If Only the Words "No Baby" Worked as Birth Control.

Yesterday I had my yearly lady-parts examination (or I should say every two years now, but that's a different rant) and it went like it always goes, awkwardly.

It's just the nature of the experience--and, well, I hope, all sexually active women are experiencing it.

But I'd like to note something my doctor said that rather irked me.

Warning, it's going to get a bit personal.

I was complaining because I am on a progesterin-only pill and since starting the pills I haven't had my period. It weirds me out to not have a period.

She replied, "Since the invention of the pill 50 years ago women have become accustomed to having their periods every month; before that women were having babies and breast feeding, and didn't have a regular period."

Okay Doc. Point heard. But I don't get the logic?

1) It's not 1954

2) The point of the pill is to NOT have babies

3) If I wasn't on the pill and I wasn't having babies then I'd be having a regular monthly period because that's the way the freaking female body works.

Don't try to reassure me with information that isn't even relevant.

And I know the pill isn't all that wonderful for women, with the whole blood clot, weight gain, lack of sex drive, higher risks for cancer stuff, but I have to live with all those risks because having a baby would be so much worse.

Most women would probably love to not have their period, but when it's not around for months at a time it seems a bit suspicious and it seems entirely unhealthy--no matter if the doctor tells me it's "harmless."

All I want is to not have a baby. Why does it have to turn into a big health concern? And why do these doctors feel the need to pretend that it's not? Or to disregard issues that may be important to their patient's health--whether it's physical or mental?

I would have preferred her to just say, "Yes, this pill causes some women to not have their periods, but isn't that better than having a baby?"

And I would have very much agreed.

Because My Body's Not a Graveyard.

I've been having a hard time lately. It's like that saying--once you know you can never go back. Well, I feel that way not just about feminism, or racism, or capitalism but also about animals. Once I learned how they are treated by us, humans, I just can't go back to a lifestyle that supports it.

And it's hard.

It's not hard to eat a vegan diet or refuse leather goods or to not go to circuses. But it is hard being with friends and wanting them to understand but not wanting to be pushy or radical or scary to them.

I don't find it radical to want all creatures to be treated with respect. I know all of my friends feel the same way--if they didn't then I wouldn't be there friends; still, how do some people choose to live consciously on a daily basis while others just acknowledge it theoretically?

We've all been exposed, in some capacity, to videos where the chickens are being de-beaked, where the foxes are skinned alive, where pigs are eating the tumors off of each other, where dogs and cats are being throw in mass graves after being shoved into gas chambers to die a slow death.

Anyone who watches it will admit it's heart-breaking, but so many people now refuse to watch. They blame it on sensationalism or over-dramatization--even though they fully know that these things really do occur, everyday. They know they occur and that's why they won't watch.

Knowing is hard, because once you know if you don't change, then you're an asshole. Then every time you eat meat or dairy or whatever, images of raped cows and bleeding slit-throat-pigs pop into mind. And no one wants to feel guilty for eating food.

But pretending it doesn't exist doesn't make it go away. Pretending the meat was grown in a vat and not connected to living creatures does not make their deaths invisible. Or that animals don't feel "enough" pain as a justification for our normalization of their abuse.

So yeah, knowing is hard, but we have to know, we have to learn, if we want our world and all the beautiful, feeling, creatures in it to have better lives (and that includes our own).

To watch and learn check out some of this site and this video.

Music Monday: Young Galaxy

This song is gorgeous; I could potentially listen to it over and over again. Though I won't because, yeah, I'd like it to stay gorgeous and not get on my nerves (like your face). Just kidding about the face thing.

Oh and the video's pretty sexual too. So. Enjoy that.

Babysitter's Club Update #1: Kristy.

Kristy Thomas, President of the Babysitter's Club.

Background: Tomboy, loves, baseball, and is bossy.

Update:

Well, here's the low down. Kristy decides she really does love Bart and they end up getting married right out of college. They move back to Stonybrook and have two kids.

But then one day, when Kristy is dropping her kids off at school she notices Jackie, a very attractive 3rd grade teacher. Kristy realizes she cannot continue living a lie. She divorces Bart and "becomes" a lesbian. She even starts her own blog, LesbianMoms4Change. She moves to New York and screws every woman she meets, but theirs one catch; they have to remind her in some way of her pals from the baby-sitters club. She's especially attracted to woman who look or act like Stacey.

During a vacation she actually runs into Stacey on a lesbian cruise--but discovers to her dismay that Stacey isn't a lesbian at all but just part of the entertainment crew.

