This is the start of our video reviews. Please let us know what you think.

die arbeiten an "pig paradise" dem film haben begonnen. einen (wirklich ganz) kurzen einblick bekommt ihr hier:

http://gerockt.ja-nee.de/Movie1.avi

Bismillah:

Abu Bakr, though he had listened to the wise words of his good wife Fahimah, found the prospects of strong wine, glittering plunder and wanton sexual pleasure outweighed her foreboding admonitions; he advising her to remain silent with regard to the Holy Prophet. For this request, he agreed that he would do his best to keep the depraved Muhammad from coming unto her.
The widow bowed her head respectfully, obeying her brutal husband.
Staying for a time to renew their strength at the oasis, Muhammad announced over a fine evening meal that they would return to Medina and take it in the name of Allah.
“That will be easy, considering we slaughtered everyone there who resisted us,” slurred a drunken Abu, he, the Prophet and their closest followers sitting at a long table. Veiled, tempting sirens with bare breasts served the bounty Allah had provided: the flesh of vultures, vipers, and lizards gracing the table.
“Good point oaf,” the deranged Muhammad agreed, seven rings of gold and silver on his fingers, his mouth stuffed with roast vulture. He swallowed, belched loudly and added, “Allah revealed to me in a dream that Medina will be our base, and from there we shall send brave warriors out to capture and recruit new followers.”
“More men will be needed after the debacle at Mecca,” replied Abu, looking to their limited numbers, choking down the bitter flesh of a fat, boiled viper with another gulp of wine.
The evil Prophet hid a smile at the sight of Abu’s nausea; watching from the head of the table in delight as his devoted followers dined on the flesh of vermin. “No matter about the others, they are dead and gone, it was the will of Allah,” declared an uncaring Muhammad, spitting a shard of fractured vulture bone to the table. Wiping greasy hands on his filthy silk robe, he grabbed a wine bottle and took a deep drink from it. “My belly still rumbles, bring tasty dung beetles to sate my gnawing hunger,” he ordered to a siren nearest him.
The lone survivor of the battle of Mecca, a swarthy Bedouin named Hamal, sat at the table, eating from an earthenware bowl of lizard soup, seasoned with ground peppercorns, onions and the juices of crushed scorpions. Having considered his low standing amongst his fellow Muslims for calling the Prophet a lying coward to his face, he wished to make amends by making himself useful to Muhammad. In return, he hoped the murderous Prophet would allow him to live, so he, like his debauched leader, would have the chance to kill, rape and plunder in the name of Pig Allah, the moon god.
Their meal finished, a lustful, drunken Muhammad initiated another sex orgy with the sirens, the warriors of Islam delighting in the licentious revelry: the debauched Prophet entering the tent of the Nubian harlot Sheba, relieving his carnal urges while held in her willing arms.
“Oh great Prophet, if it is the will of Allah, will you take me as one of your beloved wives to Medina?” asked Sheba, looking up to him with seductive, dark eyes as he continued to know her.
“Sure, as my young bride Ayesha often grows sore from my constant attentions,” grunted Muhammad, reaching orgasm for a third time, finding her the most satisfying harlot he had ever encountered.
“She is only six, most wait until they bleed first,” replied Sheba, the Prophet looking at her and frowning, both knowing that he was little more than a brutal, licentious pedophile who delighted in the rape of little girls and boys. Rising from the bed and closing his robe, he left her tent, adjusting his filthy silk turban.
Later, when others at the oasis were asleep or passed out from drunkenness, Muhammad, oaf Abu, and Hamal the Bedouin sat by a small fire, discussing plans for the recruitment of new followers. As the fire died down the Holy Prophet rose and walked into the shadows, releasing foul, pungent gas from his posterior while Abu and the Bedouin continued speaking.
“When will we be leaving for Medina?” asked Hamal, looking forward to visiting a comely harlot he had met there.
“Very soon, but you will not leave with us,” answered Abu, just as Muhammad leapt upon the hapless Bedouin with an oiled garrote. Pulling it tight around his throat with all his strength, he gritted his teeth and strangled the infidel to death, crushing his windpipe.
“That is what one gets for insulting Allah’s messenger,” declared the wicked Muhammad with a smile, allowing the corpse to drop to the ground. He pulled the garrote from Hamal’s throat and pocketed it in his filthy silk robe. Looking to Abu, he said, “Get over here and help me with the body oaf.”
Abu rose, the Prophet and his henchman carrying the remains of Hamal into the desert.
On the next day, Abu’s young nephew Abdullah appeared from his mother’s hovel at the border of the oasis. The adolescent appeared more of a man than a boy, his face having a short beard. Troubled, he asked his uncle as to why he had left his aunt Umm to die of grief, and why he had permitted the Holy Prophet to know him and his little cousin Ayesha. Not aware of Abu’s incestuous relationship with his daughter, he awaited the answer.
“My daughter Ayesha is his child bride, given unto him by Gabriel on high; alas, Muhammad is also a pederast, it was the will of Allah for him to know you,” a shrugging Abu replied, revolted at the thought of pederasty, not looking his nephew in the eyes.
“The will of Allah? Then Allah is an evil, insidious demon possessed of lust and caprice!” exclaimed Abdullah. “Your Prophet is a depraved sodomite sent from the depths of hell: grasping my crotch, he raped me after having a seizure, holding me down and declaring it was the will of Pig Allah!”
“I don’t know what to say, my nephew,” replied Abu, looking to the ground, knowing that Muhammad had truly hurt a beloved member of his family by raping him.
“I do,” said an angry Abdullah, tears welling in his eyes as he glared at his uncle, “I say be gone forever from our oasis, you, your demonic Prophet, your vile brethren, and never call me your nephew again!” Wiping away tears, he turned and trudged off, a saddened Abu watching as the young man disappeared into a date grove.
A fortnight passed; the Muslims returning to the nearly deserted city of Medina. The faithful inhabitants celebrated at the sight of Prophet Muhammad, joyously greeting his arrival with a spectacle of drunken revelry and lasciviousness. To the Prophet’s pleasure, he found the brothel was still open, the madam thankful to Allah that the brave warriors of Islam had returned unto their midst.
After indulging in the favors of comely, dark-eyed harlots for several days, Muhammad, his wives Ayesha and Sheba, together with his entourage of slavewomen and little Jewish boys, moved into the merchant Sabri’s house. Oaf Abu and wife Fahimah accompanied them, as the residence had more than enough room.
The body of Sabri, murdered by the Holy Prophet months earlier, lay rotting on the floor, a tearful Fahimah looking to the desiccated remains of her loving husband.
“Lamentations over infidels is forbidden, it is the will of Allah that such die for resisting him,” declared Muhammad, picking fat fleas from his beard and crushing them between his fingernails. Ordering other followers to remove the remains, they dragged the body from the house and dumped it in the street for all to see. Looking down, the Prophet smirked and kicked Sabri’s mummified severed finger through the open door.
“You soulless brigand, I am an infidel, why don’t you just kill me and put me out of my misery?” asked a defiant Fahimah, tears of grief wetting her cheeks.
The Holy Prophet raised an arm to smite her, Abu stepping between them. “You will not strike my good wife Fahimah, nor will you touch her in any other fashion from this point forward; there is much wisdom in her utterances regarding the likes of you,” warned Abu, staring at the Prophet with anger in his eyes.
Muhammad lowered his arm. Hiding his fear, he frowned at his muscular henchman. “Of course oaf,” he muttered, quickly turning and leaving the house. “Bastard,” he spat in defeat, heading to the brothel for the favors of harlots, strong wine, and hashish.
“Thank you husband, for what you have said and done for me,” said Fahimah.
“Don’t thank me, thank your gods,” replied a confused Abu, sweat on his brow, looking to the doorway that the madman Muhammad had passed through.
Charged by the words of the Holy Prophet, vanguards of devoted followers moved across the land surrounding Medina, converting scores to Islam in the name of Allah the Pig. Along the way, the warriors helped themselves to women, children and glittering plunder: slaughtering, torturing, raping and robbing as caravans, villages, towns and cities fell before them. Returning to Medina with fresh converts, the warriors rested, joining with their fellow Muslims in idleness, debauchery, licentious revelry and drunkenness.
Fearful of being exposed as the coward he was, Muhammad was determined to prove he was an able leader, chosen by Allah the moon god. Together with trusted group of followers, he, Abu and a band of vicious cutthroats entered a peaceful village near Medina in the middle of the night. A guard, subdued and beaten by a pair of the Prophet’s followers, asked Muhammad, “We have done you no harm stranger, what do you want here?”
“We want everything,” answered a smiling Muhammad. Pulling out his garrote, he strangled the defeated infidel to death, fulfilling the will of Allah.
Allah the Pig smiled upon the devoted followers; over time the Muslim army was strengthened to near invincibility, their numbers in Medina now amounting to over 300 score.

