Tsunami Debris from Japan Creeping Towards Shore

Ahhhh bliss. It’s a beautiful Friday before a loooong spring weekend. Birds are chirping, it’s sunny and warm, and- …OMFG THERE’S A GIANT ISLAND OF TOXIC DEBRIS FLOATING TOWARDS THE WEST COAST!

Photo: REUTERS

Miles of debris swept into the Pacific during the tsunami that slammed Japan in March 2011. The photo above is the largest “island” of trash and it covers 2.2 million square feet.

That’s just the biggest chunk of it. The entire mess is…well, it’s pretty big. Here’s a map of its projected path:

Photo: from The Telegraph

Trash is already starting to wash ashore.  The mass of floating debris (not including the heavy items that sank) is thought to weigh 1.5 million tons.

You can see more photos in this slideshow on The Telegraph’s website.

Scientists say the trash is “safe” and most of it will just swirl around in the ocean indefinitely, fulfilling its destiny to join the growing garbage patch in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

So nothing to fret about really. There’s tons of fresh drinking water on other planets!

Photo: Associated Press

Sustainability Starts With Small Acts of Kindness

Speaking of infographics, here’s an interesting one about how much land a family of 4 would need to sustainably produce their own food and electricity.

Infographic via ElephantJournal.com

Interesting. Two acres is less land than you might imagine. Food manufacturers would have us believe that we need to grow acres and acres of crops to mass produce food through industrial methods and that this is the correct way to feed the world’s population.

On the other hand, I do take issue with this persistent “all-or-nothing” attitude when it comes to environmentalism and sustainability. For some reason, no matter how simple or elegant the proposed solution is, people get sidetracked by fear that it will have to involve immediate, radical change.

Let’s be practical. As tempting as it may be, you don’t actually have to quit your job, sell your house and relocate to a beautiful pastoral fantasy farm just to live a more sustainable lifestyle. You can start today.

Why not start with a few small acts of kindness, like:

• Grow your favourite herbs instead of buying them?
• Grow 1 or 2 kinds of vegetable that your family loves?
• Try Meatless Mondays?
• Start composting your table scraps?
• Start charging some of your devices with small-scale solar panels from your local hardware store?

As I’ve said before, thinking you can’t grow food because you don’t own a farm is like thinking you can’t sew because you don’t own a textile factory.

You don’t need to live here to embrace sustainability.
Of course it wouldn’t hurt…
(Art:  Sunset at Riverbend Farm by Thomas Kinkade)

You don’t need 2 acres of land to live more sustainably. It doesn’t have to be hard, intimidating or expensive. It doesn’t have to wait for ‘someday.’ It just takes a bit of conscious effort to adjust your day-to-day habits.

What small acts of kindness for the planet do you include in your daily life?
What other steps could you and your family take towards greater sustainability or respect for the environment?

Infographics: Charming or Chartjunk?

‘Chartjunk’ is a term coined by Edward Tufte in his book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information published n 1983. I read the book as an undergrad during a course on qualitative and quantitative research methods. Tufte’s strict no-nonsense policy on visualizing data was clear: When you represent information in a chart or graph, avoid any splashy or cutesy graphics that aren’t necessary. In other words, don’t decorate the data. It only distracts the viewer and may even skew the information you’re trying to represent.

Tufte’s Worst Nightmare (Source)

That’s More Like It (Source)

Needless to say, a lot has changed since 1983. Thanks to the internet, average people now share and consume mind-boggling amounts of information every day. In the midst of this information overload, eye-catching infographics have emerged as a popular way to break through the clutter. They’re especially effective on social media platforms where they can easily go viral.

You can find a brief history of infographics, represented in an infographic, here.

I find myself wondering what Tufte would have to say about the popularity of infographics. Are they just glorified chartjunk? Or are they an extremely effective and entertaining tool for communicating data?

It helps to realize that the audience Tufte had in mind was quite different than the average Twitter user, and his advice was geared more towards formal presentations of data to business executives, policy-makers, or anyone who had to make a seriously big decision based on the facts at hand.

