Lightsaber Chopsticks

Finally!

And you know how I feel about chopsticks. They would be better if they weren’t made of plastic, but if you’re gonna reuse them instead of throwing away 25 billion disposable chopsticks a year, I am down.

Ironic Hipster T Shirt of the Day: Mic Arsenal

All I need is one, wait make that seven, mics???

Baileys Crying Teacup by (maybe) Helen Hunt

Not really sure where I got this teacup, but I use it everyday for my morning, afternoon and night coffee. It “cries” coffee tears when I spill, which always brings me a lot of joy, it looks like it was designed by Helen Hunt judging from the signature on the back? Bottom line, I could never, ever throw it away because I love it so much.

Designers, more weird, creepy sentiment-evoking stuff like this please!

: helen hunt signature?

Feeling It: Lara Miller Chelly Dress

The perfect punchy pop of color with a racy open back. Plus, the shape is super flattering if you’re sporting a little belly like I am right now. (via inhabitat.com)

This, Too, Seems Wrong

Hello Kitty AK-47: Is This Really Necessary?

It has a “hand-crocheted shoulder-stock muffler and the anodized titanium plating.” Found myself wanting it for a second until I realized that I don’t have an extra $1,072.95 to spend on food, let alone an assault rifle.

Amy’s Ongoing Birthday Week(s)!

Lil found the perfect fancy restaurant for Amy to flaunt her $1000 dress - Aureole. They are having their soft-opening right now and are hidden at a most unlikely location. I recommend going now before people find out about it!

: Amy's self-styled hair masterpiece

: Chinese chin action

: A cauliflower soup

: Lots of breads

: A steak tartare with faux "egg"

: To die for diver scallop "sandwich" with pan-seared foie gras and a savory sauce

: Cat's crispy fried crab with dollops of sauce.

: Lil and I both got Aureole's Lobster vs. Pork Belly

: Amy and Cat had tender rib-eye with "the creamiest mashed potatoes ever."

: Helen's crispy, light sea bass

: Happy Birthday babe!

: Soft, rich cornbread souffle

: Chef Christopher Lee doesn't seem to mind taking this pic with us.

: Amy & Cat

: Amy & Cat

: Lil and me

: I am astounded.

Kanye West Interns at Gap

So if the devil wear Prada and Adam Eve wear nada
I’m in between, just way more fresha
With way less effort
Cuz when you try hard, that’s when you die hard

Or at least that’s what he said before, but Kanye West seems to be trying pretty darn hard! Just when you thought (again) that he was a pompous ass, he goes and starts doing something that makes you think he deserves to feel that way. Word on the street is that Mr. West is working as a humble intern to Gap’s creative director Patrick Robinson and learning the tricks of the trade so that he can start his own line.

I’m continuously impressed by Kanye and follow a lot of the advice that he gives in his book. It’s highly possible that his new line is going to be out of this world just like everything else he does. Any chance it will be sustainable?

Via InStyle

Cuteness for 5th of July

Why That Triangle Arrow Recycling Symbol is a Piece of Garbage

The Society of the Plastics Industry developed a resin identification code (that triangle shape with the arrows chasing each other) in 1988 as a way to get us to recycle, but most people do not know that the mark itself is pretty much meaningless. If you’re washing and recycling takeout containers or other plastics that have the “recycler’s bermuda triangle” on them, you might just be acting a fool.

Luckily, design professor KT Meaney and her students have come up with some way better, less retarded graphic solutions to show people whether or not what they are buying can be recycled. Remember, we vote with our cash money so boycotting manufacturers and food distributors who use styrofoam and non-recyclable plastics is the best way to tell them that they need to check themselves before they wreck themselves.

Meat section postcard (Design: David Mitchell)

Smart meat-section trompe l’oeil postcard alerts consumers that styrofoam packaging sucks, without discrediting the delicious product inside of it.

