*DISCLAIMER: CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE*

I love this video for a few reasons.

A) It’s hilarious

B) It tells it how it is. Even if you don’t like some of the notions/messages/concepts/etc.. about Christmas, the holidays, or other things you still gotta show respect and be grateful.

C) It talks about supporting local, and supporting each other. It’s so true that where you spend your money you’re casting a vote. Do you want a local store to survive, or an online retail conglomerate? Keep that in mind as you’re shopping this holiday season.

So on that note go support a creative mind/struggling artist while you’re at it and check out his single at iTunes. What else were you going to do with that dollar?

Ever since the passing of the law back in April cities, states, countries, and musical groups have boycotted the state due to their government’s passing of racially intolerant laws. Sadly this world is run by capitalism, and this backlash is a perfect example that the only way we can truly make change is through our spending habits and/or boycotting of certain products and businesses. Studies like this give me hope that change can occur if we keep the public and consumers educated about the events happening around them.

So suck it Arizona. You’re a beautiful state- one of my favorite really. But your leadership sucks.

My friend returned and grabbed her coffee. She then said, “My brother has a theory. That a dollar means a lot more to him than it does to me. And if he decides to use it on drugs or alcohol that’s on him.” This made a lot of sense to me- in that way that you have always witnessed a sunset, but never quite knew why it set. Then you take that astronomy class and discover that the earth rotates around the axis, causing the sun to dip in and out of view. It all makes perfect sense, yet was right in front of you.

Today is Thanksgiving. A day where we give thanks to those we love, and I know that I have so so much to be thankful for. The last few years of my life have been a bit up and down. Moves, heart aches, shifting my career/life into new directions. But along the entire way I can’t help but look back and be so gloriously thankful for everything I have in life- my friends, my family,  my health, and the freedom to a life I dictate. I know there are people out there who are so much more worse off than I am. There are people out there who worry about getting enough food for their family, people who are under constant threats of violence or sexual abuse, people who are terminally ill, people who don’t have the freedom to live and express themselves due to political or religious restraints. I am fortunate to have been born into the life I have been. I recognize that. And I am truly thankful.

But the question is what do we do with that gratitude? We gather our loved ones around the table tonight, but somewhere out there is someone less fortunate. Someone who doesn’t have a family to gather with, who doesn’t have any food to eat, and who can’t even afford a table. I do recognize these things, and I realize its time to start giving back. To share the great luck you’ve been born into. I truly want to leave this world a better place. And as much fun as I have galavanting around the world I know I have still left many lives untouched, and there is still so much good I can and should do. I recognize this, and in my long term goals it is something I want to do. I’m just trying to figure how. And I think we all can.

During these tough times where we’re all cinching down purse strings and trying to be more frugal it’s easy to forget that the dollar we’re saving can help someone else out so much more than ourselves.

Picture from Snowpocalypse ’08

Today was a real treat for me. It was a real treat to all Seattlites actually. It snowed, well, a few flakes fell from the sky at least.

Maybe it wasn’t a winter like the one I had last year in Telluride, but for having skipped one of my favorite seasons for the past three out of four years it was wonderful. I loved walking outside and having the cold on my face. My cheeks ruddied from winter. The seasons are finally turning, and on clear days you can see the snow in the mountains. Crystal and Baker opened up this last weekend, and I’ll be skiing in Taos by the end of the week.

Between watching Warren Miller’s Wintervention and beginning my pre-season leg work-outs I can smell the ski season upon me. And I’m excited.

Yesterday I was driving home from school and noticed the sign on McDonald’s announcing: “The McRib is back!”. I don’t watch TV anymore, so without proper brainwashing from the media I had almost completely forgotten about an article I read awhile back announcing the return of the sandwich to all nationwide restaurants across the nation. Apparently this is the first time in 16 years that the McRib sandwich will be available nation-wide. And after some brief research on the topic I was shocked to see just how fascinating[ly boring] the history of the McRib is.

According to wikipedia, the sandwich was introduced to the McDonald’s menu in 1981, but removed in 1985 after poor sales (except for Germany, where it sold well and is a permanent menu item). It was then intermittently brought back at random restaurants in limited release. Then in 1994 it once again saw promotional nation-wide release in conjunction with The Flintstones movie. This move was only limited, and was soon after removed from the national menu. Then in November, 2005, McDonald’s launched an ingenious marketing campaign claiming that the McRib was going to be permanently removed from the menu. They simultaneously launched this “Farewell Tour” with a petition to save the sandwich. This petition was backed by the fictitious BPFAA (Boneless Pig Farmers of America Association). Wait, it gets better. In October 2006 they released the “Farewell Tour II”, admitting the entire marketing campaign was a ploy. This was then followed by a third and fourth “Farewell” tour in October 2007 and October 2007 respectively. And now from early November to December 5th, 2010 the McRib is back nation-wide.