She leaves vacation disappointed but also happy she ran into an old friend.

Currently Kristy has her kids on the weekend so they can stay in school at Stonybrook, in their peaceful upperclass neighborhood. She works as a physical therapist during the day and watches terrible romantic LGTB films at night while drinking coors-light and crying about no one truly understanding her.

The former club members are considering a intervention, not because they think she has a drinking problem, but because they think she's too sad (though most of them aren't doing so hot themselves--more updates to come).

Fun Fri(Food)Day: Cookies You Can't Eat.

Isn't it frustrating going to blogs where other people are blabbing on about the food they just cooked, with tempting pictures, etc., knowing that there is no way you'll ever get a taste?

Well.

Sorry.

I just made these (vegan) oatmeal cookies and I'm pretty sure I'm going to eat all of them; or at least, you reader, will not get one. I'm not even going to be nice enough to share the recipe. Because I'd have to type it all up and well, I'm too lazy for that.

So the title is slightly misleading--or it could be read multiple ways--like they're inedible or something, but they're not, they're very edible, all I was saying was that you can't have any.

Umm.

Yeah.

Thanks for reading.

Go to College, Get Married, Have a Baby, Check.

The other night I watched this really awful television show (which will remain nameless so no one out there tries to do the same to prove me wrong) but during one episode the high-strung-cheerleader-blonde-popular woman, now 6 years out of high school and married had a breakdown. During the breakdown she mentioned that her husband fit her list and that's why she married him. She remarked, "I was so busy worrying that he didn't love me I never stopped to ask myself if I loved him."

And though the show was rather terrible, I feel that point highlights many people's lives.

Why do we do the things we do?

Why do we get married?

Have children?

Go to college?

Etc.

Just because it's on our list? How did it make it to the list to begin with?

Many people seem to be on auto-pilot, routinely going through each day, being "successful" how they imagine everyone else wants them to be.

But can auto-pilot ever be considered living?

My new job is working in social media/writing blogs for a non-profit that helps women touched with cancer become mothers. This organization obviously has a heart and exists to truly try to help people. But what I've noticed while tweeting daily, is that there are so many people out there desperate to have children. I mean, they will go to whatever lengths possible. And I wonder if they're doing it because it's on their list?

Have they stopped to question why they want a child to begin with or are they just doing it because they think it will "complete" their lives as proper human beings?

Ryan has some theories as to why people have children and they are not very nice theories, so I won't go there. But I will state that Al Gore isn't that far off, not everyone needs to reproduce.

And it's okay if you don't want to.

It's also okay if you do, but one should ask, "Is this whatI really want? "Will it truly fulfill me as a human or am I doing it to check it off my list?"

No one should enter this world just because someone wrote down "have a baby" in a planner.

I Got Out of Bed in the Morning! In the Morning!

This is day two of waking up with most of the morning still available. It's sort of weird.

Now that I have a job, even though I'm working from home, I feel the need for more responsibility in my life. And by that I mean waking up and working when most other people are working.

Plus I do really enjoy the morning, the quiet, the soft sunlight; I just don't enjoy the literal part of getting out of bed. It's one of the most painful things to do.

Developing a schedule is actually more important to me than I thought. And I bought a planner yesterday, which actually excites me. I love to organize! For a few months I even considered becoming a professional organizing, though I don't really know how one goes about getting that kind of job.

It's satisfying to see something in disarray become something clean and neat.

Anyhoo, I haven't had any coffee yet. I think that comes across in the boring-ess of this blog. Maybe I'll write something better later (I hope so).

9 Random Thoughts: Hair, Plagues, and Just Pure Evil.

1) Every time I get my haircut now I get paranoid. Not that the stylist will fuck it up or that hair will get stuck in my bra for days but I get paranoid that other people will read into my haircut too much. Like I can't just get a hair cut to get a haircut; now it has to mean something. Guess what my new haircut means, it means I no longer have long hair.

2) I plan to write a longer blog about this for elephant journal but I just want to state briefly that Walmart is the quintessential example of evil and the supreme court has been demonized by its corporate powers.

3) The people who own are apartment complex are coming over to "inspect." Is this a Boulder thing? I just hope it's not infested with the PLAGUE.

4) Yes. There is a plague in our neighborhood, well, all the fleas have it and they're giving it to the prairie dogs and dogs and squirrels and shit. I'm sure the city is spraying for it, which will in turn kill more animals, but only later, after a year of ingesting it, then developing some strange cancer.

