Copenhagen...

Age of Stupid Franny Armstrong interview with Monbiot on what's going on in Copenhagen.

You can watch an interview with my fav Thom Yorke on the same Episode part 2 and 4 I think...?

Also visit Monbiot.com to learn more about the power of PR that has over the climate change issue. What's your country doing? Is the US trying hard enough?

London - Dublin - Nice

So...

Have experienced London and Dublin now for the first time after being in Paris for 3 days, and I have to say... I love the Irish. They are love to have a good laugh and are soooo nice! I've never had so much Guiness in my life... but it was sweet and heavemly and I loved every gulp of it.

Now we are at London Luton waiting for a connecting flight to Nice... we left Dublin at 6am this morning... feeling pretty tired:( We are both ready for a nap!

Anyway I realize in my travels how nice it is to have SF to fall back to because it is really a great city, nice and small, homey and comfortable to go back to. London was so big, I felt so... insignificant. I could see myself there for sure

Sending lots of love... will be back home soon, and there are photos on the way:)

Paris, mt saint michael...

So ive arrived safe and sound. I didnt sleep a wink parcially attribued to my sick luck of always getting stuck in flights behind a number of crying toddlers, but simply because i was just uncomfortable enough. 'New Moon' kept me company - 200 pages in - after i brushed off my security agent's "wow" comment after he found the book when i was randomly chosen for an extra bag srarch. I always get picked for those... Someone once told me i looked middle eastern... Is that why? That was my attempt at humor. Im going straight to hell... Oops.

Anyway... Stephane and i settled in and i freshened up a bit and we headed into the center of Paris, as i was anxious to see how one of my fav cities has changed or kept its charm that brings this almost overwhelming feeling straight to my eyes as tears. Theyre always tears of joy i assure you... I was relieved to find that while it was chilly, it was bearable. Hat and scarf necessary, but not as far as a pair of gloves. Just crisp and clear and i missed the cold so much. I miss feeling and seeing all four seasons living in California.

We polished off a bottle of bourgogne and walked around le marais and st germain, etc got to bed exhausted around 10pm. Thats 30 hours of being awake, my friends. No wonder why i had a massive headache! Of it couldve been the 3 little glenlivet bottles id joyfully slammed back with this nice old dutch couple on the plane. The grandpa was so excited to have a drinking buddy. He got to pass out eventually though, while i dove into the book. I think i cried around page 68?

Anywho. Needless to say i was like a corpse in my sleep that lasted almost 12 hours. I feel great. Im writing this as Staphane and i drive to mont saint michael in normandy. The country side is beautiful in france cows roaming freely on hills, trees starting to lose their yellow leaves, and tge occasional little castles that have seen better days as gravity and the weather start to take a toll. The sky is grey, naturally, just like id remembered european winters to be

I guess my point is im not jetlagged, and very happy to be here.

Miss you guys, stephane says hi, and ill see you soon:)

special shout out to my bean. Happy bday week!

Love and kisses

10:10

CAN WE COMMIT TO SOMETHING THAT CONCERNS OUR FUTURE?

Become

and make a CHANGE:) Let our generation stand for something great. Sign up, take pride

Think, people, THINK!

Go see The Age of Stupid

You think they're preaching to the choir? Well, at least they are being proactive about it!

Visit the website and attend a premier in your country

Call me an hippie...

Excellent educational video about how to eliminate waste and how to consume without feeling guilty about creating waste... We all need to start thinking differently.

Looks like Nike didn't compromise looks after all with their "considered" products...

Check it out

But is this enough?

Buy and read the book "Cradle to Cradle"

you might consider picking up the book in a store as opposed to ordering it online (comes with uneccesary packaging).

I think what it ultimately comes down to is, is that people need to consider what materials and manufacturing methods go into creating a product that one desires. Is it something that you keep for a lifetime? If not, will the product end up in a landfill? or will it get recycled? We need to think about the life span of products, from start to finish, then to their rebirth!

It's not just about the environment, it's about our health. It makes me sick to know what kind of chemicals are released into air and dumped into our water sources. If we can actively aid in the way company cut corners, we can avoid so many sicknesses... so ask yourselves, what can I do?

Dang.

M.I.A was at the cafe half an hour ago... Just missed her!!

I really love her as an artist, fearless and fresh, always surprising
the listener.

Come back for dinner please!

