the most difficult things about learning the French language is to figure out when to use a feminine or masculine pronoun. For non-native French speakers, it is just plainly nonsensical that an inanimate object like a chair or a tree needs to be identified as masculine or feminine. But worse that the plain nonsensical nature is that you have to set these things to memory or you sound like a total amateur to a francophone. When I would feel frustrated in trying to learn this, my father (or a teacher? I can’t remember who told me, actually) would comfort me by telling me that to learn the German language, you need to know three types of pronouns — masculine, feminine, and neuter. This did not ease my frustration in the least.

One would think that this kind of frustration would be entirely non-existent in learning the English language. But lately, I’ve realized, that my four-year-old son is experiencing precisely the same thing.

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September 16th, 2012

The Terra20 Store: My Personal Assistant for Avoiding Greenwashing

On Friday night, I watched a very interesting episode of CBC’s Marketplace. In this season premiere, the show examined products that purported to be “green.” You know the kind … you see them everywhere nowadays — the label includes something green or has been re-branded with a beige colour and includes words such as “natural,” “non-toxic,” and “biodegradable.” I’m sure I’ve been duped countless times by these products because I want to do my part to help the planet, but I don’t have a doctorate degree in chemistry. Trying to decipher the labels is enough to make me want to pull my hair out!

Needless to say, this episode of Marketplace was an eye-opener for me. While I knew greenwashing existed, I hadn’t realized to what extent and how. The eco-expert on the show was a Canadian woman by the name of Adria Vasil, who’s authored the books Ecoholic, Ecoholic Home, and most recently Ecoholic Body.

Now, I noted that the episode was an eye-opener. But did it help me to know what brands to buy instead? Could I easily go into the grocery store and avoid such products in the future? Well, not really. Without being exceptionally informed, I think most of us can easily be pulled-in by environmentally friendly claims that don’t have any substance behind them.

Enter the new Ottawa store Terra20. A self-claimed “one stop eco-store,” the grand opening took place yesterday.

Stella, Max, and I headed off to check it out while Hubby was helping a friend with a deck. Shortly after walking into Terra20, I run right into a table where none other than Adria Vasil is sitting and signing her new book! (Yes, she is very, very pretty and very, very thin. I still liked her a lot )

After she kindly signed her book for me, we continued to browse about the store to see what was on offer. There were books, baby and toddler clothing, toys, linens, kitchen wares, outdoor and indoor lighting, cosmetics and other body products, stationery …. yep, there was a bit of everything!

Here are a few of the products that we particularly loved:

All in all, there were countless collections of products that I would certainly consider reasonably priced and practical to use. But best of all, Terra20 has pre-screened everything for me so I don’t have to worry about reading every label and and trying to remember the names of all the potentially cancer-causing chemicals that I don’t want in my house or on my face! It’s like Terra 20 is my personal assistant for avoiding greenwashing! I like this. I like it a lot.

To have a store like this is our city is a real gift. I really hope the concept will work and take off. But I do have some tiny inklings of doubt. Why? Because since the store is trying to provide it all, there is not always a full selection in any category. This doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t work, but it makes me wonder for myself if I would drive out to the west end knowing I couldn’t get everything I wanted in one shot. This isn’t true in all categories, mind you. The cosmetics and body products, for example, are a complete and very comprehensive range. If I needed makeup, I could be sure that I could get everything I needed at this one store. But clothing? I dunno. Kitchen wares? I dunno on that front either. Linen? Ditto. Toys? Not so sure either. There is a good sampling of these categories, that’s for sure. So I could be wrong — eco-shoppers may be willing to take their chances and pop into Terra20 first before looking elsewhere.

What I think might be the saving grace here though is the Ecobar. The Ecobar is a unique and ingenious concept.

