Ideal Bite

The Mother Nature Network recently released its list of the Top 15 most toxic places to live (everyone, not least of all Molly, was shocked to learn that LA did not make the list).

It turns out that Earth's orbit ought to be every space station resident's worst nightmare because it's so full of trash from abandoned space ships and satellites stuck circling the globe. Pretty crazy.

-Toshio…off to look to the skies…

From DT Read the full post... 

I had this really great Tina Turner wig when I was a kid. I wore it practically every Halloween, whether I was going as a rock star, a cheetah, or a sad punky clown. Though I’m guessing it was pretty non-eco in terms of material, I did reuse the hell out of it. We probably all had something like that - some cherished prop that shows we were ace recyclers long before those colorful bins started appearing at the curb. Still, I could have been more creative. I could have made a wig out of cut-up mismatched socks, for example, or instead, gathered a bunch of shredded paper from my parents shredder and woven them together (excuse: no one knew what a shredder was in the '80s).

To help unleash that vast amount of creative potential, Andersonville's Green Genes is holding a recycled costume contest this Saturday from Read the full post... 

Wanna pull a great costume outta your hat? Abracadabra: Just reach for healthier Halloween makeup and better-for-the-planet getups. Plus, nonscary sweets and cocktails. Ta-da.

Got a little devil? Check out last week's Mama Bites for all things cute 'n' creepy.

1. Dressed in Show
We know the slutty-kitten-costume-in-a-bag is tempting - but consider something more original. Hit up your local thrift store for clothes and accessories, and get creative (black party dress + black beret + strings of long pearls = Coco Chanel), and you might actually wear them again, or rent one ready-made at a costume shop. You'll skip the PVC vinyl, a plastic in many drugstore one-offs that releases Read the full post... 

There are three awesome events coming up in LA, and whether you decide get an organic facial, watch a movie outside, or get a dose of rad vintage fashion, it's all for a good cause. Read on and maybe we'll bump into each other there…

Beauty for a Cure
What: Aveda Institute LA's Beauty for a Cure event. Make any donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation in exchange for complimentary haircuts, mini facials, neck and shoulder massages, and makeup applications using Aveda's plant-based, mostly organic prods. Call (614-291-2421) extension 3 to schedule a free appointment.
Why Care: During the month of October, the Aveda Institute LA hopes to raise $7,500 in donations to Read the full post... 

It's a day of nines. Not as special as 9/9/09 of course, but that was a Wednesday and we do the Chicago blog on Tuesdays, so… I know, lame excuse, still, a bunch of nines is kinda a big deal in numerology. Let's see here…accomplishment, success, and satisfaction. Sweet. In celebration of today's awesomeness, here's a list of nine eco things to do around Chicago in the next few days:

1. Enter code BREAK0909 when you buy online and save 20% on Julia Failey's jewelry (pretty, whimsical designs made with recycled metal), plus free Read the full post... 

Attention Bay Area Biters: Thursday, Oct. 1st is the LUNAFEST short film festival, and we're giving away tickets to the VIP reception and screening. The first 6 Biters who email us with LUNAFEST in the subject line'll score a ticket. See you there!

Oct. 1st, 6 pm VIP Reception/7:30 pm Screening
The Herbst Theatre - Map It

-City Editor Read the full post... 

I am not sporty. I have poor depth perception and a general lack of coordination. And after trying and failing at tee ball (I was hardly able to make contact with the immobile ball, and when I did, I'd let the bat go flying into the stands), basketball (I usually only had an H by the time my brother had spelled horse), and Red Rover (yes, I'm counting Red Rover as a sport, primarily because I ended up having to get head X-rays after a particularly rousing round) as a kid, I think I'm ready to try once more. And I think I've found my game: golf.

Now it's not just because of the cute outfits or fun of driving a golf cart or the Bloody Marys from the beverage cart (technically, I'm still working up to those things as I'm currently only trying my Read the full post... 

"Did you watch the MTV Video Music Awards?" No, this wasn't office water cooler chat from Monday morning (being that I work from home, it's just me and the dogs - who are never much for good gossip), it was from a phone call with my dad on Monday. And I wasn't the one doing the asking.

"No, Dad, but I've seen all the headlines," I said, referring to the Kanye West/Taylor Swift smackdown, though, it wasn't so much a smackdown as it being like Kanye "stepped on a kitten" (in the words of the eloquent Miss Katy Perry, who was great at Bumbershoot, by the way).

"Isn't that terrible what he Read the full post... 

On Wednesday, I went with Diane, Hanah, and Jenifer to a preview of Earth Days, a new documentary about the beginnings of the environmental movement in the U.S. (that's us chilling with director Robert Stone in the photo). I know about hippies, and I know about Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, but the fact that overpopulation was a national topic of conversation in 1968 and that the first photos of Earth from space were so influential in getting Americans to think about the environment were news to me.

The movie's a great primer on how we got to where we are now, but the best part was getting to Read the full post...