Monday, December 17, 2007

Non-Vegetarian Cookies

I am always reading ingredients. At first, it was simply to find out what products contained animal ingredients, and which ones don't. Now, I find myself fascinated with the ingredients used to make certain foods.

Peak Freans Digestive cookies - one of the first ingredients is... get this... are you ready for it...?

BEEF FAT

I'm serious.

How disgusting. Imagine you're having some tea and cookies and you realize that you're eating beef fat. ugh.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

i love blueberries

a friend gave me a gigantic box of blueberries as a housewarming present and i don't think i can think of a better present. blueberries are delicious and extremely nutritious (full of cancer fighting antioxidants).

I just made this smoothie.. at first i didn't add a banana, because my bananas are kind of green, but i added one after all because a smoothie just doesn't taste "complete" without a banana.

3 tbsp frozen blueberries
1 banana
1/2 cup cherry juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp protein powder (i'm a big VEGA fan, but i'm out right now... so i used SoyOne)
1 tsp maple syrup

enjoy!

Grist makes me giggle

Dear Canada, if you care at all about the earth, you'll get rid of all your beer fridges. And if you care at all about peaceful international relations, you'll send your surplus booze our way. Love, America.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Neglect

OMG have I ever neglected this blog. i apologize faithfull readers... life has thrown me a few crazy rollercoaster turns lately. Actually for the last few months it's been non-stop. But that's the last few months, so let's just start with my birthday!

For my birthday I dragged my parents, brother and boyfriend to a vegan restaurant (not quite kicking and screaming!). Fresh is a great (maybe the greatest) vegan restaurant in Toronto. Even though we had to sit cramped at a teeny table, and we drank organic wine from what looked like value village glasses, I'm pretty sure we all had a really nice night. Well I did anyways. Everyone ate vegan (with the exception of my brother, who ordered cheese for his mushroom burger) and everyone enjoyed it, or everyone lied about enjoying it. Either way I'm happy!

I had the Energy bowl. So yummy and so huge that I got it to go and enjoyed it again the next day. As an appetizer we had sweet potato fries and coconut tempeh, delicious!! The best part though was their incredible carrot cake with tofu cream cheese icing.. so so good. all in all a delicious evening. Fresh is the best.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Local Produce

What’s In Season?
October 13th, 2007
Although the weather is moving into fall, farmers’ markets around the country are still in full swing. Many will stay open for at least another month, and there are a number that stay open year round.

If you’re interested in adding more locally grown produce to your meals, yummy fruits and vegetables are still coming into season, now and through the next few months. A sampling of what’s in season..

…In October
Apples, Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chives, Cilantro, Corn, Cranberries, Garlic, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Pears, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radishes, Rosemary, Sage, Salad Greens, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Thyme, Turnips, Winter Squash

…In November

Apples, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Garlic, Leeks, Onions, Pears, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Turnips, Winter Squash

…In December

Apples, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Garlic, Pears, Rosemary, Sage, Turnips, Winter Squash

So bundle up, grab your canvas shopping bag and head out to your closest farmers’ market…and enjoy the bounty our local farmers have to offer.

Green byte: We love the new name for people who focus on buying locally produced food. Are you a locavore?

source: http://greenopolis.ca/

weird

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2007/10/what-are-the-ge.html

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

The Naam


GREAT vegetarian / vegan restaurant in Kitsilano (Vancouver) and open 24 hours! The food is delicious, and I'd like to say the same thing about the vegan carrot cake with hemp icing, but unfortunately they forgot that. Going back tomorrow night though so we'll try again! The servers were very friendly, but also really busy. It's a really popular place! Even though it was full and there was a lineup, I still felt like my friend and I were in a small intimate little restaurant. so cute!

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

Dedicated to Chris.

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
and nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they say
never cared for games they play
never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
and I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

Friday, September 28, 2007

8 Junk foods to stay away from

I love reading stuff like this. I almost never eat any junk food, with the exception of the occasional bag of chips or new york fries, and when i read articles like the one below, i feel so happy that i've seen the light. junk food makes me sick in every sense possible. if i have a choice between a fresh salad full of nuts and fruits and fresh vegetables, maybe even some tofu and legumes thrown in there.. YUM and a coke and fries, it's a no-brainer for me. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of sugar packed vegan treats that i love too. but at least i have no desire to frequent the places that sell garbage masked as food. i just wish i could help more people see the light too.

Got this from http://www.grist.org.

FOODS TO ESCHEW
The foods listed below are more noxious than nutritious -- for you and for the earth.

1. Sodas
Teeth go rotten with Coke. A 12-ounce serving of most sodas contains 7 to 10 or more teaspoons of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, a sweetener that's linked to rising rates of obesity and diabetes. (To see what this amount of sugar looks like, check this out http://marshallbrain.com/science/sugar-in-soda.htm.) Diet sodas aren't much better: they're filled with aspartame, a questionable artificial sweetener, and studies show that people who drink them weigh more than those who don't.

2. Hot dogs, bacon, and processed lunch meats.
It's no baloney: high-fat meats like hot dogs, salami, and just about everything in your supermarket's pre-packaged lunches and "deli aisle" are filled with hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, and artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fats. The latter can build up and cause strokes, heart disease, and cancers in adulthood. The nitrites in these meats are linked to increased risks of childhood cancer, too.

3. French fries
Most fries -- America's most popular vegetable dish -- wallow in cholesterol-boosting hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, aka transfats. The fats in French fries also seem to cause more deep belly fat accumulation, putting people at risk for diabetes and heart disease. And a single serving of fast-food French fries offers dangerously high
levels of acrylamide, a toxic chemical than can cause reproductive damage and cancer.

4. Doh-nuts
Just look at Homer. Doughnuts are the poster-child for food gone wrong: sugar-encased, high-fat packages of refined grains and empty calories, with food-dyed candy sprinkles on top. Plus, it's hard to eat just one.

5. Juice-flavored drinks
Some fruit juices are actually made with, uh, fruit juice. But most are only about 10 percent juice, plus water, sugar, and juice concentrate (which has almost zero nutritious value). Apple juice promotes tooth decay; over-juicing in general promotes obesity. Eat an actual raw organic fruit instead. If you're thirsty, drink some (non-bottled) water.

