Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Late Introduction
I used to date a guy who worked on Wall Street shortly before the whole financial crisis and stock market collapse and way back then I felt something was wrong so I split. No doubt he was brilliant, witty and had a hilariously sarcastic sense of humor. He was also chauvinist, aggressive, unsympathetic and ruthless. But the whole insider trading fears, dog eat dog mentality and society he had prescribed to was what really got to me.
Obviously, these are traits one needs to get to the top of their game. To some people, this kind of power is also very attractive. But when becoming a ruthless tyrant is one of the few ways one can get to "the top", what exactly does that say about the society and culture we lived in? I say "lived" because the whole monetary system is thankfully on the verge of an overhaul.
People accuse me of being idealistic and living with my head in the clouds or turning my back on the world but what I am doing is exactly the opposite. I am being responsible and practical. There are enough lawyers out there, there are enough bankers and financiers out there. What changes are they really making? Apart from adding extra emphasis on making money or adding to the hype of the stock market that is. Let me give an example. How many lawyers pay their way through law school and then go and work in civil rights law? Few. And for a non-profit? Hardly any, because no-one can afford to do that.
"What does society really need?" is the question. Its definitely not more lawyers and bankers. Society needs a change and already is in the process of changing. Things are slowly becoming more fair. Cities are slowly restructuring. Emphasis is being placed on quality of life, quality of food, alternative energy and minimal environmental impact. A shift has already taken place, focusing on quality over quantity in general. And that makes me happy.
By deciding to go into local farming, I am getting connected with the earth, I am providing something tangible of substance and value. I am not just shuffling papers around on a desk, diverting calls and making people part with their hard earned money for a bit of advice.
Lawyers get paid to provide knowledge and legal expertise. This is partly true and good. But I believe that sometimes they also deliberately complicate language, almost making it cryptic so that it can only be understood by a select group.
I would rather spread knowledge than keep it for myself or for lawyers only so that they can make a profit on deciphering code language. In a truly fair society, knowledge should be free and accessible. True, some knowledge is best kept secret but laws and rules that pertain to the general population should never be hidden.
I don't believe you have to be a lawyer to make changes anyway. The amount of energy a person has is limited and he can put it into whatever endeavor he feels worthy. I could probably make more of a change being an activist than spending a few more years holed up in my dorm room, literally reading from morning to night.
I guess the real reason I quit law school is because I am deciding to live life instead. I was reading case after case of unfair, almost arbitrary rulings. I had no life. My time and energy was going into supporting a system where most of the clients are stupid greedy low-lives who can't get their shit together enough empathize with the perspective of another human being. People who think strictly in terms of "winners and losers." People who need someone to help them sort out their personal problems because they are too lazy or morally un-evolved to do it themselves. I'm generalizing but oh well.
For the longest time I have been beating myself up thinking "should I go back?" "Is this the biggest mistake of my life?" "WTF am I going to do now???" But after over 2 years of trying different jobs, I am finally going to let it rest. I am happy I quit!!! Here is to my new life! :) Good luck to anyone who is about to quit or is in the same boat. I'd like to hear your experiences.
Obviously, these are traits one needs to get to the top of their game. To some people, this kind of power is also very attractive. But when becoming a ruthless tyrant is one of the few ways one can get to "the top", what exactly does that say about the society and culture we lived in? I say "lived" because the whole monetary system is thankfully on the verge of an overhaul.
People accuse me of being idealistic and living with my head in the clouds or turning my back on the world but what I am doing is exactly the opposite. I am being responsible and practical. There are enough lawyers out there, there are enough bankers and financiers out there. What changes are they really making? Apart from adding extra emphasis on making money or adding to the hype of the stock market that is. Let me give an example. How many lawyers pay their way through law school and then go and work in civil rights law? Few. And for a non-profit? Hardly any, because no-one can afford to do that.
"What does society really need?" is the question. Its definitely not more lawyers and bankers. Society needs a change and already is in the process of changing. Things are slowly becoming more fair. Cities are slowly restructuring. Emphasis is being placed on quality of life, quality of food, alternative energy and minimal environmental impact. A shift has already taken place, focusing on quality over quantity in general. And that makes me happy.
By deciding to go into local farming, I am getting connected with the earth, I am providing something tangible of substance and value. I am not just shuffling papers around on a desk, diverting calls and making people part with their hard earned money for a bit of advice.
