crap

cute.

2006-05-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

"When a music critic wrote an unflattering review of his daughter's debut as a soprano, [Harry S.] Truman rushed off a letter to The Washington Post calling the reviewer a 'frustrated old man' and threatening to blacken his eyes and 'kick his butt'"

statuatory rape & underage drinking

2006-04-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

He was working through college on my grandpa's farm
I was thirsting for for knowledge and he had a car
I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child
When one restless summer we found love growing wild
On the banks of the river on a well beaten path
Funny how those memories they last

Like strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love oh bittersweet
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine

I still remember when thirty was old
My biggest fear was September when he had to go
A few cards and letters and one long distance call
We drifted away like the leaves in the fall
But year after year I come back to this place
Just to remember the taste

Of strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love oh bittersweet
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine

The fields have grown over now
Years since they've seen a plow
There's nothing time hasn't touched
Is it really him or the loss of my innocence
I've been missing so much

Like strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love oh bittersweet
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine

-Deana Carter

kewl.

2006-03-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

uh hey dude, im a little short on ca$h you think i could borrow like say nine trillion dollas; aint no thing.

oh, okay. sure

Groundhog Day?

2006-02-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

On May 4, 2004 a man named Mr. Talbott opened the Brookings Institute debate on the US ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty. I'm currently reading the transcript of the debate. Unforunately, it doesn't list Talbott's credentials. But in his brief opening, he's got some fabulous quotes. Here's a few excerpts:

"Good morning, everybody. If those of you who would like to take seats, even if you've got some of the delicious Brookings breakfast, go ahead and find some seats. There are plenty around."

"When my colleagues David Sandalow and Nigel Purvis suggest that we have a conference here this morning on the subject of the Law of the Sea, I felt a little bit like the Bill Murray character in that movie "Groundhog Day," which is to say an alarm had gone off, but it just didn't seem exactly like a new day."

"Senator Lugar, I'm about to turn the podium over to you. I know that "Hoosiers" is your own favorite movie. I've seen that from the posters in your office."

?

2006-02-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

For a Ocean Governance course, I researched the International Ocean Institute. I was exploring their website, when I started visiting the sites of different branches. Some were better designed more than others. India's was essentially nonexistant.

Then I found this charming little page on Iran's site.

Fabulous.

2006-02-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

Dear theBritish,

I can not understand much that you say.

But I still think you are freaking adorable.

-tammY

Oh, Tokyo.

2006-02-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

January 24, 5:20 A.M., Omori Station, Keihen Tohoku Line, Car Seven. A small girl sits, carelessly holding a large black purse printed over and over with "W.K.M.F." In smaller letters underneath: Wake up! Mother fucker.

The Juicer

2006-02-01T12:24:00.000-08:00

I happened to catch a few minutes of "Wacker Radio" on Tampa's 93.3 FLZ tonight on my way home from a meeting. Wacker

always sounds like kind of a stupid asshole, but don't most DJ's? So anyway, in the interlude between Nickleback's Photograph (ew) and T-Pain's I'm In Love With a Stripper (yay), Wacker is talking about this new move that's all the rage with strippers. It's called 'The Juicer' alright? So the whole thing is, that she's dancing, and juicing a piece of fruit. So I guess, maybe, this could sound kind of sexual. Depending on the person, I would say. I am not into the ladies and not really into overtly sexual things such as stripping, with pieces of fruit, which are being juiced. But, I have to give "mad props" to these ladies for at least supporting healthy eating! If some dirty trucker

whose idea of a balanced meal is a Hungry Man Microwave Meal

is hanging out at the strip club one night and sees a stripper doing "The Juicer" with a piece of, say, organic celery,

he may have some positive associations with celery and start eating healthier.

And I think that's a wonderful thing.

National Spelling Bee Championship

2006-01-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

Dr. Cameron: This means "total abstinence from alcoholic beverages."
Immature commentator: I hope he asks him to use it in a sentance.

E-racism?

2005-12-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

I found this ad while I was googling for Kelly Clarkson lyrics.

So...

2005-11-03T00:25:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you about the time I saw a hummer driving down 41 with a vanity plate that read: GOT GAS. (Oh yes, and a US Marine Corps sticker.)

Semper fi, bitches.

The Only Acceptable Border Run

2005-10-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

Last week Sarasota thought that it was going to receive a lot of damage from Hurricane Wilma. Everyone was buying dog food, alcohol, and water, in that order. As I made my way north though, the longest line that I saw all weekend was that snaking around the Taco Bell drive thru.

2005-10-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

I am always talking or at least thinking about the other people that I want to be: Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, an Olsen twin, Scarlett Johannsen, someone like that. It's stupid and it's a waste of time, but I always do it.

So I started thinking, if I could be a non-human, non-animal what would I be? My first thought was that I would be a tree. Then I thought about the Giving Tree. As a child, The Giving Tree seemed like a great, benevolent book. But now looking at it, I realize that it is quite sad. There is a tree, and the boy/man keeps using it, or rather, destroying it. First he is content to take just an apple, but then is overcome with greeds and sells the tree's apples for money. He crafts a house out of her branches and a canoe out of her trunk. Soon, all that is left is a stump on which the old man can sit.

We are so obsessed with what we can get, what we can use, what we can obtain and then discard. And I am too, but I just know that it sucks. I didn't want to be a tree because all that will happen is that I'll get cut down for limber to make a house that will be built on a bulldozed, depraved plot of land. So I decided I had to choose an inanimate object to be because trees are still living and everything.

