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sslog in [poor] translation
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French
German
Italian
Portugese
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sean was in
chicago
hong kong
london
los angeles
milan
new york
ottawa
portland, or
san diego
san francisco
seattle
steilacoom
sydney
tokyo
vancouver, bc
victoria, bc

plans
9/24-26...los angeles
10/11-12...austin
10/17-19...san francisco
11/4-6...los angeles
11/7-9...san francisco
11/10-14...los angeles
11/27-12/3...milan

confessions
1. Hummers may be major gas guzzlers, but I love the big race H2 spot, sign me up for a go-cart version
2. love the 'wildlife' DSW spots too
3. I'm a huge Jesse James/Monster Garage fan

seasonal highlights: old sslog, Bioneers, Grist, BSR, Milan, UNICEF...

monday, december 15 | Spending a lot of time volunteering at the UNICEF gift wrap center at Westlake Center. I've done the gift wrap gig for over five years now and continue to really enjoy it. I read in our little notes binder that the Gates just gave another $27 Million to several agencies, including UNICEF, for vaccines.

monday, december 8 | Had tea with Bonnie Robbins and a long-time friend from China today, Wen Bo, a well-respected environmentalist in China and now China regional advisor for Global Green Grants. I met Wen Bo first through the International Snow Leopard Trust years ago so it's great to hear about his latest projects and what's going on in China.

tuesday, december 2 | With all the conferencing done, I've had several great tourist days here in Milan. Walked on the roof of Il Duomo, spent some time viewing Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper and did quite a bit of touring in the shopping district. One amazing find...a natural food store RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER from my hotel. Another interesting observation: natural food stores smell the same around the world. Must be all the aromatherapy goodies.

saturday, november 29 | Another great day of conferencing. I spent most of the morning in the networking session where I was absolutely amazed by the amount of incredible sustainable design networks up and running in Europe. I'm looking forward to corresponding with many of them as soon as I return to the States. I think the fact that there are so many efforts underway in the design world is very encouraging, the challenge will be to also increase consumer demand and interest. Post conference, I went for a stroll around the Sforza Castle and through, the Duomo (which, along with La Scala, is under major renovations) and then the primo shopping district along Via Montenepoleono.

friday, november 28 | I don't know why people told me Milan wasn't a beautiful city, because it certianly is...at least to this Seattlite. I think any European city would come across pretty well though. Milan may not have the over the top scenes of Florence or Venice, but it's old buildings, apartment courtyards and mobs of scooters are pretty darn romantic. I decided to walk to the conference this morning, about a 40 minute walk, so was able to see a lot of the central part of the city.

The conference, so far, is incredible. I have discovered several things: 1. sustainability faces the same challenges wherever you are in the world, 2. "greener" food is exactly the same around the world (humus, rice dishes, etc.), very tasty mind you, just the same as I've had in Seattle, NY, LA, etc. I'm thinking full on Italian tomorrow night, and 3. Italians like are quite vociferous. I've met design folks from all over the world already, China, Brazil, Australia, etc. MANY amazing project!

wednesday, november 26 | Yes sslog fans, Sean is off to Milan to check out the Sustainable Everyday exhibit at Il Triennale Museum and then attend the Visions of Possible Worlds conference also at the Museum. Stay tuned for updates live from Italia.

tuesday, november 4 | | No sslog this week in favor of my Dear Diary entries at Grist Magazine...do stop by and check it out.

wednesday, october 29 | I am totally loving Fashion Rocks, a fashion-music extravaganza that benefits the Prince's Trust, a UK nonprofit that helps young people get and keep their lives on track.

tuesday, october 28 | Dude, I was so impressed that the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy guys got their latest straight man to donate his golden locks to Locks of Love. Loved the Fab Five before, even more now.

monday, october 27 | Whoa...how surprised was I to see GMOs being discussed on the Today Show this morning. Author Marc Lappe who wrote Against the Grain represented the issue well. AND...they're going to talk about hormones in food tomorrow. Impressive!

The planets must have been aligned just right this morning because two other segments on the today's Today Show featured two incredible 'sustainable style' role models: Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, both known for their influence on style and there dedication to humanitarian issues. Prince Albert talked with Matt Lauer about the Princess Grace Foundation which helps young aspiring artists realize their career goals. Sean Ferrer, Ms. Hepburn's son and Chairman of the Adurey Hepburn Children's Fund discussed his new book Audrey Hepburn: elegant spirit with Katie Couric. I have to say that the photo of Audrey Hepburn holding a child in Africa in a Lacoste shirt is one of the most stunning images I've ever seen anc actually one of the things that inspired me to start SSF.

As always, really impressed with Today's promotion of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, and Katie Courics work on colorectal cancer research.

sunday, october 26 | Had an awesome day of hiking today, probably the last sunny weekend we'll have in Seattle parts for a while. My friend Mark and I headed out from Crystal Mountain ski area on the Crystal Mountain Trail, linked up with the Pacific Crest Trail, and then finished with at little trip to Henskin Lake. The larches were just turning their fall colors in the valleys and many of the brush understory was a bright red so it truly was a perfect time to be out there.

saturday, october 25 | Busy day today. Started with the store surveys for the I Buy Different student scavenger hunt I'm working on with SSF and as a board member of Sustainable Seattle. One interesting find was the Eliot shoe by Macbeth, a full on, very cool, Vegan shoe at Zumiez. Zumies actually has a really cool promo on with Tina Basich, co-founder of Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC). Awesome!

Next it was off to drop flyers for Heidi Wills, a candidate for re-election for Seattle City Council Member. I've always been really impressed with her commitment to sustainability, even over some of the other council members that were expected to be the sustainability gurus. Go Heidi!

Last but not least I tried out Annie's Organic Mac & Cheese for dinner tonight. Yum-eee.

sunday, october 19 | Greetings from the Bioneers conference in San Rafael. What was I thinking? Why haven't I attended a Bioneers conference before??? This is where it's all at. I've done lots of green business conferences in my day but Bioneers is by the far the best...of all worlds. Business, academia, youth, government, and yes...lots of fabulous hippies, drum circles, dancing, etc.

I've hooked up with lots of old friends and made some great new ones as well. The best part so far has been the indredible energy and creativity of the youth. Their projects are incredible and their dedication is inspiring. I'll do a full write up of the weekend on Monday, stay tuned...

monday, september 22 | New season, new sslog. Don't miss out on old sslog though...two seasons worth just a click away on your left.