kiran’s pensieve

The Fourth and Final season of the best show on TV, Battlestar Galactica begins on 04/04/08. If you haven’t seen seasons one, two (and 2.5), three and the Razor movie yet, I have just one thing to say: What the frak are you waiting for??!

I stumbled across this little brain candy in Wired.com’s archives.

One of my favourites:

TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there …
- Harry Harrison

Confused? Did you follow along the “brawl” storyline? Here’s your chance to catch up:

“Since we began negotiations in July, we’ve been saying, ‘If they get paid, we get paid.’ This contract makes that a reality. It’s the best deal this Guild has bargained for in 30 years after the most successful strike this Guild has waged in 35 years. It was arguably the most successful strike in the American labor movement in a decade, clearly the most important of this young century. It is not all that we hoped for, and not all that we deserved. But as I told our members, this strike was about the future, and this deal assures for us and for future generations of writers a share in the future…”

This is from Nikki Finke’s blog that has been a constant source of strike news and updates.

The show-runners (writers/producers) return to work on Monday, the show writers are to return on Wednesday after a membership vote on the terms of the deal. This is great! This means The Office, and Dexter and Battlestar Galactica and everyone else will be back in action soon! Yay!

Came across this story about the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” being blasted into outer space in commemoration of its and NASA’s anniversaries. Like many others my age, I “discovered” John Lennon and The Beatles sometime around my 17th birthday. I remember hanging out in Strawberry Fields in Central Park and feeling a deep, personal connection to their music, especially their later stuff, and its message of peace, awareness and whimsy. Like other surreal artists, the Beatles’ music makes sense on an intuitive level, even when its hard to decipher its literal meaning (if there even exists one). Across the Universe is undoubtedly one of my favourite songs of all time. And probably the only decent cover of a Beatles song, specifically by Fiona Apple, featured in the film Pleasantville.

The Beatles
“Across The Universe”

Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing through my open ears
Exciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Jai guru deva

Here’s an awesome parody of the “Leave Britney Alone!” video. hehehe….

Eat less meat

Not only are meat and dairy production & processing immensely energy-inefficient and polluting, the animals we eat are saturated with hormones and genetic modifications.

My partner and I decided on my last birthday (August 2007) to walk the Vegan path. It’s been at times inconvenient and at times very easy to keep it up, especially because we chose to not go too militant about it and so we keep our minds open for when practicality must win out over our ideals (like when we’re stuck somewhere and the only non-meat option out there is pizza with no meat but with cheese), it’s still very satisfying. We are both more energetic, we feel calmer inside in general and we are saving loads of money. And the food options are enormous! We both love Indian food which has countless vegetarian options, and we have discovered and rediscovered so many delicious foods from spicy and filling falafel to Licks’ juicy veggie burgers, rich vegan brownies, hot and soothing soups, exotic vegetarian pasta and so much more. The one thing I still love is eggs, and so we choose to buy only Free-Run (cruelty free), organic eggs raised on local farms .

We also try and buy products which are not tested on animals, products from relatively enlightened companies like Revlon, The Body Shop, Jamieson, Estee Lauder, M.A.C. cosmetics, Whole Foods Markets, Victoria’s Secrets and many more.  And we try to avoid buying products from companies that still perform unnecessary and cruel animal testing, like Clairol, Arm & Hammer, Cover Girl, Johnson & Johnson, Pantene, Pfizer, L’Oreal, Suave, Sally Hansen and others like them.

For most of my life I thought I didn’t have it in me to give up eating meat. But it’s been easier than I had imagined. Yes there are some changes we’ve had to make, but it’s been a lot less of a hassle than I had thought. Now, the thought of eating meat the way I used to is actually repulsive to me. Knowing the kinds of cruelties that factory farms put their animals through, and how,, at the grocer’s the meat is packed with artificial hormones, has made me cringe at the thought of consuming such Karmically poisoned flesh.

Something to think about… the powerful meat and dairy industries put a LOT of money in trying to convince you otherwise, but the truth is cutting back on meat and dairy is good for both your body’s and your planet’s health.

If you’re reading this, I dare you to check out the sites linked here and others, and try to become more vegan and be the cause/consumer of lesser and lesser cruelty in the world. Just try it for 1 month… I dare ya!

Related links:
Veg.ca
Vegetarian Resource Group
Caring Consumers
How to Avoid Genetically Modified (GM) Foods
Why is American Beef banned in Europe?

A couple of excellent articles from Business Week: 1 about how ads push your buttons, and another about how ads are changing in the face of the new media evolving in front of us:

This Is Your Brain On Ads

Advertising: Now a Conversation