Well, let's just say that the debate was a HUGE SURPRISE! Given the way that I have watched the media savage Hillary Clinton, and the way that they seemed to be trying to do that to Palin as well, lately, I was curious.

She was truimphant in this debate. This is the first year that I am going to vote Republican for two reasons. One, John McCain, because I think he is the only HONEST politician in WASHINGTON, and two, the issues that they are talking about make sense to me. For me, this election is all about being an AMERICAN.

I like being one.  I was born here, and I'm a Native Californian.  Last night I took copious notes because I wanted to see how Biden (who represents my party's "ideology" ) stacked up against Palin, my new pick in the wake of the Hillary Clinton debacle.

You see, you have no idea how much the Democratic Party let down the feminist set by their actions toward Hillary.  There is no turning back this year, for many of us.  We saw the most DISGUSTING SEXISM, MISOGYNY and actual POISON hurled at the woman who WE WANTED to elect.  That, my friends, is the coveted tail end feminist Baby Boom vote -- that you have blown, Democratic Party.

And the WRATH goes back to the beginning of this primary season for me, when I tried to get a LAWN SIGN for Hillary and couldn't.  My town was already sewn up.  My district was as well.  Apparently the prominent Democratic Women (who I elected faithfully in every year since Reagan) had already decided for me, that Hillary wasn't going to win.

In fact, I question why her ads arrived several days after SUPER TUESDAY in my mailbox.  Was it rigged?  I don't know.  But I don't appreciate the DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN CALIFORNIA ONE BIT AFTER THIS ELECTION.  And, I have NO RESPECT for the WOMEN LEADERS IN MY PARTY, anymore.  Know that.  So switching from Clinton to Palin is not hard for me.  On that alone.

So, the debate.  Here is the McCain camp's ad on Biden which I saw over at Patriot Room yesterday.  McCain's crew has it right.  Here he is for levity's sake, and there he was last night-- up close and personal.

"What am I talking about" couldn't have been more appropriate in terms of last night's debate.  What was he  talking about?  He mangled it.  All he could talk about was the Bush era in light of camp McCain.

McCain is NOT BUSH!  We all know that.  McCain and Palin are going to deliver us from the BUSH era.  This next four years in WASHINGTON will be an era of DEEP REFORM by one of the most ethical men to come along.  John McCain.  I know, because I began my research on him way back in June.  My feelings about what the Democratic Party did to both of the Clintons?  We won't go all the way there right now.  I loathe the Democratic party right now.  And I'm not alone.

While Palin was quick to talk about the Greed on Wall Street and reform -- Biden talked about hanging out at "Home Depot" as if it were some kind of metaphor for the American Dream.  Well, given the law Obama voted for, that Biden voted against?  Hmmm....

Obama, Corporate America and Labor (a must read, this morning)

“...On February 10, 2005, Obama voted in favor of the passage of the misnamed Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 which seriously hampers the rights of ordinary citizens to challenge corporations. Senators Biden, Boxer, Byrd, Clinton, Corzine, Durbin, Feingold, Kerry Leah, Reid and 16 other democrats voted against it.

