Mean Green Cleaning Solutions.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I'm not much of a resolution maker, but it is important to always aim to be a better version of oneself. Not only year by year but day by day.

I am relatively late to the environmental protection party, and I am by no means the "The Queen Of Green" but I do believe that every little bit helps. If I can make a difference in the world by doing something as simple as telling the guy at my local deli that "No, I really don't need a bag for a pack of gum." you better believe I'm going to do it.

With that said, be aware of how damaging many household detergents and cleansers are to the environment. Every time you scrub the sink or do a load of laundry, you are sending all of those toxins down the drain and into the water.
Or, if saving the world doesn't do it for you, think about saving yourself. That fresh clean laundry smell (which is my personal favorite smell BTW) isn't ocean breeze, it's the smell of a possible endocrinology issue starting. Yes, many household cleansers contain ingredients known to cause reproductive, and/or endocrine issues, as well as cancer.

So for the New Year I'll be trying a few new cleaning methods out. I've heard good things about Nellie's Laundry Nuggets. (Why is the word nugget so funny?)


Available at NelliesAllNatural.com
36 Loads for $9.99
60 Loads $14.99.


Or maybe saving money is a better incentive for you, try these $ savers around the house.

You can use vinegar or club soda in a spray bottle in place of glass cleaners

Baking Soda can be used in place of your scrubbing products. Mix it with vinegar, lemon juice, or my personal fave, Dr. Bronners All Natural Soap to make a good scrubby paste.



Dr. Bronners can also be used for dishwashing, laundry detergent, and various other household and body cleansing. Stock up at DrBronner.com, buying on the website is way cheaper than what I see in stores.

For '09, don't just toast to health, do something about it!

Continuing Education.

Nasty baby...
Anyway, build your knowledge by taking online language classes for FREE Courtesy of The BBC!
So get prepared for your next vacay, or just make the people around you envious when you can chat up the cute Italian waiter in his native tongue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/

5 Sexist Trends The Advertising World Just Can't Shake.

This was a big year for women: The first serious female presidential candidate, the first predominately female state senate, the first female Top Chef. Yet the advertising world has not caught up to the advances of half our population and continues to use stereotypes and violence to prey on our most vile desires. Here are the worst of them--the trends that won't die despite our cultural outrage, and personal boredom.




BONDAGE - This year Remy Martin debuted it's "things are getting interesting" campaign that features a mediocre Website and a series of billboards/magazine spreads depicting women in degrading bondage positions. You may think, "hey this one shows two women, there aren't even men involved, how can it be sexist?" But most of the ads (not available online) have men between the two women in controlling positions. And even without that, these women are obviously putting on a show for an outsider, not having a passionate lesbian love affair for themselves. These types of ads gain traction in cultural periods of female advancement--capturing the fantasy of "putting us back where we belong."

Remy Martin describes its followers as "influential, social, and multicultural urban males, ages 25 to 35." Men of this ilk and age range (read: over 16) should know better than to fall for this kind of pandering. If we switch the view from this being sexy, to this being a pathetic attempt to make an undersexed male feel powerful in the face of female accomplishment, the image loses its appeal. I would like to start a "things that are not interesting" campaign, which would include men insecure enough about themselves that they can't talk to women who aren't physically degraded. I would also include cognac.


RAPE -- The world of high fashion has been the worst offender in the violence-as-art game. Cavalli had pirates, Chanel had a wife beater, and now Dolce and Gabbana has this.

Let's get this out there now: It's not edgy, it's ridiculous. This is a gang rape, and any woman that sees those shoes instead of that message deserves those shoes. Any man who doesn't see that this is rape is probably looking at one of the hard bodies in the background and therefore not really a threat to women.


"SLUTS" -- Much like the Calvin Klein ads of the early 90s--you remember the ones that made you feel like you were watching child porn, cause you sorta were--this ad offers a young woman (with the face of a small child) posed in a sexually suggestive manner. They are offering you a virgin in looks and expression, and a slut in the tagline: "You know you're not the first." She's been fucked before--she knows what she's doing. She's been used so you can do whatever you like to her. That's the implicit message of this ad. She's young and nubile, but not prudish. She's the ultimate fantasy: a virgin who won't say no to anything.

