I'm going to Lake Powell. I'll be back on Thursday-ish to write more posts.
(This picture was taken of me last year)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Mike Gravel 2008!
I'm very excited to be able to participate in the presidential election for the first time this year, but I still haven't decided who I'm voting for. I'm doing a decent job at being informed on the major issues and figuring out which of the canidates I'm most alligned with. But it's hard. Because I'd much rather someone else do the thinking for me, I took an internet quiz tonight. It asked me questions and figured out which canidate I'm most aligned with. Here were some of the questions and my answers:
1. How do you feel about civil liberties in post-9/11 America?
Answer: They've been infringed upon since 9/11 and must be strengthened.
I don't want to give the government the right to break the rights of the bad people because I fear they might be used against the good people someday.
4. How do you feel about the Iraq War?
Answer: We made a commitment to Iraq and must keep our troops there until our goals are achieved.
War sucks and this one especially does because it's gone longer and resulted in more deaths than anyone expected. But I think the cons of war are outweighed by the cons of a premature withdrawl.
5. What are your views on the death penalty?
Answer: It should be outlawed.
I know it probably deters some people from commiting crimes, but there's got to be a better way. It's like saying, let's kill people to deter people from killing people. It almost seems counterproductive to the whole not killing thing.
It turns out I'm voting for... Mike Gravel! I'm assuming that it's because I'm very pro-civil liberties. Since I can't vote for Mike Gravel I had to look at my next best choices. Obama scored higher than McCain did, however the Iraq war holds more weight than a lot of the other issues and I'm more aligned with McCain with that. It also didn't take into account some of the other things, ie. experience and I'm also really frightened of a black person in office.
I'm still undecided.
By the way, I was kidding about the black person thing. I promise.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Result of Hundreds of Hours on the Internet
I spend way too much time on the internet. But consequently I've come up with quite a collection of sites and videos. You've probably already seen a lot of these, but they're fun to see again and they're might be a few you haven't seen.
These videos made me teary-eyed:
These videos made me lol while I was rofl:
I've spent hours watching AFHVs
Funny little people videos
Toddler makes a speech
Websites:
msnbc.com This is where I get my news when I'm on the internet
freedocumentaries.org Not the best selection, but it's free
http://kirstenjosh.blogspot.com/ I've visited my sister's blog, more or less, everday for the past year. By the way, I have about 30 views everyday. I'm thinking the majority of these come from my sister's blog. So, cool that you guys know my sister. If you ever want to know any embarrassing stories of Kirsten I can probably hook you up. I'm pretty sure that's my duty as her little brother.
This is one of my really good friend's blog, Scotty. I'd describe his blog as not what you'd expect.
Demotivational posters Some of these are pg-13 rated
Neopets My sister and I had like 200,000 neo points.
I love this blog.
There you have it. This is the result of hundreds of hours on the internet. Enjoy.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
I like... Asians?
I came across a paper I had to write for english my sophomore year today. The paper was entitled, "Where I stand" and we were supposed to make a list of things that we liked, didn't care for, and believed. Here are some of the things I said:
I like... people who don't talk a lot, to buy stuff, asians, and lunch.
I don't care for... people who think they're hard when they're not, people who talk too much, sad people, woman's sports, people who are too nice, weird people, people who want to be my friend when I think they're annoying.
I believe that... the Jazz will win the NBA championship, people who disagree with me are wrong, most people are stupid.
K, so back then I disliked everyone, only liked buying stuff and lunch and... Asians? And my only beliefs were that the Jazz were good and that people were stupid. Recently a friend told me that what she remembers about me in high school was a conversation I had with her in the library where I talked about how many friends I had and how I didn't return their phone calls. Wow, aren't we glad we aren't who we were our Sophomore year in high school?
I like... people who don't talk a lot, to buy stuff, asians, and lunch.
I don't care for... people who think they're hard when they're not, people who talk too much, sad people, woman's sports, people who are too nice, weird people, people who want to be my friend when I think they're annoying.
I believe that... the Jazz will win the NBA championship, people who disagree with me are wrong, most people are stupid.
K, so back then I disliked everyone, only liked buying stuff and lunch and... Asians? And my only beliefs were that the Jazz were good and that people were stupid. Recently a friend told me that what she remembers about me in high school was a conversation I had with her in the library where I talked about how many friends I had and how I didn't return their phone calls. Wow, aren't we glad we aren't who we were our Sophomore year in high school?
Monday, June 9, 2008
If You Watch This Documentary You'll Get 5 Jacob Points and Nightmares
If you want to watch a movie that will change your life, watch this one. It's a documentary on how animals are slaughtered narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. Disclaimer: Two possible side effects are nightmares and a lack of a desire to eat meat. It's after I watched this documentary over a year ago that I realized that the small pleasure I get from eating meat was not worth the pain I was putting these animals through.
