With only hours until we ring in the New Year, I am confronted with an emotion that I don’t usually experience at this time – one of hope & optimism. The prospect of a clean slate & the endless possibilities that entails is incredibly exciting. I can’t be exactly sure why it is that all of a sudden I'm feeling this way, but I have a few vague ideas. Being in my mid-twenties may have something to do with it since I am at a stage where I no longer feel like my life has been mapped out for me (with school taking up most of my time and pre-arranged summer plans). Instead, for the first time, my life is my own to construct. This freedom is simultaneously scary, yet extremely exciting.
This year, I want to build the foundation of the life that I plan on working hard to achieve. As each new piece is put in its place, I will get one step closer to creating the life I have always dreamed of having – the career I am deeply passionate about and which provides my life with a deeper sense of purpose, the wonderful, loving friends with whom to share life’s highest highs and lowest lows, the beautiful apartment that is my safe haven when the outside world gets too chaotic. And then, eventually, the great husband, great kids, great house complete with the white picked fence and, of course, the “go green” or “meet your meat” bumper sticker on the great hybrid (or hopefully electric) car.
This year, I want to work hard...and play hard. I want to put my all into everything I do and know that if things don’t work out exactly according to plan, maybe there is a reason for it and the new outcome will turn out even better than the original. I want to meet tons of new people and develop long-lasting relationship with the handful with whom I deeply connect.
While some of my resolutions, like trying to get to the gym three times a week instead of one or two or make as many home-cooked meals as possible are very important, I have one resolution this year that I’ve decided to place on a bit of a pedestal – my eco-resolutions of 2009. One of these is to buy a whole bunch of those $1 reusable bags they sell all over the place (I’ve seen really nice ones at Winners (for clothes), Jean Coutu (for groceries), and even at the SAQ (for bottles) and give them out to friends, family, colleagues, & whoever, on the condition that they use them instead of plastic bags. I urge you, too, to make one eco-resolution for the coming year and stick to it. Another is to finally get my hands on a Stella McCartney handbag (which is to me what Manolo Blahniks are to Carrie Bradshaw). That, or a killer pair of stunning, vegan TeCasan hells designed by Natalie Portman.
*Note: the SAQ is actually phasing out single-use bags for the New Year, starting January 1st 2009.
To learn more, visit http://www.placemag.org/ & if you want, send them an e-mail telling them how great you think it is that they are taking major strides towards going green.
For the crème de la crème in eco and animal-friendly fashion, check out:
http://www.stellamccartney.com/
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/04/13/natalie-portman-vegan-shoes/
Enjoy your champagne and write you in ’09!
Er
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
B. Spears – You’re a Victimizer, Baby
The victim victimizes the victimized...and the circus continues
I never had much sympathy for Britney Spears – never joined the “Save Britney” campaign or put her well-being high on my list of political concerns. However, upon watching the recent documentary Britney: For the Record, I must admit that my views on her have slightly altered. Although I still believe her mental issues and meltdowns should not take precedence in the news over the global warming crisis or other matters of equal importance, I began to see her less as an attention-seeking airhead and more as a victim of the crazy media frenzy that our generation’s quench for her has spurred. It is for this reason that I cannot help but be totally transfixed by the irony that Britney – a woman who has practically become like a captive animal not only in her native country but all around the world – would perpetuate the cycle of abuse by employing the use of exotic animals in her new music video “Circus”. My sneaking suspicion is that if B.'s "people" didn't shield her from reality so severely and wave off PETA people so vehemently, she might identify that abuse and realize the use of animals in entertainment is just plain wrong. She might agree with me that the traditional circus tricks the elephants and lions in her video were made to perform, which mainsteam society has been sensitized to view as perfectly normal and acceptable, are in fact anything but. She might realize that the use of electric prods and bullhooks on the most sensitive parts of the animals' bodies in order to get them to perform such unnatural tricks is way too high a price to pay for less than a minute of pathetic entertainment, and how the owner of the company that supplied the animals for her video admitting to using this cruel method of training (even defending it!) further demonstrates that there is no other way, other than inflicting fear and pain, to get them to perform the way they are made to.
To see exactly what I’m talking about, check out the first link I posted. It gives a behind-the-scenes look at how we get animals in entertainment to perform the tricks most people, not knowing the awful price the animals must pay, blindly applaud. If the insight you get from watching this video upsets you and makes you wish you could get Britney, instead of turning a blind eye, to take a look at what she contributed to by using animals in her video, go to the second link I posted and sign the petition to urge her to give exotic animals a break by not exploiting them to promote herself ever again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOXa7Gtr_nk
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/britney_spears/
I never had much sympathy for Britney Spears – never joined the “Save Britney” campaign or put her well-being high on my list of political concerns. However, upon watching the recent documentary Britney: For the Record, I must admit that my views on her have slightly altered. Although I still believe her mental issues and meltdowns should not take precedence in the news over the global warming crisis or other matters of equal importance, I began to see her less as an attention-seeking airhead and more as a victim of the crazy media frenzy that our generation’s quench for her has spurred. It is for this reason that I cannot help but be totally transfixed by the irony that Britney – a woman who has practically become like a captive animal not only in her native country but all around the world – would perpetuate the cycle of abuse by employing the use of exotic animals in her new music video “Circus”. My sneaking suspicion is that if B.'s "people" didn't shield her from reality so severely and wave off PETA people so vehemently, she might identify that abuse and realize the use of animals in entertainment is just plain wrong. She might agree with me that the traditional circus tricks the elephants and lions in her video were made to perform, which mainsteam society has been sensitized to view as perfectly normal and acceptable, are in fact anything but. She might realize that the use of electric prods and bullhooks on the most sensitive parts of the animals' bodies in order to get them to perform such unnatural tricks is way too high a price to pay for less than a minute of pathetic entertainment, and how the owner of the company that supplied the animals for her video admitting to using this cruel method of training (even defending it!) further demonstrates that there is no other way, other than inflicting fear and pain, to get them to perform the way they are made to.
