Location is everything, but you already knew that...

I've already raved about Walk Score, and recently the NRDC published a neat blog entry about how important it is to not only live in an eco-compatible location, but also to put your business in one.

Popsicle is Allowed

Oh wow, so much has been happening!

The Red Sox won the World Series!

Apple picking!

Apple pie baking!

Pumpkin carving!

Sarah is coming to Boston toorrow! (And so is Salman Rushdie!)

And so much more...but first...

I love the funny connections I make while studying for the Lit. GRE. I was reading A.E. Housman's poem, "When I was One-and-Twenty",

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
"Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free."
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.

when I was reminded of the a poem on a Korean notebook (title: "Popsicle Is Allowed"),

Years and years ago, when I was only seven years old I heard a wise man say,
With a sigh and sad eyes,
"Dear, give all your ice cream and popsicle
but not your heart and soul away."
But I was just only seven years old, and,
No use to talk to me...

Ahhhhh! I love it!! Back to studying now...

How to get an A for Green!

Less than two weeks ago I was at a post office in Kenmore Square. The guy ahead of me had received a package, and asked if he could leave the cardboard box there for them to recycle (he had already opened it and removed his...boardgame...). "Well you can leave it here," the kindly postal worker replied, "but it won't be recycled because we're technically on BU's campus, and BU doesn't recycle." Wha? Come on, BU!

That interchange prompted the idea in my head that someone should rate colleges according to how "green" they are. Well...someone has! The Sustainable Endowments Institute just came out with the College Sustainability Report Card, which you can download here. They rate schools in eight categories, including Food and Recycling, Climate Change and Energy, Green Building, and Investment Priorities. Who is at the top of the class? Carlton, Dartmouth, Harvard, Middlebury, University of Vermont, and University of Washington. And what score did BU get? Barely passing with a C.

Check out the descriptions of notable initiatives in each of the eight categories. Each school also gets a full-page report card that describes why it got the grade that it did.

We gon' sip Bicardi like it's Earthday

Next month I'm going to visit my friend Chandler in the Netherlands, so I'm thinking maybe I should swing by the Sustainable Dance Club. Plenty Magazine writes about it, and my absolute favorite part of the article is the mention of "party scientists." Yeah, such a thing actually exists, but only at Delft (the tech school Chandler attends).

Fresh fodder for conspiracy theorists: Dragonfly spy robots!

There's an article in the Washington Post about dragonfly spy-robots. It all proceeds just the way you think it would...

until you hit page 2 and it starts talking about CYBORG INSECTS WITH COMPUTER CHIPS IMPLANTED IN THEIR BRAINS!

In other news: If 6 pm in Boston Common is the haven of dog-owners, 1 pm on Commonwealth Ave must be the time and place where all the professional dog-walkers convene. First I saw a woman with 5 tiny spaniel-looking-things, then a guy walking SEVEN huge wolf/dog hybrids. What?

Running: An Effective Yet Dangerous Ani-Depressant

Runner's World has a very interesting article about the coupling of running and depression as seen through the eyes of (absolutely amazing and inspiring) ultra-runner Lisa Smith-Batchen.

The article discusses how exercise is a natural anti-depressant that has been shown to be more effective than pharmaceuticals. Many people (myself included) rely on running as a mood stabilizer, and it's no secret that when you exercise regularly you feel also better mentally. But... you also tend to feel down and depressed when you stop working out, effectively dropping into an exercise withdrawal. Veeeeeery interesting to see what happens when depression, obsession, addiction, parternity, and endorphins collide within Lisa Smith-Batchen's physique and psyche. It's a crazy upward downward back again spiral that makes you wonder, in spite of yourself, whether running really is a mental illness, and Smith-Batchen needs a re-diagnosis.

We'll make it I swear...

I would just like to say that at this very moment there are a bunch of drunk people outside butchering (I mean singing) Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and for some reason it is making me really happy.

More Rejection Love!

I promise I won't turn this blog into an exlusive rejection-fest, but I will post the most delicious rejection emails for your "I didn't want that job anyway!" enjoyment:

Thank you for your interest in -----------. We are in receipt of your resume. While your resume is solid, it does not strongly match our current hiring needs.

We will keep your resume on file against future hiring needs and contact you at that time.

Thank you again for your interest.

Oh man, I feel like a Victorian novelist "dashing" out the proper nouns. It is so devious.

More rejection coming soon...

Happy hunting...

The best way to kick off a weekend?

Thank you for your interest in employment at ***. We have reviewed your resume and decided to pursue other candidates whose qualifications more closely match those we are seeking for this position. We wish you the best in your employment search.

Impersonal, polite, email rejection! The ironic part is, this is one of the few jobs where I felt I my qualifications actually do "closely match those [they] are seeking." Just goes to show you...I know nothing about this "employment search" stuff...

Right on!

Alex Roth succinctly sums up why environmentalists have been notoriously unsuccessful in past decades as he attacks PETA's new anti-meat campaign. Thank you for saying what we've all been thinking!