My perspective actually isn’t much different than yours. We both believe that killing is bad, I just take it further. We both agree we shouldn’t kill humans for food and we actually both believe that some animals shouldn’t be killed for food, you know, the cute ones that we keep as pets (See Michael Vick). I just take it one step further because I don’t feel like things need to be cute to be able to live.
When I tell people why I eat meat, here are the objections that people usually give me:
Aren't they killed humanely?
Apparently this is how it happens usually: Once the animals are brought to the slaughterhouse, they are knocked unconscious with a 300 volt electric shock. Then they’re skinned and their major arteries are cut to finish the job and then yada, yada, yada… Big Mac! (Wikipedia). However, “Investigations by animal welfare and animal rights groups have indicated that a proportion of animals are being skinned or gutted while alive and apparently conscious.[5] There has also been criticism of the methods of transport of the animals, who are driven for hundreds of miles to slaughterhouses in conditions that often result in crush injuries and death en route.[6]” –Wikipedia. So often, the only pain the animals feel is from an electric shock. That is pretty good, but not good enough for me. If we killed humans or dogs with an electric shocker would it still be considered humane? I doubt it. Until we find a way to do it with absolutely no pain, I won’t even consider it being possibly humane. And not all of them get the luxury of getting the shock because a) They don’t work all the time on the first try and b) it’s much cheaper to use a knife. Furthermore, the life before they’re slaughtered sucks, too (see cramped living spaces and deadly ride to slaughter house).
But they taste so good.
Yes, we should all just do what feels good regardless of the negative consequences. That’s why I kill people who annoy me and steal stuff when I want it.
But where do you get your protein?
You can be healthy eating meat and not eating meat. One downside on not eating meat is that you don’t get the protein you need, but this can be supplemented with other stuff easily. There are actually many people who are vegetarian solely for health reasons. Apparently, it’s a good way to loose wait. To be honest though, I have not noticed a difference in my health since I stopped eating meat.
My church doesn't say it's wrong to eat meat.
I’m going to assume that you’re LDS. I’d love it if you weren’t because I’d love to have diverse viewers with different perspectives, but more likely than not, you are. This is a good one. It's one I had to resolve, too. The church hasn't taken an official stance and is kind of ambiguous about meat eating. The church currently owns many plots of land where cows are raised and eventually slaughtered. Why do they do this? In their defense, you can back it up with some scriptures. The scriptures are replete with animal sacrifices and meat eating, many of which was ordered by God. So apparently God says the meat is for us to eat. This was a tough one for me. This is what I’ll say about it. For most of civilizations in society meat has been necessary to survival, especially back then. Therefore these scriptures applied back then. However, fortunately we line in a time where I do not have to eat meat to survive.
The church also seems to have some pro-vegetarianism in it, too. One of the most recent revelations on the subject was given by Joseph Smith in the Word of Wisdom, in which he states to “eat meat sparingly,” and “only in times of winter or famine”. What I get from that is to only eat it when you need to, which for me, and probably you, is never. The 3rd prophet of our church was, reportedly, a vegetarian. However, I think it was more for health reasons than moral. Joseph Smith once got mad at members for killing a snake (I know it happened, but I can’t remember where I read it). What the church has done or said about meat eating hasn’t really been a reason for me to not eat meat, but hasn’t been a reason for me to do it, either.
My perspective actually isn’t much different than yours. We both believe that killing is bad, I just take it further. We both agree we shouldn’t kill humans for food and we actually both believe that some animals shouldn’t be killed for food, you know, the cute ones that we keep as pets (See Michael Vick). I just take it one step further because I don’t feel like things need to be cute to be able to live.
When I tell people why I eat meat, here are the objections that people usually give me:
Aren't they killed humanely?
Apparently this is how it happens usually: Once the animals are brought to the slaughterhouse, they are knocked unconscious with a 300 volt electric shock. Then they’re skinned and their major arteries are cut to finish the job and then yada, yada, yada… Big Mac! (Wikipedia). However, “Investigations by animal welfare and animal rights groups have indicated that a proportion of animals are being skinned or gutted while alive and apparently conscious.[5] There has also been criticism of the methods of transport of the animals, who are driven for hundreds of miles to slaughterhouses in conditions that often result in crush injuries and death en route.[6]” –Wikipedia. So often, the only pain the animals feel is from an electric shock. That is pretty good, but not good enough for me. If we killed humans or dogs with an electric shocker would it still be considered humane? I doubt it. Until we find a way to do it with absolutely no pain, I won’t even consider it being possibly humane. And not all of them get the luxury of getting the shock because a) They don’t work all the time on the first try and b) it’s much cheaper to use a knife. Furthermore, the life before they’re slaughtered sucks, too (see cramped living spaces and deadly ride to slaughter house).
But they taste so good.
