The Omnivore's Dilemma

Sybil Vane at Bitch, Ph.D. reviews Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma:

...But I am persuaded of several things by this book. "Organic" means very little anymore. Organic via Whole Foods and the like certainly means nothing in terms of sustainability or treatment of creatures. Federal agriculture policy isn't helping anything; rather it provides subsidies that encourage farmers to produce more of over-produced crops (e.g. corn), thus dropping the price more and more. Meat should be eaten infrequently. One really must get past the notion that she can eat whatever food she wants whatever time of year. Food choices are undeniably political *if* one has the fortune to be aware of those politics.

(Read the rest here.)

This has been sort of a big subject for me recently. With a great majority of my friends being vegetarian (and eating mostly vegetarian myself since Kyle does most of the cooking), I've had many a discussion about the social implications of being ABLE to be a vegetarian, or of being able to be that choosy about one's diet in general. The fact that government subsidies for meat production are vastly higher than those for most vegetable production (sweet corn obviously notwithstanding) alone means that what is more readily affordable in terms of foods for people with lower income is very different from what is readily affordable to those with higher incomes. This ties in with the supposed "obesity epidemic" and the not-new correlation between poverty and obesity [PDF].

From UNDP.org:

Current research on obesity now seems to focus on socioeconomic factors as a primary cause of this dangerous disease and empirical evidence suggests that poor people are the highest risk of becoming obese. This is largely because those living below or close to the poverty line usually have poor standards of living. Arguably their state of poverty deprives them from having a stable diet. The growing numbers of working mothers find it increasingly difficult to allocate time for preparing family meals, leading to increasing dependence on fattening fast foods.

I think I might pick up this book sometime. Kyle recently read The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason, but I guess I didn't want to read it because he gave it to Tiffany. Oh well.

And because I can't remain serious for more than, like, ten minutes, here is a hilarious video of dogs and lasers that Tim sent me:

No, really. Watch it!

Earth to John McCain: Please, Stop.

EARTH, July 25, 2008 -- The entire world drafted an open letter to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) today, asking him to drop out of the U.S. presidential race and concede the presidency to Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois).

...

Pointing to polls that show Obama leading McCain 94 percent to 6 percent everywhere on the inhabited globe except the United States, where most polls give Obama a narrow one- to three-point lead, the entire world suggested that Americans might not be sufficiently informed about the U.S. election.

...

On a related note, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked the entire world why the U.S. media have failed to acknowledge his government's endorsement of Obama's plan for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. "I do not understand what is wrong with their Washington Post," Maliki said in a prepared statement. "I recall that it used to be a pretty good newspaper. But now I fear that its editorial pages have been taken over by what the Qu'ran calls 'a bunch of wankers.'"

Read the whole thing here.

(Via Feministe)

Unplanned Hiatus

Hi! I know, it's been over a month since I last updated but there's been a lot going on and I just haven't gotten around to it. School ended on the 26th of June. I got an A in algebra. I got A's in my other classes too, but algebra was the one I was worried about and I'm really proud of myself for doing so well. I got a little over-confident at one point and thought about taking whatever comes next, trig or pre-calc or whatever, but then I decided that I probably shouldn't put myself in that position. I worked hard and did well in algebra but I sort of hated it, so why would I take even harder math classes voluntarily? Who knows!

After school ended, we came back home and spent the 8th through the 14th in Costa Rica with my family. It was awesome! Dad was saying today that he and Mom tallied it up and we saw something like 47 different kinds of birds, like Scarlet Macaws, Keel-billed Toucans although they were pretty elusive and we heard them a lot more than we saw them, all sorts of Tanagers, Pearl Kites, which the book says have not been recorded in Costa Rica, and, one of my personal favorites for just the name alone, the Violaceous Trogon.

We saw tons of Central American Spider Monkeys, Coatis, some Squirrel Monkeys, a few Capuchins, and we heard every day but never saw Howler Monkeys. Plus myriad other insects and arachnids and some really incredible plants and fungi. It was pretty amazing. We did a horseback tour through the jungle and out onto the beach. We were on the Pacific side and I'd never seen the Pacific Ocean before. I wish I knew how to surf, there were great waves.

I'll post my own photos...some day. Between the five of us, there are several hundred pictures and they have to be sorted through and organized and edited, which will take a while. But one day, I promise...maybe.

The 17th was my 23rd birthday. It was a good one. I got my hair done in a fancy salon and went to dinner with my family. Kyle made a Tres Leches cake for me and homemade whipped cream and it was really delicious. He also made Orange Peel Jello Shots. They're so cool! I think we're going to make some more for tonight, Tiffany and I are have a joint belated birthday party.

