Sassy Auntie

Granola Resources/Influences:

(scroll down for new additions; not a date specific page)

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Antioch University Seattle (http://www.antiochsea.edu/). Although I’m not really into giving props to something that left me more than neck-deep in student loans for a worthless fraking masters degree, I learned a lot about Ecological Planning and Whole Systems Design, in other words, Blah Blah Blah Blah.

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Design Trek (http://www.designtrek.net/). A wonderful resource for all things that have to do with using nature for design or whatever. It’s done by a professor I used to have, and it’s great for books and news having to do with all kinds of very specific resources regarding green building, community empowerment, etc.

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Permaculture (http://www.permacultureactivist.net). It’s what we should be doing. We’ve all gotten stupid. This is a resource/news site that has many institutes or organizations doing permaculture in their own ways. I know it’s what rich green people like to get into, but there are real values and tools that we can all incorporate in our lives. Soap box.

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Flor (http://www.flor.com/). An ecological flooring company with the parent company of Interface (http://www.interfacesustainability.com/), which is one of the first sustainable corporations, and the flooring is gorgeous and way cool to put together. If I could roll around on a rug from them, I would totally bliss-out sans the aid of a cocktail and yer mama.

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We’Moon (http://www.wemoon.ws/). They do a calendar/planner that has all you need to know about where the planets and moon are every day of the year, plus other neato stuff. Lots of Womyn empowering art, poems, common sense we’ve forgotten, and all that shit. Thanks Ms. Jebus Kennedy.

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Pasado’s Safe Haven (http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/). One of the best rescue/sanctuary/animal advocacy non-profits in the world. I even got the feral cat/kittens spayed at their Mobile Spay Station. I cried on the secret tour of the sanctuary, mostly because all the animals were so (fat) happy together.

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IRIS: Interface Research & Integrated Systems (http://emerging-orgs.wetpaint.com/). A socially conscious think-tank I was a part of for a while. Commons, Whole Systems Design, responsible investing, and a bag of chips. Really awesome ideas coming out of there.
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Overland Equipment (http://www.overlandequipment.com/) is a fantastic company from my hometown Chico, CA (holla). They make bags. Yeah bags! I have many weaknesses, and bags is (are?) one. Dude check that shit out – they are bad-ass. Especially the “Eco-tility Collection.” When I have income I’m totally going to get one. I’ll take the Boulder please kthanks. This is it.

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Boise Drum Central (http://www.boisedrumcentral.com/). I realize this could be put under the “Music” Page, but I don’t know, there’s so much hippie involved here. They have it going on, and I’m going on Fridays to the drum circle now that I’m back. I went to the circles, workshops, and some classes when I was in my early 20’s which was like a decade ago or something. It’s probably one of the few long-term organized community hand drumming set-ups in the whole world.

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Natracare – Lady products (http://www.natracare.com/). Why do you put bleach in your peash? Here is a quote from Natracare’s site that will scare you to death:

Many women are unaware that rayon and rayon-cotton blends are widely used in the manufacture of tampons. Rayon is commonly chlorine-bleached, and is a highly absorbent fibre. Dioxin, a toxic carcinogen, is a by-product of all chlorine bleaching methods and is also found throughout the environment in varying levels as a by-product of pesticide spraying and pollution from incinerators. Dioxin has been found to collect in the fatty tissues of animals, including humans and should, therefore, be a real concern for women. Published scientific reports have shown that evidence is growing that even low levels of dioxins may be linked to cancer, endometriosis, low sperm counts and immune system suppression. Considering a woman may use as many as 11,000 tampons in her lifetime, she may be subjecting herself to additional dioxin exposure. (http://www.natracare.com/products/feminine_products.htm, retrieved March, Two-thousand-and-eight)

Also, 11,000 tampicos?! That’s like one million dollars with inflation over 30 years! Or something! Just think – your uterus is worth a million bucks regardless if you spawn kittens.

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Insitebuilders (http://insitebuilders.com/) “all things small, simple, and sustainable.” While I lived at the cabin I became obsessed with designing a tiny livable green space to build someday in my fantasy life (fantasy: many acres, small self-sustaining cabin, rescued animals in a barn, your mother next to me). Just check out the resources page – it turns me on. Dude, just look at the m-house. I promise it’s rad. And Tumbleweed Houses. How very tiny and functional!!! Ooh look at Shelter-kit. Build it yerself! Also, The Small House Society, which is “A Voice for the Small House Movement,” is a terrific resource.

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Mother Earth News (http://www.motherearthnews.com/). Oh the articles, so many on-line articles! Right there, all current, about topics! Having to do with making the Earth better! “The Original Guide to Living Wisely.” I’m not sure about that claim, but reading the articles is like the good part of being in school, without tuition! Nerd. I’m particularly into the Sustainable Farming topic for some wild and crazy reason.

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Artist Chris Jordon (http://www.chrisjordan.com/) depicts in a very real way how insanely wasteful we are. Fascinating and shocking. All of the sudden reducing and reusing seem way better than recycling. For those of you who don’t even recycle, you’re going to hell with all the non-Battlestar watchers, a-holes.

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Vandana Shiva - She’s a PhD from India, a goddess – I say this with true belief – A Goddess here on Earth. Mostly she’s going around saying things and writing things (have to sign up to see articles, or look at published works on the wiki if you’re lazy) about the depletion of Earth’s resources, mainly on the food and water front, and mainly where it concerns people who don’t have much say in corporations messing their lives up forever. The impacts of irresponsible globalization (is there any other way of globalizin’ except for irresponsible?) that most western white folks wouldn’t think about or want to believe.

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Badger Mountain Vineyard – (www.badgermtnvineyard.com) – Loving the whorganic wines. So much easier for your body to deal with (less impact on your peash’s Ph and on dehydration), easy, wet, and better for the Earth. Mmmm, so nice. Somebody order me some of them boxes for my b-day kthanksbye.

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The Cat House on the Kings – (http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/) – Talk about the ultimate cat & dog sanctuary. Wow. Six acres, many years, thousands of placed cats, and the lady ain’t even crazy. Apparently the place doesn’t stink either. Make sure you watch the video about it, it’s very worth seeing.

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Coffee! Do not talk to me in the morning until I’ve had my Caffe Ibis (http://www.caffeibis.com/). I found it at the hoity toity Co-Op, and just the smells from the different kinds of Caffe Ibis melt me to a puddle on the floor. I particularly like the Cafe Femenino kinds. They are really careful about certifying it organic, fair trade, blah blah whatever school of thought actually gets the real people paid. I’m dubious because Caffe Ibis is based in UTAH! of all places, but whatever, I’ll trust.

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