Thursday, December 2, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Jamie Kelly: The joy of being a person; the bliss of the little things
I just went down to the deli in our building to see what they had for food. They don't make many vegan things, but sometimes they have sides of stuff and they have a nice salad bar. I got a side of seasoned red potatoes and put some ketchup on them. I then needed to decide whether I was going to eat them there or go back to my office. I decided to grab a fork and just eat it on the way. I was overcome with happiness at the thought. What a good predicament to be in!
This decision gave me some unexpected perspective on how these little things make me so happy. With my blissful ketchup covered red potatoes, I walked, ate, and realized that this isn't the first time this week I have been happy and aware of why.
The time prior, I got excited about my new TV. I thought and thought about it, did research and chose one that I will pay for all by myself. No pressure, no stress, just an amazing new toy. I anticipate it's arrival daily and envision playing Rock Band or Super Mario Galaxy 2 on it.
I used to get this way around game releases. My entire year would be bookmarked by when the next Zelda came out, when the new Nintendo system was released or when Perfect Dark FINALLY hit shelves.
And even then, I felt like this feeling was something unique. We all have them, so in the context of person to person, bliss over something small isn't rare, but I do think that it both goes unnoticed a whole lot and it isn't respected as much as it should be.
As humans, I think this feeling is very unique. I believe, sincerely, that once we get to wherever we go after we die, we will look back on things and say something like, "Man, I miss ice cream SOOOO MUCH!" because it is a HUMAN EXPERIENCE. The excitement of intimacy, sex and humor, the playing and listening of music, the expression of art, the ability to work hard and to see the results in a forming six pack or tighter jaw line, these are very human joys, though other creatures share some as well.
I see people all around me taking bliss in the little things. People who look forward to their first coffee in the morning, people who eagerly await an upcoming concert, people who read reviews for a movie or game that they have been waiting for for ages, the delight of making and then eating food, naps, kittens, summer, roller coasters, new cars, guns, free time, vacation, a new CD, a new cell phone....the list goes on forever.
Red rosemary potatoes covered in ketchup.
When people use these little things to cope with life, that is when trouble is invited. ABSOLUTELY HAVING TO HAVE COFFEE in the morning no longer makes the trip to Starbucks a fun event to look forward to, Instead, it is a critical pillar in your day and without it, you are worse off. THE ABSOLUTE NEED TO DRINK AT EVERY GET TOGETHER removes the excitement of the variety and specialness that is going to a new place for a get together since without alcohol, you feel incapable of relaxing or loosening up. Drinking becomes a step rather than a treat.
There are two things that I think we need to do in reaction to this awareness. First, realize how lucky we are to have these little things. Second, I think that it's important to realize that we all have a list of unique joys and that if my list doesn't match up with yours, that's fine. I don't like to drink, but if you do, then do it. It gives a bit more comfort to someone who is typically uptight about how others choose to spend their time, or in American terms, their money.
Do you get mad at people who spend more than 20/30/40 hours a week on World of Warcraft or Farmville?
Do you find it appalling that someone drives a car that is WAY more expensive than it needs to be?
Do you thrive on the gossip of how others are "screwing up" their life by living it the way THEY want?
Does it bother you when someone wears clothing that is very revealing or that otherwise gets a lot of attention?
Does the idea of someone spending $800 on a purse make you want to punch them in the teeth?
Are you upset by someone's insistence that they want to watch or listen to something that you don't?
Why?
How intolerant are you of the ways in which others decide to take joy from the little things? Does it humble you to realize that there are likely thousands of people around the world who would criticize everything YOU do? Do you like that feeling? Why do you perpetuate it?
I went on a date last week. The girl had a problem with everything. Where her friends were living, what they did in their free time, how people decided to spend their money...all of it. I wondered why she felt like this was a good investment in her energy, why it seemed appropriate to tell me, someone who she might potentially start a future with, that she has a problem with just about everything that she herself DOESN'T do.
Take joy in the little things, just don't make them a mandatory part of your coping with life and please, PLEASE, don't criticize others for the way they choose to spend their time and money. It's ugly.
Then again, I just criticized you for spending your time criticizing others, didn't I?
This decision gave me some unexpected perspective on how these little things make me so happy. With my blissful ketchup covered red potatoes, I walked, ate, and realized that this isn't the first time this week I have been happy and aware of why.