I had a hard time deciding. So many things in our lives that are man made are so trivial, so meaningless. We scarcely remember that they exist other than when they have immediate use to us. I thought that perhaps I could be a school building, a place that people would enter to learn, and hopefully go on from there to better the earth. I thought I could be a water bottle, providing people with what is likely the most pure thing on Earth (thought not so much anymore.) and giving everyone sweet hydration. But even so, we could drink from our hands if we needed to. It might be beneficial if I were to be a candle, burning brightly to aid in reading at nighttime, but every candle burns down in only a few hours. I am still not really sure, but I have an idea that I might like to be a window. Windows are clear and scarcely visible unless they are quite dirty. The sole purpose of windows is to connect us more to nature: to allow natural sunlight to enter our homes and to provide us with a view of the world outside the artificial one we have created. Looking out of my windows, I see a banana tree, small gardens that various people have planted, tall trees looming over my street, and on certain nights, the beautiful moon orbitting us, controlling the tides that will bring the ocean closer and then farther away. I think that windows give people hope, allow them to take a minute to look at what is beyond them and the small life that each of us has created for ourselves.

Twiggy is racist (and not pretty anymore).

2005-09-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Janice Dickinson got replaced as a judge on America's Next Top Model for the fifth season. Some say her opinions were racist. I watched the show for the first time tonight, so I really don't know.

(Janice's last words on the matter?

“I’d rather be an honest bitch than some ass-kissing, sugarcoating, namby-pamby, wiping-ass motherfucker. I made the show number one in 52 countries. And then I got the sack, and the UPN executives replaced me with Twiggy. No one in America knows who Twiggy is. There’s no way anyone could fill my shoes. There’s no way.”)

I know who Twiggy is. As a judge, she is basically what Janice described (ass kissing, sugarcoating...) except when the girl in question isn't white. Then she's like, I just don't get that thing from her.

The whitest girl of them all, Twiggy was all about her. After all, she had the "English rose" look.

Twiggy was so pretty, but now she's just... old.

If I were green, I would die.

2005-09-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

I guess Clear Channel mandated that every one of its radio stations have a theme with a catchy name for the lunch hour, that being 12:00-1:00. (12:00-13:00 if you are on military/Euro time... how did we ever convince ourselves to count from ten to eight, cycling back to one after twelve. It's pretty amazing.) I was channel surfing on my way to class this morning and on Mix 100.7, with Shriner's "Take Out Lunch" an old lady called in with an unusual request.

"I got the perfect song for Monday mornin', Shriner!" she shrilled in her Southern accent.
"What's that?" Shriner asked, always respectful.
"Blue, by Eiffel 65. I'm just sittin' around doin' some housework and that's what I need to get me goin'."

I rocked out to Blue for about two seconds and by then I'd had enough. I don't know who needs Eiffel 65 to get their week started. But I can be pretty sure that they are nothing like me.

I've had just about enough of media conglomeration and censorship and syndication.

The WB started showing Sex and the City tonight, starting with the Pilot. But when Carrie asks Big if he's ever been in love, he says, "Absolutely."

For those of you who don't recall, (and I have to ask, What planet do you hail from?) the real line is "Absofuckinlutely." They basically ruined the whole series by changing that in the syndicated version.

Honest Tea is not so honest.

2005-09-15T00:41:00.000-07:00

It is a sham.

It went on sale today, the usual price of $1.39 a bottle marked down to $.99 a bottle for the next two weeks. I happened to walk down the tea aisle as the Honest Tea representatives were switching the signs over and stocking the shelves. I was on my way to clock out for my lunch break, so I was in a good mood and I stopped to chat.

"I love Honest Tea!" I told them, though they weren't particularly excited about it. I told them that my favorite flavor was constantly changing, from First Nation Peppermint, to Green Dragon, to Mango White. They really didn't care, but I kept talking.

Then came the pivotal moment.

"Do you guys work for the two main guys?" I asked. They were dressed really nicely, so I figured they might be really high up in the company. I couldn't remember the names of the two men featured so prominently on all of their bottles, which contain short stories about tea and Honest Tea's founders. (They were, I would soon learn, just that... stories.)

"Yeah. Michelle and--" answered one of the greasy reps.

"I thought they were guys. What are their names?" I interrupted, I guess a little rudely.

"They don't--" he stammered, "they aren't real."

I felt as if he had just smacked me in the face. I had felt as though I knew Seth and Barry, Honest Tea's fabled founders. Their website further expands the story of Seth and Barry. Barry had been Seth's economics teacher. They had both wanted to find a less sweet beverage to market. When Seth came up with Honest Tea, Barry decided to join in the venture.

I was pretty furious, feeling lied to and cheated. I told many of my co-workers what had happened, though no one seemed as concerned as I did.

After I returned from my break, the three representatives went through the checkout line across from mine. One came up to me and said, " You know, I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

That whole company, which purports to be of the people, peddling organic, all natural, socially equitable products, is based on a lie. It's something akin to the fake "Johnny Carrabba" or "Romano brothers" that you see on television commercials.

Boycott "Honest" Tea.

Floridians are hypocrites about hurricanes.

2005-09-02T01:06:00.000-07:00

People will say, "Thank God it wasn't us," and then in the same breath say, "I feel so bad for those poor people in New Orleans." Of course they mention God, because everyone that hates hurricanes is a Republican/ "Compassionate Conservative." And, invariably they pronounce New Orleans as "New Orlee-yans" not "New Orlinz" because they are from the South. If you truly feel bad for the people in Louisiana, you won't utter appreciations that you weren't hit. You'll say that you wish it came here because though our elevation is low, Florida is not below sea level in many places in the same way that New Orleans and the rest of the coastal are of Louisiana is. People are fine to donate a dollar or two to the Red Cross, believing that it's a small price to pay for the "gift" of the hurricane not coming to us.

