Thursday, November 22, 2007

I'm Still Alive

Hey folks,

Just a quick update to let you all know I'm still alive. I'm in the height of paper season, and so all of my writing talent and creativity is being poured into that facet of my life, and the blog is suffering as a result. More frequent posts will be coming back soon, I promise.

Vegetarian-wise I'm still going strong. Even had them alter the menu for the Staff Party Christmas Dinner so that they would have a vegetarian alternative. Vegetarian lasagna, and I hear the caterer is quite good, so yum :). I also consider it a small victory. Now, I just need to call up my sister and make sure she remembers that I will require a vegetarian alternative at her wedding. lol.

In a future post I'll be ranting on about toxic chemicals and their solutions, which is the theme of the paper I'm working on at the moment, but for today I'm going to spare you that - since any talking I do on the subject should be put into the paper.

Other than that, not too much going on in the life. Papers and work have kindof taken over. Like I said before, just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive

Cheers all

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Quick Update

Just a small thing relating to last night's post.

The Green Party, in polls of voter intention has surpassed the NDP and is now ranked 3rd as Official Parties in Canada.

Now, it's time to get her into the debates. Its my hope that you'll all click here and read about how through an email and letter campaign we can force this TV Consortium to allow Elizabeth into the Leadership Debate. Personally I've watched the debates in the past, and I've heard Elizabeth speak at a couple of guest lectures, and I can tell you - she'll shake things up if she gets her voice in the debates.

I'm normally not this politically active, but hey - let's shake things up a bit. Get some change going. Who says we need full-out social and economic collapse to see real change? Let's break the apathy and get started. Even if you aren't a Green Supporter, I would suggest shooting off a quick email to get her into the debates, to allow for fair democracy to take place. She deserves to have that podium in order to lay down the Green Platform - if anything, it will help destroy the ignorance and misconceptions that many people still have regarding the Green Party.

Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time with this. Just check it out, see what you think.

Cheers all

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Think Globally, Act Locally, Think Locally, Act Globally.


The four things we need to do in order to save our planet.

Sounds complicated right? Well, it is and it isn't, and then it is again. As you can tell, this blog is going to be a bit confusing. lol. I'm going to be talking about some Green Issues and good ideas that are important to me and are going to be important political platforms in the next election.

I'll start off by talking about how I wound up at a nice pub dinner with Elizabeth May, Leader of the Canadian Federal Green Party. Though she's really more of a spokesperson as the Green Party isn't structured like other Canadian Political Parties. There's no 'right' or 'left' to them. Like myself, there's a sense of 'In order to maintain the economy, you need a living planet to keep it going.' When thought about it this way, the environment is actually a pretty key issue, underlying everything else.
(Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party. I would've had a picture with her, but I still can't find my camera.)

Anyway, so we had a dinner with Ms. May (technically Dr. May, but even she talks about how the honourary doctorates feel a bit like cheating, lol. I've chosen to keep calling her Elizabeth, as I felt that kindof first-name connection from her. I wouldn't go so far as to call her Liz, but you never know, in future dealings, perhaps we'll get to that comfort level. lol.). and it was a series of discussion. It was a square table, so Phil and I were talking to a lovely couple who drove Phil down and are grassroots supporters of Elizabeth and the Green Party and have been quite active in Central Nova, where Elizabeth will be running for MP in the next election. Some of you may recall she ran in North London a couple years back in a bi-election and nearly got in. Which would have been exciting as I come from the riding just south of it (Elgin-Middlesex). But that has nothing to do with the current topic. Besides which, I probably would have never met her had she won there. Instead, now she's here near our academic community, which has provided several options to hear her speak and finally to actually meet her and discuss a few things.

Her talk tonight was on how to make policy local. Basically, ground-up efforts organized first by the community, surrounding their issues, and building up towards a multi-departmental, provincial-federal collaborative approach to dealing with these issues. Whether through proper policy or some other Government action available to us. Seems like a pipe-dream right? Well, in some ways it is - but in more ways, its makes so much sense it is ridiculous that we haven't been doing this all along. Especially when we have evidence of HUGE screwups with our antiquated, top-down policy regime. The Atlantic Cod stocks for example. The policy didn't match what was happening on the ground (in the ocean in this sense) Big Business had the Government's ear and was steering the ship, to the ultimate destruction of the Cod Stocks and the industry as a whole, collapsing an entire economy. You can't tell me that's good for business.