Harry Patch

Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood recording their new song in an Abbey in England with a string symphony section.

Hello everybody.

We all know my obsessively fav band, Radiohead. They came out with this today...

Harry Patch (In Memory Of)

"i am the only one that got through
the others died where ever they fell
it was an ambush
they came up from all sides
give your leaders each a gun and then let them fight it out themselves
i've seen devils coming up from the ground
i've seen hell upon this earth
the next will be chemical but they will never learn"

Recently the last remaining UK veteran of the 1st world war Harry Patch died at the age of 111.
I had heard a very emotional interview with him a few years ago on the Today program on Radio4.
The way he talked about war had a profound effect on me.
It became the inspiration for a song that we happened to record a few weeks before his death.
It was done live in an abbey. The strings were arranged by Jonny.
I very much hope the song does justice to his memory as the last survivor.

It would be very easy for our generation to forget the true horror of war, without the likes of Harry to remind us.
I hope we do not forget.

As Harry himself said
"Irrespective of the uniforms we wore, we were all victims".

This morning the Today program played the song for the first time and now it is available to download from our website.

Please click here to download.

The proceeds of this song will go to the British Legion.

To peace and understanding.

Thom

Personally, the string arrangement is ace without the vocals. Thom Yorke's falsetto surprisingly bothers me a little but the lyrics - composed from the veteran himself which cohesively screams the gravity of war and what lasting psychological effects it has on anyone with a heart - crushes me. Maybe I need to listen to it a couple of times to get used to the voice. I think he's trying to do a soft, airy feel - sort of comforting and not powerful.

Soldiers are like pawns being played and disposed by our government... and for what? Oil? Domination? For forced democracy and "peace"? It makes me sick just thinking about it.

Click here to buy
Click here to listen
Click here for the review

Since we're on the subject...

rugs
curtain panels

Chilewich came out with a new line of window coverings - roller shades and panels - to add to their already wonderful collections of indoor/outdoor rugs, tablemats, and runners!

These products are super durable and easy to clean.

Supa Dupa Fly

http://www.kraeutli.com/index.php/2008/01/31/magnetic-curtain/

Just so awesome!

modular plant walls!

Reduces headaches and dry skin by creating some humidity in the room and removing toxins from the air... AND divids up a room. I think it's a winner:)

http://www.greenwork.se/mobile_plantwall/

footprint calculator

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

You would be surprised at how much energy one person consumes. I'm seriously thinking about ditching my beloved moped. I'm also back to being a vegetarian, sad as I am... but I do love vegetables!!!

Is there more we can do to cut our carbon footprint??? Well go and find out... they have some great suggestions.

tv

tiny vices blog... off beat things and beautiful creations
http://www.tinyvices.com/blog/

pimp it.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/06/19/pimp-my-eco-ride-contest-deadline-extended/

trade in your car for a sweet arse fold-up bike!!

tick tock... clock's ticking!!!

more later but...

this first

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/05/04/moss-carpet-grows-in-the-heart-of-your-home/

thanks to christine:)

it's sooooo cool!! anyone want me to put it in your home?? hehe

ill write more about how it's been being back in the good ol usa for a month and going back to, er... work

Back in the homestead!!!

Hello everyone!!

A couple of things...

Congrats to John for finishing school!!! I'm so excited for you and your future career!! Yay!

Jenny... read your cuuuuuuuuuuuute email!!!! Thanks so much, it's gonna be fun wedding planning and such!!!!

For all of those who are out for the summer... let's play!

okay, so back to business...

After spending 5 wonderful and busy days in Kyoto, we headed to Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Beppu, Usuki, Osaka, Himeji, and then finally to Fuji, where my lovely parental units reside.

IT was rainy all day yesterday, so we just chillaxed and then went to an onsen (hot spring). WE spent about 4 hours there... it was so relaxing!!! I got an "akasuri" body treatment, it is this sort of deep dermal rub all over your body that collects dead skin. The result is smooth, silky skin, and I'm about 2 shades lighter!! There are these black deposits that form, something that look like eraser crumbs. (Gross!!! but all soooo good!! :) )

Here are some pix to keep you entertained... and I'll be back shortly! Watch out SF!

Update

http://sfondement.wordpress.com/

This is from Stephane's blog. Too lazy to write, but there are some pix that we took here:)

We're off to Nikko this morning, then leaving from Utsunomiya to Kyoto. There, we plan to stay with a great family friend, Anna.