6. Artificial butter-flavored microwave popcorn
Artificially flavored anything is bad for you, but buttery-flavored nuked popcorn has the added problem of releasing toxic fumes, which in large amounts can cause a potentially fatal lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans -- or what's become known as "popcorn lung." Hundreds of workers in popcorn factories already suffer from the ailment, and a prominent researcher has warned federal regulators that consumers are also at risk.

7. Chips
Whether they're potato chips, Doritos, or some other entry in this snack realm, chips are high-fat and high-sodium with almost zippo nutritious value. Like French fries, many are also filled with alarming levels of acrylamide, a chemical that forms spontaneously when starchy foods are baked or fried.

8. Chicken nuggets
Cute as they are, these golden morsels aren't much more than a greasy, breaded salt- delivery system. They're filled with cholesterol-raising fats and super-sized loads of sodium. If you've seen Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me, you'll also have heard the allegations that Chicken McNuggets were once made with sick chickens. And they're prepared with chemicals like TBHQ, a form of lighter fluid. Just say McNo.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Hungry in Surrey

Hey people,

I'm in Surrey for the next two weeks and I am wondering if any of you out there know any excellent vegan restaurants in the area? Anyone?

If you do, you're more than welcome to join me. Beats eating microwave dinners in my hotel room.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Car Idling

Recently, I went down to Belleville with friends. Along the way, at a couple of points... my friend let his car idle. There is almost nothing that irritates me more than someone who lets their car idle. Even though, the myth that "turning the car on and off causes more harm than idling" has been disproved over and over, there are still those that hang on tight to this claim, thinking that their 5 minutes of idling isn't doing any harm.

Which brings me to another point. Drive-thrus. I hate them! People sit in their cars in long lineups, idling for 5, 10, 15 minutes just for the convenience of not having to get out of their cars. Why are we such a lazy ass society?! I read an article of Adria Vasil's today about a study conducted by University of Alberta students. They found that drivers in Edmonton spent 5,000 HOURS idling at Tim Horton's drive-thrus, emitting 23.5 tonnes of greenhouse gases IN JUST ONE DAY!

Anyone who thinks that he/she is not doing any harm by idling for a couple of minutes is obviously just being ignorant. Plain and simple.

For the whole article, visit this website: http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2007-09-20/goods_ecoholic.php

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Something to think about next time you eat a hamburger

Your average quarter pounder, according to one Cornell University study, siphons 600 gallons of water, 1.2 pounds of feed grain, and 6 square feet of former prairie land-plus the loss of five times the patty's weight in topsoil-even before it gets slapped on a grill.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

21 Things You Didn't Know You Could Recycle

by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.11.07

There's more to recycling than paper, glass, plastics, and aluminum. Did you know, for instance, that you could send off your used Tyvek envelopes for recycling? Or that you could swap your dusty exercise videos for some you'll actually work out to?
Co-op America has a list of 21 recyclables (or at least reusables) you may not have known about.

Garbage. Americans produce more and more of it every year, when we need to be producing less.
Even the most waste-conscious among us can feel overwhelmed by the amount of household waste that goes beyond what municipal recyclers and compost bins can handle.
That’s why our editors have spent the summer investigating the state of waste management in our country, and putting together information for you, our Co-op America members, explaining how we can get serious about the three R’s – reducing, reusing, and recycling. Supporting members of Co-op America can expect to receive this issue of the Co-op America Quarterly this fall. If you’re not already a supporting member, join us now to get this special issue mailed to you.

1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill.org, or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them. 800/YES-1-CAN, www.recycle-steel.org.

2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110, www.batteryrecycling.com.

3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women’s shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer up used cardboard boxes at your local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org for others who may need them for moving or storage. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com accepts them for resale.

4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for refinishing, and they’ll work like new: 888/454-3223, www.auraltech.com.

5. Clothes: Wearable clothes can go to your local Goodwill outlet or shelter. Donate wearable women’s business clothing to Dress for Success, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs, 212/532-1922, www.dressforsuccess.org. Offer unwearable clothes and towels to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often use them as pet bedding. Consider holding a clothes swap at your office, school, faith congregation or community center. Swap clothes with friends and colleagues, and save money on a new fall wardrobe and back-to-school clothes.

6. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store for recycling: www.ikea.com.

7. Compostable bio-plastics: You probably won’t be able to compost these in your home compost bin or pile. Find a municipal composter to take them to at www.findacomposter.com.

8. Computers and electronics: Find the most responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html.

9. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness.com.

10. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses are reground and given to people in need.

11. Foam packing: Your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept foam peanuts for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800/828-2214. For places to drop off foam blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, 410/451-8340, www.epspackaging.org/info.html

12. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace.com pays $1/each.

13. Miscellaneous: Get your unwanted items into the hands of people who can use them. Offer them up on your local Freecycle.org or Craigslist.org listserv, or try giving them away at Throwplace.com or giving or selling them at iReuse.com. iReuse.com will also help you find a recycler, if possible, when your items have reached the end of their useful lifecycle.

14. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202/682-8000, www.recycleoil.org.

15. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to someone in a developing country: 770/856-9021, www.collectivegood.com. Call to Protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: www.donateaphone.com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814/386-2927, www.reclamere.com.

16. Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again Sports outlet, 800/476-9249, www.playitagainsports.com.

17. “Technotrash”: Easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk’s Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800/305-GREENDISK, www.greendisk.com.

18. Tennis shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring. www.nikereuseashoe.com. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti. www.oneworldrunning.com.

19. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or razor from Recycline, and the company will take it back to be recycled again into plastic lumber. Recycline products are made from used Stonyfield Farms’ yogurt cups. 888/354-7296, www.recycline.com.

20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.

21. Stuff you just can’t recycle: When practical, send such items back to the manufacturer and tell them they need to manufacture products that close the waste loop responsibly.