I also want to show how the Green Party isn't just a bunch of tree hugging hippies. While there is a fair amount of tree hugging (trees get lonely too), May did an excellent job at conveying how the idea of being Green branches out into the policy of basically every department and beyond. Just to take from her example, one of the Party Platforms is to rebuild and make better the train infrastructure in Canada, in order to relieve pressure from the Highways. It would do this through mass transportation (which from personal experience, riding the rails is a fantastic way to travel), taking more trucks off the road for shipping, easing traffic, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by taking so many cars and trucks off the road, while only adding a handful of train engines who's unit output of toxins may be higher, but when taken overall their net effect on the environment would be lower than that of those people and cargo individually in cars. Socially, it also has an effect. On those long journeys, you're bound to make a friend or two sitting beside you, or in the dining car over a meal.

Where to move from this? Oh yes. Little known fact time: Did you know, that Lucien Bouchard, founder of the Bloc Quebecois, was actually Minister of the Environment under Mulroney - and quite progressive at that. When brought through controversial environmental situations, apparently his first question was always "What's best for the environment?" Showing a truly fantastic focus on what a politician in their own department should be looking at. How does this effect what I'm doing? He was also the Minister that introduced the first climate cap.

Anyway, back to local governance after those tangents. Basically, it brings the idea that if you build policy from the ground-up the less you can ignore bad policy, because the people that live there and have their lives staked in a living, breathing community are going to tell you if something isn't working or that it will threaten their way of life. It promotes slower decision making, but those decisions made work out better for all parties involved.

I could talk about all of this for hours, but I don't want to rant on too much. Mostly, this kind of governance works like a living organism - and if we think of ourselves as living organisms, both as seperate human beings, but also part of the greater creature that is our planet we can see that these ground up approaches are really the way to go. More local control over what is happening in our own communities can serve to enrich us all and maximize our potential as humans on this Earth.

Suffice it to say, Elizabeth's talk was fantastic, and if you ever get a chance to hear her speak I would suggest taking that opportunity to hear a very eloquent speaker whose ability to communicate the Green message is phenomenal, as you can tell she deeply believes in her cause.
So nothing really about vegetarianism tonight. Not really much to say, things are going well, had a nice lunch and dinner. Moreso I figured I'd take this opportunity to talk about some of my political leanings and ideas, as this is my blog and I can talk about whatever I want. lol. Though, really - when you think about it - Vegetarianism, which for me has evolved into animal rights, which connects to human health and agriculture, which attaches to resource management and the environment. It all kindof snowballs. When you become activist on one point, it follows suit that the others will begin to connect as well because its difficult to be enlightened on one subject while remaining ignorant of all those that interconnect with it.

Well that's it for me. I'm going to leave you with a quote from Elizabeth

'The fault isn't in your inability to understand politics, the fault is in politics inability to understand reality."

Cheers all

Sunday, November 11, 2007

'I Tried to think of the one thing that couldn't possibly destroy us...'

Hey folks,

I need a new opening line: Maybe even a new title for the blog to better represent what I talk about. I'm opening it up to suggestions, see what people think.

This week, I wasn't so impressed with the column I wrote. Next week I need to get back into top form and write a better one. This one deals with nutritional supplementation in a vegetarian or vegan diet. Which I think is important information to get out there to people, but for next week's article I want to dive back into things that are centric around Antigonish and really connect again with the ideas that revolve around being a vegetarian in smalltown Nova Scotia.

Anyway, that's about the column. And I love blogging as compared, because I can rant on endlessly, there's no need to really censor myself to remain unoffensive or not extreme, and my grammar doesn't have to be as good. Though good grammar is sexy, for anyone who was wondering.

