Food for thought...

I really need to be more attentive of this site.

Healthy Foods...

We are what we eat - so the saying goes.

Ain't it the truth.

Americans cram pounds of crap down their gullets every day and spend billions trying to get rid of said crap after the fact. We want it fried, dried, fresh or frozen, packed with sugar, racked with salt, high fat, high carb, low fat, low carb, boiled and baked, covered in sauce, bathed in glaze, roasted, toasted, basted, tasted, leftovers wasted, extra foam, no room, skimmed, trimmed, take out the fat, heavy on the cream...three times a day.

We're fat. We're lazy. We love to tell our kids to eat their vegetables then give them a Big Mac 'cause we haven't got time for dinner. Our refridgerators hold six condiments, leftover Chinese, something brown, and a box of baking soda. We haven't a clue.

A single blueberry has all the natural ingredients to save our bacon but we add 2 grams of sugar, 8 grams of fat, dress it up like a work of art, give it a $13.00 price tag and call it dessert.

We give billions of dollars to people to tell us this and make us do something about it. They bend us, break us, pull our muscles, bruise our egos, take us to task, lift that bale, tote that barge, give me $800, now you're in shape.

We live in front of a box of shiny lights that sucks the imagination out of us like a puddle evaporating in the sun. It tells us what crap to buy, what to look for, what is in and what is out. It tells about a new gooey bar of processed sugar and fat that has more unpronouncable ingredients than a medical research project that's just waiting for your gluttonous consumption.

Whole industries have sprung up in the last 50 years that serve no purpose but to fill our arteries with cement. We spend decades of time and millions of dollars to break our bodies down then lament the high cost of fixing them up. No one wants to see to the root of the problem - no, that would be sacrilege. Thou shalt not bite the hand that feeds you this crap. We are a gloriously Capitalist Society and, God willing, will stay that way through every coronary bypass, diabetic coma, liver transplant and 31 flavors of cancer treatments.

And God help us if we run into those who've taken the pledge. Instead of going after the root cause of our food calamity - over-processing - they select certain types of food to rail against. No meat, no fish, no sugar, no milk, no eggs, no carbs, no fat, no dairy, no calories, no way, no how, no left turn, do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

Vegetables are a vital form of food, one that should be on every table at every meal. But so are meat or fish. The answer is not exclusion of food but balance and moderation. We have to re-learn to prepare our own food in a way that's healthy. Make the time to fix your own damn food. Take the time to feed your children what they need. Give them a reason to eat healthier. Fill them full of nothing but sugar and fat and you make them dependant on that crap like an alcoholic. Fast food is a multi-billion dollar industry because we are too damn lazy to cook the good stuff. Convenience has replaced responsibility. Parents would rather spend 30 minutes and $50 on fat, salty crap then spend $20 and an hour to feed their family a healthy meal.

Long ago we sat at the dinner table and ate like families. We prepared the food, set the table, got all the kids together with Mom and Dad and ate as a family. We discussed the day, asked each other about this or that, got kudos for the good stuff, got reamed for the bad; we saw each other as part of something wonderful. If someone was absent, they had their dinner set aside for their return - provided it was an acceptable reason. Screwing around with friends was not a good reason so no dinner was saved. There was a price to pay for missing dinner. No one could raid the fridge for goodies later, dessert was earned by good behavior not provided pro bono.

But we put all that aside. We enrolled our kids in soccer and ballet and baseball and softball and tae kuan do and boy scouts or brownies or any of dozens of other afterschool activities. Not just one though, we signed them up for two or three sports just to keep them busy so we could work longer at the office, see the girls at the club or finalize the sale of the Johnson house. We have to make an appointment to see the kids or our spouses. Every family member is glued to the cell phone or the blackberry, twittering, texting or talking to a spider's web network of other mindless robots, grabbing a quick bite at Mickie D's or Jack in the Box before heading out to the Mall. Even when we finally get back to the homestead, we plop our butts in front of the Shiny Box to watch the latest and greatest dreck ever conceived by demented minds about something called 'reality' that has no connection to the actual word just a distorted play on semantics about worthless pathetic victims of their own greed and gluttony.

