Articles by Lisa Hymas

Dan Aykroyd rants about overconsumption

In an interview done to promote his (widely panned) new feel-good flick Christmas with the Kranks, Dan Aykroyd let loose his opinions on overwrought consumerism:

"[T]he common enemy in North America is the Western consumer. The consumer has driven oil up to $50 a barrel so we have to have these wars," he said. Still, he called for supporting the troops fighting those wars: "we've got to support those young men and women who are out there protecting our big fat bloated lifestyle. ... But let's take that $110 billion we're putting into conflict and put it into hydrogen cell research."

The interviewer pointed out the obvious: "But as a Hollywood success story, you're part of that whole fat bloated lifestyle." To which Aykroyd replied, "Yes, I know. I drive a V10 Ford Excursion and I have to tell folks all the time: look, I've got five kids and a dog and birds. I would have to have two Lincolns with two V8s, you see, so it would be 16 cylinders."

Lest ye judge, though, he properly disposes of his bottles and cans! "But I recycle at home. I started that with my dad in the neighborhood, we started a recycling thing that turned into quite a big thing with all the people in our neighborhood up in Canada doing bottles and cans and glasses."

Hollywood stars: throwing stones from glass houses since the sign was erected in 1923.

Bush taps Nebraska gov to head USDA

Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns (R) will replace Ann Veneman as secretary of agriculture, if Bush's nomination slithers through the Senate as expected. For those not intimately familiar with Johanns' record (who, me?), Bush provided this helpful tidbit: "He's a strong proponent of alternative energy sources such as ethanol and bio-diesel." A corn-belt governor who digs ethanol?  Who woulda thunk it?  

More on Johanns to come ...

Calling Africa to action on climate

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai and George W. Bush agree on one thing: developing nations need to do more to curb the threat of climate change. (Of course, they don't agree on the much more vexing question of whether overdeveloped nations -- one highly overdeveloped nation in particular -- should do anything to address the ballooning problem ...)

Celebrate Buy Nothing Day at Wal-Mart

This Friday I'll join culture jammers and lazy-asses the world over in celebrating Buy Nothing Day (inspired by those jammers exemplar over at Adbusters). Stick it to The Man by sitting on your duff; dig it.

More energetic rabble-rousers are encouraged to head to the nearest lair of Beelzebub (Wal-Mart, yo), not to feed the beast, but to congest the aisles as part of a Whirl-Mart Consumption Awareness Ritual. (See live action video of such!)