About: Merete
Posts by Merete:
What to Say to a Climate Change Skeptic. [Video]by Merete Mueller on Oct 3, 2012 Simran Sethi: The Psychology of Why and How We Care Let’s begin this blog with a show of hands. Who here has ever had a conversation with a climate change skeptic? Who here is a climate change skeptic? Who here might be able to imagine the psychology of someone—climate change skeptic or not—who feels overwhelmed [...] 924 views |
A Growing, Homegrown Colorado Film Festival.by Merete Mueller on Sep 19, 2012 Crested Butte Film Festival: September 27-29, 2012 Jen and Michael Brody have heart. They’re the kind of people who move seamlessly from a microphone on stage to the chair across your cafe table, totally approachable even as they’re juggling all of the logistics that make their film festival happen. They’re the kind of people who [...] 94 views |
Get Inspired: MoveShake Online Film Premier, June 7.by Merete Mueller on Jun 4, 2012 What moves you to shake things up? For Allie Bombach and Sarah Menzies, the answer to that question might be: Stories. The two filmmakers (and elefriends) will be launching a film series dedicated to profiling inspiring change-makers throughout the world. “I want to reach people who already care about an environmental or social issue near [...] 203 views |
Mountainfilm Lesson #2: “The Miracle and The Horror”by Merete Mueller on May 27, 2012 “We as a culture are forgetting our connection to nature.” ~ James Balog in the film, Chasing Ice. There is nothing like an image—or a quick moving series of them—to convey nature’s ability to both heal and destroy. That nature is, in fact, a cycle of healings and destructions. Today at Mountainfilm, I was reminded [...] 87 views |
Mountainfilm Lesson #1: There’s a fine line between caring & caring too much…by Merete Mueller on May 26, 2012 …and we have no choice but to walk it. “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” ~Ed Abbey (quoted by Tim DeChristopher in the film, Bidder 70) This morning at 8 a.m. I sat bleary-eyed at a morning “Coffeetalk,” one of the many free public panels at Mountainfilm, which bring together big-name filmmakers, [...] 184 views |
10 Reasons to Go to Mountainfilm in Telluride.by Merete Mueller on May 16, 2012 Why I look forward to Mountainfim every year. I first attended Mountainfilm in Telluride in 2011, at the urging of two filmmaker friends (one of whom is pictured below). “You have to go,” they said, almost jumping out of their seats with excitement, “It’s the most inspiring weekend, anywhere.” They leaned forward. “Really.” “Most inspiring [...] 609 views |
In Boulder: Tiny House Open House, Saturday April 28.by Merete Mueller on Apr 24, 2012 Filmmakers behind “TINY: A Story About Living Small” display their 130-square foot tiny house at McGuckin Hardware, April 28. Many of you may already know about the tiny house undertaking that my boyfriend, Christopher, and I began about 11 months ago. With no prior building experience, we set out to build a 130-square foot tiny [...] 578 views |
Goosebumps!by Merete Mueller on Apr 4, 2012 World’s Largest Photo Project. [Video] How Big Would You Go For Something You Love? Anyone who’s taken a high school dark room photography class, or has shaken a Polaroid into existence, or even picked up a roll of film from Target—knows the thrill of seeing an image form, seeing a moment held and then [...] 439 views |
Help a Tiny House Documentary make it to Film Festivals.by Merete Mueller on Dec 13, 2011 TINY: A Documentary About Living Small TINY: A Story About Living Small is a short documentary about tiny houses, and the ways that we find ourselves at home. The film follows the story of Christopher Smith and his attempt to build a 130-square foot tiny house from scratch, with no prior building experience. The film [...] 549 views |
Tiny House “Mad Scientist.” {Video}by Merete Mueller on Nov 22, 2011 Derek Diedricksen: Micro-Architect & Tiny House Blogger Derek “Deek” Diedriksen is a tough guy to pin down. His love of tiny architecture is first on a long list of creative pursuits—including radio DJ, comic book artist, musician (currently heading a Rage Against the Machine tribute band), blogger, author and full-time dad. His blog, Relaxshacks.com, and [...] 1,773 views |
