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Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.

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Local figs are ripening. I was never keen on figs in England, only to discover after so many years that I actually like figs - if they are lovely and fresh and not transported thousands of miles to my supermarket!

If you’re new to figs, here is something different you might like to try.

2 medium thick pork loin steaks
1/2 cup chopped fresh figs
olive oil
butter (about 1 tsp)
chopped onion
chopped garlic cloves (1 or 2)
couple of dashes of red wine
fresh or dried thyme

Brown your steaks in oil, and then remove them from pan.
In the same pan, turn down the heat, add the butter, and saute the onion with thyme (if dried) and garlic.
Add the red wine and make sure to get any brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add thyme now if fresh, and figs. Cook for about 7-10 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Re-add steaks, cover and cook until done, and sauce is thick.

Optional:
a little chicken stock
rosemary instead of thyme
chilli flakes
balsamic vinegar instead of red wine

Scrummy.

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Viral Marketing

Any orchestrated word-of-mouth marketing, including the practice of using children to advertise products to their friends.

• Adult marketers sometimes enter chat rooms frequented by children in order to promote new products, movies, or television shows.
• Marketers use popular kids, often giving them free merchandise, to market products to other children.
• One marketing company, the Girl’s Intelligence Agency, specializes in slumber parties that are used to market products to girls.

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Marketing your Kids

Clothes, mobiles, crib toys and even diapers featuring brand logos or licensed media characters such as Elmo or Spiderman are now commonplace.

This type of marketing helps ensure that babies will recognize and request similarly adorned products ranging from cereal to stuffed toys as their verbal skills evolve. According to marketing industry research, babies are requesting brands as soon as they can speak.

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I love the idea of not just a toy, but a book that educates the reader about the animal and its habitat.

Stephanimals are original Canadian made, hand-crafted stuffed animals, blankets and children’s clothing. Every item is unique like nature. Included with each purchase is a soft, colourful, hand-made story book. It is designed to educate children, and adults alike, about that particular animal, it’s habitat, and ways in which we can help protect their environment, as well as our own. From every item sold, $2 CAD will be donated to a local non-profit animal or environmental organization.

stephanimals

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On a purely fiction sense, The Ovum Factor, by Marvin L. Zimmerman, can be a fun read. My husband read it as well. He enjoys books such as American Psycho and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as well as the sports pages. I enjoy Umberto Eco and many 19th Century classics. So for me, it was rather old hat – been there, read that. The characters were neither original nor fascinating. The plot began well enough, almost slowed into a catatonic pace, and then picked up magnificently at the end. The writing style is passable but will not inspire avid readers. I had a very strong dislike of Zimmerman’s attempts at authenticity. Apparently he travelled to all/most of the places in his novel (including the Amazon) to provide vivid and truthful accounts, but these were often over-worked and read more like travel journalism.

However, for those with less literary expectations and who enjoy a good yarn, this isn’t too bad a read. An unfulfilled investment banker finds himself enmeshed in a world of cutting-edge neuroscience, global travel, and humanity’s ultimate survival! The plot is a trek through the challenge of, and the various obstacles to, finding a plant, and thereby a molecule, that will fast-pace humanity’s intelligence. The hope is that - in the right hands - these humans will discover the solution to the planet’s eco-dilemma. (Villain dressed in black seizing said molecule anyone?)

Now, on an eco-conscious level, the story poses problems for me. It suggests that the only means to survival of our species and planet is by way of some type of spiritual intervention. That is, without it, all is hopeless. The protagonist acts not so much on his eco-conscience but on his belief that he is fated to be involved in the endeavour. And the solution, aforementioned molecule, is practically a holy grail.

Nothing wrong with that at all, I enjoy stories with spiritual overtones as I’m a spiritual person myself. However, as a self-proclaimed eco-thriller, the novel’s thrust is humanity’s eco-impact. I feel the spotlight should be shed on our obligations and what we are going to do to fix what we’ve created. Not on hoping for some type of salvation. To be fair, the molecule is to increase the evolution of humanity’s intelligence, which we can then work out what it is we need to do. Yet, on closer inspection, this is a magical or miracle we hope for, rather than what is possible right now using the intelligence we have now. Rather than you and me making a change right now, let’s hope for someone else, hopefully someone ‘magical’ or superhuman, to fix it for us.

Yep, as a yarn it’s not bad. As an eco-consciousness raising book, it could prove great for someone very new to the whole field and perhaps in propel changes. For me, already eco-aware, it needs a totally different angle to inspire true hope within me.

Here’s hoping Zimmerman’s next novel challenges us on a more personal level.

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A 1992 study published in The American Journal of Epidemiology shows that

children die at a rate 8 times greater than normal within three days after getting a DPT vaccination.

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I never discourage or put anyone down for doing something for our environment and subsequently ourselves. But, as a self-confirmed cynic, I do take every bits of news of a celebrity ‘being green’ with an enormous pinch of salt. The way I see it, something is better than nothing. But if that green something becomes insignificant because of all the non-green something you do, well, then we have an issue.

US Magazine does the usual spread of, ‘wow, look what X celeb is so great for doing’, but then also slams the same celeb for their hypocrisy.

from Associated Press

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Soy bean fiber is a bit of a ‘latest’ trend amongst us eco parents. Soybean protein fiber is a sustainable and botanical textile fiber made from renewable and biodegradable natural resources - the leftover soybean pulp from tofu and soymilk production. It’s a textile that is made from recycled material and it does not add any extra burden to mother nature. It supports the cradle-to-cradle concept.

A friend of mine from Texas sent along some soybean baby clothes for my little sunshine. Here she is modeling the signature hat.

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Okay, we all know flying is very bad for the environment (although sometimes unavoidable) but did you know that the luxury of watching a film adds a large carbon footprint?

US Airways says it will start removing in-flight entertainment systems on domestic flights in November to save about $10 million annually in fuel and other costs.

Spokesman Phil Gee says the movie systems weigh about 500 pounds each, forcing planes to use more fuel to get around the country.

Jet fuel costs have skyrocketed in recent years, slashing profits and leading to thousands of layoffs and flight cuts throughout the industry.

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According to kids marketing guru, psychologist James McNeal, “At six months of age, the same age they are imitating simple sounds like “mama,” babies are forming mental images of corporate logos and mascots”

There is no evidence that these or any other video for babies have any educational value.

The marketing of these videos sends a message to parents that the things they might normally do with their babies – play, sing, cuddle, talk, and read to them – are not enough.

TV-Turnoff Network encourages children and adults to watch much less television in order to promote healthier lives and communities.
www.tvturnoff.org

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Kid O is a store worth checking out. Their philosophy reads:

Kid O is dedicated to enriching the play and learning experiences of preschool children at home. We provide families with the products, tools, and experiences they need to support their children’s journey toward becoming life-long learners and confident, independent adults. Everything we do and sell communicates our belief that children are competent, rich in potential, and worthy of respect and beauty.

here’s one product I picked out:

The Fable Game

It’s not a book to read or to leaf through but to make, unmake and build up: a never ending adventure, played and invented anew each time by the endless possibilities at hand.

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