Posts

This years SXSW was so overwhelming, even moreso than the first year.  I didn't see as much music this year, choosing instead to spend quality time with various friends and just go with the flow. Still, did see some great stuff, learned about some new bands, and just hung out with friends.

I wish I could say I did a good job keeping up with my sched.org, but mainly, each day I'd pick a bunch of stuff and see if I could make it all.

Here's some of the things that I noticed this year. A lot of the bands were genuinely grateful that audience was there. Often times you get the "thanks for coming out, woo [insert name of city]" but the tonality of the thanks just felt warmer and more real. Perhaps the competition and time slots made artists just feel happy that folks showed up to their show rather than someone else.

The other things that seemed in the ether to me were bands that didn't look like the genre they played in. This is me using every stereotype in the book and subscribing to it. But still, when I saw Grand Archives, I would have *sworn* they should have been a metal band. Cut Copy were just guys in jeans in t-shirts, no matchy matchy club clothes. This happened at least five-six times. Either I'm aging, or bands have finally decided they don't need to look a certain way to fit into parameters.

And it seems that long hair is making a resurgence. Not just any long hair. It's got to be an above the shoulder bob-type hair cut. With curly/wavy hair. Like the guys in Longwave.

Last year I was able to come up with a ranked order of shows, which proved impossible this year. Mainly due to Liam Finn. He was so incredible that everyone else paled in comparison. Shows were frenetic, with him playing both guitar and drums, within a single song. His partner for the shows had at her disposal a tambourine, cowbell and cymbal, not to mention a rocking voice. Both used a variety of looping devices, but the energy was unbelievable. Blew everything else away.

Other great shows

The A-Sides
British Sea Power
Cut Copy
Helio Sequence
Grand Archives
Longwave
Matt & Kim
Rufus Cappadocia
The Weakerthans
Tigercity
What Laura Says Thinks & Feels

Full Schedule with my in-the-moment notes

Wednesday

Aleigh/ poet like an acrobat @ the hideout
Full rich vocals, needs more originals though loved the johnny cash covers
+ A fellow consumator!

The Wedding Present @ emo's annex
Old faves in a two piece set up miss the drums

[went do dinner & a movie, so missed some tunes...]

Simian Mobile Disco at La Zona Rosa - so that's where all the lasers
from the 70s went. Good! Not chemically prepared.

Thursday

British Sea Power @ the Mohawk my new favorite - 3guitars drums
keyboard & violin. Buy

No Age @ the Mohawk - loud for a guitarist and drummer with a
bedazzled audience. Short songs punny banter.

Cut Copy @ the Mohawk - bring back the 80s vocals & sensibilities
filtered through the indie rock lens. Made me want to dance. Buy love
watching a band enjoy their own set as much as you do

Martha Wainwright @ Austin conventpn center - daniel lanois jumped on stage too! Just okay - she can sing but not familiar enough to fit in with all the fans who were there

Rufus Cappadocia - the 18th floor of the Hilton Garden inn - plays the cello as a guitar. Not the most dynamic performer but music is more interesting than that. Buy. Went "far out" - almost like metal violin

Noah & the Whale at Friends- great investigate further - A day for strings

The Whigs - Austin music hall - just a few songs not my thing

Yo La Tengo - austin music hall - warmed up to falsetto harmonies & multi-instrumentalism, great catalog miners but drawn out instrumentals get boring

The Weakerthans at Cedar Street Courtyard love them! Just solid indie rock

Devotchka - one song, which seemed to be my relationship with them all week - just one song. but not enough to compel me to stay or to listen.

The Octopus Project - emo's - excellent showmanship

Friday

Liam Finn @ dirty dog - in love with the next gen of the Finn family.
Amazing set. Buy

Los Campesinos - cedar street courtyard - great sound, perhaps biased
by beers in the sun. Energetic. Check it out

Cut Copy @ SESAC day stage at ACC - excellent repeat

Random foray to I <3 comix party

Superchunk @ Parish - mac solo

Crystal Castles @ emo's - I'm a poor judge of electronica, indiscriminate at best. This was a quick, crazy show but definitely enjoyable.

Aloha @ Habenero Annex Patio - arrived and the show just felt dry and uncompelling. Made me wonder if this would be better recorded than live, having liked the few songs I had heard before this.

