Saturday, February 21, 2009

In response to a certain entry about being vegetarian...

(This was originally a blog comment, but then I decided, WHAT THE HEY, let's turn it into a post).

I am a vegetarian. I dislike meat, fish, etc. But I became a vegetarian for different reasons than some of my friends/colleagues. Basically, I am one of those "oh poor animals getting slaughtered, cry, cry" people. Well, not actually crying, but you get the point. The point of this is that: I actually DO something about it. There are plenty of people out there who think that animals are being treated poorly, but when they smell bacon cooking, oh, do they run. ex. "I feel SO bad for cows, but when I see a big slab of steak, how can I resist?" This is the story I frequently get from people who claim they want to go veggie. Most of the time this means that they are not motivated, and will not even bother making an effort. Let me just put this out there now: YES, I DO BOYCOTT THINGS. I AM A MEMBER OF PETA. And I have influenced my family members and friends to do the same. Let's be honest with ourselves for a second. If you Youtube "KFC", you will most likely feel sick to your stomach in a few minutes. That's because of the leaked videos of the horrible things that happen to animals. WARNING! CLICHE AHEAD! PREPARE YOURSELF.....Animals can feel pain, too. And people who test on rabbits? Dude, that's just sick.
You might think, "Oh, it's just another stupid girl who doesn't know what she's talking about."
Ha. I spent a whole day getting informed on things relating to vegetarianism. Informed decisions are key!
So, yes. I am a vegetarian because I believe in animal rights. And people think I'm weird just because of that. Oh, please. Vegetarians are taking over the world.


(Alison, if you read this, Marc does have a point. They're called veggie burgers for a reason: They taste like veggies =]).


TOFU ROCKS.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Sublime to Ridiculous

Music has been called the universal language. Feeling sad? Listen to emo. Feeling angry? Listen to metal core!! Feeling happy? Listen to pop. Classical, Rock, Jazz, there are so many choices when it comes to music.
It easily influences all of our actions and memories. For example, if you were listening to a song about poisoning pigeons in the park (believe me, there is actually a song about that), you might grow up to hurt animals. So you would make a mental note not to listen to that. But, if you were listening to a certain composition on the night of your high school graduation, that song would most likely have an impact on you for the rest of your life.
Also, songs with lyrics provoke more emotion than songs without. Example: "Dark blue, dark blue, have you ever been alone in a crowded room?" You start to wonder why the artist incorporated a color into the song, and while pondering, you subconsciously grow attached to the music.
There are also patterns in music. Drum intros, vocal falls, everything intertwines to form an interesting and sometimes beautiful creation.
But in reality, what is music? Most of the time, it's playing out a rhythm on random pieces of wood and strings and producing wailing sounds that make onlookers cover their ears. Music is when people vibrate their vocal cords, although they probably shouldn't waste their efforts, because they are NOT good most of the time. Music is when a stuffy guy in a weird looking suit with tails picks up a little stick thing and suddenly controls the actions of equally conceited and stuffy people banging big, concave pieces of steel with animal skin stretched over them, and producing high, reedy sounds from wood things.
Music is why some people wear earplugs. I mean, who wants to listen to a big guy with pants five sizes too big spitting into a microphone about how much he likes money? NOT ME!
Music makes parents wonder what the heck is wrong with their kids when they hear twenty-something year old guys screaming their guts out on a CD playing in the other room.
Lyrics in music are usually a futile and horrible thing. "And then we fell in loooooooove, oh, is that a doooooooove? We'll have so much fuuuuuuun, in the suuuuuun....THIS SUMMER."
And music concerts? Ha. Many "fans" gather together like cattle in a hot, uncomfortable space without chairs to listen to "the coolest underground band, like, EVER!". In reality, they're listening to something that is just a bit quieter than the sound of a plane taking off. So when they're old, not only will they not remember the concert, but they will also not be able to hear anything. Not a fair trade, huh?