So did 14 state attorneys general, including Lisa Madigan of Obama’s home state of Illinois. She called it a “corporate giveaway.” The Senate also received a desperate plea from more than 40 civil rights and labor organizations, including the NAACP, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Human Rights Campaign, American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Justice and Democracy, Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense Fund) and Alliance for Justice..."

Given that the Democrats were usually for the working classes and the poor?

What are you talking about Joe Biden?

Sarah Palin was quick to remind Biden of things like this wasn't she?  She was.

I caught Brazile saying in a little newsclip about how Biden could really identify with America's Middle Class, based on where he shops.  Well, what you need to know about this particular demographic I'm in, is that we see the death of American Regionalism in all these big box shopping malls to begin with.  We could start with the architecture?  Or we could talk about the crummy little jobs that the above vote, ahem...

So, what were you talking about, Biden?  Especially on that Labor Law above?

Personally, I like John McCain's ideas about reinvesting in American Labor, and in the American people.  His ideas about small town businesses fit with my demographic's ideas.  Yes, California knew all about arugula first, no?  Organics?  We are so about taste, aren't we?  In the West.

I see McCain and Palin moving away from the corporate claw that has destroyed American Industry in a series of grotesque takeovers, no?  And now, with the almost complete destruction of the American Middle Class, Biden -- who do you think is going to shop there?  I'll refer you to this piece...

I believe Hillary Clinton can fix poverty in America by using FDR’s “New Deal” WPA methods…

McCain and Palin are way ahead of the Democratic Party on this, no?  They are.

You see Biden, while you are willing to talk about GENOCIDE across the sea, you are not willing to talk about the GENOCIDE happening right here on the streets of AMERICA, right now.  Let me help you, Joe.

I'm not well versed enough to speak about the war, myself, but I can tell you this -- I absolutely TRUST John McCain to know what to do with that.  How many years was he in the military?  And, believe me -- I'm quite certain that John McCain has looked at the last eight years with the same horror most Democrats felt.  He will damn well know how to establish the correct way of doing things, won't he Joe?

In my impression, Sarah Palin was correct in calling the Democrat's stance "DANGEROUS" -- and so Joe Biden, after all these years in Washington, after all these years, I just want to ask you how you let yourself be aligned with Democrats connected to so much CORRUPTION?  It's a curious thing.  It is.

You see, long time Democrats such as yourself should have given more thought to Hillary Clinton, shouldn't you?  Why would you let a colleague like her be savaged publicly?  Did you have no idea what would happen?

I guess not.  But, now you know -- because you are just beginning to understand the tidal wave of women who will back Palin this year, for all the right reasons -- not just because she was wearing a skirt and fab little pumps.  You should really rethink it, Joe.  Really rethink the messages you are sending via association, and what it will all mean for your own career down the road.  That lipstick on a pig remark?  It just added insult to injury, my friend.

Now, the feminist vote is watching VERY CAREFULLY about what you have planned for Sarah Palin,  aren't we?

So, I found a cute ad and a website this morning on all that Troopergate stuff that my friends might want to take a look at.  Here is McCain's ad -- (he really is doing a fab job I might add, with his whole campaign so far in the ads!) They are funny and charming...

Here is the site:

PalinTruthFiles.com

You know Joe Biden, it's just so all about the Dems agenda this year isn't it?  Like this!

What is the deal here, with these fascist looking squads?  We live in AMERICA!  Don't we?

Blunt defends taxpayer-funded political work

Obama 'truth squad' prosecutor blames TV reporter for flap

"...SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt defended his use of tax dollars for political purposes in a guest column in today's Springfield News-Leader.

"Missourians entrust their law enforcement professionals with extraordinary power. Senator Obama and his helpers should cease and desist from this ugly enterprise and apologize to Missourians for their very poor judgment," Blunt wrote.

Blunt's op/ed came in response to a News-Leader editorial printed Tuesday taking the governor to task for using his office and public relations staff to inject himself into presidential politics.

Blunt defended the practice, arguing "the security of constitutional rights and the integrity of law enforcement are essential parts of my oath to uphold the laws and constitution."

"As for me, I will strongly oppose the use of law enforcement as a vehicle for loose and outrageous talk about "targeting" people who express their views on candidates and political issues," Blunt wrote. "I am astonished that you would call on me to keep quiet while political partisans act to chill free speech. Here is my answer to your call: 'Not a chance.'"

I guess my question to you Joe Biden, after last night's debate, is what exactly have you gotten yourself into?  You seemed like a nice enough man.  It's just that you seemed like you were in over your head...

Or perhaps, your own principles have been blinded on some level?

Because this, given the state of the American Econony right now, looks mighty stupid...

What are you thinking about Joe Biden?

Because -- when the Republican Party looks more like the Democratic Party we all pledged our allegiance to once upon a time...

What gives?

$920 Billion More to Bail Out the World

“…With one socialist “bailout” bill apparently on the way to passage by Congress, two more are pending―both of them sponsored by Senator Barack Obama. One is the Jubilee Act, which would cancel as much as $75 billion worth of Third World debt, and the other is the Global Poverty Act, which would cost an estimated $845 billion. Total potential cost: $920 billion.

Meanwhile, in an appearance on the Fox News Channel on Sunday, Republican Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan called the $700 billion plan now before Congress “Fleece in our time,” a reference to Neville Chamberlain’s “Peace in our time” appeasement deal with Hitler that eventually plunged the world into a World War. The House is scheduled to vote on the measure on Monday.

Calling the deal “Wall Street socialism,” McCotter added, “Now the Wall-Street crony capitalists have put a 700-pound billion dollar bag of dung on taxpayers’ doorsteps, rung the bell, and expect you to thank them when you answer it. I think the American people will believe otherwise…”

I'm voting for John McCain because of his LEXINGTON PROJECT, and his platform...

He's right -- if it gets worse here economically in this country -- we will be looking at problems we've never had to face yet on our own soil, won't we?

John McCain's REFORM SQUAD is going to clean up WASHINGTON so we can restructure American Nationalism.  We really aren't going to vote in AMERICAN FASCISM anytime soon are we?  I didn't think so, either.  Like I said, It's TEDDY TIME! ala Teddy Roosevelt, kiddos.

WE LOVE YOU JOHN McCAIN!

"REFORM, PROSPERITY, PEACE"

Nguyên liệu

• 1/2kg xương ống, 50g bóng bì, giò sống,
• 1 miếng ức gà khoảng 250g, 1/2 trái tim heo khoảng 150g,
• 5 tai nấm đông cô, 1/2 củ cà rốt,
• 1/2 củ xu hào, 200g bông cải trắng , tôm khô, 50g đậu Hà Lan trái.
• Muối, tiêu, đường, hành lá, ngò rí, 1 củ gừng, 1/2 chén rượu trắng.

Chế biến

• Gừng cạo vỏ, đập dập nướng vàng. Cho vào nồi nấu chung với xương ống và 3 lít nước khoảng 1h cho nước ngọt trong xương.
• Bóng ngâm nước vô gạo cho trắng, xát gừng với rượu trắng để khử mùi xả nước lạnh cho sạch nước gừng, vớt ra để ráo.
• Giò sống vào nấm lấy một tí bột năng trong lòng nấm rồi cho gió sống khi nấu nó bun ra, ướp gia vị, nhồi vào nấm đông cô. Tim heo, thịt gà xắt lát mỏng ướp gia vị, muối tiêu, đường, hành, tỏi băm. Xào chín với bóng bì.
• Cà rốt, xu hào, bông cải, đậu Hà Lan, nấm đông cô cho vào nước sôi, vớt ra ngâm nước lạnh.
• Đặt nước dùng lên bếp, nấu sôi, nêm gia vị vừa ăn. Cho các nguyên liệu thịt, và rau củ vào, nấu sôi trở lại.
• Nhắc xuống cho hành ngò rắc tiêu vào. Múc canh nóng ra tô lớn.

It was great watching him roll into battle last night on the pig...

GRATS KYLE!!!

GM Loki got it and I also have it? Who think that Pigs or Wild Boar mounts are one of the not so popular or even useless mounts in-game! Well we will prove you wrong guys and dolls since from this day onwards we will appreciate the importance of our shiny little yellow creature.

The Race Car!

It all started out of boredom when I decided to held an unofficial mini event called the Pigs race. Certainly it was unofficial and as I supposed it is a surprise as a result the players are expecting nothing from us. But as a Good Samaritan we gave a little bit of appreciation trophy to the player who lends some of their time to have fun with us.

Originally the event materialized because of the request of the gamers in the past. They want a race event but as we all know it is a little bit impossible because some characters have a movement speed advantage by default compared to other characters especially Foema’s. Presenting the test run!

The Course : GM LAND

So Loki and and I decided to make a test run in the famous GM landia. Which is a graphically suitable for a race track but technicaly none because the  problem is some of the red tiles are not acessible but hey no one can stop this event so we give it a go.

Loki win the race and at the end we ended up PK'ing each other and it even involves CM T and claire whose in the GM land for the spotlight interview.

The Real Deal

Image from Alia

More than 15 players participated in this event casual players to prominent players alike. Some are riding wild boars and some comes with their trusty little pig while some become the pigs or wild boar itself. As I said during the event “Ride a pig or be a Pig!” and I mean it literally. Special thanks to the MountCaptor who sells a transformation scroll that can turn you to a monster of your choice. There are even some spectators who arrive at the event just to watch.

The Course : FROM AZRAN to ARMIA TOWN

So here is the real course from Azran to Armia the first one to arrive at the armia bridge or pass Alia and KawaiiSan ( The Goal ) will win the trophy ( 1 Laktorerium Powder ).

Image from Alia

At the end of the race players hanged out inside armia town to show of their pigs as well as too cheer off and motivate each other and of course the much awaited second course.

The Final Course: Armia Town to Azran Town Ship (thyrene)

In this course we need to race from Armia Town up to the ship in Azran where thyrene is waiting; thyrene will record the first 10 races who arrives and they will win the prize.

The players arrived safely in the destination and the suprise event has ended. In the end most of the players enjoyed and appreciated it and they are requesting for it to be an official event,  An an event is not an event without your traditional picture taking so before we bid goodbye to each other we capture our kodak moments in this memorable event.

Till then ^^

]]> http://shumanities.wordpress.com/?p=80 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:42:33 +0000 patrickgavin http://shumanities.ro.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/banned-books-week-a-day-no-pigs-would-die/ You could probably label me and my wife (and by extension, my son too) as flexitarians. We eat mostly a vegetarian diet, but make allowances in certain situations (for social, pragmatic, cultural, or nutritional reasons). Why are we flexitarians? Well, partly, to save money. Partly, for health reasons. Mostly, though, I (and, I would guess my wife too) eat a mostly-vegetarian diet because of (imo) the major ethical problems and environmental dilemmas associated with the production and slaughtering of meat or animal products for mass consumption, especially on the scale that we see in the United States and many other Western nations.