Brought to us by

Monday, September 10, 2007

23rd Annual Vegetarian Food Fair

I had a great weekend! On saturday, I had the opportunity to work on LAVA all day, which I don't get to do enough these days now that I'm working full time. On sunday though... Chris, Sarah and I attended the Vegetarian Food Fair in Toronto. What a blast! I really look forward to that fair every year, and I'm so glad I was able to attend after years of being out of the country. We all spent way too much money, but we got amazing deals - the best deal being on Vega protein
powder (thanks to the guys running that booth! They were so fun and friendly!) I learned so much from just 1.5 hours with Brendan Brazier. What a smart guy. I'm so glad that we got to see him speak. I was really hoping to see Sarah Kramer too, but sadly, she had to fly home for a family emergency. Ran into my friend AngelA and her husband Jason who run Taste Better (www.tastebetter.com). They had a bunch of incredible t-shirts and cooking dvds for sale... and the most indulgent, gluttonous part of our weekend happened at the Sweets from the Earth booth. Good lord do they have a ton of dangerously delicious deserts! Chris and I have absolutely no will power when it comes to sugary vegan stuff that's in no way healthy... so we bought a blueberry cheesecake and a carrot cake. YUM!!!!!!!!!!! We haven't broken them open yet... but just wait. When we do I'll be sure to post a photo of myself pigging out.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

More Vegan Radio!


This one is in Toronto! It's called Animal Advocacy Radio and you can find it at www.animalvoices.ca
All of a sudden vegan radio is everywhere. So awesome.

You have to love thrift stores...

One Dollar! That's the price of great litterature these days....

It's worse than I thought...

I expected to thrill you all with some of the benefits of drinking organic coffee and tea but alas... circumstances have prevented me from having a lot of computer time.... working full time is not for me I tell you! When will I find someone that will pay me for writing blogs and updating veganslovelava.ca?! hahaha...

Friday, August 24, 2007

The end of unemployment fairy tale land

I feel like I'm in school again... the summer is almost over and i have to go back to work :( I have been so lucky to get the entire summer off... it's been incredible. of course, i've spent most of the summer working anyway, getting LAVA set up is a day and night job. but still, i also feel like i've had one long ass holiday.

so now i'm working at a coffee bar. c'mon not just any coffee bar! a really cool coffee bar! hahahaha

they have something like 30 or 40 different kinds of tea, 20 different kinds of coffee, and of course all the mixed frappacinos and double mocha lattes on ice etc. it's a little intimidating. i have therefore made myself deal that i'll learn more about the different kinds of coffees and teas that grow on this beautiful planet, so you can expect to learn about that too in the coming days, since i'm so fond of sharing my knowledge with you guys.

Organic Cotton

I received this article in my inbox today about Organic Cotton. Very interesting. Please read. Brought to you by Treehugger.

Organic cotton is the version of its conventional counterpart grown without pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers or any other chemicals, and that makes it hugely different, especially considering that cotton (organic or otherwise) provides about half of all the world's fiber needs. Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically-dependent crops, sucking up 10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides on 3% of our arable land; that's more than any other crop per unit. That adds up to 1/3 of a pound of chemicals to produce enough cotton for a t-shirt, and 3/4 of a pound for a pair of jeans. And that's just not bad for the planet; 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries, many of these from cotton farming, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Organic cotton, on the other hand, uses agricultural methods designed to help sustain the land it grows on, the people who grow and harvest it, and the planet in general. Organic farming really starts with the soil. Compost, frequent crop rotations and cover crop strategies replace synthetic fertilizers to keep the soil healthy and productive. Weeds are controlled by innovative farm machinery, hand labor or flame devices rather than herbicide applications. Rather than attempting to eradicate all insects with chemicals, organic farmers cultivate a diversity of natural enemies which prey on insect pests, and lure pests away from cotton by planting trap crops. Insect pests can be effectively kept in balance with well-timed introduction of beneficial insects to fields. In warmer growing regions, where the cotton plants must be killed or defoliated to pick a quality crop before the onset of winter rains, organic growers shut off water early, and apply certified materials to promote cotton boll opening and leaf dropping, readying the fibers for harvest. In the US, both conventional and organic cotton are mostly machine-picked; in some developing countries, cotton is still harvested by hand.

When it comes time to harvest by hand, it follows then that organic cotton is also much safer for those who pick it. Workers aren't exposed to breathing or otherwise ingesting toxic chemicals while active in the field, and don't have to worry about the same nasty chemicals getting into their water supply if they live nearby. They can raise healthier children and livestock, and everyone is happier (okay, we made that last part up, but it seems to fit, right?).

Like other organic products (food is the most prominent example), organic cotton must be certified as such by a third party, based upon pre-determined rules and regulations for what is and isn't allowed in the cultivation process. Here in the United States, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the organic certification process, based on the standards set in the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (OFPA); because organic cotton is grown around the world, and the US supply is not large enough to keep up with demand, other certification groups are often cited for products we see and use. The Dutch organization SKAL (one we've seen around a lot), for example, works in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia to certify different agricultural products as organic. Among the rules for certification, in addition to the ongoing ban of pesticides and other chemicals, is that the soil cannot have been sprayed with any of the banned substances for three years, so proper organic certification takes significant time, effort and bureaucratic rule-following (some might call it hoop-jumping or cutting red tape, but we won't) but the results are something to be proud of: a truly sustainable product.

hen it comes time to put it on, many believe that organic cotton is softer and easier on your skin (though we don't have any scientific data, this TreeHugger is happy to corroborate this), and, of course, there aren't any latent pesticides or other chemicals that might disagree with your skin. This extra comfort is an added bonus when considering all of the benefits for the planet and its people, and the result is that organic cotton has been growing at an incredible rate.

Market retail leaders like Patagonia and Nike, who both blend and use organic cotton exclusively in their outdoor apparel, are being joined by high-end designers like Loomstate and Katherine Hamnett (whose work is directly above). This has been modulated by more mainstream designers like H&M, The Gap, Levi's and L.L. Bean, meaning that it's easier (and cheaper!) to get than ever before. Doesn't that make you feel all warm & fuzzy inside?

More information can be found via the USDA, the Sustainable Cotton Project, the Organic Trade Association and PAN Germany's Directory for Organic Cotton. It's been a very popular topic here at TreeHugger; in addition to all the links above, we've mentioned it in everything from wallpaper to crib sets, underwear to aprons, long johns to yoga mats and towels and sheets to organic cotton candy (wait a minute...). We also recommend a quick spin through our How to Green Your Wardrobe Guide for info on organic cotton and other green textiles.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Fun with Camaras

Chris experimenting with our camara's cool features.