Tiny House, Big Project. {Kickstarter}by Merete Mueller on Nov 14, 2011 Can Living Small Go Big? “TINY” is a short documentary about one man’s attempt to build a tiny house from scratch, and other families who have downsized their lives to less than 400 square feet. It began on a frigid day last February. I texted Christopher from work, around lunchtime to see what he was [...] 952 views |
Urban Houseboats.by Merete Mueller on Sep 6, 2011 Small Living in a Big City. Since embarking on a documentary project about living small, I’ve become obsessed with finding other examples of people who live beautifully in small spaces. On a recent trip to Amsterdam, I was surprised to find these elegant and ingenious examples of urban small-scale living. Downtown, Amsterdam’s houseboats are mostly [...] 1,229 views |
Tiny House Video Tour.by Merete Mueller on Aug 9, 2011 On the set of “TINY: A Story about Living Small” The 110 square foot “Ico.” Back in February, when Christopher had the crazy idea to buy a deserted piece of land in the Colorado mountains and build a Tiny House from scratch, I matched him with an equally out-there notion. “Let’s make a documentary film [...] 3,232 views |
DIY Summer Project: Vertical Shipping Pallet Garden.by Merete Mueller on Jul 9, 2011 Gardening for Small Spaces and Apartment Balconies. The hardest part of any project is always the 30 minutes or so before I dig in, when I’m staring at the mess of materials on the floor and telling myself that it’ll be fun, that I do really want to do this, gathering the motivation to move [...] 7,132 views |
MTV-inspired Video Explores “Cribs” of Denver Mayoral Candidates.by Merete Mueller on Mar 30, 2011 A Peek at the Personal Lives of Denver Politicians. Most young people in Denver can probably think of a few phrases more exciting than “mayoral election.” Unless you frame the upcoming race to replace now-Governor Hickenlooper in terms we can relate to. This happens to be the specialty of nonprofit New Era Colorado, an organization [...] 192 views |
Holiday 101: How to Be Rich.by Merete Mueller on Dec 14, 2010 If you are lost in the desert without food and water, even if you have lots of gold in your pack, you can’t eat it and you can’t drink it—so you are still starved and parched. That is analogous to many people who have money. They have no idea how to eat it and how [...] 2,745 views |
How Easy Is It to Steal a Bike? [Video]by Merete Mueller on Dec 3, 2010 I’ve had two bikes stolen in my life. Both were locked, one outside of my dorm when I was a freshman at the University of Colorado, and another to a fence just outside of a summer sublet in a quiet Boulder neighborhood last year. I also once locked a bike to my front porch and [...] 670 views |
Silly Art, Serious Goal.by Merete Mueller on Oct 25, 2010 JR is the winner of the 2010 TED Prize, with a simple idea/art project that has packed a punch (and plenty of smiles) in tension-filled regions across the globe: I wonder: were the people who passed this art on the street more inclined to look each other in the eyes as they continued on their [...] 396 views |
Conan O’Brien + Louis C.K.: “Everything’s Amazing + Nobody’s Happy.”by Merete Mueller on Jul 30, 2010 “New York to LA in 5 hours. That used to take 3o years. A bunch of people you were with would die, you’d have a baby…you’d be with a whole different group of people by the time you got there!” Mid-week, the emails begin to pile up and I realize I haven’t been keeping up [...] 5,556 views |
Twenty Ideas to Beat Writer’s Block.by Merete Mueller on Jun 24, 2010 Writing Experiments from poet Bernadette Mayer. Bernadette Mayer was a master of everyday poetry long before sharing intimate ordinary details with strangers (a.k.a. blogging) became the norm. Many of her poems focus on the business of doing laundry or raising babies, daydreaming about the city or the country, lists of things to do. She wrote [...] 868 views |
 Food is the Best Medicine.by Merete Mueller on Jun 9, 2010 Find your next Rx in the produce section. My grandfather’s chicken soup can cure just about anything. But don’t think I’m being sentimental. His soup’s power to kick illness has more to do with the 16-20 cloves of garlic that he dumps into each pot. Sixteen to 20. No exaggeration. My grandmother literally had to [...] 615 views |
