MURMUR

This is the best news I’ve come across in a long time, sitting at my desk earlier today, reading The New York Times article, Heaven’s Angels, I couldn’t stop smiling. Shaved heads, enormouse muscles, tattoos and hearts of gold. I love these guys and their mission - they even have an ok name, Rescue Ink. I know…if I saw someone treating an animal poorly, these are the guys I would like to call!

Image taken from the New York Times article.

After reading the article on the BBC news website, about dolphins tail-walking, the familiar Simpsons episode “Treehouse of Horror XI” immediately came to mind. Do we really have to worry about dolphins taking over our world? It’s not at the top of my worry list, but we shouldn’t dismiss their incredible ability to learn, form their own cultures/gangs and communicate. A dolphin’s story that was quick to get my eyes a little moist, is how Moko saves the stuck whales in New Zealand. They’re a bit like humans with their prejudices, they will save some whales and yet gang up on porpoises, killing them. I have one more favorite dolphin story, where a human is saved by a pod of dolphins

PS painting I did a year ago, with some quick filter on top

If I did, I’m sure they would be photoshopped, which is what I first thought about Yoda, the grey kitty from Chicago. What? How does this cat show up with four ears? Have there been other cases in cat history? The answer is yes, Yoda isn’t as unique as his internet fame leads us to believe, I came across the site messy beast. Hmm…I’m glad I don’t have an additional lobe, I don’t think I would be as cute. He definitely has an adorable edge, but I get freaked out looking at him, just like I would if I saw the real Yoda.

Around nine years ago, I was vegan, living in a caboose and working around 30 hours a week. I made most of my meals, due to Fairfax allowing me access to plenty of farms and organic vegetables. I didn’t even eat sugar, (since most of it is sifted through animal bones) and I stayed away from bread (because it has yeast). I could tell when it was a full moon - the little bit of land the caboose inhabited didn’t have any street lamps or cars driving by (there was a long private driveway). It was similar to camping, except all the time, there was a wood-burning stove for heat and lockless doors. I had 3 cats and 3 dogs, my own binki-bunch. I cut up all my leather products and swore only to wear non-animal garments. These days my eating habits are much different - healthier for me, I’m not a vegan anymore, but my respect and love for animals has not changed.

Now I’m on a quest as a flexitarian (”a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat”) to find the most cruelty-free farms in the bay area. I have some like-minded friends who are helping me find the right places to look and I’d like to share their knowledge as well as my own. Here is an informative blog from Emily, she has been on a similar search for over a year. I’ve found some very useful info here and I plan on keeping her close for answers.

I’m overwhelmed by how much is accessible on the web, leaving me with plenty to write about and learn. I’m very excited to hear from anyone with thoughts and ideas about how we can decrease our ignorance and live a well-balanced life. To quote one of my favorite genuises in history, Buckminster Fuller, “I have to say, I think that we are in some kind of final examination as to whether human beings now, with this capability to acquire information and to communicate, whether we’re really qualified to take on the responsibility we’re designed to be entrusted with. And this is not a matter of an examination of the types of governments, nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with economic systems. It has to do with the individual. Does the individual have the courage to really go along with the truth?”

Photo of caboose window, taken by Linda Snyder an old friend of mine