Lawyers get paid to provide knowledge and legal expertise. This is partly true and good. But I believe that sometimes they also deliberately complicate language, almost making it cryptic so that it can only be understood by a select group.
I would rather spread knowledge than keep it for myself or for lawyers only so that they can make a profit on deciphering code language. In a truly fair society, knowledge should be free and accessible. True, some knowledge is best kept secret but laws and rules that pertain to the general population should never be hidden.
I don't believe you have to be a lawyer to make changes anyway. The amount of energy a person has is limited and he can put it into whatever endeavor he feels worthy. I could probably make more of a change being an activist than spending a few more years holed up in my dorm room, literally reading from morning to night.
I guess the real reason I quit law school is because I am deciding to live life instead. I was reading case after case of unfair, almost arbitrary rulings. I had no life. My time and energy was going into supporting a system where most of the clients are stupid greedy low-lives who can't get their shit together enough empathize with the perspective of another human being. People who think strictly in terms of "winners and losers." People who need someone to help them sort out their personal problems because they are too lazy or morally un-evolved to do it themselves. I'm generalizing but oh well.
For the longest time I have been beating myself up thinking "should I go back?" "Is this the biggest mistake of my life?" "WTF am I going to do now???" But after over 2 years of trying different jobs, I am finally going to let it rest. I am happy I quit!!! Here is to my new life! :) Good luck to anyone who is about to quit or is in the same boat. I'd like to hear your experiences.
I CANT WAIT FOR THE 2010 OLYMPICS! YESH!!! PART II
While fuming like a crazed maniac over the unfairness of the Olympics I came across this article: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/2009/11/01/baiting-olympic-protesters
I immediately signed up to post a comment but for some reason I can't get on to post WAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!! :(
So I decided to dedicate part II of my first Olympic basher to all my loyal fans and seriously question the validity of this article against street protest. I mean first of all...here is a direct quote from la article:
"(Olympic protests have) been completely ineffective in driving change in all past Olympic regions, and it’s dangerous. Street protest has had its day and it’s time to evolve. It’s possible to achieve the same results using brains over brawn."
Its basically goes on to say...use social media...blogs, facebook, twitter, etc to get the word out and protest online. Boycott the Olympic sponsors - McD's and the like, to get the message across. While I respect this point of view and it has some merit, my neanderthal brain is too simple to grasp the concept of an "online protest" I mean, how does u do dat? (no seriously, someone break it down for me.)
I also think that street protests are far from useless. They can make an awesome, destructive yet revolutionary change. They can quickly devolve into a bloody mess, but still make an impact. But hey, if everyone just hid behind their computers - too chicken shit to take some real action like..erm... myself...then what good would that do? (I HAVE A TASER PHOBIA)
Also the author seems to be living in la la land because he goes on to say "Protestors drink Coke, eat at McDonalds, and bank at RBC right?"
WRONG! Most protesters in Vancouver are incarnations of peace loving hippies, Marie Curie, Robert Dziekanski, Gandhi and the Spirits of Felled Trees. You have that sweet mix of righteousness, bitter revenge and a touch of zen. These peeps prefer to live off the grid, avoiding McD's, banks, credit cards etc at ALL COSTS. I mean, shit, if you are crazy...I mean...passionate...enough to go into an Olympic protest with a high likelihood of getting pepper-sprayed blind, you have already gone to the "extreme" of buying fair trade coffee and clothes hand made in India, or shopping exclusively at thrift stores and living as simply as possible. Which is sweet.
GO PROTESTERS!!! I HEART YOU!
I immediately signed up to post a comment but for some reason I can't get on to post WAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!! :(
So I decided to dedicate part II of my first Olympic basher to all my loyal fans and seriously question the validity of this article against street protest. I mean first of all...here is a direct quote from la article:
"(Olympic protests have) been completely ineffective in driving change in all past Olympic regions, and it’s dangerous. Street protest has had its day and it’s time to evolve. It’s possible to achieve the same results using brains over brawn."
Its basically goes on to say...use social media...blogs, facebook, twitter, etc to get the word out and protest online. Boycott the Olympic sponsors - McD's and the like, to get the message across. While I respect this point of view and it has some merit, my neanderthal brain is too simple to grasp the concept of an "online protest" I mean, how does u do dat? (no seriously, someone break it down for me.)
