New Year's Resolutions and Contest

So everyone, there aren't necessarily a ton of things that I've resolved to do this year. I don't want to just have an ever-growing list of things that I'll never do just because I've resolved to do them. I don't really have any health resolutions. I mean, I'm already vegan. What else is there? I guess I could theoretically resolve to stop cheating my gluten-free diet, but I don't really have an ethical problem with gluten, and they make magic pills that can help you digest gluten occasionally.

I have resolved to post more on this blog, especially Vegan College Cookbook reviews, which I guess could be food-related, and thus health-related, but that's really a stretch. But I got a seriously nicer camera for Christmas, so the photo quality on this blog should be improving! YAY! I have also resolved to be more active for the causes and charities I care about, especially animal welfare. But I guess because everyone needs one resolution that they don't mind not keeping, I also resolve to keep my room cleaner. Ha ha ha! Oh, that's a good one. So, that's not an exhaustive list of my resolutions, but too many of them would require context explanations that it's not worth bothering to mention them.

I hope you've made some resolutions that you plan on keeping. Though, as a tip, make them realistic. For example, I would not resolve to be the #1 Pop star in America by the end of the year. First of all, pop isn't even my favorite genre. Like, at all. But that's beside the point. However, I also wouldn't make them so boring or non-specific that they're not motivational, such as resolving to be "a better person" or resolving to smell more flowers. Unless of course, that's your thing. And then, by all means, smell away. I hope you're not allergic to pollen. Basically, make sure it's something that can be accomplished to your satisfaction. If you're really not sure what you want to resolve, but you want to resolve SOMETHING, here's a list of suggestions:

• Plant a new tree or shrub by the end of the year.
• You can buy a tree already sprouted (as long as you have permission from the powers that be,) or if you're up for a bigger challenge, try starting out all the way from a seed. Avocados are a good choice if you aren't sure what to go with. First of all, you can make yourself some yummy guacamole to get the pit to start out with. Second, the plants themselves are very pretty.
•  Plant a veggie garden.
• The best part about planting your own garden is picking what veggies you want to grow. Then you get really inexpensive, fresh food once it's grown. If you don't really have a yard to plant a garden in, like if you live in a dorm or apartment, or maybe your parents don't want you to dig up their nicely manicured lawn, you can plant window-box gardens, or potted plants. Those are great for smaller plants or herbs. I'd recommend rosemary and basil if you're not sure what to go with, but you want something small.
• Complete 5 Actions per month at Peta2.
• This one is really easy because the people over at PETA have already dome the hard work for you by making posters, collecting email addresses and researching the details, etc. Plus, you earn points by doing all those things and you can get yourself free stuff with the points. Who doesn't love free stuff?
• Go Cruelty-Free!
• Maybe you already only EAT vegan, but you haven't made the switch with cosmetics, clothes, etc. There are so many great brands of cruelty-free products, and many of them are really affordable. 
• Go Vegan!
• If you haven't already done this one, it really has never been easier. There are so many recipes out there thanks to the internet, and veganizing existing recipes is also super-simple with the amazing options that are out there.
• Go Vegetarian!
• If for some reason, you can't go vegan yet, or would prefer to make the switch more gradually, this is a good baby step. Again, it's never been easier!  
• Go Organic!
• This one can be a bit pricey. But it's certainly more healthful than eating junk food. Though I guess they do make organic "junk" food. Eh. Whatever. Aldis and Costco have a surprising amount of organic options, which are inexpensive.
• Convince your Family / Friends to do Meatless Mondays.
• Maybe they won't go 100% vegan or even vegetarian. But there are a lot of doctors and specialists saying that giving up meat at least 1 day a week has a ton of health benefits. This might mean that you have to cook diner once a week, but I'm sure you've got some ideas that you're dying to try, right?
• Try one new vegan recipe per month.
• This could involve a bit of pre-planning, but trying new things can be a lot of fun, and if you have the Vegan College Cookbook, it can be really affordable too. 
• Stay Positive / Be Thankful.
• The holidays are coming to a close, and it's easy to get out of the habit of being thankful for small things in life, and to take the things you have for granted. One thing that I have found helpful is to get a notebook or journal and write down things that I'm thankful for / happy about. For example, a friend of mine recently had been struggling with depression, and I encouraged him to write down 5 things a day to be thankful for. You can write more or less things, and do it as frequently as you'd like. If 5 things a day is too much, you could do 3 things a day, or 5 things twice a week. The important thing is not to quit when you forget a day. Even if you forget a week. If you're ever feeling down or discouraged, read back through the things you've written, and you're likely to feel a lot better. Everyone I've ever gotten to do this has found it extremely helpful.