Grand Archives @ Bourbon Rocks - I heard one song and wished I'd been here instead of at Aloha - so much so I took efforts to see them the following day. My notes from this say "CHECK OUT LATER"

Helio Sequence @ Bourbon Rocks Patio - front row standing for this show brought me up close so I could see how psyched the drummer was to play. Every time he smiled, I did too. These guys were great.

Saturday

Longwave @ Cedar Street Courtyard: Excellent. And when did big hair come so back into vogue?

Liam Finn @ ACC: Yes, AGAIN!!! I must own everything he has done.

Tokyo Police Club (Acoustic) @ YR Day Stage: just ok

Grand Archives @ Cedar Street Courtyard: Love the harmonies, their aesthetic/looks don't match the sound, buy

What Laura Says Thinks & Feels @ EMC Hilton Garden Inn: Despite the shittiest band name ever, we totally unexpectedly caught this band and they were great! Can't say no to a band with keyboards attuned to organ-intensity. Mellow, cool & great harmonies. Brushes on drum - a sucker for that. Fucking awesome keyboards, lots of "ooh aahhs" - feels like the prom music I never had.

The A-Sides @ EMC Hilton Garden Inn: another act that had us leaping out of our front row seats to dance along. There's a coolness to a concert in a conference in a hotel, but this group got everyone on their feet and rocking out. Straight ahead rock-n-roll. Buy!

Tigercity @ Lambert's Patio: how fun were thes guys? How can you not love a band that looks nothing ike what they sound? How can you not love a band where one guitarist is wearing a pink shirt with a moose and the star a multi-colored boa. Passionate fans and fun.

The Autumns @ Maggie Mae's: a little rough - where indie bands

Matt & Kim @ Mohawk - started with a cover of Europe's the Final Countdown - a perfect end to the week. Great tunes while we sat on the patio, drinking and talk.

I have to admit, this seems like it's been the year to get "cultured." There's been symphonies, and operas, and plays. There's been concerts and lectures. I've been fortunate to fall into the circle of Kevin Smokler, who has organized a series of blogger nights. This past weekend was a lovely event at the SF Conservatory of Music . This school provides a series of ongoing musical events, covering a wide variety of orchestral/symphonic music.

The physical structure is located in an area of San Francisco in the thick of it, and is a beautiful modern building that has recently been renovated so that multiple musical events can happen. We were treated to a lovely bit of wine and cheese, and chat with the staff.

Lisa Petrie, Senior Manager, Communications for the school, talked to us a little bit about the facts and figures, and a little bit of the history of Blueprint. Blueprint is designed to showcase new and innovative works, and modern music. The particular performance we viewed was entitled Synesthesia: Bridging the Senses, bringing together new musical experiences. I did feel that there were definite visual and auditory pieces to the performance, but I would challenge Blueprint, in titling a performance thus to reach out to all five senses, to truly bridge that gap. Fortunately, us bloggers had the advantage of pre-performance snacks, but olfactory sense stimulation could have been interesting, seeing as synesthesia is about that unknown link some have between the senses, with a crossover into new territory.

Small quibbles aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The first two pieces pieces (Eight Colors for String Quartet and Sept Papillons) were ones that I don't know if I would ever listen to if recorded, but live provided an interesting sense and something intellectual to ponder. Some of this comes from the integration of non-Western elements in the case of the former, and the latter the language of opera and nature as the story of seven butterflies.

The next piece, written by local composer Jay Lyon, based on Rimbaud's Voyelles was more challenging. It was a piece of orchestrated jazz, overlaid with MC work by WiseProof, and multiple vocals including spoken word. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the mix was off and the MC dominated what was an already layered piece. I would love to hear a recording of this, just to see what a better sound mix would provide.

Philip Glass' Facades followed intermission, and featured a digital projection by Elliot Anderson. While the visuals were interesting, I would have almost preferred to listen to this moody somber piece in the dark and allow my own imagination to do the work. If anyone has ever attended Audium, you'd understand the value of sitting and listening to a variety of sounds in the dark. Still, the orchestration and instrumentation were lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed this. Seated next to me, Tyler responded at the end of the piece with "blissful" and I'd have to agree.

The final performance of the night was Les Illuminations by Benjamin Britten. Ambur Braid, a soprano brought rousing spirit to the music. I hadn't heard this particular piece before, but am well familiar with Britten's work, as he was a prolific writer of music in this century, and his music is often sung by church choirs.

