Animal "abuse"?

Aww did that video of someone kicking a cat, or riding a deer down a hill, or someone leaving their dog out in the cold make you upset?
Is Russia killing all those stray dogs breaking your heart?
Well why don't you take your rage out online and comment on how disgusting and horrible those people are?? Oh you did? GOOD!

Now I want you to ask yourself one question... What makes those things any different from the meat on your plate every night? If you're not a vegetarian or vegan than you need to quit your b*&#%' and stay quiet. Finding something morally wrong about doing those things means you actually have a level of compassion for animals. That's a GOOD thing. But in your ignorance you decide to completely forget that the flesh you consume on a regular basis, got there by means far worse then those videos.

Well I love to see people get justice for cruel acts towards anything living, I think the adage "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is very appropriate here. You must see the irony in the situation, one case the animals are "Cute" so it's a terrible thing to happen. But animals you decide to eat are not, so who cares... they have no souls right? they feel no pain like their cute cousins right?

Anyone I see professing to "love animals" and continues to consume their flesh is clinically insane.

Remember, in certain countries, DOGS and CATS are meat, the same way cows are, and it's "normal" for them.

5 Reasons you can't get enough numbered lists!

This list is to illustrate the obsession with "top (insert small number of choice here) lists", or "6 things you should (insert action)", and why it's gotten out of control.

#5 you pander to the whims of the all knowing internet! you get stuck in a void on one of those sites that just have list after list after list. You look up at the clock to see it's been 40 minutes and you've done nothing productive! Welcome to the black hole of the internet.

#4 after you notice you will never get those 40 minutes back you realised you really didn't retain much if any of the information on those lists to begin with.

#3 and yet you still feel more intellectual than you did before hand, giving your ego a boost as well as your cockiness level on what ever the topic the list may have been about.

#2 you realise that your cockiness only takes you so far if you choose to engage in an actual conversation regarding one of those lists, as you did not research much into that topic after, hoping you got the 'gist' of it enough to B.S your way through.

And the #1 Reason you can't get enough, is because your here reading this list and it hasn't stopped you one bit. You're probably at work right now too, go be productive and remember to be lazy and have us deliver our blog to you directly in your email to waste more of your companies money.

The irony of being "Terrified of Heights"...

As you will notice, the blog you are currently reading is called terrified of heights, in reference to my twin sister's and my last name (Height). Although this goes much deeper than just that.

Melissa and I both have always had a 'fear of heights', standing by the edge of a rail that looked four stories down, or being on top of a building unprotected. Those situations we've just either avoided or just repressed the memories. So needless to say, when we both took to wind sports, (specifically Paragliding) people who knew us growing up found that rather odd.

At some point in the last 8 years, our fear of heights simultaneously disappeared. Not questioning why that was, we both decided to join in the fun of some extreme sports, including a 14,000 foot jump from a fully functioning plane, and the desire to undertake a pilots licence for a helicopter.

We live on the 'edge' now, looking down, from heights we never imagined before. We stopped letting fear sit in the drivers seat and took the wheel ourselves. That doesn't mean we don't encounter the rush of adrenaline when we get the first tug of the lines from a winch, we just know now to trust that what happens will happen, what will be will be. So no need to fear, just give in and enjoy the ride.

As I write this, it coincides with how I am attempting to look at my life on a grand scale as well. All fears are simply fears of the unknown. The ultimate fear is always the fear of death, as in being truly alone, not figuratively alone, I mean, no one is on that trip with you, it's only you. That's why it's feared. It's not possible to be human and have no fear at all in life, you may not be afraid of what others are, and you may not let your fears come to the surface, but surely there is one in there, buried deep down in each of us. If you look into that one, I guarantee it will always come back to the ultimate fear of the death/separation. Share your fear if you wish down in our comments.

Hamilton, Ontario

 

Oh Hamilton, Hamilton, how I constantly defend you. I stick up for you when people say you stink. I suggest they see your beauty behind your oh so obvious flaws. Telling people about hidden and wondrous places you have, has become almost second nature. Although sometimes I think it falls on deaf ears as your image and reputation has become so deeply tarnished.

