Sunday, 22 February 2009
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Safari, Spotify & the Story of Stuff
Safari
I'm experimenting with using Safari instead of IE. It's better in some ways (those graphics I posted actually look right viewed in Safari) but not so good in others (I haven't found certain toolbars/options that I have set up on IE). Overall, I quite like it but I'm not fully switched, at least not yet.
Spotify
Free music streaming in the UK. I've been using this for a few weeks. There's a few audio adverts but they really don't intrude, they just get put in between two songs every now and then (I'd say only about 3 an hour, max). www.spotify.com
The Story of Stuff
This video is about 20 minutes long, but I really enjoyed watching it. It was course reading for one of my modules this semester (videos as reading = excellent). Anyway, there's one or two aspects of it that I didn't like but overall I think there's a lot of food for thought there.
The main point of the video is how much waste our consumer culture creates, and how much of this is intentional. It also talks about the 'hidden cost' of a lot of the cheap goods we buy and states "We don't actually pay for what we buy". It's true and it's horrific. So much stuff, cheap and expensive, is made by businesses with unethical practices. Honestly, it seems little better than stealing to me. And yet...what will it take to get away from this? Fair Trade and such initiatives are a step in the right direction, but there's still so much more to do.
I hate that my lifestyle is built on the exploitation of the Earth and many of it's people. I love the luxuries I enjoy, but the reality is that western lifestyles are not sustainable, and frankly, aren't fair. So what can I do about it...?
"I know I've smiled upon injustice as I've washed my hands of blame
and in my selfishness I've lived for all that I could gain
While those with nothing never once complained"
-Pete James
I'm experimenting with using Safari instead of IE. It's better in some ways (those graphics I posted actually look right viewed in Safari) but not so good in others (I haven't found certain toolbars/options that I have set up on IE). Overall, I quite like it but I'm not fully switched, at least not yet.
Spotify
Free music streaming in the UK. I've been using this for a few weeks. There's a few audio adverts but they really don't intrude, they just get put in between two songs every now and then (I'd say only about 3 an hour, max). www.spotify.com
The Story of Stuff
This video is about 20 minutes long, but I really enjoyed watching it. It was course reading for one of my modules this semester (videos as reading = excellent). Anyway, there's one or two aspects of it that I didn't like but overall I think there's a lot of food for thought there.
The main point of the video is how much waste our consumer culture creates, and how much of this is intentional. It also talks about the 'hidden cost' of a lot of the cheap goods we buy and states "We don't actually pay for what we buy". It's true and it's horrific. So much stuff, cheap and expensive, is made by businesses with unethical practices. Honestly, it seems little better than stealing to me. And yet...what will it take to get away from this? Fair Trade and such initiatives are a step in the right direction, but there's still so much more to do.
I hate that my lifestyle is built on the exploitation of the Earth and many of it's people. I love the luxuries I enjoy, but the reality is that western lifestyles are not sustainable, and frankly, aren't fair. So what can I do about it...?
"I know I've smiled upon injustice as I've washed my hands of blame
and in my selfishness I've lived for all that I could gain
While those with nothing never once complained"
-Pete James
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