Coupon broadsheet (Design: Britt Cobb)

This supersmart flyer organizes weekly specials into those which have recyclable containers and those that don’t.

THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU BUY NEW THINGS - YOU COULD LOSE 1 MILLION BUCKS

I have no sympathy for you. Okay, maybe a little. Seems kind of dirty and annoying to look for stuff in a dump. But anyways, serves you right.

Well, this is a modern-day Aesop’s fable if my bloodshot eyes ever saw one. Annat, a well-meaning Israeli lady decided to throw out her mom’s old mattress and get her a new one. Little did she know that the old one had her mom’s life savings of about 1 MEELLION dollars stuffed inside of it.

Moral of the story: Use the things you have, man! I’ve been sleeping on the same mattress for almost 20 years now and my bed is an old bookcase that my dad bought at an antiques auction for like $30. I feel wonderful except for a few excruciating back spasms now and then.

via CNN

is global warming giving us the flu?

just read this on no impact man, and still have to process it.

Yeah, really. We’re all going to get sicker as the ice caps melt according to a new story in Wired (photo courtesy of them, by the way).

Why?

Well, to put it succinctly, in the words of the blog What Ya Thinkn?:

Humans keep relying on non-renewable sources.
Use of these sources leads to rapid greenhouse emissions as is the case at the moment.
Sunlight gets blocked and the north and south pole start feeling the heat.
Ice melts.
Frozen influenza strains from years and years ago come to life, ready to get in contact with a living creature.
Bird A comes along doing its usual thing.
Bird A catches the strain.
Bird A thinks about migrating, kinda getting cold here it thinks.
Flies to one of the unlucky countries, I’m guessing Mexico.
Takes a dump on one of the pedestrains aka Patient 0, boom.
Pandemic starts.

iunika’s new netbook is solar-powered and super cheap

iunika netbook, solar-powered netbook, laptop, cheap laptop, sun powered, green laptop

iunika’s new gyy netbooks are perfect if you need extra battery juice on the go. just expose the solar panels that com embedded on the case, and you’re ready to rock. the capabilities are what you would expect from other netbooks (no hard core gaming or graphics editing), but did i mention this thing is cheap??? $180 for this solar-powered laptop with other impressive sustainable components like a case composed of bioplastics and biodegradable materials made from starch and cellulose.

photos via inhabitat

new york to ban bottled water

good news for every new yorker who has had “greenis envy” towards places like san francisco, japan and canada:

governor david a paterson has announced plans to ban the purchase of bottled water by state-owned agencies.

this makes so much sense since new york tap water is considered the “champagne of all waters” and has been said to taste on par with, if not better than, bottled water.

state agencies will be expected to phase out their consumption of bottled water over the next six months.

governor paterson said the move would save the state money as well as having obvious environmental benefits.

the move will make New York the second state, after Illinois, to scrap the use of bottled water.

another reason why queens is better than brooklyn: studio square beer garden in astoria

did you know that queens used to have roughly 300 beer gardens? how did that crazy robust selection get pared down to a measly 1?!!!

historians blame both prohibition and people being afraid to patronize places that celebrated german culture. luckily for us (largely due to the movie “beerfest”, we’re over that period of temporary insanity and ready to rock with a second beer garden opening in astoria this thursday! studio square is about 30,000 sq. feet and seats about 1,000 people. i wondered how the space, having such a large footprint, would be offsetting some of the enormous waste that it is sure to be creating and gave them a call. the friendly guy who answered the phone wasn’t sure, but he referred me to the owners, so i’ll be reporting as soon as i hear back.

while it’s not clear whether astoria’s existing beer garden, bohemian beer hall, is threatened by the new addition or not (if anything, they might be somewhat relieved at a second spot to clear up congestion? - okay, probably not), i’m hoping that if studio square does have more sustainable practices, us beerhugging nyc treehuggers can show it some love, carrot mob style.

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why is this a site?

swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.