• CONVERT is a new concept shop in Berkley, CA featuring sustainable designers. It’s the only store in Berkeley’s Fourth Street shopping district to carry men’s apparel. It also offers a selection of women’s clothing, stylish accessories and Bay Area-based labels.

1809B Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710   •   (510) 649-9759
Open: Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• It’s rad that another NBA star has gone vegan (for at least 4 days) but I can’t help being ever-so-slightly insulted that Phoenix Suns player Amar’e Stoudemire considers this vegan diet a “fast”. Call me crazy, but isn’t a fast when you eat nothing at all? Clearly he hasn’t had my Pistacio Crusted Seitan, or he’d be talking about his vegan feast. Full story at Ecorazzi.

• Just Offal. Did your food have a face…that you ate right off the skull? If the idea of eating face, entrails, scrotum, testicles, brain, snout, feet, heart, organs, blood pudding, heads, and tripe (rectum) makes you feel awful, it’s no coincidence that offal sounds as bad as it’s name. However, there is a huge and dedicated following of offal foodies, and I can only wonder if these people want something all-their-own just to give them cool points, street cred, or something of shock value? Or are they just more honest about what they’re eating; the parts that everyone else throws away because they’re “gross”. A lot of people require the ambiguity of meat to enjoy it, but offal is difficult to hide whose body it came from, especially if you’re eating a face or a brain.

I was especially disturbed by Pajata, a traditional dish from Rome. According to wiki, it refers to the intestines of an “un-weaned” calf, i.e., only fed on its mother’s milk. The calf is killed soon after nursing. The intestines are cleaned, but the milk is left inside (how do you both clean the intestines, yet leave the contents in place?). When cooked, the combination of heat and the enzyme rennet in the intestines coagulates the milk and creates a sort of thick, creamy, cheese-like sauce. Blach! I thought veal was already sick, but this? Cooking the mothers milk inside her baby? Twisted. I’ll stick to my walnut-mushroom pate and cashew cheese, thank you very much.

• I’m trying to figure out what the hell all this infantile (haha!) hysteria about he human breast milk cheese is really about. Is it really being considered the worst idea ever? It it really illegal? C’mon. Really?

When comparing cow and human milk, let’s ask a few question. Which milk comes from a consenting individual? It’s not the cows’. Which milk typically has pus, blood, synthetic hormones, and feces in it? Nope, not the human milk. Which milk is designed by nature for human consumption? Not the cows’. Which milk is responsible for the veal industry and global warming? Not the human milk.

So why are people freaking out? Why is human breast milk any more gross than drinking the random tit milk from a cow stuck in a filthy factory farm up to its knees in feces? Let’s face it, people are so boob obsessed that’s all they can think about. Boobs! But if you had to push a calf aside, crawl under a cow and put an udder in your mouth and suck – you’d have a much different point of view. The anonymity and safety of the milk carton obscures the truth. The newness of the human milk illicits visions of adults sucking on pregnant tits, which is, apparently, very scary. That’s why I prefer almond, coconut, rice, and soy milk. Yum!

What do you think about this issue? Leave a comment!

• SIGG sale at Gilt Groupe! Only $10 – $15. Click here for you invitation to Gilt.

• Serious Eats’ Michael Natkin conducted a taste test of several store-bought tofu brands to bring you the least-bland winner of the taste test! I’ve never been a huge fan of plan old tofu, but according to Michael:

“…not all tofu is created equal. Some tofu has a mild, sweet beany flavor and a smooth consistency, while other brands have flavor defects and strange textures.

In Japan, it’s understood that top-shelf bean curd is an artisanal product made with only the best soybeans and spring water and processed with labor-intensive traditional techniques. That level of appreciation is unusual in the United States, but perhaps it will become more common as we realize that tofu is a versatile and delicious food in its own right, not a replacement for meat.”

• Remember those recycled cassette tape ties? Check these recycled cassette tape fedoras from the same people!

You heard it here first! I got my eyes and hands onto a handful of samples from the forthcoming men’s collection, M:ZERO, from Melissa Plastic Dreams: the sustainable, zero-waste, fair-trade, recycled plastic shoe company known for their cutting edge design and collaborations with fashion superstars like Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, and others.

Kaight Shop in New York City’s Lower East Side held a launch party for the pop-up installation of Melissa’s “Shop Within a Shop” inside of Kaight. They were so cool, I couldn’t help but jam my giant, size 11.5 foot into one of the samples that were all size 8,  just for the sake of a photo. Considering that these are touted as some of the most comfortable shoes out there, it really wasn’t that bad at 3.5 sizes too small. One that fits must feel like walking on pillows.

The new men’s collection features an oxford, a loafer, and a driving shoe. By far, my preference is the oxford, especially the gray, fuzzy one and the white matte one. Look out for these fantastic plastics arriving for retail Autumn/Winter 2010!

Loomstate’s Baja Board Short in organic cotton are less bold, and feature a leaf-inspired print.

Patagonia also has a handsome khaki, or khaki check board short in organic cotton.

If you care about the oceans, there are some great resources out there for ethical surfers, like EcoBusinessLinks page on surf companies.  Country Feeling Surfboards uses soy-based and sugar-based foams; deck inlays made from hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, and resin that is catalyzed by the sun.  The best surf accessories, like hemp boardbags can be found at Wave Tribe. If you have an old board to recycle, send it to ReSurf! I also highly recommend joining the efforts of Sea Shepherd.

We know that The Cove has won an Oscar for Best Documentary of 2009, and if you haven’t seen End Of The Line, you must!