The Incredible Disappearing Woman

Kristen Armstrong, the ex-wife of super-cyclist Lance Armstrong, speaks out about lousing yourself in marriage. She is not out to bash marriage or Lance. This is her attempt to reveal a truth about marriage that is very real and can affect everyone, married or not, in a relationship.

The greatest conspiracy in modern history is not Watergate or the shooting of JFK; it's something far more ingrained and insidious in the way it distorts the truth. The conspiracy is marriage. It's not that I don't respect the institution and the belief I've cherished since childhood of what such a union could be. One heartbreaking and publicly failed marriage later, I actually revere marriage more at age 34 than I did as a blushing bride of 26.

The problem is that when a young woman announces her engagement, everyone is quick to roll out the matrimonial red carpet by throwing showers and obsessing over wedding day plans. This helps a bride prepare for the reality of marriage about as much as nine months of baby showers and nursery decorating prepare a gestating woman for the awesome task of raising a child: not at all.

Read the rest of the article here.

Cruelty in Every Scoop

When you hear that yet another national company employs cruel practices, whether to their employees or to animals, it is disappointing. When this company touts its dedication to social consciousness, it is infuriating. The Humane Society of the United States has released a call to stop one such company.

Ben & Jerry's is a company known not only for its frozen desserts, but also for its claims of social responsibility. Is this so-called socially responsible company really serving up nothing more than "Chocolate Chip Cruelty Dough"?

After nearly a year of promises—both verbal and written—to The HSUS that it would end its support for battery cage factory farming, the company has done an about-face and chosen to continue to buy eggs—perhaps 20 to 30 million of them annually—from factory farms that confine egg-laying hens in tiny battery cages so small the birds can't even spread their wings. In fact, each one of the tens of thousands of caged hens used to provide eggs for Ben & Jerry's ice cream has less space for her entire life than a single sheet of paper.

Read the rest of the news release here.

Take action here.

UPDATE: Links Fixed

Web Dating

I'm tall and stronger than any man you'll ever come across. I love picking fleas and other things out of my mates hair and enjoy long climbs in the canope. I also love typing with my hands AND feet.

The Dutch have Amersterdam's notorious red light district and now they're setting their primates up via online orangutan web dating.

A zoo in the Netherlands plans to set up a webcam to help its orangutans form long-distance relationships with potential mates in Indonesia.

(Read the rest here.)

Despite the Evidence: I believe.

In an unsurprising turn in the mystery of the tree gushing water in San Antonio, TX; test have proven the un-miraculous. The tree, that many have come to believe to be a holy miracle, broke into a water pipe and now leaks water that contains both fluoride and chlorine from the San Antonio water treatment plant. This has come to be a big shock to the residents who have come to pray to the tree for strength and healing.

Read the story here: KSAT 12: San Antonio, TX Story Text
Watch the video here: KSAT 12: San Antonio, TX Video Clip

An Uplifting Musical

This video clip of "Jesus: The Musical" captures what is missing in todays world: honesty. A kind of authentic message that the atheists, agnostics, and other satanic forces try so hard to quelch for their master.

Enjoy:
Jesus: I Will Survive





(via a fellow SOMA member)

The Kids Are Alright

You may remember a time when being punk, alternative, or indie meant that what you wore, said, and did represented your values. Those values (anti-establishment, pro-grassroots activism, anti-drug, pro-choice, or simply rebellion against the status-quo of greed and arrogant individualism) have been marketed, branded, and slapped with a slogan by multi-national capitalist conglomerates. This debasing of values has created an entire culture of virtuous language that lacks any meaningful lifestyle change. Want to be punk? Drive or browse to Urban Outfitters and purchase a Clash or Bob Marley shirt, some retro-cool shoes, pants, and welcome to the neo-punk revolution.

There is, however, a backlash to this. Check out the reclaiming of extreme sports by the grassroots green movement at grist magazine.

"Kids want to be armed with knowledge that their parents don't have," he says, "and this is that vehicle for them. The beauty of it is it's exactly what action sports needs, because the ultimate punk rock rebellious act to fuck the Man and fuck the system is to be environmentally and socially conscious. That's exactly what they don't want you to do."

A Tofu Hummer

Vegetarians, men with self-confidence, and environmentalists have joked for years about men buying Hummers to make up for their small… well, you get the idea. Over the past several months, Hummer has released a new ad campaign that highlights and endorses this sentiment as a perfectly reasonable rationale for purchasing their behemoths.

It's stunning how enthusiastically the ad embraces this idea. The entire plot is based on it: A guy feels wimpy because another guy saw him buying tofu, so he dashes out and buys a Hummer to feel better about himself. The original tag line of the ad was in fact "Restore your manhood." Hart says people called in to complain ("The whole idea of manhood and virility is a touchy subject," she points out, "especially for men"), so, after two weeks on the air, the ad was recut with the line changed to the slightly more ambiguous "Restore the balance."

Check out the rest of Slate's article here.

Buy Curious

Are you in the market for new furniture that has Modern Contemporary cool, yet you believe in sustainable living. Well, check out Vivavi. A company that is about modern living with out the footprint.

Check It Out

Next Year

Though I am two months behind for this years ride, next year I just might have to participate.

Check it out: World Naked Bike Ride