Root Ginger

Thanks to Jenny Wicks in 2009, I have come to realize my undeniable fascination with redheads. I think the most memorable realization about my love of redheads was when while reading Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué I had a vision of the water nymph Undine. That vision materialized the moment I saw Lily Cole - and she of course is a read head. I was smitthen...

To read about the Root Ginger project - click on the title of this post.
The Guardian article from 24 January 2009 - here.
Idea Generation Gallery - Root Ginger Programme (PDF)

Mike Rowe celebrates dirty jobs | Video on TED.com

What a great time to see to this talk.
In the dawn of The Fair Trade Cleaning Company, I must say I completely get this theory.
I have been trying to figure out a way to raise the profile of the modern cleaner, and Mike Rowe just gave me the best theory for making that happen.

Makes me think about equality between salaries in the different industries.
It is the eternally discussed minimum living wage problem, that is still unresolved... for dirty jobs.
It is the old values of healthy manual work that we have forgotten and we breed human beings that have no idea what hard work truly means.
I worked hard as a child -I volunteered to work and to help my parents. I know what hard work is - that is why I run a cleaning business not an internet company.

But I just wished society got it right too. Respect for the hard working people. Due Respect for everyone.

Mike Rowe celebrates dirty jobs | Video on TED.com

Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom Speech

Just to remind us, how lucky we are!

Jeremy Rifkin | The Empathic Civilization @Google

Empathy ... makes so much sense!

California Dreamin

My dream of California is leading me to a great thinker. To someone who has already greatly influenced me in my youth with his stories and intriguing characters in novels like ...
Burning Daylight
Call of the Wild
Martin Eden
Michael, Brother of Jerry
Smoke Bellew
The Iron Heel
The Little Lady of the Big House
The Valley of the Moon
White Fang

My greatest inspiration for visiting California has been and will always be the Valley of the Moon. London is great at describing the beauty of nature and the joys of simple life into the wild!

"I am the sailor on horseback! Watch my dust! Oh, I shall make mistakes a-many; but watch my dreams come true...Try to dream with me my dreams of fruitful acres. Do not be a slave to an old conception. Try to realize what I am after."
– Jack London
circa 1913

Jack London the Visionary

London once said, "I believe the soil is our greatest asset." These words are truer, in our current world, than ever before! On his ranch he pioneered in soil conservation, using tillage and terracing to make fruitful again the worn-out hillside lands. He raised vegetables, grains, alphalfa, grapes, fruit trees, prunes, potatoes, spineless cactus, eucalyptus trees, horses, goats, chickens, hogs, beef, dairy cattle, prize-winning livestock and cut the biggest and best hay crops in Sonoma County. Whatever London attempted, he attempted in an all-or-nothing way, and his experimental farming methods were no different.

This actually - extremely interesting and I shall research it further but on my Ultimately eco Blog - His stepsister and Ranch Superintendent, Eliza Shepard, said it best:

. . . ."Jack's ambition was to develop a model farm; one of the best all-round ranches in the state, combining a stock ranch, fruit, grain, vegetables, vineyard and the like. He would have accomplished his plan had he lived, for his enthusiasm was unquenchable. His intense energy simply rioted in work. Success seemed only to stimulate him to greater and wider efforts."

– Eliza Shepard, 1917

I am so much going to California next year.... And I will go to find Jack London, my 100 older soul brother, my Napa valley, my pinot noir, to check my Brain, my heart and expand my mind and may be my Moon valley too, but may be I need to find someone who would fight for me, you know....! aaaand my Jack London Museum

How Did Obama's inaugural speech shape up?

No inaugural address has so thoroughly rejected the political philosophy and legislative record of the previous administration. Jonathan Raban takes a close look at Barack Obama's speech...

Obama's popularity is like a curve on the stock market - but in the situation he is - you only hope he will manage to sustain good personal health and strong principles.
If I believed in god, I would have prayed for him - unfortunately, even if I did - that wouldn't help!

Some Great skiing articles in the Escape supplement of the Observer

Skiing trips that won't break the bank

Skiing's cheap and cheerful alternative to the Alps

Ski clinic: which resort is best for us?

Celebrity Face Match

I went to see Alice in Chains on Tuesday night - amazing!
Their new album is just stunning. I have yet to discover what a talent Jerry Cantrell is! I also managed to develop a fetish for his fingers - they just are really nice to look at...

But this is not about fingers - this is about faces.

Alice in Chain's drummer - Sean Kinney - well, he is suppose to be a really nice guy - very positive and playful (he showed it on the concert too) and easy going. But he also looks like Trent Reznor - another very much favourite music person of mine!

Here's the proof:
Sean Kinney

Trent Reznor

What do you think?
It's not important, but I couldn't help myself!