PVC & Sex toys + Musical Side Note ... and more

Defining PVC
As I was running through my latest revision of a proposal at work, I checked my definition for PVC and some how ran into the following article:

How safe is your sex toy?

Thought this would be appropriate for the interests of others.

Musical Side Note:
As some of you may have heard or not heard, the band Ra Ra Riot based out of Syracuse, New York got signed by label Barsuk. Their debut album The Rhumb Line is expected to be released August 19th. The quintet has yet to unleash many details on the album, but let me be the first to say that this album is going to blow people away. It might not have the electric feel and psychodelic impressions coming from current artists such as the likes of MGMT, Atlas Sound, or Jim Noir but Ra Ra Riot's eerie melodolic tunes, as heard in the self-titled EP, will send you into a whirlwind of strings, bustin' bass riffs, and heartful vocals. Thanks to surprises like their rare acoustic performance of Dying is Fine (recorded by SPIN at SXSW this past March), one could only hope for more to come out of this young band.

You will probably see more updates on the band as the album release creeps up.

It Takes a Village - The Next American City
The featured article today gives us a look into this "Eco-Village" in Los Angeles led by Loris Arkin. Yes people, an eco-village. This idea sounds somewhat utopian, but honestly not quite surprising. Naturally, there HAS to be something of the sort, especially in this day and age. In my eyes, it's almost like a great distraction from the rest of the world. An ideal of types, and personally something I'd want to be a part of, one must ask can this really be something revolutionary? Clearly Arkin's eco-village, called Bimini Place, can serve as a model for others and possibly future eco-villages. While they strive for ecological, social, and economic sustainability, the eco-village would have mold itself wherever this idea travels. This would be interesting to follow. Bimini Place has been around since 1993. The article provides a brief peak into an afternoon spent on a tour with Arkin. Instead of providing the reader with EVERYTHING there is to know about Bimini, Next American City basically suggests an extended welcome to experience a tour ourselves. Of course, I can't help but resist to plan a visit to this eco-village when I get back home to Los Angeles. This is just another reminder of how quirky and progressive the city can be.