The one main point of this post however is a harsh lesson learned. I went 20 days without eating animal product (excluding the occasional something with egg or milk product in them - as its hard to avoid). Moreover, basically I cut out red meat entirely, while also not eating chicken or eggs directly and I'm making progress in cutting them out more and more. But anyway, I went 20 days of the 21-day challenge (which ended Friday by the way, I'll talk more about that afterward). It was on the 21st day that I received a huge lesson. And if there's anything that Ghostbusters has taught us, it is that Marshmallows are the root of all evil. That's right - the one thing that thwarted me on this vegetarian journey wasn't roasted chicken, or a burger, or even a beautiful porterhouse steak - it was a marshmallow. For those of you who are now thoroughly confused, let me tell you about gelatin. Gelatin is a kindof gooey product that is placed in many desserts as a kindof thickener and make-jiggly-er, as in with jello. Gelatin is made from animal bone and tendons - most often cow or pig. Which makes it animal-product, especially that of the red meat animal variety. You can imagine the thwarted feeling I had after eating a marshmallow first, before reading the ingredients. And so thus, the marshmallow, as proven by Ghostbusters, is an evil, terrible thing disguised in puffy deliciousness.

But aside from that example, I completed my vegetarian challenge, and let me tell you, it feels good. It doesn't feel good to be over - in fact it's continuing - it feels good that I accomplished the challenge and am really feeling better in my life. I'm healthier, I've lost weight, my attitudes towards most things are better, I've met a wonderful girl, and everything seems to be coming up Millhouse (err... Adam). It is truly amazing what a change in diet can do for someone. And all it is, is considering the food you eat, which really isn't all that difficult. After 3 weeks I hardly have cravings for meat anymore, and when I do its mostly for chicken. Red Meat doesn't even hit the radar anymore.

I also figured out that Amira is quite clever. As most of you know, when I started this, my body went through a phase of "What the hell are you doing to me?!". Well, now that three weeks have passed, I look at what my diet used to be, and what it is now, and the changes that would have to take place to go back there, and think my body would probably go through many of the same, if not worse, pains. And I'm not a big fan of unnecessary pain. Plus it would require another very expensive grocery shop, when my cupboards are now stocked and prepared for a vegetarian diet. Now, I don't know if Amira did this kind of timing on purpose, or whether its just happenstance and I'm making odd connections, but I would suggest that if she does this again next October that someone who reads this blog take up the challenge and become Vegetarian for 21 days. Next time around, I'll be going Vegan (if I don't before that point).

Speaking of wonderful ladies in my life, I went over to Nadia's place last night (that's her name) and made us a dinner. A curry dish, comprised mainly of potato, with green pepper and green beans as well. It wasn't the best I've ever made, and was missing tomato, which I felt was crucial, but it was good nonetheless - and as always I made too much, and so I think made a good impression on the roomates as I fed them as well. It's always important to get in good with the roomates. One of them is from my hometown of St. Thomas actually. The famous Danielle who I keep confirming and denying eats babies here on the Blog.

I want to toss up a recipe, and give a shout-out as well though. One of the best discoveries I've found so far, is that bananas can be used as a substitute for eggs in some baking recipes. I made some oatmeal cookies tonight and they were fantastic. Props has to go out to www.vegweb.com and Satan, who submitted it (Hey - he might be the devil, but he has good cookie recipes. I'm not here to judge). You can find the recipe here. And let me tell you, they are fantastic. I added walnuts to the recipe and would've added caramel or butterscotch chips if I had any. My roomate gave them a try as well and said they were very good. "They feel healthy" was an exact quote from her. They are absolutely delicious and scrumptious and everything else. Made me fall in love a little bit with baking. Which is interesting because I'm not much of a baker. Anyone who's ever seen my cooking style will know I don't tend to measure and am actually quite erratic around the kitchen.

Oh, a retraction from the last post on my blog. This is regarding Kayleigh, whom I referred to as Pat's lovely lady. I'd just like to say right here right now, that this is by no means a sexist or prejudiced column and I accept everyone as their own person. Kayleigh, you are of course your own woman and a lovely lady in your own right. As Pat said the other night "I don't own her". Which is very true. Anyway, just had to put that out there. Hope this makes amends Kayleigh.

... And remember: To destroy the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, cross the streams of your proton packs in order to close the doors of the Sumerian Gods who are trying to destroy our World.
Cheers All

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Afternoon Delight

Hey folks,

You might get two updates today, as I'm doing the first in the afternoon and you never know what work will hold.