It's not a gift from any divine force, it's nature.

Everyone is fat.

2005-09-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with America? We are all really fat, even if we look thin at first glance. I don't have a problem with myself or others being overweight, but I don't think it's so much that we are overweight.... just fat.

In fact, that's the one reason I know that Laguna Beach ("The Real OC") is indeed real. Every girl on there is enormous compared to Mischa Barton or Rachel Bilson, the stars of the (unreal) OC. Even Kristin is fat.

(As a side note, LC, of course, isn't fat, but that's because she is basically superior to all of us. Lindsay Lohan isn't fat either. But she used to be.)

Atkins is filing for bankruptcy, largely because after Dr. Atkins' death, it was discovered that he may have had heart complications because of high cholesterol. The Low Carb diet was popular for about five minutes. Panera Bread, where I worked at the time, offered low carb breads and salads, which were topped with gross, bloody "steak" and gorgonzola cheeze that smelled like feet. TGI Friday's, which is gross enough as it is (and actually stands for The Grossest Inedibles), also offered low carb selections. I doubt you could find them there now.

Bobo is in. Shirts are getting longer and baggier. Pants are a little looser. There is room for those extra pounds. When tight, tight jeans and teeny tiny tanks were in, there was pressure to be tiny to not only fit into them, but to look good. Now, your beaded tunic can cover up your love handles and tummy pudge. Your jeans will hang off of your ass a little bit so if you've got a little extra junk in the trunk, that's okay.

But really we should all stop being so goddamn fat.

Overheard at Whole Foods Market:

2005-08-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

Um, what?

"Did I ever tell you about the time I got a salad beer belly?"
-Suit

Contrasting parental philosophies:

Little girl, pointing to an Odwalla bar: "Mommy can I get one of these? Please?"
Mom: "You won't like that. It's good for you."

Little girl, pointing to Snapple: "Mommy, can I get this?"
Mom: "There's bad stuff in there, sweetie, no."

Sure you do, tween queen.
Lame Boy: So, has your mom seen the sun yet?
Fake Punk Girl: No, I just wear a jacket.
Lame Boy: But didn't she see it that one time?
Fake Punk Girl: I just told her it was fake. From far away it looks fake. What's she going to do if she sees it?
Lame Boy: Tell her, "Fuck you bitch, I do what I want!"
Fake Punk Girl: I know, that's what I always say.

Caliente is a nudist resort in Tampa.
Cashier, ringing up only prepared foods: No cooking this weekend?
Old Bobo (Bohemian Bourgeois) Lady: No. My friend and I are going to Caliente and this way we don't have to worry about meals.
Cashier, oblivious: That sounds like fun!
Old Bobo Lady: Yeah. I really need to relax. I'm looking forward to it.
Cashier, still oblivious: Enjoy your weekend!

Yeah, I know.
Crazy lady: Tell them, (incoherent babbling) salad bar (incoherent babbling) not fair (incoherent babbling) you know?
Me: Okay. (and a big smile.)

Sean Combs is whack.

2005-08-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

I think Puff Daddy is cool and a good rapper, but he's also pretty ridiculous. So many of his songs are about finding a wife, to the point where he really must be obsessed with getting married, though most people rap about fucking hos and having a lot of girlfriends at one time. For example:

"Dude, I don't curr, I'm a P-I-M-P." -J. Kwon (Tipsy)

He sure is.

Puff Daddy, on the other hand, is all like

"I need a girl to ride, ride, ride; I need a girl to make my wife..."

That song, by the way, was released right after he and J. Lo broke up.

His new song says something about "making both of our last names Jackson."

I don't know how Puff Daddy plans to commit to a lady when he can't even keep a name. He's Puff Daddy, he's Puff, Puffy, he's P. Diddy, apparently now he's just plain Diddy.

"We had to simplify it. Diddy is more personal. We are entering into the age of Diddy. It's a new era." "Puffy" also promises us that "I'm going to start talking in the third person everything."

I can't wait.

Rich people don't like pennies.

2005-08-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

Nine times out of ten, if someone pays for something with a $100.00 bill, they inform you to "keep the pennies."

"I don't want those," they say, sounding disgusted. They either offer you the number of pennies needed to earn them a less colorful, less offensive nickel or other larger coin, or else leave them with the cashier. There must be some vortex or something where rich people keep their pennies, because they are never accepting new ones, but always have enough to supplement their payments and avoid receiving more!

The most appalling of scenarios concening rich people, Benjamins (that is slang for one-hundred dollar bills), and pennies, is when they expect the cashier to supply the penny or two--or three or four!-- to ensure that they do not receive any offensive copper coins. Though usually the pennies that a cashier would use are not his or her own, they would be better used for those who are scraping coins together to pay for a cup of coffee (Which, incidentally, comes to $1.71.), not the customer who pays for their fromage and vino with a brand new $100 bill.

I want to be an African American.

2005-07-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

I find myself scheming - or rather, dreaming - about moving to Africa so that I can finally become an African-American. I think, however, that there is a big difference between being Black and being African-American. Surely the Icy Hot Stuntaz do not want to be African-American, though they may think that they are Black.

