What a weekend!

Last weekend was quite busy, in only the best of ways, let's jump right in.

.....By 4:30 pm I was tipsy, still dancing (now in an apartment) and drinking Hoegaarden on the roofdeck. Friday afternoon was AWESOME.
Despite wanting to continue hanging out until the sun came up, I had to bike home, upload pictures, and get ready for Friday night. When I looked at my watch and realized that the weekend 'proper' had not even begun yet, was a very WHOA experience.

By 6:30 pm I was running late for a baseball game, Nationals Vs Orioles. The weather was beautiful and I had a free ticket as the "date" of a friend whose office was having a baseball outing.
Despite the fact that this two teams that I have grown to love, I still do not care much for this American sport. We left around the 7th inning to head back to Columbia Heights.

I had a schedule to keep. I went straight to the grocery store to pick up a six pack, I decided on getting a old favorite: Mickey's malt liquor 'grenades' (which have word puzzles under the caps.) I was also starting to sober up since I could only afford to buy one drink at the baseball game, so I figured that normal beer just wouldn't cut it.
I took the six pack about 4 blocks to my friend's house, who was having a party that I was just on time for.


The party was awesome. People continued coming, I ran into a few people that I knew randomly, other acquaintances that I hadn't seen in a while. I told people about my Art show the following night, I hung out with my friend having the party, and I drank Mickey's and was merry. To top it off, I got into a conversation about hemp with someone that works for the EPA in the pesticide division, and before I knew it, it was almost midnight.
On Fridays and Saturday's, I play the role of a combination between Cinderella and Spiderman. I must run off into the night hail a pumpkin colored cab, and transform into party machine with a camera attached. While I may prefer a house party, Peter Parker must leave the party and go to an exclusive nightclub on Friday nights.




I didn't come home until about 3:30am on Friday. I had a long day ahead of me: after barely enough sleep to metabolize the alcohol, I had to wake up and bike to the office to print business cards and make other preparations for my art show. I had less than 8 hours until the doors would open, and every minute was precious.
This weekend, to be continued.....

First Attempt at Posting an email as a Blog Post

This is my first attempt at an idea I just had. I apparently am too busy to keep a blog. But, I always wanted to have a blog that I updated, that ideal site that entertained random people around the world. You could say that what I do on Facebook is, for all purposes, blogging (micro-blogging, actually). And true, with over 1,500 friends, I'm sure I get a few random views.

Well, I usually am too busy writing emails as a hemp lobbyist, or going out as a freelance photographer, to write blogs or keep a photo blog. Some of my photography can be viewed at the social blog Brightest Young Things. More on that later. See, I have so much to blog about!

Well, here's my email that I wrote on Monday. I had a meeting the next day with the office of Michael Michaud from Maine.
And, since that already happened, I can say the meeting went quite well.

The email is to a grassroots organization to get them to somehow get us more support. (I figured, why not try?)

.....

Industrial Hemp is a sustainable agricultural crop that is actually good for the soil. It does not require chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides to grow, and does not require much other inputs such as water irrigation. It is a rotational crop that helps curb topsoil runoff and is a nitrogen fixer as well. It grows so fast and puts so much oxygen in the air that some applications and studies have measured a negative carbon footprint. One such example is in Hemcrete, a type of concrete made with just pure hemp and powdered lime. The footprint is negative because the carbon is actually sequestered right inside the cinderblocks. Hemp is also a great source of plant protein, grown in a much more sustainable manner than soy. Hemp is one of the fastest growing sectors of the natural products industry; here is a video from CNBC about the commercial aspects.

The State of Maine passed a bill, LD 1159, which would allow the state to license hemp farmers. However, there is still a federal ban on growing hemp. That is why we are working to gain support for HR 1866.

This Tuesday, I have a meeting with the Office of Michael Michaud of Maine. It would be great if we could get some extra calls or letters from his district. We sent out a capwiz action alert with quick links to prewritten letters and talking points for calls. http://votehemp.com/alerts/me_us_action_alert_20090722.html.

Hemp is a "convenient solution" to take care of our problems with our economy and environmental crises. If the federal ban were to be lifted, carbon emissions would go down while research into green technologies would go up. Why hemp rather than other alternatives? Hemp produces more oxygen per acre than any plant; (algae is a different story)

I hope that with your help, we can get more letters to support this important issue.

Thank you,


FOR READING TO THE BOTTOM

PEACE

Hemp Facts

Hemp: the real problem is miseducation. Did you know that…

1) Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. In fact, one of the oldest relics of human industry is the pattern of hemp fabric in ceramic shards dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.

2) "Make the most of the hemp seed and sow it everywhere."- George Washington. Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.

3) Nutrition- Hemp Seed is far more nutritious than even soybean, contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is 35% dietary fiber. Hemp seed is not psychoactive and cannot be used as a drug. See TestPledge.com

4) Fiber- The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers which are among the Earth's longest natural soft fibers and are also rich in cellulose; the cellulose and hemi-cellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp stalk is not psychoactive. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.

5)Energy- According to the Department of Energy, hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. Hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to ethanol to biodiesel. Development of biofuels is undoubtedly a step towards greener energy.

6) Easy to Grow- Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. Nearly one third of the agricultural chemicals used on US crops are applied to cotton.

7) Paper Production- Hemp produces roughly four times more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can actually reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp's low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and its creamy color lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxins and fewer chemical byproducts. It also means that hemp can recycled many times before the fibers break down entirely.

9) Green Building- Hemp makes for great construction material. A company called Hemcrete uses a modernized form of an age old technique to create a concrete like material, several times lighter and stronger, (as well as sustainable) than actual concrete. Hemp fiberboard produced by Washington State University was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard.

10) Plastics- Hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products. A company called Wheatware makes disposable plastic, yet biodegradable, eating utensils out of corn and other biomass. Hemp (along with other natural fibers) is combined with resins to create lightweight and very strong composite materials, used in millions of cars and even airplanes.