Crazy World News - 13 - Eggs soaked in piss.

The truth, we're told, is often stranger than fiction, and this is surely one of those cases. Apparently, A certain chinese province is going wild about the latest delicatessen, - schoolboy urine soaked eggs!



Dongyang people boil eggs in boy’s urine and sell them for 1.50 yuan (just over 20 US cents each). They're said to be selling like hot cakes!

Now for me, eating birds eggs is pretty bizarre enough itself, boiling them adds to the chaos, and doing so with urine, and being allowed to simmer all day(!).. well, that's just the icing on the sugar of madness.

In 2008, these tong zi dan (Boy eggs), were listed by the city of Dongyong as a local intangible cultural heritage.

See: Boys Urine Soaked Eggs Listed as Local Specialty

Crikey.. Actually, on a similar note, I recall watching "An Idiot Abroad" (an excellent TV documentary series well worth watching), a guy named Karl Pilkington who travels to see the 7 wonders of the world, one of them being the great wall of china. Anyhow, he gives his view on the chinese way of eating, which to be sure is not much more bizarre than his own, just different.. See this video about 2 minutes in, where they show yet another way eggs are eaten in that part of the world..

And if you found that bizarrely fascinating, have a look at this one:

Knowledge vs Belief.

Still pondering over the recent attempt at debating with paleos, I've decided to hone in on another of their flawed arguments. One guy countered something I said by writing "the trouble with vegans, is they don't think, they believe".. Now putting aside that the guy who wrote this must surely have been thinking none too straight himself, (to the best of my knowledge, thought is a clear necessity for belief), what he really meant to say was that rather than rely on knowledge, we tend more toward belief, trust and faith.

Now.. there's no way that I will be denying this is very much true for myself, I do go very much on belief. Ethics and morality are about belief and opinion.. I acknowledge any views I may have on nutritional science, are purely based on belief and personal experience.

But what I further wish to underline, is that the vast majority of the paleos out there that talk of knowledge, and of concrete fact, are very much themselves in denial of their own beliefs. Knowledge requires first hand experience of something. Thus, if I believe I know something, and tell you it, you will not then also know it.. No matter how much you trust me, there will always be the chance that I myself am either misinformed, not reporting the truth in it's entirety, exaggerating or for whatever reason, outright lieing.

Many Paleos claim to know how paleo man ate. As if they themselves have traveled backward in a time machine, and witnessed first hand. As if they themselves have been studying fossils, been on archeological digs, seen remnants of foods from a time period that they themselves have personally carbon dated to be in the period they believe it to be.

Indeed, I recall some years ago, how a discovery of some cave drawings in South Africa, were tested by a group of scientists.. carbon dating proved the drawings to be older than any other hithertil discovered cave paintings.. In fact so old, that it meant rethinking the whole history of the dawn of humankind. There was much furrour within the scientific community, but as the drawings gained more publicity, a little old lady of some 80 years old odd, stepped forth from the masses, and claimed she herself had drawn the cave paintings as a young girl.. Further investigation proved that this was infact fact.

Despite being widly accepted as fact, evolution theory is itself very much that.. THEORY. There are so many missing links and unanswered questions. I'm not trying to say I'm a creationist, far from it. I sit on the fence as it were, and blatantly claim no knowledge. Sure, I have been known to voice my opinion that the garden of Eden may once have existed, and that fruit was (and still is) our one true fair. But I don't know this is true. For all I know, we may all have been genetically engineered by aliens. Or one person once hypothesized that for all we know, the whole universe could have been created at 2pm in the afternoon on April the 1st 1911.. Stars, planets, life, plants, animals, people with fully formed memories of lives they never had and experiences never experienced.. The whole darned kaboodle. (happy 100 years today!).. Some might even think the universe was sneezed out of the mouth of a giant green dragon, (and wait fearfully for the coming of the great white hanky!).

Some great logical reasoning here.. enjoy!
Sure I'm curious to know the truth of the origins of existance.. but beyond curiousity there is little else. I believe with veganism, it matters not.

But back to the Belief vs Knowledge. Many people claim they know things they really only believe. People quote nutritional science as though it were completely undisputed fact. But the problem with nutritional science, is that it is as yet far from being complete. There are clearly conflicting theories out there, and we're liable to claim the one that suits us best as fact. Which is why I try and steer clear of nutritional science. It being still in it's infancy, it's highly unreliable. And yet the paleos are mostly fully blind to this, to them, it is as if they themselves know.

Sure, they're not the only ones that have a tendency to claim knowledge when it is only belief that is present. Richard, the owner of the blog I gave my tuppence worth on, has agreed to hold a video'ed debate with DurianRider Harley, the Low Fat Raw Vegan. Both are likely equally certain of themselves that they have knowledge and that the other is misguided. Of course, I'm much more inclined toward Harleys general thinking than Richards, but I'll not be kidding anyone in claiming knowledge either way. It'll surely be an interesting debate, though I seriously doubt that either party will be swayed. - The last rumour I heard was that it would take place on the 7th of April, in just 6 days time. I'm sure when and if a date is finally fixed, news will spread rapidly.

