“Schiffer owns three dogs, two sheep, four chickens, a pregnant pig, two black swans, four ducks, three tortoises and a parrot, and compares her everyday routine to living in a zoo. She says, ‘I always dreamed that one day I would like a farm with lots of animals, so I thought I’d get little amounts of each and find out how it works.’”

Schiffer also revealed that she’s installed an “Austrian Wood-fired eco-boiler” to heat the 17th century property. We’re not exactly sure on the brand, but it might be the super-efficient Ökofen Wood-Pellet home heating system. Either way, sounds like a great life — and I’m smitten with the tortoises.

Liam Neeson

“As a horse lover and rider, I am deeply disturbed by the unnecessary and misguided political and extreme rhetoric against the horse-drawn carriage industry and feel obliged to counter this action.”

“The horse-drawn carriage business is an iconic part of this city, employing hundreds of dedicated, hard-working men and women, caring for well-bred, well-trained horses and attracting tourists to New York City for over 100 years.”

“As a proud New York resident, I have personally enjoyed the beauty of Central Park on a daily basis for many years, and these horses are an undeniable integral part of that experience. The notion that a well-nourished horse pulling a carriage through Central Park is considered cruelty may fit in with animal activists’ extremist view, but not with the rest of us. Surely we have a responsibility to protect commerce, especially one with such history, and one I truly feel helps define this city. May pragmatism prevail.”

Last June, Alec Baldwin hosted an event for PETA to help raise money and awareness on the issue. “I don’t have a problem with the carriage trade,” he said. “If they remove all the cars in Manhattan, and build a farm with an acre of land for each horse to graze, I will invest my own money. Passions run high in this issue… It’s loud and vulgar because they know they are wrong.”

What do you think? Should the carriage industry continue or is today’s city life too much of a stress for these animals?

Actor Matthew Modine is putting the final touches on what he hopes will turn into an annual celebration. On September 20th, the former Weeds star will officially launch “BICYCLE FOR A DAY” — a campaign to get people out of their cars and into the streets using a bike, skateboard, or anything else not dependent on gasoline. “The idea behind my project Bicycle for a Day is to help people understand that there is something they can do,” he recently wrote. “In fact, just one simple thing they can do every day to become part of the solution. If everybody does this one thing, the cumulative effect could be tremendous.”

While Bicycle For A Day will be officially launching at The South Street Seaport in NYC — participants are encouraged to start their own gatherings all over the nation. Modine’s hope is that this will eventually spread all around the world. ”The environmental situation is a great opportunity for us all to work together to find solutions. Bicycle for a Day is just that— citizens of the world joining together globally and acting locally.”

Even Liam Nesson recently joined Modine to help push the cause along. To find out how you can become involved, jump here to the official website.

We know celebrities are finding it in vogue to travel via hybrid or some other green car to events — but it’s rare we actually see them take things a step further by walking or (*gasp*) biking to the red carpet.

Liam Neeson, however, decided to jump on a bike this week in New York City and do just that for the launch of the global warming initiative Bicycle For A Day. Granted, he was actually dared to do so by the campaign’s founder — Weeds actor Matthew Modine — but with the promise of a free dinner and the opportunity to make a point, the decision came easy to the actor. From the article,

‘”Honestly, bicycling isn’t just fun and healthy and non-polluting, it’s sexy,” said Matthew at the Tuesday night bash, which was also attended by Robert Kennedy Jr – the nephew of late US President John F Kennedy. ‘It gives you a nice rear end.’”

Modine is organizing events in San Francisco, Chicago and New York to highlight the perils of global warming. According to Hello! Magazine, he envisages a day of community-based activities at a prominent city park – to which attendees would travel on two wheels – including entertainment, speeches by politicians and environmental groups.

You can pedal over to the organization’s site for more information!

photo credit: © Rex