And thanks to this genius marketing the sandwich has taken up mythical proportions. Its limited availability has created a cult fan-base. A fan-base that’s so hungry for sauce smothered pork that it uses technology to hunt down the fantastical sandwich. The  ”McRib Locator” website offers addicts a tool that can help them locate the nearest McDonald’s offering the McRib. Sound ridiculous? Some fast-foodies are willing to drive up to up to 10 hours for their fix. And since the McRib’s return it has trended on the internet like never before. It has even appeared as a talking topic in legitimate news sources like the Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. The sandwich has also been lampooned by the Simpson’s- and you know you’ve made it big if you’re on the Simpsons. Indeed the sandwich has become more urban legend than edible object. And in truth the stories, the blog entries, and the pop-references will last much longer in the people’s mind than the sandwich will last in the people’s digestive tracts (much much longer for the record).

So what about the sandwich itself? Well, I hate to admit it, but I was morbidly curious and decided to commit hare-kari on my digestive tract by ordering one of those molded meat monstrosities. Granted I’ve been eating much healthier recently (cutting down on meats, cutting out preserved foods, and eating more vegetables- pretty much the opposite of the McRib) so right from the start my stomach didn’t love the experience. But stomach twitches aside, the taste was ‘meh’. It was a sub-par composite of meat covered with a barbecue-like sauce (sure, I guess you could say it was tangy. Although adjectives make it sound much fancier than it really is). I thought the raw onions over powered the taste a bit, but the pickles offered a nice counter note to the flavor. Overall not my best gastronomical experience ever. The way I feel about the McRib is the same way I feel about Peeps. Peeps are unavailable all year-round. Then at Easter you see them on the counters and buy them up, only to eat one at home and suddenly remember how completely sub-par (read: awful) they are.

In conclusion: the McRib sandwich is better to be consumed through pop-culture conversation than through the stomach.

First let me give you a brief summary of how plant pollination works. Plant ‘A’ acts as the male, and creates sticky pollen at the end of its stamen. Using a combination of fragrance, nectar, and color they lure in pollinators to be covered in pollen. Meanwhile Plant ‘B’ is acts as the female, and makes “her” pistil sticky so that it can receive the pollen when the above said pollinator flies over to “her” to receive its nectar. And that’s it, the birds and the bees of plant sex.

Of course some plants need to be more creative in luring a pollinator. Consider a special type of orchid found in Europe. It tricks male bees into thinking it’s a female bee, and then clandestinely attaches it’s pollen while the bee is trying to get it on. Check out the video below:

This is fascinating to me. Firstly, we all think flowers are these innocent things placed here for our aesthetic enjoyment- little did we know they are really deceitful and conniving. Secondly, I think it’s astonishing that this flower figured out the behaviors and aesthetics bees, and that it’s able to mimic it so competently.

Nature is a marvelous thing.

Having last drinks with a fellow artist and friend of mine before left I was discussing this dilemma with him. How I felt like I was giving up. How I felt that Hollywood had defeated me. He responded by telling me that if you’re a creative person you will be creative no matter what area you fall in. Whether it’s with words, photography, sound, or paint. That made me feel better.

So here I am now with a new palette. I’m still trying to find ways to stay creative with words and pictures, but I’ve also found a new palette that I can work on perfecting- plants.

I’m currently studying plants at a Horticulture program, and I’m absolutely loving it. I love the fact that I’ll be able to work with nature, and I love that at the end of the day I will be adding more green space into this world as opposed to bad television/entertainment. I’m learning which plants to use for foliage, for flowers, for berries, and which for fragrance. I’m learning what helps plants grow, and which plants grow too quickly. I love that at the end of the day I have valuable information to use in my day to day life as well. I love that I can use my knowledge to propagate plants for my friends, to grown my own garden, and to be able to identify plants on hikes.

A large part of why I wanted to get into the film industry was because I felt like I was carrying a lineage of some sorts. My Father was in the industry, and my Grandfather before him. Educational videos, but the film industry none-the-less. But at my Grandfather’s memorial two years ago I was able to hear stories about his love of plants. He was a naturalist at heart. The son of a pig farmer who later was a professor of husbandry at Penn state. Community members told how he would clear areas of the forest and plant fields blue berries- a gift that still gives today. They told stories how he could walk through the woods and name every single plant. And before he passed away he paid for large landscape renovations around the nursing home, adding nature trails, and a clean pond for other residents to enjoy. So even though I’ve given up on the film industry (for now) I do smile when I think of my Grandfather and his talents, and think that somehow his love of nature has been passed down to me.

It’s strange heading into a new direction after placing a small chunk of my life in the wrong direction. But I feel good on this new journey. I’m happier and more excited about studying this subject. More than I have been in awhile. I’m still figuring out which direction I’m taking it, but I do know that it’s wonderful to begin to be working with a palette that is as diverse, natural, and as beautiful as plants.

Back in April Arizona passed a law that allows the police forces in Arizona to stop people who look like illegal immigrants, and have the right to detain and lock up anyone who is unable to show proof of legal entry into the United States. This means anyone that looks like an illegeal immigrant. As you can guess the passing of the law sent the country into a furor. It led to boycotts of Arizona, discord between neighboring states, and even anger internationally.

