Tag: veganism

Leitmotif of a Commonplace Book

A commonplace book is a collection of loosely organized snippets of stuff. It’s a way of thinking that I first encountered by way of detour (my favorite hobby) at the Cincinnati Library — a book caught my eye and subsumed my identity — A Certain World by W.H. Auden. ’twas many a decade ago (4) in what now seems a distant galaxy.

Galaxy (not the magazine) reminds me now of that breathtaking work by Douglas Adams — by golly, esme recently alluded to HHGTTG. Please consult esme for more, much and many. You’ll enjoy the visit. You will, yes you will. Say, I also offer a thread from H2G2 too.

commonplace-book-cartoon-newyorker  

I like to use the word eponymous whenever possible. By gosh, this entire writing adventure is eponymously named billziegler1947. Tell your friends about this ever so clever self-referential weblog, or not.

But WTF is a leitmotif? Doesn’t sound light to us. Har Har.

A leitmotif is a recurring theme in a musical or literary work.  

leit-motif

All so very well Bill, but isn’t it time for an unnecessary ‘detour’, one you cloyingly call a hobby?

A blog is a jarringly clumsy word created in the internet wild-west world: a two character left-string truncation of ‘weblog’ — it removes the ‘we’, or is it the’us’?

Captain’s weblog 2016.366. We is back. Welcome. Just us chicken defenders.

And so, this has all been a rather detour-ridden post. However, it’s a holiday of sorts — the null point , nodding here to Hariod, between 2016 and 2017. Or are we to be taken, in far less than an instant, to arrive in 1957. There to encounter a Back to the Future replay of the fell sort, Biff and all perhaps.

biff-wins-again

Holy heavens, you have completely abandoned every modicum that informs an insistent adherence to proper writing-style. Will you ever stay on task?

No.

Veganism is the best ‘ism’ ever. If you don’t believe that then you haven’t visited Crows Head Soup by Peter Schreiner, have you? Right. Go there now.

As you gather about that soup cauldron, allow me to pass the microphone to a most impassioned advocate, one who brings voice to each and every animal crushed to the marrow for the sake of appetites unending and insatiable — outsidersinsides. Expect no bon appetit if meat be on the table. Thank you! And to all gatherers — grab that mike. My ear enjoys your insights. Always.

Let’s say that you recognize the longest occupation in modern history, one that continues into 2017 and you are also interested in animal rights. Right. Palestinian Animal League.

Let us remind you, Bill, that you are no Laurence Sterne and we fervently pray that you not dash off first lines from Tristram Shandy to cover your untidiness. We merely ask.

First lines

shandy-black-page

Copy. (and paste). But I do recall that page of solid black ink from high school, don’t I?

Yes, I do.

cover-page-tristram

And so, with gratitude for every and each reader, and with appreciation for everyone I follow, a hearty fist in the air on behalf of all the exploited sentient beings who are our fellow travellers.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

You Are What You Eat

A couple recent posts in  SocioLinguini struck a couple vegan themes that intrigue me:

  1. Confronting the slick and well-funded language meat marketers enjoy,
  2. A skin-thin bag of chemicals holds toxin-cleansing organs within and keeps them without.

snappy-answers-veganism

And, so

Confronting the slick and well-funded language meat marketers enjoy

Identity is the inalienable right of *all* sentient beings —  life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not the domain of a single unusually arrogant specie. Veganism demands that one think critically about unethical behaviors, else becoming complicit in the business of death camps for manufacturing that slab of flesh between plastic stretch wrap and styrofoam tray:  “wholesome family friendly meat products.” Entree, s’il vous plaît

Now let’s check out the German for “you are what you eat”:

“man ist was man isst.” I like the great economy of that additional “s”

man-ist

I was a student in Germany during the early 70’s and once heard the following exchange between two German companions in the Mensa (Student Cafeteria):

Question: “Wer isst meine Suppe?” (Who is going to eat my soup?)
Reply: “Ich bin nicht deine Suppe!” (I’m not your soup.)

First hint: the verb ‘to be’ is one letter away from the verb ‘to eat’

Second hint: “Ich bin ein Berliner” contains that verb ‘to be.’

Here is something I’ve learned along the way that you might not find hopelessly boring: Saxons invaded Britain around 400 C.E. and brought their language with them, including words for meat in German fashion: name of animal + flesh, e.g. Schweinefleisch. Following the Norman Conquest (1066 C.E.) these words removed a layer of complicity, e.g. porc rather than pig meat.

As you may already know, BillZiegler1947 is a teacher by nature and a pedant by dint of character flaw, or something, oder so etwas.

“Hey, Saxony, that’s where the Anglo-Saxons came from.”

Unfortunately pedantry drives me to continue… the English letter “x” stems from the German letters “chs” — ergo die Sachsen (the Saxons). The English word ‘next’ originated with  nächste.(pronounced ‘nexte’). By the way, “Anglo-Saxon” is a bit of a misnomer; unfortunately mistranslations usually stick around forever.