The Ecobar is largest refill station for household cleaning products in all of North America! Here’s how it works: I buy, for example, a 1-liter bottle of floor cleaner for $4, then when my bottle is empty, I come back to the Terra20 Ecobar and I get $0.75 back. I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds so cost-effective! In addition to the assurance that the product I’m buying is free from dangerous chemicals, I also like the fact that the product arrives to Terra20 as a concentrate and mixed on-site, which reduces the shipping footprint.

But back to what I first said about the Ecobar as a saving grace … if folks like me buy into this concept, it means that I will be coming into the store regularly to refill my bottles. Bingo! Because you know each time I come to the store, I’m going to want to browse the rest of the products. This, my friends, might be the key to Terra20′s long-term success.

I, for one, will definitely be back to support this local store.

What do you think of this eco-store concept? And perhaps most importantly, would you bring your wallet?

P.S. Yesterday at the grand opening of Terra20, I bought the book Vasil’s Ecoholic Body (it’s a great reference and I’m definitely making changes to my makeup routine!) and Stella bought a journal that was made from elephant dung by a company called PooPooPaper (yes, it was popular with all the kids in the store!).

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April 19th, 2012

I Used to Really Love Advertisements

This might sound strange, but I used to really love advertisements. Advertisements can provide an amazing creative outlet for “ideas people” — it’s rare to get so much creative freedom and budget combined. As a kid, I would watch all the ads during television shows and admire all the ads in my favourite magazines. Now, as an adult, I work (indirectly) with advertising.

But I have to admit that, these days, I tend to skip over television ads using my PVR. So much is just such garbage because it doesn’t really promote the product in a unique way — the message is always that same; that I’m not good enough. And I will never be good enough.

As example, the other night, Hubby and I were watching live television and an ad came on for some type of cream. The ad was clearly targeted at women, but it took us a little while to clue- in that it was some kind of anti-aging cream specifically for hands. So, not only am I supposed to worry about the wrinkles on my face (a natural and healthy part of aging), but also on my hands? Hubby looked at me with puzzlement and I just shrugged my shoulders and said, “Just another message telling me that I’m not good enough.” (Side note: I don’t think I’ve ever seen an advertisement telling men to use anti-aging cream, have you?)

But sometimes an ad comes out that just feels good. It doesn’t kick at my self-esteem, or play on society’s obsession with female appearance. But rather, it instead manages to pull on our emotions so strongly that people talk about it, or even tear-up watching it. I think this one fits the bill, so I’m sharing it with you.

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February 13th, 2012

Dear Grammys: What message are you sending?

Dear Grammys,

I’m not sure what message you’re trying to send. But I can tell you what message I received from your show last night.

For all the young and impressionable young people watching the Grammy’s yesterday, one thing was made clear: If you can dance and sing, we’re willing to turn a blind eye. Well, at least if you’re a man. Dancing and singing trumps all, people.

Chris Brown, who in 2009, was brought in on criminal charges (and pleaded guilty) for beating his then-girlfriend Rihanna, and released on $50,000 bail was hailed as a glory boy at last night’s Grammys. He was featured in a stage performance to what looked like a standing ovation from the audience. And then walked away with a Grammy award, a much sought-after award in the music industry in which members of the Recording Academy have the final voting rights.

Rather than shun and publicly speak out against Brown’s violence, the music industry has embraced him in one big giant, protective hug.

According to Amnesty International, one in three women worldwide is a victim of beating, rape, torture, or attack. The music industry is highly influential. But clearly, it will not use its influence to help stop violence against women.

And this, just days after Whitney Houston, is found dead in her hotel room. I can’t help but see an eerily similar path for Rihanna, with the rumour mill reporting that Brown and Rihanna are dating again. Houston, widely known for her problems with drug abuse, also shared in a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey that her ex-husband Bobby Brown used to “slap” her.

I find it very disturbing. All of it.

It makes me think that I will need to work harder to protect my children (both male and female) from your industry’s influence. But I’m willing to do that. With what little influence I have, I’ll do it.

Signed,

A concerned parent

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