Happy World Vegetarian Day!! (1 Oct.)

Pea-lease, kick up yer heels!


Wanna make sumfin' of it?! :o)





From Friends of Animals...
http://www.friendsofanimals.org/

<--Direct action!



(and of course tomorrow, 2 Oct.,
is World Farm Animals Day...)
World Vegetarian Day's own site:
http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/


Ya know what? I'm puzzled, too!













<--From North American Vegetarian Society:
http://www.navs-online.org/

Sundown Sunday also marks the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, and for anyone who wants to know why this is the most important holiday on the calendar for Jews: http://www.aish.com/hhYomK/hhYomKDefault/

Suffice it to say Yom Kippur is considered by all Jews as the most solemn day of the year. We stand before G-d all day long in prayer; we appeal for forgiveness for our errors and plan to improve ourselves in the coming year.

It's been a rough end of the Jewish year/a rough month of September for me, with my friend Emilie's death which was preceded by my friend David going through quintuple bypass surgery. Then a week ago, my friend Steve was flipped and flung from his bicycle going 15 mph by someone carelessly opening up their car door causing him fractures and broken bones - but fortunately he was wearing a helmet!

I'm so grateful for a new month secular-speaking and for a new year ahead - 5767, i do believe.

I'll be away from the computer until well after sundown Monday and hope all of you enjoy World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animals Day and for all those who are fasting to commemorate Yom Kippur, i wish you an easy fast!!

And if there are any pineapple fans out there, this is pretty cool:

http://www.tinypineapple.com/gallery/

Have a great weekend & week ahead!

Lazy daze

Those swingers, Mattie & Peter!!






^Above^ and
<---- Peter & Mattie hangin' out in his Sky Chair http://www.skychairs.com/ last weekend. Peter got two of 'em at a street fair and gave one to me as a condo-warming gift 1 1/2 years ago, and i love it! Comfort like you can't believe... I still go on swings at parks & playgrounds, but don't tell anyone! :o)


This t-shirt's on sale for $4.99.
(See link below for more info.)
Anyone gonna get it? I might!


















http://www.hottopic.com/store/product.asp?LS=0&ITEM=287979

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Mmmmmmmm! Vegan food porn from Chicago:
http://www.pjchmiel.com/vegan/index.html

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Have you voted?
At Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's Web site, that is.
This was my first look at all of these ads:

http://support.pcrm.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pcrm_worst_commercials&JServSessionIda006=2gtqj6o2b1.app12d

Leppards sometimes change their spots

Food for thought? Hmmmm:















Yep, you are!


Remember that silliness from New Zealand?
There's a follow-up story! And it's worth reading:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3804930a7144,00.html

I wish there didn't have to be an "us vs. them," but more power to Ella Soryl!


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Pour some sugar on me!
This makes me glad Peter & i caught the Journey/Def Leppard concert (well, we listened to it in the venue's parking lot - ha ha!) back in August:

http://www.market-day.net/article_26624/20060919/Def-Leppard-Rocker-Sings-Vegetarian-Praises.php

(And just a note: Steve Perry, former lead singer of Journey is also vegetarian...)

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Wow, if i'm ever in Portland, Oregon, i'm so here:
http://www.veganopolis.com/

Religion & animal rights (& lefts)

L'Shana Tova!!

Happy and Healthy New Year to anyone marking the Jewish New Year.

Not exactly like the secular new year, for Jews, this is a time of deep thought and serious introspection...

... and saying "i'm sorry" to those we have wronged in the past year ...

http://www.aish.com/movies/sorry.asp







On being a Jewish vegan:
http://www.chai-online.org/en/compassion/judaism/heritage_judaism_vegan.htm


And for a very interesting Catholic/Christian viewpoint of vegetarianism, check this out:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2004/02/02/urbananimal.DTL

This is one of my fave sites, too, its mellow "believe in a power greater than you" overtones give it a different but nice feel:
http://www.all-creatures.org/


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Hope everyone is doing well!
I've been away from the computer... be back Sunday...
just a couple of things i wanted to share...

