Back in the 1970s, there was a British sitcom called Good Neighbours, starring Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal as Tom and Barbara Good, names which mean exactly nothing to American audiences. Anyway – the premise of the series was that one day the Goods have had enough with their fast-paced, rat race, pollution-creating, junk food-eating, and costly life and decide to go the hippy-dippy sustainable route. They decide to dig up their lawn and put in a garden, raise animals, and use natural, home-made products, all to the horror of their social climbing neighbors, the Leadbetters. It’s light and silly a la a Three’s Company episode. The goals of the Goods probably sound a bit like some of the lefty-ish people in your life today, as sustainability and eco-friendly living has become quite a bit more trendy than it was in the ’70s. The original sitcom is certainly worth checking out, but so is a modern spin-off of the show, a short reality series from the UK called Giles and Sue Live The Good Life, which informs about environmentally friendly, urban homesteading life – and pokes a bit of fun at it too. Read More
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A DIY Dummies Book for the Plumbing Phobic
My parents didn’t let me watch scary movies when I was a kid. This naturally meant that I spent a lot of time at friends’ houses, disobeying their wishes as much as possible.
As it turns out, my parents were – gasp – *right* not to let their youngin’ watch these ‘mature’ movies, as I was quite the gullible, dorky child who was too easily spooked by the cheesy climactic music, fake blood and (now) laughable horror effects. I’d have nightmares about demonic clowns infiltrating shower drains, mind-controlling rats coming out of sewers and Ghoulies waiting in toilets. Read More