Carbon-Conscious Food

This sort of blew my mind. The Bon Appétit Management Company has a Low Carbon Diet Calculator where you can calculate the CO2 emissions of your food (if you're into that) or just compare the relative carbon impacts of different foods. 

One of the main reasons I don't eat meat is that I've been operating under the assumption that it has a higher carbon footprint than the alternatives. However, from this handy website, I've learned that tofu produces much more CO2 than chicken, pork, or turkey (but still less than beef). I suppose I should reassess my diet.

Album of the Week: Boots Met My Face

I found Admiral Fallow on the top of  the Pop Cop's best albums of the year and they're awesome.

 

...have I mentioned that I like folk music?

I just encountered this band called Plume Giant (a band name that would also sound awesome backwards) via I Hope Your Ears Bleed. I really like them.

Their music is extremely folky (beware!), featuring a violin, a viola, and a guitar, and some sweet, sweet harmonies. Those of you who share my affinity for folk music may enjoy this:

FO: Britt Lalena

I used the leftover Mini Maiden from my Buttonhead to make this Britt Lalena Headwrap. If you're looking for some instant gratification knitting, this pattern is perfect. It would also make a great gift too.

FO: Friida

Look what I made!

This pattern is pretty much awesome. It knits up really quickly because it uses super bulky wool and 9mm needles and it looks great on. I left the pockets off because, honestly, I don't need anything making my hips wider and I took out the increases half-way down the sleeves so it would fit under a jacket better.

My finishing this cardigan was kind of serendipitous because the weather here in Vancouver has reached ridiculously cold extremes. Luckily, this sweater is quite cozy, which is helpful since it's 5 freaking degrees BELOW zero (I am one distraught Vancouverite).

Wood & Wires

Wood & Wires is this great film project that has a video series that films musicians performing acoustic songs in unique locales. They also do a series called What We See is What You Get, which is a mix of interviews and exclusive performances.  Looking through the artists they've worked with so far, I had a hard time choosing a video to show you because I love so many of them. I highly recommend checking out the rest of their videos.

Dan Mangan- Sold (A Wood & Wires Live Film) from Adrian Vieni (Wood & Wires) on Vimeo.

If you like science...

I thought I should mention a new project I'm working on. In my final year of my undergraduate degree, I'm working on a research project with several other Environmental Sciences students. We're hoping to predict the impacts of increased ship traffic on the west coast of BC on the resident killer whale populations.If you're interested, you should check out our blog, here.

Love, it's like a marmoset.

Photo credit to supernancy

If you read my blog regularly, you probably have a vague idea of how much I love Dan Mangan. Not only is he a Vancouverite (we all know how much I adore talented Canadian musicians), but his songs are a collection of catchy anthems (proclaiming "robots need love too!") and mellow tunes (paying homage to the Railway Club and the local record store) that make me feel all warm inside.

Last night, I went to see Dan Mangan play a show at the Vogue theatre and, aside from an expectedly fantastic performance by the headliner, I was happily surprised by the talented opening acts. First, we saw The Crackling, made up of three members of Dan Mangan's band who, on their own, are great musicians themselves. They played some slower, folky songs that rendered the audience silent, punctuated by some interesting banter between the band members. The music reminded me a bit of City and Colour, but with more gritty vocals and some added rock n' roll. I bought their CD and it makes for some good chill-out music.


This is just the singer that appeared last night, but they played this song. 

Next, we saw The Burning Hell (good name, yes?), a trio of cello, ukulele, and an interesting mix of guitar and ...drum machine (I think?). One of my highlights of the night was probably the line delivered by the singer: "Love, it’s like a marmoset: it may be small and cute, but sometimes it eats its young." This band was ridiculously quirky and had some awesome lyrics. And, some great music too!

 
 Love is also littered with dead raccoons, it seems. 

Then, as the lights came on and The Burning Hell left the stage, we rushed up to the front of the venue, securing our spot right in front of the stage. Dan Mangan was, in a word, awesome. He played a mix of songs from Nice, Nice, Very Nice and lot of new songs which, he announced, he is going to be recording in December (yay!). I thought he was going to end the night with Robots because, let's face it, it's a crowd-pleaser. But instead he ended with a lovely sing-along (So much for Everyone). It was a pleasant surprise. All in all, this show definitely made my top five, and I discovered two great bands in the process.

FO: Remnant Stripe Cardigan

I've been test knitting this cardigan for Boknits and it's finally finished! I was waiting on some wooden buttons that I ordered off etsy.

It's got this really cool stripe pattern and the collar gives a really nice shape to it. The pattern hasn't been released yet but you can see my finished project here.

Also, please forgive the photo quality. Trying to find decent lighting in a basement suite is quite tricky.

Album of the Week: Stir the Blood

 

The Bravery have some cool pop beats mixed with deep vocals that sometimes make me want to dance and sometimes make me want to mope.

 

FO: Buttonhead

That Mini Maiden yarn was quickly transformed into a lovely looking Buttonhead:

 

I'm usually not a very big fan of variegated colours, but this blend of silvers and greens is phenomenal.

This does not bode well.

As you may remember, I recently moved into my very own basement suite (which is my excuse for not posting forever). Well, said basement suite is a 4-minute walk away from my new favourite yarn store, Urban Yarns. This does not bode well for my grades or my bank account. Here's what I picked up a few days ago:

 This Handmaiden Mini Maiden is currently being knit into a lovely looking Buttonhead.

Album of the Week: High Violet

There's something about this guy's voice that just makes this music sound absolutely epic. Check it out.

Unhappy Hipsters.

This is one of those blogs that I check absolutely every day. Unhappy Hipsters takes painfully dramatic (and sometime horrifically pretentious) photos from home design magazines and adds funny captions to them. Here's a good one:

 

Album of the Week: Koonyum Sun

Xavier Rudd + Izintaba = AWESOME. That is all.

Album of the Week: I and Love and You

This album by the Avett Brothers is full of folky goodness. It has slow, melodious songs and upbeat, twangy ones too. Love it!

Ta da!

Lelah top is finished. I highly suggest this pattern. It's fun to knit and the pattern is written so that you can make a top that will fit you perfectly. It was really fast too.

Pattern: Lelah Top by Christine Buhagiar

Yarn: Unknown worsted weight

100% rain.

Awesome blog alert! I am so jealous of these mad sweater-designing skills. 100% rain is full of fantastic knits that make me want to run to the nearest yarn store and start knitting something right away.

A pattern for this Celery cardigan hasn't been released yet but I am dying to make it.

It's like a teenage mood swing... for your ears.

Yes, the movies suck and the whole Twilight phenomenon is getting a little tired, but whoever is in charge of the soundtrack is okay in my books. Metric, Florence + The Machine, and Band of Horses? That is one solid lineup, even if I'm ashamed to admit I have the Eclipse soundtrack on my iPod.

Album of the Week: Lungs

Lungs by Florence and the Machine is incredibly eclectic and interesting to listen to . Every song seems to have a different feel to it, which makes for an exciting listen. Check it out