NYC!!

Quick update-- Hubby and I are currently away in the land of hot pavement and post-ops, celebrating our first wedding anniversary.

While it should be a lot easier for me to be vegan at restaurants here in the BIG big city, it's been surprisingly frustrating. The guide book we bought (*cough* "the melancholy globe" *cough*) has been damned near useless despite having an icon that denotes vegetarian-friendly restaurants.

Luckily, the internet is my friend, and it pointed me to Lulu's Apothecary (DELICIOUSLY EPIC!) and Moo Shoes (MORE EPIC because they have CATS IN THE SHOE STORE!!).

Right around the corner from our hotel is Loving Hut, which has been my salvation. This place is absolutely 100% completely EPIC as well.

Today when we were bopping around in Chinatown I was so hungry I might pass out in the massive heat, so I stopped in at a dumpling bar and got some veggie dumplings. No idea if they were vegan or not, but at that moment I didn't particularly have the balls to keep on searching for an oasis in the desert.

And we saw American Idiot!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh, the EPICNESS!!!

My New Obsession

Yet another reason I'm glad we pay for HBO:

The new show about the aftermath of Katrina, called Treme. It's crazy addicting. Here's a series trailer:




Wish I could find clips of John Goodman from the beginning of episode 8. Below is the episode 8 trailer, with just a small clip starting the trailer off from the scene I'm talking about. It was amazing.

This Just In: Religious Edition

Can you imagine spending all day, every day of your school life, studying just one book? Not learning a single thing in school about the geography of the world, current events, world history, foreign language, even math, that doesn't relate back in some way to that book? Welcome to the world of the Haredi in Israel, the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect. If you're a male, anyway. Good luck getting an equal "education" if you're a female. A man can't even shake hands with a woman who isn't related to him. Pictures of women are not allowed. Women may not sing in the presence of men.

But hopefully, things might change. There is talk in Israel of changing the Ultra-Orthodox schools to require them to teach some secular basics of education. And some dissatisfied young people wind up leaving the community, at great expense and with great difficulty. They are completely unprepared for life in the outside world. They don't know anyone and don't have basic knowledge about things most of us take for granted, like using the internet and finding jobs. Their families in many cases will not speak to them, for fear they will be a negative influence on their siblings. 

I have nothing but admiration for those who choose to leave. The courage it must take to pick up and leave behind everything you've ever known in favor of an uncertain future...

But let's not just pick on the Jews today. How about good ole' American Christiantiy? As if the oil spill wasn't enough, as if the pathetic attempts at stopping it wasn't enough, as if BP CEO Tony Hayward's statement that "The overall environmental impact of this spill is like to be very very modest," wasn't silly enough, the Louisiana Senate had to come up with something even sillier. They decreed, in their infinite lack of wisdom, that last Sunday was to be a state day of prayer to ask god to fix the spill. This from CNN:

"Thus far efforts made by mortals to try to solve the crisis have been to no avail," state Sen. Robert Adley said in a statement released after last week's unanimous vote for the day of prayer. "It is clearly time for a miracle for us."

Holy crap. Unanimous? There wasn't even one guy in the back of the room, I dunno, maybe chewing gum and shooting spit-balls, that said "This is stupid"? Hey Louisiana, I've got an idea, how about instead of talking to a guy in the sky that doesn't exist, how about we do something at least mildly more productive, like letterbomb the White House, protest en masse in the streets, take over the BP Headquarters, SOMETHING other than mumble ineffectually to yourselves?

Speaking of mumbling ineffectually to yourself, here's the latest in Catholic news. More good stuff from CNN:

In a newly released videotaped deposition, Los Angeles Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony defends how he handled—and admittedly mishandled—allegations that one of his priests was molesting children.

The deposition was taken last January by lawyer John Manly, suing on behalf of a client who says he was abused by a priest named Michael Baker in the Los Angeles Archdiocese more than a decade ago.

The lawsuit was settled a few months ago for over two million dollars and Baker is serving a 10-year sentence for molesting three boys.

Manly says that he and the Los Angeles Times convinced a judge to release the videotape of the deposition this week after the Archdiocese attempted to keep it under seal.

The allegations discussed in the deposition aren’t new, but the tape gives additional insight into what Mahony was thinking when he decided to forego reporting Baker to police or mentioning Baker’s history to his parish after the priest told the cardinal he molested two boys in 1986.

The priest told Mahony that the boys were illegal aliens and that they had gone back to Mexico. Mahony said he didn’t investigate because he didn’t know the boys’ last names.

“This is among the most absurd excuses we've ever heard a bishop make—that he refused to call police because an admitted predator claimed the victims had left the country,” said Barbara Blaine, the national president of SNAP, the Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests.

In a statement, Blaine said that “the legal status of children who are molested is irrelevant and it's shameful that Mahony would claim otherwise.”

