vegan cannibal

While tabling with S.P.A. Canada last week, I was filmed punching a giant iPhone and yelling AR slogans.  They actually used a cut of it in their little video.

http://www.bombe.tv/view_video.php?viewkey=c13838ff95ccfa94cebd

I love garage saleing. It's something my beloved deceased grandmother Margaret did often and she was a real expert. She could get a great price on a real treasure like valuable jewelry, and I used to spend hours and hours looking through all the interesting crap in her basement.

Today was the only "free" weekend for garage sales in L'Assomption, so everyone is out on the same day selling their crap. It's great for buyers, but not so great for sellers, because it creates a market which is flooded with lots of sellers who have to compete more. I prefer Toronto's law of two garage sales allowed per year, no date limits.

I purchased:

• a camouflage camera tripod ( it's for hunting and nature photos, I guess) $10
• used paint trays and roller holders, a round mincing knife and a salad spinner $2
• a medicine cabinet $5
• a cute sweater with skulls and lace $5
• 3 country CDs, Hank Williams (Sr and Jr, I know Nessie, Jr sucks), Kitty Wells and Jim Reeves. $6

For free, my landlady gave me a copy of the Little Prince, a classic French children's novel. She might give me a bike too, but I am not counting on it, she's not so reliable. She was complaining to me about how many screw and nail holes I made in the walls and wanted me to patch them up. Hello? When you live somewhere, you put things on the walls. She was pointing out how she had just painted everything last year. Yes, when tenants come and go, one paints, that's very normal. I told her if she buys the putty I will be glad to go around and patch the holes, but I am not paying for a thing. I don't even have a steady job, I'm certainly not into spending money on repairing things for a bourgeois landlord. I paid for her stupid "À Louer" (For Rent) sign myself! $2 is a lot of money for me, lol.

She responded that she would get a professional, which means she is just going to leave it for the next tenant. She's a little nutty. If she thinks I am bad, she should have seen my apartment in Montréal. This place is clean and in good condition! I try not to leave things dirty nor junk in the apartment.

I also bought some strawberries at the local strawberry farm today and they gave me a free tank top. Radical. Who doesn't love a shirt with strawberries on it?

Tonight I have to practice my violin, do my exercises and ride my bike. Tonight I will pack all the last-minute stuff. I hope things go smoothly with the move tomorrow!

I went to a really nice party at the home of two of the teachers at our school, last Thursday. Most of the teachers of Secondary 4 and 5 were there.




Surprisingly, there was much I could eat and I brought my raw cookies (which many people really liked), hummus, végé paté and végé cretons. Cretons is a spread French people eat on bread. It's really disgusting and made of minced meat, often pork. The veggie version is kind of greasy, but not bad on crackers.

I cannot seem to embed the photos like I usually do! I don't know what's up with Picasa.

Afterward on Thursday night, Cinthia (one of my students) and I went for vegan ice cream.




Tomorrow is moving day!

Friends in Toronto, I hope that you will check out the art exhibit of Bill Burns.



I worked for him last summer helping out in his art studio. He is an amazingly rare 21st century artist whose work resonates with relevant and recent themes. His touring exhibit entitled "Safety Gear for Small Animals" has been making it's way through Europe, North and South America, along with several other travelling exhibitions.

Burns' work primarily discusses ecology, habitat degradation, animal conservation, medication and safety.

The exhibit showing at mkg127 is a photography exhibit with selected photos that Burns' has taken over the years.

The gallery link is here: http://www.mkg127.com/

Burns' work will be on display at the MKG127 Gallery in Toronto from May 27th - June 21st, 2008. Please, if you have a chance, go check it out.

I still can't seem to convert the original video of when Jessica and I sang "Walk This Way", but here is the version we did yesterday to help the sale of the album. Hilarious.

I made myself an art and projects album on Picasa so that I can feel like I have done stuff, otherwise I get discouraged!




Also: No purple couch. No one came through and then it rained yesterday. PURPLE RAIN. Just kidding. I love Prince.

Xeno just seems a bit drugged but she is still stressed and anxious. Apparently it can take 3 weeks to work.

I went biking today for an hour and a half and I saw a really cool purple couch someone was giving away.

The lilacs smelled wonderfully in bloom today (this town often smells like shit because of all the farms) and I stopped by the house of my co-worker Ginette and her husband (my yoga teacher), where she showed me her freshly-planted garden. She uses mulch to supress weeds and help keep water in the soil, which ends up saving water and effort. She had strawberries, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, all kinds of amazing fruits and veggies. It made me hungry and I am glad peach and cherry season are starting because I love summer fruits.

