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once upon and time in knoxville

11/1/2018

Funny how life goes. I was given this film because of a musical job I did. It was made for nothing on a recycled camera about a bloke in Knoxville, Tennessee who lives in a different way. Rollo Sullivan has created a community out of scavenged and recycled building materials and lives an off-grid lifestyle.

I want to travel to most places but I have to say that Knoxville itself is not high up on my list. Rollo tells us about the nuclear waste and landfill and traffic and parking lots and pollution and it sounds awful. There are amazing shots of the freeways crossing in all directions overhead with thundering traffic sounds so close to where people are expected to live.

Rollo also has some great tales to tell. The low-fi filming techniques and the sound track of folk fiddle music add to this other-worldly experience that seems so far from city living. But an experience that is actually hugely relevant to us all. It's not very often that you have a 'sunlight through the clouds' moment, but Rollo seems to have the ability to put into words (and practice) ideas of a more sustainable life. As is says at the start of the film:

"This film is about the future"

I thoroughly recommend watching this. For the message, for the film-making and for the smile-inducing music.

Buy your own copy of Once Upon a Time in Knoxville in it's sustainable and recyclable cardboard case by clicking here.

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Cd Reviews From MusicWeb international

8/1/2018

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Want to read about geeky music things? My writing skills extend to reviewing.Click here to visit MusicWeb International and my latest published review. (Find the unfortunate typo and comment below......)

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Coffee just got cheaper

5/1/2018

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Today MPs in the UK voted to introduce a so called 'latte levy' to discourage the use of disposable coffee cups. With Starbucks and Costa already offering customers 25p off their favourite beverage, Pret have just upped their game. They have just announced that they're now offering a whopping 50p off! My usual coffee choice (soy filter) is now going to cost me just 49p. There has never been a better time to own your own mug. My favourite? ...

The Highlander Thermal Mug

Highlander Thermal Mug

As a busy Londoner with a variable schedule I often drop into cafes for WiFi and caffeine between work commitments. I needed a cup that wasn't going to hinder my life by leaking, being too big to fit in my bag or being annoying in any other way. The highlander thermal mug fits the bill nicely.

This mug has a screw on lid that fits tightly (meaning no leaking in my bag as I run for the train).
It keeps drinks hot, reputedly for 12hrs but my coffee never lasts that long as I rely on caffeine to fuel my energetic lifestyle.
It happily holds 330ml of liquid (enough for all the small size cup servings in all the chain coffee companies) and fits in the bottle holder on the side of my bag, thus allowing me to reach for it while striding through crowds of tourists in central London.
Its sleek metallic design makes me look like I mean business as I avoid eye contact with everyone on the tube.

At Starbucks and Costa it would only take you about 24 cups to pay off one mug and start making a profit. At Pret - a mere 12 uses! Invest in one for yourself and not only will you look stylish, businesslike and save the environment but you'll save money too. Everyone's a winner!
Click the imagine above or the link below to buy your very own.

Highlander Thermal Mug

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Why it's ok to not be vegan

2/1/2018

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Ok, slightly controversial title. I don't want to wind anyone up or cause offence, I'm just going to write what I think.

January marks the start of Veganuary - an initiative to encourage people to try a vegan diet for a month and see how awesome they feel. 2018 sees the biggest uptake so far, with thousands of people wanting to give it a try. This is great! There are so many reasons to eat a plant-based diet which I don't need to talk about here. But how many of these New Year's vegans will continue to be vegan after January? And how many will last the month? And does it really matter?

I watched a very interesting video today, Sarah Richard tries to live an entire week without plastic. Watch her story here
With all the plastic packaging around, even eating is incredibly difficult. Sarah's lesson from this is that it just isn't practical to live without plastic all the time, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to reduce what we use. (Refuse the plastic straw people, please! Can't live without straws? Suck on these reusable beauties instead.)

I read a book by Glenn Livingston where he points out that, just as you wouldn't smash out all your teeth if one tooth needs pulling, just because you slip up with your decision (this was about dieting to lose weight) doesn't mean you haven't achieved and succeeded to come degree. If you can't manage being vegan all the time then most of the time is still better than none of the time.

'Flexitarian' - what a ridiculous word! Or what about 'vegivore'?! These terms are both supposed to be applied to vegetarians that sometimes eat meat. What if we just didn't put labels on people? 'Hi, I'm Hannah and I'm a person that eats food.' 'Oh hi Hannah, I'm a person that eats food too.'

Don't misunderstand me. I think everyone should consume fewer animal products for the sake of the environment etc. etc. However, I would much rather someone had a meat-free day once a week than didn't do anything at all. Environmental issues are all of our problem, if we all make small changes and talk openly and positively about what we can do then we will move forward together.

Here is some wonderful vegan food to inspire your next meal :)

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once upon and time in knoxville

Cd Reviews From MusicWeb international

Coffee just got cheaper

Why it's ok to not be vegan

Hannah the traveller

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