At this point in time, most African Americans in the United States are not actually from Africa, and likely feel little connection to the continent. Though I have never had the opportunity to travel to Africa, I feel a pull to the continent and am certain that I would derive much satisfaction from visiting or living there. Conversely, many African-Americans, who are perhaps more apt to consider themselves only American, and are likely more American than I myself am, may feel a much greater bond to America-based culture more prominently enjoyed by African-Americans, such as rap music.

I don't understand why racism continues to exist when the only thing distinguishing African Americans from Caucasians is skin color. With no genetic differences between African Americans and Caucasians, any scientist would have to admit that there is no excuse for racism other than close-mindedness.

Our country currently faces a moral dilemma as couples travel outside of our country to adopt Asian and European babies while many African American children are not adopted. Instead, non-American couples adopt them which, ironically, upsets those that would not adopt African-American babies.

Personally, I would love this baby

as much as this baby

or this baby

The Teletubbies will save humanity.

2005-07-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

I watched the teletubbies and realized that they have great powers, even beyond bearing television screens in their bellies.

Teletubbies experience life in a different way than the rest of us. The procession of their days are guided by the sun's natural movements, and the sun is represented by a content, giggling baby.

While there is an element of routine to their days, the beginning and end always the same as the teletubbies first say "Eh-oh" while music plays and then coyly say goodbye, then sneak back out from behind the bushes from which they had disappeared, each day is at the same time quite different.

The teletubbies live each day to the fullest, dancing, laughing, singing, and learning in a happy, communal environment. They accept one another's differences. Tinky Winky, for example, is thought by many to be gay. He is purple, carries a purse, and his antennae is formed into a triangle. He has become a political figure. Gay rights advocates carry tiny plush Tinky-Winkies, and right wing assholes sought to overhaul Tinky Winky's image so as not to affect our impressionable youth. (It brings to mind the controversy over Buster the Rabbit.)

The teletubbies love each other. They show us that it is okay to be compassionate, okay to be optimistic, okay to be different, and yes, okay to be European. On today's episode, each Teletubby did the "Boom Boom dance" before joining to dance together under the smiling sun. The narrator's voice beamed as he said, "The teletubbies love to do the boom boom dance, and the teletubbies love each other." Then the four brightly-colored teletubbies joined together in a group hug.

I think that we could all learn from that.

No whey.

2005-07-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

So the other day I am ringing up this dad and his two kids. They have a lot of stuff. The daughter is kind of looking it all over, and notices the container of whey protein that's on the belt.

"Daddy, what's whey protein?" she asks.
"I don't know," her dad replies, "I guess Mama knows."

I think it is ridiculous and disgusting that people do not know what a product is that is in the majority of processed foods. I don't know how people can consume things without thinking about what they are or where they come from.

I'm not arguing that everyone should be a vegan, but I think that everyone should be aware of what they are putting into their bodies and where it comes from. On Halloween, parents tell their children not to eat unwrapped candy because they don't know where it comes from. Eating something without even looking at the label is, I would suggest, just as dangerous.

So, for the benefit of that little girl and maybe anyone who might be reading this, here are a couple of pictures of whey:

>

Straight out of the dictionary, here is the definition of whey:

The watery part of milk produced when raw milk sours and coagulates.

Yum!!

The definition is actually followed by the sentance, "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating some curds and whey."

How precious.

Celebrities and kiddies should not be on gameshows; Geriatric Commercials are Ubiquitous on the Game Show Network.

2005-07-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

I have had the good fortune of coming across a channel, channel fifty-eight, which is called the Game Show Network. The idea behind it is that this channel, channel fifty-eight, the Game Show Network (GSN) shows game shows twenty-four hours a day. It's pretty cool because I love games like Jeopardy and Who Wants to Be a Millionairre. To get a lot of people to watch GSN, they air many "special" episodes of some of America's favorite games, such as those featuring Celebrities and Babies.

Imagine my shock when I see Jon Stewart on Who Wants to Be a Millionairre. Granted, I don't know much about money, but I think that Jon Stewart is already a millionairre. He has already achieved the objective set forth in the game's title. So what, I wonder, is the point. Then I find out that he is doing it "for the children." The money he wins will go to charity. Surely Jon Stewart could give a million dollars to a charity if he felt like it. Really he just feels like sitting across from Regis Philbin and saying, "Yes, that is my final answer." It gets better though. After Jon Stewart walks away with a mere $125,000, I see Puff Daddy among the contestants in the "Fastest Finger" round that determines who will play next. By this point, I am fervently wishing that Puff Daddy, P. Diddy if you will, wins the round and gets to sit in what Regis lovingly refers to as the "hot seat." He doesn't. It's freaking Puff Daddy, come on. The fastest finger was about past presidents and it was the easiest one I had ever seen. The fastest finger questions for regular people are much more difficult. Similarly, as the celebrity contestants make their way towards a million dollars, the members of the audience, among them Kermit the fucking frog are permitted to "help" the contestant by telling him the answers. How does Kermit know the 1963 best female supporting actress oscar winner? I don't know. So Charlie Sheen is up and Regis is making fun of him for having substance abuse problems and Charlie Sheen is like, fuck you my dad is famous. And so am I. Charlie Sheen wasn't very smart though. The next fastest finger was about music so I am really thinking at that point that Puff Daddy is going to win. He does get the correct order, but his time is slower than two others and Norm McDonald ascends the "hot seat." He is chewing bubble gum and it is absolutely irreverent. What contestant on any game show has ever been allowed to chew gum? Who is: none of them, fucking no one!

