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.