Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Fur farms



Thy should stop fur farms its bad. They get the foxes , chinchillas, minks, rabbits and put them if small cages. Their skinned alive, mostly they do this for their pelts (fur).




More than half of the fur used in the fashion industry is imported from China's fur farms, because it is cheap. More than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States alone are imported from China.

Undercover investigators recently toured fur farms in China and found the horrible, barbaric conditions animals are subject to at these farms. Because there are no regulations, farmers house and slaughter animals any way they see fit. Frequently these animals live miserable lives and face excruciatingly painful deaths. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, its free limbs kick and writhe in an attempt to escape from the pain. If an animal struggles too hard for its life, workers stomp on their necks and heads to make them stop and allow a clean cut. When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of others who have gone before them to the same gory fate. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly.


Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Pico Union's Best Cafe


Ollin Cafe is located on Venice Blvd. just East of Hoover. It's a relatively new fixture in my neighborhood that seems to stand out because of how nice it looks. I found this place with two friends of mine (Eric and David) as we were walking down Venice while creating a scale model of the solar system. If you knew Eric you wouldn't be wondering why or how someone would do such a thing. Ollin Cafe made us stop dead in our tracks as we walked by it because of how classy and clean it was. Immediately we knew this would be our new hang out spot.
Most restaurants in Pico Union are fast food based. Balanced nutrition isn't really offered in our local store fronts. That's one of the many things that makes Ollin Cafe so different. Here you can buy: vegan products, fresh fruit juices, panini sandwiches, fruit smoothies, all kinds of coffee type drinks, and teas. Don't get me wrong. I love Lucy's and the taco truck on Washington and Union, but every now and then I need to eat something healthy. Ollin Cafe is one of the few places in Pico Union that offers that option.
The service at Ollin Cafe is crazy friendly. I can't tell you how engaging the owner of the shop is. She has stayed open late to accommodate a Bible study I was having with a few of the guys. She remembers everyone that walks through her doors, and greets everyone with a smile. I've had a lot of conversations with her over the last few months, and she's told me how hard it is to keep her cafe open. Business has been very slow for her mostly because people don't know that her cafe exists. It would be a tragedy for Pico Union to lose such a positive and healthy place. We need more places and business people like Ollin Cafe in our city. Please don't pass up the best cafe South of downtown.

Info:
1325 Venice Blvd. (just east of Hoover) -90006
213-739-8969
(this is what your meal will actually look like)
Chicken pesto panini with kettle chips, spinach dip, and a French vanilla latte
$7.75

Review:
5 out of 5 stars

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Fast For Our Future


An organization called Rise is putting on a really important hunger strike in Los Angeles starting on October 15th, 2008, three weeks before the November 4th presidential election. Over 100 people are expected to fast in order to mobilize our community to vote for immigrant rights. Participants will give up all food and juice liquids. We will give up everything but water. In the Bible we read that when Israel strayed from God or didn't know what to do God called them to humble themselves and fast. Our current economic situation is evidence that we've strayed from God. Our nation's acts of violence overseas is evidence that we've strayed from the heart of God. I could go on and on.
Here in Los Angeles there will be an encampment for fasters and other supporters in the public area of La Placita Olvera and will include tents, a stage, work areas, and a rest area for participants. Olvera Street is an historic monument and plaza next to Union Station known as "the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles". The address is:

El Pueblo De Los Angeles Historic Park
845 N. Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Google Map

La Placita is easily accessible via public transit. Parking should be available.

Daily Public Schedule of the Fast Encampment:

8:00 - 8:30am Prayer Service
8:30 - 9:30am Agenda for the Day
10:00am Public Announcement or Press Conference
11:00am - 12:00pm Rest Period
12:00pm - 4:00pm Work
4:00pm - 5:00pm Rest Period
5:00pm - 6:00pm Vigil
6:00pm - 8:00pm Group Reflection
8:00pm - 10:00pm Free Time
10:00pm - 6:00am Quiet Time
Please join me in this fast. I myself will be fasting and praying that God will show me who to vote for on November 4th. Personally I'm not satisfied with either of the two main candidates, and I haven't found anyone from the smaller parties that I'm willing to vote for.
I'm not a single issue voter, but immigration is an issue that I will weigh heavily before I vote. I don't feel that any of the candidates that I've researched are committed to reforming our severely broken and unjust immigration system. Not voting has never been an option for me. Too many people who can't vote but wish they could are counting on us as a population to take a stand for what's right.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The new BlackBerry STORM


The new BlackBerry

the STORM the first-ever touchscreen BlackBerry is finally official and it's set for Verizon Wireless (exclusively, for now) later this fall Read on for the details.

It comes with pack in dual-mode CDMA and GSM radios for full-on world calling, 3G access (both EV-DO Rev. A and HSPA), GPS (along with turn-by-turn directions), Bluetooth (including the A2DP profile for stereo Bluetooth headsets), and a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash and autofocus.

The Storm will also come with full-on Office document editing including support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents courtesy of DataViz Documents to Go.

The centerpiece, of course, will be the Storm's 480 by 360-pixel, 3.25-inch glass display, which will support multitouch (good for two-finger gestures, a la the iPhone). Even better, though, is a feature that RIM calls "ClickThrough": a design that lets you "distinctly feel the screen being pressed and released with a gentle click" for a "highly intuitive experience."



Besides its 3.2MP camera, the Storm is set to arrive with full HTML Web browser (double-tap to zoom, tap and slide to scroll), a video and music player, with Verizon promising smooth, full-screen video playback. There's also a 3.5mm jack for your earphones, 1GB of internal storage, and a microSD expansion slot for another 16GB of flash memory.

All in all, sounds like a formidable package, although something's missing if you look carefully: Wi-Fi




Thursday, October 2, 2008

SoCal Histio Walk 2008

8th Annual
SoCal
Histio Walk
sunday
october 5 2008

12:00 - 5:00 PM
Robert Park 2800 Empire Avenue
Burbank, CA 91504


The goals of the SoCal Histio are, as always to raise funds and awareness in the fight against histiocytosis and to provide support to the patient and families who are facing this unpredictable disease. Last year they raised over an amazing $45,000 and this year they hope to raise even more. Proceeds from this event will be used in the following ways:

to fund research for histiocytic disorders

to support patient and families through area meeting, educational materials and other services

to increase awareness and education among physicians in Southern California


Langerhans cell Histiocytosis
Histiocytosis is a rare blood disease that is caused by an excess of white blood cells histiocytes. The histiocytes cluster toghter and can attack the skin, bones and organs. The disease can range
from limited involvement that spontaneously regresses to progressive multi-organ involvement that can be chronic, debilitating and life threatning.

The majoity of histiocytosis case occur in children under ten. The disaese affects roughly 1in 200,000 children born each year in the United States. It can also in adolesscents and adults of all ages.


Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare disorder of the immune system primarily affecting young infants and children.

Join the SoCal Histio Walk and fight against histiocytosi!
here are some ways you can get involved:

sign up to walk
oline Registration and Fundraising Pages Now Available at
www.socalhistiowalk.kintera.org/2008