I'm not sure what's worse: celebrities on Who Wants to be a Millionairre or babies on Jeopardy. This twelve year old girl with an awful haircut and a sparkly red dress which definitely does not look good on camera and probably doesn't look good in reality either is mopping the floor with two guys, though (non-baby) males are usually more successful in Jeopardy. One of the kids was doing okay, but the other one was in the red (negative money) the whole time. To add insult to injury he had not done any growing yet and he was about the size of my pinky finger. And he had a lisp. Poor kid. Just like the celebrities, the babies get easy, easy questions. For once, I knew the answer to almost everything! So when the correct answer is Mars and the tiny losing baby answers french fries, you feel kind of bad. But not quite, because what is a kiddy doing on Jeopardy in the first place?

I want to take a minute to ask why the sole advertisers on the Game Show Network are peddling services for the elderly. I am not elderly and I watch the Game Show Network. I guess that makes me a loser, or very mature, or both. All of these companies are promising me cheap meds, reliable shipment of incontinence products (in discreet, unlabled packaging!), and an easy to use scooter for when I am just not strong enough to utilize a manually powered wheelchair. I guess mostly old people like game shows.

A lot of people have weird relationships with dogs.

2005-07-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

I think that humans' relationships with dogs are a little creepy. I mean, my mom refers to our two dogs, Sweetie and Toto, as her children and as my brother and sister. I don't really understand; did my mom have sex with a canine creature? Is my dad half-dog? Otherwise, wouldn't Sweetie and Toto be considered my half siblings? And wouldn't that imply that my mom is kind of a ho? (and hopefully not reading this.) I don't quite know how to ask my mom or dad these questions, and really I'm not sure that I want to know the answers.

When I was about eight, we went to take my late dog Bitzi, a rebellious, independent beagle who favored me over the rest of my family, to the veterinarian. She was ill, and we were pretty sure that she would have to be "put to sleep." Sitting a couple of seats down from me, a guy was making out with his dog. I am not even kidding. The dog's tounge was in his mouth the whole time we were sitting there. I was already distraught to begin with, and it just added to my confusion.

I'd like to suggest the notion of specieism, the animal rights advocate's equivalent of racism, sexism, or classism. Perhaps people should be able to have sex with dogs, or make out with them in veterinarians offices, provided that they are willing to accept total equality with all species of animals, not just their own dogs. I am not advocating bestiality or any other kind of freaky shit with your pets, but instead trying to indicate the absurdity of how humans interact with their dogs and other pets. We have placed them in a strange limbo, personifying them to a greater extent than other species, but not setting them at a level equal to humans themselves. Furthermore, who are we to dictate the proper standing for any given creature?

An Ark Ee

2005-05-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

"A Group of Anarchists" 1889

Up The Blackbloc (???)

Dear my generation, go to hell

The time has come
To throw off the yoke
Of capitalism.
All fetters,
Commissars,
Generals,
Tribunals,
And priests.
For order
And science
And laws -
What are they?
Invented
From boredom
By great men
In cabinets!
The old world
We'll destroy
And wreck
And burn!
Not 'order'.
We'll build,
Without it
We'll live!
But the great
Commune
To bayonets
Cannot fall!
Before it
On their knees
All will bend,
Even authority!
So quickly
My brothers
Let's raise
The black flag!
And grasp
The hand
Of all
The oppressed!

(Viktor Triuk, To the Anarchists, March 1918)

Bovine Growth Hormones

2005-05-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

Bovine Growth Hormone (Posilac/BST)

-Approved for use by the FDA in 1995.
-US is not required to label genetically engineered foods, including cow products injected with BGH.
-Increases milk productivity by an average of 10%, but can increase production by up to 40%.

Negative impacts:
-Runoff into the environment, can get into rivers, streams, and possibly drinking water.
-Has contributed to a 37% increase in lymphoma over 20 years, from 1980 to 2000.
-Beginning to effect fish. Female fish are growing lumps on their heads (though usually only male fish do) from trenbolone, and male fish are more feminized.
-Like most genetically modified organisms, no long term studies of effects on humans
-40% of beef cattle were originally dairy cows that are no longer producing enough milk, so beef can have BGH in it as well.
-Increases levels of IGF-1 in milk, which is identical to the form found naturally in humans. The excess of this is what causes breast, colon, and prostate cancer.
-Makes cows sick (breast and udder inflamation). This releases a pus that is in the milk.
-Monsanto Company has a virtual monopoly on the rBGH production, and so has a lot of autonomy.
-BGH treated cows are more susceptible to mad cow disease and more likely to give birth to deformed calves.
-Milk from BGH treated cows often has less protein and more saturated fat. There are also antibiotics in the milk.
-Increased supply, which decreased prices.

International standards:
-Europe will not import US milk or beef injected with BGH.
-rBGH is banned in Europe though it was briefly allowed in European cattle between 1990 and 1993.
-rBGH is banned in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

Now:
-Economic implications (decreasing prices due to overproduction) are leading to Monsanto Company decreasing its production of BGH.
-Dairy producers are now allowed to label that their milk is rBGH free, but are not required to, so it is on consumer faith
-Consumer demand for BGH-free milk (purchasing either organic or soy/almond milk) put more pressure on Monsanto.
-BGH free milks include:
-Horizon Organic Milk products
-Stonyfield Farms Milk products
-Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream
-Cascade Farms Yogurt

Cows with mastitis (infection of the udders).