I also think that street protests are far from useless. They can make an awesome, destructive yet revolutionary change. They can quickly devolve into a bloody mess, but still make an impact. But hey, if everyone just hid behind their computers - too chicken shit to take some real action like..erm... myself...then what good would that do? (I HAVE A TASER PHOBIA)
Also the author seems to be living in la la land because he goes on to say "Protestors drink Coke, eat at McDonalds, and bank at RBC right?"
WRONG! Most protesters in Vancouver are incarnations of peace loving hippies, Marie Curie, Robert Dziekanski, Gandhi and the Spirits of Felled Trees. You have that sweet mix of righteousness, bitter revenge and a touch of zen. These peeps prefer to live off the grid, avoiding McD's, banks, credit cards etc at ALL COSTS. I mean, shit, if you are crazy...I mean...passionate...enough to go into an Olympic protest with a high likelihood of getting pepper-sprayed blind, you have already gone to the "extreme" of buying fair trade coffee and clothes hand made in India, or shopping exclusively at thrift stores and living as simply as possible. Which is sweet.
GO PROTESTERS!!! I HEART YOU!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
I CANT WAIT FOR THE 2010 OLYMPICS! YESH!!!
There was an anti-olympics protest in Victoria, BC a few days ago and although I didn't attend, (only because I know how taser-happy the cops are over here), it sure got me thinking.
For the same reason I am apathetic towards hockey games, the Rugby 7's and American/English football, I've always been "bleh" towards the Olympics. I could never see why certain people got uber-excited about it, but I am sure they are the same people who froth at the mouth, veins popping on their foreheads, over a good ol' fuzzball game on the telly and a round of BIER. Not to say there aren't good things about the Olympics. Yes, they are patriotic (which can be good or bad, possible topic of another blog) Yes, they might strengthen the economy (although the more I read the more I doubt this). Yesh they have cute little furry stuffed animal mascots that I can purchase and add to my collection. Okay...so basically I think theres nothing good about them.
Next.
The Government has possibly spent 6 BILLION dollars on the Olympics. YESH. 6 billion dollars. For 3 weeks of sporting events. OMG YESH!
To top that off the list of official sponsors for the 2010 Olympics is officially scary. Take a look: http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/about-vanoc/sponsors-and-partners/vancouver-2010-sponsors/
McDonalds
Nike
General Motors
ICBC
Petro Canada
Air Canada
BC Hydro
Multi-national corporations that don't give a shit about YOU, only about $$$ at the expense of YOUR HEALTH and the environment.
Please PLEASE PLEASE do a bit of reading about the Olympics and their history and decide for yourself.
Interesting videos and info:
http://www.thefiveringcircus.com/
http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/96freedom.html
google the rest yourself you lazy bums!
For the same reason I am apathetic towards hockey games, the Rugby 7's and American/English football, I've always been "bleh" towards the Olympics. I could never see why certain people got uber-excited about it, but I am sure they are the same people who froth at the mouth, veins popping on their foreheads, over a good ol' fuzzball game on the telly and a round of BIER. Not to say there aren't good things about the Olympics. Yes, they are patriotic (which can be good or bad, possible topic of another blog) Yes, they might strengthen the economy (although the more I read the more I doubt this). Yesh they have cute little furry stuffed animal mascots that I can purchase and add to my collection. Okay...so basically I think theres nothing good about them.
Next.
The Government has possibly spent 6 BILLION dollars on the Olympics. YESH. 6 billion dollars. For 3 weeks of sporting events. OMG YESH!
To top that off the list of official sponsors for the 2010 Olympics is officially scary. Take a look: http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/about-vanoc/sponsors-and-partners/vancouver-2010-sponsors/
McDonalds
Nike
General Motors
ICBC
Petro Canada
Air Canada
BC Hydro
Multi-national corporations that don't give a shit about YOU, only about $$$ at the expense of YOUR HEALTH and the environment.
Please PLEASE PLEASE do a bit of reading about the Olympics and their history and decide for yourself.