We no longer use the dinner table to sit and eat. We use it to organize our bills, put the laptop down to work, or kept nice and clean with place settings of sparkling dishes in stylish colors that will never be obscured by gravy or spaghetti sauce. We eat standing up, staring zombie-like into dead space while talking into an electronic cockroach attached to our ear. Family members with white strings coming out the sides of their heads run in and out of the kitchen oblivious to everything except the sugary sodas in the fridge or the chocolaty sludge bars in the cupboard. Dinner isn't roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans; it's a chili cheese burrito fresh out of the microwave with a Coke and a Ho-Ho.

We talk about change. We talk about doing what's right. We talk, talk, talk, talk until we can't speak any more. But we don't do.

Eat your own food. Drink real water. Buy fresh. Grow it yourself. Let your belly do all the processing. Spend your time with the kids at the park with frisbees, a ball and glove, or a volleyball. Eat dinner at the table then see a movie. The television isn't a lamp. Talk about what's on TV then decide if it's worth turning it on.

Get to know members of your family, I hear they're kinda cool.

Update: I posted this as a diary on the Daily Kos to see what response I would get. It only got about 3 feet from the line of scrimmage... Oh, well. So much for fame and fortune! I'll stick to my own neighborhood for now.

So Mote It Be,
David A.

A Tonic

In November, we won a battle. It had been a long time since we had one of those. But the war rages on. We have the upper hand for now, but the fight isn't over.

Our enemies were not defeated. They only suffered a set back. They will do as we did in 2000 and 2004, step back and regroup. But we can look back at their successes in 2000 and 2004 and see how they came to lose what seemed for a long time, an insurmountable lead.

The country is in a tailspin and we need someone who can pull us out of it in a big freaking hurry. We need a political equivalent of Captain Sullenberger to take the stick and bring us in safely.

We the people, on the other hand, need to take care of our own houses. We can't sit in the La-Z-Boy at home crying over our lost wages, tuning into Lost or Desperate Housewives, while our lives swirl down the shitter. We have to do our part to salvage the legacy our parents and grandparents left for us.

Here are a few of the things we can do:

1. Turn off the TV - Jesus Fucking Christ, this idiot box will be the death of us all. It is only a single form of entertainment, not a replacement for using your brain. If you 're hooked and still need that boob tube fix, here's what you do. Pick your five favorite shows and watch them, TIVO them or whatever. Pick a good time, like 7:30 on Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursday. Watch no more than an hour at a time. Only an hour, two if it's a movie. Make two of your five shows educational (No, Fox News does not qualify) Something from Discovery or the History Channel. If you can't find 5 shows, make it 3 or 2 but not more than five. Be strong, there are other things to do.

2. Do Something Creative - Hobbies, home projects, gardening, anything that involves working with your brain and your hands. For example, I do leather work and I like to garden. When the season is upon us, I will start a small container box garden on the deck of my apartment. The challenge will be to select the right plants for the conditions. Just cruise through my links and you'll find a few folks who'll be more than willing to give you a head start. Here, here, and here for starters. Ask and you will receive. As for leather work, I have to fix the sewing machine so that one is on hiatus. Hand sewing leather bags is hard on the digits. Let me know in the comments what hobbies or activities interest you with links.

3. Get Serious - No shit here. This isn't tin hat conspiracy theory bullshit. Plan for the worst. My friend, Monkeyfister, has lots of ideas and suggestions for becoming self sufficient. The best advise is to get involved in activities that will sustain you and your family through rough weather if it comes right down to it. Stockpile non-perishable food, medicine, drinkable water, simple appliances that do not need external power. If you are qualified and responsible, you may want a firearm. Protecting your family is the idea here if the bottom falls out of the country's political structure. This also works as a hedge against natural disasters. Growing your own food will be a godsend in this case.

4. Get Active - Don't sit on your fucking hands! Let your worthless leaders know how you feel. Call them on the phone. Write them a letter. If you send an email, back it up with a snail mail. Get your neighbors involved too. Join a Meet-up in your area. Connect with people in your city that feel as passionate about this shit as you do. Hold our congress critters' feet to the fire on the Stimulus Bill and any add-ons that come later. The crap that went on the last eight years would not have happened if people had paid attention. Don't rely on the traditional media for your news. Get it from other sources. Compare the stories. Search the Web. Be informed.


