Consistency/Inconsistency

A word on consistency and labels: we could do better without them.

This is quite unfortunate since we live in a society of strict labeling: girl, boy, liberal, conservative, Muslim, bible-thumper, secular, middle-aged, black, white, bad student, good student, ugly, beautiful, rich, poor….what’s worse is that every one of these labels assume certain identities and expectations. By labeling, we trick our minds into thinking we know.

In a world with so much variety, variation, and outcome, our mind has no other choice but to compartmentalize. If we were unable divide, organize, and put things in their proper boxes and files, our minds would overload and burn out. But I like to think we are bright enough to further question our own labels and definitions of what we think things are and are not, and who we think people are and are not.

Ralph Waldo Emerson has a lot to say on this topic in his essay, Self Reliance, which I turn to when feeling the pressures of my own labels:

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.

Consistency (or more specifically, foolish consistency) leads to boredom and predictability, a life where decisions are made based on comfort and expectation. To live like this is to live an untrue life. I wish to live in the moment, and to make decisions based on the context and color of those moments.

We build our identities by the choices we make, the conversation we make. But nothing is ever the same, change is ever-occurring, and each one of us is dynamic, changing dramatically with each day. We become older and wiser with every moment that passes. Each day is a new opportunity, with myriad choices to choose from, and if we wish, we have the power to divert from the known, the labels, and go somewhere new.

Once we understand this, we can shift our view by accepting that we don’t truly know anything (or anyone–even our own self), and take every interaction as its first. We must honor the people around us for their dynamics; we must accept them for their process, not their static label our culture deems necessary.

Being inconsistent is not the same as being hypocritical. The difference is in the intent: inconsistency comes from the unpredictable choices one makes from living in the exact context of any present moment, hypocrisy is claiming to be one thing while secretly adhering to its opposite. Inconsistency is based on truth, hypocrisy from deceit.

So call me inconsistent, because that is how I strive to live my life: truthfully and in the moment.

EMERSON ON FOOLISH CONSISTENCY

“What I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think…You will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”

“The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.”

“To be great is to be misunderstood.”

What’s My Age Again?

Today was a random and amusing day.

While waiting at the bus stop downtown, a guy who had thrown his cigarette butt into the landscaped side of a Portland State building started a mini-brush fire. Well, it wasn’t really a fire–not yet anyway. It was more like a gentle smoldering that emitted a lot of smoke.

When I first arrived at the bus stop and noticed the smoke, I went over and tried to stamp it out with my feet. Then the guy who was apparently the cause of the incident, showed up and said, “Yah, don’t worry. I just talked to the firemen down the street. They are going to swing by with a bucket of water,” and then added nonchalantly, “hmm…looks like it could get serious.”

The culprit ended up boarding the number 12 bus with me, leaving behind his potential fire. When we drove by the fire station, I saw the firemen outside, enjoying the sunshine and washing their truck, apparently oblivious to the horrible potential danger down the street from them.

Later that day, Mike and I went to the opening of a new vegan BBQ restaurant. Well, it wasn’t really a restaurant, more like a few picnic tables and a huge grill set up in a once vacant plot of land on Alberta street. While we were gobbling down our  BBQ Tempeh, Spicy Soy Curls Pita Sandwich, and “Mac and No Cheese,” a gentleman came strolling down the street, loudly and proudly singing the lyrics to that classic song, “What’s My Age Again?,” by Blink 182. He had ear-buds in, so he apparently had no idea what he sounded like or how loudly he was singing. It was by far one of the most amusing and entertaining 30 seconds I have ever experienced.

After we got lost at The City of Books, we came home and clipped off the flight feathers of our pet chickens. Have I mentioned lately how much I love Portland???

Oh, and to top it off, I found this:

Swingin Martinis Designs

I am posting to promote my friend Shannon’s super awesome company: Swingin Martinis Designs. She makes unique, very well made, crafty delights: purses, aprons, hair clips, clothing, and jewelry. She will even custom design the products by letting you pick out the fabric, at no extra cost. Shannon made me a custom made apron, make-up bag, and also a very adorable wallet and Nintendo-64 coin purse. I have been very happy with her products, and I get compliments on them all the time (especially the Nintendo-64 coin purse!). Did I mention her hand-made products are reasonably priced, and you get free shipping if you purchase over $30?

So, if you are looking for a great gift, or something special to treat yourself, definitely check it out!

SwinginMartinis Etsy Website

SwinginMartinis Blog

Our Lady of Guadalupe Virgin Mary Purse (my personal favorite)

Bottle Cap Hair Clips

Pleated Purse

Why I Have Pet Chickens

The most frequent question asked about my raising three chickens is, “Well, what are you going to do with them?” People are confused—what is the purpose of having chickens? Understandably, it does seem odd in the 21^st century to have three chickens roaming the backyard for no other reason than for the pleasure of their company. When a chicken is nothing but a commodity, to be used for flesh, for eggs, could there possibly be any other purpose?

Chickens are curious, adorable, social creatures. They are inquisitive, unique, and full of life. They have unique personalities. They enjoy open space, sunshine, dust baths, good food, and lazy afternoons. They are also creatures who can experience suffering, just like the family dog or cat. And my chickens are my pet chickens, just like your dog or cat. They exist to exist, and for nothing else. I do not plan on raising them for their meat, and being a vegan, I do not even plan to use their eggs. They are my pets, and they bring me joy every day.