 

 

My world was once like those who mock you, seeing you as pathetic and having nothing good to offer, this sort of things happen when you grow up in places like Burlington.

My first realisation of your mass potential was when I clued into how malleable you are. You have been crying out for someone or something to take hold of you and make you a first class city. No one had been listening to those cries, till these last few years. Some say it’s too late to change you, I beg to differ. You want this, you need this, you must have this or you will die, Hamilton, and you know this. Only in the last few years have your folk actually been taking their heads out of the sand, long enough to see it’s safe to invest in you and your future.

 

Your image must be presented to a new crowd of people who actually care for your wellbeing. Yes, you have some sketchy areas to improve on. Yes, some of your folk are not the most appealing. Yes, you have had scars put on you. I believe that all these things can be changed, not just by words, not just to pander to big businesses in hopes that they will take you under their wing. But by action from the ones who care for you. This Hamilton is your intervention. No longer will I sit idly by and watch you, be destroyed.

 

You are better than what people have told you. The folk you have will be better, healthier, stronger more determined people! When lead by the ones who truly care for you, for them, for us.

 

Stand Hamilton; take your rightful place as a world class city for the ages.

Secrets, shhuuuuuusssshhhhh

3 things I’ve managed to keep secret, till now.

 

I detest little dogs, and fat cats…. Yes, that’s right a VEGAN can despise, and profile animals. I’m not proud of it, I just can’t accept them. They are abnormal, any dog like that in the wild would have been a snack a long time ago, and any cat who gets winded by 4 paw lengths in front would also be!. The saddest part is, the cats can lose weight, and those dogs (rats) will never be able to do anything to change their circumstance, yet I still hold it against them.

 

I harshly judge people who smoke….I know you may be thinking, “so? They should be judged”, you must be a non-smoker too. Well I hate to say, but I find smokers to be the most selfish people on the face of the earth. They pollute the air, the ground by recklessly tossing their chemicals onto it when they are done, and most of all the pollute ME. Yes, I am aware that I sound selfish too there, oh well. Mostly I judge them because they have unknowingly, the lowest self-control ever. They whine about how tough it is to quit, really? You started it in the first place! Get a grip, and take back your life. *Full disclosure, I’ve never even tried a puff, but both my parents smoke, and I love them AND judge them harshly.

 

I just started my first ever blog/vlog….Just a shameless plug. Although everything above is true, this was just a ploy to get you hooked on, and sharing my newest venture. Don’t blame me, you’re the one who wanted to know my dirty little secrets, you’re just as guilty as I. Now BE LAZY AND GET MY BLOG SENT TO YOU cause you want more of this awesomeness.

Top 3 Reasons you're confused about food!

To be blunt, food is mostly seen as a means to an end. You eat to get by like most people working 40+ hours a week, caring for children and dealing with the latest financial drama. Most Canadians don’t have the time or effort to seek nutritional information, beyond the box. Yes, the nutritional labels and ingredient lists are handy, but they only get you so far.
That’s the #3 Reason you’re confused, inconvenience.

Whether it’s time or lack thereof or fear of too much space being taken up in your brain, very few of us go past the manufactures given information to actually learn what sodium benzoate really is, or castoreum. It’s frankly work, and too many Canadians do too much of that already.

This article is not meant to point fingers or say what a horrible human being you are by staying oblivious, it’s simply to state that we as a population ARE confused. Being aware is one step closer to solving this issue.

Touching lightly on the topic above, financial concerns make for confusing decisions.
The #2 Reason you’re confused can be found in your back pocket, Money.

 

The other green thing we worry about not have much of. Breaking down your food requirements also means diving into your bank book. We no longer have the abilities we did to just grow a garden like our forefathers, a huge amount of the population live in tiny confined boxes we call apartments or better yet “condos”.  We all know one thing about food; the closer it is to REAL the better it is for us. Yet again, it cycles back to the #3 point, inconvenience. Money may be tight for most, but tending to a garden takes time, and time is money. Catch 22. So for most, decisions on food and the quality of it is closely linked to finances, unfortunately.

