Campaign for Beauty Bullshit

Wow, I just realized that Dove and Axe are owned by the same company, Unilever. Am I the last one to figure this out? I'm not necessarily a fan of Dove products because I prefer more natural, locally produced beauty care products, etc. but their Campaign for Real Beauty made them seem like a kinder, gentler, beauty product corporation. Great, they claim that they want to raise young girls' self-esteem by making them aware of photoshopping and the fact that the images we see in advertising are fake. They have one such ad where they show a young girl viewing numerous beauty product billboards and then watching T.V. In both cases she is bombarded with images of photoshopped, overly-sexualized models. The ad ends by stating that young girls are under more pressure than ever today and that by supporting the Campaign for Real Beauty you are doing something to help change that. Now, what if they had the young girl watching an Axe ad in which various skinny, overly-sexualized, photoshopped models are chasing after some random loser dude because he happened to apply Axe deoderant or spray? Yes, the Axe ads are meant to be campy, but think of the way that they portray women. They are a far cry from improving the status of women and building self-esteem. It's the same company! While I don't use their beauty products, Unilever is a huge corporation that owns many other brands that I do use. Not anymore. Dove may be gentle on the skin, but the hypocrisy of Unilever is far too irritating. If you don't believe me, check out their website: Unilever

Bonsoir mes amis,

Oui, ça fait longtemps! Je vis en français maintenant mais je ne l’écris pas assez souvent. Je suis en train de préparer mon cours pour ce jeudi et j’ai pensé à toutes les raisons que je suis contente. Voici une petite liste qui est loin d’être complète :
-les activités de plein air ici
-mes emplois
-tous mes amis
-la nuit d’hiver quand on a marché dans la forêt et le sentier était allumé uniquement par la lune. On a fait un feu, mangé le souper et bu du vin dans le neige, la tranquillité et la solitude
-mon équipe de triathlon
-yoga
-ma vie en français
-mes étudiants
-la littérature québécoise
-mes entraineurs
Je peux continuer toute la soirée. On approche la fin d’une autre année et je vous jure que c’est une des meilleures années de ma vie. Je commence voir mes rêves deviennent la réalité.

Bonne nuit mes amis! Je vous souhaite mes meilleurs vœux!
xx

Vegetarianism: More than Tofu!

After having to endure a certain conversation today let me offer a few words about vegetarianism: As a vegetarian I don't simply make a recipe but replace the meat with tofu. I don't eat garden salads all the time. (I rarely eat lettuce.) No, I do not eat chicken or fish. Yes, right now I sometimes will eat an egg or some cheese though I prefer not to. Work occasionally requires me to attend lunch meetings and the vegetarian options in the restaurants here are extremely limited (basically omelettes, nachos or salad). This makes me an ovo-lacto vegetarian.

You can be vegetarian and have very exciting food options. It's a hell of a lot more than a slab of tofu with veggies and potatoes. Tofu makes up a small part of my diet. I eat various types of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, etc. I experiment with recipes and spices. I think outside the "North American" ideals of how we should eat. I love trying dishes from different cultures and find that India is an especially great source for vegetarian friendly fare. Best of all, nothing has to die.

You want to know what I eat? Ask me! Don't assume!

For supper I made an amazing fusilli in a white wine and tomato sauce with kalmata olives and artichoke hearts mixed in. My diet is anything but boring.

Have a great evening!

Explore Quebec!!

Looking back over my past few entries I see a theme that is really not representative of what is going on in my life right now! It has been nearly four months since I moved away from Montreal and ironically, that is when the adventures began! I won't try to make up for the four months that I neglected this blog but here is a recap of what I've been up to.

Here are some of the best trips I've taken:
-St-Felicien to do the Tree-to-tree activity where you do an obstacle course high in the trees and swing on zip lines etc.
-Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Matagami, Camp 381 on the James Bay highway, Radisson, Chisasibi, the real James Bay!
-Drove to Montreal to spend the weekend, spent several days in St-Alexis-des-monts, back to Chibougamau
-St-Felicien to go to the zoo
-Jonquiere for the Bernard Adamus concert (awesome!) and the triathlon. Returned to Chibou by the Northern part of the lake (got lost in Dolbeau-Mistassini), Normandin, etc.
and so on...

Quebec has so many amazing places to explore and people to meet. It's a shame that so many people never get far from Montreal. It's a shame I didn't see more sooner!

Yesterday we climbed a mountain and picked wild blueberries. They taste amazing! today I plan to bike out to Lake Chibougamau. :)

Happy Sunday everyone!!

I Loved you Once

Here is the most perfect love poem. I just had to share it. My Russian is pretty basic, but the audio version touches my soul nonetheless.