The time prior, I got excited about my new TV. I thought and thought about it, did research and chose one that I will pay for all by myself. No pressure, no stress, just an amazing new toy. I anticipate it's arrival daily and envision playing Rock Band or Super Mario Galaxy 2 on it.
I used to get this way around game releases. My entire year would be bookmarked by when the next Zelda came out, when the new Nintendo system was released or when Perfect Dark FINALLY hit shelves.
And even then, I felt like this feeling was something unique. We all have them, so in the context of person to person, bliss over something small isn't rare, but I do think that it both goes unnoticed a whole lot and it isn't respected as much as it should be.
As humans, I think this feeling is very unique. I believe, sincerely, that once we get to wherever we go after we die, we will look back on things and say something like, "Man, I miss ice cream SOOOO MUCH!" because it is a HUMAN EXPERIENCE. The excitement of intimacy, sex and humor, the playing and listening of music, the expression of art, the ability to work hard and to see the results in a forming six pack or tighter jaw line, these are very human joys, though other creatures share some as well.
I see people all around me taking bliss in the little things. People who look forward to their first coffee in the morning, people who eagerly await an upcoming concert, people who read reviews for a movie or game that they have been waiting for for ages, the delight of making and then eating food, naps, kittens, summer, roller coasters, new cars, guns, free time, vacation, a new CD, a new cell phone....the list goes on forever.
Red rosemary potatoes covered in ketchup.
When people use these little things to cope with life, that is when trouble is invited. ABSOLUTELY HAVING TO HAVE COFFEE in the morning no longer makes the trip to Starbucks a fun event to look forward to, Instead, it is a critical pillar in your day and without it, you are worse off. THE ABSOLUTE NEED TO DRINK AT EVERY GET TOGETHER removes the excitement of the variety and specialness that is going to a new place for a get together since without alcohol, you feel incapable of relaxing or loosening up. Drinking becomes a step rather than a treat.
There are two things that I think we need to do in reaction to this awareness. First, realize how lucky we are to have these little things. Second, I think that it's important to realize that we all have a list of unique joys and that if my list doesn't match up with yours, that's fine. I don't like to drink, but if you do, then do it. It gives a bit more comfort to someone who is typically uptight about how others choose to spend their time, or in American terms, their money.
Do you get mad at people who spend more than 20/30/40 hours a week on World of Warcraft or Farmville?
Do you find it appalling that someone drives a car that is WAY more expensive than it needs to be?
Do you thrive on the gossip of how others are "screwing up" their life by living it the way THEY want?
Does it bother you when someone wears clothing that is very revealing or that otherwise gets a lot of attention?
Does the idea of someone spending $800 on a purse make you want to punch them in the teeth?
Are you upset by someone's insistence that they want to watch or listen to something that you don't?
Why?
How intolerant are you of the ways in which others decide to take joy from the little things? Does it humble you to realize that there are likely thousands of people around the world who would criticize everything YOU do? Do you like that feeling? Why do you perpetuate it?
I went on a date last week. The girl had a problem with everything. Where her friends were living, what they did in their free time, how people decided to spend their money...all of it. I wondered why she felt like this was a good investment in her energy, why it seemed appropriate to tell me, someone who she might potentially start a future with, that she has a problem with just about everything that she herself DOESN'T do.
Take joy in the little things, just don't make them a mandatory part of your coping with life and please, PLEASE, don't criticize others for the way they choose to spend their time and money. It's ugly.
Then again, I just criticized you for spending your time criticizing others, didn't I?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Gardenburger Flame-Grilled burgers to be discontinued
Last week, I hosted the Vegan Bacon Cheeseburger Massacre. Everything was going great until I went to buy the burgers...they were gone.
Like, completely gone. I went to 8 stores. Nothing. Someone coming to the party found the last 3 boxes at a Whole Foods and the day was saved.
During the search, I emailed Kellogs to ask them what was up. I got the answer last night:
Jamie,
Thank you for your inquiry concerning our Gardenburger® Flame Grilled Burger.
I am very sorry to inform you that due to lower than expected sales figures we have reluctantly decided to cease production of our Gardenburger® Flame Grilled Burger. We are aware that we have some very loyal consumers and it is very disappointing that we are unable to continue with this product.
I sincerely regret the disappointment caused on this occasion and hope you are able to find another burger of ours that you enjoy just as much.
Thank you again for contacting us.
Best of health,
Giselle Mendoza
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs
Super. Omega. Fail.
Time to find an alternative.
