Hey, it's that simple. Prop 2 gives factory farmed animals a little more space...space to turn around at least in their crates. YOU have to vote YES on this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FVjqiYEHkg

How rare is this!!! :)

Hosted By: Alex Arndt
When: Saturday May 17, 2008
at 8:00 PM
Where: See Schedule (cities such as Portland,Seattle,etc)
10 Cities from Fri May 16 - Sat. May 24, WA 98122
United States
Description:
Alex Arndt

Click Here To View Event

Hey there!

Thanks for stopping in and looking at my VT blog...

I just wanted this to be a place where people could share some stories about their years at VT! Like for me, I majored in Environmental Science with green engineering and a minor in Chem and Bio. I was trying to minor in Spanish but it didn't work out. My first year I stayed in Slusher Wing which was great because it was co-ed! ...one of the only freshman co-ed dorms. 2nd year I was in Cochrane (which was a sorta crappy dorm, but that year in the Spring, The West End opened!!!!! The West End for those of you that don't know, was a 5 STAR dining food court that was connected to Cochrane. I didn't even have to get out of my PJ's and I could just walk into the 1 top rated college food hall!!! So cool, I used my FLEX dollars there (type of food plan- flexible!).

Ok, I have many many stories about VT including the formation of my first real band called, Drive!!!

Talk soon,

Alex

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
the legacy remembered,
the message that should not be forgotten

The homage that Americans pay today to the inspiring life and lasting legacy of Dr. King is a fitting tribute to this leader who spoke so eloquently of peace, of social justice, and of equal rights under the law and under the moral covenant that established and guides this great nation. But, as we survey the grim realities of today, across this country and around the world, that rightful homage also has the somber ring of a faint and distant eulogy for a man and a message from another time.

That other time that we remember and honor was then. But, more than ever, it is also now.

In his speech at Riverside Church in New York City, on April 4, 1967, Dr. King spoke of one war that was destroying the aspirations of the people of two nations - the people of the United States and the people of Vietnam.

The Vietnam War resulted in the deaths of 4 million Vietnamese civilians in a nation of about 40 million - 10% of the total population of Vietnam. Americans lost 58,202 soldiers in that war. And in hard, cold numbers, the Vietnam War cost the United States the equivalent of $662 billion in today's dollars.

So far, today, this no-end-in-sight war against Iraq has resulted in the deaths of more than 1 million innocent Iraqis in a nation of 25 million. Four thousand of our best and bravest have died, and nearly 29,000 have been wounded. In hard, cold numbers, the Iraq War will cost the United States more than $2 trillion.

What would Dr. King say today? What would his message be to the President, to the U.S. Congress, and to the American people? It would be, I deeply believe, the same as it was more than 30 years ago: Iraq is a war that is destroying the aspirations of the people of two nations - the people of the United States and the people of Iraq.

And, it was only two years ago that the leadership of the Democratic Party, without invoking Dr. King but aligning itself with the powerful principles that he espoused, promised an end to the abuse of political power and an end to the war that was devastating the people of two nations. And Americans, believing that promise that we would "be free at last" from the policies that morally and economically enslaved this nation and unrepentantly took control of another, elected a new Democratic leadership in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.

Tragically, in the two years since, nothing has changed. The policies of this President persist and prevail. The Congress yields and subjugates itself time and time again. And the powerful, righteous, and universal message of Dr. King has been forgotten.

Dr. King's concluding remarks in his Riverside Church speech called for an end to the disintegration of humanity brought about by war: "Somehow this madness must end," he implored.

It is not in our power to bring Dr. King back, but it is within our power to resurrect his spirit in our daily lives and in the policies of the government that we elect to represent and lead us. He demonstrated throughout his entire life that social and economic justice are achieved not through compromising what we believe, but rather, committing to what we believe – whatever the odds.

In this crucial year for the future of our nation and the future of our world, today is the day to remember Dr. King's words, embrace his spirit, and fortify ourselves with the message that he left for us.

It is time, once again, to ask what we can do to forge ahead – in our votes, in our support, and in everything we do -- to reach that place where his words, his strength, and his optimism become more than a legacy. They become the policy and mission of this nation: "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I'm free at last."


Dennis Kucinich

After posting a bulletin in support of Dennis Kucinich that said vote consciously, a friend replied with these good questions:

What does it mean to vote consciously?
I hear a lot of people talking about consciousness...what's the big deal?

My reply back to him:

Very good question my friend.

"Like a light that can be turned brighter or dimmer, consciousness exists on a continuum. We can be more conscious or less conscious, more aware or less aware. We can choose to be conscious or mechanical."...

"The tragedy of so many people is to a great extent, they live (and vote) mechanically: their thinking is stale, they don't examine their motives, and they respond to events automatically. They rarely take a fresh look at anything and rarely have a new thought. They exist at a low or shallow level of awareness."...

"To live consciously is to be committed to awareness as a way of being in the world and to bring to each activity a level of awareness appropriate to it."... Dennis Kucinich's views are conscious, fresh views that embody peace, love, compassion, and understanding. It's what this world needs.

Thanks for supporting... ~alex

Quotes taken from the introduction to:
The Art of Living Consciously
The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life
By Nathaniel Branden, PhD © 1999

Check out this video: Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It



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Here's my rant:

I really like this lyric: "use your brain, not your back, use your brain, not a gat". That's one of the only positive things I heard...

Concerning your roots: We all know Compton didn't used to be like Beverly Hills before gangster rap, and that when you rap about violence, you ARE rapping about real life. The problem with this is, it glorifies pain and suffering...and this keeps us stagnant, so that we don't transcend out of having our Compton's and our Watts'.

