Dymock's continues to impress me, even on a whirlwing whizzbang lunchtime quickie shop.

This lunchtime's haul includes the new 2011 Sarah Kramer 'Go Vegan' calendar, which will adorn the toilet wall at the T-House so that guests are held captive whilst reading its messages. No pics as only the 2010 calendar is on the website, and we couldn't possibly be that out of dat, daaaahling.

I also bought Sara Gruen's new book, Ape House. Ape House follows the bestselling( which I'd never heard of) Water for Elephants which is set in a circus (not vegan) during the Depression (neutral vegan) and according to the cover is about learning to communicate with ... an elephant (quite vegan). 

Ape House, and I rip this from the blurb, features bonobos who speak American Sign Language escaping into the world and capturing media attention for doing spookily human things - not so spooky given bonobos known intellectual abilities, just spooky to those who still consider animals to little more than responsive, unsentient biological machines. I don't know what it will be like, but it seems to be compassionate at first glance, and certainly better than other books by certain authors who misunderstand and misrepresent veganism and then send very rude emails exhibiting a complete lack of manners when called out politely for sloppy research.

Review possible shortcoming, and in the interests of full disclosure I should add that I also bought a book on uses of bicarb soda around the home because I am a bit sad.

Argument not over yet, buster, or: babies in the crockpot

With more from the "never ever read the comments" file:

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/from-cradle-to-crock-pot-20101013-16imh.html

I quite liked this article. It doesn't resolve anything, but it does try to pinpoint why killing and eating baby animals can be more confronting for omnis than eating adults. Speaking about the discomfort is identifying it, which is small as it is, is a step towards questioning. 

My favourite new form of omni-spam is this kind of comment: "All you sooks who cry about eating baby animals, you are such hypocrites in your leather shoes and belts!". Yes you would be. But I'm not. Argument not over yet, buster.

Next stop: World Domination, or: I spread my metaphorical blogging wings

For the duration, meaning for the period in which I am engaged and probably for a bit afterwards too or for as long as I have things I wish to inflict on the blogoverse's collective ears, I'll also be blogging over at PolkaDot Bride (in the Weddings section), which is a blog that leaves me with long strands of sticky saliva extending from lip to keyboard as I gaze at the prettypretties (that sounded so unglamorous, but I assure you it's the very height of style). 

My first post is up and there will be more. I'll continue to write here too, focussing on more vegan-nuptially things, but remember to have a squiz and Polka Dot Weddings too.

Forcing it down your throat, or: Don't read the comments.

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/making-a-case-for-veganism-20101004-163m6.html

I don't want to comment on the slightly bizarre and pointless article. 

However I will say this: why is it that any article about veg*ism is responded to immediately by a number of comments demanding that  veg*ns just shut up and stop telling the author of the comment to eat meat ... and why do these comments appear before a single pro-veg comment has appeared? 

It is an imaginary blast against an imaginary veg*n? Is it wishful thinking, in the way that one often has verbally violent arguments with people in one's head, coming up with a number of cutting and pithy remarks that utterly fail to spring to mind in real life? Or have the authors actually met some haranguing veg*n at some time? They do exist, but thankfully I have only ever seen them online and certainly not amonst my own friends. 

My experience is the opposite: I have had it demanded of me over the dinner table to explain myself. I recently had a chef tell me I had a mental illness, in a faux-but-not-really joking way. I have had friends introduce me - regularly - as "the vegan". I have had a million questions, all designed to find the tiniest flaw in logic as though the possibility that I would agree that if alone on a desert island having been shipwrecked without communciations devices with a newborn to feed and the absolute certainty that I will never escape then I might drink the milk of the cow stranded with me means that the entire agri-business structure is ethical. I've had countless "I could never ... I love cheese ...." and "Tasty tasty murder", usually while I'm eating. I've had "Well sorry, we're going to order pork anyway", without me having said a word. I've had "plants have feelings hahaha". 

And this in response to what I said, which was ... nothing. 

In my experience omnivores confronted with veganism are often aggressive, defensive, abusive and loud. Some aren't. A surprisingly sad number are. I will only discuss veganism with people who I think want to have a reasonable discussion with me. Otherwise I am silent. 

Who is forcing what down whose throat?