“If, in fact, Fr. Baker's victims had left the U.S.,” the statement continued, “Mahony's duty to call police was even greater, since the chances that the kids themselves would contact law enforcement was virtually nil.”

Seriously. It just keeps getting wackier over there in RCC Land, which seems hard to do, given the history of the RCC and child-fucking:

Speaking of the "Feline of Fury"...

Hubby and I went camping a few weeks ago, and our friend (pictured to the right) ever so graciously came to stay at the apartment to watch the little shithead cat while we were gone. Below is the note I left her:

Dealing With Turdblossom, Among Other Things...

It's like Tuesdays with Morrie, except with less morality and more of what I like to call “Claws and Fury.”

First off, he gets fed one can in the morning and one at night (they're by the cookbooks). We've been on a 6-ish AM and PM schedule, but feel free to wiggle it. You may, however, wake up with a demanding kitty face meowing at the top of his lungs just a few inches from your own face. This is quite often accompanied by the “paws of steel” two-pronged alarm-clock technique, which involves kitty cat jumping on your breastbone with the full force of his 15-or-so feline pounds, then bounding away again with seemingly increased force. So if you can sleep through it, more power to you.

We just throw out the cat food cans, so don't worry about recycling them. I know, it hurts me every time I do it, but my laziness and distaste for the idea of rinsing out cat food particles wins out.

Then comes the poop situation. As you know, we've got the Cat Genie. It's very simple. All you have to do is press the start button when you know he's been in there, and it will run the cleaning cycle. It takes about 20 minutes to finish. Then you flush the toilet, and everything goes away. There is one very important thing to remember here: The drainage hook has to be hooked over the toilet rim. Otherwise, what seems like gallons of foaming, liquified poop-water will flow all over the floor. It is not a pretty sight (or smell). We know this from personal experience, as in the beginning we would remove the hook before we sat down to use the toilet, and not just once, but TWICE, we forgot to put the hook back. Hence the new policy of never removing the hook to begin with, and a sign over top of the start button reminding us to check anyway. Keep in mind the 20 minute cycle time, because realizing you suddenly have to poop while the machine is draining into the toilet is kind of awkward.

You don't have to worry about filling it up with more crystals or anything like that. They're reusable and there are more than enough in there. It only gets topped off every so often when it gets low from things like crystals getting kicked outside the box or flushed with the poop. You will find crystals sometimes on the toilet seat, on the shower rim, and on the floor outside the box. This is because the cat compulsively wipes his paws on anything and everything nearby, like an OCD raccoon. Should you get tired of stepping on them, there's the little red Dirt Devil we bought at Target that one time (specifically for this purpose) hanging out in the hallway on the DVD rack, and you can vacuum them up with that.

He loves to play. His favorite games are:

- shred rolls of paper towels
- shred rolls of toilet paper
- shred plastic bags
- Countertop Explorer
- Food Pirate
- Ninja Attack Cat

Clearly we don't like to encourage him to play these games, but sometimes they're hard to avoid, so if it happens don't worry too much about it. One morning you may wake up to find the remains of an entire roll of paper towels scattered around the entire apartment as if it were new fallen snow. I've found that the best thing to do in this situation is to just sigh and accept the inevitable half-hour of picking it all up that comes next. There are more paper towels stored in the front closet and there is more toilet paper (and some tissues) underneath the bathroom counter (on the right side). Good to know anyway.

Some of his favorite games may need more explanation. Food Pirate is when we cook a large meal and take our plates into the living room to eat. The rest of the food remains in the kitchen, on the stove or on the counter, for second helpings and leftovers. Captain Fluffybeard sneaks his damn way in there, jumps on the counter, and makes a holy mess eating whatever he can get his kitty face into. He also likes to lick any food that's on your plate unattended on the living room table, whether you're finished eating or you just ran into the kitchen to grab a drink. If the spoils are there to be plundered, there's a good chance he will try to plunder them. Guard your spoils.

Ninja Attack Cat is probably his very favorite game, and my very least favorite. It's pretty self explanatory. He likes to sneak up on you, stalk you, and grab your legs. This is where the “claws and fury” comes in. Sometimes he doesn't even bother to stalk you properly. He'll just walk over, sit down next to you, then rear up and attack. This is where your secret weapon and best defense comes in: one of the two cans of keyboard cleaner that we keep in the apartment. Should you get the feeling you're about to be stalked, grab a can and walk around with it. I think I need to get a gun holster. Anyway, don't spray it in his face, but anywhere else is fine, and he will back down immediately. Should he continue being a dickhead, grab him by the scruff and lock him in the spare room for a little while for a well-deserved time out.