If you have any other good ideas for general resolutions you'd like to share, please leave a comment! I'd love to hear what you have to say.

So, whatever you've resolved, here is a motivational picture.

This is my cat, C3PO, who I adopted from my local animal shelter. He had already had one leg amputated when I found him, but he gets along without it pretty well, even if he looks kind of ridiculous when he runs. Anyway, the other day, he climbed on top of our giant old TV that was given away, and was acting like he had achieved the most amazing accomplishment possible. It was pretty much adoreable. This was just an excuse to post a picture of my cat.

Alright. So here's the contest part:

First, you must follow this blog by at least one method if you do not already. Next, using the contact form located in the right sidebar, send me your name and email address, and at least 1 activism-related resolution. The winner will be randomly selected by computer, but if your resolution is just "I resolve to be more active" or something like that, then you won't qualify. And trust me. You want to win. Why? Because here's what the winner gets (approximately $25 value):

•  2 stickers from Sevenly, a company which funds a huge variety of humanitarian organizations by selling super-cool shirts and other apparel
• 3 magnets made from Sevenly stickers that are great for lockers or mini-fridges
• 15 magnets made from PETA stickers that are also great for lockers or mini-fridges. 
• 1 customized bracelet made by me. You choose colors and specify size. The bracelet will appear similar to this one in my web store, only it will say "ACTIVIST" instead of a name. 
• The winner will also be featured on this blog with a photo, short biographical description, and their resolution. (The winner will be contacted for the photo and description, as well as the details of the bracelet after being selected. This will act as a conformation method.)

All entries must be received before February 1st 2014. There also must be more than 10 qualifying entries, or the contest will be canceled. If there are a large number of participants, I may add runner-up places with smaller but still awesome prizes. In the event of cancellation, a consolation prize will be available to any participants. I reserve the right to change the rules and awards at any time. I'm sorry if you don't think the prizes are cool. I'm a poor college student, remember?

Happy New Year, Everyone! Good luck! Feel free to comment and tell me what a great idea this is. Tell all your friends about this contest and encourage them to enter as well! Who knows. Maybe they'll share with you if they win.

*************** UPDATE: CONTEST IS CLOSED.

CTTVCC: Thai Takeout (Hold the Takeout)

I apologize in advance for posting today's review so late in the day. Today's recipe is on page 78 of TVCC. This recipe was pretty tasty, though, I think you need a veggie like (frozen) broccoli or something to go with it. It was also a bit unclear with the amount of rice you need because it doesn't specify if the amount of rice measured should be cooked or uncooked. If it's supposed to be measured before cooking, I would recommend cutting the recipe in half unless you're sharing. I think it would probably work better with a cup of cooked rice, unless you were going to make a bit more of the sauce.

The recipe calls for:

• 1 cup rice
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

For the rice, I used Della Basmati Brown Rice. I measured a cup of uncooked rice when I made mine.

I used PB2 powdered peanut butter because it has fewer calories and significantly less fat than normal peanut butter. All you have to do is add water to the powder to use it just like regular peanut butter.

Instead of regular soy sauce, which has gluten in it, (Why? I have no idea.) I used Bragg Liquid Aminos soy sauce. It's gluten-free and is supposed to have more protein in it than the regular stuff. It tastes just like regular soy sauce, in my opinion. I must say though, The packaging looks like it hasn't been redesigned since the 90s. Just saying.

 

Here is what the peanut butter and soy sauce looked like mixed together:

Here is the finished rice:

So, I'm not sure if this turned out like it was supposed to because of the whole not clear about the rice amounts thing. I would love it anyone who makes this recipe leaves a comment and tells me how you made it and how it turned out. Did you cook a bunch of rice and then measure out a cup of the cooked rice? Did you measure a cup of dry rice and then cook it? Really. I would love to know your opinions!

Cutest Vegan Alive Contest

Hi everyone!

