Little green box-guy “Verdito” was created as a companion to “Cubit,” who’s the little orange box-guy mascot of Nick Latin America. I love these spots because they’re so simple, funny and appealing that we don’t notice any age, language or cultural barriers. Just the message. So listen up.

This spot promotes last October’s Global Handwashing Day:

It will surely be soon that we see the straight-to-DVD epic Mulroy’s List. Or better yet…the new reality series on Bravo, Launch my (Pipe)Line! Either way, we propose backing it with this 2009 track by Detroit rapper Finale, A Pipe Dream and a Promise.

Lyrics

My mother, my grandma, my grandfather
My brother, my sister, my girl
landlord, the bands and my compadres,
I promised the world the world that.
You only come up short (?) ere’time

My chase ain’t over, no,
I can’t take over, no,
I owe ya
Though I know it in my soul I’m not the only one I should owe,
You matter.
Rapper, that’s the ‘proach you go killin’ one on one for.

Play the track

Download A Pipe Dream and a Promise - Finale
Low-fi 64kbps file for sampling.
Like it? Support the people who make music.on Buy this track at Amazon.com.

*For the best-of-the-best reading on the unfolding drama surrounding Las Vegas water, see: Emily Green at Chance of Rain, Waterwired, Aquafornia, and Circle of Blue.

It is a blue chalcedony, a mineral sometimes associated with the water element. To those who believe in the mysterious power of crystals, this one is power-packed with some good vibes including (according to dkwcrystals.talktalk.net:

A Creative Stone. Thought to alleviate hostilities, irritability and melancholy. Helping to create and enhance generosity, responsiveness and receptivity. Also said to help open the mind to assimilate new ideas and acceptance of new situations.

So if you see me wearing this, take advantage of the fact that I’ll likely be in a great mood and primed for donations or investments, no matter how hare-brained the the idea or cause might be! (Hmmm, maybe the daughter has some hidden agenda here!)

Some campaigns are creative, some are forgettable, but this one is just unbelievable!  Courtesy of Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, is HAPPI-Home Flyer 16: Pet Waste Management. (In their defense: this is dated August 2000 and they might well be shocked to learn that it is floating around live on the World Wide Web in 2010.)

After some general background information, nasty facts about crap, and a list of do’s and don’ts comes the real meat of the document, the part that’s going to CHANGE OUR BAD BEHAVIOR: a worksheet to complete your very own Pet Poop Risk Assessment Analysis and Action Plan.

ASSESSING YOUR RISKS

Complete the risk assessment table on page 2 to determine the water pollution risks from your pets’ wastes. For each category, choose the set of practices that best fits your situation. Then, at the bottom of page 2, develop an action plan to minimize water pollution hazard.

So how crappy are our pet practices? Let’s find out, as I share my completed Risk Assessment and Action Plan with all of you! (Click the image for a larger view.)

If a high annoyance level will motivate us to change our behavior, this ought to do the trick! Jason’s twitterfeed now boasts nearly 4,500 tweets, every single one of which reminds him of his daily and monthly totals.

Below, see Jason’s You Tube video showing the tweet-happy meter…which looks to me pretty similar to the old-style bill-mailing variety!

According to his You Tube page, his equipment source was http://www.watermeters.com/)

While you’re contemplating your virtual downpour, you might also load up this beautiful rain-themed desktop wallpaper complete with February calendar. This will help you focus on the coming weekend!

(Click the image for a 1680×1050 wallpaper, or go here and scroll down for other sizes.)

(Don’t fret over funding…a couple of bogus studies by “experts” will easily project millions in expected new development and tourism bucks. Taxpayers LOVE this stuff!)

Just observe the awesomeness of the new media facade on Barcelona’s water tower built by the Cologne-based company ag4 Media Facade GmbH and completed at the end of November 2009. All kidding aside, I really DO believe in the power of art to communicate and this creative display links water infrastructure and media architecture to produce a stunning visual reminder of vital water issues.

From www.dexigner.com,

The “Fontsanta Balance Tower” is part of the newly constructed pumping station built by the Spanish water supply company ATLL and conceals a water reservoir that ensures a constant water pressure balance in Barcelona.

ag4 has created a media skin for the water reservoir. Dynamic visual media blend with the impressive architecture of the building. The light choreography, created by ag4 in close collaboration the architects ruisánchez arquitectes and ATLL, explores the various themes concerning the sustainable management and use of water reserves while simultaneously emphasizing the form and function of the building.

“We don’t have any.” replied the first blonde

“Well, if you’re going to fish here, you need fishing licenses.”

“But officer,” replied the second blonde, “we aren’t fishing. We all have magnets at the end of our lines because we’re trying to find jewelry and valuables in the river bottom!”

The warden lifted up all the lines and, sure enough, there were magnets tied on the end of each line. “Well, I don’t know of any law against it,” said the warden. “You can take whatever you find.” And with that, he left.

As soon as he was out of sight, the three blondes started laughing hysterically. “What a dumb cop!” the second blonde said to the other two, “doesn’t he know that there are steelhead trout in this river?!

From the artist’s website www.reeceterris.com,

American Standard is an installation that featured fifteen functional urinals arranged in a pyramid formation on the wall of the men’s washroom in the Alexander Centre studio at Simon Fraser University.  Transforming the facility into a public indoor fountain, water overflowed from the uppermost urinal and splashed its way down through the formation creating a deluge of water flooding the sunken floor. Visitors enter the space via tiled stepping stones, providing access directly to the sink and preexisting toilet, leaving the facility fully functional and open to both sexes.

At the same page, don’t miss the embedded video which includes the installation in action; this does the work far better justice than these still photos.)

MOSCOW – More than 100 Russian Orthodox believers have been hospitalized after drinking holy water during Epiphany celebrations in the eastern city of Irkutsk, an official said Monday.

A total of 117 people, including 48 children, were in the hospital complaining of acute intestinal pain after drinking water from wells in and around a local church last week, said Vladimir Salovarov, a spokesman for the Irkutsk Investigative Committee.

Salovarov said 204 people required some medical treatment after consuming the water, the source of which was a stagnant lake. He said, however, that it was too early to say what caused the illness.

Many Russians consider any water obtained on Epiphany — which they celebrate on Jan. 19 — to be holy.

The water is typically bottled for consumption later. Tap water in most of Russia is undrinkable.