Keep it real.

The other day, someone at work was getting rid of a stack of slick magazines. I don't look at these very often, and I am curious about things I don't do, so I took some.

In the back of one of these there was a full page advertisement for Renewable Accessories. These were things like bracelets made out of old newspapers and cloth shopping bags with slogans about Green being Hip.

This amused me for three reasons. First, the magazine this ad was in was very mainstream and very entirely about movie stars- except in Illinois the people who I mostly see reading about movie stars- well, they don't care about the environment very much, to put it nicely. 2)As far as I know, newsprint would make terrible jewelry because the ink would rub off into your skin and give you blood poisoning or something, and "If You Were a Real Hippy/Punk You Would Make Your Own Newsprint Jewelry" And of course, 3) in the same magazine was a blurb about how people were reporting their clothing bags were much more unsanitary than disposable ones. The solution offered? Wash them between use, like you would any other soiled cloth article. Apparently the Star Chasing Get Hip Get Green crowd doesn't understand how to renew their own personal resources. I am forced to wonder what they know about the world's resources.

Now, I know there are die-hard recyclers out there who actually know what they are doing, and I am entirely in favor of not expending the environment for the sake of our petty and all consuming obsession with comfort. The popularized version of Green, though, that seems to be the rage right now is really getting on my nerves (Noooooo!!!!!! I sound like a Goth whining about Hot Topic!!!!!!!!). Its a fad like any other; a disguise used by people who don't care but want to appear attractive; and this particular fad/disguise is the disguise of caring about about something.

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversery of Tianamen Square.

If you happen to go walking in Tianamen square tomorrow, you can wear white- the color of mourning- and the police will arrest you.