I'm entered in Peta2's Cutest Vegan Alive Contest for 2013! Whoever wins gets a free photo shoot and the chance to be on an ad for peta2. Which I would absolutely LOVE to do. Anyway, please vote for me! I'm kind of losing really badly. You have to enter an email address to confirm that it's not the same person voting over and over again, but if you don't want to receive emails from them, you can unsubscribe right away.

Anyways, this is me begging you to vote for me:

Are my begging eyes good enough? (Sadly I didn't use this picture for the contest. Next year! Next year.)

Thank you all so much for reading, and voting, and being awesome people!
Much Loves,
Kerry Aileen

Purple Carrots for Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone!
I didn't realize they existed, but look what I found in my local organic grocery store. . . Speaking of earth. Isn't that cool? I mean, I knew Indian corn comes in different colors, but I had no idea that carrots could be multicolored. Veggies are so cool!

To All You Cat Fans

A friend of mine sent me an interesting infographic/story about cats. . . and kitty litter. . . that was really rather fascinating! There were a lot of things I didn't know about in this brief history of cat litter, and being a cat owner, I am very thnankful that my house isn't covered in poo and ashes. WHAT? Yeah. Read this article, and then come back here, and tell me what you thought of it! Not exactly sure if it's violating copyright laws to post the actual image, so it might not stay forever. But the link will stll be there. If you like it, like it on their actual page too.



The site that this was published by looks like a site I could easily get sucked into. Forever.

Sorry for the super-short post. And the fact that I haven't been posting as frequently. School. It has kept me busy. But I've got several posts half-finished and up my sleeve, and that includes stuff about food. (I know that's all you guys really care about. I see through your ruses.)

Ditch Dairy

Enough Said. This infographic thoroughly disgusted me. Seriously, this covers all the pro-dairy arguments I've ever come across. I'd say this is pretty convincing. Who ever made this is pure genius. This has a creative commons license, so you can share it with all your friends and family who haven't cut milk out of their diets. The best part of getting rid of milk is the substitutions you can use. There is such an amazing variety of substitution products. I will be posting about my favorite dairy substitutes soon.

Any Comments? Thoughts? Leave a comment!

Quick, Good-For-You Breakfast

It's been awhile since I've posted much of anything, but here's an original recipe that's cheap, vegan, and allergy friendly. No gluten, soy, corn, peanuts, etc. Now, before you turn your nose up at oatmeal for being boring, old-people food, let me tell you this is one of my favorite morning recipes. So yes. Oatmeal.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of oats
1 tablespoon of milled flaxseed
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
8 oz of very strong brewed tea (flavor variable)
Sweetner to taste (typically 1 packet of 0 calorie stevia sweetner)

Instructions: mix all dry ingredients together in a microwavable bowl. Add tea to bowl, and microwave for 1 minute to 1 minute and 30 seconds. Stir and allow oatmeal to cool enough to eat. Enjoy!

Nearly all of the ingredients can be bought in bulk. Oatmeal, flaxseed, cinnamon, and sweetners can be purchased at stores like Costco. Oats and flaxseed can be bought in bulk from specialty grocery stores. Buying larger quantities reduces the cost significantly.

The oatmeal base has fiber and protein, flaxseed has protein and omega-3, cinnamon has Antioxidants, and tea has vitamins and caffeine in addition to Antioxidants. All of these are essential to a balanced diet and help kick start your day.

Now, my favorite part about this recipe is how variable you can make it. The variation is in the tea. Using a variety of flavors helps to keep this basic food from getting boring. I prefer to steep my tea overnight for oatmeal to get the maximum amount of flavor from the tea. Because it is a morning food, I would suggest black tea because it contains more caffeine than other blends. Some of my favorite teas to make oatmeal with are black chai, black apple chai, black vanilla chai, morning thunder (a black matcha tea,) black Madagascar vanilla, nutcracker sweet (a holiday tea,) and orange black teas. Other non-black teas that are good include sugar cookie sleigh ride (a holiday tea,) green chai, green tea with red Antioxidants (strawberry and orange,) spiced apple herbal tea, raspberry herbal tea and others.

The best part of this easy breakfast is that it is filling; high in protein and fiber; omega-3 rich; full of caffeine, vitamins, and Antioxidants (depending on the tea you use;) and only 100 Calories!

Fur Fight

I don't know who made this picture. A friend of mine emailed it to me a while ago. However, the message is still true. I have never been a big fan of wearing fur, leather, or any other animal products. I hardly even wear faux fur, or faux leather. I try to avoid the appearance of evil, so to speak. 

Not all people share my views on wearing animal products, especially certain celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, (The Trollsen Twins, as Peta2 dubs them,) and don't even get me started on Lady Gaga's notorious Meat Dress and other cruel fashion atrocities! 

People need to understand that these beautiful animals actually have to DIE for them to wear fur. Now, some people wouldn't be phased by that, in which case, they may have some deeper problems to deal with. Some people just don't really think about it enough. I know that when I was very little, I thought that wearing fur just meant that the animals would be running abound nekkid. Of course, I understood that it was mean to take their fur away, but it didn't really occur to me that the skin comes with the fur, and that the animals die when people take it. 

Let's raise awareness and spread the message that only beautiful animals, and ugly people wear fur. Share, and upload this image to your social networks to help keep people from making fashion a faux-pas!

Lemony Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake Recipe

This is my second eggnog recipe in one week. I don't know if that's enough to count as a streak, but here it goes. Earlier today, I was browsing the boards at Peta2 and I stumbled across this post which had a link for vegan eggnog cheesecake at the bottom of it. 

Now before I went vegan, I was an absolute sucker for cheesecake. I started making them for any celebration or excuse I could find, and people started ordering them from me and I was making some pretty good cash. I stopped making them as much when I found out I am lactose intolerant. Then when I went vegan, I stopped making them altogether. That was one thing that I did kind of miss, though I got used to no cheesecake pretty fast. It didn't occur to me until recently that I could make vegan cheesecakes with vegan cream cheese! However, I haven't really had the time, so this vegan cheesecake is the first one I have ever made! I'm pretty excited about it. SO excited, in fact, that I forgot to take any pictures as I was going.

So, the recipe at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen called for a pre-made graham cracker pie crust or an oatmeal pie crust that she has a separate recipe for. I'm not a big fan of oatmeal stuffs, and my past cheesecake-making days told me I could do way better than a pre-made graham cracker crust. Now, my sisters are girl scouts, and they always get more cookies then they can sell, so we have plenty sitting around the house, and since the recipe also calls for lemon juice, I figured I could make a crust with Lemonades Girl Scout Cookies, which are vegan. (And delicious.) 

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 - 2 boxes of Lemonades Girl Scout Cookies (Thanks-a-Lot Girl Scout Cookies work too if you want chocolate instead of lemon, or you could use any other 8.5 oz package of crunchy vegan cookies, preferably a relatively plain cookie, or it will distract from the flavor of the cheesecake.)
• 6-7 tablespoons of vegan butter (Earth Balance brand works well.)

To Make The Crust:

• Empty a box and a half of the cookies into a gallon zip-lock bag and zip the bag shut. If you prefer thicker or higher crust use the entire second box. 
• Use a rolling pin, tenderizer, large baking spoon or whatever large hard-to-break kitchen utensil you can find, and take out all of your days frustrations on those cookies! Beat the cookies with your utensil of choice, until the crumbs are finely crushed. 
• Empty the bag of cookies into a medium bowl, and set them aside. 
• Put vegan butter into a microwaveable container, and heat for 30 seconds. Most of the butter should have melted, but should there still be any unmelted, stir for a few seconds until all the butter has turned to liquid.
• Pour the butter into the bowl of cookie crumbs and stir until all the crumbs are evenly coated with the butter-stuff. (If you want, you can use your clean hands to mix the butter and crumbs.) It will begin to clump. That's okay. 
• Scrape the mixture into a meduim (9") springform pan. With clean hands, (or formerly clean hands now slightly coated in vegan butter and cookie crumbs,) press the crumb mixture evenly on the bottom and along the sides of the springform pan. Make sure there aren't any holes in the bottom of your crust. 
• When finished, set the pan aside.

I followed the original recipe for the most part, except for a few ingredients and some of the preparation. I didn't want to use brandy or rum because that's unnecessary calories, and I can't buy any for myself anyway since I'm under-aged. So I was going to use imitation rum flavoring that we already had in the pantry, except when I checked it, I didn't have enough. So I used extra vanilla and I think it turned out just fine. I also simplified a lot of the preparation, so there are fewer steps, and it works better for a blender than the original instructions.

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 12.3-ounce package extra firm silken tofu (Use a light version for fewer calories.) 
• 1 8-ounce package vegan cream cheese (Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese works well.) 
• 3/4 cup vegan sugar 
• 1/2 cup vegan eggnog (Silk Seasonal Nog, which I used in my Vegan Nog Waffles, works great.) 
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 3 tablespoons vanilla 
• 1/2 rounded teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1/2 rounded teaspoon cinnamon 
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 

To Make the Filling:

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Drain tofu. 
• Crumble tofu into blender or food processor (I used a blender.) Add the package of vegan cream cheese, vegan eggnog, lemon juice, and vanilla. Blend or process until you have reached a uniform, creamy consistency. 
• Add sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cornstarch, and blend until sugar and cornstarch have dissolved, and cinnamon and nutmeg are evenly suspended. 

Final Preparation:

• Pour filling into crust. Filling may fill the pan above the top of the crust, which is perfectly fine. 
• Place springform pan on a cookie sheet (To prevent dripping melty vegan butter from making a mess all over your oven,) place it in the oven, and shut the door. 
• Bake for 50 minutes, though I'd recommend checking the cheesecake at 45 minutes just in case it is already starting to brown. The center should still be slightly jiggly. 
• Remove the pans from the oven with oven mitts or potholders etc., and place the pans on a cooling rack. 
• Leaving the cookie sheet on the cooling rack, place the springform pan with cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill. Allow to cool for at least an hour before serving. 
• To serve, remove outer edge of springform pan, and if you are brave, slide the cheesecake onto a serving dish. If you would rather avoid potentially making a huge mess all over your kitchen, throwing away your cheesecake, and having to bake a second one, just place the whole bottom of the springform pan on a serving dish, or just eat the cheesecake now off of the pan without getting an extra plate dirty. 
• Enjoy! 

So, if you try out this recipe, let me know what you thought of it! I would really love to have some feedback, and I would be happy to try out any variations that you all come up with. Have fun baking!

Vegan Nog Waffles

Well it's been a while since I've posted, and I apologize for that. I've been getting way too busy for my own good, but that's beside the point. Since today is Christmas, I figured I'd give you all a quick holiday food post!

Making waffles for breakfast today was kind of an excuse to try out the Ener-G Egg Replacer that I bought for recipes. It was also an excuse to use up a partially empty box of Belgian Waffle Mix from my family's overstocked pantry. I also just got back from a trip to northern Vermont, and you can't leave Vermont without buying at least one kind of Maple Syrup. We picked up Raspberry, Cranberry, and Chai flavored syrups, (the Cranberry is my favorite,) but I couldn't find them quickly because we hadn't unpacked them yet. (I'm not the most patient person in the world, so I used light Agave Nectar which I had also bought for the first time recently and haven't had a chance to try yet.) I basically followed the directions on the box, which are going to be pretty similar but could vary depending on what brand of mix you get and how many you're making.

In a small mixing bowl, I mixed 1 1/2 tablespoons of egg replacer mixture with 2 tablespoons of hot water with a whisk until a uniform consisteny was reached. In a medium-sized bowl, I mixed 1 1/2 cups of waffle mix, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 3/4 cup of Silk Nog (instead of milk or water), a dash of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon, and added the egg replacer mixture (instead of eggs obviously), stirring until I reached a uniform consistency with no lumps.

I poured half the mixture onto the center of my non-stick waffle iron and closed the lid to cook it. When it was ready, I put it on a plate, and as soon as I took a picture of it, I opened a few Christmas presents while the iron was heating up enough for the second waffle. Then I scraped the rest of the batter into the iron with a spatula, and let it cook. When it was done, I set it on top of my other waffle and poured a generous amount of agave onto them and dug in. I could only finish half of them, so I shared the rest with my sisters who thought they were delicious even though none of them are vegans.

You may have noticed from the picture that my waffle isn't really square. That's because I've had too many experiences with waffle batter dripping down the sides of the hot iron and making a huge mess that I have to clean up later. So, I just make slightly less visually attractive waffles that mean I don't have to clean up so much after myself because I'm sort of lazy. Okay, really lazy. But hey, it would be wasting perfectly good waffle if I made a mess.

By the way, I was really impressed with the Ener-G Egg Replacer. I've tried some other ways to replace eggs in the past, like flax seed for example, and those were less-than amazing in waffles. The Ener-G stuff didn't alter the taste of the waffles to make them taste like some horrible gruel, it kept them light and fluffy, and they're only 15 calories per replaced egg! (Eggs are 70 calories each.) I can't wait to try the egg replacer in other recipes.

If you try my little recipe, let me know what you thought of it, and if you made any other variations. I'd love to try out anything you all come up with. Personally, I am going to be trying something similar with some gluten-free mix that I found, though I don't know if I'll be using vegan nog. Maybe I'll try my vegan chocolate chips. . . Well anyway, happy holidays everyone! I hope this season has been wonderful and relaxing for everyone! Happy New Year!

P.S. Nog is a really funny word. Makes me want to laugh every time I say it.

It is a Question of Suffering

Before anyone jumps on my case about saying that animals are dumb, let me give you a vocabulary lesson. The word 'dumb' technically means mute, or unable to speak. So, Anna Sewell has got this totally right. People insult animals when they're upset. Verbal abuse hurts animals as well because they can tell intuitively when people are angry,which can often leads to physical abuse, such as kicking, swatting, etc. that can leave permanent physical and psychological damage to animals who can't speak up for themselves. We should be ashamed of ourselves for picking on the weaker man, so to speak. Basically, I think this is a brilliant quote, and paired with this photo, it is absolutely heart-melting. I hope you like this image as much as I did!

Rolling Phone

Ah ha ha ha! The title of this post was such a lame joke. Alright now, I'm over it.

Here is a little something-something, mostly because I really haven't run across anything stunning to post recently. A while a ago, I mentioned Sevenly, a group that creates apparel designs, the proceeds of which benefit many different humanitarian charities. When you purchase their products, they give you a sticker for free!

The part of the sticker that peels off basically asks you to put it on your phone, so I did. I actually get comments on it all the time. The sticker back also asks you to take a picture of yourself with your freshly stickered phone, and post it on their Facebook page, which I also did. So I figured I'd share the pictures with you all, and you could tell me which ones you like the best! (Please note, I did not have access to any fancy cameras, so I just used a plain old boring digital camera. My apologies to any photographers out there!) I am, by the way, also wearing a Sevenly shirt. The proceeds of this particular shirt went to providing orphaned Jamaican babies with food, water, and diapers. The last item of note is my phone itself. It's a Nokia phone. You know, the kind that are virtually indestructible? The ones that have whole pages of internet memes dedicated to them because of their amazing capabilities not to break. Yeah. That's because it's my 8th phone. So far, it's outlived almost all of them.

Ok, so before anyone says that I look angry in these pictures, let me inform you that I am in a tree. That means that these photos were taken from the ground. Let me also mention that I have almost complete mono-lids. That means that my eye lids crease in such a way that when my eyes are open, you can hardly see the crease at all, making my eyelids look very small, which has a tendency to make people look more serious, even when they are not. The fact that the pictures were taken from the ground really exaggerated that feature. Now, I hope you all feel a little bit smarter about anatomy.

Rambling about Ethics

 

I've posted photos with quotes like these before, but it never stops hitting home. A great part of morals and ethics is compassionate treatment of others. This certainly includes compassion towards animals. Few people will dispute that Gandhi was a great ethical teacher, specifically in the area of basic human rights. If he's right about one thing, what's to say he isn't right about another? When you look at nations in the past that were infamous for their treatment of the common people, were people the only ones poorly treated? No. If they're going to abuse their fellow humans, leaders often allow poor treatment of animals. Even in the present, the most highly civilized areas have implemented humane regulations for animal treatment and slaughter. While ideally, the consumption of animals for food would be eradicated, at least reducing the amount that animals suffer makes nations morally praiseworthy.

Getting out of your Shell

I don't really have much to say today, but I'd like to share some fail pictures from Shell's "Let's Go!" ad campaign. If you are not familiar with it, the company essentially created a meme generator and told the general internet public to make ads for Shell's billboards using provided images and words of the people's own choosing. For a while there was voting, and the winning ad's creator got a prize pack. That, however, is not the important part. The important part is that the general internet public made it clear that people don't like oil companies. Some of the images from the campaign make that very obvious.

Here are some of the more thought provoking environmental images.



These pictures are still have an environmentalism flavor, but they come at it from a more comical approach.

 

Some of the funniest images were the ones that made pop-culture references.



This is probably my all-time favorite.



Well, what did you think of Shell's marketing tactics? I'd say they made a fool out of themselves in a very public way. The general internet public is bringing them down. Which one was your favorite? Did you create your own make-fun-of-Shell meme that you'd like to share a link to? Leave a comment!

Real Men

Photo courtesy of Plant Powered Living.

Well, if this isn't a great way to convince the men in your life to cut meat out of their diets, I don't know what is. If I were you, I'd share this infographic everywhere you can, and as soon as possible. You never know, but you could save someone's life! In fact, you could be helping to save a whole lot of lives, because if someone goes vegetarian or vegan, not only would they be lowering their own risk of getting heart disease, but animals wouldn't have to die for their meals!

I must admit, I am not the biggest fan of the way they illustrated the risk of heart disease. To me, it looks as if it's saying that the vegans don't 'have as much of a heart,' as the saying goes, as the omnivores do. I don't think that was their intention though.

We all need to let guys know that REAL men are compassionate. Spread the love!

In Your Own Words

It is absolutely ridiculous how much fun I had making these Anti-Cruelty signs. I was laughing maniacally under my breath while I was coming up with little phrases to type into Peta2's clever little generators. It actually impressed me how realistic these signs look. While I am more involved with the McCruelty campaign, mostly because there are more McDonald's restaurants in my area, the Kentucky Fried Cruelty Generator signs looked more like an actual photo to me. Maybe that's because there were cars in most of the images. I don't know. That is not to say that the McCruelty Sign Generator designers didn't do a good job, because they certainly did.

Now, if you click the links to the generators, you can type in up to 3 lines of text to display in the store sign. If you want to save and share your pictures on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or whatever, you'll need to use a screenshot. Just in case you aren't sure how to do that, I'll explain.

Step 1. Using the scroll wheel on your mouse, or the scroll buttons on the side of your browser, adjust the screen so that your Anti-Cruelty image is clearly in view. It is best to leave a visible margin of the webpage around your image.

Step 2. Locate the Print Screen button on your keyboard. It is usually toward the upper right-hand corner. It might be abbreviated to something like "PrtSc" depending on the maker.

Step 3. Push the Print Screen button.

Step 4. Open a new project in Paint, which comes pre-installed on most computers.

Step 5. In Paint, click the button says "Select" on it, and displays a dotted-lined rectangle.

Step 6. Using the select tool, right click anywhere in the empty project. A screenshot of the page with your Anti-Cruelty sign will appear.

Step 7. Left click on the selected screenshot, and drag it toward the upper left-hand corner of your project until only the Anti-Cruelty sign is in view in that corner.

Step 8. Left click anywhere within the image, but outside the the selected screenshot to deselect it.

Step 9. Using the scroll bars, scroll to the bottom right-hand corner of the image.

Step 10. Click and drag the small white box in the corner up and to the left until only your Anti-Cruelty sign is visible. Make sure that the borders are even.

Step 11. Click the "Save As" button, and save your image, preferable as a PNG. This will keep your image quality nice so that everyone will be able to clearly read your Anti-Cruelty message!

Step 12. Upload your image to all your favorite social networks, or email your image to share it with all your friends! Make sure you include a link to the McCruelty or Kentucky Fried Cruelty websites so your friends can get more information and make their own Anti-Cruelty Signs.

Alright. I hope that little tutorial was helpful, and that you have as much fun making your Anti-Cruelty signs as I did! For any of you who are members of the Peta2 Street Team, make sure you go to the "Take Action" page, and turn in a screenshot of the website where you shared your sign for Street Team Points!

A Wise Man Once Said:

There have been many people that have said that a variety of things allow us to judge people, (and not in the negative sense necessarily,) from the way he eats gummy bears, to well, lots of things. Besides the fact that this picture is absolutely adorable, I think that the quote from Kant here is actually one of these statements that holds the most truth. You often hear how, according to the FBI, most serial killers and rapists started out with abusing and killing animals. Stories with a villain often tell you things about their past like they liked hurting puppies as a child. It is in fact, very revealing of one's character. Once you have developed a callous towards the suffering and treatment of animals, it is not hard to develop one towards that of humans. So, think about it, and notice people.