Emerging Illusions

No more factory meat (note to self)

Growing up on a farm with live animals, most of whom I knew by name, I've never felt bad about eating meat. Our pigs, chicken and cows had good lives, green pastures in summer, and as good medical care as any human could wish for.
Better medical care than millions of Americans, it seems.

Well. That was then, in a small, rich, northern European country.
Now I'm living in America, and it's time to realize I'm "not in Kansas" anymore, to use a movie phrase.

Much as I love to eat meat - and I don't eat a whole lot of it - I have to stop buying any meat that's not produced locally, organically and heavens knows what. And having a limited budget, I believe I'm about to go vegetarian for all practical purposes. Sigh.

From Reuters today:
Sickened pork workers have new nerve disorder
- Eighteen pork plant workers in Minnesota, at least five in Indiana and one in Nebraska have come down with a mysterious neurological condition they appear to have contracted while removing brains from slaughtered pigs, U.S. researchers and health officials said on Wednesday. Etc etc etc.

And the BIG article a while ago in Rolling Stones Magazine, about factory pig farming:
America's top pork producer churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history. Welcome to the dark side of the other white meat.

Sure, there's a lot of things wrong in the world, but this is one thing I can do for myself. No more factory meat.

Bootleg

From YourDictionary.com:

Bootleg (verb)

Pronunciation: ['but-leg]

Definition: To produce and/or distribute legally prohibited products.

Usage: Today's word is used mostly as an adjective (bootleg DVDs) and a verb (to bootleg DVDs). It has settled into the US vernacular as a regular verb referring to the action of bootlegging, which is carried out by a bootlegger, who bootlegs.

Suggested Usage: Remember that the original meaning of today's word began in the days of rum-runners: "Izzy Russianoff got the capital to start his charity hospital bootlegging moonshine in the 30s." However, don't let that restrain you from applying it to any product illegally distributed, "Curt's avocation was bootlegging illegal fireworks up and down the east coast until a bolt of lightning caught up with his truck on a run through the Poconos."

Etymology: Today's word originated from the habit of men, when they wore high boots in centuries past, of smuggling objects across borders by hiding them in the legs of their boots. In the late 19th century, however, its meaning shrunk to the smuggling of whisky into counties and states that were 'dry.' During Prohibition, the word became even more popular as the vocation of smuggling alcoholic beverages into the United States from Canada or from, well, bootleg distilleries. However, the word did not go the way of Prohibition. Rather, its meaning has broadened again recently to refer to the distribution of any illegal product, such as copyrighted tapes, CDs, and DVDs that are widely produced and distributed illegally today.

This Charming Band

Rabid Brit Bites

I almost fell off my chair laughing when fuming atheist Christopher Hitchens admitted to being "a little queer for Obama" on Real Time with Bill Maher a month+ ago.
The rabid Brit just had a few well worded lashings at the Clinton campaign:

"I wish you and your fellow people at the network would never refer to [Hillary's] husband without saying, 'the disbarred lawyer,'" Hitchens said to Smith. "Disbarred for lying under oath. The disbarred, perjured, impeached Mr. Clinton. Why is this never said? This is the man who was her moral tutor, the man who taught her how to lie, who is her main political adviser."
Said on Fox, reported by the Huffington Post.

Then, on a more serious note, in Slate, about Senator Clinton's Bosnia lies. Hitchens opens with
"...the airport landing is the least of it", and concludes "let the memory of the truth, and the exposure of the lie, at least make us resolve that no Clinton ever sees the inside of the White House again."
The entire article.

The Oreo $olution

Ever wondered how the next administration can solve the hellhole/quagmire the current one has prepared?
Curious to where on earth s/he can find money for all that welfare?

It's actually not all that hard. The Oreo Cartoon may look overly simple, but I swear, this is really it. This is how, and I do believe it's the only way.


Please watch it.

Dress to impress

Eh! I've been lusting after this rendering for a while now, having seen it lurking in many a televised Obama rally. Finally the Huffington Post reveals to us less informed that it's the artist behind the mysterious Obey Giant that brought forth this iconic image. Figures!
Well. The T-shirt (which sales contribute to Obama material where the run is still on) as well as the poster are per now sold out, I hope the new publicity will get it back on the shelves - HOPE being the word I'll keep checking on these.

The very very very pretty Bauhaus poster is sold out too.
Sucks to be slow.