Under Our Skin

I just saw a great documentary called Under Our Skin, which is about Lyme disease.  I watched some of the extra features, and the director mentioned that people have called the movie a real-life horror film, which is what I was thinking.  It is very scary.  Lyme disease is very easy to get.  All it takes is getting bit by an infected tick.   Once you have it, you're probably in for a nightmare.  When you have Lyme disease, your body is being attacked from the inside by an aggressive, and destructive, bacteria.  The pain can be horrible.  You might have seizures.  It can affect your nervous system.  You might not be able to function nearly as well as you used to.  It can take over your life for the worse.
There is no cure for Lyme disease, and there is a major controversy surrounding it.  A small group of doctors came out with a report on Lyme disease.  Many people disagree with the findings in the report.  The report said there is no such thing as chronic Lyme disease, which seems to be absolutely false.  It also said that Lyme disease shouldn't be treated long-term, which is another thing that many people disagree with.  It is alleged that about half of the doctors who contributed to the report had a conflict of interest, because they stood to benefit financially from the results.  This report is also an excuse for insurance companies to refuse to cover long-term Lyme disease treatment, which many say is absolutely necessary.  What's even worse is that doctors who treat Lyme disease effectively (They are really helping people.) are being prosecuted.  These doctors' licenses are being suspended, and an insurance company sued a doctor for $100,000,000.  So if a doctor really wants to help a Lyme disease victim, he or she risks losing their license and/or being ruined financially.  Once again, in America, money matters more than anything: animals, people, everything. 
I remember, when I was a kid, a tick was found on my leg.  It had embedded itself into my flesh.  I cried as my stepfather used a knife to cut the tick out of my skin.
Another thing that pissed me off was this particular woman featured in the movie.  She had Lyme disease, but that didn't stop her from procreating.  She said that she had 4 or 5 miscarriages; at least one of them was confirmed to have died from Lyme disease!  I believe the baby was 18 months old when he or she died.  Eighteen months of pain!  This stupid, cruel, selfish bitch should be prosecuted for the murder of multiple children!  Even though she killed all those babies by passing her Lyme disease on to them, that didn't stop her from having another kid: unbelievably cruel!  It was so sad and infuriating to see her playing with her little boy, because she mentioned that he tested positive for Lyme disease!  She said that he's fine, and she hopes he'll continue to be.  What a piece of shit!  This is all part of why I've railed against biological parents so much.  I'm gonna consciously pass this horrible disease on to my little boy, and HOPE he'll be okay!  Fuck you!  Her fucking uterus should be removed.  She's a kid killer!          

Chickens

This is how chickens should be treated.

Think of how small and vulnerable chickens are.  They don't have a chance against humans.  What people do to them is absolutely horrible.  I've mentioned before how I'm always being offended by people's callus attitude toward many animals: especially "food" animals.  I was watching a TV show, when a couple of characters started talking about chicken.  One of them called chicken the "queen of meats," and the other laughed.  This was obviously supposed to be funny.  I didn't even smile.  I was offended.  When I think of chickens, I think of animals who need to be liberated incredibly badly; I don't think of them as meat.  To make a joke about chickens being nothing more than meat is disgusting.  To laugh at their suffering is unbelievably shitty. 
That was yesterday.  Today, I stopped watching a movie, because a scene began in which a guy chased a terrified chicken around, as other people helped contain the chicken to a certain area.  Again, I'm pretty sure this was supposed to be funny.  Once again, I didn't think it was remotely funny; I was offended.  Seeing a chicken who is running scared, trying to get away from people, is just a sad reminder of the way things are.  People terrorize chickens, on a massive scale, everyday.
It's so sad that chickens, and those who want to liberate them, face such an uphill battle.        

