NARS EXPRESS YOURSELF: THE NARSissists: Look 11: Sarah McCall

NARS EXPRESS YOURSELF: THE NARSissists: Look 11: Sarah McCall

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Fashion & Feathers

We have all had those moments, especially the days before you may have realized the tremendous animal suffering & put 2 & 2 together with what was on your plate, at least I did. And still do I've discovered. Unfortunately, there are many things that are ingrained in us & it is trying to change old habits. The fact that I've always been interested in fashion, & animal by-products have gone hand in hand, I tend to get so exicted about the fashion that I don't stop & think "hey, where did those feathers come from? How are they obtained?"...well duh. That would be from another living creature.

I can't undo what I did, but I can take the feathers I purchased out of my hair - I would to do some DIY projects & making these extensions out of synthetic/fake materials & sport those around...maybe it would catch on.

It is definitely a challenge & irritating finding something suitable to eat in cattle land! My food/restaraunt choices consist of: Taco Bell (freso bean burrito), Subway ($5 veggie footlong haha!) & a Mexican Food Restaruant (fried avocados or spinach/avocado enchiladas are my 2 top choices). Now I know you're probably thinking "why don't you get up & cook" & I know...I'm lazy & the grocery choices are not much better. Oh how I miss a good Whole Foods or Market Street or Central Market....

I am still learning about nutrition & a new way of cooking...who knew changing old habits were difficut? Ugh! I know I know - and besides, I get so frustrated with myself or just blue because I just can't seem to get the dishes/recipes right! I know it's going to take time & practice but others just make it seem soo easy! Maybe one day I'll get the hang of it all...

Industrialized/Factory Farming: The good, bad & ugly...

So, I mainly see the bad & ugly in this corporate industry, but again that is my opinion & perspective. I'm sure like most, this is an eye opening, heart wrenching, learning experience - as for me being a late bloomer, there is so much for me to learn & understand that I realize in these early posts I may seem naive - but we've all been there (regardless of any topic) - no one is just born knowing everything.

Now I say "I mainly see the bad & ugly" but it would be ignorant of me to not acknowledge that there is some "good"...now wait just before slinging tempeh at me. It is not for me to judge others & unfortunately we live in a flawed world - I believe the Lord gave all on this earth for man to reign over, but with that power comes responsiblity (which as we all know, power will always be abused by humans because we are naturally greedy)...supporting local farmers & so forth helps the rural economy, gives people jobs who may be losing their livlihoods to the corporate monster & would (I think) be more humane for the animals (I'm not sure that's the phrase I'm looking for, but that's all I got). From what I know, local farmers take pride in their work & what they do. They are not slaughtering 10 cows per minute (or whatever the statistic is); they're not pumping as much antibiotics into the animals, & the US can thrive (our "eating" standards can be met) on local resources vs. the corporate monopoly that continuously put the public's health at risk & turns their heads away from the atrocious activities that go on daily.

With all that being said, would I like everyone to be vegan & there be no pain/suffering, etc....um yeah! But that is unrealistic...what we can do is continually move towards a more compassionate lifestyle because people will always eat meat. But that is just my opinion - I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it does in my head :)

Until next time...

Another try at this blogging thing...

Just as I had mentioned in previous blogs, I'm pretty horrible with this blog thing. I sit behind a computer for most of the weekdays at work & by the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is whip open my laptop!

So, I'm trying this again - the last article that I can remember reading was about that woman who beat kittens with her children in a park...was charged! What is wrong with people? There is no reason to beat kittens to death & much less in front of children! All animals feel pain, fight to live, etc. just like humans...so who really is the beast?

Animalistic Behaviors - who really is the "animal" - What's going on your dinner plate or us? Part II

Happy Friday!