Its been a few days yet again. I meant to post last night, but I had gone out to Open Mic night with some friends down to the Pub. As always, we had a great time. Tricia was out for the first time in a long time, so it was fantastic to see her, and several others were also out, which made the night that much more enjoyable, and they ate wings while I watched longingly. lol. just kidding - I find myself less and less attracted to meat - holding reservations only about having given up fish and chicken - and from some recent reading on how chickens are raised, I'm not 100% sure I want to go back to eating them either. And as for fish - as many of you know, I'm an Aquatic Resources Major, and thus know all about the terrible practices that revolve around fish farming and bioaccumulation of mercury in salmon, etc. It seems, when it comes to meat and animal products (eggs, milk, etc) I can't escape unethical practices unless I go and hunt it myself.

Which brings up some ideas (this idea just dawned on me, so bear with me as we figure it out together). In my Humans and the Environment class we've been discussing protected areas, conservation areas, etc. On top of this, looking at the different classifications and allowable human impact in some of these areas. Things like Integrated Resources Management, the elimination of clearcutting and the overall mawy of Natural Resources, for all of its foibles in the past, and like any ministry, has its flaws, really holds some of the most ethical practices when it comes to animal and plantlife. With a primary focus on sustainable management and the protection of species in their natural habitats, as opposed to zoos and arboretums, it is a model that works out so much better than our established agriculture practices.

This is all brought up because of the false idea that to be organic is to be ethical. Organic Farms all over the place are still cramming in more animals, keeping them in unnatural conditions (keeping thousands of chickens in close quarters, who never see the light of day and go mad)(thanks to Vegetarian Organic Blog and The Arcata Eye). Often, these large corporations who were until very recently producing standard animal products, have done the bare minimum to be considered 'organic' while missing the point entirely. The whole idea of being organic isn't just having hormone and antibiotic free eggs at any cost. The standards of organic should grow beyond, taking in elements of animal rights and natural processes, such as allowing hens to raise their own chicks, not keeping them in incubators. I don't know about anyone else, but I think I'd be a little screwed up too if I never met my mother and was kept under heat lamps all the time.
In short, we should all start demanding that farming practices not only become organic, but also apply a strict code of ethics on how animals can be treated. If I may rant on about cows and milk again (I know I do this nearly every day - but that's how much it irks me) Cows being injected with hormones and being fed genetically engineered feeds in order to increase milk production - initial studies by Monsanto (not a very reputable company) said it had no adverse effects on humans, but what about the cows? They can produce up to 15% more milk, but the cow is the same size. To me, it seems like really having to pee, then drinking an extra litre of water. It would be painful and uncomfortable. Why can't we allow these animals, who deserve the same amount of rights that we do, be natural and coexist without being exploited?

Anyway, that is my rant and moral dilemma for the day. On to other news, I just had my 2nd meeting with Amira, and am on day 20 of this 21-day challenge. Officially one more day of vegetarianism before I'm allowed to go back to my carniverous ways. However, I'm not sure I'll be going back to those ways. This whole experience has been so great, and so much has happened in these three weeks that I feel it would be unfair, both to my readers and to myself to just jump ship on the vegetarianism and healthier lifestyle and go back to the way I used to be. I also consider the fact that my body has now adjusted to this kind of lifestyle and food structure, and to go back would probably be extremely painful on my digestive tract.

My 2nd Article for the Xavarian Weekly is published, where I deal with the trials and tribulations of grocery shopping as a vegetarian. I would suggest picking up a copy and giving it a read. People seem to really be enjoying the articles, which again makes me happy. It feels like this decision is not only bettering myself but also helping others and bringing to light our connections with food and how it can impact our daily lives.

Well that's about it from me for this session. Perhaps I'll have something more this evening after work. We'll see what the Lumber Industry has to say about things

Cheers all

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Bees are People Too

Hey folks,

Well its been a crazy few days, so sorry to my faithful readers about not putting up any new posts. It happens though, and never fear, I will always come back to give updates on what's going on.