This game can sometimes be turned into a two-player game. When you know he's stalking you, duck around a corner and wait for him to come close, then jump out at him like you're gonna get him. He generally does the kitty version of “Eek!” and runs away, then comes back to stalk again and the cycle repeats. He actually loves this game, and I think most of his stalking of people is an attempt to get them to play.

But there are games we do encourage, or at least don't mind. Of course, he has lots of toys, but his favorite is the green wand with the feathers on the string. He would be most happy to play that with you. I like to have the ottoman between myself and the cat, so he has to jump over or around it to get the toy. He is allowed to use his claws on the ottoman if he wants. It's kitty-designated furniture at this point. I also like to use the toy to make him go up and down the climbing tower.

He also likes to attack the computer chair, and he may scale it and perch on top while you're sitting in it. Do not be alarmed. He also likes to play underneath blankets and will periodically hide under the green blanket that hangs off the side of the living room bed. All of this is just fine.

There are some kitty treats and kitty crack (catnip) in the kitchen cabinet above the stove should you feel like using them.

And that's really all there is to say about the cat. If the plants look dry, wet them. If you want to use the washer and dryer, go for it. All the bedding in the living room is freshly washed, and help yourself to any food in the kitchen, any random bathroom supplies, all of that kind of stuff. Feel free to snoop, but know you might come upon a vibrator or giant dildo at any moment. But hey, isn't that the point of snooping?

Hugs and Kisses.

Dinosaurs and Robots.

<3

Monday Morning KittyBacking

Yes, it's picspam of my cat. Why? Because I can.

Food Porn: Ice Cream??

Well, not exactly. The final product of my improvised ice cream recipe turned into something that resembled a chocolate-banana flavored Wendy's frosty, which is still pretty freaking cool. So this will definitely satisfy cravings, but the downside is that it needs to freeze overnight, so providing for those spur-of-the-moment female-type cravings will require some planning ahead.

Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips or carob chips (I used a mix of both)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 1/2 cup sugar (I used Woodstock Farms cane sugar)
- 2 cups soy milk

Cut the banana into chunks and put in freezer.
Over low-ish heat melt the chocolate/carob chips and add the vanilla, canola oil, sugar, and soy milk.
Melt and mix thoroughly.
Freeze overnight (separate from the banana).
Note: This mix, on its own, will taste like a melted and re-frozen fudge pop. It would be awesome if frozen in popsicle molds as its own frozen treat!
The next morning, because you'll of course want this for breakfast, mash the banana in the food processor.
The chocolate mix will be very difficult to get out of the container at first. I used a metal ice cream scoop and kept shaving away until it melted enough to start breaking up into proper chunks.
Add the chocolate mix into the food processor and mix it all up!
Nom!!

On a lighter note...

... Just learned I can't stand mustard greens. Blech!!

Reasons

When someone hears I am a vegetarian (and now vegan), one of two looks usually crosses their face. 

It's either:

A.) politely uncomfortable, a.k.a. "Welllll, now, isn't that interesting... *nervous giggle* "

or

B.) bright-eyed interest, a.k.a. "Oh really?"

I've been lucky in that response type A has been very rare. Perhaps it's the people I seem to surround myself with. In any event, response type B is generally followed up with the question, "What made you become a vegetarian?"

I have a couple of answers to that. 

The first, very simple, for when I don't have much time, is:

"I don't want to kill."

 Another possible answer is:

"I look at a golden retriever and I see a loving, feeling, intelligent creature. What makes this creature different from any other? Why is a dog different than a cow or a pig? To me they are the same. If I'm not willing to do eat a dog, then I should not be willing to eat any other animals."

The last answer, which I very rarely use, is:

"I know I could never personally kill an animal, so I think it's irresponsible to have someone else kill the animal for me. If you're going to eat a creature that was once living and breathing, you should have the balls to look it in the eye before you end its life. Buying your dead animal at the supermarket when you know you would never kill it yourself makes you a coward."

For the longest time I wussed out of going all the way and going vegan. I would justify it to myself, saying:

"Well, I just love ice cream too much." 

As lame as that reason is, I had an even lamer one. I thought:

"You know, in an ideal world, chickens would lay eggs anyway as long as there isn't a rooster around. It doesn't hurt them to lay eggs. It's what they do. So I'll just buy free range eggs to minimize the suffering." 

Leaving the trouble with "free range" package labeling aside, this completely ignored the fact that we most definitely do not live in an ideal world, and I continued to consume products that were made using factory farmed eggs. I was lying to myself in a lazy, selfish attempt to continue my comfortable way of life. 

On some level I was afraid of the social consequences. It's difficult enough trying to go out to eat as a vegetarian in a world of chain restaurants built for carnivores, and the thought of being relegated to sad, boring salads in public is quite imposing. I also didn't want Hubby to feel guilty in any way about my food choices. When we go out to a conventional restaurant for a friend's birthday and there aren't any menu options for me, Hubby has a really tough time with that. It makes him severely uncomfortable.

