Lesson 51: Eat Your Vitamins!
So I just had minor toe surgery and I'm learning how neglecting my belly has affected other parts besides me going hungry. Because I don't eat that much meat, my nails are thin (most vegetarians' are) and contributed to me completely losing one of my toenails.

Let me just say it: They lied that it wouldn't hurt and I didn't need to prepare!

So I called up Uncle Chuck, a doctor in L.A., who told me to take 500 units of vitamin c, 400 of vitamin e, take some zinc and some vitamin b complex. My acupuncturist also said I should be regularly taking calcium (through tofu, yogurt, and green veggies) and vitamin d. We can't add any more bone mass, but we can prevent losing it!

I also altered my podiatrist's recommendations and have been soaking my feet in epsom salt with a dash of tea tree oil (rather than scrubbing with hydrogen peroxide) twice a day.

So with this painful lesson, I'm committing myself to eating healthier!

posted at 12:57 PM

 
Lesson 50: The Coup's at it Again
While Michael Moore is dropping knowledge on the Bush regime, the Coup revitalizes "Ride the Fence," off their Party Music album, with an anti-oppression/pro-social justice animated video.

posted at 2:25 PM

 
Lesson 49: Biking
I didn't know much about bike helmets, but I learned one important thing: you have to replace it if you crash or you drop it. The foam that protects your head crushes a bit on impact. But here's more info.

Along with their awesome bike share program, Toronto has some great resources. Like how to bike in poor weather, preventing theft, and tips on how to be a bike commuter.
posted at 4:16 PM

 
Lesson 48: Street Art
I think there's going to be a bunch of anti-war work like this up thanks to Clamor's Make Art Not War poster-set.
posted at 1:51 PM

 
Lesson 47: Soundwalking
Canada rocks it in terms of sound art. I just had an amazing time there, inspired by many different styles of audio pieces. One interesting thing folks do is SOUNDWALKING, in fact there were three scheduled at the conference. To prepare myself, I read up on the act of soundwalking.

I went on the one led by Hildegard Westercamp, an amazing sound artist. Here's an article she wrote about soundwalks.
posted at 2:48 PM

 
Lesson 46
I just earned a quick $150! The secret? Show up as late as possible for your focus group. If they overbook, you will be excused and still get paid for the full amount of the meeting!

Thanks to Virgil for getting me to sign up in the first place.
posted at 12:51 PM

 
Lesson 45: Media City
A wonderful San Francisco moment happened over a year ago as I walked home from work and ran into a gaggle of folks gathered around the gas station next to Cafe Du Nord. Someone set up a speaker system and video projector for a public viewing of Bush's State of the Union address, San Francisco style!

They tilted the camera so that he was either big foreheaded or thick necked. Meanwhile the crowd shouted leftist heckles. Thanks to running into eddie.com, I found a link from that event.
posted at 4:16 PM

 
Lesson 44: Clear Channel
Wow! They might actually get busted!
posted at 2:52 PM

 
Lesson 43: In Passing
Even though I didn't have cable, my uncle did and I wanted my MTV. I remember JJ Jackson, possibly from one of his L.A. radio gigs, too. Reading this article in his passing makes me nostalgic.
posted at 10:58 AM

 
Lesson 42: Bike Safety
My nightmare finally came true: I crashed on a busy street (Divisadero) and fell INTO traffic. In my bad fantasy, I'd fall into traffic and then get smooshed by oncoming traffic. In reality, it was far less dramatic. A red light turning green, me squeezing through a non-existent path between the right lane and the parked cars, my bike and the parked car's side mirror colide, and I'm on the ground blocking traffic.

The left turn car was sweet and asked twice if I was ok while I laid on the street in embarrassment.

Looks like I shouldn't have flaked out on the bike safety class that conflicted with my photography class!
posted at 11:33 AM