Marriage

Do you know a married couple that hate each other but refuse to get divorced? Does this married couple still insist on marking the occasion of their anniversary each year? Have they made the occasion into an opportunity to further provoke one another? Ex: He buys her a bathroom scale (hint, hint honey) and she buys him a tow rope with ample length to tie a noose?

Despite the dysfunction, do you still feel obligated to acknowledge their anniversary as well? Alas, in this case I'm referring to my parents. Yes, I have them. In a couple of weeks they will be 'celebrating' 33 years served in a life sentence. Each year I try to at least send a card but Hallmark just doesn't seem to make ones that fit the occasion. All the cards say something along the lines of "You are so perfect together,"and "Here's to many more blissful years" or "To the most loving couple I know." I few years ago I gave up on the anniversary card section all together. My solution? Sympathy cards! I find that my sentiments are best captured with a card along the lines of: "Just letting you know that my thoughts are with you during this painful time." After I sent the first one, I expected to be off the hook for life. Alas, my mother called me to say she had a good laugh. I guess it's good to suffer with a sense of humour and at least I know where to shop for cards each year.

My friends, you may think of this story if ever you are pondering why I'm a single pig!

Kisses darlings!
xx

Life and Not-Quite-Love

Life lesson 234983249873259872347:

Don't take dates to your favourite restaurant because you know that when it's over that person will somehow manage to show up there when you are eating...A city of 3 million people and somehow it happens.

And for your enjoyment ladies and gentlemen, here is a picture of me riding a rooster!

Kisses darlings!
xx

Will you miss me Montreal?

Another entry sans photos! I feel sort of bad for it, but I've been extremely busy and haven't had time to play model for you all. So, why so busy? I have accepted a second job and now I must move. I have less than three weeks to determine what I shall do with all my worldly possessions. Part of me would like to get rid of almost everything. For years I've imagined that an existence with few possessions could be quite liberating. On the other hand, if I come back to Montreal eventually, I will need to replace much of what I want to get rid of. I have so many decisions to make and such a short time! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.

To try and relax I went out with some of my lovely friends in the beautiful sunshine this afternoon. There was something about the day that made me melancholy though. It reminded me of a day last year and made me wish I could relive just those few hours again.

Back to packing and moving so much closer to my 'new' life!

Good night my dears!
xx

P.S. My poor little body is somewhat out of sorts! Last week I was enduring -24 in Chibougamau while today I was basking in the +27 warmth. Oh Canada, your weather 'tis a wondrous thing!

Bending but Not Breaking

This is a grainery. My OED does not have grainery as a word, but I assure you, that is what it's called! And what is a grainery, you ask? It's where farmers keep grain. Yes, it's that simple. I took this picture the last time I was in southern Alberta. I think it's nifty that this building has tilted due to the extreme winds of the region, and yet it still stands! It's southern Alberta's version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Or inspiration for some gospel song about bending with the wind but not breaking under pressure! Or how a solid foundation will help you withstand the elements. Ah metaphors, how I love them!

Early tomorrow morning I'll return to Chibougamau. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends there and working. However, I've heard that they still have snow and I'm not so keen on that.

Bye for now!
Mr. P
xx

March Vegan Part Deux

Alas! No pic tonight! This little piggy went to yoga, this little piggy came home, this little piggy had tempeh with Ashley, meh, enough of that! It's 11:00 pm on a Tuesday and I've been busy all day, hooray!

First, it appears that I have a fan--just one--but a fan nonetheless! That gives me a warm tingly feeling all over.

So, what has been keeping me so busy? I'm preparing to go back to work next week. I'm looking for other jobs for when my contract ends. I've been fully embracing my new vegan lifestyle. It is actually really fun! I never thought I would think that veganism would be fun. I've taken the sometimes mundane act of eating and turned it into an adventure. Now, I must truly think about my food, and I feel good about what I'm eating. I'll have to be careful not to start feeling TOO good mind you, this article from the Guardian suggests I might become mean in other areas of my life if I get too righteous about my eating habits. (Yes, they seriously did a study on this.) Although, righteous isn't a word I would use to describe myself anyway, unless it's used in a retro 80s kind of way as in "He's a righteous dude!" (and kind of a dork).

So this week I finally wandered over to St. Denis to check out Chi-Ming. It's a vegetarian food and mock meat store. I'll admit, they had less products than I expected, but the man working there (who happened to be the owner) was incredibly nice and we had a long chat about veganism and how to make it work. He's been vegan for 20 years and was very encouraging. I decided to buy a bag of mock chicken made from portobello mushrooms.

Now, let me take a moment for a word on mock meats (while trying not to sound righteous). I generally don't see the purpose in using mock meats. They seem to be the boon of uncreative vegetarians who want to have 'typical' North American meals that are based around a meat dish, just without the meat. Yes, one can be vegetarian by replacing meat with its mock meat imitation, and that is fine, but he or she misses out on so many other great culinary opportunities! A quick look at food from other cultures often offers up so many amazing vegetarian options. I prefer to think outside the 'Western cuisine' box.