But if the main point of the song is that music with violent lyrics don't have any affect on people, that's being untrue to yourself and your fans.

Of course gangsta rap has an effect, that's what makes music good, that it's powerful enough to make paradigm shifts. We need to create vibrations to channel the higher dimension. In the spiritual world, Allah (Cube's homie, as said in the song) would I'm sure be into "Peace Rap," not "Gangsta Rap."

Ya know, I listened to Ice Cube and all that gangsta rap back in the day... but it feels like I'm evolving to a higher state of consciousness now. Cube, don't you think it's time to move past this??? You have so much power...

..why not rap about something positive, like spreading peace & love. When you speak with such aggression, and to such a large audience, you get that aggression back in a big way. It's sad, cause deep down, I don't think you are actually truly happy.

I'm really proud of Snoop...last year I saw him play a show in Hollywood...and he dissed gangsta shit...he pointed out that everyone in the audience was a different ethnicity, but that we can all be together and share love and be peaceful.

He chanted (shouted) "Peace" and "Love" over and over having all of us say it at the same time... it was so warm and beautiful...I actually shed a tear. AND IT WAS REAL AND PASSIONATE!

Ok, that's my peace (no pun intended),

Alex

Comments about my material from Michael in Vero Beach, FL. Since he was so thoughtful, I told him I'd try to swing down there on my east coast tour!

Michael's Comments:

really like 'you are the one". It is a very catchy tune, to drive down the beach road with the top down with your girl. I like rusty ol' guitar, is a relaxed by the lagoon song for the riverside cafes night clubs. mama and Maria is a very cool flammanco style fun song. Like gipsyland, or gipsy kings, but an American version to it. Really love flammanco. ask my friend Lisa, bad gipsy and gipsy to be your friends, they will like your music. 'The breeze' remind me of a 70's tune, but is a hammock by the surf tune under the coconut trees, with your girlfriend. I like the oh well song, but like to hear the aucoustic gutiar version of it.Good music, sure you didn't need me to be a judge of your music, I just letting you see how it makes me feel. listening to your songs. Lots of Love Michael

These are some interesting observations for friends from Spain.

These are not my own determinations ~Alex

In order to answer this question we need to define the terms in
question. I'll present a case with evidence, try to connect you to a
number of resources, then summarize at the end. I'll also cover the
phrase "the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain."

THE RAIN IN SPAIN FALLS MAINLY ON THE PLAIN

You can do what I call a "brute force" search on www.google.com using
the following phrase search (include the quotation marks):

"the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain"

We quickly find from:

South African English Pronunciation
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/accent.htm

"'The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain' is a phrase reputedly
used by language teachers. Perhaps it is a good example, because it is
a vowel not found in some other languages, Russian, for example. It is
also, however, a vowel that differs in different dialects."

Columbus World City Guide - London - Language
http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.com/cities/lon/Language.asp

Tells us:

"Professor Higgins (Rex Harrison) famously tries to cure Eliza
Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) of this habit in the film, My Fair Lady
(based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion), by making her recite
'The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain' and not 'The rhine in
Spine falls minely on the pline'."

These examples appear to indicate that this phrase exists because of
its phonetic properties, and has nothing to do with the climate in
Spain.

MAINLY ON THE PLAIN?

In the end, we turn up varying rainfall all over the Iberian peninsula
and its plains. Sometimes the plains get more rain, sometimes the
Meseta Central does (depends upon WHICH plains). Also, one can choose
to define "rain" to be annual rainfall for a region, or total amount
of water falling in a geographical area. In fact, depending upon what
variable you wish to use, you can make the statement "the rain in
Spain falls mainly on the plain" be either true or false! Just choose
your data for a given area, or time period.

Most of the resources I've mentioned, as well as numerous others you
will encounter should you wish to try for yourself using the sites
(and terms) suggested above appear to support the contention that the
MOST rain is along the coast, with inland plains being substantially
dryer. In that case, the rain does NOT fall mainly on the plains, but
mainly on the coasts (highest levels of precipitation). Then again, if
you mean the coastal plains, then the rain in spain DOES fall mainly
on the plains. Then again, since the Meseta Central is so large, the
total quantity of rain for that "non plains" region (unless you define
it as "high plains") is likely larger than the quantity of water
falling on the defined "plains."

It depends upon which plains and which rains you choose!

The issue appears to be that the phrase is unrelated to geographic and
climate considerations, thus, we are left to determine meaning in any
way we see fit with the tools at our disposal (and perhaps, there are
TOO many of those).


In order to answer this question we need to define the terms in
question. I'll present a case with evidence, try to connect you to a
number of resources, then summarize at the end. I'll also cover the
phrase "the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain."

THE RAIN IN SPAIN FALLS MAINLY ON THE PLAIN

You can do what I call a "brute force" search on www.google.com using
the following phrase search (include the quotation marks):

"the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain"

We quickly find from:

South African English Pronunciation
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/accent.htm

"'The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain' is a phrase reputedly
used by language teachers. Perhaps it is a good example, because it is
a vowel not found in some other languages, Russian, for example. It is
also, however, a vowel that differs in different dialects."

Columbus World City Guide - London - Language
http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.com/cities/lon/Language.asp

Tells us:

"Professor Higgins (Rex Harrison) famously tries to cure Eliza
Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) of this habit in the film, My Fair Lady
(based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion), by making her recite
'The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain' and not 'The rhine in
Spine falls minely on the pline'."

These examples appear to indicate that this phrase exists because of
its phonetic properties, and has nothing to do with the climate in
Spain.