It’s common sense really. If there are lives or millions of dollars at stake, you’ll probably want to avoid any cartoony graphics on your bar chart. And unless the goal is to have your superiors laugh at you, it’s best not to make your revenue report look like giant cartoon pencils, bottles of wine, or people covered in weird stripy plastic body wrap.

The infographics popular today are pretty much ideal for social networks: they’re shareable bite-sized nuggets of infotainment designed for fleeting attention spans.

When done well, they can translate large amounts of abstract data into quick, easy to understand terms for the average non-researcher. When done badly, they’re either confusing or just plain goofy.

The infographic below by a UK health food retailer to promote tea is pretty bad. I especially love the oddly arranged bloodshot eyeballs to represent caffeine levels, and the images of salt and butter to help explain the complicated concepts of “salt” and “butter.”

Sitting Down is Killing You is a recent example that’s visually engaging and to-the-point but packs in some sobering statistics, a clear message and specific advice:

So are even good infographics annoying chartjunk, or are they great examples of succinct, engaging digital communications? Are they the best of both worlds, or the worst combination of the two?

Pinning Potential: How to Use Pinterest Creatively

Pinterest is the latest darling of the social networking world. It functions a bit like Twitter and Facebook – you post things; ‘Like,’ re-post and comment on posts; follow people, etc. – but unlike other social networks, Pinterest is all about the visuals.

Users create Boards organized by theme or topic, and ‘pin’ images to each board. Each image links back to the original web source, be it an online clothing store, a recipe blog, or a do-it-yourself instructional video.

My original source of pinspiration: the bulletin board of randomness above my desk.

The site is very popular with women. But wait, aren’t men supposed to be ‘more visual’? Apparently not. While text-based Twitter has mostly male users, Pinterest is a huge hit with the ladies.

In short, Pinterest is a window-shopper’s dream. This is where magpies meet shiny things. Women flock here to plan their weddings, get home decor ideas, and find fashion inspiration. It’s all free, but Pinterest does help buyers meet sellers: Include a price in a pin description and a price tag will appear on the image, which is then featured in the Gifts section of the site.

Besides the ‘want that’ flagging and fanciful shoe-gazing, the site also appeals to a nerdy urge to collect and organize things. You may spend hours sorting random images into categories. If that isn’t dorky enough, there’s an entire Geek category to browse!

At its girliest and nerdiest, Pinterest is like a neverending web-wide version of Animal Crossing.

You remember Animal Crossing, don't you?

But there is a lot to learn too, from how to peel a kiwi the RIGHT way and how to get more out of Google to how to conceal a handgun. There really is something for everyone. Pinterest is full of useful DIY and money-saving tips, projects to try, and ways to entertain your kids. So it’s not only a visually appealing catalog tailored to your own tastes and interests, it’s also endlessly useful.

In fact, the site has a lot of potential uses that have yet to really catch on. Forward-thinking businesses are paying attention and many have created Pinterest accounts.

What I’d like to see are more creative uses that don’t have anything to do with shopping or sales. What about…

• ACTIVISTS: Want to build a case for your cause?
  Try posting: articles, infographics, pamphlets, photos or videos that send a message.
• FUNDRAISERS: Want to raise money for your organization?
  Try posting: links to your online fundraising stars, reasons to donate, upcoming events or sales that support your charity.
• STUDENTS: Want to organize your research sources?
  Try posting: books you’ve read or need to read, articles, academic journals, or other random biblio-graphics.
• NEWS JUNKIES: Want to document a news story or political issue over time?
  Try posting: daily links to news articles, editorials or blogs about the topic as it develops.

You can also share Pinterest boards to collaborate with other users. What about…

• FAMILIES: Want to plan your next vacation or family outing?
  Try posting: tourist attractions, things to do around town, places you’d like to visit.
• CREATIVES & COWORKERS: Want your team to brainstorm on visuals for a creative project?
  Try posting: inspirational art, drawings, or concepts.