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A good sign! http://www.tykieslonglife.com/news.php

From http://www.vegsoc.org/index.html ,

this dog's (like all dogs!) got rights (and lefts!)

- and need i tell you: He's got it right all right!

Calling all Californians (top part of post!)

From an e-mail i got from Animal Place
( http://www.animalplace.org/ )

Californians - Your Help Needed!

SB 1578, a bill that would outlaw the chaining of dogs is headed to the Governor.

Please contact Gov. Schwarzenegger and ask him to support this important piece of legislation.

It is very easy to do - just follow the instructions.

Call (916) 445-2841

Press 1 for English
Press 2 when prompted "to voice your opinion on legislation"
Press 4 (for senate bill 1578)
Press 1 to support


That's it! You don't even need to talk to a person to voice your support!
(i did it & it was painless, trust me!)

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Coming up soon (Oct. 2), for anyone interested, is (drumroll, please):
World Farm Animals Day!
http://wfad.org/

A "die-in" staged in Israel for last year's WFAD:














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My friend since age 8, Heidi, a cat-loving vegan who lives in Tucson, Ariz. (her Web site: http://intelligentinsights.biz/ ), sent me this link. It's really, really good!

A S.C.U.B.A.-diving cat. Unbelievable!
http://www.wservernews.com/1HK4AI/060911-Scubacat


<----- Heidi, in sweater & blue jeans, is on right, Tammy, the mother of these three cute kids and also a friend of mine since i wuz 8, wearing pink & black, is left.

A Vegan Poem/Sanctuary

Courtesy of the TofuBandits,
"Vegan Delight," by Benjamin Zephaniah:
( http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/ )


























http://tofubandits.org.uk/delight.html

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And for other interesting links:
http://www.veganvillage.co.uk/

(there, i found this, the U.K.'s Farm Animal Rescue Sanctuary!)
http://www.farmanimalrescue.org.uk/

And two more sanctuaries, so wonderful to see!
http://www.hillside.org.uk/
http://www.towerhillstables.com/

<----Who's with me here?

Hunt not, lest ye be judged...

Wishing everyone a fun, productive, healthy, safe week.

Silliness from New Zealand:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3799956a7144,00.html

Friendz @ Dog Beach & @ Sipz

My friend Marie, in the gorgeous green shirt in the photo of the fearsome threesome, who does Cocker Spaniel rescue work in Pennsylvania, and her mom, Connie, in white, visited San Diego last week, and for one day lucky me was able to hang out with 'em.

Guess where we had lunch!?

SIPZ, of course.
( http://www.sipz.com/ )

We also shopped next door to SIPZ at the Animal Protection and Rescue League's ( http://www.aprl.org/ ) second-hand store. Marie & Connie shopped up a storm and i donated some books 'n' stuff then bought a barely-worn pair of vegan shoes for $3. Such a deal, i tell you!

We had also taken Peter's dog Heidi and my furbuddy Mattie (pre-haircut) to Ocean Beach's Dog Beach as you can see in the other photo. VERY fun!

Just a reminder:
Tuesday's Talk Like A Pirate Day (from Pirates of the Carob Bean http://www.veganpirates.co.uk/ )!
Aaaaaargh!
http://www.piratesofthecarobbean.com/talk-like-a-pirate-day/talk-like-a-pirate-day.html

Reading is FUNdamental

I recently borrowed this book:

from Peter and i've been reading & enjoying it.

As you can see in the photo below taken the other day, Heidi looks a bit like Marley but her "behaviours" are nothing like Marley's!! Thankfully!

Has anyone read this book? I'm on Chapter 14, not even halfway done, i think.

Hope everyone has a colorful, flavor-filled weekend.

Before & After: Matster in two acts

Hairy, happy Mattie, with Peter (we stopped the ice cream truck in front of his parents' house for an ice pop & a Sno-cone), a couple of days before her big Wednesday at the groomers...

And today, less than 24 hours post hair cut:
























"Mommy, mommy why'dja do this to me?!"

Signs of life...