The last two performances were conducted by Nicole Paiement, the Artistic Director and Conductor at the school. She came and spoke to us after the performance, where some of our group asked her about "new music" and what defines it. Much like our experience at Swarm Gallery, the question arises, how can we trust our own judgment about art? Should we be able to make our own choices or do we defer to those "in the know?" I think Nicole's assessment of this vein of questioning was to say that we have to sit with the experience and be our own judge. I would agree. It is important for us to take in the art that speaks to us, no matter the medium. But it is also incumbent upon us to push beyond our comfort levels to experience new things. This enables us to continue to grow and to find the next unseen horizon. Or merely to see it with new eyes. Or new senses.

I cherished our evening at the SF Conservatory of Music and look forward to the opportunity to return. For those of you looking to push your own boundaries, and to experience something new, the SF Conservatory of Music has generously offered 2 free tickets to a show if you mention that you read a post about the show and mention "SF Blogger" upon calling the box office. Take them up on it. And call me to go with you.

On October 4th, the bloggers once again gathered together to learn about the arts, this time tackling downtown Oakland and Swarm Gallery.

Having recently posted about what I've learned from the arts and applied to business, it was if the tables had been turned, as the group of us pestered gallery owner, Svea Lin Vezzone, with our questions about how she runs her gallery. She was really honest with our group about how she came to found the studios and gallery, explaining that the hybrid of gallery and studio space was something she spent over a year vetting. Swarm's purpose is two-fold: providing studio space for artists (who each have their own "office") as well as a gallery to display works of other artists on a rotating basis.

In thinking about the intersection of art and business, here's some of the lessons we learned that day.

• Shared expenses help everyone

Much like in the business world, when artists need space to create, but not rent an entire building on their own, it makes sense to rent space where shared resources (e.g. power, coffee, bathroom access, high rent) can me shared by many, making the total cost less.

• Working in isolation works for some, but others like to have interaction

At work, there are some people called "individual contributors" - these are people who may not manage other people, but who create products, reports, plans, and execute on them without managing resources. Yet these folks still need to glean ideas from other people and be able to sell their ideas. Art is much the same way. While each artist had their own office, there's still a sense that other people may be facing similar challenges or successes. A chance for artists to interact offers the possibilities of cross-pollination and escape from isolation.

Most importantly,

• Art suffers from sticky perceptions

Some brands out there suffer from poor perceptions even though they product a decent product. You may really be somewhat satisfied with your Honda, but it may not think it's the sexiest thing on the road. Or you may think that a restaurant provides a delicious meal, but you think it's too expensive to go back time and time again. A lot of our discussion with Svea revolved around the perception of those in the room that buying artwork is intimidating. It was a combination of the cost of art, fear of making the wrong decision, and not knowing what constituted "good art." Svea, and Jenny, our fearless leader, both stressed that for the last point, it doesn't matter. Do you like it? Would you like to see it in your home?

But ultimately, it means that galleries need to do more outreach to people, which is a marketing issue. Changing perceptions is also a marketing issue. This is larger than one gallery in and of itself, and also includes the pocketbook allocation analysis (that is, of all the places someone can spend money, do they make the choice between different pieces of artwork, or between a piece of artwork and say a new shirt or a new iPhone). In market research, we could design experimental tests to determine how people would spend their money.

I love that Swarm is trying to make art more accessible, by offering a great space (see photos here) and a young, informed owner who spends time really thinking about these issues and how to get more people thinking about art.

Many thanks again to Jenny for organizing.

In the past 2 weeks, I've seen three different musical events and over the course of the summer, had a chance to see both the symphony (twice!) and the ballet at Stern Grove, and several concerts. At each of these, I've been struck by how much my education in the arts prepared me to work in the business world.

I'll never forget in one of my b-school classes a operations professor talking about how we needed to think about how amazing it was to go watch a theater performance and how every night a performer gets to the same spot on the stage at the same time and that the various elements from wardrobe to lighting to props and actors have to all work closely together to put together a coherent production. He encouraged us to be as diligent in the workplace. (He had obviously never worked in the theater, because no two performances are the same, but the semblance is there...just like at work.)

However, in watching the myriad of performances (primarily live music) that I've seen this year, I've thought a lot about what I learned from various artistic experiences I've had and how I've applied that to the work force. Here's my short list:

• There are real deadlines and then there are deadlines.

