We never stop growing up

It's been 8 months and 3 weeks since I moved back to Texas. And what a bizarre 8 months it has been! Loss, transformation, realization, patience, reflection, growth, some regret but mostly inquisition.

It is our innate nature as humans to be curious about ourselves and the world around us. Have you ever watched a child discover his world? He touches everything, asks hundreds of questions and puts random objects in his mouth. The curiosity never stops. Even in our adult lives, we are always seeking an answer, a truth, deeper meaning. I am beginning to appreciate the fascinating journey of my life again. I am now at a place where I am still; I am asking new questions and looking at life from eyes that don't assume they know everything. When we admit that we still need to ask questions, the answers come. I have learned to identify old fears passed down to me from my mother and grandmother and have let go just a little more. I don't know if this comes with age or through stages. Either way, I am thankful for the insight.

Maybe We Are Just Sea Monkeys

I have this theory that humans are just a huge science experiment. Perhaps a science experiment gone wrong? The more and more I look around us, the more it just feels like we belong to some higher alien life form and we are the sea monkeys in a jar floating around, pooping in the tank and destroying the ecosystem. I mean, we own ant farms for fun and what do they know of us or their surroundings? They have no idea they are in a plastic cube on display for our enjoyment; In their world, it's just business as usual. And at any given moment we can decide they suck and the fate of their lives are quickly rinsed down a toilet bowl. 

Save the Earth, Don’t Fart.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 60% of the leading causes of global warming and greenhouse gasses are the result of enteric fermentation, what I like to refer to as ‘agricultural farts’. Most recently, the EPA sent an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announcement of it’s intent to tax farmers for their cows’ emissions.

Let’s break it down:

An operation with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs emits more than 100 tons of carbon dioxide; Methane gases from cows and hogs oxidize into carbon dioxide therefore producing a potent greenhouse gas. Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas emitted from a variety of both human-related (anthropogenic) and natural sources. It remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9-15 years and is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 100-year period. Human-related activities include fossil fuel production, animal husbandry (enteric fermentation in livestock and manure management), rice cultivation, biomass burning and waste management.

Backing up the EPA on this proposed ruling is PETA, the non-profit organization of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. I love PETA. I love animals and I believe in what this organization does. PETA spokesman, Matt Prescott, made recent statements on The Glenn Beck Show stating, “If humans all became vegans, we would quickly and greatly reduce the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The UN Report has found that the meat industry produces more global warming emissions than all of the world’s transportation combined.” Additionally, he adds: “Just switching to a hybrid car is not even as effective as switching to a vegetarian diet”. All of this information hit me square between the eyes.
“Is it really that easy?” I asked myself.

Al Gore is not vegan or even a vegetarian. Isn’t it only natural for someone who endorses the fight against global warming to not contribute to the very thing that may be causing the problem? Maybe PETA is getting a little rambunctious on this particular issue. It is just as much their choice to be vegan or vegetarian as it is another's choice not to be. I spent the better part of a decade being nearly vegetarian until my body protested, “Hey! I need some more protein here, I’m getting anemic!”

I do not agree with or condone factory farming, I personally feel we should all be growing our own foods and farming our own meat but that’s not only for another article, it’s just never going to happen. On a side note, if we all become vegetarian, how will that eventually effect our emissions? According to Dr. James L. A. Roth, the author of “Gastrointestinal Gas”, two-thirds of adults pass gas that contain no Methane. But what about the other 1/3 that does? And, in “Facts on Farts” by Brenna Lorenz, human emissions are comprised mostly of Carbon Dioxide. Now if cow farts oxidize into Carbon Dioxide and we already emit Carbon Dioxide, then are we not contributing to global warming ourselves?

In 2001-2002, there were an estimated 2.5 Billion cows and pigs on the earth. Are there not more humans on this earth than cows and pigs? As of March 2009, the world's population is estimated to be about 6.80 billion. If the average human emits ½ liter of farts per day, that is a total of 335 lbs of gas per year, multiply that number by 6.8 billion and we humans are probably pumping out enough gas per year to fuel New York City and Las Vegas.

In another study, the leading cause of sphincter emissions are caused by the swallowing of air and vegetables such as cauliflower, corn, bell peppers, cabbage, milk, bread, eggs, beer and raisins. That looks like a vegetarian-based diet, doesn’t it? Now if we switch our daily diet to vegetarian, yes, we are knocking out the demand of meat from the farmers, which decreases the number of cows and pigs, which in turn, decreases the amount of enteric fermentation, which of course, decreases our greenhouse gases, thus decreasing global warming. But will we be making a difference in our atmosphere based on our diet change? So what is the solution? Hold it in and combust, or let it out and destroy the ozone? A reader states: “Invent Fart Farms that bean eaters can feed their methane through tubes to compression tanks. These tanks of methane can be sold on the market to fuel automobiles. Anyone who complies can be rewarded with Fart Credits”.

Perhaps the answer is moderation and the use of Beano.
Or perhaps, the answer is staring us in the face when we look in the mirror. People need to stop pointing the finger and picking global warming apart. The number one cause of the emissions is still landfills. Caused by whom? Us.

FEAR=False Evidence Appearing Real

I hate fear. I wish I could just banish it from my life altogether. When we think about all of the wonderful and adventurous things that we'd do with ourselves if we weren't afraid, we'd have a mountain of goals and tasks to last us a lifetime. Afraid to move, afraid to be alone, afraid to take the risk, start a new business, quit a job, move to Paris, talk to someone we find attractive.

It's all ridiculous when we realize that fear is only an afterthought; residue from a moment in our past that we are still dragging with us. Or perhaps someone else's residue that was given to us based on their own experiences or insecurities. Fears are our disembodied inadequacies that we've somehow allowed to seep into our soul. Irrational FEAR is not something that even exists. And 95% of the time, the things we fear never even happen. Fear of failure. So what? You may or may not fail but at least you try. And if you don't fail, the rewards are so surmountable that the fear you once had is so insignificant to the overall picture.


I realize that I need to make changes. Serious changes. Not just talk about it, or write about it but DO it. I need to find my bliss and not worry with the residue of fears (old or new). I need to live as though fear is nonexistent; something which isn't a part of me that I observe from the outside. I think once we take the connection out of our ownership to a fear, we are separate from it and can rationalize on level that doesn't make us feel the need to succumb to it.

The Obaminator!

It was recently noted in the press that Michelle Obama was not happy with TyGirlz and Ty Corporation for naming their latest dolls "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia". The company stated the dolls' names (and likeness) were merely coincidental and that "they just liked the names". (yeah right) It is not known what will transpire from here. Ty Corporation may have to pull all of their Malia and Sasha dolls, or doll up some major coin to the Obama's for the use of the girls' names. Now, if Michelle disapproved of that, wait untill she gets a load of this!
Now we can all own a little Obama to carry in our pocket! Introducing The Obama Action Figure. No doubt, this man has truly made his mark on not only our country but the entire world. Is this not the first time in history that a US President had an action figure created after him? Lovingly crafted and brought to us by DiD (Dragon in Dream) Corporation based in Hong Kong, the Obama action figure comes with interchangeable hands in which to grip his samurai swords, gun, light saber, microphone or whatever else will fit into his grips. Heck, he even comes with a wooden stool (pair that up with a microphone and he's ready for center stage at The Laugh Factory!) The company also produces figures from Lord of The Rings, Action Man, Tiger Woods and Adolf Hitler (oddly enough, they do not advertise or sell the Hitler doll on their website).
For more information and to order your own personal Obama, go to DiD Online: http://onlinedid.com/products/obama_action_figure/