2005-04-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

I'm doing research for a paper on the Ecuadorian banana market. Looking over a book published in 1958 by the National Planning Association, a coalition of labor, agricultural, and business leaders, I came across an interesting quote:

"Compared with fruit from Central America, Ecuadorian bananas after ripening show black spots, black streaks and areas, and present a generally unattractive appearance. In many cases, the pulp of the banana is not affected by surface defects. However, the housewife has no way to distinguish between surface blemishes that are no more than skin-deep and those which indicate serious damage."

There are, in my opinion, several points of contention within this quote. It suggests that fruit needs to look "attractive." It's not a supermodel, it's a banana. The black-tinged ones taste BETTER. Next, it suggests that only a housewife would be doing grocery shopping. This is probably true in the 1950's cult of domesticity, but is now laughable. More offensive, it suggests that the housewife is unintelligent. While it may be true that she would not have an instinctive knowledge of bananas upon her first few purchases of the fruit, certainly she would realize after eating them (or watching her children and husband eat them before she goes to vomit up that night's tuna casserole so that she, too, is attractive) that the color does not affect the taste.

2005-04-13T00:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday an article on the front page caught my eye. The title was "US to aid Iran" and the sub-title underneath read: "Decision reached to give $3M to democracy." 3M, I thought, must be megadollars; something even bigger than trillions. After all, its purpose is to instill democracy. That's a hefty task. Upon further reading, I found out that the M did mean what I thought it might: million. Though to me, and most people on this planet a million dollars (let alone three million dollars) is a considerable sum, in the realm of national affairs it's pocket change. Furthermore, I pondered, how can money be given to an abstract ideal? It's as though I decided to give five bucks from my $101 paycheck to happiness. It isn't doable, and it's absurd. This is the first financial aid that our nation has given to Iran in twenty five years, but I have to wonder if it's even worth giving. It's bordering on demeaning and it will accomplish little, if anything.

2005-04-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

Berlin, April 1968: A group of nearly 700 students planned to use their cars to block a vehicle carrying copies of a right wing newspaper. As their plan came to fruition, however, only twenty cars were in force and the students did not meet their objective. Said one student, Pieter Mieciak, "My father lets me use his car and obviously I could not go and wreck it."

This compromisation of action for materialistic (and other meaningless) reasons thwarted the supposedly radical students of the sixties, and continues to impact the current generation, myself included. We are held back by money, familial responsibilities, societal expectations, and our own inner conflict between idealism (and most who aspire to revolution or at least radical change are, I believe, idealists) and realism." Just three more years", "Once I get my degree", "When I have the money/time/impetus", "When I have truly gained independence," we say- then we will act boldly and bravely. Months turn into years turn into decades and I will find myself fifty and greying and married and wealthy and living in the suburbs. perhaps voting for a Democrat, or worse yet, a Republican, rather than running for office, or overthrowing (having overthrown?) the system, or voting for a third-party candidate who actually has a chance due to the use of instant runoff voting and a more conscious society.

The winds of change are certainly upon us, as our society moves rapidly toward depleting the world's resources. We may leave defeated, things remaining as they are now, or we may leave, comforted knowing that we have at least sown the seeds of a new way for those to follow us.

Butter vs. Guns

2005-04-01T00:18:00.000-08:00

I only have a minimal understanding of the notion of "butter vs. guns," or the seperate notions of military spending for oversea wars and ventures or spending on "butter," the bettering of domestic conditions, like education and health care. While I do think that domestic issues are of great importance, I can't help but say "neither" to the purported question of guns versus butter.

Though our country is a unified, individual entity, we exist in a world with many others and our well-being is all interconnected. Country divisions only extend so far. One would think that the administration would realize this as they expand globalization. We are profitting and prospering at the expense of small, impoverished countries, many still seeking to develop, though we sink further into debt as our president (seemingly effortlessly) gets more and more funding for an unfounded war. Those are the guns.

In the US, our children are receiving poor education. Many can not afford health insurance. Some families live from paycheck to paycheck. There is a substantial gap between what the minimum wage allots people and what the minimum amount of money that one can live on is. Nevertheless, the fact remains that eighty-five percent of our nation's population is part of the consumer class and has at least some expendable income. We have televisions, automobiles, entertainment and leisure activities, too much food (and resulting obesity). This is the butter.

In Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeastern Asia, people struggle to live and to have enough to subsist for just one more day. Thirty percent of the world's population lives on two dollars or less a day. 852 million are hungry, and even seemingly liberal organizations that purport to work to curtail this figure do little. Forget politics, our world is at a critical point. Why do we need guns and excessive military spending to war against one another? Even if one from a more conservative standpoint contents himself with the notion that, by encouraging the reduction of hunger in the world he is strengthening workers who will strengthen his own nation's economy through the goods that they make, at least we will be working toward a valid goal. By encouraging literacy in downtrodden countries, we offer a future to children that will benefit all of us. Why do we need butter when so many lack even bread?

2005-03-07T10:31:00.000-08:00

In 1998, the average household in Tajikistan spent $660 (for the whole year). They spent 48% of this money on food.

Yesterday, I rang up a couple who spent $677 dollars.

2005-03-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

Today, I read an article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Basically, the article is about a white supremacist, Michael Blevins, who recently married a woman who runs a daycare out of their home. A recent inspection found nazi paraphenalia in the home, but it was decided that legally, they can not stop the woman from running her daycare. Blevins goes by Von Bluven on his popular white supermacist website. I did some searching, and eventually found his website. However, everything is private and you need a username and password to access it. If anyone knows how, please let me know. I am interested to read his stuff and hear his radio show. I found some links to a couple of copies of various shows, but they have all been deleted. I have a feeling that it is just since this article came out, though I could be wrong. Reading through various forums and sites for neo-nazi/white supremacist groups was disgusting. I just don't know how people can hate so much and without any reason. They praise Hitler and seem to aspire to his "greatness." So much of it is about membership numbers and money.