In the theater, you HAVE to be ready to go opening night. There's no extra time, you have to be prepared to go on, even if you don't feel like you've rehearsed enough, or if not every seam has been sewn. Tickets have been sold and the lights are going to go down. It also means that there are a lot of sleepless nights as needed to prepare yourself for that first show.

By the same token, there were times as a dj when I'd forget that I needed to pick a new song. You know what, there's times where we could just called it a "two-fer" and be done with it, no listener the wiser.

I treat my current job much the same way. If there's a real deadline and I need to meet it, I'll be ready to go and ready to work to the deadline. If not, there might be some time to play with.

(Some day if you're good, I'll tell you about how deadlines rarely matter, but maybe that's just the ENFP in me talking. And for non-life saving jobs.)

• Speaking in public requires a connection with an audience

I worked as a dj for 5 years across college and graduate school, did theater (primarily technical theater) in college, and also was a demonstrator/educator at the Orlando Science Center for a short while. Each of those jobs required me, as I still have on my resume, "to delight and entertain the public." It helps that I'm fairly outspoken and that I like to talk. (Being a goodly combination of Southern and Italian means it doesn't stop either.) But, until I was an adult, I was fairly shy and reluctant to talk unless I knew people fairly well. This meant that getting up and teaching even kids about science was difficult. Yet, I was so excited about lightning, or pulling tablecloths out from big stacks of glasses, that I lost my fear along the way.

Right below being able to get along with people, one of the best job skills anyone can have is being able to express an idea and tell other people about it. It's one thing to be able to write, but it's another to engage someone and draw them in to what it is that's so exciting to you. The thing is, that requires being able to read your audience and adjust as you see eyes roll or attention wander. I learned those skills from the harsh audience of 7 - 9 year olds to start, then from my peers as I moved into radio and into the odd foray into acting.

• All projects need to be broken down into their components, sometimes specialists are needed

It's just like the first "research" paper you ever wrote in elementary school where your teacher gives you all the different steps (e.g. develop the topic, take notes, create an outline, write a draft, etc.). Putting on a show requires the same level of detail and has so many components. If you've got a theatrical production, you're going to have production designers, lighting designers, prop people, costumers, actors, possibly musicians, a paint crew, goodness knows what else. Each show gets broken down into its discrete pieces and a holistic project plan is pulled together. (No wonder MS Project looked so familiar the first time I saw it.) There's one person overseeing the effort (in theater, the director) and she or he spends time figuring out the best way to allocate resources for the development of the production. This is just like any large project in the work place, and I won't belabor the analogies.

Working in this way teaches you to appreciate the people who are specialists and who have talents you don't possess. Watching friends learn lines or become a different person is a rare gift, just like the stellar analyst, or person who just can envision the way a product should look.

• Writing is re-writing

How I used to dread hearing that phrase from creative writing teachers. Good grief, how many times can one write a story? Yet, invariably I'd find that a story was that much more compelling because I had taken the time to deconstruct the elements and rebuild it in a way that said something profound or rare.  In the business world, I find that I often write reports, walk away from a short while, and then re-write them. I tend to find succinct ways to express myself, or connections between 2 pieces of information that had hitherto seemed unrelated. By allowing myself breathing space, but also drawing on the discipline of revisiting, I find that my writing is more compelling to the intended audience.

I will continue to add to this list over time. After all, that's my creative license, isn't it?

UPDATE 10/16/2007:

• Sometimes the middle doesn't count as much as the start or the finish

When I was in a church choir as a child, our choir master once said, it's more important to start and finish well than to start ok, have a great middle, and then sort of flop at the end. He's right. I find that with work projects it's much the same. Some of them can be a complete beast, but the end result is so fabulous that you only remember the good part at the end. Your co-workers may feel ths same way.

• Characters studies help to understand people

One of the things I do in research is to develop personas, or characters, based on the data we have on hand. I think working in the theater gave me a good sense of how to flesh someone out, without making a caricature or stereotype out of them. Much like the best acting, I can disappear into the person I create to understand how they interact with products, marketing or the company in general.

I received an email from my dad the other day about his entry into the replace the Florida state song contest. Turns out, people were a little tired of Swanee River, originally composed by Stephen Foster. The lyrics are definitely not the most modern, and refer to an antebellum era that doesn't fit the social moires of today.