Yes, we should all just do what feels good regardless of the negative consequences. That’s why I kill people who annoy me and steal stuff when I want it.
But where do you get your protein?
You can be healthy eating meat and not eating meat. One downside on not eating meat is that you don’t get the protein you need, but this can be supplemented with other stuff easily. There are actually many people who are vegetarian solely for health reasons. Apparently, it’s a good way to loose wait. To be honest though, I have not noticed a difference in my health since I stopped eating meat.
My church doesn't say it's wrong to eat meat.
I’m going to assume that you’re LDS. I’d love it if you weren’t because I’d love to have diverse viewers with different perspectives, but more likely than not, you are. This is a good one. It's one I had to resolve, too. The church hasn't taken an official stance and is kind of ambiguous about meat eating. The church currently owns many plots of land where cows are raised and eventually slaughtered. Why do they do this? In their defense, you can back it up with some scriptures. The scriptures are replete with animal sacrifices and meat eating, many of which was ordered by God. So apparently God says the meat is for us to eat. This was a tough one for me. This is what I’ll say about it. For most of civilizations in society meat has been necessary to survival, especially back then. Therefore these scriptures applied back then. However, fortunately we line in a time where I do not have to eat meat to survive.
The church also seems to have some pro-vegetarianism in it, too. One of the most recent revelations on the subject was given by Joseph Smith in the Word of Wisdom, in which he states to “eat meat sparingly,” and “only in times of winter or famine”. What I get from that is to only eat it when you need to, which for me, and probably you, is never. The 3rd prophet of our church was, reportedly, a vegetarian. However, I think it was more for health reasons than moral. Joseph Smith once got mad at members for killing a snake (I know it happened, but I can’t remember where I read it). What the church has done or said about meat eating hasn’t really been a reason for me to not eat meat, but hasn’t been a reason for me to do it, either.
Not eating animals isn’t really going to do anything.
According to a vegetarian calculator I found on the internet, I’ve saved 194 animals. I’m sure that’s off, but a good rough estimate. I’ve also played a part in converting one of my friends to vegetarianism so you have to give me a few points for that, too.
It’s just a part of nature. Animals would kill us if they had the chance.
Yes, but other animals don’t have a frontal lobe which helps us reason. Saying something is alright because an animal does it is not something I’m willing to do.
Animals are stupider than us.
Yep, that’s why we eat handicapped people, too.
It’s just a part of nature. Animals would kill us if they had the chance.
Yes, but other animals don’t have a frontal lobe which helps us reason. Saying something is alright because an animal does it is not something I’m willing to do.
Animals are stupider than us.
Yep, that’s why we eat handicapped people, too.
If it were that bad, there'd be laws against it
There have been many laws in the past that we find undeniably wrong. Just a few examples: slavery and the Holocaust. I don’t think eating meat is the same as the extermination of a race or treating people as property but I can draw some similarities. At the time slavery was fine according to the law. These people were less than human and we could do what we wanted with them. I don’t doubt that the first supporters of abolition were looked to as weird crazies. All I’m saying is that doing something because society says it’s ok to do is probably not the best way to live.
This is what I’ve decided to do: I don’t buy meat. If someone serves it, I will eat it though (not because it’s right, but because I’m a poor vegetarian). Now the question is: What are you going to do? Below are what some of you might be feeling and my reaction to your feelings:
This is what I’ve decided to do: I don’t buy meat. If someone serves it, I will eat it though (not because it’s right, but because I’m a poor vegetarian). Now the question is: What are you going to do? Below are what some of you might be feeling and my reaction to your feelings:
I disagree with you
Great! Now you can earn some Jacob Points. Tell me why. I’d love a reason to be able to eat meat again with a clear conscience.
I appreciate that you’ve spent the time to create a reasonably intelligent post about this, but vegetarianism is just not for me.
Great, I'm not better than you because I don't eat meat. I really don't want to come off as condescending. I'm sure you make up for your eating meat by doing a lot of other good things. There are probably a lot of other things that you’re doing better than me at. To be honest, I’m a bad vegetarian. I usually eat meat if it’s served to me. I still buy leather shoes and belts and if I was really good, I wouldn’t be eating animals products at all like eggs, milk, or cheese (by the way, that’s called being a vegan).
I’m undecided
Here’s something to think about: Worst case scenario if you eat meat is that it turns out it’s immoral, you have the blood of thousands of innocents beings on your hands (you fail). Worst case scenario if you don’t eat meat is that it turns out there was nothing wrong with it. Ok, so you missed out on eating meat when you didn’t need to, but you were probably healthier because of it anyways (you’re still good).
Great, I'm not better than you because I don't eat meat. I really don't want to come off as condescending. I'm sure you make up for your eating meat by doing a lot of other good things. There are probably a lot of other things that you’re doing better than me at. To be honest, I’m a bad vegetarian. I usually eat meat if it’s served to me. I still buy leather shoes and belts and if I was really good, I wouldn’t be eating animals products at all like eggs, milk, or cheese (by the way, that’s called being a vegan).