There is no doubt this law is an abhorred crime against civil rights, but now it’s shown that this law gets even uglier. It turns out that the lobbyists who pushed for this law work for private prisons companies. Click here to hear the NPR piece.

It makes me so mad to see that once again greed is the thing enabling human beings to treat other human beings so poorly. I’m a proponent of a free market economy, but never at the cost of human rights.

I don’t often share or like mass emails, but  a friend of mine recently sent me a very well written and poignant one that she received. It was inspiring, and had a very powerful message:. it doesn’t matter what your political views are, or which candidate you’re supporting, what matters most is that you vote period. He makes a wonderful point that many people on this earth don’t have the right to vote for their leaders. We’re so lucky to have that right, and we need to support it by voting.

I will add one thing though. It’s important to be an educated voter. I think it’s better to leave an answer blank than to pick a candidate at random. So be sure to research using materials sent to you by your state, websites like votesmart.org, or simply ask your friends who they’re voting for.

Anyhow, click below to check out the email. A very inspiring read. 

~•~

Greetings!  You are receiving this email by virtue of being an

“under-30″ (or close) friend or acquaintance in my email address book.
As some of you know, I traditionally send out an inspirational (or
maybe just irritating?)  ”Go Vote” message at election time.  That’s
because statistics show that younger voters are the least likely to
vote and most under-represented people at the polls, even though they
have more FUTURE at stake than all the rest of us.  News reports
predict that the notable upsurge in under-30 voting and participation
(attributed at least in part to enthusiasm about Obama 2 years ago)
has now waned and many of those people will not go back to the polls:
PROVE THEM WRONG!

The economy is a mess and people are discouraged — but all the more
reason to vote — and don’t just “vote angry” — “vote smart”.

Yes, I have my opinions — and if you are interested in them scroll
down to the P.S.  below the following message.  But the primary
purpose of this is NOT to twist your arm about who to vote for —  I
respect everyone’s right to make their own decisions — but to remind
you (and all of us) how important it is TO VOTE.

I’m a cynic from way back, but the one time every couple years I get a
definite patriotic tingle is when I walk to the middle school just a
few blocks down the street (I feel more virtuous if I walk) to
exercise my right to participate in choosing the people who will lead
the nation and state in which I live.  People even younger than you
have died on foreign shores and given their lives to defend my right
to do this.  Civil rights activists in the South in the 50′s and 60′s
risked lynching by the Klan to defend the right of my fellow citizens
to do this.  In 1994, eighty year old black women in South Africa
stood in line in the sun for ten hours to have the opportunity to do
this for the first time in their life.   This is one of the most basic
human rights.

Because people like these have risked their lives, you don’t have to
risk anything.  All you have to do is show up.

Yes democratic elections are a mess.   Sometimes the candidates are
mediocre,  the level of public discourse is abysmal, the commercials
are nauseating, big money corrupts the process, and the entire
enterprise is in need of massive reform.  Nevertheless, the
candidates, the speechwriters, the spin doctors, the ad writers and
the big bucks contributors don’t get to walk behind the curtain with
you — you go there alone.  You get to choose.  You have the last
word.

This country, for all its many flaws, has continually shown a capacity
to correct itself and improve itself — to bring the ideals the
founders appealed to years ago closer and closer to reality — to make
democracy more inclusive.  But you can’t be included if you don’t
exercise the rights you have been given.  What the soldiers at
Gettysburg did for us, what the suffragettes who marched did for us,
what the Marines who died on D-Day did for us, what the civil rights
workers who died did for us — it’s all an empty sacrifice if you
don’t use the right that was purchased with other people’s sweat and
blood.
Change the statistics — catch the habit — welcome to the process –
we need you — GO VOTE .”

If it’s before Tuesday and you don’t know where or how to vote on
Tuesday, google the words  “secretary of state minnesota voting” (or
replace minnesota by the name of the state you are in)  and that
should enable you to find what you need to know.

If it is Tuesday and you haven’t voted yet  GO NOW  If you’ve already
voted by absentee ballot,  THANK-YOU.

Educate yourself and then  GO VOTE .       Tell your friends to
educate themselves and encourage them to GO VOTE .

Consider forwarding this email to friends who need to hear it.

Welcome to your citizenship!   Use it well.

In an interview on NPR the creator, head writer Joey Mazzarino, describes how he wrote the song for his daughter who’s adopted from Ethiopia. Having two white parents she was going through an identity crisis with her hair. She wanted flowing “white” person hair, and asked her parents why she was so different. A month or so later he discovered the issue affected more than just African-American children with white parents, it affected most of the black youth in general. He discovered this when he watched a documentary by comedian Chris Rock called Good Hair. So as a result Joey wrote the song, containing lyrics that were lessons and things he wanted to say to his daughter.

I think it’s great that Sesame street is dealing with identity issues in its show. Arguably much more important than the difference between near and far. Check out the video below: