Taylor Clark, writing for Slate, has an article (“Vegetarian myths, debunked“) today that should be mandatory reading for all non-vegetarians. Pretty much everything he says is exactly right. Some of his points that hit closest to home for me:
Some people call themselves vegetarians and still eat chicken or fish, but unless we’re talking about the kind of salmon that comes freshly plucked from the vine, this makes you an omnivore.
Take that, “New England Vegetarians”!
Suffice it to say that one day, I suddenly realized that I could never look a cow in the eyes, press a knocking gun to her temple, and pull the trigger without feeling I’d done something cruel and unnecessary. (Sure, if it’s kill the cow or starve, then say your prayers, my bovine friend—but for now, it’s not quite a mortal struggle to subsist on the other five food groups.)
This is almost the exact same thing I went through, and also how I feel about the prospect of starving to death in the same room as a cow and a Weber.
For those kind-hearted omnivores who willingly invite feral vegetarians into their homes for dinner parties and barbecues (really! we do that, too!) … we don’t expect you to bend over backward for us. In fact, if we get the sense that you cooked for three extra hours to accommodate our dietary preferences, we will marvel at your considerate nature, but we will also feel insanely guilty.
The guilt! I’d much much much rather be kinda hungry for a little while than feel like I’ve been an annoying burden on whoever was gracious enough to invite me over.
Mr. Clark continues to address important topics, like the difficulty in avoiding all animal-death-required products (“Hey, you try to find a pair of nonleather dress shoes.“), the thrill of finding a vegetarian option that isn’t a microwaved Gardenburger, the difficulty of finding appetizingly prepared tofu, and what vegans are like (“intense“).
The only thing I could possibly add to his essay is this: When a non-vegetarian goes out to eat with a vegetarian, there’s no need to point out to us which menu options suit our needs. Many of us have been doing this a long time and can determine on our own whether the house salad or the porterhouse is the more appropriate dish.
I’ve quoted from his article more liberally than I like to, but I really encourage everyone to click on the link and see what he has to say. I pretty much agree 100% with everything he says, up to and including his making fun of Hillary Clinton.
Can we finally say who the Democratic nominee for President will be?
YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! …Yes. We can.
(Ever notice that Clinton supporters chant “Yes She Will!” at their rallies? Not only will she not, but that’s creepy.)
So nearly a tie in Indiana and a pretty good sized win in North Carolina, now we’re just waiting for Clinton to drop-out or join a longshot ticket with Rush Limbaugh. (He is responsible for her win in Indiana, right, as well her her win in Texas and who knows where else.) So… Obama. I never thought it would happen.
I had told my sister last Christmas that I really wanted it to be a McCain-Obama race. At the time, I was convinced it would be Romney versus Clinton and I would vote for Nader again. But I lucked out. The American people proved me wrong. We were given an exhaustive list to choose from, ranging from who? to crazy to terrible to actually-kinda-okay to great, and on both sides we chose great. (For the record, those candidates were Gravel- Kucinich- Clinton- Richardson- Obama on the left and Thompson- Paul -Romney-
(?)- McCain. Yeah, the Republicans didn’t have any actually-kinda-okay candidates, though they did have tight competition in the terrible category.)
So America is a country that has, for at least once in the last decade, demonstrated an impressive ability to choose their presidential nominees. I really can’t wait. The only really bad thing is that I was always kinda hoping that both candidates would have been snubbed by their respective parties and formed a SuperTicket, somehow. Though I’m still disappointed that that won’t happen, at least I can be pleased that two fellow Irishmen will be fighting- not over the last Guinness- but over the Presidency and the FUTURE OF THE NATION.
(Yes, that last sentence was a strained joke based on a willing misunderstanding of the Democratic nominee’s surname. Yes, it’s a joke I’ve made often before. Deal with it.)
So I could post this and it would be accurate. (Holy canoli, you MUST click on this image!)
Apparently shaving sweet designs into your eyebrows is a hip new trend, and, typically, schools don’t like it. Schools never like anything cool. Apparently it’s a new, gang-related thing, though I remember it being a new, gang-related thing when I went to this high school, more than 10 years ago now. Actually, I just kind of remember one jackass in my PE class doing it, but that dude was a thug… well, at least he didn’t hang out in the computer science lab, so he scared the heck out of me.
In other news, one of my favorite features at one of my favorite web sites has suggested a smelt-it-dealt-it rule regarding the term hipster:
One thing you can be sure of, though: 90 percent of the time, people who use the word “hipster” are probably hipsters themselves.
Now if I could just get the AV Club’s opinion on the raging Hipster Vs. Scenester debate I could sleep a little easier.
And finally, to round out the things I feel like talking about this evening, Florida never ceases to amaze. That’s one of those stories that makes you feel comfortable that no country would ever try to invade us -at least not through the South…
Dick Morris @ Fox News asks:
Does Hillary want to beat up Obama so that he can’t win the general election in November, assuring McCain of the presidency so that she can have a clear field to run again in 2012?
I’d say yes. I said yes. Morris points out how neither Clinton helped Kerry much in 2004, and Bill was only barely helpful in 2000 for Gore. They’ve had their eyes on this for a long time, and now they are throwing everything behind McCain for their (yes, their, not her) last shot. Hopefully more people will talk about how lame this is and won’t forget it should McCain win and we have to fight her off again in 2012.
So, I’m a little vague about the details, but my cousin texted me recently, telling me to check out some videos he did on youtube. So I figured I would post them here too, in case any family members read this and forgot to check out youtube. Also, because… I like posting videos. If you’re not family, see if you can guess who my cousin is:
Here’s a really easy, give-away hint: He’s a dead ringer for Randy Jackson.
Texas Hardcore. I’ll have to check it out when I get home. I love stencils.