I happened to come across this random piece of historical information & I believe William Hogarth's prints of "The Four Stages of Cruelty" is a perfect way to wrap up my "who really is the animal?" thought - Hogarth portrays the inner violence/hatred & savage ways that we humans are fulling capable of & inflict not only to each other, but to other living creatures. I'm not much of a history buff or art guru, but I found these prints & the message that is being portrayed not only relevant to the root of my opinion, but also bitter sweet. I'm not really sure how I feel after studying his work - pity? Anger? Sadness? Maybe all of the above - it is disgusting to see what we are capable of & to know his behavior has been going on since the beginning of time. "Tom Nero" - the fictional character - is shown carrying out violent crimes that progressively get worse each print ultimately ending with his demise. Here's the break down of the prints:

First Stage of Cruelty:

In this first print, the character "Tom Nero" is shown, along with the aid of other equally disturbed children, shoving an arrow into a dog's rectum...ok, seriously? This type of disgusting behavior is still carried out today...not only towards animals, but humans too. It's sad to see that we have not come very far since the 1700s, yet we deem ourselves as superior & civilized? Hmm...
However, there is still a ray of hope for goodness through the one "good samaritan" shown, pleading for Nero to stop the cruel action towards the dog...this one "good" act really portrays how I feel sometimes when standing up for animal welfare. A lot of times I feel like the only who cares or "what can I do, I'm just one person?" or singled out because I'm not "following the crowd".
Of course, Hogarth portrays other acts of cruelty (barbaric & unnecessary violence): the burning of a bird's eye with a hot needle, cock throwing, tying a bone to a dog's tail, a pair of cats hung by their tails  & taunted by the crowd of boys, a dog set on a cat, & a cat being thrown out of a high window.

Second Stage of Cruelty:

Here, Tom is shown beating his horse without any regard to the broken leg or the fact he's put the horse's eye out. There are many different acts of cruelty against animals throughout this print: a lamb is beaten to death, a donkey is driven by force to keep moving, & a bull tossing one of its tormentors...this print also introduces the cruelty against people.

Third & Fourth Stages of Cruelty:

Tom has now moved on to robbery & murder. This print is pretty morbid if you ask me...and of course the last print does a fantastic job in portraying "Karma".

Animalistic Behaviors - who really is the "animal" - What's going on your dinner plate or us?

So, for some reason I decided to check out the news today - why I do that, I don't know. I live in my own little "bubble" and am not really up to speed with what's going on in the world around me...current events, what current events? 

Thought of the day: Why do the most human beings display more savagery & animalistic behaviors than the counterparts we believe are below us? I'm not by any means trying to say we are not "superior"...if you want to get down to it, yes I believe God gave us (since we were created in His image) everything to reign over...but with that comes responsibility. Unfortunately with that kind of power, combined with being flawed, selfish tendencies & the choice to do wrong, there are many creatures (human & non-human) whose lives lack any sort of respect & are viewed as "things" or "objects" - not another life force. This makes it easy or justifies the unnecessary slaughter of innocent lives.

Anyways, so I read up on the Ratko Mladic legendary war crimes/genocide - wanted for Europe's worst civilian massacre since WWII...absolutely disgusting. This is why I hate the news...I really don't hate it, but I like my own "bubble"...majority of the stories released only reinforce the hatred & violence that we humans are capable of & the unnecessary deaths of so many innocent creatures (yes, not only does this include humans, but non-human too). In the report, it shares just a fraction of the horrific events that were caused by Mladic, but what really got me was the murdering/mutilation/rape of women (and little girls - a 9 year old), children being shot in front of their parents eyes, a grandfather being forced to eat the liver of his grandson, a pregnant woman being ripped open & having 2 babies pulled from her stomach & beaten on the streets...and of course, the deaths of countless numbers of Muslim men & boys.
Call me crazy, but these acts I find to be very similar to the horrors animals go through on their way to our plates. This massacre shows the lengths at which we humans will go for our own selfish ego. (I hope that makes sense) To me, this "cleansing" was unnecessary (duh), benefitted no one & is a perfect example of the mentality needed to view others as "objects" with complete disregard for that life. This "object" is only for exploitation purposes (i.e. industrialized food supply) or a nuinsance that disturbs your quality of life & must be removed.

...sorry but my brain has completely shut down so I will have to continue this later, hopefully making more sense.