Father's Day

Another bullshit holiday.  The only fathers who should be honored are good adoptive fathers.  Good adoptive parents (who only adopt and don't procreate) are heroes.  Biological parents are selfish misery spreaders.
This one is dedicated to all the people who don't have fathers: like me.  I've written it here before, but it's Father's Day here in the states, so cut me some slack.  I'm the result of a teen pregnancy, which led to a shotgun wedding.  My father left when I was 2 years old.  I saw him occasionally over the years, but I haven't seen or heard from him since I was a teen.  He is the typical deadbeat dad.  He doesn't care about me, and my mother had to take him to court at least once to get him to pay child support.  He is, as far as I'm concerned, trash. 
Today, I was watching a movie called Antonia's Line.  There was a character in it that reminded me of me.  He said things like, "The best thing is to never have been born.  The second best thing is to die."  He said other things like that.  Like me, he believed that to live on this planet is to suffer.  If memory serves, this film won the Oscar for best foreign film.  I think it goes to show that people appreciate reality in their entertainment. 
As far as the world we live in is concerned, the other day, a coworker told me that one of our fellow employees shot himself on the way to work.  He killed himself.  I didn't really know him.  I can't picture who he was.  I Googled him: but to no avail.  All I know is that he is free from pain.  Meanwhile, my foot pain is severe, and I must stand fulltime for my job.
So many fathers have been little or nothing more than sperm donors that I think we should abolish this bullshit holiday.  People like me don't need to be reminded that plenty of people have been lucky enough to have decent fathers.  I see it everyday at work: fathers with sons that are older than I was when he stopped going to stores with me (if he ever did).   

Ichi the Killer

Movie review-see Ichi the Killer: unless you're a puss.  It is ultra-violent.

I Saw a Skunk

playful pup

The skunk was not dead, and of course I'm not referring to seeing one on TV or in a photo.  It was nighttime.  I looked out my window and saw an animal walking around.  At first, I was thinking cat.  Then I took a closer look.  She was a skunk!  It was the first time I had seen a live skunk in the flesh.  It was exciting, but the skunk didn't do the moonwalk or anything; she was just foraging like all the other animals around here do.
Darn that Adam Sandler!  A few weeks ago, I watched You Don't Mess with the Zohan.  I enjoyed it; it was pretty funny.  The problem is that there is so much hummus in the freaking movie.  It obviously is in there as some kind of joke.  His character even puts out a fire by attaching a hose to a giant tank of hummus.  I was liking the movie, but I was thinking that it would probably lead to me buying hummus, and it did.  I love hummus, and I hadn't had it in a while.  Sure enough, because of Adam Sandler, I've eaten pounds of it since watching that movie.  I've been eating it every day.  It does make such a great chip dip.  Now I'm trying to turn it into a positive situation.  I bought a package of carrots; even though I don't like carrots by themselves.  The plan is to use the hummus as a veggie dip: instead of a chip dip.  I plan to try dipping cucumber slices into hummus too. 
I discovered another great product: Bird's Eye (frozen) oriental stir fry.  It is so good.  It contains broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, and other (oriental) veggies.  It comes with a delicious sauce to put on it.  I rarely go to restaurants.  The first time I had it, I thought it was as good as something I'd get in a Chinese restaurant.  I've been eating it almost every day.  Life is short.  We must treat ourselves well: especially when we're talking about a food that is vegan and healthy.
Today and yesterday were pretty good days.  My car died recently.  That has been difficult to deal with.  Who looks forward to buying a car?  I can only think of rich people, and I am not rich.  So it's been a tough time for me; that's why I posted those song lyrics last week.  Life can be hard, but we must press on and try to improve things.

The Whale

A free groundhog

The Whale is the name of a movie I saw recently on DVD.  It is a beautiful documentary that is narrated (very well) by Ryan Reynolds.  It is about a young male Orca, named Luna, that became separated from the rest of his pod.  He found himself off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Orcas are social creatures: like us.  Since he had no whales to hang out with, he tried to make friends with all the humans he encountered.   I don't want to reveal too much.  It is a great movie.  It's rated G.  There is no offensive material in it whatsoever.  By the way, the breath-taking scenery alone is a reason to see this movie.
I don't know what to say.  I love animals.  They are in my thoughts everyday.  I wish humans would stop imprisoning them and eating them.  So far, I don't think much of capitalism.  Greed is the main reason why animals like pigs, chickens, and cows are treated horribly.  They cram as many as they can into a building without concern for how much space each animal has.  On a personal note, I'm unemployed, looking for a job, and my savings are running out.  The gap between the haves and have nots keeps widening in this country.  I feel like we ruined this beautiful natural world with our sick society.  Nature is perfect; there's nothing wrong with it.  We haven't improved upon it; it is superior to anything we have done.
What would it take to get people to stop eating meat?  We certainly don't need to.  For the most part, it's bad for our health.  The healthiest foods are whole foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains; meat can't compare.
I find myself at a loss for words.  Stop eating meat and eggs.  Treat animals with respect and kindness; they belong here as much as we do.  They should have the same freedoms and protection from violence that we have.      