Do you have any ideas about how Pinterest could or should be used? Please share them below.

Feel free to check out my Pinterest account if you like. And happy Pinning!

Declutter Your Life One Day at a Time

Here’s a lovely thing:

MySimplerLife.com has a downloadable 2012 calendar with one daily tidying tip per day. I love this! Breaking down the not-so-fun chore of organizing messy spaces (and keeping them organized) into fast and easy challenges makes it a lot more rewarding.

Visit MySimplerLife.com to download the 2012 Declutter & Organize Calendar.

If that’s not enough, you can also download their 2011 Declutter & Organize Calendar!

What tricks or tools do you use to keep motivated when there’s work to be done but you’d rather have fun? And when you are motivated, how do you keep that momentum going without burning out?

Spring Cleaning: The Purse Purge

For someone who is not big on the whole idea of carrying a purse everywhere, I sure know how to stuff mine to the brim. There’s a greeting card joke that women’s purses get bigger as they get older. At this rate I will need a suitcase by the time I turn 50.

Or one of these monstrosities.

In the spirit of spring cleaning during some unseasonably warm weather we’re having in Toronto and elsewhere, I finally got around to cleaning my purse out.

Here’s a rough idea of what I found in various pockets, and lost in the inner lining:

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

• wallet
• day planner
• keys
• bus pass
• cell phone
• iPod

THE NICE-TO-HAVES

• a pack of gum
• small lip gloss
• Advil
• facial blotting tissues
• a knitted toque

TOTALLY RANDOM

• a pair of earplugs
• 2 restaurant candies
• a calculator & pen set (freebie promo)
• a zipper pull that had broken off the purse
• 18 cents in change
• a purple pen cap
• a single hair pin

I suppose I’ve heard of crazier things coming out of a handbag, but still, who came up with the idea that stashing your stuff in a bag was a great way to organize things? Purses are annoying to carry and they never have enough pockets.

Here’s a much better idea:

Women's Trench Coat from SeV via ThinkGeek.com

This stylish trench coat has EIGHTEEN pockets!!  If I didn’t have reservations about buying clothes without trying them on, I’d probably have one already.

My inner nerd loves that it’s a jacket that needs its own filing system. My inner tomboy loves the idea of finally ditching this cumbersome purse habit. And who can resist when something strikes a great balance between aesthetics and practicality?

I guess with summer on the way and coat weather quickly disappearing, I’ll just have to settle for one of these.

Am I the only woman who would rather ditch the handbag habit altogether?

Women’s Day, Women’s Art

A couple of years ago, I was invited to participate in a local women’s ‘round robin’ art group. Every few weeks we get together to socialize and exchange projects, each of us adding our work to a collaborative piece on a different theme. The group has done altered books, written journals, and this year we decided on something more three dimensional – art boxes.

Mixed Media Dollhouses by Tally Oliveau & Julie Molina

Inspired by the book Mixed-Media Dollhouses by Tally Oliveau & Julie Molina, we each took turns sending the group home with empty boxes and a new inspirational theme. The results have been beautiful, hilarious, illuminating, and just plain cool.

As if being part of the group wasn’t great enough, one of our art pieces has been included in an exhibition featuring Toronto women artists as part of International Women’s Day. The inspirational topic for the piece? GENDER! (Talk about ‘right up my alley.’)

EDIT: Here’s a pic of our display:

(Mine is at top right. It reads "beauty is genderless.")

Besides our ’round robin’ contribution, the show features art by Patricia Phelan and participants in the expressive arts group at Sheena’s Place, plus work by Yvonne Villeneuve, Meredith Viner, Rheta Fines, Bonnie MacKenzie and Sara MacHin.

A Gigantic Tear... by Meredith Viner

Tough As Nails by Yvonne Villeneuve

The opening night is TOMORROW (Friday March 3rd 2nd) from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Wise Daughters Craft Market.

What an honour to have a piece of my art included in this exhibition!

More details on the exhibit and launch on the Wise Daughters website.