Interesting videos and info:
http://www.thefiveringcircus.com/
http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/96freedom.html
google the rest yourself you lazy bums!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Absolute BEST Way to get rid of a Urinary Tract Infection
I used to get recurrent urinary tract infections ALL THE TIME from God knows what. It would get so bad that I was starting to develop antibiotic resistance and it was painful. Maybe I wasn't wiping properly. Or maybe I'm just a dirty person. It could be a result of not wearing underwear for the longest time. Or maybe I was starting to get pre-diabetes from all that candy I ate. Anyway, I found the cure for me. Believe me, I was skeptical at first, but I had tried EVERYTHING. Cranberry juice, D-Mannose capsules, eating alkaline forming foods only - no sugar, starch or meat. Basically a raw vegetable diet - in an effort to starve out the bacteria in my bladder (apparently they thrive on sugar/acidic environments.) Then when that didn't work, I tried doing the opposite by OD-ing on Vitamin C. (apparently they also like alkaline environments) And of course all of this along with litres and litres of water.
NOTHING WORKED and researching it was confusing. I mean, do the bacteria like alkaline or acidic environments??? I even tried tinctures and those homeopathic remedies where you suck on those tiny little sugar balls. I think I went through 5 little vials before I realized it was getting worse.
Finally as an absolute last resort, I dropped into this Ayurvedic clinic in my 'hood. I was a total skeptic and I'm sure it was written all over my face. The assistant at the counter was a soft spoken, slender blonde chick and she listened carefully to my whining before showing me a package of Gokshura.
"Take this" she said "it will be gone in a few days. Just boil up some water and put a few teaspoons in, wait a few minutes for the powder to settle then drink all the liquid at the top."
"Its gonna be gone." I kinda smirked "just like that huh?"
"I'm pretty sure" she told me, "I used to have them all the time too, for your body type this should work. You are probably mostly vata, thats what I am, but you can book an appointment with our doctor to confirm.
"Thats okay. What is this stuff anyway?"
"Its just a plant, dried and ground up."
"Okaay" I took the packet and left. It sounded like voo-doo-hickey to me but I figured I might as well try it since nothing else was working. I really didn't want to start another course of antibiotics the doctor had given me.
So I went home, made a tea out of it and sweetened it with some honey. It didn't taste too bad. Kind of flowery. I got better in 2 days after about 5 big mugs. I went from having blood in my urine to feeling completely fine. That was almost a year and a half ago and I have not had any UTI's since. I think thats pretty amazing and I just want to share that with people so they don't have to take antibiotics.
NOTHING WORKED and researching it was confusing. I mean, do the bacteria like alkaline or acidic environments??? I even tried tinctures and those homeopathic remedies where you suck on those tiny little sugar balls. I think I went through 5 little vials before I realized it was getting worse.
Finally as an absolute last resort, I dropped into this Ayurvedic clinic in my 'hood. I was a total skeptic and I'm sure it was written all over my face. The assistant at the counter was a soft spoken, slender blonde chick and she listened carefully to my whining before showing me a package of Gokshura.
"Take this" she said "it will be gone in a few days. Just boil up some water and put a few teaspoons in, wait a few minutes for the powder to settle then drink all the liquid at the top."
"Its gonna be gone." I kinda smirked "just like that huh?"
"I'm pretty sure" she told me, "I used to have them all the time too, for your body type this should work. You are probably mostly vata, thats what I am, but you can book an appointment with our doctor to confirm.
"Thats okay. What is this stuff anyway?"
"Its just a plant, dried and ground up."
"Okaay" I took the packet and left. It sounded like voo-doo-hickey to me but I figured I might as well try it since nothing else was working. I really didn't want to start another course of antibiotics the doctor had given me.
So I went home, made a tea out of it and sweetened it with some honey. It didn't taste too bad. Kind of flowery. I got better in 2 days after about 5 big mugs. I went from having blood in my urine to feeling completely fine. That was almost a year and a half ago and I have not had any UTI's since. I think thats pretty amazing and I just want to share that with people so they don't have to take antibiotics.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Reasons to Support Organic, Locally Grown Produce
Recently, the organic food industry has been faced with criticism. People are starting to question the practicalness of even growing organic. Here are two key issues:
1. Why grow organic when you can have double or triple the yield using genetically modified crops and fertilizers & pesticides? People are starving in the world! Don't be so ungrateful, be happy that there's even food on the table!
