In Your Space

I'm one of those creepy people that has a strange winter hobby. With the trees bare and darkness engulfing the world much earlier, it allows me to peer inside the houses of people as I drive by. I like to quickly see what furniture they have, how they styled their rooms, and what their Christmas trees look like. This living space voyeurism was also present in college where I enjoyed visiting new and different dorm rooms, new homes where I babysat, and the various offices of teachers.

A new website has taken my strange living space fetish to a new level. At On My Desk, you can see how and where other people work. I especially find the work spaces of artists the most interesting, especially as I'm about to design my own mini studio space. It's just as good as the Lifehacker posts on people's computer desktops! Another great site for space voyeurs....The Selby's collection of artist studios/living spaces. Photo above of computer from powerpage.org

Utne Exposes The True Cost of Leather

Utne recently posted an article that exposes the true cost of leather, a somewhat ubiquitous item found on the feet of most people, except, you know, vegans. But while most non-leather sporters tend to complain about the effects that leather production/popularity has on animals, surprisingly, the toll it takes on both the environment and the human workers toiling everyday to make these items seems far worse. It's surprising that more red paint's been thrown on fur (something usually found on the backs of those richer than most) than on something that almost all of us can claim to own.

For the future, if I ever purchase some leather I'm going to make sure it's recycled, either from a thrift store or from designers like this or this. Or maybe someday I can afford some of Natalie Portman's vegan shoes....probably not. :-)