Update on Circus Protests and Demos

On a new note to everyone The Ringling Brothers circus demo and protest and investigations led to me NOT being arrested or detained.

Interestingly enough we were succesfull in the following example:

The war memorial is supposed to pack 6,000 people a night per event.

Last year Ringling Brothers Circus had 8 shows and only had 5,790 people total for ALL 8 SHOWS

This year we had 4-13 protesters per event at every damn show.

They only sold 3,000 tickets and only had attendance of 4,000 people total for 7 shows. So they had lost so much money on the Syracuse Show because of our protests and flyering, that they left early and cancelled the last show.

Further! Because of my master of disguise and photoshop I was able to get into the Circuswith my awesome Ringling Bros pass and see where they housed the elephants, and dogs.

I got pictures of Tractor Trailor barely covered in sawdust for three full grown asian elephants. I got pictures of the parking garage where the elephants were housed. I got pictures of the food for the elephants being thrown on the floor of the tractor trailor unwashed and not in bowls.

I saw dogs in an 18 passenger van stacked on top of one another in tiny crates. 12 dogs, two of them toy breeds in cat carriers.

Then on the way to Rochester to go to an anti-police brutality seminar we passed a veal farm that housed 200 little dogl igloos full of cold baby bulls being contained for veal.

I still can't get the image out of my head. I was shaking so bad that I couldn't take pictures. I just stared while Adam and Amber stared in disbelief, while I shook in rage and sadness. Amber and I are going back to do some intel. Veal is just too much pain and suffering for this EM/COM Officer. If you think its nessecary or less cruel than it sounds read this:

http://www.mercyforanimals.org/dairy_and_veal.asp

On a plus note I saw this bike shop and community center this guy bought with his inheritance money in Rochester. He purposely lives in the ghetto and workes in the projects so he can get bikes and bike shop knnowledge to kids eager to learn a trade and ride a bike of their own. Kids from Drug Court and the Foster Care systom visit the shop, work on bikes, get a meal and much needed positive male role model time. I met a guy who was one of the volunteers pointing out all the bike parts to me. I told him my bike needed a new rim and he promptly said "What size is it?" and led to me to an entire room full of bike rims!

It was stuffed to the rafters with bikes and people from affluent parts of the city were even coming to have their bikes repaired and paying these kids and donating new and old bikes for the kids to sell.

Also they have a program called Food not Bombs. Its where they go to dumpsters and get food that is perfectly edible and they make meals for homeless, hungry and homebound persons of low income.

http://www.geocities.com/rochesterfnb/

It is housed in a different building called the "Friends of Friends" Building. They also give away clothing, furniture, shoes and other needed items including animalitems, foster care network for pets, food and rescue items like medications and travel containers. It made me tear up at how generous these people were. Its places like that make all the hard work seem like it is working. Thanks guys, you are an inspiration.

I ate some soup and talked about the security officers man handling us at protests, and bought a "Food Not Bombs" sweatshirt for 10 bucks. I felt really good about the weekend overall, but the veal thing and tiny elephannt trailor thing haunted my dreams and I did not sleep well.

I want to do some recon and intell in Florida at the "Ringling Sanctuary" for circus animals. I leave in 4 days! I have three magazines asking me to write an article or two down there but I have to use my crappy camera that only takes pictures when it wants too. So if anyone has a nicer camera that they would like to donate to help end animal and child abuse through our investigations please let me know. Community Animal Project is always needing donations to help us with our rescue and fostering efforts. I am really in need of a 35 MM with zoom and optional flash, I can even offer some money if needed. My camera is a hinderance to our ission right now.

Thanks to everyone who sent their positive thoughts and keep me in clothing and eating (because I forget) Our love is with you and we think of you often.

Joy, Chris, Billy, Ani and Sammie

Communicator Forum is taking off!

So I have an animal empath advice column that seems to be taking off!

The column can be found on VeganFreak/Forum.org

Under "Furry Family" and Ask a vegan Animal Communicator/Empath

So far there has only been one person flooded with haterade.

So if you are interested or have questions of your own you can contact me here or contact me there.

Check out my pics of the furr babies! they are al plump and shiny just in time to adopt a turkey for thanksgiving and pig out on vegan food!

Furry Family

So I had to put a picture of my babies up. Three furry kids, all rescues.