5) When I was younger I had really bad acne; I am afraid it's trying to do a sneak attack back onto my face. I will not have it. Zits--go find some sad 14 year-old to bother and leave me alone. I have had enough of you... (literally and emotionally and spiritually and all that).

6) Today is the longest day of the year. I wonder how much I can pack into it? I hope vodka and tonic and limes are involved.

7) Does everybody in the U.S. have this mug?

8) I'm happy to have the word "critic" in my job description, though I wish it were "life critic" instead of just "art critic" but I'll take what I can get.

9) It's going to be strange finding long strands of my hair now. Like lost relics.

Or just pieces of dead hair.

Music Mondays: We Are Extraordinary, Those Who Are Not Ordinary That is.

Fiona Apple has been one of my favorite musicians since 1996, basically, when Tidal came out and changed my life. Well, Tidal and I grew together; the older I got, the more experiences I encountered, the more I understood the album and its great emotional impact. For awhile every time I heard "Never is a Promise" I would cry, I blame it on the violins. And boys.

But then in 2005 her new album came out and it helped me in a whole new way. This song particularly. Perhaps it could do the same for you...

"If there was a better way to go, it would find me."

I apologize that the video isn't "official" and is also kind of weird.

Babies Aren't That Cute.

Once Madonna had a dream where she gave birth, after consulting with her dream interpreter, since I'm sure she was totally freaked out, the woman told Madonna that it did not mean she was having another kid; it meant that it was at the start of new chapter, a new project, the dream was a symbol for change.

Last night I dreamt I gave birth to three babies. THREE! It was traumatizing. The details were grotesque and I don't think any readers out there really want to hear about it. There were witch-like baby-finger nails involved and I'll leave it at that.

But, I assume the dream means that I have multiple changes stirring for the near future, which I am actually excited about.

Two new jobs in the same week.

I'm not sure what the third baby was supposed to represent, maybe I'll find out today.

On another note, most people think babies are cute. I find them creepy. Especially when they're not quite babies anymore but barely toddlers and they walk around (slowly) wearing adult-looking clothes but they're like not even two feet tall. Plus regular babies are all mushy with mashed up fatty faces. Plus they cry. Like all the time. And you can't even have a conversation of any length until they're like 5 and then all the do is ask "why" the whole year. Whatever.

I'm just glad the babies were in my dream and not in my reality.

And I am ready for a change, so bring it on.

We Know Where We've Been, But Where Are We Going?

The other day I turned on Atlas 4D on netflix, a tv series from Discovery Channel that examines our ever-changing planet.

Since watching, I've been just slightly freaked out. It's not like the information was new or overwhelming or anything; I've just had time to sit around and really think about it.

We were once apes who lived in trees.

A simple fact. But it's weird. Really weird.

We once lived in trees. We rarely walked on the ground. We we sort of like birds in a way, I mean because he rarely touched down not because we had wings or a beak or whatever.

And all that hair. . .

Now we lived in dead trees (and bricks and cement etc) and we're all almost bald.

I mean all of this is really obvious but it's taken me until now to come to grips with these facts.

Other, similar things that have freaked me out recently are thoughts about my ancestors and how they were once here and now they're not and now I am. Everything that has ever happened had led to this exact moment, and then the next exact moment.

I wonder what's going to happen evolution-wise with humans, if we don't all die in 2012 that is. Who will change? How will we change? Will there be humans that still lay around, like there are still apes hanging around today? Will those who have "evolved" think of themselves better than the humans?

There is that theory that aliens are just extremely evolved humans time traveling; but if they're so evolved why would they come back? Maybe to fix all that is broken so their world doesn't suck as much, who knows. It's just a theory anyway.

But thinking about all of this time, all of these changes, makes this time feel even shorter. It makes me question my existence. It makes me wonder where I am in the time table of evolution. It makes life seem almost irrelevant but extremely important at the same time.

I am thankful for all of the apes and all of my ancestors because for the most part I like where I am right now. Though, since I didn't like choose to be born on this planet, either way I wouldn't have a choice. So good thing I'm (trying to be) optimistic.

(Have women evolved more, at least physically, because we're all over less hairy? Just a thought)

Say Hello To The People Who Care: Babysitter's Club.

The other night I was laying in bed, I couldn't fall asleep, I kept thinking about the Babysitter's Club.

I wondered, what happened to Ann Martin, is she just rolling around in bathtubs full of cash?

The series sold 17 million copies.

