Out Of Body

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When you can barely see but cannot sleep 

When everyone around you makes you feel insane

They’ll be there, they’ll call your name

All your friends and dreams will guide you home and to who you want to be

“Public libraries are such important, lovely places!” Yes but do you GO there. Do you STUDY there. Do you meet friends and get coffee there. Do you borrow the FREE, ZERO SUBSCRIPTION, ZERO TRACKING books, audiobooks, ebooks, and films. Have you checked out their events and schemes. Do you sign up for the low cost courses in ASL or knitting or programming or writing your CV that they probably run. Do you know they probably have myriad of schemes to help low income families. Do you hire their low cost rooms if you need them. Have you joined their social groups. Do you use the FREE COMPUTERS. Do you even know what your library is trying to offer you. Listen, the library shouldn’t just exist for you as a nice idea. That’s why more libraries shut every year

Food, Inc.

Director: Robert Kenner

Film website: http://www.takepart.com/foodinc

Images: google search

To open my mind I decided to watch a documentary per week, the first one was Food Inc. the idea of this documentary was to show the public the truth about the food industry, the truth that is being deliberately hidden from us. Over the past fifty years the industry has changed more than the previous ten thousand, but “the image of our food is still the image of Gregorian America”.

Learning about sustainability, I was taught that you must think about it as a pure solution, meaning it must be socially just, economically just as well as environmental. A product is not sustainable if it is cheap and doesn’t harm the planet, but those who make it are treated poorly or underpaid.

This documentary is broken into related chapters that discuss how this omission of truth is perpetuated throughout the food industry. First in Monopoly of Food you learn the basics of how the assembly line being integrated into the food industry, enabling them to grow and grow into a power, absolute power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

One woman, Carol, works as a chicken farmer for Perdue. Even with open windows, it looks and feels like a concentration camp—thru the screen into my NYC apartment. The chickens are all bocking and running but nowhere to go. But there not running, the rapid growth of their breasts does not match with the normal rate of their bones and internal organs so they can only take a few steps before they collapse.

She talks about her own lack of control—the initial agreement with a company is an “initial investment” into t a chicken house, but then you have to pay for new equipment, upgrades and maintenance as said by the company or lose your contract so you just go deeper and deeper into a financial hole. She feels degraded, Perdue declined to do an interview for this film as many others and ended Carols contract when she refused to “upgrade” to windowless coops. I guess she didn’t want to degrade her chickens.

On the other hand we have Vince, a chicken farmer for Tyson. He comes on before Carol with sweet light country music in the background and more than a bit of hillbilly in his voice. He talks about how the chicken industry saved his neighborhood when the tobacco industry left and proudly shows off the coops of his and local farmers. But what gets me is where his heart is; ““if you could grow a chicken in 49 days why would you want one you gotta grow in three months—more money in your pocket. These chickens never see sunlight, they’re pretty much in the dark all the time”. On screen a message comes up

Vince had offered to show us inside his chicken houses. But after multiple visits by Tyson representatives, he changed his mind

Carol feels degraded, Vince is in the dark.

But it’s not just how the people are treated that is deplorable or how animals are treated beforehand that make them unsafe, it is also how they are processed after. CAFO short for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation deals with both the before and after their death.

The true deplorable outcome is seen with the death of two-year-old Kevin Kowalcyk who died due to as explained to his parents Hemorrhagic E.Coli (you know Hemorrhagic, internal bleeding, like Hemorrhagic fever also known as Ebola) from eating a hamburger contaminated with E.Coli. His mother, Barb, in a meeting with her Colorado State Representative Diana DeGette, tells that while her son was already in the hospital when the plant that processed the hamburger was inspected, it took another 16 days after he died for it to be closed. That delay is inexcusable. Now, Barb is meeting with her representative in her fight for Kevin’s law which would give the USDA back the ability to close down plants that repeatedly failed inspection, a responsibility and job taken away from them when sued by Supreme Beef. In December 2001 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the Agriculture Department does not have the authority to shut down a meat-processing plant that repeatedly failed tests for salmonella contamination. This makes me question that USDA organic stamp of approval, and as Barb says