More about Vegan Radio


How could I possibly forget about the Vegan Freaks? Very silly of me.... These guys are fun to listen too because they are witty and sarcastic and generally cynical about everything. They've even written a book which you can buy here. Although I HOPE that I will also be able to have the book available at LAVA. The lovely Sarah Kramer has agreed to supply her incredible vegan cookbooks already, so we'll wait and see if the Vegan Freaks are cool enough to be seen at LAVA too! ;)

Monday, August 20, 2007

Vegan Radio


Leave it to the Americans to think of all the cool stuff first. Ok, maybe that's not fair. But in terms of vegan culture, I'm sad to say that the Americans are ahead of us. At least, the Californians are. Check out their new "vegan radio" at http://www.goveganradio.com.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Vegan Beer

Finally! I got around to searching out vegan beers, and I'm happy to report that my friend... is wrong. It seems that many many beers are vegan these days. However, I was sad to find out that many wines are not. I went to two great sites that had a ton of information (so much info, that i didn't feel the need to keep researching). You'll find the sources at the bottom as usual.

Beer is occassionally fined using isinglass.

Isinglass is a very pure form of gelatin obtained from fish bladders(often sturgeon). The addition of a fining product simply speeds up a process which would otherwise occur naturally.

Unfortunately, many ciders aren't vegan as a number of large-scale comercial cider companies use animal products in the fining/clarification process. Specifically, some companies use the following non-vegan ingredients: gelatin (from an animal derived source), isinglass, chitin (crab shells), collagen.

Vegan ciders are usually naturally fermented in large oak barrels and allowed to settle over a period of months. Bentonite clay (mined and specially prepared for clarification purposes) or cellulose filter sheets are also sometimes used, to process cider in a vegan way.

Don't many alcohol companies support animal exploitation and abuse?

Unfortunately many do. They've been included on this list despite that, but it doesn't mean you have to drink them! Unfortunately a number of these companies support rodeos, bull-fighting, marine mammal captivity and much more (for example, Anheuser--Busch supports bullfighting through its Corona Beer affiliations, rodeos through Budweiser Beer, and animal captivity at its Sea World and Busch Gardens amusement parks). Many of these companies also use horribly sexist advertising. My advice? Boycott them too!

BEER CONFIRMED AS VEGAN

Bitters, etc.

Alloa Light
Alloa 70/- Special
Alloa 80/- Export
Alloa Stout
Batemans IPA
Batemans Nut Brown
Batemans XXXB
Batemans Victory Ale
Batemans Dark Mild
Batemans GB Bitter
Burtonwood Bitter
Burtonwood Mild
Burtonwood Pale Mild
Burtonwood Top Hat Ale
Drybrough Heavy
Drybrough Best Scotch
Felinfoel Bitter
Felinfoel Double Dragon Bitter
Fuller's London Pride
Fuller's Chiswick Bitter
Fuller's Mild
Fuller's ESB Export
Fuller's Pale Ale
Fuller's Brown Ale
Fullers LA
Gale's Southdown Bitter
Gale's Best Bitter
Gale's 777 Mild
Gale's Prize Old Ale
Gale's Pale Ale
Gale's HSB
Golden Promise Organic Beer
Hall & Woodhouse BXB Bitter
H & W Malthouse Bitter
H & W Oasthouse Bitter
H & W Badger Country Bitter
H & W Tanglefoot Bitter
Morrells Friars Bitter
Morrells Castle Ale
Morrells Light Ale
Morrells College Ale
Morrells Brewery Gate Bitter
Redruth Brewery Bitter
Redruth Brewery Mile Ale
Redruth Aston Manor Bitter
Redruth Gold Cap Bitter
Redruth Brewster Bitter
Redruth John Davey Bitter
Robinson's Best Bitter
Ross Brewery Hartcliffe Bitter
Ross Brewery Clifton Dark Ale
Ross Brewery Saxon Ale
Sainsburys Premium Ale
Sam Smiths Old Brewery
Sam Smiths Sovereign Best
Sam Smiths Tadcaster Bitter
Sam Smiths 4X Best Mild
Sam Smiths Dark Mild Ale
Sam Smiths OB Strong Brown
Sam Smiths OB Strong Pale
Sam Smiths Pale Ale
Sam Smiths Light Ale
Sam Smiths Nut Brown
Sam Smiths Strong Golden


Low Alcohol, N/A

AyingerBrau Low Alcohol
Clausen
Greene King Lowes
Marston's Low "C"
Wheelwright Low Alcohol
Wyvern Low Alcoholic
Sharp's
Kingsbury
O'Douls Premium Non-Alcoholic Brew


Lagers

Aston Manor Lager
AyingerBrau
AyingerBrau D. Pils
AyingerBrau Very Strong
Brewster Lager
Budweiser
Burtonwood Dagen
Cornish Pilsner Lager
Henri Funck
Grolsch
Guapa Lager
Hall & Woodhouse Hectors
H & W Forum
H & W Compass
H & W Skona
H & W Royal Hofbrau
Harp
Harp Extra
Heineken Export
Heineken
Holsten Pils
Knight's
Labatt's
Lincoln Green Organic
Lowenbrau Strong
Mousel
Norseman
Pinkus Special Organic
Prinz Strong
Redruth Brewery Pilsner
Sam Smiths Natural Lager
Scorpion Dry
Skol
Tennent's Gold Bier
TQ Lager
Tuborg Gold


