February 18th... Beef, Meat and Humanity... So I cried myself to sleep last night after watching a glimpse of the video that started the whole hullabuloo about downed cows shocked and forklifted to be forced down the slaughter line - causing the slaughterhouse closing and a recall on the beef.

It's true - if slaughterhouses had glass walls - no one would eat meat.

I have seen the worst horrors, cats and dogs screaming in lab contraptions for prescription drugs that don't work on humans anyway - monkeys shaved and sewn together with metal, and these images just don't go away once you have seen them. In all of it, the worst one for me was a mother dairy cow trying to keep her newborn safe from workers holding clubs trying to take him for veal - as it showed her emotion and thought process as well as her pain - her knowledge that she needed to keep her baby safe from these people.

Here's a typical reaction to the recall: "You don't know what's in it," one concerned shopper said. "It makes me feel very scared, and I don't know what to eat." There are so many better things to eat, believe me... We are socialized to believe this is how it should be, and that vegetarianism is a bad word. Yet the rise of cancer and heart disease is, more than anything, becoming quite a booming industry for hospitals and the prescription drug industry. We buy meat packaged and don't think about the living being it came from, but in each bite is misery - we must realize that the energy from pain and fear can be consumed and passed onto us. And inside of that are all the hormones and steroids and crap they put into these living creatures in order ot make them grow quicker for our consumption. There was a study on the happiness in countries across the globe, and not surprisingly, the U.S. is not very happy at all...

This month's issue of Paragon Music Magazine has a fantastic "Beyond Music" article on animals by Lisa Selvaggio; she works on humanizing the situations to get the true pain and hell they go through in serving humanity. Here is her introduction: "In an effort to humanize animals to bring to the forefront their plight in varying situations, captive and free, beginning with animals on a fur farm, leading into those in vivisection labs, to those in factory farms, on to those in the wild, and finally to our beloved domestic companions. I relate to them, and I sympathize; do you?"

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Lyrics for the moment:

6th Extinction Industry - Anima Mundi

Side effects include dry mouth, irritated throat, dizziness, headache, light-headedness, heartburn, loss of appetite, altered taste sensation, restlessness, anxiety, nervousness, trembling...

Western world is sick to death, we know that this is true
But what they're really dying from they haven't got a clue
Relentless media onslaught, video screens in groceries,
Cellphone TV Ipods, DVDs in SUVs
Scandal-whore celebrities, the race for inane fashion
Xbox, internet porn, Virtual Addict Nation

World Corporation
Third World Predation
First World Distraction
Planet Destruction
This is Industry

In pre-trial testing, dogs, rats and monkeys experienced nerve damage, dementia, and cancer. Side effects include nausea, dizziness, insomnia and heart attack...

Eat this shit-filled GM food, Feel sad? Then take this pill!
You'll be happy, fat, exhausted and distracted from what's real
Our bioengineering stocks are climbing fast and steady
Don't worry if your 10-year-old has sprouted breasts already

Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. In the unlikely event that you have an allergic reaction to this drug, seek medical attention immediately...

Ignore the rise of autism and uncontrollable rage
They're just a natural side-effect of this modern age
Your clean water's never running out, Peak Oil is a myth,
Global Warming isn't happening, couldn't care less if it is!

You may experience chest pains, pounding heart, breathing difficulty... In some cases Sudden Death has occurred.

February 9th... Baby Zendra. I can't tell you in words how it feels to see an animal transform. Zendra (see January) was a shivering, frightened mess when we picked her up from the vet after dealing with parasites, having her shots and being spayed; she was so scared as to where she was going - but then once we got home - we walked her one by one with our other dogs, and she started jumping and wanting to play with them! For us, she is very docile and sweet - but loves to wrestle with Daisy, our Basset, and Fozzie, our 3-legged Shepherd (and the model for Fauz Fenris character in Anafae).

What is unfortunate is she is no older than 2 and has had more than one litter of pups - at the time she was found, she was in a cage with a male - obviously the guy keeping the dogs was also into selling babies. But watching her play and roll around with the others, it's like she has a brand new puppyhood - and she listens, she so wants to please! Not trained at all, but learns quickly!

She went from not touching her food - too scared to eat - to dancing all the way to her bowl and gobbling her meals. And having never met a cat before to rubbing noses with our Feline Ambassador of Good Will, Pumpkin, it makes one a bit tearful... Below is Zendra in the middle of a Daisy/Fozzie play sandwich, captured from a video I took!