~ bush is pissed that a christian in afghanistan is scheduled to be executed for being a christian in afghanistan:

“It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because he chose a different religion over another.” -gwbush

didn’t we march freedom into that place years ago? we sponsored the afghan’s writing of their own constitution which establishes islamic law. the afghan people have spoken (‘kill all christians’), which is what we asked for, so why the bitching from bush? if our marching of freedom and spreading of democracy is to always result in islamic fundamentalist regimes, then we can skip iran – it’s already spoken for – because we know that ‘spreading democracy’ will be the next excuse for invading iran once the administration realizes that every sensible listener will hear the claim that iran is moments away from transforming dallas into a mushroom cloud and know that is bullshit they have heard before.

~ to those vegans who cared that l’oreal is buying the body shop: tom’s of maine sells out to colgate [enn.com].

~ more information about the fbi’s spying on american vegans is described by the aclu:

Among the documents released today were more than 100 pages of FBI files on PETA. Multiple documents indicate ongoing surveillance of PETA-related meetings and activities, including a “Vegan Community Project” event at the University of Indiana during which the group distributed vegetarian starter kits to students and faculty, an animal rights conference in Washington, DC that was open to the public, and a planned protest of Cindy Crawford”s decision to become a llama fur spokesperson. –aclu.org

we had hoped that ‘vegan community project’ was some orwellian-named program, functioning similarly to cointelpro, where fbi agents invite vegans over for lemony garbanzo bean cakes and postum, then they take take notes and make recordings of discussions on methods for binding eggless pastries. this would explain the dwindling attendance of our potlucks. less interestingly, though, it seems that ‘vegan community project’ is just the name of an actual vegan community project.

~

From: “the angry red planet”
To: “plamil foods”
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 11:43 AM
Subject: dark chocolate label

Hello,
One of my colleagues recently delivered to me a package that contained an assortment of your Organic Chocolate bars, so that I may sample vegan confections of the UK which are unavailable in my country. For the most part, the wrappers are and accurate representation of the contents, but I find that the colour of the Organic Dark Chocolate is misleading. I notice that the wrapper is a dark brown, which I find does not optimally describe the ‘darkness’ of the chocolate. Whilst cocoa is indeed brown, the idea of ‘dark chocolate’ is best understood through the use of black. To reflect the cocoa content of your dark chocolate, the wrapper should be recoloured as 87% of black, rather than dark brown. My comparisons with greyscale palettes, of course, have been failures, as the wrapper is currently brown, but I advise you to conduct experiments with your printers to reach the appropriate shade. Apart from the colour issue, the layout rest of the wrapper is exquisite. Thank you.

~ google talk [w] looks nice, but provides no new features for the user, such as the ability to chat with members of various services simultaneously. it is just an instant messaging program for people who already have gmail accounts. use the miranda [w] client, instead.

~ we appreciate when people like pat robertson both call for the killing of elected leaders and call themselves christians because it makes it easy for us to keep track of who the lunatics are. speaking of lunatics, can someone explain our president’s phrase ‘democracy is unfolding’ and/or how it relates to our republican administration’s use of our military to establish an islamic state next to iran?

~ ‘our’ potluck series is becoming more disastrous at every stage; next week we foresee ourselves showing up to find that not even we are attending.

~ cl.park success!

~ happy world vegan day! whilst you recover from your engorgement of last night’s bacchanalia of chocolate and candies, spend a few minutes at a place like vegweb or vrg to find enough recipes that will make even the most skeptical and hardheaded carni-/omnivore realize that you don’t have to do anything crazy like press your own seitan to enjoy a sumptuous and ‘cruelty free’ meal, even if only for a day.

the angry red planet will be celebrating with a platter of blackeyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread, a trinity worthy of celebration in its own right. this will be followed by the empty calories of a chocolate cake. contact us if you need the recipe.

~ from aim:

   terra cimmeria : “The two-pound HDR packages are designed to be religiously and culturally acceptable to all people. They include rice, vegetables and fruit and no animal products, such as pork, which Muslims do not eat.”
   terra cimmeria : read: The two-pound HDR packages are designed to be ethically and culturally acceptable to all vegans. They include rice, vegetables and fruit and no animal products, such as pork, which vegans do not eat.
   terra cimmeria : why don’t they drop that shit around here?
   xxxx xxxxxx : after protests ensued at local krust burger restaurant krusty has issued the following statement, ‘this, i dont need’
   terra cimmeria : did you and jjj go to those protests?
   xxxx xxxxxx : jjj doesnt care anymore
   terra cimmeria : was jjj demanding that they serve astro burgers
   terra cimmeria : care about what? his cause?
   xxxx xxxxxx : he is going to ‘la’ on wednesday
   terra cimmeria : noooo!!

~ site updates at vegan.com [w] and veganaction.org [w], and a new address for socalinflight [w].

~ an entire week has unravelled, and there is little that i have to account for it. at some point, i think it was wednesday, i was up until 7am, then went to sleep until 11am, then woke until 7pm, then slept until 9pm, then woke until 5am, and on and on until now, when i am just waking up as everyone else goes home, or out, for the weekend

~ one of them: ‘oh, you drink coffee?’
  me: ‘always’
  one of them: ‘but i thought you were vegan’
  me: ‘always’
  i wonder why they don’t understand, but then i remember that every time i am caught eating an apple or potatoes, i get: ‘i thought you only ate birdseed’, and i know exactly why they don’t understand…

~ speaking of birdseed, i finally got around to the venice co-op for some (vegan) flour, so i could churn up a batch of cornbread, the delicious likes of which los angeles has never known.

~ i spent a few hours in la jolla last month; recently there has appeared on my desk a picture from that trip. just as recently, mr. rotondi gave a little speech about what it is to approach the institute; when a classmate saw the picture, she launched into ridicule about me following his lead by searching out a picture that – if it could inspire him – would surely inspire me. i explained the situation about the trip, and, more importantly, i informed her that i am anything but inspired by the institute. it only makes me feel inadequate and hopeless; it is a reminder that i can never reach such an achievement. she screwed up her face and mocked, ‘that makes you feel inadequate?’ i guess she didn’t look closely enough.

~ since focusing and structuring my dietary habits, i have forfeited the privilege that most take for granted: the ability to consume whatever is conveniently in front of them, without forethought or concern. as the 24-hour studio situation, however, almost demands this type of freedom, i managed to find an item which i believe to be the worst a food can be while still fitting my ethical requirements.

~ finally, the sun