The rest of the couch story is that the retarded taxi driver I called to try and get to help me move it was too lazy to remove his seats from his van to make enough space for the couch. I basically paid him $10 to drive me to the couch and say "Non, ça ne marche pas". Awesome. I like living here and learning French, but sometimes I feel pretty alone when I have no one reliable to call and say "Hey, help me with getting a couch". I miss my step-dad for that. I took the couch cushions anyway, so I am going to try asking someone to help me at work tomorrow if I can. I hate asking for help, which is why I usually stick to my family, but I have no choice here because I don't know anyone very well. To be continued...

I took Xeno to the vet and she is now on doggy anti-anxiety meds called Clomicalm at $60 per month. It was a $115 visit to the vet. This hurts because I am seriously broke and I have no immediate job prospects, but I am sure it will work out somehow.

I sold my fridge, so now I have to sell the washer and stove. The couple who purchased it are coming to pick up the fridge on Thursday, so I will have no fridge for two weeks before I move, but I can just keep my shit in my next door neighbour's fridge because she is always home anyway. She owes me some fridge time from the occasion when her fridge broke and she put ALL HER MEAT in my vegan freezer. That was funny. I forgot to take a picture.

Well, coffee time and back to packing! :)

Obviously, I don't give a dog turd about Oprah (actually I strongly dislike her), but I could kiss her for discussing veganism on T.V.

Check this shit out! I loved going into work and having a co-worker tell me about how she heard about my lifestyle choice on Oprah.

This kind of thing makes me feel as though we are winning the right fight! :)

Go Vegan Reich!

 http://www.farmsanctuary.org/actionalerts/alert_oprah08.html


Oprah Announces 21 Days Free of Animal Products

"Well, I feel like I got baptized in Vegan Land today."
-- Oprah

Farm Sanctuary is abuzz this week as we return from an inspirational night celebrating 22 years of rescue, education and advocacy at our Gala for Farm Animals in New York City. Upon our return, news started pouring in about Oprah's May 20 show featuring Kathy Freston, author of Quantum Wellness. Oprah announced that she has embarked on a 21-day cleanse that includes removing all animal products from her diet in her quest to be a "conscious eater." This is BIG. So BIG, in fact, that we need you to show your support of Oprah's choice to try an animal-free diet. Please join the discussion, or share your story on Oprah's site.

Oprah is blogging about her experience and sharing vegan recipes by chef Tal Ronnen throughout her journey.

There is no better time than the present to do your own bit of vegan activism. Order a stack of our Guide to Veg Living booklets today to distribute in your local community or visit VegForLife.org for recipes and information on how you can spread compassion and teach people to be "conscious eaters."

And, stay tuned…a little birdie told us you should watch Ellen on Friday, May 23. Bestselling author Rory Freedman, one of our special guests at the Gala, will be on the show, and on May 28, Kathy Freston will appear on Ellen.

 

Bekka, is this the girl on your facebook?

http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=eTosQerWBzU&rel=1&eurl=&iurl=http%3A//i.ytimg.com/vi/eTosQerWBzU/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskJniiHgRrcxWvWL4-fJrORA&hl=en

Someone (Casey) posted this on stepitup.com

It's awesome.

New food blogs I found!

Waring: Try not to die of dehydration when you look at these food blogs and salivate!

I was searching for a recipe of how to make a traditionally French dessert called macaron (no, not macaroon) which is an almond type cookie that is made with a bunch of egg whites, almond flour, butter, cream, et cetera.

http://flickr.com/photos/25015818@N03/sets/72157604343592239/show/

I found an awesome recipe for a vegan version of macarons in the vegansfields blog below.

http://vegansfields.over-blog.com/categorie-689847.html

Go here for lots of amazing main dishes and more: http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

http://www7.earthhourus.org/

Please come out to support a stronger animal cruelty bill, to protest the passing of the ineffective bill S-203 and to make it clear that we as Candians will not accept cruelty legislation that fails to give a basic respect to animals.

The Montreal event takes place on
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
from 2:00PM to 3:30PM

At Phillips Square, corner of Ste-Catherine and Union
Click here to view a map, or to obtain directions
http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=111684788263020275678.000449287786672d00d87&ll=45.504174,-73.568176&spn=0.003391,0.010042&z=17


Bill S-203 is an insult to the welfare of all animals. You should attend if you care about your pets as well, this is not just a protest for the rights of farm and food animals, it's for more severe penalties for types of animal cruelty, among other things. If you care about your pets, we hope you will make the time to come and show your support.