Dad

My dad, after retiring as a Spanish and Italian professor from Rollins College, has begun writing lyrics. He's then partnered with a local jazz combo to play contemporary versions of these songs, for a soft vibe. (I love calling him and hearing him say he can't talk, because he's "in the studio.") Most of his songs are more spiritual in nature, but he does do the odd song here or there of a different bent. He decided to enter this contest and put together some lyrics in both Spanish and English to reflect the culture of Florida.

He sent me this recording of his song, with him singing. I called this morning and asked him how he did the recording and it turns out he's pimped out his Mac as a mini-studio and sang directly into the microphone over the track a friend of his recorded. Way to go! (You have to understand my dad is 73!) Now, his singing is a little off-key, but one of the requirements of the contest is that it can be sung by anyone. I feel that this is it.

Anyway, for your auditory pleasure, I present Cancion Floridiana. Once I have an English language version, I'll post that as well.

Song submissions are due October 1. My Dad is kicking things off. Hats off to you, Poppy!

01 CANCION FLORIDIANA

Dad

Last Wednesday, July 18th, I had the fortune to attend Blogger Night at the San Francisco Symphony. Despite having not been to the symphony for many years, this was the third time this year I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing it.
I went in April and to see the a performance in Stern Grove in July.

James Gaffigan, the Associate Conductor, has led the past two performances I've seen, which were a joy. Stern Grove was great for a day to sit and the sun and enjoy time with friends. Attending last week, it was nice to go to a concert with the throngs of bloggers, eager to share information about this cultural event with the world through their own personal lens. I'm not anywhere near an expert on classical/symphonic music, I know that I enjoy it, I know that it's something that sometimes overwhelms me so much, and it's not something I can listen to at work. (Yeah, I've got different musical stylings for different types of work during the day, but generally symphonic music is too distracting for my headspace, which leaves me with punk, twee, indie, folk, and whatnot to get through the day.)
It's always hard for me when I listen to any orchestra, as it reminds me greatly of my grandmother, an accomplished musician and teacher, who played harp with the Orlando Symphony Orchestra. In fact, until I told my brother he could take the entire thing two years ago, I owned half of one of her harps. (My cousin owns the other one of my grandmother's pair.) So, when I sat down last Wednesday, and the symphony began Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, it made me sad, not necessarily because of what the music was saying, but because of what it reminded me of and how much I miss my grandmother.

The symphony followed Romeo and Juliet with Strauss' Don Juan, which Barce felt moved from light to dark. I'm not certain that I agree or disagree, as I was caught up in my own thoughts about my grandmother and the musical adventures of my childhood.

After these first two pieces, we had a brief few moments during intermission to ask a few minutes. Thinking about how I had met most of the bloggers in the room (ahem, social networking), I was curious to know about the social networks that musicians have. I have to assume that the number of, say, first chair violinists, is relatively small. This was confirmed by a member of the orchestra. Several other questions were asked - such as whether or not orchestra members blogged, or interacted with others online. There seemed to be an opportunity for us to bring together some of our expertise, so immediately proposed to our fearless leader, Kevin Smokler, that we conduct a few Nerdcurious salons for them. (I promise we won't let them set up a MySpace account...unless it's to help the Symphony sell a few tickets.)

Lights flickering on and off let us know it was time to return for the finale and piece many of us had been waiting to hear, the elusive Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninoff, immortalized in the movie Shine. Understanding that there's a huge technical mastery necessary for the piece, I was also surprised by the physical demands, watching Gabriela Martinez sweat her way through it. I will say, her playing styling, engaged and physical, was well matched to James Garrigan's stylings. The two of them are so enraptured with the music they make, it's as if they are trying to make it a part of their physical being. It definitely drew me into the music, but it was almost one of those situations where I couldn't even open my eyes, I was so overwhelmed with the emotion pouring out. Some of the other coverage has critiqued her performance, but I almost feel that it is irrelevant to those us who enjoyed it so greatly.

The post-performance included a q&a session, which I highly recommend attending if you're at the symphony. It was great to hear a young composer (aged 14 I believe) talk about his upcoming performances and to get feedback on how to develop his pitch, as well as hear how long it took Gabriela to begin learning the Rach 3 (she began in April).

Of course, the best part of any such experience is sharing it with friends. A few of us marched off to Sauce for a dessert and treats to discuss art, music, and life.