If you happen to be really out of it, the Babysitter's Club started out as series of books, then grew into this mega marketing campaign, with dolls (which I had like 4 of them), sleeping bags (which I had one), shirts, other junk, then a tv series, followed by at least one movie if not more. (Plus there was also Babysitters The Little Sister, Karen book series). I'm pretty sure I owned most of these books; if I didn't own them I know I read them. And there were hundreds.

But now I can barely remember what happened in any of them.

Surely they were important to my brain development.

Yet. Not even one plot line sticks out.

Okay. Maybe one. I remember when Stacy peed the bed at a sleep-over only to find out later that she had diabetes. Nice plot line huh?

Anyhoo. I've been wondering what happened to these characters so next week I'm going to start a new series called, What Happened to the BSC? I'll speculate where and what a character is up to now that she would be around my age. I'll start with el presidente Kristy and work down.

Maybe Ann Martin will find me and ask me to write an adult series. Now that they're no longer babysitting are they still running into all that drama?

Of course they are!

It could be like an even hotter 90210 or Desperate Housewives or something. (This idea is totally going to be stolen... I have a timestamp on this baby, remember that thieves!)

Anger Makes Me a Modern Girl.

rrarrwwwar.

I woke up pissy. It's a good thing no one is around. I mean, it's a good thing Ryan is still in bed. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe it's that some asshole is weed-eating outside the apartment. Or maybe it's deeper than that.

Okay. It is deeper than that.

Every time I go to Astroland I come home angry. Astroland is this DIY lounge space in North Boulder, basically a storage shed that people play music out of. It must be filled with negative energy.

Or I go there and I realize how unproductive I am being and how I am doing nothing really with my life; now that I've put my book aside I have no project I'm interested in.

People who love what they're doing jump out of bed in the morning. I barely get up before noon and it's never by jumping.

I also feel like every time I watch an all-male band it's like watching a group of guys wank off--which essentially, it is. And I can't get over how they've been encouraged all their lives to wank off in public and woman have been told not to even dream about it. And then there are the people who say, "if you want to do it you can do it" or some other sort of reinforcing bullshit that is so obvious I want to punch them. Yes. If I wanted to I could. But it's not like the dynamics will change or the stereotypes or whatever. I'll just be that "hot chick" who plays in a band. And if I'm not the "hot" chick then I have to be so much better at whatever I'm doing than a man just to be able to stand on the stage. Whereas men, whether they suck or not, can get on there and wank off to their hearts delight. They've been allowed the privilege to understand it's okay for them to play. Women have the privilege of understanding it's vital for us to work. Ugh.

See. Also, I'm tired of people who get tired of people complaining about this kind of shit. Because frankly (frankly is a stupid fucking word), frankly I should be even more pissed. I should complain more.

Blah.

Ahhhhh.

Fuck Fuck Fuck.

Has anything really changed?

Is there any point?

I'm dragging my self down to a nihilistic hole.

Goddess please give me the courage to wank off in public.

Goddess please give me the courage to tell anyone who questions my intentions to fuck off.

Goddess.

Goddess?

God?

Dess?

It's probably good to be angry for a day. As long as the anger is channeled in the right direction and not at people, real-life people.

Channel it into something other people can understand.

I need a new project.

Fun Fri(Food)Day: What Can I Do With This?

We found this beautiful flowering kale at Sprouts yesterday. We had to buy it, though we have no idea how to cook/eat it. If you have any suggestions please let us know.

Who could resist this ruffly lacy purple and green gem?

I may just have to set it out in a large vase (bowl) and turn it into a table arrangement.

Random Thoughts: The Sun, The Burn, The Bunga Bunga.

I wish it was this cold yesterday when my sunburn was in full force, but the cool breeze still feels good on my very red skin.

Sun burns are weird. I mean for one thing they look trashy, not as trashy as a hickey but still trashy and for another the whole concept is just strange. I mean, that the defense mechanism? Surely there could be a better adaptive quality that white people's skin could have developed over time, but no. We still turn into lobster-like creatures.

I have an article this week in the Boulder Weekly. You can click here for the online print version, Gentlemen Start Your Symbolism.

Twas exciting seeing my article in print. It's been so long, much more rewarding than online--though being able to see how many people at least click on it when it's online is pretty satisfying. It's hard to tell how many people read the print versions.

It's also weird when my feet fall asleep. Obviously it's a sign that I should get my big booty off of them, but them getting all tingly and numb--who designed this thing?

