PETA Urges Ben & Jerry's To Use Human Milk.
My first instinct is how very weird and kind of gross that would be. But really, is it that off the wall?
From the article: "The fact that human adults consume huge quantities of dairy products made from milk that was meant for a baby cow just doesn't make sense," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.
Hmmm, interesting. I think.
Experts "solve" mystery of Stonehenge.
I find places like Stonehenge beyond fascinating. I can just imagine the energy you feel when you're there, a place just charged by thousands of years of people passing through. It makes me wonder, when did Stonehenge become a mystery? How did its original purpose get lost? On the small scale, who was the last person to "know" what Stonehenge was all about? What was their life like, what did they eat every day, who did they love? On the large scale, how does something that was obviously so important to a society become obsolete to the point that no one has any clue what it's for or why it exists? I hope to make it there one day, it's in my top 5.
Oh, to just lay a hand on those stones and think about how they were formed, where they originated, how they were chosen, molded, hauled into place, the thought of someone at a different moment in time with their hand in the same place as mine, it just gives me chills. I seriously just want to go up and hug one of the pillars, close my eyes and see what happens. Feel the energy of the place course through my body. It's just one of those places that I feel connected to for some reason, even though I've never been there.
My parents visited it in March 2006, here's a picture of my mom there, sick with a major cold, if I remember correctly, but a total trooper, as always.
And I might buy it, or one of dozens of other fun "_____ for Obama" buttons here.
And I'd wear it to the Grateful Dead Reunion Concert for Obama if only I happened to be near Penn State on October 13.
Here's how, from Real Simple's Guide to Happiness. It's the little things, after all.
So I have seriously been neglecting this blog, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a lot on my mind. I am such a perfectionist sometimes, I'd rather not write at all than have to commit to the time and energy to fully elaborate on whatever I'm thinking about, edit the post 87 times before I post and then get annoyed about everything that I left out! I have to work on that.
Things on my mind lately include:
1. How completely and utterly offensive I find Sarah Palin, both as a "politician" and as the Republican VP nominee. I could elaborate on this in a big way, but I'll spare you from reading me rant and I'll spare myself from getting all worked up about it.
2. Figuring out ways to become less of a consumer. My job is getting cut back to 32 hours (with the associated 20% pay cut) starting 10/1 and I have the luxury of being kind of psyched about this both for the free time I will have and the challenge it will present to me to modify my spending and saving accordingly. I have spent money on things for years just because I could and I find that very annoying about myself. (Granted I contribute all I can to my Roth IRA every year, paid off my student loans 2 years ago and have zero debt, but still). The last 3 visitors who walked into my bathroom remarked on how many lotions and beauty products I had. Who needs 3 shampoos and 5 lotions? I want to get back to the basics.
3. Things I can be doing to tread lightly on this planet of ours. Plans include: cutting out beauty products that are wasteful (mostly due to packaging but also variety (see #2)), such as my beloved Dove Cleansing Cloths and Dove Body Wash, and going back to good old soap and washcloths. Same with cleaning products (goodbye Clorox Wipes, hello vinegar). I'm considering investing in an Amazon Kindle and will be using the library for books almost exclusively going forward (I have $50 in Amazon gift certificates that have to last me until the end of the year...no new books after they're used up until maybe spring 2009). Finding at least semi-homemade ideas for gifts. Making big pots of soup instead of buying soup. I like that these ideas also tie in with #2.
4. How much I miss Tim Russert and the perspective and excitement he'd bring to the remaining 55 days in this election. Tom Brokaw is ok, but Meet the Press is just not the same.
5. How excited I am to read Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need A Green Revolution - And How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman (for which I might use $15.37 of the $50 in Amazon gift certificates). He was on Monday's Fresh Air (please listen!) and Sunday's Meet the Press and I have a crush on him. My favorite part was when he was talking about how the Republicans were chanting "Drill, Baby, Drill" at the convention and he said "What planet are these people from?" And also how he likened the chant to people chanting about typewriters as PCs were being invented. 
6. How much I'm enjoying not having a car payment anymore and how my last 2 tanks got 36.5 and 35.4 mpg respectively. And that they each cost me less than $40. And that the decrease in price from the $45+ a tank earlier this summer wasn't due to increased offshore drilling!
7. How cool it is that Lance Armstrong is making a comeback! The Tour hasn't been the same without him. Yes, I am a fair weather cycling fan, I hate to admit. But this is so exciting!
8. How bummed I am about Tom Brady's ACL.
9. How psyched I am to attend this year's Sarah Josepha Hale Award dinner with my parents to see the winner Ken Burns!
10. How much I like Shelfari and its online bookshelf where I can track the books I’ve read, what I’m reading now and what I plan to read. This will fill the void left with me cutting back on buying books, I can at least go look at my virtual bookshelf and be happy!
11. How excited I am to see my parents, grandma, sister and this little pumpkin in just 15 days:
12. How great it feels to finally be working towards the career change I’ve wanted for so long (more on this in a later post).
13. How much I miss fall, and, yes, winter in New England and how excited I am to experience them up close and personal again starting next year.
14. Whether or not to become a vegetarian. Or, more accurately, a Pescetarian, as I would continue eating fish. I keep tossing around the idea but I have yet to commit to giving it a try. I rarely eat red meat anymore and will have meatless days (unintentionally) more than once a week, but I still can't take the plunge. This also ties in with #3...it would be better for the enviroment.
15. How much I love Vanity Fair magazine. It definitely has a liberal bent, which I love of course, but the articles are just so well written and on such unique and interesting topics, I usually read it cover to cover. I highly recommend picking it up sometime or checking out the website.
16. The circle of life. 2008 has had life and death, illness and wellness and I am just doing my best to tune into it all, celebrate it all as a part of being human and do the best I can to make my days count.
So yep, that’s what’s been on my mind lately, at least on the surface of it! I will probably make many of these topics into entire posts as time goes on, but for now I just wanted to get something out there!