So, that's what's been going on. Hopefully, since things are quieting down now, I will get back into a more regular posting habit but who's to say.

Later!

Excellent!

I just watched Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey again. In the news clips at the end, there's one that says:

Reaper Wins Indy 500: "I didn't know I could run that fast."

Cracks me up every time.

Where Else Would I Stick My Cold Feet?

36 As a 1930s wife, I am Poor Take the test!

My favorite is the statement, "Puts her cold feet on husband at night to warm them." I'm assuming that's a point against me?

*dies*

If I haven't told you already, I absolutely adore Sigur Ros and one of my all-time-most-favorite music videos is the one for "Hoppipolla":


Now, Tim goes and shows me that some crazy person hellbent on slaying the world with way too much nostalgic cute HAS GONE AND MADE A VIDEO FOR HOPPIPOLLA USING CLIPS FROM MILO & OTIS OMG IT'S GOING TO KILLLLLL MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!:


So, I had to share this. Because it's just too out of control to keep to myself. I didn't know whether to smile until my face fell off or cry, so I did a little of both. THAT LITTLE PUG IS JUST SO DAMNED HEROIC!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go barf a rainbow.

Sweater Bunny and Friends

I don't know if this is weird. I have a small collection of pictures of animals in sweaters. For a while I was posting these little by little on my friend Tim's Myspace, but then I got rid of Myspace and no longer had anywhere to post my sweater animals. Then I realized, I have a blog! So, there is no substance to this post...pretty much like most of my posts. It's just a fun little scroll-through of my sweater animal collection, plus some other fun pictures that I have amassed from the internet. Enjoy!



The original Sweater Bunny, the one that started it all (for me, anyway).



I don't have many dogs. Dogs in sweaters are pretty common.





(This one is weird...what's in the sleeve?)



Not a sweater, but still so cute!



The majority of my collection is cats. Awwww.


A squirrel...

A llama...


I've even got an aardvark.




TREE SWEATERS!

The following are not animals in sweaters, they're just cute pictures:




I STILL DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THESE HORSES ACTUALLY EXIST!


From xkcd:


And this one isn't cute so much as very odd. A guy I know took this picture a couple months ago. Please notice the street sign in the background and then realize that this was taken at the corner of Enterprise Road and McMullen Booth Road and if you were from my home town, that would mean something.


Goodnight.

Green Thumbs

Ok, I know I said I was going to post this, like, three days ago, but then we were having all these problems with our internet and it was frustrating and I didn't get around to it. However, our system has been updated with a new router AND a new modem instead of our old crappity 2-in-1 deal and we no longer have cable. It's weird but I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly. I will miss The Colbert Report, though:


Anyhoo, let's get on with it. Here are some pictures of my lovely porch garden!


(From left): Mint, ???, avocado tree. (Notice the lovely busted chairs on the neighbors porch.)


A closer picture of ???. If you recognize it, let me know!


Minty!


All my little sprouting pots.


Top left is Jalapenos, top right is basil.


Tree thingy I don't know the name of. Some kind of fig?


(From left): Oregano, parsley, marjoram.


Random hanging plant that I don't know the name of, either.


My beautiful Desert Rose, which I found out is Adenium Obesum and this variety is called "Noble Concubine".


Desert Rose again.


The whole thing. I'm thinking of cutting part of one of the stems and grafting it to try to make another branch off the main trunk part. Can't do that until after "winter rest", though. We'll see.

Well, that's really the whole thing...it's a small porch. Know the names of any of these? Lemme know!

P.S. This post took me like an hour and a half to finish because I started playing Farm Hustle, which is one of the cutest and most addictive flash games EVER! Go play!!!

Solidarity

It's late and I'm tired but I wanted to post this real quick before I go to bed.

I would shake Keith Olbermann's hand because I understand the outrage and frustration and feelings of futility. And he expresses it with WAY less swearing than I could manage:





And tomorrow I will be discussing my garden. With pictures!

Quote of the Day

Caecus: "If I was a park ranger, I would just hide out in the bushes all day with a paintball gun."

In reference to the ridiculous graffiti and trash on and around the dock at the park.

Today's Aggravation

Men who think they can treat grown women as if they are little girls:

OLD


NEW


I expect this from Chris Matthews, but Obama? Come on, man, are you TRYING to insure that I don't vote for you? Because you didn't have my vote in the first place and you're certainly not making any effort to get it. Hillary might have had it, but she stopped trying for me when she heard that I'm not a key demographic. WHATEV!

Crazy Old Guy in '08!

No, not THAT crazy old guy!


Or THAT crazy old guy!


Yeah, THAT Crazy Old Guy!