There are other things to do. If I missed an important one, let me know and I'll add it to the list. The reality of it is simply that We, the People, need to get off our lazy asses and start being Americans again. My ancestors didn't stop working in the woods to watch Oprah, they didn't whine and snivel about hangnails and boo-boos so they could stay home from work. Shit, most of our ancestors didn't even have weekends. They certainly didn't have vacations. They worked until they died so that their kids could go to school and live a life that was better than theirs. Are we made of the same stuff? Can we be as strong and dedicated as our great grandparents were?

The Boomers are an 'entitlement' generation. They feel that success is their by reason of entitlement. They need not work for it, it must be given up by the previous generation. The work ethic suffered a great injustice. Luckily, it wasn't killed outright. There are those who never really got out of the hole financially. They still worked the farms, in the factories or in the woods hard as before. They never got the good government grants or the great retirement plans. They had to work just as hard as their fore bearers did. Many of us come from those folks.

So there it is. Deal with it. Right now, the Republican Party is doing everything in its power to derail the Stimulus Package for no other reason than it gives Obama a win. They'll trash the country just to keep Obama from being proven right. That borders on treason. And not to be undone, our intrepid Media is following the Repubs every word like a bunch of lovesick teenagers.

Don't get me started on that...

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Wake Up!

Busted Knuckles, over at Ornery Bastard, has a post linking to our buddy, Monkeyfister. He has a post that everyone should read, learn, and heed.

We face a catastrophe of biblical proportions in the next few months. Obama is our best bet in the White House but even he isn't the whole answer. We, as a people, need to take responsibility for our lives.

For eight long, fucked up years, the American People have been fed shit and been told it's apple pie. And we believed it. We kept eating Bush and Cheney's crap and calling it good. Well, no more!

The time to be sheep has passed. The time to be Americans again is now. My ancestors came here with nothing - abso-fucking-lutely nothing. They helped build a country that was second to none. Somewhere, down in our genes, we have the same stuff. Are we brave enough to reach down a pull that shit out? We're in this shit together, folks. You, me, the guy next door, the bum under the freeway bridge - fucking all of us.

The time is here. But now, we sit all warm and fuzzy in our homes, sucking our thumbs waiting for our Powerball numbers to hit.

Fuck that!

Monkeyfister has the goods on what we can do to prepare for the shitstorm that's coming. He's no tin-hat freak, but a good man with a noble purpose. His suggestions should be taken to heart. Scroll down his blog and look at some of his previous posts. Talk about bloggy goodness, this shit'll save your fucking life.

READ AND HEED!

So Mote It Be,
David A.

I've Got a B.A.D. Feeling About This!

Ye Olde Rogue's Gallery of Lesser Blogs and Other Enemies of the Crown
Posted Here For All To See....

These Brigands and Hooligans Are Hereby Deemed Enemies of the Crown Of Blogtopia.
Loiter amongst them at your peril!

David Aquarius' List of Nefarious Blogs

Peachy Green: These young ladies are quite good at letting me know how much of a putz I am for not applying some common green sense to the junk I do every freaking day. Go there, be schooled.

Copper Springs Leather Craft: I dabble in crafting leather bags and purses for friends and fiends. Since moving into a smallish apt. I haven't had the space (nor the will) to get back into the mix. So, I go here to see what creations I can steal from his repertoire. I'm afraid I can't quite match his goods but he has a lot of insight into crafting that I enjoy.

Mekosan and Co.: OK, this is a great blog, concise and fun, written by a short-hair Mexican Chihuahua named Meko. Hey, he's nine times smarter than Limbaugh and lots more lovable than Glenn Beck! I confess, this blog is from a great friend of mine and former roommate. Meko was a rescue pup that we got just shortly before we lost the lease on our house. Due to economic reasons, we parted ways. Who knows, I may post of few pics of Meko on my blog.