“we put faith in our government to protect us, and we are not being protected at a most basic level”

The Dollar Menu

I remember seeing this clip in school, and it’s a great additive to see things from a different perspective of understanding the situations of the poor; and a very, very hidden cost of food. Maria Andrea Gonzalez talks for –and she can go on for much longer. She feels guilty, now that she knows that the food is unhealthy for her children and her husband who is very sick and takes many, expensive, medications. But they work hard long hours and she would love to feed her children better. But they can get 5 hamburgers, 2 chicken sandwiches and 3 drinks for $11.48. The pears and broccoli are $0.99 and $1.29  per pound and it won’t feed them. Candy is cheaper, chips are cheaper soda is really cheap and when you only have a dollar to spend to feed your kids—you don’t want them to go hungry. They are not the only ones in their community that are facing these problems, and there’s is not the only community facing these problems. There are people in your community who deal with this too, you included. Maybe you just don’t know

What would you find if you calculated the cost of multiple fast foods, stomach cramps, diabetes, extra health insurance extra tests and so on and so on into your monthly budget of fast food? Would it really be cheap?

In the Grass

Faster fatter bigger cheaper is the mindset of the industrial food industry, not of what process makes healthy, good food. The decisions of what we eat and how what we eat is handled and created is no longer done by farmers, but of corporations that are far from seeing the ugly truth. You can get arrested and fined for taking a picture of a food processing plant, because they want you to be in the dark. If the process, as we saw with Vince from Tyson earlier in the film, was shown the companies know that people would not be happy. The live off omitting the truth, survive off it, profit off it.

You hear a lot about how illegal immigrants take your jobs; but how?

Eduardo Pena, a union organizer, shows how illegal workers of Smithfield Foods slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, North Carolina are taken in the middle of the night with an agreement with immigration to avoid slowing of production by only taking a few each night instead of a big raid. No one arrests anyone Smithfield managers,

“We want to pay the cheapest price for our food, we don’t understand that that comes at a price” these workers have been here for ten to fifteen years, processing your bacon packaging your ham and now they are getting picked up like they are criminals and these companies are making billions of dollars”

Hidden Costs

We dive more into the hidden or displaced costs of our “cheap food” with David Runyon asking the main question

“Is cheapness everything that there is? I mean are we willing to buy the cheapest car?”

He likes where he is, he makes enough to live and supplies the customers that he has, for him if more and more people come well then he’ll see. But he fears that once you “go for that growth” how you see your customers and products and market changes. But that’s for him, a ‘corporate organic’ food company, is not an oxymoron.

I cannot speak for Gary Hirshberg, the CEO of Stonyfield Farm.But starting from scratch, an idealistic background and working on bringing organic to the forefront and not only an option but a preferred option for consumers; to have Walmart knock on your door to hear how you do it and have you two work together so your product can grow more must be a top ten if not the highlight my career so far.

In addition, Tony Airoso, the Chief Dairy Purchaser of Walmart confirms the old thought and expression that the consumers do have the power of the dollar even with the biggest companies and monarchies. They’re going organic, having it as an option because with every scanned product the saw a trend in their customers wanting organic and when they know it’s what their customer’s wants, “it’s really easy to get behind it”

But on the road to change in every battle there are peaks and there are valleys and even if you know nothing about the food industry, going organic, equal rights, the rights of farmers, I’m sure you now the company Monstanto

From Seed to the Supermarket

Here we meet Moe Parr a Seed Cleaner and Troy VP American Corn Growers Association. Both tried to continue their careers, unrelated to Monstanto, but we’re sued anyway. Both gave in, Moe who had spent over 25,000 dollars before even stepping foot inside a court room and Troy who had spent 400,000 was going to have to spend at least another million to go to court settled because they just couldn’t afford it

Another, more famous case not with Monsanto but similar, was when Oprah was sued due to the Veggie (ironic) libel laws when she gave her opinion about not liking a burger by texas cattleman for loss of profit. After six years and nearly one million in litigation she won—but really, who other than Oprah can do that

The food industry fights and fights to not have food labeled as being for foreign countries, as containing GMOs, the calories, so much that we now label things organic. But really think, why should it be labeled organic. A carrot is a carrot unless it’s not, why can’t we assume that a carrot is a carrot. Why isn’t is the other way around?

The documentary ends a few more shocks, but mostly tips and hope for us and the food industry, with “This Land is your Land” playing in the background. Because we do have the power, every conscious buy tells the food industry what we want and if Walmart will change and see’s it profitable to change; then we can get them all to change.

A Little Princess

I first saw A Little Princess (1995 version) probably with my parents around the time of its release. With no film background, I will say, did a great job at ageing the film as I always am surprised to discover that it’s not as old I thought it was (something that has happened repeatedly). While somewhat a romantic, fairy-tale type story the core parts that stick with me are the beauty within the story, particularly when Sarah and Becky are imagining a great feast and the colors of India in the very beginning of the film.

The images created in this film are stunning and completely breathtaking on their own and an amazing job is done using the colors in the fil to show the contrast between what we want our world to be like and what we don’t, the stories are even more real. Yes, the fairy-tale elements of her father remembering her just before she’s about to be arrested (she’s a child but ok), and dramatics of him ending up next door to where she lives, and how regardless of everything she insists on being a kind princess are all good and honorable it is the story of the neighbor that hits the most. Both the bleakest, most realistic, connecting, accurate and somewhat breaking is the father next door who tries to be kind during a war and is grateful for closure when he loses his son and his surrogate son (and in a way granddaughter). I think this is why I saw it with my parents, and so frequently. While there are many stories that accurately portray war, this is one that focuses on being kind in the homefront and probably portrays what they experienced living separated, but closely connected to war and genocide. 

There was no good photo to symbolize the story of the neighbour, but part of the theme of kindness is quoted below

Another unrelated shout-out that connects to a Little Princess to me, shout out to Shirley Temple who will never be bested even by those who manage to get their pets Instagram famous

Whoops—

As we work to improve access, equality of access, and diversity some of us will get there faster than others as some have more pressing matters to focus on. For many young girls, their time is mainly taken up walking miles every day to bring clean water home to their families. For them, having a book that describes their personal story or an ancestral connection is first dependent on whether they were in school long enough to know how to read. Other challenges such as those taken on by Malala Yousafzai, deal with female suppression, war and tyranny and of course children who are currently walking hundreds of miles to escape violence, war and famine. 

Not all have the ability to begin to think about education, our stories and our futures as they can only think of reaching tomorrow. But for those that in the midst of this chaos, there is still hope and those who work to bring books to those who don’t have the ease of going whenever they can.

(1)    https://litreactor.com/columns/the-10-most-unusual-libraries-in-the-world

Best Parties

1.      Benihana Christmas: Season Three, Episode Ten

2.      Launch Party: Season Four, Episode Three

3.      Email Surveillance: Season Two, Episode Nine

4.      Kelly’s day-late birthday party: Lecture Circuit Part One

5.      Dwight Christmas: Season Nine, Episode Nine

6.      Christmas Party: Season Two, Episode Ten

7.      The Dundies: Season Two, Episode One

8.      Booze Cruise: Season Two, Episode Eleven:

9.      Cocktails: Season Three, Episode Seventeen

10.   Season Five, Episode Nine: Frame Toby (Whatever party got Michael to go back to the annex and see that Toby had returned )

Worldly, with, Wonder

 A lot of the public support of libraries is that they are places of great connection, education and comfort that will improve the community. I praise libraries that host book clubs, political discussions, gardening events, work to get children to read; but other times my trek has to do with only myself to find peace in isolation. 

Feeling overwhelmed, lost or uncertain, books and the library can be a peaceful place to rest, decompress and wait to come back to the world. In addition to being a community resource, libraries are one of the few places where quiet peacefulness is put as a higher priority than usual; children may be in a separate area and aren’t criticized for being too loud but gently reminded. Here, where you may easily allow yourself to detach from notifications and screens, you can let your brain recharge and breathe peacefully, letting the stories of others wash over and take you away

The Office (US)

It is the end of the year and the end of an era. The Office (US) series is about to leave Netflix, and along with spending time with our families during this global pandemic in the US this is also the time of more “traditional” family time. 

Whether to get through spending this time with your family or celebrating with them, you still have time to rewatch the series without too much strain. Watching just two to three hours a night you can relive all 201 episodes and nine fabulous years of The Office by the end of the year.

Today, with only a six-episode long Season 1 you’d jump into Season 2 tomorrow, get to Pam and Jim’s first kiss this Sunday night, cheer up the middle of your week with Season’s 3 Christmas party battle, see Ryan’s promotion with the beginning of Season 4 on Friday December 4th, meet Holly Sunday December 6th with the start of Season 5, visit Niagra that Friday in the beginning of Season 6, see Michael off the following week towards the end of Season 7 and seeing Andy as new manager for the beginning of Season 8 starting December 19th. As you continue with this routine the last chunk of special, longer episode you can watch all Christmas Day or spread out them out for the remainder of the year. 

Whether this will just be another journey into The Office (US) or a long-embraced farewell you can still enjoy all the camera looks, romantic couple moments, friendship moments, awkward moments, parties, pranks, one-liners, office-colleague and coworker moments, advice, interviews, conference room meetings, “that’s what she said” jokes, introduction sequences, ending sequences, and lingering questions of Jim, Pam, Dwight, Michael, Holly, Jan, Andy, Stanley, Phyllis, Kevin, Meredith, Creed, Oscar, Angela, Ryan, Kelly, Toby, Gabe, Darryl, Erin, David Wallace, Charles Miner, Nellie Bertram, Robert California, Roy, Karen, Pete, Clark, Val and Todd Packer

Thank you, and Cherrio!

Cyclists are so annoying because they expect to be treated as road vehicles as well as pedestrians.

Lavender Brown

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

While some may adore this holiday, others find it grotesque, so to honour both the day and the feelings everyone relates to it (both good and bad) today is the perfect day to relate and explore Lavender Brown

Lavender Brown was just so god-damn annoying. I hated her, I still hate her, rewatching and rereading I still hate her and while for some it might be because she was “between Hermione and Ron getting together”--Lavender wasn’t, Ron was; there isn’t that level of dislike for Victor Krum, because he’s not a pain in the ass. In class we saw her barely paying attention or whining (you’re learning MAGIC girl, focus!), was very overdramatic, gullible and influenced (relationship with Trelawney), didn’t trust Harry or Dumbledore about Voldemort, infatuated with Lockhart (weird, that’s what they have in common) and Trelawny, had no independce or confidence and for us who had been growing up with Hermione, Lavender was always a contrast (and a bit of a bully to Hermione) and we just saw more of what we didn’t always like about her in Year Six. With Ron she’s in that (and from what we feel would always be) someone who is having their first boyfriend/girlfriend, OMG I totally love you even though it’s only been 3 days, we’re going to get married, live happily ever after, middle school romance...but at 16/17, and incredibly one-sided. Would they have lasted forever? No, from the beginning it was clear, to those he told, that Ron was more about being in a relationship than the relationship itself (yeah, asshole move). And, while Lavender was right that there was something going on between Ron and Hermione, it wasn’t right to act on it as 1) they weren’t acting any differently than they used to and 2) no romantic relationship should replace any friendships. Yes, over time people split up, but as an ultimatum, it’s the first step of the romantic relationships quick demise (and true with friendships where one tries to rid other friendships). She was just a whiny, petty, privileged American, ugh. 

Now, what did we learn? Regardless of her judgement and attitude she joined Dumbledore’s Army and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, reminding us that everyone has layers. She also was a great friend to Seamus and Pavarti. Who knows, maybe had Harry, Ron and Hermione not been constantly busy saving the universe they would have all been friends, or at least friendlier and found they had more in common than we thought because we know a lot about Lavender’s annoying traits and her personality, but little else because it was easier to see her more dramatic side. So, Lavender Brown, you do remind us that not everyone is the same, not everyone will get along, not everyone is going to best your very best friend but that everyone still deserves respect, understanding and compassion