I hope all is well...

Tokyo...Nagano...Sendai...Sapporo!

Long time no write! haha.

We are slowly headed North. Hokkaido is the Northern most prefecture in Japan, and we are headed to its central city, Sapporo, like the Japanese beer!

He hear there is snow up to our waist! We have no warm clothes so it should be fun! woo hoo!

More details later when I can sit down for a couple of hours and veg out...
xx

SF to Japan

Hi friends,

We are now in Tokyo after spending a 4-day pit stop in SF for Sabrina and Ashley's Birthdays:)
SF was beautiful, unlike how I remembered it to be... oh that's right, it was because it was rediculously HOT! The house I was helping with was done and there was a house warming... It looked spectacular! Congrats Christine! After two hot hot days at the beach, I was ready to move back to SF, but we had to scoot to Japan, so we left on the 21st. And I realized I forgot to take photos! It was really really nice to see you all.

The plane ride was really pleasant! We took ANA which was wonderful. 10 hours flew by. I didn't sleep because I couldn't stop watching movies. Drinks were free! hee hee;)

We flew in around 4:30pm and got to our couch surfer's place around 7:30. Yuji, our suuuuuuper nice CS host has 10 people in the house right now, including us, and has 3 more coming today potentially. We have a very full house!! It's kind of fun though, its like a hostel in 1 room. No problems with bathrooms and showering yet. We plan to stay here for a week. Sounds like we will be doing an all nighter on Sat... I wish you were here John!

I am meeting up with my mom and Lina tonight!!!! I can't wait. I'm gonna cry when I see Lina, it has been nearly a whole year since I last saw her...

much love, and more soon

It's been a while...

So we are back in Rio again!

Since Joao Pessoa, we've done a bunch of bus ridin' and such to spend some time with Julia and Aaron in Itacare and Serra Grande. Itacare/Serra Grande is North of Rio and south of Salvador de Bahia, in the state of Bahia. It's like a super chill surf town, full of young people. We started off out journey from Natal, north of both Rio and Joao Pessoa, at 4am and got to Itacare at 8pm. Such a long day. This was back on the 7th. got to Itacare on the 8th. Sorry I realize my wri ting is sort of scatter-brain like, it's been a couple of days since the said dates and ac tiviti es, and since then there has been more groggyness b ringing traveling and my key board is messing me up!

anyway, it was nice to just chill at a beach town for a couple of days with some familiar faces. We (tried ) to speak more Portuguese than we had been, which was interesting and fun, and we really had some fun with some local peeps. I tried surfing for the first time. Its freaking wonderful! but I ended up with sore ass arms for 3 days!!! hahaha note to self: need to exercise more when I get back to real lif e. Saw some beautiful golden moons and pink and purple sunsets. We had such a great time. Juj and A are such awesome people:) I miss you guys already.

So after that on the 11th, we left Aaron's parents' house in Serra Grande at noon and headed for Rio. Bus ride from Ilheus to Salvador de Bahia (Stephane's fav city... NOT) left at 1245 and we got there at 8pm... sore bums! Then after that, went straight to the airport in Salvador to take a flight at 0040h to Sao Paulo, layover for 3 hours and left SP at 6am and f inally got to Rio at 7am on easter sunday. The place was a ghost town. I was soooooo tired I wanted to fall asleep with my 18kg backpack on my back. We checked ourselves in at this super shady hotel (at least it had a bed... with sheets that used to be cream colored I think... now gre y) and passed out for a good 2 hours. When we woke up, we took ourselves a nice long HOT shower ( This is pretty rare in Brazil but you dont need warm water really to freshen up around here...) in a room with a toilet. I will post a photo of this at a later date to illustrate my point. Then we headed to see o Cristo Redentor (christ the redeemer statue) on top of Corcovado. That thing is ginormous. it hurts your nec k to try to look up to it.

well, it's getting a bit long so im going to stop abruptly, but there will be more later. our Brazil trip is coming to a close in 4 days. We got tons of shopping to do (they've got great shoes here ladies!) for friends and of course ourselves, and more frolicking on the beach with Cariocas. Talk to you soonnnnnnnnnnn

xx

ps excuse my punctuation, im at an internet cafe and im under time pressure!!!