I've started reading this article in the New Yorker, it's talking about Bunga Bungas which I guess are like italian orgies. Personally, I think more people should join orgies. Not that I've ever done it; but maybe if more people joined that's why I'd have to call it. Muhaha.

Almost every time it rains that song from Grease pops into my head, "it's raining, on prom night, my hair is a mess...."

And I always seem to wear my glasses when it rains, which is very counterproductive to seeing while walking outside.

I like getting emails. So. Pop into my inbox sometime.

In between projects I am. Questioning my next move. Thinking about inventing something and then making an infomercial. Still need to make my hipster-trailer-park infomercial, if anyone wants to help let me know. Free PBR and velvet paintings (with purchase of trailer).

Yep. I could keep this up all day, but a girl's got to eat. (BBQ Tofu sandwiches, don't be jealous).

If I Could Do Anything: I Would Eat.

I've been thinking about food quite frequently, probably because I enjoy eating large quantities of it. But mainly i've been thinking about our ancestors and I just want to thank them for figuring out how to plant, grow, cook and eat all of these amazing foods. It's pretty weird some of the stuff we do to food. I don't know if I would have ever been creative enough to invent half of the stuff that's out there today (and I'm pretty inventive, hello mini-martini).

But at the same time I'm thanking my ancestors I also am bored. Unsatisfied. Listless. Going to the store and picking out stuff other people (or companies) have gathered for me doesn't cut it anymore.

Of course the solution would be to start my own garden--but living in an apartment complex with barely a yard makes it difficult. I could join one of those community gardens but now I fear it's too late in the season.

Obviously the store is convenient and for most people with day jobs it's vital. I think buying everything from the store cuts out the enjoyment in the cycle of life; cuts off our connection to the food we put in our bodies. And in a way, shuts off an important part of discovery and creativity we could explore if we grew the food ourselves.

But I'm dreaming of living in the countryside, planting and gathering, working in my garden day after day instead of the 9 to 5. If only I won the lottery so I could pay off my student loan debt, buy a cabin with some land, a tiller and a bunch of seeds.

(Option #1 of what to do with my life)

Day 3: Glitter in the Sky.

Day 3

I finally sat outside long enough to see the stars in full bloom. Magnificent.

Also, I never noticed the throb of a city before. I can see Boulder from a distance but only the lights pulsating and beating and sparkling.

It reminds me of glitter.

It reminds me of cells.

I think glitter is just a cell of a star that’s fallen on earth to make it shine a little brighter.

“Catch a fallen star and put it in your pocket; never let it fade away.”

The city looks like an organ; a heart, a lung, a liver, always flowing, always shining—it’s there awake, breathing, working, moving, thinking, dreaming, at all times—even when one isn’t watching it closely. Tiny cells working together to create a space we can exist in. Both large and small scale--large like a city, small like our bodies, but that's all science talk.

Can I just say I tire of people who dislike glitter. I mean seriously, what does it hurt? Oh, it gets in your hair. Oh, it gets on your skin. So what? It’s not like a poisonous gas, a pesticide, a pestilential fume. Glisten a little. Get your shimmer on.

Glitter til’ I die.

Word up.

Last full day of house-sitting. I think I got my fill of solitude, though mountain-life I'll never shy away from.

Rest in Peace Sugar Booger.

Losing a pet sucks. It may be harder than losing a family member you never really cared for. Because one always cares for a pet. It’s hard to not like a pet with their doey eyes and their unconditional love. They never mean to hurt you even when they accidentally claw or nip or poo on the new carpeting.

Sugar was an exceptional animal. She was loving and licking. She enjoyed m&m's and barking at birds or other noisy incidents happening outside.

She liked riding the four-wheeler and taking walks with my mom down the gravel road.

Most of all she enjoyed sleeping (that's what we had the most in common).

Once when she was a teenager one of my male cousins threw her off our second story deck. Somehow she survived through that but she was suspicious of men from then on out (perhaps she believed in bringing down the patriarchy I don't know, I never asked).

Sugar was with us almost 13 years. That's like half of my life. It's strange to think about that. But she was a joy to be around; I don't think anyone should regret having an animal in their life just because they have to also deal with the animal's passing. We all go through the cycle.

She will be missed greatly but was also loved dearly, and that's all anyone, animal or human can really ask for.

Killer Cat on the Loose: Day 2

Day 2 of house-sitting.

I’m really good at eating other people’s food. It’s so exciting to be able to go through a fridge and take whatever you want without thinking about how much it cost at the store. Oh gluttony. The cat didn’t come back in until midnight this morning. And today just 30 minutes ago it came back with a dead mouse in its mouth and is refusing to drop it. Commands that normally work on dogs are not working in this sly animal. I know he was trying to be nice and bring me a present, but he doesn’t understand I prefer chocolate to rodent.