I mention this because I think it makes my choice of BannedBookToReviewToday more interesting. A Day No Pigs Would Die (ADNPWD), the sixteenth most challenged book of the 1990s, provides some difficult reading material, even for me, a "hardened" adult. ADNPWD was first published in 1972 and tells Robert Newton Peck's (semi-autobiographical) tale about becoming an adult on a 1930s Vermont farm. It's a coming of age tale, but one in which the protagonist, Robert, struggles into adulthood in an entirely different age.  Jim Mulvey, in "A Defense of A Day No Pigs Would Die," notes:

Combine the deadpan humor of Huck Finn, his realistic dialect and uncouth language, his often sad observation of human misery, and his understated accounts of poverty, sin, and death and place this narrator in a Charlotte's Web-like world, but without its transcendent, rosy pastoralism, and you will perhaps see why Robert Newton Peck's A Day No Pigs Would Die is a major achievement of adolescent literature and one of the most challenged novels in America's schools.¹

Chapters 11-15 provide much DifficultToDigest material, especially for the 12-year-old for whom this book is intended. This latter portion of Peck's work guides the reader through "three increasingly horrifying accounts of animal mating and death that preface the death of Haven [Robert's father]."² I reread chapter 14 this morning and started the fight with my tear ducts (the last thing I needed was one of my co-workers walking in to find me sobbing over the slaughter of poor Pinky) a page in when - after finding out about the failed apple crop, the failed hunt, and the coming winter - I read:

Pinky did not have the litter of pigs. She was bred and she was barren. And she ate too much to keep as a pet. Samson had mounted her twice, and there was no litter. Nothing. And little estrus. She never really come to full heat, not even once.³

But Chapter 14 also teaches us some good, quality lessons, some of which might be needed more than ever in today's world. In a time when pig and pork have been almost entirely divorced from each other for the vast majority of Americans and factory farming aided by the injection of various growth hormones has become common practice, the humanization of the act of killing an animal for food that Peck provides us in Chapter 14 is especially important. At the same time, the Peck family's practical need for that ham reminds those flexitarians/vegetarians/vegans/etceteratarians among us about the harsh actualities of life and death on the farm. In the story, though, the need for the inclusion of the slaughtering of Pinky (as well as the inclusion of the mating scene) obviously fulflls a much greater purpose than simply reminding vegetarians that meat consumption can be justified: this scene is essential for Rob's "coming of age" in rural 1930s Vermont. Just after Haven and Robert gut-wrenchingly "get it done," Peck provides the reader with a touching scene in which Robert finds the ability to forgive his dying father and let his hatred for him dissipate:

"Oh, Papa. My heart's broke.:"

"So is mine," said Papa. "But I'm thankful you're a man."

I just broke down, and papa let me cry it all out. I just sobbed and sobbed with my head up toward the sky and my eyes closed, hoping God would hear it.

"That's what being a man is all about, boy. It's just doing what 's got to be done."

I felt his big hand touch my face, and it wasn't the hand that killed hogs. It was almost as sweet as Mama's. His hand was rough and cold, and as I opened my eyes to look at it, I could see that his knuckles were dripping with pig blood. It was the hand that just butchered Pinky. He did it. Because he had to. Hated to and had to. And he knew that he'd never have to say to me that he was sorry. His hand against my face, trying to wipe away my tears, said it all. His cruel pig-sticking fist with its thick fingers so lightly on my cheek.

I couldn't help it. I took his hand to my mouth and held it against my lips and kissed it. Pig blood and all. I kissed his hand again and again, with all its stink and fatty slime of dead pork. So he'd understand that I'd forgive him even if he killed me.

I was still holding his hand as he straighted up tall against the gray winter sky. He looked down at me and then he looked away. With his free arm he raked the sleeve of his work shirt across his eyes. It was the first time I ever seen him do it.

The only time.⁴

Jim Mulvey argues the novel's best attributes better than I can, when he says:

Such...real emotion, as well as the book's lessons and pastoral wisdom, and the picture of family unity and love certainly more than outweigh the problematic nitpicking of those who challenge this novel. Each of the novel's controversies is completely justifiable given the reality of the book's world, the strong family values of the Pecks, the admirable bond between a father and son, and the growth of Rob, who is not only an interesting and sensitive narrator, but good son. Over the course of a year Rob has learned to look outside himself, to gather the wisdom of nature, to appreciate the tender love of his parents, and to understand the kindness of his supportive Baptist neighbors.

For these reasons, A Day No Pigs Would Die is not only an appropriate novel for middle school students; it is a necessary one.⁵

I agree, though I know I'll not be eating pig tonight.

2. Mulvey, "A Defense," 155.

3. Robert Newton Peck, A Day No Pigs Would Die (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996), 134.

4. Peck, ADNPWD, 139-40.

5. Mulvey, "A Defense," 158.

I Ought To Be In Pictures Dir. Bob Clampett  USA  1939   7 min.

- WB Looney tunes with Porky Pig on opening still
- real life people walking into the film studio - shows animator drawing porky pig
- LUNCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! animators run to the mess hall
- Daffy Duck starts talking to Porky and tells him to quit his contract
- they walk through the real life studio and knock on the studio head's door
- Hello, Porky - cmon in - hello Leon Sclesinger
- get out of cartoon contract - get into feature films - they shake hands
- "He'll be back!"
- Daffy was conspiring to take his place all along
- security guard at the feature film studio tosses porky pig into the street
- he comes onto a live set - QUIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- porky sneezes and gets caught - thrown out again - security guard sees him - chase begins again
- "don't like feature business - wonder if i can get my job back?"
- daffy tries to sell studio head about his acting/singing skills
- studio head ain't interested - FIGARO!!!!!!!!!!!!
- camera on a rolling car with porky drawn into the scene
- porky comes in to see daffy talking to leon and calls him outside - beats the crap out of him - papers go flying
- porky says april fools - I knew you'd come back - get back to work!
- he jumps back into the paper - daffy is in bandages now
- THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Duck Amuck  Dir. Chuck Jones   USA  1953   7 min.

- MERRY MELODIES
- Daffy Duck as a musketeer
- he talks to the animator / audience as the scenery disapears and he keeps changing
- farm to igloos - daffy keeps changing characters - now its a beach in hawaii
- white screen - giant pencil starts erasing daffy
- SOUND PLEASE! - guitar sounds like rifle / horn / donkey
- daffy opens his mouth and sounds like a rooster, ape...gets really pissed
- painted daffy as an alien - painted in mirror and he freaks
- THIS IS A CLOSE UP?!?!?!
- DAffy fights the black screen closing and falling on him
- The End...NO NO NO!!!
- it turns out it was Bugs Bunny all along as the animator
- "Ain't I a stinker?"