To see exactly what I’m talking about, check out the first link I posted. It gives a behind-the-scenes look at how we get animals in entertainment to perform the tricks most people, not knowing the awful price the animals must pay, blindly applaud. If the insight you get from watching this video upsets you and makes you wish you could get Britney, instead of turning a blind eye, to take a look at what she contributed to by using animals in her video, go to the second link I posted and sign the petition to urge her to give exotic animals a break by not exploiting them to promote herself ever again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOXa7Gtr_nk
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/britney_spears/
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Birth of a Believer
The seed that would bloom into my PETA-loving, fur-free wearing, petition-signing self was planted in the summer of 1992 when I was just seven years old. That day was the first time I made the connection between meat and the death of sentient animals upon being told, on a trip to the farm, that the fate of the sweet little rabbit I had pet was to end up on someone's dinner plate. Without so much as a moment of hesitation, I vowed then and there never to eat meat again. That night at dinner, unable to bring myself to even so much as look at the meatballs on my plate, I experienced the first, perhaps most significant “aha” moment of my life. It was then that I truly realized that there is a back-story to all of the everyday practices in which we engage and that instead of purposely ignoring these stories, I wanted to uncover them.
After dinner that night, I felt more powerful than I ever had. By choosing not to simply follow the expected norm of eating meat, I had made a political choice through which I was getting my priorities and beliefs out there into the universe...and that felt really, really good. I experienced a surge of excitement knowing that I had just taken a stance in a world where it often seems as though our actions have very little clout. To this day, the recollection of that feeling is what drives me and propels me forward. It is what keeps me going when I am most discouraged or overwhelmed.
As I got older and learnt more about the downfalls related to the ways of the world, my desire to work towards the betterment of all of the inhabitants of the planet expanded to include the planet itself. My profound dedication to the environmental cause is a major part of who I am and is evident in all that I do, from which products I buy to which organizations I support. Finding beautiful, well-made eco-chic products and environmentally-responsible groups that take into consideration their environmental impact is less like a pain in the butt, and more like a hobby I greatly enjoy.
I truly hope (and believe) that grassroots initiatives, even as minute as this blog, can do wonders in empowering forward-thinking individuals to participate in the shaping of society in order to overcome the barriers that stand in the way of progress. So please...prove me right and let this blog motivate you to participate in whatever constructive way you see fit.
Small steps lead to big changes and big changes lead to large-scale victories...
Er
After dinner that night, I felt more powerful than I ever had. By choosing not to simply follow the expected norm of eating meat, I had made a political choice through which I was getting my priorities and beliefs out there into the universe...and that felt really, really good. I experienced a surge of excitement knowing that I had just taken a stance in a world where it often seems as though our actions have very little clout. To this day, the recollection of that feeling is what drives me and propels me forward. It is what keeps me going when I am most discouraged or overwhelmed.
As I got older and learnt more about the downfalls related to the ways of the world, my desire to work towards the betterment of all of the inhabitants of the planet expanded to include the planet itself. My profound dedication to the environmental cause is a major part of who I am and is evident in all that I do, from which products I buy to which organizations I support. Finding beautiful, well-made eco-chic products and environmentally-responsible groups that take into consideration their environmental impact is less like a pain in the butt, and more like a hobby I greatly enjoy.
I truly hope (and believe) that grassroots initiatives, even as minute as this blog, can do wonders in empowering forward-thinking individuals to participate in the shaping of society in order to overcome the barriers that stand in the way of progress. So please...prove me right and let this blog motivate you to participate in whatever constructive way you see fit.
Small steps lead to big changes and big changes lead to large-scale victories...
Er
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The Birth of a Blog
The necessity of this blog has reached a head as recently, my mind has been running at a hundred miles per hour and my creative juices have been flowing to such a degree that I fear my brain train might de-rail. Although I am happy that this train is working, I cannot help but think that a train that de-rails is no better than one that will not be set into motion in the first place. And so, in order to prevent my mind from exploding from an idea overload, I have decided to put all of this material into storage - on e-paper in my most precious e-space which will act as my own personal notebook/newspaper/biography all rolled into one. This way, I can take the thoughts that clutter my mind and effectively "file" them away so that they are there for me to work with and mould at my convenience while simultaniously de-cluttering my workspace so that there is room for other projects on my mental desktop. This will allow me to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my ideas are at no risk of being thrown in a figurative garbage bin (which is great, seeing as I despise the unnecessary waste of anything, including ideas).
I hope that this blog will provide an interesting glimpse into the thoughts and feelings I encounter on the unbeaten path I take through life in an attempt to make the world a happier and healthier place. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about my unconventional, idealist thoughts and dreams on my quest to be the change I want to see in the world...
Er
I hope that this blog will provide an interesting glimpse into the thoughts and feelings I encounter on the unbeaten path I take through life in an attempt to make the world a happier and healthier place. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about my unconventional, idealist thoughts and dreams on my quest to be the change I want to see in the world...
Er
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