Go Fish

If you like seafood, I have some bad news: many species are filled with mercury, and many more are perilously overfished. What’s a low impact highlifer to do? Well, one of the most difficult parts of ordering your sushi sustainably is just keeping straight what’s okay and what isn’t. Luckily, the Monteray Bay Aquarium publishes these handy pocket guides that list types of fish according to how sustainably they’re farmed or caught, along with notations of what has been known to have high mercury content. If you’re really concerned about mercury, supplement with this guide from the Blue Ocean Institute, which lists any species that have been flagged by one or more government agencies for mercury concerns. Finally, for the tech savy among us, you can point your mobile device to seafoodwatch.org and get the latest guide info displayed right on your phone. I’ll tell you right now that it’s not always fun knowing which kinds of delicious fish are off limits (or should be at least), but at least you’ll know. And a wise man once said that knowing is half the battle. Actually, that might have been GI Joe, but still.

Fashion on the Cheap

One of the amazing things about some of the wealth concentration in New York is the quality of the used goods that end up in thrift stores. In fact based on my experience, it’s far easier to find a nice designer shirt or a good pair of pants in a Manhattan thrift store than an ironic t-shirt, which are snapped up by hipsters as soon as they hit the racks. What makes the deal even better is that many thrift stores are actually revenue generating arms of nonprofit organizations that fight poverty, HIV, and other social problems. For the cheap goods, click for more.

GOOD Party

(photo by Eugenio Silvestrini)

Finding a budget, socially conscious way to cut loose and party in New York is no easy feat, unless you throw a party yourself or know someone with the space to do it and the inclination to invite you. That’s why you should stay alert for events like the Good Magazine party held on Saturday at the National Museum of the American Indian. The party was only open to subscribers, but a subscription is just $20, and that gets you all you can drink from 9:00 till about 1:30. (Yes, I was there until last call…in retrospect, a mistake.) On top of that, the entire subscription fee goes to a charity that you choose when you sign up. So ultimately, I gave $20 to UNICEF for a year-long magazine subscription, around 10 vodka drinks, DJs and dancing in a very cool setting, and one massive headache on Sunday morning. I guess the last just proves the old saying: “if it sounds to good to be true…”