Enya is Not Cool.by Merete Mueller on Jun 4, 2010 Above, Waylon’s iTunes Enya list, finally exposed. Yesterday, the elephant staff sat in the back sunroom of Waylon’s downtown Boulder home—ad manager Lindsey Block, two interns, Waylon and I—when there was a knock at the door. Only a few minutes before, Waylon’s iTunes had been blasting 80s ballads, his favorite late-afternoon work music. (Just wait [...] 1,106 views |
 University of Colorado’s INVST Community Studies and the Future of Higher Educationby Merete Mueller on Mar 10, 2010 If I could go back in time and slip my 19-year-old self some advice, I’d leave a University of Colorado course catalogue open to the INVST Community Studies page. At that time in my life, I was a focused C.U. student and hungry to learn, but I felt lost and disappointed by the huge state [...] 614 views |
 Helping Others without Hurting Ourselves.by Merete Mueller on Feb 4, 2010 Holding the Moth: Notes on Helping Others Through Depression and Hardship. Editor’s intro: There’s a mentality in yoga and spiritual communities that says: that person has problems, they’re negative—I want to stay away from them. I don’t want their bad juju. But that mentality, as it happens, is counter-productive from a Buddhist pov: Compassion automatically [...] 1,301 views |
 Creole Poetry.by Merete Mueller on Jan 19, 2010 Creole Poetry from Haiti, translated by Merete Mueller with Dominique Herard. In 2005, as an undergraduate student at Naropa University, I translated a collection of poems from Haiti, all originally written in Creole. I found a Haitian Creole dictionary at the University of Colorado library and went through each poem, translating word by word, sending [...] 16,379 views |
 Rolfing 101.by Merete Mueller on Aug 23, 2009 When was the last time you stood in your underwear in front of a full-length mirror? It’s not something I do often—unless catching myself between layers in the changing room or out of the shower—but that’s exactly how I kicked off my 10-week series of Rolfing massages. Me in my underwear, knees slightly bowed and [...] 1,265 views |
 Sweatshop-Free Sweatpants: Be Present Makes All of their Clothing in the U.S.A.by Merete Mueller on Apr 12, 2009 On this rainy evening in Kansas, I’m sitting with a kitty on one knee and my laptop on the other, snuggled beneath a fleece blanket and wearing my new Be Present French Terry Resort Pants. At this moment, the comfort of these yoga pants is my top concern (I give ‘em a 10 out of [...] 1,502 views |
 Bruce Mau: “Begin Anywhere, Stay Up Late, and Don’t Be Cool.” [Sustainable Design & the Denver Biennial of the Americas].by Merete Mueller on Apr 11, 2009 Bruce Mau is a designer, which means that he straddles the divide between the practical and the possible. His work is consumed with the way things work and the way things run, understanding them so we can build off the best ideas and improve them for the future. But what makes Bruce Mau and his [...] 1,956 views |
 Think You Can Build a Hip, Modern, Functional and Fabulous House with $20K? The Rural Studio Can, and Does, in Some of Alabama’s Poorest Counties.by Merete Mueller on Mar 26, 2009 This is the sort of minimalist, modern entryway I expect to see featured in Dwell Magazine, usually attached to a home owned by a bohemian-hipster graphic designer couple in Marin County, California or in the suburbs of Seattle. But this subtle piece of design work actually finds its home in rural Alabama, where it is [...] 1,768 views |
 From Miami to Ft. Lauderdale: Make your Vacation Mindful by Supporting Local and Independent Businesses, Farmers and Artists. Then, Hit the Beach.by Merete Mueller on Mar 3, 2009 Upon arriving in South Florida, the main dilemma of the mindful traveler is transportation. Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and everything in between is automobile territory. Both cities have little public transportation, and while I do know a few brave cyclists willing to swerve between the insane drivers (think elderly people plus New Yorkers plus a host [...] 966 views |
 Eco + Organic + Art + Tee = Certainteesby Merete Mueller on Feb 14, 2009 I love clothing with an uplifted message—but tees proclaiming “Om” and “Peace” can be a little obvious for my taste. Certaintee’s designs are subtle, based on graphics from the Penny Magazine—a weekly publication for the working class circa 1830. They’re individually hand-printed with non-toxic inks, 30% organic cotton/70% supersoft bamboo. And $5 from every online [...] 335 views |