Dog fighting, gross negligence (death by starvation), abuse of strays, and brutal killing of animals is VERY difficult to prosecute in Canada.. and unfortunately more common that we think:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/cruelty_database/results.php?us_state=&ca_state=ALL&uk_state=&nz_state=&au_state=&e

Federal animal cruelty laws have been essentially unchanged since 1892. Our laws are much weaker than the US, the UK, and countries in Europe.

What's worse is that now, the government is trying to pass S-203 (will be voted on during the next few weeks). A watered down Bill which is opposed by EVERY humane society, SPCA and animal welfare group in the country.

We cannot allow this to happen. We much make our position clear to the government.

For more on this, please read "why we need to act"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=12208127260


If you care about animals, and consider yourself to be part of the 85% of Canadians who support stronger animal cruelty laws in our country, please take an hour of your time and attend this event.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Guest Speaker:
Prof. Ronald Sklar
Professor Sklar teaches and researches
criminal law, evidence, and ethics at McGill



RSVP on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=22344302608

Or on our Website:
http://againstanimalcruelty.ca/?p=6



The following organizations are supporting the Montreal rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canadians for Effective Animal Cruelty Legislation
http://againstanimalcruelty.ca

CARA - Lucas Solowey
http://www.caraonline.org/

UPRA - Union Pour le Respect des Animaux
http://www.upra.ca/english/index.html

Société Québécoise pour la Défense des Animaux (SQDA)
http://www.sqda.org/

Nicole Joncas
Tejas Animal Refuge
tejasanimalrefuge@sympatico.ca
http://www.tejasanimalrefuge.ca/?page=home
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2403973280

Aequo Animo
http://www.aequoanimo.com/

Animal Liberties (McGill Student Society)
http://animalliberties.googlepages.com/aboutanimalliberties
On facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6432287554


--
Animal Liberties
Room 412
Students' Society of McGill University
William and Mary Brown Student
Services Building, Mailbox Y44,
3600 McTavish Street Montreal, QC
H3A 1W2

I saw this on the MSN.com webpage and thought it looked interesting.
It is a book about the chocolate trade in Africa.

http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/SavingsDebt/Books/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=5716316

Carol Off traces the origins of the cocoa craze and follows chocolate’s evolution under such overseers as Hershey, Cadbury and Mars. In Côte d’Ivoire, the West African nation that produces nearly half of the world’s cocoa beans, she follows a dark and dangerous seam of greed. Against a backdrop of civil war and corruption, desperately poor farmers engage in appalling practices such as the indentured servitude of young boys – children who don’t even know what chocolate tastes like.

Off shows that, with the complicity of Western governments and corporations, unethical practices continue to thrive. Bitter Chocolate is a social history, a passionate investigative account and an eye-opening exposé of the workings of a multi-billion dollar industry that has institutionalized misery as it served our pleasures.

Percy Schmeiser has won his appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada against agricultural giant Monsanto.
Schmeiser maintained that he never planted Monsanto canola seed on his land, nor did he want it there, he had been developing his own seed for 40 years.
Monsanto's position, which was won in the initial provincial court process, was that it did not matter whether the Schmeisers planted their seed or not, it remained their property and the Schmeisers owed Monsanto $15 per acre. Schmeiser maintained it must have blown onto his field by wind, birds, other animals or off the untarped Monsanto seed-carrying trucks.

Now, Schmeiser has won his appeal and Monsanto must pay to clean his fields of their seed product. As well, he will not be subject to a gag-order, and free to sue the agricultural monopoly in the future.
Schmeiser spent his family savings and retirement fund fighting Monsanto with his wife alongside him through the pain and difficulty of fighting a multinational corporation. The Schmeiser family make me proud to be Canadian today!

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/saskatchewan/2008/03/19/002-Schmeiser-Mosanto_n.shtml
http://www.percyschmeiser.com/conflict.htm

1) March 15, is the International Day of Action Against the Canadian
Seal Hunt. The annual Canadian seal massacre is about to begin again.

On Saturday, March 15, join Aequo Animo (http://aequoanimo.com) and CARA
In protesting against the seal hunt!

We will be distributing leaflets to members of the public to spread
awareness of this tragedy. If you live in Montreal or its surroundings
and you are interested to join us, please come at 12:30, corner
Ste-Catherine and McGill College .

*Some brave souls are planning to strip down for the event so if you
want to join them, let CARA know in advance so they can train you to
speak to media! (lucassolowey@gmail.com).

more details at:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=24290570390

Check out my albums. Cheap Lip Service and other gothy stuff for sale. Shipping is extra.

( for sale )

Here is the shoe album. I also have an accessory album. I will add more stuff as well as sizes to the clothing album as well.