They're Back!

Brand new baby groundhog: spring of 2013.

"Will you cut it out already?" I said to the sparrow perched on the telephone line.  She had been chirping the same way over and over and over again.  It's amazing how loud a tiny bird can be.  It's also amazing how annoying they can be.  She just kept on chirping.
"Enough!"  I yelled out the window at her.  I think she heard me, but still she chirped continuously.  This time, I went right up to the window and screamed at her.  She just kept chirping.
"What the heck is going on over there?"  yelled Bumpkin from the bedroom.  "We're trying to watch Groundhog Day here!"
"I'm sorry, Bumpkin," I replied.  "But this bird is driving me nuts!"
Suddenly, the screen slid open, and one of Bumpkin's fireballs of destruction zoomed past me and out the window.  It hit the sparrow and exploded.  The bird had been disintegrated completely.
"Thanks Bumpkin," I said.  Now that that bird was gone, I could hear all the other birds chirping and singing.  One of them was singing a sort of intricate tune.  The problem was it was a very short tune, and she just kept repeating it endlessly.
"Shut up!"  I yelled out the window.  That had no effect whatsoever.
"Hey buster, I told you we're trying to watch a movie in here!" said Bumpkin.
"I'm sorry, but these birds are driving me crazy with all the noise they make.  They never stop; they just keep chirping and singing, chirping and singing till infinity!"
"Do you want me to kill 'em all?" asked Bumpkin.
"No, I guess not," I said.  "Can you think of any other solutions?" I asked.  I immediately noticed that the case that holds my ear plugs opened up.  The ear plugs flew across the room toward me.  Then they gently lodged themselves into my ear canals.
"Thanks Bumpkin, but I was listening to music.  I can't hear the birds now, but I also can't hear the music."
"Shush!"  yelled Bumpkin.  "You always do this when your ear plugs are in.  Your voice gets way too loud!"
I took them out of my ears.  "Sorry Bumpkin, but it seems like there's just no solution to this problem.  Do you think you could ask them to be quiet?"
"I can try, but their bird brains might be too small to properly receive my telepathic request."
"I'd be most grateful if you could give it a shot, Mistress Bumpkin."
"If I do, will you quit your whining?"
"I promise."
"Okay, here it goes."
The birds continued to chirp and sing.
"Did you do it?" I asked.
"Yes, I did it.  I told you I didn't think it would work.  Now will you quit your complaining?"
"Yes, ma'am."  You can't win with these birds.  They're cute, but they're way too noisy.    

Bumpkin on Film

I miss you, Sheila.  Come back if you can.

The 3 groundhog sisters, who are hibernating this winter in my apartment, and I were watching The Matrix on TV.
"Hooey.  I can do anything that dumb human can.  He isn't the one; I am the real one!  What could he do against me?  I bring deadly accurate various-sized fireballs to the table.  I could incinerate him completely before he even knew I didn't like him.  I'm ready too by the way," said Bumpkin.
"What exactly are you ready for Miss Bumpkin?" I asked.
"To take complete control of the Earth from the rule of the humans."
"Wow.  That's pretty good ma'am."
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"No, of course I believe you ma'am, I've seen what you can do.  You're more powerful than Yoda."
"Damn straight," Bumpkin replied.  "Once again, even with Yoda, it could be over as soon as it started.  I could dispatch him with claws, fireballs, or a little of both; it would be my choice."
"That's right ma'am."
"And you don't be condescending to me--"
"Sorry, ma'am--"
"Shut up."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Shut up already!  Don't you know what that means?  Wait!  Don't answer that!  Just literally shut up, you jerk!  And I want to watch Groundhog Day after this!"   As soon as Lucinda and Sloopy heard her say that, they squealed with delight.  The sisters love that movie so much because groundhogs are mentioned several times in the film, and, their personal favorite actor (all 3 of them), Bill Murray, is in it.  Also, at least one groundhog appears in the film, and it's funny.  I've lost track of how many times they've watched it.  I once saw an episode of Cribs in which a rapper had out-Scarfaced quite possibly all or most of the other over-zealous Scarface fans.  Not only did he proudly display Scarface posters and the like, he had set up a TV to play Scarface on a continuous loop: over and over again till forever.  That's what it feels like is happening here.  If not for shows like The Office, 30 Rock, CSI, and ones that involve food (any and all), it could get close to that insane Scarface nonsense.