9 billion chickens are slaughtered every year in the United States. From hatchery to slaughterhouse, chickens are most likely one of the most abused animals on the planet. From birth, they are pumped full of antibiotics to grow fat and full of meat by the target slaughter age of 45 days old. They grow heavy so fast that they become unable to support their own weight, and are unable to walk. Chickens are crammed into tiny cages, their beaks are cut off to prevent cannibalism which is brought about by their confinement and their inability to establish a pecking order. They live a short life full of suffering–they don’t even get to see the light of day.

My three chickens have no idea how lucky they are. They are the very rare and lucky few of their species that will get to live out their lives to the fullest and die a natural death. Factory farming causes myriad damage to our environment, our health, and unneeded suffering in millions of creatures. By raising pet chickens, I am making a statement against the hegemonic culture that accepts chickens for nothing more than consumer products. By raising pet chickens, I am putting into action my belief that sentient beings like chickens have the right to live without excessive turmoil by the cruel and brutal suffering we impose on them for our selfish appetite.

So to answer your question, what am I going to do with my chickens? I am going to let them live a long and happy life.

Weott, California – I am a little bit paranoid camping under these redwood trees because on the way in I saw a large branch, the entirety being twice the size in length and girth as I, randomly fall from the sky, landing with a startling, crackling, “KA-POW!” But not paranoid enough to not want to be here. I wouldn’t leave if you paid me. These ancient redwood trees are wise old sages — if i am still enough perhaps I will hear them whisper divinities.

I am wearing my lesbian Birkenstock sandals with mismatching blue socks–tell no one. My tent is sandwiched between a cluster of young redwoods and one large redwood truck, which is toppled on its side like a coffin. It looks like it has been sitting there for a while because there are no rings to be read. The exposed trunk looks weathered and more like a knot of guts then a time line of age.

There is a slight breeze, causing a slight chill to the otherwise perfect temperature. It probably doesn’t help that my hair is soaking wet from a five minute shower I purchased with two shiny quarters.

Right now is heaven, I feel mystical and still. The trees are silently drumming words, telling fables and tales and stories. I am listening. I am aware.

2009 Reading List

Here is a list of books that I have read so far, in 2009.

1. The Wordy Shipmates – Sarah Vowell
2. Standing in the Light: My Life as a Pantheist – Sharman Apt Russell
3. The American Dream – Harmon Leon
4. The Color Purple – Alice Walker
5. Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen – Ani Phyo
6. Breakdowns – Art Spiegleman
7. Blue Pills: A positive love story – Frederick Peeters
8. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies - Jared Diamond
9. Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman
10. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian - Kurt Vonnegut
11. Animal Farm – George Orwell
12. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century – Thomas Friedman
13. Not in My Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide to Effective Classroom Management - Frederick Wootan
14. Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56 – Rafe Esquith
15. Chicken With Plums – Marjane Satrapi
16. American Widow – Alissa Torres
17. Jobnik!: An American Girl’s Adventures in the Israeli Army – Miriam Libicki
18. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism – Naomi Klein
19. The Joy of Keeping Chickens – Jennifer Megyesi
20. Teach With Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers – Erin Gruwell
21. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom – bell hooks
22. Outliers: The Story of Success – Malcolm Gladwell
23. The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City – Kelly Coyne
24. Twilight – Stephanie Meyers
25. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
26. The China Study – T. Colin Campbell
27. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim – David Sedaris
28. Running with Scissors – Augusten Burroughs
29. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
30. The Shiniest Jewel: a family love story – Marian Henley
31. The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Egenides
32. New Moon – Stephanie Meyers
33. The Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way – Bill Bryson
34. The Reader – Bernhard Schlink

And documentaries…

1. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts – Spike Lee
2. Mississippi Son: A Filmmaker’s Journey Home – Don Wilson
3. The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg – Jerry Aronson
   
4. Black Coffee – Irene Angelico
5. The Hobart Shakespeareans – Mel Stuart
   
6. Examined Life – Astra Taylor
7. Food Inc.

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Bell Hooks & Teaching to Trangress

The following are my favorite passages from bell hooks’ “Teaching to Trangress: Education as the Practice of Freedom:” (emphasis mine)

To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone can learn. That learning process comes easiest to those of us who also believe that our work is not merely to share information but to share in the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students. To teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin. (13)

Naomie Klein on Rachel Maddow

I love Naomi Klein. I saw her speak about her book, “The Shock Doctrine,” in New Orleans. Now here she is speaking about the bailouts:

What’s Your Education Story?

We all have an education story. These stories tell much than details of the drone inside the four walls of a classroom. These stories paint pictures of different phases in our lives. These stories explain who we are today.

Some stumble upon an educational path ridden with thorn bushes and thunderstorms. Some fly into their educational path in an all-expense paid for fighter jet with gilded wings. Some are encouraged, and led onto their educational path being told that their future will be grand and full of success. And unfortunately, some are discouraged from the moment they step into the light of their path. Some are told they are not capable, that theirs is a lost cause.