Each One of Us Counts

Photo: James Jordan

"If you think you're too small to make a difference...
try sleeping with a mosquito in the room."
~Dalai Lama


Sometimes there's a quote that's not like the others - instead of glancing at it, you read it, read it again and think about it. This is one of those.

How many times do we think that we're too small, our actions too insignificant to really make a change? It's the main argument for not voting, not taking action, not speaking up for others and ourselves, not reacting, procrastinating. Someone will do it. Not me. I can't change anything.

There are two counterarguments to this: First of all, we're not as insignificant as we think. It takes only one spoke to stop a wheel, one spanner in the works and yes, one mosquito to drive us nuts at night.

Secondly, all humans are alike, so chances are if you're thinking like that, somebody else is too. That makes two of us, three of us, tens of us, hundreds, thousands and millions of us. Who's insignificant now?

And finally, one more inspirational quote:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." 
~Margaret Mead


     

Clothes That Make You Go Hmmm

Image: Betabrand

It is rare to find a clothing brand that doesn't take itself too seriously. Or comes with a mission other than trying to get you to spend your hard earned cash on some clothes you actually don't need.

San Francisco-based clothing company Betabrand is different. Not only a beta but also a better brand (pardon the pun). Founder Chris Lindland's goal is “not to try to create the coolest, most cohesive line of clothing, but to create the most conversation-worthy line of clothing,” products that will generate “new, fun, cult-y talk.”

Image: Betabrand

And indeed, the two-year-old company somehow manages to come up with a new product every week. Take its Cordaround pants for example, a collector's item that kind of started it all. As the name suggests, they are horizontal corduroy pants. Broad corduroy stripes to accentuate an ass-et that's usually kept under wraps. But it somehow works, maybe because it makes us obsess less and smile more?

Image: Betabrand

A recent addition is the Mark Zuckerberg-inspired Executive Hoodie. Yup, that's right. Look corporate and stylish during important events without having to let go of the comfort of your favorite hoodie. So next time your company goes public, you can make a fashion statement too.

Betabrand's clothes are thought-out and designed from the bottom up - from the community for the community - not top down as it often seems with designer wear without any practical appeal that some design guru thinks you may crave. No, with items like Dress Pant Sweatpants, Bike to Work Pants and Reversible Drinking Jackets, Betabrand is there with clothes when and where their customers need them.

Image: Betabrand

In case of the Disco Pants, for example, this can have stunning results, with golfers and Burning Man enthusiasts loving them equally. Talk about bringing the community together! A personal favorite is the reversible corduroy-brocade smoking jacket (see image on top). It's business by day and Hugh Hefner by night because you just never know when opportunity knocks. Kind of like Barbie's reversible line of clothing (business woman by day, party girl at night) of the '80s finally come to life.  

Sign up for Betabrand's email newsletter (99% fiction, 1% fashion) for more quirky news or photograph yourself wearing one of the company's items and you could be part of the Model Citizen Wall of Fame.

   

I Carve You - Old Books Transformed into Beautiful Works of Art

Foto: Julia Strand

We've learned to treat books with respect - not to let them fall down, bend their pages or even, gasp, scribble into them! Just imagine someone taking an X-Acto blade to them and carving about merrily. Well, as we can see here, it is not always carnage that ensues but a carefully chiseled tribute to the craft that is book making.

Julia Strand is a Minnesota-based artist who gives new life to old books. She picks each new subject with care and carves it according to its strength, which could be text, type or images. Only content is not so important. After all, this is what got these books in trouble in the first place: old, dusty and outdated, they're the rejects of a trade that churns out hundreds of thousands of new books globally each year, leaving thousands to be discarded.

Foto: Julia Strand

Thus, book lovers need not despair over Strand's dissecting ways as she only uses discarded books. She explains: "“I love books. Because of this, I only use books that are no longer valued for their content, and never carve rare or new books. I’ve deliberately put down books if I think someone is likely to appreciate them intact.” Phew! That's a relief.

To see more of her work, you can visit her blog Hokey Stokes here at Blogger or in this article. Her last blog entry seems to have been in September of last year but we sure hope that doesn't mean she's stopped making her wonderful art.