Paraty, Ilha Grande, Mangaratiba, Salvador de Bahia, and Joao Pessoa

Wow it's been only a couple of days since we left Rio, but we've covered these cities. Lots of nearly missed bus ridin' and shakey planes. The bus rides are absolutely insane. I swear i woke up in the middle of the night when we were going from Salvador to Joao Pessoa and I thought I was going straight to my death bed. They drive so fast on unpaved roads, and the whole bus was swaying left and right like on a boat on stormy waters.

We've met 3 more couch surfers... Alex in Mangarativa, and Antonio, Paula, and Gu in Joao Pessoa. They are all amazingly warm and super cool. We've been having a very good time with these ex-strangers.

I've decided I'm going to retire in Joao Pessoa. It is absolutely beautiful. It's very calm, peaceful, and the beach is available if you want to burn to death... which we did on the first day here, by accident while we were playing yatzi (sp?) like an old couple. Anyway, there is still a city, so I think this is gonna be it when or if I can ever retire.

Next stop is Natal.

Here are some pics from JP...

Ate logo:)

Santa Teresa, Rio De Janeiro

It's this small neighborhood that seems to have escaped time... it's really cute and old, and this old tram, or bondinho takes you up there through the favelas (yayyyyy!!! ?) for 30 cents. Some pix from there... there are incredible amounts of beautiful graffiti that paint the already colorful city... I think I'll do an album with just that!

Radiohead Live in Rio

He does this thing where he multi tasks... it's amazing, like he's putting on the whole show!


It was so much fun:)

We waited only 2 hours to get in through the door at 5pm (some were waiting since 8am!!!) and managed to land in the front row, in front of Jonny Greenwood, who may possibly be the most interesting creature I've ever seen. He was in his own little world the whole 2 hours. It was nice to see them smiling and interacting with the crowd... They were being quite comical this show...
I love them! Here are a couple of photos:)

Rio day 4

Had a fortune of having an amazing couch surfing host. Gustavo has shown us a lot! Tons and tons of live samba... I'm in heaven!!



my tummy hurts today:( could it be the ice? wahhhh

We spent all day at Ipanema beach yesterday... totally lives up to its name... it's really really beautiful. really clear and warm water, biiiig waves ( I got tossed around for about 15 seconds (which is super long when youre freaking out under water) in this one huge one that i tried to ride unsuccessfully). Cariocas basking in the sun... Drinking some ice-cold agua de coco...

Radiohead show again today!! woo hoo

Oh did I mention how warm it is here? it was about 30 degrees celsius yesterday at the beach...I know, I'm an arse!

more later,

Hiiiiio Ji Jyaneiro

Ste and I have safely arrived in Rio. We are completely lost in translation. We were walking around to find places to eat but we don't know what anything is, how to order it, or how to eat it, so we ended up walking around for like an hour before we decided to stop chickening out.

Finished up our walk with some delicious rice n beans... yummmmmm

More later!
xx

Well, the sun wasn't all that bad! @Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan was quite impressive.

After 250+ pics and a bus ride home, we went with Rodrigo, our couch surfing host (he is just about the nicest person i've ever met. smart, cool, and he's hilarious!), his girl friend, Maria Jose (again, sooo cool and sweet), and Gregg (Rodrigo's CS guest before us, now practically his brother) to Lucha Libre! I'm not sure if I spelled that right... but Mexican wrestling at its finest was sooooooo rockin! we had so much fun, especially bc we were drinking cervesas!! Gregg bought some masks, but I just couldn't think of anyone that would be deserving of such a gag gift.

anywho, after that, we went to la Perla, a little bar that has a prohibition feel to it, and saw a tranny show. second time in my life to see such a show, less than a week from the first one. Interesting??? more beers later, we found ourselves at a taco joint. 3am. sleep.

stephane woke up with a pretty bad cold:( I'm going to the pharmacy now to try to get some remedies... then to Coyoacan, to go see Frieda's infamous blue house.

by the way radiohead just got into town. concert's tomorrow. i hope i run into them. i know... i'm such a nerd.

much love my people,

Well HELL-o boys and girls

just a friendly reminder to wear sunscreen when you go visit aztec ruins...
it's just slightly painful, the consequences...:


and it's just on one side:(

Mehiko is a- ok!!

I'm here! Safe and sound and loving it! I broke down and ate meat
already:( bad emma! But it was oh so good. I'm in hot sauce heaven,
things are finally spicy enough but doesn't ruin the taste of the food:)

Here I am, eating some fresh baked pan de...? It's like a Japanese
"melon pann" behind the palacio de bellas artes in centro historico.

Is that smog in the sky or just overcast? That's a secret I'll never
tell!

Oh by the way it's raining cats and dogs outside - no wonder why they
say loco febrero, poco marzo. And they are some crazy big rain drops!

xx

Waiting...

Sleepy and tired at the airport:( I can't wait to be in Mexico already!!

Gonna miss you all-

xoxo

Sent from my iPhone

Pink/Blonde

Is no longer!

LAST DAY in a while...

In less than 24 hrs I'm going to be on a plane to Mexico City, the first city in a series of places we plan to visit in the course of about 3 months!

To celebrate the departure, our lovely manager at the Cafe took us to Sunday's a Drag (a drag show at the Starlight Room at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel). It was such a laugh. Sooooo much fun, and I now have a new appreciation for carefully crafted bodies.

Since this is the last blog I'm doing in a bit (I think?) I'll include some random bits to try to entertain you...

Some new music and old favs I'm into at the moment:

-Fever Ray (Thanks to Jeff:) ), from the old Knife crew
-The Bug
-Radiohead (hahaha I just had to:))
-Squarepusher
-Nathan Fake
-Lady Gaga (It's b/c of all the Castro nights...)
-Modeselektor
-Bjork (I just came back to her... its creepily amazing!)
-The presets

Sabrina and I have been obsessed with Gossip Girl (how embarassing... but it's so great! I can't help it). Like, we watch 4-5hrs at a time. We've been brainwashed well by now, dreaming about it and everything. hahaha no it's not that bad... I promise...

I can be found at Jeff's tonight... probably not too wasted I hope, as my flight leaves at 10 tomorrow morning. We all know a hangover is no fun, especially on aircrafts at a high altitude.

Okay, so to all those I didn't get to personally say good bye to, TAKE CARE!!! I'll see you soon, and check back in if and when you think of me. I'll try to get my thought and activities up here as much as possible.

All my love!

One week to go... EDITED!

Next wednesday, I will be at the airport around this time waiting to
get on the plane to Mexico City.

My ride these days...

Rain and hail has been a huge headache in my move, but again, with the help from my wonderful team of friends, I've officially moved out everything from 30 Dore street. Thanks again everybody!

All my love-

College friends are fun:)... EDITED!

Went to Anchor and Hope to have dinner with my ladies from good ol' SFSU... It was great too see what we're all up to since last May! I'll miss u guys for a bit!! xx

Wednesday

Hung out with my bean all day... It's nice to be able to spend time
with those who I love before I HAVE to leave... My life is soooo hard!
Off to work now!

JAPAN II

"Emma, dear, Fujikawa-cho is no longer, remember? It merged with Fuji-shi on Novermber 1 last year".

Thanks to my dear father, I now know that the town I pretty much grew up in is experiencing a banking crisis.

Japan

Shizuoka prefecture... where I grew up. The town my parents live in, Fujikawa-cho, is not listed there because its so small... but you can click on "Fuji", one of the closest towns to us, and read about some fun facts:)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shizuoka_prefecture

holy moly

it works! I can now blog from my phone without using a computer!

how brilliant is that?

Testing

Syncing my phone to post blogs by email! Yay technology!

Trip Itinerary

11th March: SF - MEXICO CITY (FLIGHT)

11th March - 15th March: EXPLORING IN M.C

16th March: M.C. - RIO DE JANEIRO (FLIGHT)

16th March - 16th April: Having fun in Rio, Bahia, and Itacare

16th/17th April: RIO - SF (FLIGHT)

17th April - 21st April: Resting (or celebrating birthdays! yall know who you are...) in SF:)

22nd/23rd April: SF - NARITA

23rd April - 27th May: Japan!! Lina's BDay! Osaka! Ojii-Chan!

27th May: JAPAN - SF (FLIGHT)

...and there it is. 2+ weeks more and I'm off to see the world!

Hummmm technology...

So I just figured out that I don't know how to change the photo stream for my slide shows... I was hoping to share pictures this way... hope to figure that out soon.

WELCOME

Hello, hello, testing, testing...

Oh hello, thanks for joining me. I'll be headed out of my apartment in 7 or 8 days.

Stressin'