And I’ve been seeing a lot of spiders, which really freaks me out. I think they’re going to crawl in my mouth while I’m sleeping.

They also have this water fountain that reminds me of a plumbing problem we recently just had fixed, but at the same time relaxes me and makes me need to go pee.

I wonder if the cat is going to eat the mouse?

I swear I’ve been feeding the thing.

I guess they could save some money on food that way.

Other than that I feel like I’m just wasting my time on the computer. I wish I could get off of it and figure out my life but I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow. (Because figuring out my life will only take one day of planning. )

Music Mondays: Let's Bring Back Some Rage.

I've been working out almost every day to Rage Against the Machine. I don't know why, but I'm thinking it's a sign. What better place than here. What better time than now. I think we need a Rage come back. Not just the band but our own mentalities. Or at least my mentality.

"Because the machine will try to grind you into dust anyway, whether or not we speak." -- Audre Lorde

I feel like I wax and wane on my level of intensity in yearning to help transform the world. I mean, obviously I want to help make it a better place but there are moments, plenty of moments when I get discouraged. Luckily there are other creators and innovators out there to feed other creators and innovators--we can nourish each other--help each other grow.

Remind us to speak.

Remind us that the time is now.

A Room with a View....Or a Whole House.

(part of my view mountain)

Day 1 of house sitting has gone pretty well so far. This may be the easiest job of all time. The main goal is to not kill anything, particularly the cat.

I hope I can succeed; I wouldn't mind if this became a more regular gig.

I really can't complain about the view or the weather both of which are gorgeous.

It's like a mini-residency. Except I haven't really written anything yet. In time, all in time.

I'm wondering if I will get lonely. I can't foresee that happening, I do have the writer's longing for solitude--which makes me feel guilty sometimes. sometimes. We all need alone time. Being an only-child probably feeds into that too, it's just something I'm familiar with--a room of my own--not talking to people--having time to think (writing really boring blog posts).

Anyhoo...this is what I'm up to. 3 days of house sitting and getting my shit together. Maybe I'll have an ah-ha moment or something which will lead me to figure out my future's path...the path of my future, I don't know, enlightenment, magic, existential understanding, a new view of reality. At least a new view.

fun Fri(Food)Day: Vegan All Day Vegan All Night.

This week I haven't really cooked anything new. We made a bunch of falafel which lasted almost the whole week. Delicious to wrap in a tortilla with lettuce, pickles and hot sauce.

We picked up tofurky's peppered deli slices, which are sooooooo good. We've shied away from the imitation slices for several years but after having a Vegfund event and trying them we questioned why we had waited so long. Perfect for the summer when you don't want to turn the stove on for any reason. I can't wait to try all the different flavors.

Oh and I made rum-injected melon balls. Target tried to sell me a melon-baller for over 10 dollars. I said no way. And found one at Peppercorn for $3. The price it should be, if not cheaper. I couldn't find a needle/syringe probably because I'm not a heroin addict, so I tried to use this marinade injector--the end had too big of a hole--rum basically just squirted out the whole time. I don't think the melon balls absorbed the rum that well, but it didn't really matter because the fruit was still tasty.

Anyhoo, that's what's been happening in my vegan life, how about yours?

The Little Mermaid: A Little Minority?

I just realized the other day that the Little Mermaid is a minority. I mean obviously, she has fins.

And then she decides she no longer wants fins, basically, she wants to assimilate.

Ariel is a symbol for "foreigners."

She is an alien. A sea creature. A mermaid. She wants to be human, to walk in the sand, to soak up the sun etc. And the only way she can become "human," the only way she can assimilate is to lose her voice, to be stripped of her agency.

Example:

"If I become human, I'll never be with my father or sisters again!

- That's right. But you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it? Oh, and there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment. You can't get something for nothing, you know

- But I don't have any...

- I'm not asking much. Just a token really, a trifle. You'll never even miss it. What I want from you is... your voice

- My voice?

- You've got it, sweetcakes. No more talking, singing. Zip

- But without my voice how can I..."

Yes Ariel. How could you?

Only after the prince-of-humans falls in love with her and they are about to get married (via some witchcraft stuff) does she gain her voice back.

After she has fully assimilated into humanness.

After she is no longer a mermaid in any way.

Just saying, that's one theory.

Biggest example: