Corridor #8 : (directed by Boris Despodov)

I just got out of a phenomenal little movie called Corridor #8. It’s a series of little vignettes featuring people who from Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania and all live along a proposed road project that would link all of the Balkan countries together. The road project is appropriately called Corridor #8.  I went in expecting a political dialogue about the road project and instead was swept away by the lives and stories of the folks captured on Despodov’s camera. He traces the history of the 3 countries connection not through detailed accounts of times past but through the observations of his subjects, which in turn give the shape of his film heart.

Sadly enough I only have 2 more movies to see here before I hit the road (and the ferry) to go to the Nantucket Film Festival where I’m screening Every Third Bite. I won’t be as active tomorrow due to being on the road, but I’ll have some more HRWFF stuff up and hoepfully an evening arrival to Nantucket post.

It’s been a great few days and I’m excited to write it all up in more detail, let you all know how you can TakePart with the issues in the amazing films I have seen and post the awesome pictures I’ve been taking.

For now, go below the fold to see a trailer for Corridor #8 (the director just walked into the Cinema Lounge where I’m blogging - yay! film festivals!)

Read the rest of this entry »

Living well may be more of an art than a science, but living green is another matter; it turns out there are plenty of formulas and equations to help you pick the places that are more conducive to an eco-conscious lifestyle.  One of the best comes courtesy of Popular Science, which has tallied up the data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide for American cities of over 100,000 people in more than 30 categories, including air quality, electricity use and transportation habits.

Armed with these facts and figures, Popular Science created four broad categories in which to compare fifty American cities, awarding up to 5 or 10 points depending on the category:

Electricity (E; 10 points): Cities score points for drawing their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power, as well as for offering incentives for residents to invest in their own power sources, like roof-mounted solar panels.

Transportation (T; 10 points): High scores go to cities whose commuters take public transportation or carpool. Air quality also plays a role.

Green living (G; 5 points): Cities earn points for the number of buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as for devoting area to green space, such as public parks and nature preserves.

Recycling and green perspective (R; 5 points): This measures how comprehensive a city’s recycling program is (if the city collects old electronics, for example) and how important its citizens consider environmental issues.

Here’s their top 10, including the ratings in each category:

1. Portland, Ore. 23.1Electricity: 7.1 Transportation: 6.4 Green Living: 4.8 Recycling/Perspective:  
4.8America’s top green city has it all: Half its power comes from renewable sources, a quarter of the workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation, and it has 35 buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

2. San Francisco, Calif. 23.0Electricity: 6.8 Transportation: 8.8 Green Living: 3.5 Recycling/Perspective: 3.9See how San Francisco turns wasted roof space into power, here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Would you frequent a restaurant that has atrocious service and terrible food? Probably ” if it were the only game in town. That’s how I feel about the MTA. I live in New York City, and unless I want to spend $20 on a taxi each way to work, or walk a total of 4 hours to and from, it’s the NYC subway or bust. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel a sting of resentment every time I swipe my debit card to purchase a Metro pass. The trains are always late or broken down, we’re informed about service interruptions only after waiting on the platform for half an hour, and one torrential downpour can throw the entire subway system into abject mayhem.

Theodore Kheel, a labor lawyer and longtime transit advocate in New York is speaking my language in a $100,000 study being released today, calling for the elimination of all NY public transportation fares in favor of increased taxi fare surcharges, and also increased charges to cars and trucks entering Manhattan. The 48-page plan, if implemented, will reportedly reduce traffic by 25 percent in Manhattan’s already congested central business district, and will trim subway, bus, and taxi times anywhere from 10 to 33 percent.

by contacting NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Office and let him know what you think about Kheel’s commuter congestion plan.