Pledge to Become a 30 Zer0 Zer0 Hero!

Day Eight - April 8th, 2011

Happy to report that I had no garbage again today. I can't believe that I went shopping and found some great second hand bargains and ended up with no trash! I'm beginning to realise that this is very possible. The trick to zero waste is consumer restraint. At first I thought this exercise was going to be a chore. I even thought that I might have to cheat to make it work... but it isn't and I haven't.

Will post a bunch of fabulous info later today about the clothing industry, fabics and fashions and how they impact our world. Thanks again to Gien for finding relevant and interesting content.

I will also be posting a new article from Brent, but since they experienced a new quake, he will be sending later today.

Tune in Live @ 5 to learn more about urban gardens

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Dearest Cousin,

I'm now comfortably seated on the Shinkansen (bullet train), speeding through the beautiful Japanese countryside on my way to Hiroshima to do the kids' shows. Unfortunately, I had to rise before the rosy-fingered dawn and stumble about in the gloom in order to catch this VERY early train. Consequently, I'm not looking my best; puffy, puffy face!!!

If I'd had the time, I would have reclined in the beanbag for fifteen minutes with cold, used tea bags on my swollen peepers. Yes, you read that correctly; OLD, COLD TEA BAGS! Great for reducing swelling, and apparently because of the tannins, they also help with other eye "problems". I like using them just because it feels good! (HUNDREDS of sites on the Internet regarding chemical-free, natural beauty tips.) Being a tea fanatic, we always have piles of old tea bags lying about. They can also be chucked onto the compost pile after, but composting is an issue I'll address at a future date...

My absolute FAVOURITE natural beauty product, and one that is strictly Japanese, is a face pack made out of "Uguisu no fun". "Uguisu" is Japanese for bush warbler or nightingale, and "fun" (pronounced "foon") is a polite way of saying "poo"!
You read that correctly; a face pack of bush warbler droppings, nightingale nuggets, bird turds! It's a centuries old treatment used by Japanese beauties to whiten, tighten and tone the skin of the face. Very popular with the Geisha and Maiko (Geishas in training). It's also very expensive because the uguisu is a tiny bird, with tiny turds so I imagine it's quite difficult to amass a large amount of the stuff, let alone find it! Perhaps they have nightingale farms... Hmmmm.... I should check that out.

Anyway, people who use it swear by it, but I don't think other bird droppings, like cockatoo ca-ca, crane crap, duck dump, parrot poo, stork stools or pheasant feces, can be substituted. Stick to the warbler wads! VOILA!

Mt. Fuji is coming up soon on the right, and no matter how many times I see it, it never ceases to take my breath away, so I've got to get my camera ready. LATER!!!
Brent

from my cousin Brent Fialka