John Butler Trio - Ocean

Probably the best live acoustic I've ever heard... certainly one with the most heart. Consider yourself warned.



www.johnbutlertrio.com

Happy winter holidays everyone

More videos at the official Simmon's cat website.

Veganism and the B12 conspiracy

One of the main concerns of people considering a vegan diet (and a question that I get asked often as a vegetarian) is the possibility of B12 vitamin deficiency.

The B12 deficiency conspiracy has been completelly blown out of proportion by those who cling to the idea that meat is necessary for a healthy body. First it was the protein deficiency risk, then the omegas deficiency risk and now the current vegan bogey man is the unlikely possibility of B12 deficiency. The fact is that the biggest mammals on Earth are herbivores and I never heard them having any B12 deficiencies, so what real reason of concern is there for vegetarians and vegans?

Multi-vitamins & minerals

The following article Vitamin B12: Facts for Vegetarians contains a full overview of vitamin B12. It starts by pointing out that:

"Vegetarians who continue to eat dairy products and eggs therefore also have no trouble supplying their bodies with enough B12."

Great, so if you're vegetarian you can stop worrying about the risk of B12 deficiency. But how about vegans? To answer this question, lets fully understand the B12 origins.

"The vitamin in fact does not technically come from animals or plants. It is made by micro-organisms such as bacteria and algae that are found in and on the foods we eat.
[...] Changes in agricultural production have also eliminated another reliable plant-based source of B12: the soil on the surface of fresh vegetables. In the past, when people ate carrots, beets, turnips or mushrooms fresh from the ground, the soil left clinging to the vegetables often contained Vitamin B12."

So, in short, herbivores eat some soil with their grass, which contains micro-organisms which produce vitamin B12. Suggestion — grow your own organic veggies, don't wash them and you'll be fine!

Vegetable patch (with plenty of B12)

Also, apparently our bodies store B12 for a long time, so it's not something vegans need to consider daily but I would still recommend reading the full article: Vitamin B12: Facts for Vegetarians.

"For most of us, excess B12 can be stored in our bodies for three years, although this varies."

The reality is that anyone is at risk of a dietary deficiency if we don't eat a varied range of foods but, contrary to the still widely believed myth, this does not have to include meat. In fact I would go as far as saying that there are plenty of meat eaters deficient in all sorts of vitamins and minerals for lack of eating enough fresh vegetables and fruit but it's easier to focus the unlikely risk of B12 deficiency of those who do not follow the conventional omnivore diet... lol it's laughable really.

A diet for all reasons

In this relatively old presentation, Dr. Michael Klaper explains the shocking effects of animal fats in the human body and what constitutes a balanced diet, in what is probably the best summary of vegetarianism ever, compacted into one hour. Even if you think you already know all there's to know about diet, chances are you'll still get something out of it. At least I still do every time I watch it.

Wikileaks' Cablegate: the truth is out there

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The humbling silence

Sunset at Azambujeira beach, Portugal

Today I went to a funeral of a grandmother of a couple of friends. The lady was in her eighties and had been loosing her strength for a few years. I barely knew her but regardless of the degree of closeness or surprise of one's loss, moments like this always make me stop and wonder about the unanswered questions of life. And although some of us live our lives in denial of the harsh truth, of our time limited existence, at one point or another we'll have to confront the reality of ceasing to be... at least in this reality or who knows forever more.

As I stood in the crowd, the priest's words faded into the distance while uncomfortable questions scrolled through my mind. What is the purpose of life? Why going through the trouble of getting born to end up like this? Is this really the end? Who and what the heck am I?

For as pointless as this exercise seemed at the time, to ask seemingly unanswerable questions, seeking to understand myself has got to be one of the most grounding experiences ever. As the inner silence fails to eco an answer, the dawning realisation of one's self-ignorance can be as humbling and as liberating as the answers themselves.

R.I.P. Maria

Nine Inch Nails - Right Where It Belongs

"Right Where It Belongs"

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all
Right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you're really all alone?
You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
While you're hiding in the trees

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?