5.30.2012
eating animals
by jonathan safran foer
I declined to read this book when it first came out because I knew it would make me more inclined to be a vegetarian. Since we already crossed that bridge, I read the book.
The book is his exploitation of the topic of food, precipitated by the birth of his son. For years he flirted with vegetarianism, but realized he needed to decide, firmly and finally. As a friend wrote to JSF after the birth of his son, "Everything is possible again." Yes, having a child allows you to reconsider all aspects of your life, in light of your acting as a guide to a new human as they grow and learn.
Suffice to say, as many have said before JSF is an amazing writer. His 10,000 hours are in the hopper. He has mastered the sentence. And the well thought out format of the book urges the reader onward, even if you are not sure you want to read what is coming next.
Of note:
"Animal agriculture makes a 40% GREATER contribution to global warming than ALL transportation in the world combined; it is the number one cause of climate change."
So now that you know that, what does it mean? How can you change your behavior? How hard will it be? How hard will you try? Does my behavior matter?
We are vegetarians but had planned to eat meat every so often. More plant based eaters than strict veggies. So I had a steak the other night. It was my last steak. I sounded like an episode of Portlandia asking about the meat's origins, and whether the animals were happy. But I know the answer. They weren't.
I have never eaten fish, but apparently no fish meets a demise that anyone can consider humane. And they have feelings, which was interesting.
* Thanksgiving used to be a day of fasting. pg. 259.
* Hitler was most likely NOT a vegetarian. notes to pg. 260.
Read the book. Consider your actions.
Labels:
book review
5.22.2012
super busy weekend
i am behind on calls: marika and melissa i think of calling daily...at the wrong time.
we had the mommies from my mommy group over on friday night for drinks on the deck. a lovely time was had.
saturday morning we cleaned for nicole, bob, and bear and brandon's visit. pictures HERE and HERE. they got here and we had indian take out, again on our deck.
then sunday morning we had brunch with the sullivans. then headed to target to stock up on some cute stuff they have this week. then brandon came back for some more oskar time. then we went to bed. i thought the weekend was over.
but no. monday the chaos continued. marcus came over to have me do a sewing job and at 1:30 I realized that the cleaning lady was coming at 2. i needed to do the pre-clean...and thank goodness she was coming, because carol, aka grandma, arrived that night. whew.
i need a vacation: la on thursday here i come.
we had the mommies from my mommy group over on friday night for drinks on the deck. a lovely time was had.
saturday morning we cleaned for nicole, bob, and bear and brandon's visit. pictures HERE and HERE. they got here and we had indian take out, again on our deck.
then sunday morning we had brunch with the sullivans. then headed to target to stock up on some cute stuff they have this week. then brandon came back for some more oskar time. then we went to bed. i thought the weekend was over.
but no. monday the chaos continued. marcus came over to have me do a sewing job and at 1:30 I realized that the cleaning lady was coming at 2. i needed to do the pre-clean...and thank goodness she was coming, because carol, aka grandma, arrived that night. whew.
i need a vacation: la on thursday here i come.
Labels:
busy
5.16.2012
nyer and clayton christensen
The NYer printed this exact statement: "After that day, his faith grew steadily stronger, and God granted him special powers. He healed the sick. He spoke in tongues." The article is a profile of Clayton Christensen, who coined the phrase disruptive technology. My query: how did the NYer fact check this statement?
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/14/120514fa_fact_macfarquhar
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/14/120514fa_fact_macfarquhar
Labels:
query
5.12.2012
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