A Gardener In Progress: I've always been at ease when my hands were full of dirt and manure. OK, that didn't come out right...Let me rephrase that... I've always loved turning soil, seed and sunshine into real good munchies. My aforementioned friend and former roomie is a horticulturalist and specializes in container gardens. She's amazing! She can create with flowers and plants what Picasso did with paint. Anyway, I travel through Blogtopia (gotta love da Skippy!) looking for bloggy goods to see what I can do now that I'm holed up in a cardboard box apt. I came across Catherine's blog a few days ago and love what I see. It helps that she's in my back yard too. I can see Mt. Rainier from my deck, if I strain over the railing. Check out her blog if you love to see new life springing forth from the good green Mother Earth!

Rawmodel.com: I came across Anthony's blog a few weeks ago as I was trolling around Google. Good looking gent and has a damn good sense of global citizenship. Go there and read about his adventures in Bali and his work in Permaculture. Good stuff, Maynard!

Lots more bloggy goodness to be had if one just takes the time to adventure into the unseen waters of Blogtopia. I've come across angry right wing environmentalists (sorry, can't bring myself to link there), self-absorbed yuppie spawn obsessed with all things Twitter, naked old folks who can't seem to understand what all the fuss about Rush Limbaugh is (Ewww, just ewww, that one was totally by accident!)

In other words, you never know where the next click will take you. Go there, be shocked, but be schooled. After all, it's all about humanity. And you know how freaking nuts we all are!

So Mote It Be,
David A.

Update: I used Lucida Blackletter font for the title, hope you see it that way.

Update deux: Skippy and Jon Swift have kindly given this page a nod. I thank you!

Good Goddess, PETA! Put down the hash pipe!

As a responsible human creature, child of Gaia, and devout Earther; I have to say to PETA:

Get off your fucking high horse, will ya!

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have suggested to the fine folks of Spearfish, SD to change the name of their high school to "Sea Kitten High School". WTF?

Now, I've never been a big fan of sports, especially high school sports. Yes, I was the nerdy kid that always got hassled by the big jocks, that is until they needed to pass general science or mathematics. Then I was their bestest friend. Anyway, I'm not a big booster when it comes to high school sports. Too many parents put way, way too much emphasis on competition, to the point where we have parents rioting in the stands when their kids get called by the officials or make a mistake. But this isn't a rant about sports, its a rant about PETA.

'Sea Kitten"? Oh yeah, that name will strike fear in the heart of every cross-state rival this high school will ever face. "Onward, Sea Kittens! Bury the Tigers! Beat the Eagles! Crush the Vikings! Go Kittens!"

Yeah, that'll work. Why don't you folks sit down and have a nice grass-fed beef steak with mushrooms and a baked potato. Animal fat helps promote brain growth.

Guess what? People need to eat to survive. We eat veggies, animals, and in some cases, insects (urp!). In order to make it day to day, one form of life must consume another form of life. Life into life. Fact of nature. Can't change that no matter how many naked painted women you put in cages.

I respect animal rights groups that use their influence to keep our animal kin from being exploited or killed for bullshit reasons. Tiger penises? Bullshit reason. Swordfish steaks? Too few left to fish, gotta stop and let them repopulate. Shooting quail fresh out of a box with the Vice-President? Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. If you hunt an animal, you eat the animal. Take the game in a way that's sporting and gives the beast a chance to get away if you fuck up.

Common fucking sense people, really. Don't like subsistence hunting, don't do it. Turn your energy and resources toward Dick Cheney and his creepy canned hunt bastards. Protect endangered animals that need it, not animals that provide food for the masses. Put your resources toward intelligent management of game availability rather than try to convert everyone to vegetarianism.

Here's the kicker to PETA and their incessant crusade to make everyone a vegan. What is the difference between a cow and a carrot? Sure, one has a face and the other doesn't but they are both alive. They both exist to reproduce and contribute to the grand scheme of the Mother Earth. How do we know a carrot doesn't feel the water as it's being steamed with butter and honey?

Face it. One form of life depends on taking the life from another to survive. Sorry, that's called the Law of Nature and Pamela Anderson can't do anything to change it. Besides, she's having enough trouble with the Law of Gravity. I eat plants and animals to stay alive. I try and make sure that my food didn't get to my plate by less than honorable means and that other forms of life are off the menu due to obvious circumstances. We have brains, we should use them.

And when I shuffle off this mortal coil, my essence will join with that of the Earth Mother. Her children will take sustainence from my remains as I took sustainence from them.

Turnabout is fair play.

So Mote It Be,
David A.