To me, the whole vegan issue cannot be debated through incomplete science, or dodgy history, as both sides will purely be expressing their opposing opinions based solely on beliefs. It is purely an ethical issue. It matters not one iota to me if cavemen ate meat, or even if meat eating helped to develop the brain. The issue now, currently, is that we have an awareness of the suffering of others, and should do our best to help minimise or avoid it.

History will always be disputable, so I tend to look to the future and envision a harmonious world, at peace with itself, with a live and let live balance reigning supreme.

Are coconuts part of the fruitarian diet?

I recently blogged about mushrooms on a fruitarian diet: here, to which, in a follow-up comment, Orange pondered my views on coconut water..

Well, I see no need to make this a lengthy post at all. I stand by what I wrote in the mushroom post, about my redefinition of the food pyramid. With the aspiration to eat as high within the triangle as possible. (before possibly transcending food altogether and entering into the realms of breatharianism! .. aah.. but I dream, and don't intend to go into that right now).. So where are the coconuts placed within the pyramid I propose?.. Well, for sure they are far from being the coarse food of butchered flesh. And being generally uncooked, surely better than most other foods.. But, they are most clearly notfruit, and therefore, although high in the pyramid, in my mind, do clearly not occupy the same ranking as fruit, and thus I don't see them as ideal as I do fruit.


Where are the coconuts?
Just a couple of little facts about coconuts that likely most of you may be aware of already.. Coconuts are eaten at pretty much any stage.. Initially the outer husk is green or light brown, and internally they bear very little flesh, and are mostly of liquid content.. As they mature, flesh begins to form, and the liquid lessens.. These are often called Jelly nuts, or Green coconuts. Maturing yet further, the juice slowly gets converted into flesh which hardens yet further.. It is at this stage that people in the western world are likely to see them dehusked and on supermarket shelves.. This was about the only stage I'd ever seen a coconut until first visiting the tropics, and I recall being amazed at just how tough that outer husk is! - I recall also, watching "Jungle Book as a kid", and realise that the artists rendition of what a coconut tree looked like, with dehusked coconuts forming on the palms, gave an altogether false view of coconut palms..

As the coconut moves yet further through it's lifecycle (provided the husk has not been removed!), the flesh softens some once more, and swells to fill up much of the interior of the coconut. At this stage, the coconut interior swell is called "the angel" or "the fairy", and the texture of it is, well, fluffy and quite different. What's happening is that the coconut is preparing to sprout, and if left unopened, will likely begin doing so shortly..

In the tropics the jelly nuts are often sold by street vendours who will dehusk, and/or machete open them for you on demand. In this way, I consider them to be much more physiologically compatible with our needs, than pretty much any other commercially available nut, that have all been subjected to heat and consequential dehydration, but knowing the nut grows, the fairy forms, and the seed sprouts, I personally choose to let be. Given the availability of an abundance of more suitable food (fruit), I don't believe coconuts should truly ultimately be part of a fruitarian diet.

The Woodstock Fruit Festival - August 2011

It appears that this year too, an international fruitarian (of sorts) get together will be held:

The Woodstock Fruit Festival.

I believe last years fruitarian gathering held in Brittany, France, ran along the very roughly interpreted guidelines of a rainbow gathering, an open invitation to anyone interested to come along free of charge, and with little or no prior thought put into it.

Beyond the focus on fruit, this years gathering bears likely little to no resemblance to last years event.. It appears to be far more structured, with a prearranged schedule of events already outlined for each day (available to peruse on their website), guest speakers, yoga, workouts etc etc.

Sadly though, unlike last years event, judging by some of the guest speakers on hand, it is highly unlikely that their flavour of fruitarianism will fully envelope the true meaning of the word, but will more likely revolve around the unnecessary complexity of calories, exercise, sugars, fats and the far from complete and thus highly flaky science of nutrition. I guess for some that's something to look forward to, and I have no doubts that many people need to approach things from this angle in order to have confidence in their success.

To be fair, it's probably unjust for me to be making comparisons to the gathering of last summer, clearly the 2 gatherings are of very different natures, as are the organisers. I gather this one is being organised by Michael Arnstein who I'm told (though unconfirmed!) has previously openly admitted to eating fish on occasion, and thus I'm supposing will no doubt also lack the ethical component that I believe fruitarianism requires for completion.. Though, giving him the benefit of the doubt, it is possible he has since made further refinements to his habits and lifestyle.. shucks, I've eaten fish in the past, and other equal atrocities, I just wasn't calling myself fruitarian at that time.



Prices to attend range from a more basic camping arrangement at $795 for the week, to queen rooms with own bathroom for $1,395. Although the event is supposedly nonprofit and I personally believe these prices to be a tad steep, the organisers have promised to let you eat as much durian as you like, so no doubt they'll be some attending that'll be getting more than their moneys worth. I know I would try! .. But no.. So, although there's a part of me that would certainly relish the idea of participating, I've no plans to head anywhere this year. Certainly not overseas anywhere.. Oh.. I should mention also that those on a low budget can ask to work as a volunteer there for the week, thus working in exchange for attending. Likely a good option for those on a shoe string budget.