This combination of the Madonna and the whore is ultimately a fantasy of degrading both body and mind. This girl is in no way a threat: she's young and won't say no, no one has to offer her anything, she is just there for your needs, just like a car.



GIRL ON GIRL ACTION -- Oh my god is this played out. We get it, some men find the idea of two women together appealing. MTV has reality shows devoted to it, casual and exploitative lesbianism is now a part of our culture. But aren't companies like Nikon supposed to be better than that? They bring us goofy Ashton Kutcher commercials (not that those are okay either) and sponsor the Boston Red Sox (yeah, that's pretty bad too). But they are a staple of the photography world and should be held to a higher standard than Tila Tequila. There are many meanings to the term corporate responsibility and one of them is not to fetishize female sexuality.


CUM SHOTS -- Forgive me that lewd term, but I didn't know how else to phrase it. I can't open a magazine anymore without seeing a thinly-veiled coital moment posing as an advertisement for some sort of beauty product. Jezebel tracked these for a while, rounding up the worst offenders.

The images and tag lines reinforce the idea of women sex receptacle, and therefore simply a receiver of sex, not one engaging in an equal process. This ad reads "I Want You All Over Me," which is as subtle as it is sexy. As Jezebel points out, women like orgasming too, sex is not just about male pleasure, it's a two way road and all of these ads find their own way around that truth.


The fact that these trends are so widespread is not the fault of the advertising world--these people are paid to appeal to our ids, they are often self-aware in their tendency to make the world harder for women, that's the life they've chosen. It is mainstream companies like BMW, Mitchum, Nikon, mainstream publications that host these images, and mainstream readers who use these products despite their appalling treatment of women that are truly to blame. The advertising world reacts to client demands and consumer activity--we have control over only one of those fields.

-Alex Leo For Thehuffingtonpost.com

All very true. Don't take for granted how ingrained these messages are in to people's psyche. Be aware of the imagery that surrounds you everyday, just because it's everywhere doesn't mean it's good, harmless or innocent.

Prop 8 - The Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

- Funnyordie.com

No matter what your stance is on Prop 8, don't be hypocritical about it. It is wrong to pick and choose what parts of your faith to follow, and then pass judgement on others for the lives they choose to lead. This skit is just a hilarious and musical version of the serious shit I just said. Think about it.

Alexyss K. Tylor Is Baaaacckkkk!!!!

On Handicapped Lovin'

Barack Rocks His Vote In Chicago.

Beautiful, that he took his daughter to see the process.


I just voted. No line at all. No hassle, no trouble. If you havent gone yet, please dont let the rumours of people having a difficult time at the voting booth discourage you. Only a few minutes of your life can change our future.

Barack The Vote!

I'm about to go vote now, and I believe I'm the last member of SGHI to do so. I feel like a slacker! Don't be like me, Friends don't let friends vote late.

Get down to your poll station now! You know after 6 it will be a mess!

My Favorite Halloween Costume.

The more I see/hear from Heidi Klum the cooler she gets. A few years ago I was in downtown Brooklyn with my boyfriend and this jeweler starts showing us pics of Heidi coming in to get her gold fronts! Hilarious!
Anyway, she further showcased the awesomeness by dressing up for Halloween as Kali Ma. AKA Kali, Kalika, Smashana Kali, etc.

Kali Ma is the Hindu Goddess of creation and destruction, and I personally find her to be one of the most fascinating religious figures. Complex and powerful, she is often found drinking blood, gobbling entrails, and doing all manner of things Stephen King couldn't conjure up.

Therefore, she is often misunderstood, and seen as a goddess of death, but her purpose is to liberate the soul by overcoming the idea that YOU are YOUR BODY. Whatever your religion, should you choose to follow one, there is always the promise that you are more than just flesh, and Kali Ma intends to impress that upon you in ways that may appear frightening. The association with death comes into play because the soul can only be liberated by the death of the body, but we humans harbor this strange attachment to our bodies don't we?
So for wearing a costume that makes you go Hmmm...I commend you Heidi!