Begone Dull Care  Dir. Norman McClaren   CANADA  1949  8 min.

- abstract drawings / patterns / layouts / cutouts
- many different cuts set to the tempo of the music
- many different layers scrolling at different speeds
- different musical tempos differentiate different graphic symbols
- line drawings represent softer tempos

- first song ends - now second one comes on - much slower tempo
- focus on 2 dancing lines across the screen to the sound of a solitary piano
- it feels like a piano playing visually
- rising and dropping cymbals in the background

- new musical piece - much heavier tempo - back to abstract and loud visual graphics
- scrolling upwards - feels like we're on a train going somewhere
- scrolls through many different END / SALUT...to end the piece

Blinkity Blank Dir. Norman McClaren   CANADA  1952   7 min.

- similar to last piece - with abstract shapes
- he cut and manipulated the individual film strips to create the shapes and text
- very time intensive and consuming process to do
- he also manipulated the sound strips on the film as well
- use of colours and scratches in the film to create shapes

The Street  Dir. Caroline Leaf CANADA  1976  10 min.

- credit text - with sounds of kids playing overtop
- breathing - hands - face - snoring
- watercolour painting - maybe charcoal?
- grandmother dying - her last summer
- narrator telling the story - it's a man reminiscing about his childhood
- boys peak up the nurse's dress everytime she  she came
- boy tries to peak in and enter his old room - to give her a kiss every morning
- the sounds and voices are so rich in texture, yet the drawings are not
- mother brings the grandmother back to the house after her illness
- interesting segueway sequence from scene to scene - smoke/cloud like effect

Neighbours  Dir. Norman McClaren   CANADA  1952   7 min.

- frame by frame action - to show movement
- two men sitting on lawn chairs lighting pipes
- electronic music soundscape
- a flower grows in the middle of the lawn between their properties
- man smells flower and falls backwards - frame by frame movement again - shows them jumping - caught in mid air
- they both want the flower so now they are trying to build a fence between them
- back and forth the fence goes between properties
- now they start fencing with one another
- face painting to show them slowly degenerate to their primitive selves
- kicks their wives and babies - kills them
- in the process they kill themselves and the flower dies
- the fences are built around their graves and the flower splits into 2 and grows on their tombs
- LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR
The Hand   Dir. Jiri Trnka.  CZECHOSLOVAKIA. 1965.  18 Min.

- stop motion animation - like aardman/chicken run - uses puppets and real objects
- in comes a giant gloved hand through the window and breaks a potted plant
- plays with the pottery wheel and creates a hand out of the bowl the puppet had made
- knock knock knock - he moves the plant  and grabs his broom to swat at the hand
- ring ring ring - puppet looks for the phone
- has receiver to his ear but we see visual representation of the conversation over puppet's head
- hand brings a tv out of a box on the floor
- standoff between the puppet and the scene on the tv with a hand and shows various close ups of different hands (images...)
- puppet tries to smash fingers of the hand with a mace
- newspaper comes under the door - has a hand inside of it and the giant hand appears out of it
- burlesque hand now appears and dances for the puppet - beckoning him to come forward
- nooses appear from the fingers - they are actually strings to control the puppet
- he is now in a cage and is chiseling a hand out of stone at the direction of the giant hand
- burning the midnight oil in order to finish off the hand statue
- puppet is awarded with medals for completing the hand
- he topples over the hand statue to break out of the cage and escape - begins chase sequence with giant hand trying to catch him
- puppet makes it back to his home and slams door shut behind him / barricades himself inside
- glove on the giant hand is now black as the puppet had killed himself trying to close the closet and the potted plant fell on his head
- funeral scene ow as the puppet is laid to rest inside the closet

The Man Who Planted Trees  Dir. Frederick Back   CANADA  1987   30 min

part 1/4
- narrator Christopher Plummer
- beautifully drawn scenes and animations
- abstract yet engaging at the same time
- animated scrolling scenes showcase the houses and windows
- barren landscapes - sound of howling winds overheard - sets the tone/scene of the piece
- flowing cloak of the shepherd - bahhhhhhhhhhh bahhhhhhh
- flowing line drawing to show the tide coming in at the ocean shore
- the flowing/howling winds are represented within the flowing drawings
- always the ever present wind
- illumination from the candle was shown effectively in the lighting of the drawing
- 10,000 oak trees in this desolate land where before there was...nothing
- the land was dying from lack of trees
- WWI starts and scene changes to the trenches of France - explosions - bayonets - desolation
- once the war was over - the narrator went back to the barren lands to smell fresh air
- now the old man is a bee keeper - given up his sheep because they threatened his trees
- oaks of 1910 were now 10 years old and taller then the narrator - 3 sections 10 km x 11km
- one man with no mechanization had done this
- as for providence, she would need a cyclone to destroy this stretch of trees
- creation had just followed in a natural sequence - streams flowing with water where before they had been dry
- delegation came to observe the "natural growing forest" - was placed under government protection
- he knows more about this than anyone in the world
- WWII - shows warplanes in the sky - sounds of them as well
- complete a task worthy of God

2. (கேள்வி கேட்டவர் ஸ்ரீதர் நாராயண்) சாரா பேலின் ஹிலாரியை விட வேகமாக இருக்கின்றாரே. பாட்டியாகும் விஷயத்தில்தான். 2012-ல் ஆல்-வுமன் அதிபர் தேர்தலாக ஆகக் கூடிய சாத்தியக் கூறுகள் எப்படி

நிச்சயம் இல்லை.