 

Like most Canadians you have been given little to no formal training on nutrition, although some Canadians have. We must look at the ones who have and question where that training came from in the first place.
Bringing us to our #1 Reason why you are confused, because even the experts are!

 

Yes, we have all had in our hands at one point or another, the great old Canada Food Guide. Not to disrespect anyone who believes this guide is the infallible word of nutrition, but this is a watered down, non-inclusive guide funded mostly by the industries it promotes in the first place (ie, Dairy farmers of Canada, Canada Pork, Beef Information Centre, Kraft Canada Inc, Chicken Farmers of Canada, McCain Foods Canada). Experts have been taught in schools, information based on this guide. Confusion of food is rampant in our society and this article is only pointing out the basics as to why. It’s up to you to take this information and do with it what you will, but considering food IS the reason you’re alive at this moment, it may be worth the inconvenience, the money and the research to find out more about it.

Hey Vegans! Stop being so angry!

Funny story to go along with this one. After the first article we wrote, an individual decided to write the editor of the mag, expressing his complete disapproval of the first article. He claimed, being a vegetarian that he's offended. He did not see the sarcastic nature of the dissonance in the writing. So we decided to write this one, dedicated to that lovely gentleman with his choice words. Enjoy.

Hey Vegans! Stop being so angry!

By Melissa and Danielle Height

Posted on August 6, 2013 @ 1:50pm By HWS Magazine

Published in Volume 1, Issue 5     

 

From day one I was informed that once you alter your lifestyle to vegan or vegetarian, look out, the fury will be right behind you! Stemming deep from within, the rage will surely come.
Having so many non-vegans stating this, I wanted to investigate what was really going on here. I couldn’t just let people blatantly spread lies; I have a duty to my readership to uphold the truth!

My Undercover Investigation

Going undercover was easy, I already had the pre-requisites:

- Vegetarianism, seven years

- Veganism, four years

- Healthy

- Physically fit

- And I never wear leather or fur
 

All things checked out for me to be able to infiltrate these vegans (seeing as I already live this way, it was easy for me to fool them.)

So, next I wanted to discover where this idea of those ‘angry’ vegans had really come from and as I sat around this vegan pot-luck, things started to show through. These aggressive vegans had the audacity to actually be enjoying each other’s company without loud shouting or uncalled-for remarks.

I didn’t understand. They have a sense of peace about them.

So I decided to stir the pot and see what sticks. I mentioned friends who eat meat and “love the taste”, hoping to cause a full on riot…nothing…nothing at all, weird. Then I said that all animal by-products are “healthy,” but again, they just laughed and told me to stop acting all “silly.”

My Findings
It took me a few times to realize that they didn’t hold any anger, they were just perceived as angry due to the miscommunication they had with non-vegans as to what they can and cannot eat.

It dawned on me that they were just sick and tired of having to go to restaurants only to send back food because people didn’t know (or maybe even care) what veganism was. They were exhausted from having to explain over and over at family dinners, that they choose not to eat animal products; even after being harassed by “uncle ken” about how stupid veganism is… These people aren’t angry, they are just tired. Tired of explaining what they eat, and not being left alone for their personal lifestyle choices.

They are seen as “preachy” by the mainstream, because they have to keep explaining themselves as it doesn’t seem to stick the first time. They have much better things to do with their time then have to wait an extra 35 minutes, because the wait staff didn’t actually listen to their simple request of no-cheese or mayo on the veggie burger, while everyone else at the table eats and grumbles what a fussy pants they are.

It’s disheartening on their behalf to have to deal with ignorance of any kind for a choice that they (the majority of whom aren’t pushy towards people) but being persecuted instead for having these beliefs.

Now some don’t have a sense of humor left about the subject and some might not even understand the satirical nature other vegans may take on explaining it to outsiders (methods like dissonance). But none the less, these elusive vegan types aren’t angry; they are just normal people, who are drained from having to explain such a simple concept time and time again.

Next time you run into one of these “angry vegans” just give them a little break, a little understanding and try your hardest to get the order right the first time. Thanks!