How to Green your Valentine’s Day: Make it Local, & Make your Own.by Merete Mueller on Feb 9, 2009 The key to a Green Valentine’s Day (or any holiday) is this: Make it Local, and Make it Handmade. Luckily, those same two rules are the key to turning a Hallmark-invented, mass-produced, slightly sickening (to some) holiday into something actually heartfelt and memorable and fun, and isn’t that what we all want out of Valentine’s [...] 553 views |
 Landmark Decision Being Made in Kansas, with National Repercussions for Regulating Big Coal and Other Industries.by Merete Mueller on Feb 5, 2009 When was the last time you thought about Kansas? We often fly over it and sometimes have to drive through it, but Kansas is one of those flat states that people on the coasts, and in the mountains, tend to forget about (unless we’re watching Wizard of Oz). It’s time to start paying attention. Last [...] 203 views |
 Responsible Fashion & the US Economy: Nau’s Scape Jacket and Down Vest.by Merete Mueller on Feb 4, 2009 Picture me staring in horror as my supposedly simple clothing review expands in length and spills over the page break in Microsoft Word. This review wasn’t meant to be so long, I swear, but what can I do? Never before has consuming been so complicated. Thanks to the internet, there are literally millions of buy [...] 1,806 views |
 Food: A Love Story. [Book Review]by Merete Mueller on Feb 1, 2009 In the words of my favorite food writer, MFK Fisher, “People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating and drinking? Why don’t you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way others do? The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry. [...] 417 views |
 Patagonia’s Organic Cotton Negril Trench Coat: Something Hot for Cool Spring Daysby Merete Mueller on Jan 26, 2009 With the arrival of spring (ok, maybe not quite yet, but soon. Soooon.) comes the need for freshness, for something new. A desire to reinvent myself, if only on the surface, and just a little bit. Target #1: My closet. Just one teensy problem. Despite the fact that I’ve purged by wardrobe of everything old [...] 1,579 views |
 I Watched the Inauguration at Whole Foods. Where Were You?by Merete Mueller on Jan 20, 2009 I’ve been sick for the past week or so, so when I woke up this morning, planning to meet some friends at a breakfast joint to watch the inauguration, or maybe make my way to a nearby cafe, the first thing I thought was that I needed some fruit. Call it a Vitamin C craving, [...] 243 views |
 Google 411: It’s Free! Plus, Google Employees Learn to Meditate.by Merete Mueller on Jan 9, 2009 I have unabashed iPhone envy. Ah, to have google at my fingertips at every moment: mapquest, the yellow pages, the dictionary, iTunes, immediate answers to nagging trivia questions and unsolved bets. But I’m on a budget and just bought a new Verizon Wireless cell phone a few months ago (it’s not eco—or thrifty—to toss old [...] 363 views |
 Eight Hours of Meditation, for Seven Days Straight: One Gal’s Reflections on Week 1 of Reggie Ray’s Dathun. Plus, Specifics Every First-Time Dathuner Should Know.by Merete Mueller on Jan 7, 2009 The Dharma Ocean shrine hall in Crestone, CO. It wasn’t until Day Three that I really started to feel crazy. It was Wednesday, and we’d already been oriented and trained in the traditional oryoki mealtime ritual. We were settled into our dorm rooms (in my case a mattress and sleeping bag by the shrine room [...] 1,580 views |
 To succeed, environmentalism must focus on people, not just the planet. [Van Jones, Majora Carter, Simran Sethi, Environmental Justice. Videos.]by Merete Mueller on Dec 11, 2008 When I was in High School, I opted out of taking environmental science because I thought it would be boring. What did a bunch of labs about natural resources and endangered species have to do with me? 438 views |
 Proposition 8, The Musical. Starring Jack Black as Jesus (plus Margaret Cho, Maya Rudolph and other SNL alums).by Merete Mueller on Dec 3, 2008 This reminds me of the community productions of Godspell and Jesus Chris Superstar that I saw as a kid, complete with rainbow spandex, cheesy backdrop and a good old fashioned message of brotherly (and sisterly) love. As the Episcopalian Church splits over an openly gay bishop and 1,139 views |
 Too Good to be True? Budget Recipes from Whole Foods.by Merete Mueller on Nov 24, 2008 I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard jokingly refer to Whole Foods as “Whole Paycheck.” While that joke is no longer funny (things get old, even if they’re true), Whole Foods has lately been battling the pretentious/expensive/specialty image as Americans tighten their purse strings. The other day, the guy in front of me [...] 531 views |
 Sarah Palin conducts interview while turkeys are slaughtered in background. [Video]by Merete Mueller on Nov 22, 2008 Even though I was raised a vegetarian (I am no longer), my extended family ate meat, and it was my family’s job to visit the local turkey farm each November to pick up the bird. I have one especially vivid memory (I must have been about seven) of waiting by the parking lot 806 views |
 My First Hot, Hot Yoga Class, at the Baron Baptiste Studio in Cambridge, Massachusettsby Merete Mueller on Nov 20, 2008 Photo by Caroline Treadway Four days after my first Baron Baptiste experience, when I jotted down the notes for this blog, I was still sore, in muscles I didn’t even know existed. And after three years as a yoga practitioner, I thought I knew them all. My dad and sister live just a few blocks [...] 3,111 views |
 Raising the Bar: Bobo’s Oat Bars are Half Power, Half Dessert, All Delicious.by Merete Mueller on Nov 17, 2008 Processed food has a bad reputation, thanks to Twinkies and Spam. So it’s refreshing to see a whole new crop of food bars that are easy and energizing, but also nutritious. Bobo’s Oat Bars walk the middle path on the continuum between cookie (tasty, not so healthy) and powerbar (packed with athletic-inducing nutrients, not so tasty). [...] 1,070 views |
 Target for the Whole Foods Crowd: The First Ellie’s Eco Home Store Opens in Boulder.by Merete Mueller on Nov 11, 2008 Faced with headlines announcing another bankruptcy, more foreclosures, images of stockbrokers weeping in the fetal position while they watch the market plunge, it seems implausible that some businesses are actually doing well in this economy. The LOHAS (we’ll give you a piece of tofu if you can guess what it stands for) industry, for the [...] 550 views |
 Photos of Obama, Biden and Families as They Wait for Election Night Results.by Merete Mueller on Nov 10, 2008 Flipping through this slideshow on flickr brought back all of the election butterflies that I felt on Tuesday night. (When the results from California, Oregon and Washington finally came in and Obama reached 270 electoral votes, the bar I was at erupted into cheers and I was so excited I knocked all the drinks off [...] 1,033 views |
 Lifting the “Body Burden”: How to Fight Toxic Exposure and Protect Your Home from Dangerous Chemsby Merete Mueller on Nov 9, 2008 Thousands of Americans buy chemical cleaning products each day, convinced the scented, neon liquids will protect them and their families from sickness and germs. But these people have been misinformed, bamboozled by marketing—it turns out that many of these chemical ingredients actually cause serious health problems. Women who work in the home are 54% more [...] 874 views |
 Light a Candle for Romance? Make sure it’s made from local beeswax and doesn’t have a lead wick!by Merete Mueller on Oct 27, 2008 According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, as the nights grow longer and colder and we approach Winter, which is ruled by the Water element, we need to keep balance by adding more Fire to our daily lives. So it seems fitting that the holidays of late autumn and early winter are characterized by candlelight—glowing pumpkins, menorahs, [...] 777 views |
 Adventures at Natural Products Expo East [Photo Slideshow: Sambazon, Guayaki, Amazing Grass, Good Belly, Wholemato, Mychelle, Seventh Generation, Honest Tea, Kopali Organics and others]by Merete Mueller on Oct 20, 2008 While Austin birthed Whole Foods, California has long led the organic movement and our elephant journal’s hometown is the cradle of green (Chipotle, Wild Oats, Izze, Pangea), we can thank the Northeast for Ben & Jerry’s, Stonyfield Farms and Seventh Generation. And so, as a native Bostonian, I proudly welcomed Natural Products Expo East to [...] 2,352 views |
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