ஏதேனும் ஒரு பெண் வேட்பாளர் இருக்க கூடிய சாத்தியம் மட்டுமே இருக்க முடியும். சாராவிற்கு கிடைத்தது எதிர்பார்க்காத பரிசு, ஹிலரியின் ஆதரவு வாங்குகளை பெற மெக்கெயின் போட்ட ஒரு கணக்கு.

இங்கே அரசுத்துறையில் பெண் அதிபர்கள் வருவது இன்னமும் பரவல் ஆகவில்லை. அப்படி ஆகும் என்றும் எனக்கு தோன்றவில்லை. என்னை பொருத்தவரை அதிபராக நிர்வாக திறமைக்கு அதிக முக்கியத்துவம் தர வேண்டும் அல்லாது genderக்கு அல்ல.

எனக்கு சாராபேலின் பல கொள்கைகள் உடன்பாடில்லை, பெண் என்ற ஒரே காரணத்திற்காக அவரை ஆதரிக்க முடியாது.

3. மெகயினின் பிரச்சாரத்தில் எந்த நிலைப்பாடு உங்களுக்கு உவப்பானதாக அமைந்திருக்கிறது?

தற்போதைய ஆட்சியை அதிகம் குறை சொல்லாமல் அதிலும் சமீபத்திய பொருளாதார சரிவுக்கிடையில் சமாளிக்கும் முதிர்ச்சி. முட்டை ஓட்டின் மேல் நடப்பது போன்ற கவனத்துடன் கையாளும் நகைச்சுவை கூடிய பிரச்சாரம்.

4. உதட்டுச்சாயம், பன்றி மொழியைப் பரவலாக இரு ஆண் ஜனாதிபதி வேட்பாளரும் பயன்படுத்துகிறார்களே. சாரா பேலினையும் ஹில்லரி க்ளின்டனையும் இவர்கள் குறிப்பிடவில்லை என்றாலும் லிப்ஸ்டிக் தவிர வேறு பொருத்தமான அடைமொழி பயன்படுத்தி இருக்கலாமோ? முகஞ்சுளிக்க வைக்கிறதா? வேறு பேச்சுகள் ஏதாவது அதிர்ச்சி அடைய வைத்ததா?

அரசியல் என்றில்லை, பொதுவாகவே அலுவலகங்களில் கூட சில சமயங்களில் (குறிப்பாக பெண்கள் தலை பொறுப்பேற்கும்) இது போன்ற பிரயோகங்கள் சகஜமாக பயன்படுத்தப்படுகின்றன. முன்போல அல்லாமல், பெண்களும் பேசக்கேட்பது சகஜம், இங்கே (நியுஜெர்சி) நகரசபை கூட்டங்களில் சில சமயங்களில் இன்னமும் கேவலமாக பேசுவது மட்டும் இல்லாமல்,கைகலப்பில் எல்லாம் முடிந்திருக்கிறது.

ஆகக்கூடி பொதுவாழ்க்கை வருபவர்கள் ஆணானாலும் பெண்னானாலும் தடித்த தோலுடனான வாழ்க்கைக்கு பழகிக்கொள்ளத்தான் வேண்டும். இதில் முகம் சுளிக்க வைக்கவோ சினம் கொள்லவோ எதுவும் இல்லை. When you know it's a pissing match, be ready with an umbrella is a common phrase!!

5. அடுத்த அதிபருக்கு நீங்கதான் ஆலோசகர். என்ன அட்வைஸ் கொடுப்பீங்க?

தொடரும்...

What color are my eyes???

These are called Pembroke thoughts because Cardigans are always smart enough to know their eye color and to HIDE in the dog house when the pig gets out!  ~duh!

Olivia hit me up the other day, and dropped a gem on me.  She found the recipe for this made by this guy.

I'm going to attempt it this weekend.  Any takers?

 model.  Some genetics students were recognized in this publication as contributors to this important reserach, including Shyam, Erin Burnight and former Genetics student Jennifer Barlett.  This news has also been covered by the Press-Citizen and Daily Iowan as well as US News and science websites PhysOrg and ScienceDaily.  Congrats to all involved.

Chillin' Like Pig, originally uploaded by jennabee25.

...and sometimes you don't. I just feel a tad blah right now because I have a bit of a cold. I feel like I just got over one, and that was back in August I was pretty dang sick. I have been using those Zicam nose swab thingers and they work pretty well, but you have to use them right when your symptoms start. I highly recommend them.  Otherwise, it's been Dayquil and Nyquil.

After a close examination of crude oil made from pig manure, chemists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are certain about a number of things. Most obviously, "This stuff smells worse than manure," says NIST chemist Tom Bruno. [...]

Makes a lot of sense.  Not the smell of course, but the fact that you could get biofuel from animal excreta.  Wonder why pigs though? The only rationale I can come up with is that farms have a lot of pigs and old-McDonald is always in a quandary about what to do with the, um, by-products.

But I wonder if it is a new thing .  I believe in some parts of the world, excreta have been used as a source of energy.  Quoting Steve of Anaerobic Digestion News

In China, Kenya and Tanzania institutions mix human and animal excreta, giving off good grade methane, while some institutions in China make biogas from only human excreta.

Odour notwithstanding, this beats getting biofuel from plant sources, which directly leads to deforestation.  We are still way behind in producing biofuel from dedicated plants like switch grass, and even if we DO, we will only be using up land with probably agricultural potential to produce the grass.  Unless of course, algae biodiesel delivers the promise shown.

Wonder what the economic benefits of developing such technology are.  I suppose considering the impending doom of dwindling fossil fuel the wind (pun unintended) will only favour such developments.

One positive outcome of the biofuel development will be that every time we answer nature's call, we can all proudly claim that we are fuelling our cars - "Excuse me.  I really need to fuel my car".

In reality your average size garment might bear no resemblance to any person wandering about on the high street. Some retailers cover their backs by using "one size fits most" instead.  One size fits all is really aimed at consumers in a hurry, and it's more a grab and dash option, than a realistic long term solution. That's why "one size fits all" is also used to describe an over-simplistic approach to a problem. If you are average, then fine, one size will do, but if you venture out of that bracket, then you are going to be left naked and cold. The term also suggests that all people are the same, which is clearly untrue.