I’m undecided
Here’s something to think about: Worst case scenario if you eat meat is that it turns out it’s immoral, you have the blood of thousands of innocents beings on your hands (you fail). Worst case scenario if you don’t eat meat is that it turns out there was nothing wrong with it. Ok, so you missed out on eating meat when you didn’t need to, but you were probably healthier because of it anyways (you’re still good).
I agree with you, I just don’t know if I want to give up eating meat.
Congratulations, you passed the good person test. You don’t have to abstain from meat to not support slaughtering animals. Thomas Jefferson was against slavery and had a role in ending it, but he still owned them. Because we live in a time when it’s not socially accepted to not eat meat, it’s hard to do. But you can do other things. Talk to people about it. When you get the chance, vote or choose leaders that help animal rights.
Ok, I don’t want to eat meat
Congratulations, you pass the great person test. There aren’t a lot of things helping you out. There aren’t any laws prohibiting meat eating and most people do it. You have an interesting road ahead of you. The worse part for me isn’t that I can’t eat meat, but that when you tell people they think you’re a crazy environmentalist tree hugger hippie. To be honest, not eating meat isn’t that hard for me. When meat is being served, there are usually other options available anyways. It’s take a pretty cold person to do what Michael Vick did to those dogs. However, indifference can provide the same outcomes. The Holocaust didn’t happen because the world is full of evil cold-hearted people. No, it had one cold-hearted and a million indifferent people. People who didn’t question whether what they were doing was right. People who were too busy looking at there own lives to look at those other people sharing this world for us. So thank you for caring. Me and thousands of animals thank you.
Dear Sam, here is a good one. You happy?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Me in 3
My first tag! I was tagged by Sister. K, here goes:Joys:
* Learning a new word
* Warm Weather
* Listening to a song that I like
Fears:
* Realizing at the end of my life that I've been wrong all along
* Buttons or small beads
* Looking like an idiot
Goals:
* Be happy
* I want the world to be a better, not worse, place becuase of me.
* Get my undergrad degree and eventually go on to graduate school
Current Obsessions:
* Blogging
* Youtube.com, Reddit.com, and Digg.com
* Einstein
Random Facts:
* I'm pretty sure I had athletes feet a while ago (It's gone now. I promise.).
* My top 4 people: Jesus Christ, Socrates, Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Jefferson
* I'm a vegetarian, but I'm a bad one.
Tagging:
* Nokes
* Dad
* Josh
P.S. Dear Sam, I promise I'll eventually get around to posting a good one.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Jacob Points!
I'm going to start giving you guys points for commenting. Here's why I'm doing it: 1) To encourage the number of comments I get, which are a self-esteem increaser (Yay, someone is reading this!). 2) I want feedback on my posts. 3) To encourage discussion of what I've posted on. Obviously I've posted it, so it must be somewhat important to me and so I think I'd quite enjoy other people discussing it. 4) To reward people who comment (Hooray for commenters!).
I'll have the scoreboard on the left side of my blog. The scorecard will include the scores, names and blog (if you have one) of the 10 people with the most points.
Here's how you can get points:
1 pt. Just comment
2 pts. Find a grammatical or spelling error in my post
3 pts. Disagree with something I said in my post and tell me why
I reserve the right to use my best judgment on how many points you deserve and will use the rubric not as hard and fast rules, but more of as a guideline. And I will definitely be awarding additional points if I think a comment is especially clever.
I'll try to update the list at least once a week. You will probably only get points if you post your comment within 24 hours after my post is posted.
Here's the scoreboard so far:
Candy 3
Kirsten 3
John 2
Snue 1
Sma 1
Alli 1
Sarah 1
Besides your name, blog, and score listed on my blog you get... absoloutely nothing. Sorry, no real prizes.
Good Luck!
I'll have the scoreboard on the left side of my blog. The scorecard will include the scores, names and blog (if you have one) of the 10 people with the most points.
Here's how you can get points:
1 pt. Just comment
2 pts. Find a grammatical or spelling error in my post
3 pts. Disagree with something I said in my post and tell me why
I reserve the right to use my best judgment on how many points you deserve and will use the rubric not as hard and fast rules, but more of as a guideline. And I will definitely be awarding additional points if I think a comment is especially clever.
I'll try to update the list at least once a week. You will probably only get points if you post your comment within 24 hours after my post is posted.
Here's the scoreboard so far:
Candy 3
Kirsten 3
John 2
Snue 1
Sma 1
Alli 1
Sarah 1
Besides your name, blog, and score listed on my blog you get... absoloutely nothing. Sorry, no real prizes.
Good Luck!
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