Billy: 9 yrs, Sammie: 2 months, Ani: 5 yrs

Billy. My little chocolate devil kitty. The sweetest, softest, cutest ambassador of what happens when you invest in a pound kitty. Billy was so anti-social and lethargic he had been returned to the shelter 3 times. He was broken and unwilling to trust people. He would allow people to pet him and hold him but didn't respond and showed no affection. He had been so badly abused by a male previous owner trying to ellicit play from him that he had a deep distrust for males. He would lie in the back of his kennel sleeping, eating and staring out at people disinterested.
I walked in the adopt-a-thon to help with adoptions and socializing. I was a young college student and had no place for a kitty. I saw Billy sitting in his kennel and something made me open the door and look inside. He looked at me and I looked at him and I KNEW somehow he was broken, but not irrepairable.
I picked him up and looked into his eyes and told him I promised no one would ever hurt him again. He seemed to understand because he wrapped his paws around my neck and tucked his tiny head under my chin. I carried him around the store and when it was time to go he wouldn't let go of me.
So he came home with me and he has been with me ever since. Everyone who meets him says "You can tell he is a mama's boy!" and I say "No you can tell he is my best friend."

Sammie was left for dead. Sammie was so weak when she was found she couldn't lift her head to drink. She was so lethargic and dehydrated that she wouldn't even eat chicken baby food off her nose. We spent all hours with her in a basket in our bed cleaning her after she empytied her bladder on her bedding, giving her water through an eyedropped and feeding her watered baby food with a tiny spoon and KMR milk replacer through a bottle. She still only trusts me and the large male Billy and is only months later trusting Papa to touch her and venture into the bedroom in ours home.

Ani had a can of raid wasp spray being emptied into her eyes. A 14 year old boys crack head mother was asleep on her front porch while her malicious child was spraying a kitten in the face with raid to try to flush it from underneath the house. I rescued her right then and had the woman charged with animal endangerment and drug possesion, she also had her children removed from custody. Ani came home with me. She required a warm wash clothe applied to her eyes ever 4 hours and drops put in her eyes 3 times a day. She shook and cried when people held her but wanted desperately to be loved. She was skin and bones and required high calorie feedings and was so scared we were going to leave her that she followed us around the house everywhere. Now she is firmly a papa's girl. And loves to follow mama around in the bathroom while she brushes her hair in hopes that she will get a good brushing too.

Kitten Vocabulary: Sam learns to purr

This morning I woke up to a small grey kitten, with a pot belly, on her hind legs paws on my side of the mattress screaming "AAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" at the top of her lungs at my sleeping self.

I struggled out of sleep and looked down at where this noise was coming from and flipped on the light and saw her. Ears back,eyes big, mouth open screaming, angrily.

So I gently moved Billy (my giant chocolate kitty) over toward Daddy and got up. She led me to the kitchen where she proceeded to show me her bowl had crumblies. No solid food. She then proceeded to cover it up with invisibly dust from around the bowl as if to say "This is shit! this belongs in the litter pan!"

I sighed and took her bowl and dumped it into our crumble bin we keep for the groundhogs outside and gave her new food.

Then I started to walk away when I hear her padding after me screaming "AGH! AGH!AGH! AAAAAAGH!" I stop and turn around and she has her paw in her water bowl and is looking at me with an unhappy brooding look.

I peer into the water and see a single hair (probably HER hair) floating in the water. I must have hesitated too long because she began the "Cover it like poop" routine."

"BALLS! Cat!" I mutter angrily and pick up her water bowl, dump it into the plant water jug and rinse it quickly and add cold tap water.

After I put it back down she looks at me evenly and begins to drink daintily from the water bowl.

I shuffle back to bed and can faintly hear crunching and a weird rumbling, snorting, hissing type sound. I look down and see that both adult cats are snuggled in bed with us and so i lie back and listen.

As I look at the clock, its 3 am. Its then I realize this is Sam's purr. It sounds like a malfunctioning sewing machine. I snuggle in next to my two boys Billy and Daddy and fall asleep laughing to myself.

Amigurumi-Along

Amigurumi-Along

Pocket organizer.....Free!

http://www.pocketmod.com/app/index.html

This free printable totally customizable pocket organizer is perfect for me. It fits in a mens wallet, is easily made for day, month or year and you can make a few of them and make it into a yearly planner!