The Woodstock Fruit Festival will be held in New York state, between August 18th and August 25th this year (2011), with details of precise location and directions available on the website, together with more details about the guest speakers, a FAQ page and even a forum.

Overall, it is very positive to see such fruit centered events happening increasingly more frequently, and I have little doubt that this one will most assuredly inspire and influence many, and spark a bountiful supply of new friendships. I sincerely wish for many new free thinking fruit fruitarians to hatch and spring forth from it.

Strange Abilities - 1 - Echo Location.

For a long time now I have been someone that adamantly doesn't believe in human limitations. Perhaps this is because ultimately I believe that we are all beings of a fundamentally spiritual nature, and even though this is something we often tend to forget on a day to day basis, occasionally the world offers me gentle clues and reminders that this is so. Thus, if you were to ask me if I believe that it's possible to ultimately live without food altogether, I would be inclined to answer "yes". Admittedly, I've yet to physically meet anyone that's put this fully, consistently into practice, and I don't doubt that for the most of us, were we to try, we would no doubt meet untimely ends.. However, I do here occasional news of supposed globally spread breatharians whose stories seem to me (perhaps naively) to be genuine. See for example the case of Prahlad Jani. I believe such incredible feats require to be entered into with a full awareness of ones essential spirituality, and without, are likely (though no 100% guarantee!) doomed to fail.

But even still within the realms of the blatantly physical, the human body is capable of so much more than we are generally aware, incredibly, seemingly miraculous feats of strength, or endurance, or abilities to hold ones breath for extended periods of time, or withstand other extremes.

Recently I've been reading up on something called Echo Location. An ability normally reserved for the likes of sonar clicking Dolphins, Bats and possibly other blind nocturnal animals, but it seems that such qualifications are not restricted to these species alone. Indeed, there's a guy out there called Daniel Kisch who teaches people to echo locate, showing that it's a capability well within the reach of humans. Daniel himself is blind since barely a year old, and probably one of the first people to truly exploit this potential we all have.

This is Dan mountain walking with
a group of fellow echo locators

This is by far from being a one off phenomenon, with many other humans (especially sightless) recently also adopting the skill. I think you'll find the following video quite fascinating:

And if you think that's amazing, there are even dogs out there that use echo location as a means of getting around.. see this story of a German Spitz:

http://swns.com/blind-german-spitz-dog-uses-echoes-to-find-his-way-round-291142.html

And similar:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324628/Jack-sheepdog-good-knew-blind.html

Weird and wonderful stuff. (More info on Echo Location at Wikipedia)

hugs,
mango.

Me, a few days ago, taking a bath in a wild creek

Topsy-Turvy world - 14 - Reconstituted Flesh.

Any reader out there a fast food addict? If so, you need to see these pictures..



This is what is known as mechanically separated chicken, which is pretty much how all fast food chicken nuggets and burgers originate prior to being burgered or nuggeted.. It is also where most processed frozen store bought chicken comes from..

This video with it's sickening elevator music shows the latest 21st century technology to manufacture mechanically separated meat (AKA MSM)..

Basically, bones with some flesh, tendons, fat and muscle still intact are forced under high pressure through a type of sieve.. The idea is to separate the supposedly edible parts of the carcass from the inedible bones (thus squeezing every last cent from Gods innocent slaughtered creatures).. However, machinery is a crude mechanism for such a delicate process, and inevitably some of the bone gets crushed through to fine powder, and I have read too that it's often the case that occasionally even pulverised fur, feathers, beaks, eyes, intestines and more make it through to the finished blob of seemingly regurgitated flesh product..

Due to the abundance of thriving bacteria inevitable around such a process, additional ammonium hydroxide is regularly included with the meat mix as an antibacterial agent, meat packing plants typically also use anhydrous ammonia for refrigeration purposes, which occasionally results in ammonia leakages that have been known to infiltrate the processed reconstituted meat destined for sausages and the like..



In order to satisfy consumer preferences for colour taste and texture, additives (those often carcinogenic little E numbers!) are frequently used to artificially enhance the finished product.. Making it appeal to the eye (beauty is surely in the eye of the beholder! because I see nothing appealing about it), and taste so yummy yum yum.. NOT.

This final video I find particularly disturbing.. It shows how mechanical even the people are working in that industry, and how totally unfeeling, cold and lacking in love their environment is..

Intro to the fruitarian documentary

Hi all..

i just got an email from emile, who has today, just a few hours ago, uploaded the first intro to the fruitarian documentary he is working on..

the doco features myself and kveta and our escape from sydney..

enjoy..

peace,
mango.

Useful Website - 2 - extractvideo.com

Ever seen a video on youtube that you felt like downloading, but didn't know how to?

Well.. here's the answer..

Go to:

http://www.extractvideo.com/

Then just type in the URL (direct web address) of the video you are interested in.

It'll then be downloaded to your computer so you can play it whenever you feel to.

regards,
Mango.

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