Like, completely gone. I went to 8 stores. Nothing. Someone coming to the party found the last 3 boxes at a Whole Foods and the day was saved.
During the search, I emailed Kellogs to ask them what was up. I got the answer last night:
Jamie,
Thank you for your inquiry concerning our Gardenburger® Flame Grilled Burger.
I am very sorry to inform you that due to lower than expected sales figures we have reluctantly decided to cease production of our Gardenburger® Flame Grilled Burger. We are aware that we have some very loyal consumers and it is very disappointing that we are unable to continue with this product.
I sincerely regret the disappointment caused on this occasion and hope you are able to find another burger of ours that you enjoy just as much.
Thank you again for contacting us.
Best of health,
Giselle Mendoza
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs
Super. Omega. Fail.
Time to find an alternative.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The implications of telling the world to f**k off!
Reading the book, Ishmael (which you should all know about because you watched this: http://www.vimeo.com/11119755), it becomes very obvious that humans have exempted themselves from nature. We own it. Or we act like we do. Along with this ownership comes the logic that we can bend the rules how we please. The first, and maybe the biggest, rule that was broken related to where we could live and sustain ourselves. All other animals live off of the land, off of the balance that nature provides.
Man gave nature the finger when they...get ready for it...learned how to grow food.
It's a weird concept, right? That planting crops is a BAD thing. But think about it...no other animal plants crops and grows their own food...they live off of what is there on THAT DAY. They don't stockpile and systematically kill every other plant and animal that is a "threat" to their food source. They don't harvest other animals or plants. They take what they need in the moment and that's that. Except for animals who save food for the winter, but even they don't kill other animals or crops to meet this end...they just save what they got THAT DAY. We use a faulty, man-made system that is causing a TON of issues for EVERYTHING on the planet.
The upshot to all of this, the implication of giving nature the finger, is that we EXEMPT ourselves from natural selection. Normally, if you were living in a place or condition that you weren't designed to survive in, you died. End of story. Nobody lived there. Ever.
Then we learned to grow crops in those places. We played Mother Nature and chose where plants grow and where we lived. No other animal does that! They can't. They can't go and tame the earth so that it meets THEIR needs, it's the other way around, and that is the law that we are defying as humans and the point of the book Ishmael.
So now natural selection is pretty much non-existent. We get cold, we put on a coat. We get hot, we turn on the AC. We get sick, we take medicine. We get injured, we go to the hospital. We eat garbage and our heart LITERALLY BREAKS and we have surgery. There is an earthquake and we start up fund raisers and relief efforts and we rebuild.
Every possible avenue that nature has to balance our existence on this planet, we block it as best we can. This is practically a SIN against the world.
But look at how we are raised. Outside of some religions, are there any schools of thought that say "when it's your time to go, it's your time to go"? Not that I know of. And yet, that makes SO MUCH SENSE! When it is time for the gazelle to live and the lion to go hungry, as the book puts it, that's what happens. And when it's time for the gazelle to die to keep the balance of nature going, the gazelle dies.
What about when grandma gets cancer (which is probably our fault anyway because of the poison we ingest) or dad needs another open heart surgery? These are obvious signs from nature that state that IT'S YOUR TIME TO GO.
Earth has its own mind. It will have earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis....and we can't stop it. What we DO do however, is pour money and resources into making sure that the people that the earth was practically shaking off are all OK.
And it sounds cruel, because that is how we have been raised, but when we have a natural "disaster", maybe it is best that we let those people go. Those that survive are strong, or at least lucky, and they can generate better offspring. The fat, slow, sickly man who only survives the flood because a helicopter got him off of the roof of his house should probably die.
Even healthy people will die, but you know what? That's kind of what we need. There are TOO MANY of us on this planet. We spread to places that we weren't meant to live. We established homes and tools that help us survive in climates that we wouldn't last a week in on our own. We trick our bodies with chemicals to ward off the natural mechanisms of nature to off us and balance the human race.
Bottom line: we are going to face massive deaths sooner or later. You can only outrun natural laws for so long. The question I have is this: should we start changing the way we look at people and survival in order to embrace the natural flow of life, death and balance or do we continue to defy every attempt that nature makes to balance our race by improving technology, medicine and unnatural methods to prevent death?
Man gave nature the finger when they...get ready for it...learned how to grow food.