It took some double sided tape and scissors to adapt it but this is portable, adorable and smaller than an ipod.

Rock.

Keen

HairTopia?

Yay I am now obsessed with my hair to the point of having a *gulp* Hair Journal.

"http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=902275#post902275"]http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=902275#post902275


Hey I write for a living? Its practice! I can justify that. Further I am coming up with so many great articles and ideas that I need more publishing room. Although I have NOT published on gather in forever and a day..its so involved...

So yes my obsession? Hair and Veganism and animals who nest in my hair.

Ro

Herbal Hair wash recipe

Again with the Indian crocery! Why did it take me so long to realize I have hair very similiar to Indian? It makes a certain amount of sense being I am half American Indian. The African throws in a courseness and deyness that makes my fast growing AI hair get fried ends and itchy oily scalp.

For almost a year I had been committed to CO washing. This entailed slathering cheap conditioner on my wet hair and waiting for an hour or so and washing it off. Now do not missunderstand me! I loved the way my hair felt but after using almost a bottle a week (I wash twice a weeek) I was getting tired of stocking up!

Finally after luggin yet another two cases of Suave and VO5 home I logged on to the beauty bottle (www.thebeautybottle.com) and saw an article by Naj on herbal washes. Having already been going to the indian market for NEEM powder I though why not get some hair washing herbs?

So I stocked up on 3 boxes Shikai ($4.50) 1 box Aritha ($ 1.50) and one box AMLA ($1.50) The owners wife instructed me since I have short hair that this amount of herbs would last me 3-6 months!for $8.50!

My recipe is for my hair legnth which is just above bra strap.

Herbal Wash:
4 TBSP Shikai powder
1 TBSP AMLA
2 tsp aritha

Put into a jar, shake well, strain (if desired, and I desire to) and use.

I wet my hair thoroughly, pour mixture on scalp massage gently working it through, then rinse and condition with a natural conditioner. Once when I was out of conditioner I put a drop of coconut and jojoba oil on my hair and it conditioned. But I prefer my henna conditioner form Natures Gate and now don't have to use 1/2 a bottle!

I can still get away with washing twice a week or about every three to four days.

The onyl complaint is my hubby says my hair smells like celery... so I may try adding some patchouli oil or something. Other than that I highly reccomend it. As the box tells you this is a "gift from nature" and the bonus? None of the powders are tested on animals and all are vegan. Bonus!

The remedy- Herbal washes, oils and whatnot

Being that I am half American Indian and African one would suspect me to encounter skin woes. One would be right!

However exstensive research, and the acceptance that I am firmly allergic to Sufites/Sulfates of anykind have given me a "gift of nature"

My skin: combination oily in t-zone and dry on cheeks in summer, then dry in winter.

Severly allergic to sulfates/sulfites and easily dried out.

I had tried proactive, prescription, clinique, netrogena, Sage (boo-yah company BTW check them out!)and an exausted list of store bought crap.

Finally in the most unlikely of places I found out about "Oil cleansing method" At this point I was so frustrated and resigned to have ugly red acne for the rest of my life I thought, hell why not.

Insert the hallelujah chorus here. After playing around with mixes I found my summer oil mix is "1 tbsp jojoba,1/3 cup caster oil, and 1/3 cup extra virgin Olive oil (organic). My winter blend is 1tbsp jojoba, 1/4 caster oil, 3/4 EVOO. I keep it in a squirt bottle next to the toothpaste. Rub it on, jump in the shower and wash it off.

Here was the kicker. I used an exfoliating clothe to get it off. Which worked a little TOO well. SO for a while I was using a drop of castile soap to wash it off with great results. Then a friend began telling me about Neem powder (available in any Indian grocery or on eastwestbazaar.com)

I use a teaspoon of Neem powder mixed with water to make a bright green paste. Then I apply to my face gently massage in circles and rinse. Voila beautiful skin!
I still have to use a pea sized amount of aloe gel mixed with a pea sized amount of 2 % Benzoyl peroxide (Sage Advice's Zero Zits formula in gentle)

But so far my skin is enviable at last. I highly reccomend anyone whom is sensitive to give natural washing methods such as the above a try. Oil truly does disolve oil and my skin is never greasy or itchy dry.

Who would have thought all those times picking up red lentils for dal the cure for my skin woes was literally "under my nose"