Ed Begley Jr. and Rachelle Carson-Begley visited The Brian & Jill Show last week to discuss On Begley Street and their new line of all-natural sodas!

Listen to the interview at BrianandJillShow.com.

Q:It’s easy to be green but its not easy to be green and have good design. Who is designing your home? I’m interested to see what the design looks like. Do you have pics or a model? — Gregg

A: William Hefner is the architect. Here are some pictures.

Thanks!
Ed

On Begley Street star Ed Begley Jr. and director/co-executive producer Raphael Sbarge stopped by HuffPost Live Monday to discuss the show, how it came about and much more. Check out the interview:

From the On Begley Street mailbox:

Q:I have followed you, and your endeavors in trying to improve our environment. My question, after seeing the movie on your house, is: How does one, with limited income, try to live “off the grid,” or as much “off” as possible with such a minimal income such as mine? Do you have any suggestions?

I know I may be presuming too much, but I’m 85, and just fed up with the way “big money” is forcing me to live. As a child was simpler and easier, and cheaper. We grew our vegetables, and raised our chickens, and even had a hog. This was in the CITY! Now, they don”t even want you to barbeque in one’s own backyard. HELP! — Robert

A: I always suggest that people do as I did in 1970 when I was 20 years old and totally broke. And that is to pick the low-hanging fruit first.

What I mean by that is to do all the stuff that’s cheap & easy first:

Energy-saving light bulbs
Energy-saving thermostat
Weather stripping around the doors & windows
Public transportation, if available near you
Bike riding, if weather & fitness permit
Home gardening
Home composting
Recycling

Then, if you save money on that (& you will!), you can move up the ladder and do other things that cost a bit more, and save more money, etc. Things like a solar oven, and good insulation.

And if you save money from that (& you will!), you can move up the ladder again, and who knows, perhaps one day an alternative fuel car, or maybe even solar panels!

The point is to do something, ONE thing for today.

Then, tomorrow, do some more.

All the best,
Ed

From the On Begley Street mailbox:

Q:I am very impressed with the building of an environmental home and like what you are doing. However, the photos I have seen of the frame going up show shockingly dangerous examples of working at height. California was the place where high-efficiency safe working platforms were invented, so to see the poor use of ladders with men sitting on beams is so sad, not to mention inefficient. Environmentally effiicent aerial work platforms (cherry pickers) are readily available and would cut the risk of a fall while speeding up the build — possibly saving a few days of construction and setting a good example for other contractors. — Leigh

A:Hi Leigh,
Thank you for your interest! Input is always welcomed. While the reality is that we were no higher than being on a ladder replacing a bulb on a single-story ceiling, the camera angles can give the feeling of soaring heights. We actually were not that high off the ground. We do use various types of lift equipment — in this case, a crane did 98% of the work and the men only go on the ladder with safety harness for a few minutes to tighten the bolts. With the use of this special mechanical equipment, we were able to complete all the steel and labor seen in the pictures in just under three hours.

Although we would have liked to use a mechanical-man lift too, due to the basement and grid of foundation walls it was not possible to drive it around. So we had to use the next-safest things, ladders and harnesses.

Once we get higher up, you will start to see the work platforms for the team — but at this point, we are just in the early stages of erection and we hope you follow our progress! We think it will be exciting (and safe)!

Regards,
Scott Harris, Vice President
Building Construction Group

There’s also a video:

Ed Begley Jr. is currently appearing in David Mamet’s November at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Want to see the Oct. 30 production? We have two pairs of tickets — here’s how you can win:

On Facebook: “Like” and “Share” this post and the official November graphic that accompanies it. Everyone who does so will be put into a drawing for a pair of tickets The winner will be randomly selected Friday by OnBegleyStreet.com staff members.

On Twitter: Everyone who tweets the following message will be put into a drawing for a pair of tickets:

The winner will be randomly selected Friday by OnBegleyStreet.com staff members.

On Begley Street‘s Ed. Begley Jr. is starring in the David Mamet play November at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. If you’re in the area, you can catch it through Nov. 4. Here’s the official description:

The State of the Union has never been funnier

So, a lesbian, a Native American and a turkey lobbyist walk into the White House…

The Oval Office descends into a three-ring circus of political incorrectness in this riotous farce about an unpopular president desperate to be re-elected. President Charles Smith and his cohorts will stop at nothing to beg, bargain and browbeat their way into a second term. Will human decency prevail?

Emmy Award-nominee Ed Begley, Jr. (Arrested Development, A Mighty Wind) and Emmy Award-winner Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) lead the cast in Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet’s delicious spoof of the highest office in the nation.