Answer: People are starving in the world while billions of pounds of wasted food are being dumped into landfills every year. This has been going on since we started to increase our yields using chemicals and hormones. Where do you think all those perfect grapes go at the supermarket...do you think they are all bought up by the expiry date? They get thrown out. Ever go behind a supermarket and see how much good food they dump? People are starving because of selfish political reasons, not because there is not enough food to go around.
2. The impact on the planet may actually be worse when transporting organic food from remote locations.
There is an idea behind the whole organic movement. Its about sustainability, not "I must buy organic at any cost." It's about locally grown produce from farms in your area. The only reason it's getting so carbon inefficient is because of faceless corporations trying to make a quick buck (and people who mindlessly buy stuff that is trendy.)
Corporations are the ones who are shipping organics from a million miles away. They are buying out the small local organic farmers or out-competing them by offering the lowest prices on organic foods. They have taken this organic idea and "spun" it to become "organic food for everyone, RIGHT NOW!" and obviously the fastest way to do this is to ship it from other places. They don't care about making real changes, they're just driven to make money.
If you care about this, next time you go to your supermarket, try getting organic LOCAL food and if they don't have any request the manager to stock it.
Another thing to think about is that growing organic does not mean going back to being an Amish farmer and regressing 100 years in time. Organics may be less efficient without using chemicals NOW but only because we have been relying on chemicals for a hundred years and not developing/perfecting natural ways to counter pests. When given time and $ to research it, I'm sure we can think of millions of ways to stop crops from getting eaten by bugs (for example getting ladybugs to eat pest aphids.)
If you think about this whole issue a little more, the inefficiency is a result of infrastructure segregation. Meaning, farms are way out THERE and cities are dense concrete monstrosities, with no room for crop gardens of any kind. A simple, gradual, cost effective solution is to integrate gardens into the cities and to increase the number of local farms. Not only would that be easy on the eyes, but introducing more plants into the city can help get rid of CO2 emissions and other toxins.
If you are a "glass is half empty" person/don't want anything to change/think that nothing can be improved/prefer ingesting chemicals then keep doing what you're doing.
Feedback appreciated :)
1. Why grow organic when you can have double or triple the yield using genetically modified crops and fertilizers & pesticides? People are starving in the world! Don't be so ungrateful, be happy that there's even food on the table!
Answer: People are starving in the world while billions of pounds of wasted food are being dumped into landfills every year. This has been going on since we started to increase our yields using chemicals and hormones. Where do you think all those perfect grapes go at the supermarket...do you think they are all bought up by the expiry date? They get thrown out. Ever go behind a supermarket and see how much good food they dump? People are starving because of selfish political reasons, not because there is not enough food to go around.
2. The impact on the planet may actually be worse when transporting organic food from remote locations.
There is an idea behind the whole organic movement. Its about sustainability, not "I must buy organic at any cost." It's about locally grown produce from farms in your area. The only reason it's getting so carbon inefficient is because of faceless corporations trying to make a quick buck (and people who mindlessly buy stuff that is trendy.)
Corporations are the ones who are shipping organics from a million miles away. They are buying out the small local organic farmers or out-competing them by offering the lowest prices on organic foods. They have taken this organic idea and "spun" it to become "organic food for everyone, RIGHT NOW!" and obviously the fastest way to do this is to ship it from other places. They don't care about making real changes, they're just driven to make money.
If you care about this, next time you go to your supermarket, try getting organic LOCAL food and if they don't have any request the manager to stock it.
Another thing to think about is that growing organic does not mean going back to being an Amish farmer and regressing 100 years in time. Organics may be less efficient without using chemicals NOW but only because we have been relying on chemicals for a hundred years and not developing/perfecting natural ways to counter pests. When given time and $ to research it, I'm sure we can think of millions of ways to stop crops from getting eaten by bugs (for example getting ladybugs to eat pest aphids.)
If you think about this whole issue a little more, the inefficiency is a result of infrastructure segregation. Meaning, farms are way out THERE and cities are dense concrete monstrosities, with no room for crop gardens of any kind. A simple, gradual, cost effective solution is to integrate gardens into the cities and to increase the number of local farms. Not only would that be easy on the eyes, but introducing more plants into the city can help get rid of CO2 emissions and other toxins.
If you are a "glass is half empty" person/don't want anything to change/think that nothing can be improved/prefer ingesting chemicals then keep doing what you're doing.
Feedback appreciated :)
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