Alright, well where to start? Go from now and work backwards, or try to recall what was going on a few days ago? I know. I'll start on my 2nd Grocery Shop. Went to the grocery store Friday night after doing some recon at lunch Friday afternoon (a working day, so I spend my lunches at the grocery store a lot) and became very disillusioned at the lack of healthy vegetarian options in the frozen foods section. There are no vegetarian hungry man meals, and I was a hungry man. Felt very misrepresented. In the end I found a vegetable penne from President's Choice Blue Menu, and some vegetable chow mein.

And so I ate the chow mein for lunch, which wasn't all that bad, then had the penne the next day for lunch which was actually quite tasty. but that gets me off of my causal track. Back to the grocery shop Friday night. It went well and was much cheaper than the first when I had to buy all of the condiments and everything first. Excited about my new sea-salt and pepper mill and my Szechwan Sauce. Found a couple of new fruits that were interesting. A starfruit and dragonfruit. Odd looking things that were expensive, but I might invest next time if I can figure out what the heck they are. I decided on a new type of bread, as the last brand wasn't quite me. This one is a flaxseed bread and so will carry lots or iron and protein as well - which is always a good thing. Have to keep those levels up. Other than that, mostly just the usual produce and almond milk and a couple of other fixin's. Oh - and I feel guilty about it, but I bought a box of chocolate chip cookies. I felt so bad, actually, that I ate a couple and have given the rest to my roomates to finish off. They were quite pleased.

After the shopping and putting away of groceries I wrote my 2nd article for the paper (the 1st has been received quite well, which was exciting for me). This one pertains to grocery shopping and certain do's and don'ts for people trying to be more vegetarian, with a few tips on how to wash produce and what's more important when it comes to buying organic. I have a nice little rant about milk in there as well. Following the article I went and spent some time with friends over in New Rez (a residence on the campus I live at) and had a very lovely evening in the company of fantastic people.

Saturday started off like any other Saturday. Work, lunch, work, home. I had intended to stay in and watch the Jungle Book but was dragged out by Nadia, whom I met through Danielle (who eats babies, as reported in previous blogs) to a pre-X-ring party. It was one month til X-Ring yesterday, and so all the seniors were out to celebrate. I already have my X-Ring from last year, but it was fantastic to be out nonetheless.(In Picture, left to right: Myself, Natalie and John)

I suppose I should explain X-Ring for those of my readers not familiar. For those that get it, feel free to skip over this part and go on to my rating of Bee Movie. The X-Ring is a ring that 4th year students of my University, St. Francis Xavier University, receive on the Feast of St. Francis Xavier (December 3rd). It's of very simple design and is the 3rd most recognized ring in the World, after the Pope's Ring and the NFL Ring. It is a very big deal to us, and is part of an ages long tradition. It solidifies us all into the Xavarian Family and connects us to all others with X-Rings all over the World. It's not uncommon to run into someone in Paris or Rome with an X-Ring and strike an instant friendship with them over a simple piece of gold. It is a networking tool, but it is also a symbol of accomplishment. It carries a weight of authority to it as well, as it is something earned through four years hard work. And we're nuts over it. We have countdowns as far back as first year, anticipating the day when we get to walk up onto the stage and get our Ring. The party afterwards is also quite fantastic, as we on the East Coast definitely know how to throw a good party.

Anyway, so that's the X-Ring. On to my review of Bee Movie.

Today was just another Sunday as per usual. Knitting Society, studying, chatting with roomates - but with an exception tonight. Nadia and I decided to take in a movie, and as we have a one-screen theatre, Bee Movie was the movie of choice tonight. I for one enjoyed it. Jerry Seinfeld made a solid main character, with the supporting characters adding levels of hilarity throughout. Matthew Broderick as his best friend Adam (seen below), John Goodman as the old-timey Southern Lawyer, Renee Zellweger as his human love interest and Patrick Warburton(of Seinfeld and Family Guy fame) as her boyfriend it provided a lot of laughs, but also a significant message.

SPOILER ALERT

I know from reading review sites that it's important to say I might give away plot secrets. The whole story revolves around Barry, who enters the human world because he's just graduated college (hardest 3 days of his life) and is now supposed to enter the workforce. He winds up talking to a human and through a series of events discovers that humans have been cultivating honey from bees in an inhumane fashion for generations. He then decides to sue humanity for the honey that has been wrongfully stolen.