Classes started today. Algebra is totally going to drink my milkshake:

"Don't bully me, Algebra!"

[Edit: Caecus - "You know, algebra will probably drink your milkshake, but I don't think it will beat you to death with a bowling pin." Touche, my friend.]

The War on Drugs

A girl in my high school graduating class, Rachel Hoffman, was murdered. She was facing a drug charge and agreed to participate in some kind of sting with the Tallahassee police that apparently went all awry.

Hoffman, who was working with the Tallahassee Police Department's vice unit in an investigation, went missing Wednesday night near Forestmeadows Park. Investigators found her body today in rural Taylor County. Two men have been arrested in connection with her disappearance.

All this because of less than an ounce of marijuana. It's so stupid. The "war on drugs" kills more people than drugs do. It certainly kills more people than it saves.

YouTubing

Remember how I said that M.I.A. song was the catchiest thing ever? It's not. It just got knocked down by The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name":


My favorite Radiohead song (pretty much my favorite song in general) is a live version of the song "Fog" and I recently found a video of it. It's amazing. I would give a foot to be able to play the piano like that man. At least a couple of toes.

I would give both feet to have been at that show. They didn't play this at the show I went to last Tuesday (oh, yeah, that's right). I didn't expect them to. Even the studio version isn't an album track. That show was excellent, by the way. We had fantastic seats, thanks to my mom.

One last video. When we're retired, Caecus and I are going to act out the scene from I (heart) Huckabee's where Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin run through the suburban neighborhood in the middle of the afternoon in business suits (Lily is in a lovely powder blue skirt suit with white gloves) with spy gear. Anyway, after we do that, I'm going to do this:

What is it about powder blue that encourages such liberation?!

I guess that's it for now. Late!

What does this even mean?

Via Lawyers, Guns and Money I find this piece from the Washington Post:

Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens

On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.

"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.

Can someone tell me what they were even voting on? That is a really great headline, though.

Better Call Samus, Pronto!

This is awesome. They made a Metroid!



[via Feminist Gamers]

Just a Thought

If I had known upon creating this blog that none of my fellow "contributors" were going to contribute anything, I would have named it Mustache Thievery like I wanted to.

None of them even READ this blog! You guys are good-name-vetoing jerks!

Mister Science Comes to Town

[AP Photo via Shakesville]

John McCain visited the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of South Florida in Tampa today. Cindy McCain (just behind Father Time) looks like she's trying very hard not to grab the back of his head and shove. I know I would be.

I gave my final speech today (on Harold Edgerton and his incredible work) and turned in my English portfolio. I got an A on my research paper about Kate Chopin and on my last essay, so yay! My prof seemed kind of scary when the semester first started but I ended up really liking her. She asked me what I was majoring in and when I told her education she got really excited and said she thought that would be perfect for me. I am a teacher's pet and I am not ashamed.

I then photographed my friend Stephanie in the studio for her graduation announcements. I was done with that around 4:57 (that's what time it was when I got in the car to leave). Caecus had to go to class and he had our house keys so I've been stuck in the school library since around 5:20 (that's what time it was when I got back to the school after driving all the way home before realizing I couldn't get in). We always meet at the library when I come pick him up so he should be downstairs waiting for me in, you know, between 15 minutes 45 minutes. And he forgot his phone. Oi.

Stephanie and I finished our documentary project for Editorial last night. It's good. Real good. I'll put it up when I get around to uploading it to the internets. We turn that in tomorrow. This semester is wrapping up quickly.

Caecus and I saw an old man with a big white beard on a pink Vespa today.

It was awesome!!!

Slow Night

This movie looks pretty funny:


Plus James Franco is cute!

Also, at they end they play this M.I.A. song, "Paper Planes", which is the Catchiest. Thing. Ever.

Stuff Nobody Likes

I wasn't a fan of Stuff White People Like. Oh, haha, recycling, I get it! Wtf?

Anyway, I also haven't been a fan of it's 8 million spin-off sites. Until now.

Stuff Nobody Likes has great writers and a keen eye for crap that pisses off 90% of the [American] population. With great posts like Wet Sock, Old People Drivers, and, my person favorite, Blatant Disregard of Movie Theater Etiquette (number 6 had me in stitches), it's a pretty fun way to pass a few minutes (or, you know, an hour or two), if you've got it.
[h/t Pandagon]

Also, we saw a goat eating grass in front of someone's house by the road today. I have no idea where it came from.

Watch It Shred!

Wow. I could find a couple uses for this:


I would probably end up throwing crap in there for the hell of it and suddenly I wouldn't have a Halloween pumpkin or any books or a couch (or a SHOPPING CART [!!!]).

This is almost as good as Will It Blend?...


Almost.