Mattie, as i have posted here, my sweet punkinhead, is deaf.
(She also got her hare kut today and i'll post pix later this week!)
Thought i'd post a version of the American Sign Language for
"I am a vegetarian." Here is the link where i found the interesting info:
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/v/vegetarian.htm

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This may be "the road less traveled" but 'tis my fave road!
How about you?!















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From 1999 "Time Out New York" - "Help! I'm dating a vegetarian!"
Nice look on the dude's face. I can relate to the lady!! ZOINKS!



















Here's an excellent, excellent recent Q&A with the brilliant Peter Singer:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=706008

And his web site:
http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/

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Sincere thanks for all of your kind words regarding my friend Emilie. *HUGS* for caring AND for ALWAYS using seat belts when in a moving vehicle. Thank you so very much from the bottom of my healing heart.

What i'm feelin' right now:

Live life with passion.
Live life with purpose.
Love one another.
Laugh with a full heart.
Embrace each and every moment.

Goodbye, my friend

Words cannot express my sadness. The tears in my eyes speak what my heart can't accept. A true friend of/to all people, a defender of all animals (especially wolves!), a writer, a student, a sister, a daughter and a most wonderful human being. This was Emilie Mondor, proud and passionate Canadian runner extraordinaire. The world has lost a special soul. Her spirit lives on.

http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_news_frameset.html?http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060910_RRW_Mondor.html

Some photos:

http://www.emiliemondor.com/photos/photos.php3?gal=0

*sigh* She really was such a unique person:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041025/news_1s25barrios.html

Please, please everyone promise me that you and every one of your passengers will ALWAYS WEAR A SEATBELT when traveling in a car, even if it's just around the block. Please promise me that. Please.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Track/2006/09/10/1824812-cp.html

Bigger IS better on Blogger!

Blogger & i are friends again. Hooray!
Some fun pix from www.leicesterveggies.org.uk













































































































































"The Big Picture" from yesterday.



















Count sheep? Who, vegans?




















A respite during last Thursday's hike. No water was consumed at this murky marsh! I finally was able to get a handle on Mat's E.coli. Yuck! No more drinks from weird waterways...

Smallville, Veggie 101 & top 5

Blogger is being a real brat
with photos!!! *sigh* This is
a large photo that i can't get
any bigger for some reason...
Waaaaaaaah. I love this pic!



The girls rest after a romp in a dog park at Balboa Park.
They had such a good time playing and resting, too.

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"I have never tasted a piece of meat in my life."
-101-year-old Blanche Mannix

Her story:







http://www.bridlingtontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=803&ArticleID=1732698

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A couple of nice peeps "tagged" me for the "5 Foods U Gotta Try B4 U Die" (that's the Prince - he of "Purple Rain" fame- version of it). I guess i have to say (write) that what these are, are some of my current fave snacks. Thanks for the tag, my friends!

1. Uncle Eddie's Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.
(Trader Joe's has a wonderful knock-off version too!!) Tasty, and can completely fool any non-vegan!!! One day i'll learn to bake something like these great guys.





2. I know this is weird, but, whatever, 'cause i am:
Toasted plain rice cakes with creamy peanut butter and boysenberry fruit spread. Oh.My.Gosh. I can't tell you how much i love this combo. Like the photo but with loads o'fruit spread!




3. Roasted garlic. Oy, so good it's almost sinful. Roasted veggies
are some of my fave eatin's, but there's something special about
garlic when roasted w/a little bit of olive oil & a dash o'salt. Wow.




4. Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs and Almond Breeze soymilk.
Together. Again. For the first time. Forever. At last!




5. "Blanche." This is a top-secret recipe, a frozen drink/shake
created by my pal Peter. It's not vegan 'cause he uses Ovaltine,
which unfortunately contains whey, but all the other ingredients
are vegan. I have been actively seeking a substitute for him to use.
Blanche's got nutrition, it's refreshing, it's made in a Vita-Mix and
it's loaded, loaded, i tell you, with calories - but it is so insanely good.

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Hope everyone has a truly happy weekend!