It's a weird concept, right? That planting crops is a BAD thing. But think about it...no other animal plants crops and grows their own food...they live off of what is there on THAT DAY. They don't stockpile and systematically kill every other plant and animal that is a "threat" to their food source. They don't harvest other animals or plants. They take what they need in the moment and that's that. Except for animals who save food for the winter, but even they don't kill other animals or crops to meet this end...they just save what they got THAT DAY. We use a faulty, man-made system that is causing a TON of issues for EVERYTHING on the planet.
The upshot to all of this, the implication of giving nature the finger, is that we EXEMPT ourselves from natural selection. Normally, if you were living in a place or condition that you weren't designed to survive in, you died. End of story. Nobody lived there. Ever.
Then we learned to grow crops in those places. We played Mother Nature and chose where plants grow and where we lived. No other animal does that! They can't. They can't go and tame the earth so that it meets THEIR needs, it's the other way around, and that is the law that we are defying as humans and the point of the book Ishmael.
So now natural selection is pretty much non-existent. We get cold, we put on a coat. We get hot, we turn on the AC. We get sick, we take medicine. We get injured, we go to the hospital. We eat garbage and our heart LITERALLY BREAKS and we have surgery. There is an earthquake and we start up fund raisers and relief efforts and we rebuild.
Every possible avenue that nature has to balance our existence on this planet, we block it as best we can. This is practically a SIN against the world.
But look at how we are raised. Outside of some religions, are there any schools of thought that say "when it's your time to go, it's your time to go"? Not that I know of. And yet, that makes SO MUCH SENSE! When it is time for the gazelle to live and the lion to go hungry, as the book puts it, that's what happens. And when it's time for the gazelle to die to keep the balance of nature going, the gazelle dies.
What about when grandma gets cancer (which is probably our fault anyway because of the poison we ingest) or dad needs another open heart surgery? These are obvious signs from nature that state that IT'S YOUR TIME TO GO.
Earth has its own mind. It will have earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis....and we can't stop it. What we DO do however, is pour money and resources into making sure that the people that the earth was practically shaking off are all OK.
And it sounds cruel, because that is how we have been raised, but when we have a natural "disaster", maybe it is best that we let those people go. Those that survive are strong, or at least lucky, and they can generate better offspring. The fat, slow, sickly man who only survives the flood because a helicopter got him off of the roof of his house should probably die.
Even healthy people will die, but you know what? That's kind of what we need. There are TOO MANY of us on this planet. We spread to places that we weren't meant to live. We established homes and tools that help us survive in climates that we wouldn't last a week in on our own. We trick our bodies with chemicals to ward off the natural mechanisms of nature to off us and balance the human race.
Bottom line: we are going to face massive deaths sooner or later. You can only outrun natural laws for so long. The question I have is this: should we start changing the way we look at people and survival in order to embrace the natural flow of life, death and balance or do we continue to defy every attempt that nature makes to balance our race by improving technology, medicine and unnatural methods to prevent death?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Jamie Jabber 77 - (Book) Switch: How to change things when change is hard
Today I discuss a new book about change, why it's hard to change and how you can go about changing yourself and influencing change in others.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Blue Chest Adventure Part 1 of 5
Jamie, Dave and Erik head out on their quest to find the blue chest that Jamie saw over the edge of the cliffs of Magnolia, Seattle a few weeks prior. Along the way, they will also look for one of the fallen houses of Magnolia and the legendary stone couch.
Blue Chest Adventure Part 2 of 5
The guys continue their adventure down the "Stairway of Profound Thoughts" and find some pretty interesting "art". Stone love seats, forgotten bricks and rope swings ensue.
Blue Chest Adventure Part 3 of 5
The guys find the secret lab of Dr. L. H. Silverman, an awesome tree-based structure, Dave battles with dyslexia and Erik makes pretty much the best face ever.
Blue Chest Adventure Part 4 of 5
The guys reach the water, traverse the dangerous cliffside, retrieve the walking stick from Poseidon, Dave sustains some awesome battle damage and the chest is found.
Blue Chest Adventure 5 of 5
The guys end their adventure with a run in with a friendly stranger and the use of ninja speed to avoid trouble from the locals! Also, a nice recap of the events through an epic slide show ends the first adventure with Falcon Rad, Crow Gnarly and Vulture Awesome.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Jamie Jabber 76 - The point of no return; can you stomach the truth or will you close this video?
How important is it that you maintain the excuse of ignorance? Find out by watching how you react to this.
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