The court case that ensues and his later victory bring about important ideas and critiques about environmentalism, animal rights and resource management. to continue using the movie as example, a prime point of Barry's case is the fact that the bees in industrial hives are forced to smoke so that humans can steal the honey. This is seen as inhumane and unnatural to a bee's proper way of life.

It really brings a face to critique current practices when it comes to animals and even plantlife. The way that humans, as a species (not pointing any fingers here), generally exploit the natural world, not really thinking about the wider ramifications. We use indiscriminately and don't consider the damage we're causing to the surrounding ecosystem. Barry learns this lesson quickly when his actions lead to the bees being rich in honey through reparations, but because they have so much, they no longer need to work to produce honey, and all flowers and plants begin to die because pollination ceases to occur.

This can be expanded into arguments in our lives as well, looking at current farming practices, which don't allow the animals to act naturally, to culturing special plants to meet our own ends, which are reliant on chemicals that are contributing to the destruction of our planet. It is a movie that really points out that a natural system, where we cooperate with nature, is a system that we can maintain sustainably and really bring profit and wellbeing for all involved.

Well that's my rant on the movie and its messages. I don't want to stay on my environmental high horse for very long. lol. But I will say this - the final scene, where Barry is giving legal advice to a Dairy Cow really hit the spot, as most of you know my stance on the Dairy Industry as a whole.

Anyway, that's about it for me for tonight. I would suggest going and seeing the movie and thinking about some of these ideas.

Cheers all

Thursday, November 1, 2007

... There They Are, Standing in a Row/Halloween Blogness

Well folks, its been a couple days and I suppose I should update.

The last two days kindof blur together with the lack of sleep. Stayed up for approximately 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday.

#1. The Costume. Took me three days to design and build. A cardboard box robot that, I daresay, kicked ass. Put together and set forth upon the World, I'd say if there were contests to be entered, I would have won. I call it "The Adamtron: We Come in Pieces. Some Assembly Required. Batteries Not Included." Everyone loved it, and I daresay I may take the original design and improve on the model for next year.

#2. My people. Went and drank with a group of people, many of whom I didn't really know. Others I knew, so it was a good mix. They were done up to be Peter Pan and the Lost Boys (and Tinkerbelle was in there too, along with the Crocodile, aka Judy) and Conor was Conor from The Boondock Saints. And out to the bar, it was great times dancing and carrying on - even if my costume wound up destroyed and in a corner by the end of the night. But it lasted most of the night, so I'm not overly saddened. The Adamtron fulfilled its purpose. There were three other robots out there, but I daresay I was the best - many others agree if you hop over to facebook and read the comments. And it was overall a fantastic night - we watched some Shawn of the Dead, we had some drinks, went dancing, and when we got back even watched the Princess Bride. Which is a fantastic movie by any ratings.

A couple pointers for when you want to build a robot costume however. Make sure that the torso box is no wider than your chest minus the shoulders. My shoulders wound up inside and it greatly diminished mobility. Also - design your helmet/headpiece for optimum vision. I hadn't, and had to be led around and have drinks placed in my hands the entire night. If your mobility and sight are impaired due to the costume, make sure you're with trustworthy people who won't abandon you. I thankfully had a good crew who kept me safe from falling down stairs and getting lost in lines. Though a warning: A large box is used by the people to push and bulldoze through lines - and inside the box, you have little control.

Now, I must reach back to the coconut. I told you before that there was some controversy over it. And its true - the coconut is high in saturated fat. At least the milk and the meat is. The water is fine and actually quite thirst-quenching apparently. But the meat, and the milk (that is created with the meat) has saturated fat - which is technically bad for you. Now the health benefits however, really almost balance the equation. With a properly balanced diet (don't eat five coconuts a day kind of thing) you will be able to benefit from this fantastic nut (The coconut is considered a nut, not a fruit). I'm going to get one or two and see what I can make it a coconut anyway - and I'll report back here on my findings.

Anyway, I have work tomorrow morning and am quite tired. Tomorrow night I head out for a grocery shop, which should be fun and hopefully less expensive than the first. I only need a few items really.

Well that's it from me for tonight. Goodnight