Okay, so despite my opinions on mock meat, I decided to try the mock chicken anyways. It was a very interesting experiment. First, I found it a little too salty for my tastes, but the texture was so much like actual chicken that for a moment I had to fight an uneasy feeling. I had a moment of doubt as to what I was actually consuming! Now, the true test will be feeding some to my non-vegetarian friends to see if they can tell the difference. Actually, as an addendum to my mock meat rant, I would like to add that I understand how mock meat could be useful for someone making the transition from eating meat to being vegetarian. As well, it could come in handy if I have a dinner party and invite some of my vegetarian-wary friends. If it looks like meat, and tastes like meat, perhaps they will be able to pretend its meat.

This week I also checked out Aux Vivres restaurant for the first time. I won't write a lot because there are so many reviews on the web. Today I had their vegelox sandwich and it was incredible. (Oh my! Is that considered mock meat as well, even though it was comprised of carrots?) All I can say is veganism makes me feel far from deprived!

On the non-vegan front, I recently read the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It's a really intense book. To be honest, I thought it would be one of those self-help spirituality for dummies type books that you can read in a weekend and that includes an easy-to-use index:

Identity Crisis---------------------pg. 3
Insecurity and uncertainty----------pg. 9 (or maybe it was 10?)
Dealing with breakups---------------pg. 69
How to know god (or gods)-----------pg 777

But simple it is not! I really appreciate how Tolle emphasizes accepting what is right now and how we can find happiness by realizing how much our egos run our lives and changing that. I've actually started reading the book a second time so that I can really understand its message. This was certainly a timely read because it has helped me deal with accepting a transition that I'm experiencing in my life right now.

Yoga? Veganism? Popular spirituality? Omigod, I'm turning into one of those puppets. Ho-hum, so much for accepting what is! Now, where's that book?

*Sigh*

This little piggy says wee wee wee all the way home (to bed).

ttfn,
xx

P.S. Orange juice is my new best friend.

March Vegan

Ah yes, where is the post for February? I haven't the foggiest idea. Time is just flying by. I'm back in Montreal for a brief sejour before returning up north again. Last week I was in Alberta. That was nice. I was able to visit several people I don't see very often and the weather was warm and lovely. It also gave me a chance to get away from some drama in Montreal and now I feel incredible!

So, for the month of March I decided to join my friend Robyn on her personal challenge to go vegan. I was already vegetarian, and I'd been gravitating towards veganism for some time. I thought, how hard can it be? The answer is that it is much harder than I imagined. I now have to really think about everything that I put in my mouth. I have to read ingredients and many restaurants are simply off limits. When I started I thought that I would miss cheese and yogurt more than anything but in fact, I find that the lack of dairy seems to be giving me a lot of energy. The first few days I was simply craving pastries and doughnuts. Basically, I was craving anything baked and doughy and sweet and fattening and OFF LIMITS! Even chocolate is a no-no. *sniff* Yes, I have cheated a couple of times...okay, maybe more than a couple of times. There was that butter-pecan bar, and that muffin, and that milk chocolate...mmm. But all-in-all, I feel fantastic. I've been making a lot of recipes from a great well-known cookbook called "How it All Vegan" and I don't know what I would do without it. I don't know if this will be a long-term change, but I just feel so damn good that it might have to be.

Since I mentioned sweets, I've posted a pic of myself with the vegan cookies that I baked. The recipe was from the aforementioned cookbook. They were good in a sweet-tooth-craving pinch.

I'll keep you posted darlings!
xx

Happy Very Belated New Year!

Hello my dears!

I decided to visit my little blog here and realized that I haven't even written anything this year. It has now been 2010 for 26 days. I expect that exciting things will happen this year! I will just have to remember to report them on here when they happen. I have a million projects on the go right now and I'm just waiting for some answers to decide the next step in my life. After saying that, I must say that one of my New Year's resolutions was to simplify my life. It may seem that I'm contradicting myself, but I can assure you that I'm aiming to achieve several particular goals/projects that should make things easier.

I'm back in Chibougamau teaching again. It is going good so far. My students are great and I'm teaching English Literature again. I'm even learning a little Cree! The other day during class, I was explaining how we analyze rhyme and meter in poetry. I was giving an example of end rhyme by reading only the last word in a series a lines. Suddenly all the students started laughing...I had inadvertently said something in Cree. Now excuse my crudeness but verbatim they explained that I had said "I am taking a dump." How lucky am I to stumble upon such a classy phrase?

Good night my dears! I hope that 2010 is filled with much love and happiness!