No Meat, No Dairy, No Problem

Last fall, I gave up eating meat. (I don't remember exactly when—it was as soon as I'd finished the last of a package of bacon I had in the fridge).

I did it strictly for animal welfare reasons. Anyone who drinks as much Coke Classic as I do has no standing to declare the decision had anything to do with my health! But I figured if I'm going to spend hundreds of hours a year taking care of baby squirrels and raising them until they're ready to be released into the wild, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to then go out and eat part of a cow for dinner.

Get Fit. Do Good.

From my friends’ and my own experiences, I think two of the most common New Year’s Resolutions must be “becoming more active” and “becoming a better person.” Well, what if you could kill two resolutions with one stone?

Here are a few ideas that can help you improve your health, while also improving your community.

Some Adventures Are Better Than Others

Since a horrific experience travelling home a few years ago a couple of days before Christmas, I now make my annual jaunt in early December to avoid situations like in the picture above.

But some people don't have that option, so I wish all my fellow adventurers safe (and painless) travels this holiday season and a joyous, peaceful, and prosperous 2009 and beyond.

Ho Ho Ho!

Just Say No (on 8)

There are a lot of words to describe me, but “activist” isn't one of them. I don't even like to sign petitions.

But I was so outraged by the November 4th Yes vote on Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage in California, (not to mention frustrated because I wasn't able to vote myself) that today I did something I've never done before—I attended a protest rally!

Kiwi Kapers

Yes, I know, I know... It's been almost four months since my last post. But rather than bore you out of your mind regale you with all the reasons I've been MIA during this time, I'm simply going to proceed as if I never left. :)

I have my online writing colleague, Melanie McMinn, to thank for getting me back in the game. She's just started her own blog, Fat and Sassy New Zealand Travel, and that reminded me of some of my own adventures in that wonderful country.

Adventure Round-Up

It is SO easy to fall behind on these things! I can't believe how fast this month is going by, but the upside is that it's partly because I've got a fair bit going on these days. So I thought I'd just do a quick round-up of my recent adventures.

Killing Two Goals With One Post

Way back in February, I issued a challenge to readers to go see a movie that they would normally avoid, taking a chance that they just might be pleasantly surprised. I hadn't gotten around to meeting the challenge myself, despite my other goal this summer of seeing a movie a week. (My experience so far can be summed up as: So Many Great Movies, So Few Weekends...)

But I finally decided I could hold off on seeing War, Inc., the next movie I really want to see, for at least another week and, instead, went to the newly released action-adventure flick, Wanted.

AND... Loved It!

I make a point of NOT reading reviews before I see a film, because I prefer to form my own opinion without being influenced by others. However, I had heard that most of the reviews for Get Smart have been negative, so I was a little worried about it.

Well, that worry was unwarranted. I loved the movie! Of course there was some dumb stuff and ridiculously unbelievable action scenes (how come nobody ever complains about those in the Bourne series?). But I laughed out loud—and I mean LOUD—several times throughout the showing.

Guest Gecko

I'm guest blogging on Film Gecko today about my anticipation for Get Smart, the movie.

And file this under “How Old Do I Feel?”... A few years ago, I was working in marketing for a company that was trying to come up with a new tag line for an ad campaign. When one of my colleagues suggested, “Get Smart,” I commented that there might be a copyright or trademark issue because of the show. “What show?” she asked.

Sigh.

Pick a Can, Any Can

For Father's Day yesterday, my brother the animator posted some sketches for a cartoon episode he's working on based on one of our father's favourite activities when we were growing up.

Back then, grocery stores would sell canned goods whose labels had fallen off for dirt cheap—like 5 or 10 cents. (I don't think they're allowed to even sell them like this anymore, but I digress...) Then, when it came down to choosing a vegetable to go with dinner or some fruit for dessert, he would bring up one of the mystery cans and we'd all keep our fingers crossed that whatever came out of it was something actually edible.

The cartoon tells the story much better than I just did, so I highly recommend you check it out. But even better than the cartoon itself is Dad's comment on it, which John also copied to the end of the post.