This isn't the last symphony visit of the year for me, so I hope for as much joy when I return in September to see Mahler.

UPDATE 10/16/2007

I did not get to see Mahler, but I'm sure I'll see the symphony again before the year is out.

However, my Mom did send some corrections, so I'm including those about my grandmother and her participation.

[Your grandmother] was one of the founding members of the Florida Symphony Orchestra which was begun in the 50's. I believe she was the first harpist before it was a regular position. The orchestra was active for about 40 years but then started having problems with the musician's union. Eventually the Orchestra was dissolved because they couldn't meet the expenses. I will look for the book published on its 25th anniversary which I have somewhere here. I believe it was the precursor for the current Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.

I don't know where this all started. I've always been one of those people who has had definite opinions on things and been willing to voice them, but didn't really do anything about it.

Sure, I've hit auto-complete on sites that have pre-written form letters to my congressional reps or Senators, but this summer I've gotten increasingly to the point where I'm really pissed off and ready to do something about it.

Part of it is my friend Stacey, who is the most ethical person I know. She actively lives her life in a way that means she is constantly living up to her ideals. She is vegan, and not only that, is a proponent of organic foods, reduced consumerism, and environmentalism. I can't pretend she's not an inspiration and a constant "little voice" in my head as I think about what debt I owe to society in terms of making certain my voice is heard and not letting things slide because it is easier. I almost hate to quote it, because my friends will do nothing but mock my obsession, but I'm often reminded of Dumbledore's words to Harry, which I paraphrase here: "There is a time to choose what is right and what is easy." Here I begin the path to choosing what is right.

This summer, a couple notable things happened. Stacey came to visit. I've been reading more Edward Abbey, and despite his curmudgeonly, almost luddite-like writings, I feel encouraged, incited and excited to stand up and shout out. I saw SiCKO, which, while lop-sided and not wholly truthful, still packs an emotional whallop about the crap health system we have in the U.S.

I've been following the copyright for Internet radio issue, and finally today got off my ass to write my Senators and Representative to ask them to do something. (Thanks to Corey for her post here, which was the final kick in the pants.)

On top of that, an article in SF Gate today made me angry enough to do a little research about the Farm Bill that's coming up for renewal and write Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein little love letters. As I began reading various sites (see 1,2,3,4,5)  I knew I had to do something.

Here's the text of what I sent.

Dear :

I recently read an article in SFGate about the 2007 Farm Bill that motivated me to write to you.

Reading this article and conducting subsequent research leads me to many of the same conclusions expressed by various folks in this article. I have always been leery of the farm subsidies, in light of the fact that a large percentage seems to aid corporate farmers. As a vegetarian I am very conscious of the food I eat, how I allocate my caloric intake and the quality of all that I eat. Paying farmers to produce more corn, wheat and soy, only to be turned into refined products is not something I want for my fellow citizens or myself.

I am very concerned about the obesity and poor health epidemic in this country. I believe that much of this is caused by the fact that low quality calories come cheap. And they come cheap due to farm subsidies. Here in the Bay Area we celebrate the bounty of the land and benefit from a culture devoted to organic produce and esoteric fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, these are a luxury for many of my fellow Californians, who live in poverty and can’t afford to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Listening to Barbara Lee in an interview a few weeks ago, as she did an experiment living on a limited budget, it is easy to see the difficulty in maintaining healthy eating habits. Part of the Farm Bill addresses the needs of the hungry, but this should not be at the expense of nutrition.

Further, in considering the environmental impact of farming, it would be beneficial to all citizens to have access to locally grown produce, minimizing transport costs, encouraging small local growers, and organic growing.

As this comes up before the end of July, I urge you to carefully consider the intent of the Farm Bill, to structure it in a way that does help independent farmers, but that also provides an incentive to farm sustainable, healthy crops for our country.  The letter submitted by the California Food and Justice Coalition outlines sensible approaches.
 
Respectfully,

urban_mermaid

But this can't be the extent of what I do this year. Despite what I already do (from washing out plastic baggies to use them multiple times, taking public transit, and buying my clothes at Goodwill), there is more to be done. Writing letters, sending emails and making phone calls is not enough. I need to vote with my dollars. I need to recycle more (or reuse). I need to reduce my footprint. I need to figure out ways to do things that are logical, yet feed my soul.

I'm beginning this quest. And I say quest, because there is a magnificent end goal in site.