American clothing companies shouldn't even try

I’ve been asking people where they are wearing for about two years straight now. But George Stephanopoulos asks it and folks start stripping in Grand Central Station. It must be his impish TV-ready good looks.

Anyhow, people don’t know where they are wearing. I had the pleasure of talking with a few fashion/design classes recently and they didn’t even know. If they don’t know, no one does. Except me. Right now I’m watching the Colbert Report about to hop into bed and my underwear were made in Nicaragua. How about you?

When it comes to clothing American consumers should try.

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How to be an engaged consumer

I’m speaking at the Progressive Jewish Alliance tonight in LA. I’ll be sharing some thoughts on how to be an engaged consumer, so I though I’d share them here too.

What we buy impacts our world for better and worse. Things like sweatshops and child labor are symptoms of the immense poverty that exists in our world. I believe the apparel industry should play an important role in lifting families out of poverty, but it has a long way to go.

Here are a few tips and tricks on how to be an engaged consumer.

How to think

  1. Check the tags of your clothing everyday before you put them on. Take a moment and think about the hard work, sacrifice, and skill that went into making…
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LA here I come

PZ20091201-005 I have a confession. I’ve never been to Los Angeles.  I know that might be hard to believe, what with all my Hollywood good looks and all, but it’s true.  (Of course I did spend 12+ hrs of my life at the airport that I’ll never get back, but that doesn’t really count.)

That’s about to change.

This week I’ll be in the LA-area speaking to three different groups, two of which are open to the public.  If you are in the area, stop in and say “Hi” or heckle me.  The question I’m really loving being heckled with right now is, “What ’bout ‘merica? We had jobs. We made stuff.  Now look at us.  We need…

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STLCC-Meramec Goes Glocal!

Today and Friday I’m speaking to the students at St. Louis Community College – Meramec.  If you happen to be one of the students who heard me speak today, this post is for you.

I want this post to be a place where you can share experiences and thoughts about what it means to be a glocal living in St. Louis.

What opportunities and organizations are their in your area that need volunteers?

What opportunities are there for the Meramec community to reach out to the world (study abroad programs, cultural exchanges)?

Here are a few of the resources I mentioned during my presentation today:

Glocal Travel Guide/Glocal Volunteering Guide / Glocal Consumer Guide

Join  The Go Glocal Project

Ways to Join:

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The Show Me Your (underwear) State

KTSpeaking

This week my hectic, but oh so fun, spring speaking schedule kicks off. Here’s my complete spring schedule and updated speaking info.

I’ll be driving tomorrow for about 7 hours and could use some company.  If you want to chat about writing, traveling, underwear, or all the above, send me an email kelsey@kelseytimmerman.com or a tweet @kelseytimmerman and we’ll set a time between 12-7 EST to chat.

If you are in the St. Louis or Columbia area stop by and say, “Hi!” Both events are open to the public.

Stephens College (Columbia U)

Tuesday March 1st (6PM) at Kimball Ballroom of Lela Raney Wood Hall, 6 N. College Ave. The event is free and open to the…

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American Workforce Needs to be Sluttier

Maybe there’s a reason corporations are looking elsewhere. The American worker puts out less and wants paid more. As Jon Stewart puts it on the Daily Show we once did it all day and all night, seven days a week, in every room, even the ones without fire exits.

Take it away Jon…

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
American Workforce Makeover
www.thedailyshow.com
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Why more people will care about the earthquake in New Zealand than the revolution in Libya

About 200,000 thousand Americans traveled to New Zealand last year. Total tourist arrivals to the country were more than 2.5 million.

In turn, Libya saw a grand total of 50,000 tourists. Few were from the United States because the Libyan government had a ban on American tourists until June of 2010.

Been there

My reaction to the quake in New Zealand was much greater than that of when I heard about the chaos and the violence in Libya. I know that it’s silly to compare a natural disaster with political upheaval – the acts of men vs acts of nature – so why is it that military aircraft (reportedly) gunning down civilians doesn’t leave me as concerned…

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Unwritten views on the fight for unions in Wisconsin

Percent of workforce in a union

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics


Rich getting richer

Data from this mind-blowing chart

1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire  – 146 workers killed

TriangleShirtwaist

What have unions ever done for us?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKqWje7itKc[/youtube]

Paul Krugman on the power struggle in Wisconsin:

You don’t have to love unions, you don’t have to believe that their policy positions are always right, to recognize that they’re among the few influential players in our political system representing the…

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My near-death SCUBA diving experience in Key West

KeyWestSunset

I wrote this a while back as part of a piece on the lobster divers of Nicaragua who suffer many dive-related injuries. Legend has it that the divers’ injuries result from an encounter with a pale-skinned mermaid known as the Liwa Mairin. It is said that she haunts the depths and punishes those who take too many lobster. The victims of the Liwa Mairin, the wheelchair bound and the zombies, are what drew me to Puerto Cabezas. A few years ago I almost became one of them.

I hope other divers can learn from my experience. Nitrogen Narcosis nearly killed me. It’s no laughing matter.


Bubbles burst forth from my regulator – the sound of distant bowling…

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