Basically, what I am struggling with is whether or not I think that the daycare should be closed. My gut instinct is that it should. I understand that Blevins/Von Bluvens has a right to freedom of speech, and I do not really think that those rights should be curtailed because of a domino effect. County inspectors said that Blevins' wife has a right to keep her day care in the home because the children's health and safety is not being harmed. Nevertheless, I can't help but wonder if they take into account mental health. The damage that could be inflicted from these children hearing racially and religiously derogative terms thrown about is undeniable. When Blevins' wife is out or busy, he takes care of the children. To me, that is another point of contention. If he had no interaction with the children and the daycare was not run out of their home, it would be more acceptable. However, I do not think that I am comfortable with the idea of a daycare being run out of the home of a hateful, neo Nazi, white supremacist leader.

2005-03-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about the Terry Schaivo case a lot as it is back in the news after being ignored for a while. I agree with her husband that they should stop feeding her intravenously, and find it ridiculous that her parents are so hellbent on keeping her alive. I do know what it is to love a family member (though not a child as I am not a mother), but at this point Terry has been in a vegetative state for thirteen or fourteen years. Her husband, whom I am sure the parents approved of when he married their daughter, knows that it was Terry's wish to not be kept alive through an artificial manner. She, as a conscious young woman, made the decision to marry the man she did. She expressed her wishes to him. As a married woman over eighteen, her parents no longer have control over her.

Today I realized that this scenario ought to apply to the Earth. She is existing in an unnatural, unhealthy state. Who does the decision fall to? I love the Earth more deeply and achingly than I will ever love anyone or anything. Watching her suffer pains me daily, as truly as it scars her as we etch roadways across her surface, cut down trees to make room for Wal Marts and grocery stores, release chemicals in the forms of herbicides and pesticides that kill her children... I am not speaking of environmental governance. Shouldn't those who love the Earth, and the Earth them, have the right to decide her fate? Should we burn and start again?

These are questions I struggle with. Who should speak for those who can not speak?

History

2005-03-01T12:45:00.000-08:00

I am writing a paper about communist eastern Europe. I was writing a sentance about Russia and Germany rebuilding during the thirties before realizing that I should probably specify that I was referring to the NINETEEN thirties. It really is the twenty-first century now. It sounds so strange that I was born in 1986, and doesn't seem like it should be that long ago. It isn't really, but at the same time, I still tend to judge the length of time from a given year to the year 2000. Entering the fifth year of the twenty-first century, this is a practice that should probably be ceased.

In one of my classes a couple of weeks ago, the professor mentioned the Iraqi war, not as a current event, but as a historically important occurrence. I thought about everyday people who had lived during the American Civil War, World War I, World War II. Their struggles seem much harsher and more relevant. I have not been personally effected very much by the war. That's why I scribbled at the top of the sheet of paper "Is this what war feels like?"

Young Voices

2005-02-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

Monday, for President's Day, they had a segment in the paper where elementary school kids from around Sarasota and Bradenton drew pictures or wrote a paragraph with advice for the president. They are really cute and also, I think, really valuable in evaluating political attitudes and the formation of someone's political beliefs as they grow up.

Here are the ones that were my favorites (I mostly liked the left-leaning kids. Figures, I guess.)

"The President should read about issues before he signs paperwork." -Neena Patel, 2nd grade

"It's the president's job to help the environment." -Collin Kennedy, 2nd grade (This one has a picture of the president saying "I hereby ban motorized cars. The people can only use electric cars, bikes, and scooters.")

"The presedent [sic] should recycle." -Dylan Murphy, 2nd grade (http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050221/FEATURES/502210602/-1/ARCHIVES30 has a picture of that one)

"Help protect our country. Talk with others." -Rachel Dignazio, 3rd grade

"I think the most important thing for the president to do is help make peace. Maybe this could happen by talking to people. He could talk to people from the war. If he does maybe the war will stop." -Rachel Dignazio, 3rd grade

"I think the president should not let anyone pollute the Earth or outer space. And get rid of homework and mean people." -Andrew C., 3rd grade

"I have another idea too. Save all animals from animal abuse." -Katie Brim, 5th grade

"I think that the president should try harder to bring home some more soldiers from Iraq." -Christie Sanson, 5th grade

"I think the president should make sure the US has enough money instead of spending it in Iraq. Also, make sure everyone is safe, hopefully healthy, sheltered, and educated. Personally, George W. Bush isn't completely doing that. I wish John Kerry was president." -Emily Peipert

"I think the president should never have gone into this war in the first place. Thousands of US soldiers are dying in Iraq. The war is turning into another Vietnam." -Hunter Cross, 5th grade

I find the issues of importance to children to be really interesting. There was a lot about the environment. There's a lot of concern for the homeless, and general social awareness. They care about the world around them in a really pure way. Some of them, I think, will hold onto this, while others will become more economically focused or worried about themselves more than the world around them. Even the fifth graders, when contrasted to the second and third graders, looked at things far more pragmatically. Still, not once were gay marriage or reproductive issues mentioned by any of these children, but both were definitely considered huge issues in this election.