US Domestics and/or bottled in the United States

Anderson Valley
Anheuser-Busch
Arrogant Bastard (Stone Brewing Company)
Barley's
Beach
Beck's
Big Dog's Hospitality Group
Blue Ridge
Brick
Carlsberg-Tetley
Columbus
Courage
Dallas County
Dempsey's
Deschutes
Dock Street
Dubuque
Eddie McStiff's
Fremont
Fullers
Genesee Brewing Company
Golden Pacific
Grant's Yakima (but Grant's Apple Honey Ale uses honey)
Greene King
Grolsch
G. Heileman
HighFalls Brewery (Genesee Brewing Company)
Irons
James Page
Jones Street
Lakefront
Latrobe (Rolling Rock)
Les Brasseurs du Nord
Lost Coast
Mad River
Manhattan Beach
Masters Brewpub & Brasserie
Miller
Miracle
Nelson
Nevada City
North Coast
Nouveaux Brasseurs-Bar L'Inox
Odell
Onalaska
Oranjeboom
Otter Creek
Otto Brothers'
Pacific Hop Exchange
Pennsylvania
Pete's
Pyramid Ales
Ragtime Tavern
Rainier
Richbrau
Roslyn
Samuel Smith (except Oatmeal Stout)
San Andreas
Saranac
Scottish & Newcastle
Shan Sui
Sharky's
Shepherd Neame
Sierra Nevada
Silo
Sleeman
Sonoma (Dempsey's)
Spinnakers Brewpub
Sprecher
Star
Steelhead
Stone Brewing Company
Table Rock
Telluride
Thames Valley
Treaty Grounds
Triple Rock
Truckee
Umpqua
Unibroue
Upper Canada
Vaux Brewery
Weeping Radish
Whistler
Whitbread Beer
Woodstock
Young & Co.

My favorites:

[+] Corona: Vegan Friendly

Status: Vegan Friendly
Checked by: Rick
Double Checked by: Nobody yet
Company email:
Yes, our beer is suitable for vegans; in fact, corona is made with natural products like Rice, Water, Hops, Refined corn starch and Yeast. No animal products are involved.

[+] Creemore Springs Brewery: Vegan Friendly

139 Mill Street
Creemore, ON, L0M1G0
Canada
P: 705-466-2240
F: 705-466-3306
E: thefolks@creemoresprings.com
W: http://www.creemoresprings.com
Status: Vegan Friendly
Checked by: Denise
Double Checked by: Nobody yet
Company email:

Yes our product is Vegan friendly. We do not use any animal bi-products in any part of the production of our beer.

[+] Moosehead: Vegan Friendly

89 Main Street West
Saint John, NB, E2M 3H2
Canada
P: 1-877-888 BEER (2337)
W: http://www.moosehead.ca/
Status: Vegan Friendly
Checked by: Amanda
Double Checked by: Nobody yet
Company email:
Thank you for your inquiry. We are happy to say that we do not use animal products in any of our brands of beer. The ingredients are malt, corn, hops and water. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions or comments. As one of the country's few remaining independent brewers, your support means a lot to us.

[+] Sleeman Breweries Ltd: Vegan Friendly

551 Clair Road West
Guelph, Ontario, N1L 1E9
P: 1-800-BOTTLES
Status: Vegan Friendly
Checked by: Vickie
Double Checked by: Nobody yet
Company Email:
"Hello Vickie,
Thank you for contacting us. It is my pleasure to tell you that we don't use any additives or preservatives in any of our brands. There are no animal products used in any phase of production.
All the best!
Sue Keuhl"

source 1: http://www.veganstandards.com/drinks.html
source 2: http://tastebetter.com/features/booze/type=beer

Sunday, August 12, 2007

www.veganslovelava.ca

It's been a crazy week! I have been working on my website non-stop morning and night and teaching myself how to program. That's no easy task! The website is still FAR from complete, however I'd love it if you checked it out at www.veganslovelava.ca (and I'd love it even more if you wanted to contribute some feedback!). I can't wait to get some products up! I've been speaking to some amazing people though, like vegetarian shoes, matt & nat, keep company, etc. If you're out there and you've got some ideas about what kind of products you'd like to see at a canadian vegan online store, please let me know. I'm excited to offer a big range of stuff from shoes to face cream to baby stuff to recycled paper. yep. the sky is the limit!

Took my dog to the vet today to get her paw bandaged. She ripped out her thumbnail (ew!). She was such a suck, I swear I've never seen a dog that's more like a human being. She is like a little kid who needs a bandaid and a hug to make things better. The whole time she was being bandaged she had her face against my chest. If she could talk she would have been saying; "mommy, i don't like this. make them stop!" in a cute sad voice, not a temper tantrum angry voice.

So another project I've got on the go is that I have got to figure out if Corona is actually vegan. Anybody know? A friend of mine swears he's gone to the brewery and claims he's seen the clarifying agent himself, and it was geletin. He said the same thing about Sleemans and Labatts, but I've read everywhere that those beers are vegan. Are the breweries just lying or is the information on the web inaccurate. I'm making it my mission to figure this out, because... well... I like beer.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Herbivore ROCKS

Herbivore is an incredible clothing business / magazine from Portland, Oregon and if you haven't been to their site yet, you should because it's FULL of beautiful clothing and articles that will make your sides hurt. I figure there's no harm in posting this article, it's free, and it talks about Terra Pass. I think I'm going to go out and buy a Terra Pass for everyone I know. Happy Reading!

BestiaPass: Wash away your vegan sins, it’s easy!

By Ryan MacMichael and Josh Hooten

Celebrities love them some TerraPass. That’s those freakin’ awesome “things” you can buy that supposedly help you undo the damage your lifestyle has inflicted on the environment. The way it works is you give money to somebody else in the world who does something GOOD (like plant trees), to fix up your BAD (like having a manure lagoon). Want to be a proud steward of the land? No need to change your behavior at all, just throw some cash at the problem. Want to be a proud steward on the Love Boat? Sorry sailor, that show went off the air years ago.

There’s no feeling quite like driving around in an SUV from one end of your gigantic house to the other and then clearing your conscience the good old fashioned American way to “offset” your carbon use. Your very beautiful and famous carbon use.

But what about us non-filthy-rich vegans? We’re generally pretty environmentally aware and do everything within our grasp to avoid supporting the exploitation or suffering of animals. But even the strictest of strict vegans will make the occasional mistake. So, in order to offset the guilt that comes with making one of these mistakes, we present an honor code-based “vegan offset” program. No need to join, just follow our simple suggestions to ease your conscious and make up for the world o’ hurt you’re causing by simply existing in the first place.

