This week in the Slacktiverse, March 10th, 2013

(posted by chris the cynic, who is sorry about this being late)

The Blogaround

Catherine wrote:

Hi all,I was away last weekend, so missed out on sending you my goodies, such as they are. With this heat, and lots of long days at work, not much cooking is getting done, and I’ve been too sick to sing much…

On Cate’s Cates in the last fortnight, I’ve been to the Farmers’ Market and bought watermelons. I made cupcakes with blue curaçao icing for our work Ovarian Cancer Morning Teal, and reviewed Laura Florand’s gorgeous chocolate-and-Paris-themed romance, The Chocolate Thief. I started a new Vegetarian Food Challenge with an Easter Egg theme, and complained bitterly about vegetarian food at conferences. And today, I warded off the heat with raspberry and lavender lemonade, which is quite delicious, if I say so myself.

On Cate Sings, I’m falling in love again with The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation by Purcell – this is seriously one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written – go have a listen. I’ve also been listening to Glitter and Be Gay, and Ouvre ton Coeur, both of which ear-wormed me for three days straight, until even I was tired of them – you have been warned. And yesterday, I amused myself with some fairly scatological Mozart rounds, because they never get old…

Enjoy!

Storiteller considered the broader societal issues around her two favorite subjects this week.  In Yes We Can – Have Safe Bicycling for All, she explains why bicycling isn’t just a hobby for rich or middle class groups and in fact, is the only affordable transportation option for many people. Because everyone has the right to get back and forth to work safely, we as a society (she’s American, but it applies to all developed countries that lack it) need to support safe bicycle infrastructure and resources in all neighborhoods, no matter what the income of the folks living there.  In “I Get My Advice from the Advertising World,” she contemplates the wave of consumerism that’s sprung from the rising popularity of home gardening.  She talks about how she pushes back against the temptation to buy more and more by a Do-It-Yourself attitude and a few hard questions.

chris the cynic wrote:

This week I wrote I’m not well at the moment, which explains why I’ve been so bad at staying on top of things and also talks (first footnote) about the phenomenon in which one “hears” using parts of the body other than one’s ears. I shared an infographic comparing the cost of leaving the corporate jet loophole open vs cutting things that help real people which have been cut as a result of the sequester.

I wrote a bit of Snarky Twilight, specifically Bella pointing out in great detail by means of repeated examples how absurd it is that Edward couldn’t think of anything other than a food analogy. I also wrote what one would expect the van scene to be like if Alice actually used her power.

Things You Can Do

The Sierra Club believes there are a couple of things you can do, specifically:

—Thank President Obama for nominating clean-air champion Gina McCarthy and let him know we need to keep moving forward on climate.
—Tell President Obama to reject Keystone XL.

Representative Alen Grayson is under the impression that the sequester can be solved in one sentence and you adding your name here would help with that.

The DCCC thinks that adding your name here will aid in saving Medicare.

Cynthia Dill believes that adding your name here could help those who have been sexually assaulted in the US military.

If this list seems extremely USA-centric that’s because it is. You can help make it less so in the future if you contribute to it with things that are not about the USA.

In Case You Missed This

No news here this week. Feel free to mention anything in the comments if you think of it!

–Co-authored by the Slacktiverse Community