So where am I going with this? I should imagine down a slippery slope to being told to shut up, and to stop talking out of my derriere. However, from the perspective of someone who has recently been weighing up their options for eating disorders treatment, I wanted to give my two pence worth on the protocol of the Unit I went to, and why it's just not a realistic option for someone like me.

I suppose that I came away slightly confused by their logic, more than anything else. The programme seemed incredibly inflexible, and restrictive in their rules. I know, I know, before anyone else says it, glass houses, people, stones, not necessarily in that order. I am hardly in a position to point fingers and name-call over inflexible thinking. All I will say, is that at least I am aware of my shortcomings, and am doing my best to challenge my own systems, wherever possible.

It just seemed to me, that every concern which I raised about the procedure at the unit, was met with the same air of "Well this is how we do it here". I got the impression (although I could just be growing paranoid from over exposure to this) that I was deemed "sick" therefore lacked the capacity to know what was in my best interest. I'll agree I have some distorted views on body image, and food, but I wouldn't consider myself to lack all reason, and I certainly haven't abandoned rational thought altogether. The mere fact that I had identified and sought help with my disorder in the first place, would indicate that I wasn't labouring under any misconceptions that I have a healthy attitude to eating. More often than not I can give an intellectual argument completely contradicting my own belief, I know my belief is wrong, I'm not deluded.

May be I'm just being pissy because of the contentious weight issue. I just see no value at all in placing the bar so high, when it comes to regaining weight. I understand that there are some health consequences of being underweight, but surely it is better for me to reach and maintain a BMI of 18, and eat a healthy diet, than to disregard treatment altogether and starve until someone intervenes, for the sake of 1 kg/m²? Because that's what tipped my decision away from treatment. The justification for their minimum BMI was explained to me as this. Previous studies had shown that many recovered patients with a lower BMI than 19, had a greater tendency to relapse, or to fall into binging behaviour. Sure, maybe there is a wealth of research to back this up, I'm no expert, I haven't researched studies at length, I don't have the time or the money to do so. But I'm not interested in an overview of many "recovered patients", I'm challenging this generalisation, one size does not fit all. No one can predict if I will be one of the "many".

I cannot understand why this risk is not my decision, if I decide that it's a gamble  I am willing to take. I have been told consistently by experts since I started dropping weight, that I would fall head first back into Bulimia again in very little time. And yet five months on, and two stone lighter, I have yet to find myself with a problem at all. Yes, I realise I have simply replaced one maladaptive coping mechanism with another, but my binging behaviour occurred when I was of a normal weight, and so surely was based on life circumstance, rather than a side effect of a low BMI. I binge when I am unable to deal with the really crap things which happen in my life, or when I am depressed. My depression is relieved by medication - my frequency of binges halved, and so surely a little therapy, teaching me how to deal more effectively with life circumstance, would be of more value to prevent relapse, or a return to binging behaviour, than gaining weight?

With regards to increased chance of relapse, I wonder if again my own opinion on this should not be given more credit. I have so far in the course of my disordered behaviour found only three aggravating factors which have lead to relapse, whether that is into Bulimic behaviour or into Anorexic mentality. The first was a complicated breakdown of a serious relationship, the second an unprecedented change of lifestyle, where I found myself stuck in the middle of a family feud, and subsequently homeless. And the third factor, which caused me to switch from bulimia into restrictive eating patterns was cognitive behavioural therapy.

I have never found a low body weight to impact on the severity of my eating disorder. I would like to have been given the option to negotiate a realistic goal weight. I am more than willing to consider regaining some weight. I look ill, and this no longer pleases me. But I would like to gain weight coincidentally, where I am concentrating on eating a healthy and balanced diet, regularly, with normal portions. I should imagine I would gradually gain weight under these conditions, without the need for high calorie snacks. We are constantly being told not to crash diet, or over restrict intake of calories per day, why should it be a different set of rules for refeeding? If the risk of relapse is because of malnutrition, then surely again, this is addressed through eating healthy foods, and taking supplements, not eating pies and drinking fat.

I suppose I would understand that if body weight is at a life threatening level, then weight regain must be intensive and a priority, but to those who are not in any imminent danger, I would have thought the rules could be tailored to the individual. I wonder if this is another way of removing control from the anorexic, in order to re-establish a healthy attitude to control issues. I hope not, because I'm not a big fan of unnecessary point proving in therapy. It almost seems as if eating disordered individuals are being pressurized into gaining more weight than they would like to, in order to prove that one does not have to be thin to be happy. Either that or the NHS requires a tangible performance indicator for the success of their treatment programmes, and weight gain is as good an objective measure for the studies, as weight loss is for an Anorectic's sense of self worth.

If I was to complete a treatment programme all the time maintaining the opinion "I am willing to gain weight, but only in order to be allowed access to the treatment". That won't be reinforcing the message that "weight is important for health", as much as "one needs to humour Psychiatrists in order to get help", or even "weight gain by the individual is a concession to treatment". And even if I do maintain this opinion because I am "Sick", then set the bar a little lower to start with, have a little faith in your therapeutic skills!  Hope that you can convince me to make healthier choices through therapy, like want to reach a BMI of over 19. Say, "Well, let's review when your weight is "x"lbs, and see how you feel then." Don't shoot me down in flames, and leave me starving in a corner. Don't be condescending and imply I am too sick to evaluate risk, I am perfectly capable of reading statistics and applying them to myself. I am aware of my biases.

I'm not convinced that Eating Disorder recovery should be a One Size Fits All approach. I understand the financial restraints of the NHS which need to be considered when treating on a large scale. I appreciate the limited funding and limited resources available to Specialist Units, but as an intelligent adult I would like to be given the option to chose my own future, whatever that may be.