Offense: Stepping on an ant.
Offset: Pour something sweet on the ground to attract more ants. This will accomplish two things: it will ease the surviving ants mourning and benefit the ant community at large as you’re providing nourishment and a safe place to grieve. Ideally you will do this somewhere other than where you killed the ant in the first place to avoid more senseless death at the hands… no… feet… of otherwise kindly souls… no… soles. Bonus points for using agave nectar so as to extend your circle of compassion to include diabetic ants. Extra bonus points if you hang around for at least a half hour redirecting any foot traffic that may be headed for your grieving pile of shitfaced-on-agave ant mound.

Offense: Accidentally eating a snack food that you later realize had whey in the ingredient list.
Offset: Volunteer at a farm sanctuary picking up cow pies. Apologize to the female cows as you do and give them a warm, solemn, “namaste.” If you do not live close to a farm sanctuary… well… next time read the ingredient list, you big dummy. There is no other way to offset this offense. Rectify it as prescribed or burn in karmic hell for all eternity. YES YOU!

Offense: Hitting an insect with windshield of your car.
Offset: Next time, ride your bike. Avoid showering for a day or two in order to provide a welcoming sanctuary for more flies, a la Pigpen from Charlie Brown. As this offense is so common and there are already plenty of smelly vegans out there, we endorse a preventative approach to this problem. We endorse bike riding but if you must drive we recommend driving 11 miles an hour in the brake down lane everywhere you go. It has been determined scientifically that that rate of travel will not harm insects in your way it will merely bump them gently. Don’t forget to turn on your hazard lights! This is also a great time to outfit your ride with pro-AR sentiment bumper stickers as you’ll be getting so much more attention on the road… er… in the breakdown lane. Be sure you only pick REALLY persuasive slogans like “Beef: It’s what’s rotting in your colon” and perhaps a quote or two from Gandhi or Einstein.

Offense: Using a speciesist cliché like “kill two birds with one stone” or “I’m gonna stuff this albino Walrus down your pants, manbaby!”
Offset: Memorize and use the cliché’s alternative from Joanne Stepaniak’s classic Vegan Vittles (”Slice two carrots with one knife.”), no matter how cheesy. Oh, crap. There I go.

(Note: Though Josh swears he heard it several times a day growing up, no one else at the Herbivore World Headquarters has been able to verify the Walrus line is a cliché. Hence, we have no specific recommendations for offsetting that term.)

You might also offset speciesist clichés by changing them into human centric clichés to help people realize the power of language and how harmful it can be. We have found the following to be very useful in getting people to think about what we’ve said. And in many cases, to walk away very quickly, we assume to go change their ways.

Instead of: Running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
Try: Running around like I just cut your head off!

Instead of: You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
Try: You can’t make an omelet because I’ll break your legs.

Instead of: You will catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Try: You will serve more salads if you use money instead of lettuce. But they are very expensive salads.

Offense: Eating a little bit of honey that made its way into your bread or pretzels or whatever it was.
Offset: Next time you’re drinking a smoothie and a sweets loving bee lands on your cup, let it drink its fill. Even if this takes all day. You ate some of her food, it’s only fair. If you’ve wracked up some infractions in this category, it is always a nice gesture to put a dozen or so really tiny straws into your smoothie so the bee can invite some friends to join him.

We’re also big fans of that weird phenomenon from the 80’s that was always on programs like Real People and That’s Incredible—the beard of bees. No idea how that relates to offsetting your callous and destructive ways, but wow huh? Beard of bees!

source: http://herbivoremagazine.com

Thursday, August 2, 2007

The Beginning of LAVA

So a lot has happened in the last couple of days. Being unemployed is GREAT!!! hahaha I'm very close to getting the store up and running... there is still a lot of reading and planning to do, but... the business name is registered and we have a domain name! I hope that soon we'll have a website, so that we can offer many more things than just my random ramblings and the cool articles I find on the internet. I've found a place that offers printing on 100% recycled paper with all vegetable based inks (how perfect is that?! - thank you Frogfile!)

How many people are vegan in Canada? How many people have a tough time buying vegan shoes (or other products) that are good quality and don't have to be shipped from another country? How many of us are there that would like decent, up to date information on vegan cuisine and culture? In the next few days it's my mission to figure out the answers to these questions and more! Starting up this online community is so exciting! I only wish that I could right more interesting blogs about everything I'm going through. Are you a writer (assuming I have readers out there...) please contact me. I think I'm more of a reader personally. Speaking of which, I'm reading Ecoholic right now, by Adria Vasil. Very interesting and very informative. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading. Love, Kelly

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Vegan cat and dog food


I have often questioned whether feeding our animal friends a vegan diet is the right thing to do. I am passionate about being vegan and of course, I want to transform everyone I love into a vegan but I try not to push my beliefs and values onto other people. With that in mind, I've never tried to "push" my veganism on any of my pets either. (Although, of course, I'm the one who decides what my cat and dog eat in the end, no matter what the decision, so I guess I'm pushing something either way!)

I've been doing some research on this, and it seems that vegan food is actually quite healthy for cats and dogs. Nevermind the fact that cats are "naturally" carnivores. There's nothing natural about a cat living inside a house and being taken care of by people. There is nothing natural about giving your pet cat or dog shots against rabies either. So the nature thing is really not a valid argument in my mind.

I found an article about a cat sanctuary in India that experimented with vegan cat food. I will try to come back to this topic, because information is scarce and most of what I read is promoted by companies that are selling vegan pet food. Although, if they are successful in selling.... i guess that means that the food is working for the pets and their owners. I think I will definately give this a try with my next animal, and I will let you know my results.

Here is the article for your reading pleasure:

Cats go vegan in Asia's biggest feline shelter

West Bengal, India, 09:15 AM IST

Kolkata - In Asia's biggest shelter for rescued cats, the feline inmates are turning vegetarian these days, thanks to animal lovers who import alternative Italian food for the furry laptops.

These days the cats in Karunakunj, a centre for rescued animals near here run by the Compassionate Crusaders Trust (CCT), are getting addicted to an Italian food which is completely vegetarian.

'To avoid serving non-veg food to cats some of our animal-loving patrons thought that we should try to find out an alternative vegetarian food which can provide cats required nourishment and at the same time save innocent lives of other animals,' said Debasis Chakraborti, founder of CCT, a strategic partner of Maneka Gandhi's People for Animals (PFA).