A skin-thin bag of chemicals holds toxin-cleansing organs within and keeps toxins without.

Actually, skin itself is a toxin-excreting organ.

You really are what you eat, what you ingest.

everytime

That great phrasing captures the process quite realistically. The best kept secrets of veganism threaten the bottom lines of trillion-dollar industries. Once you commit to accepting meat as indispensable you impact consumers, jobs and many a staple cooking show. Imagine anyone who would dare foil the overwhelming plans of the respected captains of Meat, Inc. A heritage over many centuries that showcases animal flesh, hide, organs, marbled muscle, und, und, und.

chemical-shit-storm

More later.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Caveat Emptor and Veganism

My posts on post truths continue with the truth of veganism. Look at a meme as it blazes its way into the new news: the fake news, the reality news. The vast majority of US humans are other-than-vegan.

fake-news-invasion

Software marries the thoughts you wish to believe to a clever image. Veracity is totally optional in the new-news era. A faux quote by Einstein or Gandhi or Yoda. Free of the annoyance of truth.

Make it flashy and dashy. Freneticism is voracious. Attention span is short. No time for truth.

Veganism is much more than diet. It’s radical change.

fidel-castro-i-will-not-die-until-america-is-destroyed
Snopes Tested Meme

Advertising unhealthy toxins is not an ethical enterprise. One Earth species is squeezing its fists on billions of non-human species.

Weapon factories and factory-fresh farms are death machines run by that same species. They number 7 billion. They have long lifespans. Twice as many  chickens have a lifespan calculated precisely by the cunning “intelligence” of species numero uno.

But veganism demands something seriously sane of its adherents: a willingness to countenance truth full-on. Truth by unblemished science, pure art and gentle compassion.

Hey Bill, I didn’t kill the cow but now that it is a dead slab between plastic wrap and styrofoam…well it would waste the cow’s life, but prolong mine. Meh. The scriptures of my faith proclaim it wholly holy. Proud people eat tasty animals. Leader of the food chain pack we are — har har. We’re numero uno, so let’s slaughter. Why are vegans so annoying. By the way, you are outnumbered. It’s something called majority rule. Live with it.

“To Serve Man” is a short story by Damon Knight made better known by Rod Serling’s adaptation for his “Twilight Zone.” Misunderstandings matter.

serving-man-billboard-photo

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

Texturized insects as protein and exploitation

I am the proverbial fly on the conference room wall. The topic is climate change: how do we profit from catastrophe. Profit profit über alles, über alles in der Welt.

fly-on-the-wall

Agenda items:

The herbivorous are threats most dangerous in the land of the carnivorous.

A promising opportunity to profitably exploit the human craving system: Feed insects to meat eaters in near future by playing the climate card.

Keep every pipeline fully flowing to fill all shelves. But appear forward-thinking and exciting. Technology sells well. Widen fossil-fuel pipeline paths to permit parallel pipelines for moving bugs to processing nodes. Pump to population centers and employ existing logistical systems.

A fresh idea: suck insects off the swamps that climate change creates. Convert submerged buildings into nesting cells for all manner of swamp-thriving bugs. Purchase real estate at the cheap and use existing food service logistical paths.

profiting-from-climate-change

Sweet secret: we’re going to continue producing meat to satisfy the demand that we expect to continue. A bigger stake in steak if you will. The new insect consuming customers can have their meat and the maggots too. We need risk no jobs/votes from meat cravers.

Never forget politically important States such as Iowa. Meet the meat voter where they eat. Steak, eggs, milk. Meat is forever.

Let me pass this thought for a grub stake. Suggest through advertising that vegans failed to deliver at the marketplace. Vegan diets are passé anyway, tofu = joke, veggie burger = another joke. Vegans will remain the brunt of ridicule, ‘nough said?

It is so wonderful that the fake-news industry grows just as corporations need fake news most.

rollingstone_kochbros_article-335x292

Here’s a bold challenge: devote marketing budgets into fake agencies like the Koch brothers funded in the 2016 political arena. The core idea: guise disinformation and cloak actual information. So, vegans are sickly and poorly informed about the role of meat, egg and dairy for healthy families.

Don’t forget that big lies yield big paychecks and bigger lies yield bigger paychecks. Simple economics.

Fortunately for the fine and decent folk neck deep in fossil-fuel sectors: we will shortly enjoy an administration in D.C. that recognizes the eternal vigor of pyramid schemes — envision the eye atop the pyramid as the eye of Trump. Our president arrives in two months, confidence man incarnate. Con artists never lie.

Now, who is responsible for developing an inauguration ploy: something like reports of 444 day hostages crossing free airspace as Reagan spoke in 1981. A symbolic action portrays a phoenix-bird Trump arising from a failed Obama administration.

its-my-choice-to-be-a-stupid-voter

War has always been peace.

Freedom has always been slavery.

Ignorance has always been strength.

And so, seekers of wealth at any cost: the only thing you have to fear is truth.