But slowly the balance started to shift in my mind, and the time finally came when I just could not stand the thought of tacit participation in animal cruelty for the sake of convenience.

Yes, it will be difficult. Yes, I will be forced to eat more salads. Yes, I will have to cook more actual meals instead of relying on quick and easy egg-and-dairy containing processed foodstuffs. Yes, I will be forced to be more creative with ingredients. But it now seems to me that all of these are pluses.

This just in...

It's not all cute cats and food porn around here. I'm also going to post news articles of interest.

Yeah, chances are that means a lot of "WTF-worthy" stuff that makes you want to kill everything with fire. KILL IT WITH FIRE. I know, bummer. But hey! It could always be worse, right?

So, holy crap France, I can't even get full-sized a tube of toothpaste on a plane but somehow you're letting FIVE TONS of bushmeat a week sneak by in luggage?? That's around 270 tons a year. You know, I generally try not to think about what's stashed in the carry on baggage of the other passengers around me. It's hard enough just sitting next to the creepers without playing "Which one packed the blow-up doll?" Now I get to add a whole new category to the game "What's that smell?" Thanks, France. Thanks a lot.

Also, Sperm Whale poop helps save the world! It helps phytoplankton grow, and they suck up carbon. You know, I really enjoy when the BBC writes articles that feature feces prominently. Jolly good poop show, guvnah. But that's not all for BBC, whales, and carbon. Looks like whales are big ole' carbon storers, and when we kill 'em we let all that carbon loose to run around willy nilly the way carbon tends to do. Dammit Japan, stop trying to kill us!!!

The oil spill tragedy continues, with animals showing up in shallow water, fleeing the spill. But I can't bring myself to post a link. There's nothing funny about this.

But to end on a "lighter" note... Eco Airships of the Future!!! Imaginations are go! I went looking for the designer's website to snag a pic to post, and it's all just so amazing...

Food Porn: Tofu Lettuce Wraps

This is not the first of the new recipes I've tried in the last few days, but it is definitely the best.

Food porn!!




Ingredients:
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- powdered ginger
- powdered garlic
- salt
- pepper
- soy sauce
- olive oil
- mushrooms
- carrot slices
- sprouts of your choice (I used broccoli sprouts since it's what I had on hand)
- head of lettuce


Drain the tofu and cut it up into little chunks.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and powdered ginger and garlic.
Bake at 350 F for about half an hour.
Pan fry the mushrooms, carrots, and sprouts with olive oil, soy sauce, and more spices.
Add the tofu to the pan and mix it all up.
Pull off a nice big (clean) lettuce leaf, fill, wrap, and nom!

Craaaaazy good, and makes me want some sort of mango and pineapple shaved ice dessert. Hmmm...

Welcome to it.

My name is Evee. Let me introduce myself...

This is me, on any given day:

[You could say I'm kind of an oddball]

This is my husband, also on any given day:

[What's that saying about birds of a feather?]

And this is our cat, every night:

[It's like he was meant to live with us]

We all live together in an apartment in Rochester, N.Y.

It's one of the bigger cities in New York State, but by no means is it gigantic.

We're close to Lake Ontario.

We're two hours away from Niagara Falls.

Franklin Douglas and Susan B. Anthony are buried here.

.... and those are the most interesting things I can say about Rochester. It's all right here, I guess.

I work in a call center and do part-time romance novel narrations, and Hubby works for a radio station. The cat, well, he does what you see in the picture.

These are the slippers I was wearing at 2 A.M. during the inventory of the retail store I was working at 5 years ago. These are the slippers that, in my punchy mental state from having just counted hundreds of teenie bopper clothing items for hours when I should have been home sleeping, looked up at me with their cute little cow eyes and asked, "Why do you eat me?" These are the slippers that finally convinced me to get my butt in gear and go vegetarian:

[Be wary of plush eyes at 2 A.M. They can convince you of many things.]

So here I am, five years post-slipper-incident. I've been a strict vegetarian all that time, and never once cheated, unless you count that time in Japan where there was somehow meat sauce on my cheese pizza. Blasphemy!

Hubby is a carnivore, but tries to eat free range as much possible.

The cat, well... he does what cats do.

This is the video that I watched last weekend, in the middle of the afternoon, which finally pushed me to get my butt in gear and go vegan:

It's going to be one hell of an adventure, out here in West Cupcake, New York. But I'm up for the challenge! Grrrrrrrrr! *warrior pose!*

Welcome to my brand new world, the world of my fresh new stomach. I'm going to be chronicling my adaptations to veganism, how well my eco-carnivore husband handles it (hey, is that a new word?), and other things of that sort, with a few surprises thrown in here and there.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention I'm a militant atheist? This'll be fun!