'After a lot of search the animal lovers found a company in Italy - AMI Srl - which can supply 100 percent vegetarian food without any ingredients of animals or insects but having all non-veg food qualities,' said Chakraborti as he laid out the veggie spread before the residents of the cattery.

Karunakunj, about 25 km from here in Thakurpukur area of South 24 Parganas district, is an animal farm complete with freely roaming dogs, an aviary, a burial ground for pets and the biggest cat shelter of Asia where even the walls are painted colourfully like a Disneyland and props like logs fitted to keep the cute creatures rolling in their playful mood.

'Of the 90 cats in our shelter we have chosen 10 (for veg food). We weighed them before introducing them to the food and then segregated them from the rest. They have fully accepted the food and in fact are overfeeding themselves,' said Chakraborti.

'The ones who are not separated are also given the food and they all are liking it as well,' he said.

This dietary change, launched last week, was inspired by the principle of non-violence advocated by the Jain religion.

'I am an animal lover and a Jain by religion. So hurting even a small ant is unacceptable to us. After a lot of searching we could locate this company in Italy,' said businessman Bulbul N. Shah who along with M.N. Shah, another animal lover, sponsored the food to begin with.

'I hope we would continue to get the programme organised and sponsored as both Jains and non-Jains from across the world would come forward to promote love and care for the animal world,' Bulbul N. Shah hoped.

Said Chakraborti: 'As it is difficult and expensive to import small quantities we can provide pet lovers with food at a nominal handling charge which will in turn support our financial needs.'

Bulbul N. Shah said, 'Shelf-life of this food appears to be six months and therefore four months consumption can be ordered at one time as two months time should be kept for transit.

'If we are successful in sending right message to right place, requirement will grow fast to bring down carrying cost considerably.'

source:http://www.indiaenews.com

Monday, July 30, 2007

Birdfeeding

I had to repost this article found on www.grist.org because I found it truly fascinating. When you throw some seed on the ground or in a birdfeeder for our little feathered friends in the freezing cold winter, you think you're doing a good thing. At least I always have. It never crossed my mind to think of the environmental impact this action would have.

Dearest Umbra,

Every winter I take pleasure in putting out birdseed to feed the backyard wildlife. I purchase the easily available, run-of-the-mill, found-at-my-local-hardware-store type of seed. My question is, in the big picture ... am I doing more harm than good? If the feed I am using is grown conventionally, am I doing a greater harm to the ecosystem as a whole? Or, on balance, is it better to provide free nosh to the locals?

Sincerely,
Rebecca in northwest Pennsylvania

Dearest Rebecca,

Bird feeders can be seedy hangouts.

A tiny conundrum. I could find no definitive study on this topic, so we must wing our way through the eco-thicket. I don't think the ecological impacts of birdseed production are so bad that filling feeders must cease. Hobbies that involve regular purchases of supplies will always have an ecological impact. Stuff has an ecological impact. You have to weigh the benefits within your conscience in this case, but let's go over some minutiae.

Wild birds can survive without human assistance (it's bird welfare, I tell you). Bird food is technically unnecessary, bird food -- sunflower seeds, millet, corn, etc. -- requires all the inputs of conventional agriculture, if people did not buy the bird food to begin with, then maybe water, pesticides (which might be harming other birds), fertilizers, fuel, and packaging would not be used to make the bird food ... hard not to conclude that you should stop buying bird food. I mean: you are doing more harm to the ecosystem than if you were not feeding birds. Except, maybe in your desperation for a hobby you would pick up drag racing, and if bird feeding were the only way to stop the drag-racing addiction, then bird feeding would be better.

There are potentially harmful impacts of bird feeding. One mentioned above is that birds could be harmed directly or indirectly during the growing of the bird food, through pesticides or habitat disturbance. Organic feed would potentially solve both impacts, but not certainly. If you're considering organic feed, it is available online, though an excellent study has concluded that birds do not prefer organic feed (by Danielle, a fifth-grader in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.). You can harm backyard birds by taking a slovenly approach to feeder maintenance and contributing to the spread of diseases such as trichomoniasis. Backyard feeders should be cleaned fortnightly with soap, water, and a weak bleach solution. Old, moldering food must be removed. Cats must be deterred from killing the birds, preferably by complete confinement within the home. Birdbaths should be emptied and cleansed daily (this will also stop mosquito breeding within).

Let's just finish up with a little more discussion of birdseed, because agriculture is fascinating. The basic, good birdseed is black-oil sunflower seed. Sunflowers are one of the only agricultural crops, and the only oil seed crop, native to what is now the United States of America. The seeds are used mainly for their oily properties, which are excellent -- mild flavor, high smoke point -- although they do also have "confectionary" uses, i.e., we eat them whole as snacks. Birdseeds are basically the almost lowest-quality oil seeds. We can thank the Russians for the current popularity of sunflower oil, as they developed the extra-oily varieties we use today. One more little tidbit: sunflower oil, which is also used in some biofuel mixes, contains energy content equal to 93 percent of the energy content of No. 2 diesel fuel. Zounds.

Confectionally,
Umbra

source: www.grist.org

GO VEGAN


I just recently moved back to Canada to start up a website called LAVA. Leather Alternatives and Vegan Accessories. I believe that there is not only a need for a store in Canada that is 100% vegan and offering all kinds of differents products that vegans have trouble getting elsewhere (ie SHOES!). The goal is to receive questions from readers and post the answers on this blog. That way, all of us vegans can benefit from all the information for free. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or if you just want to say hi, please email me at kellytwomey@gmail.com and I will get back to you.

Right now, I'm just finding out how everything works. I will have the store part of the website done by the end of this year.

I'm really eager to get started though! By becoming vegan you are not only taking a huge step to help a lot of animals, you are also helping our planet. Here are just a few facts on why veganism is good for our planet:

- Rainforest is still being bulldozed to make way for grazing animals, or to make way for crops to feed livestock.
- Storage of massive amounts of manure containing ammonia is the second biggest cause of acid rain (after fossil fuels).
- It takes 1000L of water to produce 1kg of wheat. It takes 100,000L of water to produce 1kg of beef.
- Animal agriculture is extremely inefficient and is a huge contributor of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide (greenhouse gases that cause global warming).

