Sunday, November 27, 2011

November 2011 Vegan Potluck Lunch

For the last Vegetarian/Vegan Cooking class of 2011, Alan decided to have a potluck lunch.  It was great seeing so many Vegan friends, Invercargill Vegan Society members Katharine, Russell, Dan, Steve and Kerri all attended :-)

Dan's fruitcake
My Chocolate Cake, and Cinnamon Rolls , which have since improved :-) December INVSOC Potluck
Russell's Chilli
Katharines Mincepies (obscured!), Chocolate cake, Kerri's biscuits, Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls, Kerri's Berry dessert, Fruit Salad



We were all given a copy of the years recipes, bound in a lovely folder book, thank you very much Alan, and everyone involved with these classes :-)  We'd love to see them return as an all Vegan class for 2012 - and beyond! :-)


Photos from the first Vegan/Vegetarian cooking class I attended 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Nice Dragonfly in my hand VIDEO

I love Dragonflies, perhaps the strongest flyers in the whole animal kingdom.


I found this nice Dragonfly cold, as their body temperature drops, they cannot fly.  They were holding onto a shady weed, waiting for the morning sun around 6:30PM at night.

Moving them into the sun, I broke off the leaf they held, to avoid hurting them (they moved to my hand), as they beat their wings, warming up, they were able to fly again with aid of the sun :-)




Did you know each Dragonflies wings are independent?  In other words, they are not directly linked, its not a matter of "flap up/flap down" at the same time, they can move any wing as much or as little as they choose, at any angle or direction, resulting in extremely high aerial agility :-)

Wikipedia article on Insect Flight

You can see them warming up each wing at the start of this video, each wing was vibrating by itself (with a noise a little like a rustling plastic bag in the wind, a thin plastic film shaking sound)



Additional photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaywontdart/sets/72157628094005847/

Friday, November 18, 2011

Episode 68 Changing The World With "Inedible" Vegan Cake


Episode 68 Changing The World With "Inedible" Vegan Cake

The Cookbook for People Who Love Animals, Gentle World, Occupy Invercargill, Mayor Tim Shadbolt, Power Fighting, "Vegetarian" tech journalists.

Steve Jobs the "Vegan"/"Vegetarian"/"Fruitarian" - Nothing to do with Veganism, but one mans trumped up obsession with crazy short term fad diets.

Ulva Island poison shows up in fish, Endangered New Zealand snails frozen to death from climate change (of a refrigerator), whining "dairy" farmers, Too-Small-Battery-Cage-Doors, Clockwork Oranges, Techno Music and MICHAEL JACKSON!!!


Listen now by downloading directly from here or, better yet, subscribe in iTunes to get each episode automagically!
Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals iTunes link



Hello and welcome to episode 68 of Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals.

Thank you to everyone who joined me for my World Vegan Day episode, it was great to celebrate with Vegans from around the world, including those poor souls unlucky enough not to attend the inaugural Invercargill Vegan Society potluck dinner :-)













I visited Occupy Invercargill, our local branch of the terrifying social movement occupying defenseless cities around the globe.  I brought down some Vegan cake, and Boston Vegan Association pamphlets on Veganism.  The cake was well received, and I hope the pamphlets have been well read.




Occupy Invercargill - a city where even the Mayor personally came down, shook all their hands, said he'd have a porta-loo dropped off, have the reserves power switched on for them to use….gave them a signed copy of his book, signed the visitors book, and gave them a business card, which he wrote his personal cellphone number on, for if there were any problems with the city council or police.  


Now, compared to the images I've seen from America, with Oakland, California police and the New York Police Department unleashing tear gas, pepper spray, "Long Range Acoustic Devices", designed to hurt your ears, giant bulldozers to clear the encampments, ha, fun word to use, 

With such a shocking, totalitarian, Orwellian, level of corruption and total police clampdown, Fight The Power brothers (and sisters), so that one day, in America, women will be allowed to sit at the front of buses, and peaceful protests wont result in heads being mashed in by Oakland riot police, nor New York police officers throwing tear gas here there and everywhere: 




1989….that brings me back….to when a young Jordan Wyatt was TWO years old….just like Michael Jacksons album "Bad".



That Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt will help anyone out though, he'll even read from a piece of paper pinned to your Herbivore Clothing sweatshirt with an INVSOC badge!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Imagine having "Slaughter" as your surname!

It would be rather difficult being a Vegan with the surname of "slaughter" - "you've let down the family name!"  I've seen surnames of "Butcher" and "Leather" before, but "Slaughter" itself?  Weird!


Life is far from easy from those who *claim* the name "slaughter" as their surname too!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Kereru ("Wood Pigeon") flight noise! VIDEO

A visiting Kereru, listen to the noise their wings make!



Check out this video of a "Kereru hospital" in nearby Dunedin!  A quick heads up, prepare to hear these beautiful, beloved animals being called "ITS ITS IT ITS ITS ITS ITS" nonstop!

http://tvnz.co.nz/meet-the-locals/meet-locals-2008-episode-103-video-1902143

Episode 67 World Vegan Day 2011

Episode 67 World Vegan Day 2011


A Brief History of Veganism, friends from around the world, planting a tree in New Zealand, the first INVSOC potluck dinner - remember remember this first of November!

Happy World Vegan Day!  



Listen now by downloading directly from here

or, better yet, subscribe in iTunes to get each episode automagically!
Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals iTunes link







From Invercargill, New Zealand, bottom of the world, home of INVSOC, the southernmost Vegan Organisation in the world (possibly), Happy World Vegan Day!  I've been holding back on this episode for the big day, and now, at I've begun recording for this podcast, can you hear the authentic, World Vegan Day-ness?  While I wait for you Northern Hemisphere slackers to wake up and wipe the sleep out of your eyes, SOME OF US are enjoying World Vegan Day right now!  I'll start the show, and finish off this episode at the end of World Vegan Day, New Zealand time.


For this, most sacred 24 hour period of the year, the Invercargill Vegan Society is celebrating by planting a memorial tree, and having a group potluck dinner together.  

We have a small plaque, "planted on World Vegan Day, 1st November 2011, INVERCARGILL VEGAN SOCIETY", which will go with the New Zealand native Kauri tree.  Kauri, K A U R I grow to become large and powerful trees.  Ours will be planted in the Otepuni Gardens, surrounded by the Otepuni Stream, dragonflies, damselflies, ducks, wild rabbits and beer bottles.  And according to its Wikipedia article, prostitutes and a general air of decay, although citation is needed.
The Invercargill Vegan Society is ALSO having a group potluck dinner together, where we will no doubt ALL bring a packet of Oreo cookies and an empty stomach.  I'll include that at the end of this episode.


World Vegan Day, 2011, what a wonderful day!


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Happy World Vegan Day 2011 :-)




To celebrate World Vegan Day 2011, the Invercargill Vegan Society (INVSOC) planted a memorial tree -  67 years since Donald Watson coined the term "vegan", and the first Vegan Society were founded in 1944.

Our greatest thanks to Invercargill Parks and Reserves for helping us remember this great day :-)  The tree chosen is a Kauri  ("cow-reee"), a New Zealand native which grows to be very, very big!





From all the Vegans in Invercargill, New Zealand - Happy World Vegan Day! :-)

Also, try our World Vegan Day episode, featuring over 30 vegan voices from around the world :-)  Episode 67 "World Vegan Day 2011"




*** UPDATE  September 2012 ***

Our Tree was visited by Wellington Vegan Julie Gunn, of radio show "Animal Rights and Wrongs"