As a person thoroughly immersed in unemployment, I've decided to (attempt to) start regularly posting more on the topic of "Living on the Cheap." Basically chronicling my attempts to still continue living the life I became accustomed to before the big "R" word set in. Covering topics such as: not becoming a shut-in, using your creativity wisely, eating generously & deliciously, entertaining & more... all whilst not breaking the bank. For cuteness sake I'll call it my "Friday Freebies". So, here ya go, Friday Freebie numero uno:
Joyous was I when I first heard that this Saturday is a FREE OPEN DAY AT THE IFI TO WATCH AWESOME MOVIES FOR FREE!
I know right?! Its so awesome it's AHSAHM. One of the films on schedule is Bringing Up Baby, which has always been a fave, but what I'm really looking forward to the vintage Irish travel films. Oooh err... I'm desperately in love with anything vintage, especially now that I spend my days reading all of the internets from start to finish and back.
It's widely known that bee numbers have been declining quite a bit in recent years. This is bad bad news for many reasons (namely growing food for earth creatures to eat!). There are a number of contributing factors in the suspects corner: climate change, pesticides, mono-agriculture... all the things that are unfortunately a way of life in modern culture.
Uggggg.
Last night I watched a good but disheartening documentary on the Beeb (no pun intended), "Who Killed The Honey Bee." It looked into the widespread phenomena of bees dying in their droves - known as colony collapse disorder.
I had a few favorite bits - including the profile of the bee exporters from Australia (imagine putting big aul boxes of bees on an airplane!) - the whole hierarchy of bee colonies, from the foragers to the 'cleaners' and of course the queen. But my absolute most favorite bit was the profile of the 'urban beekeeper' in London who has had no decline in his population for over 5 years. The logical explanation? Cities are actually filled with greenspaces and gardens planted with colorful flowers at all times of the year as opposed to giant mono-cultured farms covered in pesticides and a lack of plant variety.
Coincidentally, this morning I came across a locally produced doc about colony collapse disorder, which is about to hit the big screen at the Toronto Film Fest. Ooooh - it looks beautiful.
It nearly makes me want to try my hand at beekeeping when I somehow buy my dreamhouse with large back garden. *sigh* Until then, I'll have to just continue providing some much needed color to my local urban bees. I do get regular visits from some bit fat fuzzy bumble bees who seem enamored with my windowsill nasturtiums, busy busy violas and fushias who have returned en force since I re-potted them a few months ago. Oh and my newest project... the incredible growing clematis! Lahvely no?
And Below you cans see my Bumblebee buddy who came for a visit just this very morning.
I am a very opinionated person, although admittedly I'm not usually one to stick my neck out. However, that changed a wee bit just over a month ago when I received an email from The Irish Film Board saying they were under threat from Ireland's 'Bord Snip' - basically a board set up to save Govt. funds during these trying times. When looking into the facts, it's quite easy to see this is a completely short sighted plan as any money saved would be lost again straight away with the resulting unemployment. And that's just one area of short-sightedness.
I quickly got to work setting up a Facebook group through 'Causes' and invited my friends. I've never been involved in lobbying, and wasn't sure setting up this group would have any actual impact on the decision. A good friend then mailed me today to let me know that Bord Snip's decisions were taking place this week and would I kindly inform the members of the group... well, I logged in to discover that our cause had become over 3,600 strong (Update: 3,707 by 6pm today!)
I promptly messaged the group to get proactive! And got proactive myself, emailing over 10 local Dublin TDs/Councillors with some facts and opinions surrounding the recommendations of Bord Snip. I encourage EVERYONE to get involved in this incredibly important cause. No matter how you feel about the IFB's policies, funding process & decisions, economically speaking this would have a huge negative impact on Ireland's economy.
For information about who your local Councillor or TD is, visit this handy website: http://www.dublin.ie/dem.aspx - The simple practice of writing them a short email with your opinion on the matter is all it takes. And feel free to send me a message if you would like a copy of the letter I've written to my local Govt.
I encourage everyone to take into consideration the long-term effects of disbanding this very important cultural organization. Cutting the €18 million spent on the Film Board will destroy a 600 million Euro industry!
Eating, cooking & food choices/dilemmas will play a large role on this blog - so I might as well get started.
I suppose growing up in California has always had me in the "save the planet"/"watch what you eat" headspace my whole life. Without question, most of that can be attributed to my mom, who has always been a food & lifestyle hero - even though I'll admit I only appreciated once into adulthood. She recommended the bookThe Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and that's when I really started to be more conscious about food choices based on multiple levels such as industry, export, fossil fuels, humane treatment and not just "Is this gonna make me fat, how much does it cost?"
The book deeply troubled me, made me really re-think my lifestyle, and inspired me to sketch out a million documentary ideas. In fact, it was a big factor in making me start this blog. Luckily for the rest of the world, a company with a much bigger wallet has gone and made the film Food Inc. which hopefully will inspire a few more people to think objectively about the stuff they put in their bellies.
Now, I haven't seen the film as it isn't out in Ireland yet, and admittedly, the opening sequence below does look a bit heavy handed, which ultimately could turn off a lot of people from taking away the message. As I've said before, I'm not vegetarian, I buy most food from large supermarkets, but I'd like to make a conscious effort to eek out food produced in a more sustainable/friendly way.
This blog is dedicated to trying to better ourselves on various levels, while still having fun. I now live in Ireland, but as they say, you can take the girl out of California, but you can't take California out of the girl.
Expect ramblings, recipes and random photos/videos from myself, as well as links and ideas from some of the amazing people who inspire me (and in turn, hopefully you) to be better.
I know right?! Its so awesome it's AHSAHM. One of the films on schedule is Bringing Up Baby, which has always been a fave, but what I'm really looking forward to the vintage Irish travel films. Oooh err... I'm desperately in love with anything vintage, especially now that I spend my days reading all of the internets from start to finish and back.
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