Want to read more about it? Please check out http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/planetonaplate.htm

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Animal Rights

I don't know if you've noticed... but there are A LOT of groups out there fighting for animal rights. There are protests all the time. Anti-Fur, KFC Boycott, Against the Ring-Ling Circus. I don't necessarily have anything against protests, but I believe that we can accomplish so much more with a positive demonstration. Instead of seeing an Anti-Fur rally, I'd love to see a PRO-faux fur rally. So maybe I should start a group that is based more on positive actions (I'll call it... SpiderLove... what else?). Wasn't it Mother Theresa that said that she would never attend an Anti-war protest, but she would definately attend a pro-peace demonstration? I think Mother Theresa was onto something there. It's the LAW. If we all think peace, we'll get peace. I have never been interested in attending a protest, and pushing my beliefs on other people. The people that I come in contact with in my life, quickly get to know that I am passionate about veganism and animals. If those people are interested in animal rights, I love to share my thoughts and ideas with them, and listen to what they believe. If however, they ask me idiotic questions like "Don't vegetables have feelings too?" or if their first response is about whether or not my shoes are leather (almost as if they can catch me "cheating"), then I know that there is little point trying to have a discussion. I am going to build a community for positive-minded people, who want to make a change by thinking about love, peace, compassion (no negative words here). I think this community will be huge! Most people want to help, and they end up joining protests because they believe that that can make a difference. However, I think, when you spray red paint on someone's fur coat, you not only give off a negative agressive impression, but you also piss that person off! What are the chances that the person is going to completely change their minds about fur? Is it not better to promote the good things the fur-wearer would be doing by supporting faux fur, or other materials... I don't know... just a thought.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

A little lesson about Nutritional Yeast

Yeasts are a group of microscopic single-celled fungi, relatives of the mushroom. More than 100 different species are known.

Nutritional yeasts can be used as condiments and supplements. They are rich in B vitamins. The yellowish colour of the yeast comes from the concentration of the B vitamin riboflavin. Some nutritional yeasts contain high-quality protein, with both essential and nonessential amino acids, as well as the vitamins niacin, thiamin, biotin, and folic acid and minerals selenium, chromium, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium.

Gluten-Free

Primary-grown nutritional yeast is grown on mixtures of beet and sugar cane molasses. After it is grown and the fermentation process is complete, the yeast is harvested, washed, pasteurized, and dried at a high temperature. As a result, this yeast is guaranteed to be free of the Candida albicans strain of yeast. It contains no gluten.

This yeast is very easy to digest. Its delicious nutty-roasted taste lends itself to many cuisines. Two teaspoons (10 mL) of yeast flakes provide one microgram of vitamin B12, the recommended daily intake for most adults. I sprinkle it on my cereal, spaghetti, popcorn, and mix it into smoothies. Kept in a cool dry place, it can last for a year.

source: http://www.alive.com/3300a6a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=7

Sunday, April 22, 2007

WeeMee


The internet has endless opportunities to waste time and get away from real life. Here is a cartoon version of myself that Chris created! I think it actually looks like me... I would totally wear heart antenna! There are so many different websites where people go to get away from themselves. I'm sure that there are good and bad reasons for that. Yeah ok, I'm being diplomatic, but it's not something I can comment about to any great extent. Some people escape by watching tv, others paint, and some people join chat rooms and pretend they are somebody else. Over the last year, I've started using the internet a lot more. MySpace, Blogs, Facebook... I think it's a wonderful tool to keep in touch with people when I sometimes feel like I'm so far away. I remember feeling so alone when I first came to Holland, but with the internet, nobody ever has to feel alone. It's such a great feeling to know that you're only a username and password away from a world of people that want to communicate. It is a bit mind blowing when you really stop and think about the endless possibilities. We used to put photos in albums on a shelf, or if it was a good photo, maybe it got a frame. Hell, we used to develop photos! Now, not only do we have hundreds of photos on our computer, but they are scattered all over the web on various websites! I'm telling you... mind blowing. The things we used to see on Back to the Future 2 are now real life.

Friday, April 20, 2007

The beginning of SpiderLove

I promissed to talk about SpiderLove so here we go... I can't wait anymore! It's become my obsession! It's an idea, a source of income (hopefully), and a way of life. For what seems like all my life, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do "when I grow up". I studied environmental science in University hoping that it would lead me somewhere. I found uni incredibly frustrating because however much I love learning, especially about the environment, I really wasn't passionate about any of my courses. Sure they were interesting and I'm glad I stuck with it long enough to get my degree but after 5 years (yep... 5 years) I still didn't have a vision. This past year, I've been thinking about one day, in the future, working for myself. It wasn't until about a month ago that I realized that I don't have to wait for the future! Why not start now?! Then SpiderLove crawled into my brain (like a spider crawling towards her prey). Without even knowing what the idea was, I already had the name. What I've been trying to envision through the years is a way to surround myself with everything I am passionate about (animals, environment, music, nature, veganism, photography, art...) and figure out how to make a living doing it!

Welcome to my Digital Journal

Here it is! Ta da! My first "blog". Although, I have to tell you, I think I will still call this a journal for two reasons. The first reason is because I still consider myself mildly technically handicapped. The idea of me being a "blogger" is a little too much for me right now. The second reason is that I expect that I'll be the only one who ever reads this... unless Chris checks it out every once in awhile to see if I'm talking about him ;)



A digital journal is perfect. It saves paper and I can neglect it and pick up where I left off because there's no fear of losing my computer or feeling guilty about filling in 1/3 of a diary and leaving the rest blank. Yep, I'm the kind of person that always wants to start a new journal when I start a new chapter in my life.

This new chapter in my life is unlike any I've ever experienced. For the first time in my life I feel like my eyes are open. My whole life is ahead of me. All I have to do is think about how I want my life to be and let it happen! Brilliant!

Let's start with this blog... I want it to be more than just a collection of random thoughts and ideas that I can look back on. I want it to be interesting, funny and informative so that perhaps... one day... people will vote my blog "COOLEST BLOG OF THE YEAR"! I want SpiderLove to become a household name (in homes other than my own). More on SpiderLove soon. I have to keep you wanting more (but I already know what's coming, so in a way, I have an unfair advantage over myself! hahaha)

Peace. k.