I definitely get the sense that a lot of these kids are regurgitating things that their parents have told them. Hunter Cross, who said that the war is turning into another Vietnam probably knows very little about the Vietnam war. My dad maintains that most kids take political stances opposite of their parents in a sort of rebellion. Others say that they are shaped by their parents' political beliefs. My father's parents were staunched democrats. My dad is a very conservative independent. I am a far-left independent. I wrote a "book" about Bill Clinton when I was in first grade (1992), before I really even knew about the political system. In second grade, when we had to write a letter to someone to send on our field trip to the post office, I sent a letter to President Clinton. My best friend was mad that I didn't write to her, as she did me. Later that day, I washed a couple of pre-surgery pills down with cherry coke and got some teeth removed. (That's pretty irrelevent.) In third grade, I wrote down pieces of Clinton's ideals that were on a poster in my classroom, and regurgitated them as my own. I was telling my parents that I supported a woman's right to have an abortion at the dinner table, when I didn't even know what an abortion was.

I guess this can be expanded beyond politics. I spend a lot of time wondering about what shapes us, our beliefs, mannerisms, the things we enjoy. I don't think I really know, but I like thinking about it.

The Death of Environmentalism?

2005-02-22T00:30:00.000-08:00

Two guys, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, put out a paper called "The Death of Environmentalism," which has set off a huge debate. (To read it, go to http://www.thebreakthrough.org and the link is right there.) I have not read all of it, but basically my understanding is that they are trying to suggest some reasons that the environmental movement has lost so much momentum since its peak in the seventies. One of the major reasons, in their minds, is the gloom and doom pessimism that environmentalists have taken on, or at least been seen to have taken by the non-environmentalist public. This seems rather ironic: one would think that environmentalists must be optimistic and idealistic in order to believe that they can and should protect and save the environment.

I consider myself to be an environmentalist, though not terribly active as such, and can see where this un-optimistic attitude might set in. To feel such an urge to protect the Earth against the multitudes that are so eager and willing to deplete her resources is a lot to handle. It is an ideal that seems to set itself in one's mind and soul automatically, without thought: you are or you aren't.

I am.

For the most part, we are an optimistic bunch. We do believe that we can positively impact the world and work towards conserving and preserving resources, beauty, the natural elements that have gifted themselves to us and our fellow Earth dwellers. However, the notion that we are bearing the future of the Earth, the natural legacy that will be passed on to the future generations of human and non-human animals, is heavy and difficult to bear. Sometimes, it gets to be too much. We feel so much for the creatures around us, the environment which we live in and, unfortunately, intrude upon, using up resources and consuming much more than we need because it is ingrained or expected or desired or none of the above while functioning in the microcosms of our own personal existences: the small circles that we have formed and the things that we do and the stuff that we accumulate. The two work against each other at many times. It is then that we weep for the Earth and for that which we can not do, when we cry into a still night, palm fronds laying their healing hands upon our shoulders and cloud cover across the distant night sky promising to continue its cycle of both helping and degrading the planet.

It is hard to remain optimistic when so few share such a lofty goal, and so many seek to exploit our Earthhome.

The Importance of Eating Locally Grown and Organic Foods

2005-02-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

Food is central to our existence, perhaps to a lesser extent than we have made it to be, yet still remains a neccessity for survival. Some go so far as to say that food defines who we are. I do not neccessarily believe this to be true, though I spend a lot of time discussing and pondering my own diet (vegan) and feel that it is a large part of who I am and, I believe, how I am perceived by others. However, I think that there is much merit to the idea of "activist eating." What we consume has enormous impacts on ourself, others, the non-human animals of the world, and perhaps most importantly, the Earth.

I recently spent a week (which seemed longer than it sounds) as a raw foodist. It was an experience from which I learned a great deal. The day before my diet began, I went to Whole Foods and stocked up on a wide variety of organic, raw foods: lettuce, kale, carrots, tangelos, oranges, tomatoes, green onions, yellow squash, mango, lemon, grains for soaking/sprouting, dates, nuts. I had been told that variety was key. After a day with two monstrous salads, I felt unable to eat another bite. Thinking about the raw "soup" that sat in my refrigerator, I nearly vomitted. I decided to only eat what I felt like eating. I sank into a comfortable, easy routine for the remainder of the week, eating citrus for breakfast, tomatoes with sea salt and tahini for dinner, a few more tangeloes, oranges, or tangerines throughout the day, and perhaps a spoonful of almond butter if I needed something more substantial or wanted a sweet treat. I felt great, eating much less than usual. Citrus is one of (or perhaps the most essential of) Florida's staple crops and tomatoes are grown plentifully in the area in which I live. Few of the things that I ate travelled more than a few hours from the (organic) farm to my mouth.

The notion of eating locally grown foods is implausibly simple and extremely logical. Before the times of mass society and changes in transportation, all food consumed was locally grown. It is natural for the body to desire only foods readily accessible to it, and the Earth keeps her end of the deal by producing crops in a given region that can nourish and satisfy the body.

From an environmental standpoint, as well, this makes sense. Food grown on the other side of the nation, let alone from another country, pollutes far more, due to transport, than locally grown food. It is also less fresh upon its arrival.

Eating local produce supports small farmers and they see more profit. (The general rule is that the farther something travels, the less percentage profit the farmer makes). This makes for increased production, and of course, greater equity. When small farms fail, we sacrifice some of our ability to obtain fresh, organic, high-quality produce. We enable large, industrial farms to strengthen their hold on our nation's agriculture, and this gives us less say on what goes into our bodies.