Talking Soup

Just so everyone knows, this Friday is the Day of Silence, which means I'm going to be shutting up for the whole day. Usually I just don't talk for that time period, but this time I want to go the whole nine yards. In other words, no verbal or textual communication of any kind, starting Thursday at midnight and ending Friday at midnight. So no LJ and no AIM.d

And for my RPmates, that means no tags too. Sorry!

Lol yeah haven't had an update in awhile. Not much has been going on, aside from me going absolutely insane over homework and such. Last week was a nightmare. Actually the week before that was too.

Also, I have acquired a real-life stalker! Well, stalker is too strong a word. This guy commented on my glasses on the Commons and then followed me into one of the stores. He helped me out while I looked for some stuff and actually bought me two bracelets. And then he walked me to work an hour before my shift started, since I didn't want to lead him straight to the house. Saw him again the next day coming out of Autumn Leaves, though he didn't follow me that time. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I'm not one to really interact with strangers all that much. I figure I gotta buy him a coffee, at least, for the bracelets. *shrug*

ALSO, this is a call to everyone on my Flist. I need your help, for srs. I've got this survey for my Research Methods class and I need everyone who's willing to fill it out. You don't have to if you don't want to! It's about anonymity online and how it affects people's behavior.

Click Here to take survey

Thanks in advance!

So.

Everyone who knows me well knows I'm a chocoholic. I love the stuff. Me and about 75% of the population of women in this country, really. I've been hearing over the years of some of the issues with chocolate--mostly that the plants are running out and the genetic strain for natural chocolate is fading because they so rarely replant the beans.

This is one I hadn't heard, though.

The majority of chocolate (I don't know the exact percentage) consumed in the First World is produced in West Africa, specifically Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. Which is odd enough when you consider that cacao is originally from South America. The rest of the chocolate does indeed come from South America and Indonesia. But the West African chocolate is the focus here.

Why?

Because the cacao plantations in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire utilize child slaves to harvest and refine the chocolate.

I won't go into the details of what exactly happens to these kids. You've all hopefully paid attention in your American history classes and know what slavery was like in North America in the 17-1800's. So you have an idea.

Now. I didn't know this until my professor brought it up today in class (we're on Marxism). It bothered me so much that I decided to go home and research it. And yes, the child slavery is a true fact. There have even been lists generated of which companies actually utilize slave-grown chocolate and which don't.

The following are the companies that use slave-labor, know they're doing it, and don't care:

Hershey's--no surprise here. They even have a non-disclosure policy that says they can't reveal where their chocolate comes from.
Mars
Cadbury
Nestle
Lindt--this includes Ghirardelli.
Godiva
See's
Kraft--includes Toblerone.

A couple of these companies, particularly Ghirardelli and Lindt, also utilize cacao from South America. You can usually tell because it will say so on the bar--from Ecuador, usually. This chocolate has a much lower likelihood of slavery, but of course that doesn't rule out exploitation.

The following companies are known to not use slavery, though for a few the issue of fair trade still looms:

Green and Black's--owned by Cadbury, but the company itself is both fair trade and doesn't use slavery.
Ithaca Art Bars--for you folks in the area.
Rapunzel--a brand I've never heard of.
Newman's Own--they've always been good about organic and such, and the chocolate is slave-free, but it's technically not fair trade.
Endangered Species--also in a good cause. Completely fair trade and slave-free
Cloud Nine--another company I've never heard of.
Dagoba Organic--fulfills all three.
Equal Exchange--does what it says on the tin.

There are a couple of companies where there's not enough information to tell what they're doing. Vosges is one of these companies (they're the producers of things like the Red Fire Bar and stuff). They have a page on their website about fair trade and child labor, but the thing is wishy-washy. They do seem committed to other things, particularly women's issues, so there's a good chance that they're doing alright, but they even state on their website that there's no way for them to confirm that their cacao is fair trade and slave-free--or rather, they just don't go to the lengths needed to confirm it.

So, what does this mean exactly? Well, if you're eating a Snickers, Milky Way, Reese's cup, M&Ms, or Lindor truffle right now, it's pretty damn likely that the cacao used to make the chocolate was picked, processed and refined by an eight-year-old slave in Cote d'Ivoire.

Well, I can tell you right now, this is a blow to me. Not only because it means the majority of the chocolate I eat is produced by slaves, but also because the companies have been doing this for years and have made no effort to stop.

So.

As of today, I'm adding Hershey's, Mars, Cadbury, Nestle, Lindt, Godiva, See's and Kraft to my list of companies to boycott. There's only one exception--where Lindt and Ghirardelli are concerned, I'll still be willing to buy their chocolate if I see on the label that it's from South America.

Other than that, this is a complete boycott, not just of their chocolate bars but of their other chocolate products as well. Brownies, cake mixes and so on.

Which means Green and Black's, Newman's Own and Vosges for me from now on.

The only other companies on my boycott list are Coca-Cola and sub-companies (including Vitamin Water) and Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is obvious, but Coca-Cola has a rather lengthy explanation for it that I won't go into now.

I'm also going to make more of an effort in general to buy things that are fair trade because it's just a good idea.

And as a last note, this isn't meant to pressure anyone. It's just something to think about. Also, if anyone wants links to my sources, leave a comment and I'll link you.

Koop has done it again! His last video had something missing from it--but it's back in this most recent video of his, Twilight. It's beautifully rendered, the song fits wonderfully, and it's got the deep sense of emotion that was missing from the previous video. Hooray!

...And now I need to see Kanon. Well, crap.

Called in sick to work today because I woke up feeling insanely tired and woozy. So I slept in, hung around the house for awhile and walked to the Commons. Got a mate from my favorite cult NRM. Then finally managed to check out the little liquor store near the Lost Dog. Good selection! They even have a bottle of tequila complete with worm, which is a big win for me.

My last year of college begins on Wednesday. What the fuck. What happened to all of my time? The future's coming at me so fast. I have no idea what I want to do with my life beyond writing. Although lately I've been semi-sort-of-seriously considering...voice acting. Yeah...weird, I know. But I'm pretty good at sound effects, so...*shrug?*

Starting my senior project on Wednesday as well (supposedly). I'm going to be working on revising Pentagram. Should be epic. Should also get me off my lazy ass on editing the damn thing and maybe, hopefully, starting to send it out. Of course I've said that before, but this time it's for an actual grade. So.

Speaking of college, my brother's begun at Expressions, which is an art college in California. He's in their Sound Design program, which is pretty amazing. Apparently he loves it, but I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him yet.

Work is going well, though hell if I can figure out the website :\

*wards off the oncoming Future with various talismans*

There's an interesting little phenomenon that happens at Ithaca and probably at most other East coast colleges. We have this long long long winter and then, just when you think you're going to just die from all the freaking clouds and snow and cold...spring arrives!

However, spring doesn't present itself here the way it does everywhere else in the world. It's not the little green shoots you see in the dirt, or spotting the first robin, or even the increasing temperature.

It's the return of that strange little thing called a Frisbee.

They hibernate in basements and inside drawers and closets all winter, but once it gets warm enough they wake up and take flight and probably make little Frisbees when we're not looking, since you see more of them every year.

And that's how you know spring has come to a college campus.

In short, HOORAY, SPRING! FINALLY!

Wow, I haven't updated in forever, huh? At least not with anything important. Three weeks of school left, I've registered for classes next semester (it's looking ugly, but after this year I think I can handle anything), and I've got an incredible amount of work coming up. The past weekend was kind of nightmarish. Julie and I went to Tammy's place to generally hang out and say hello to the kitties (they caught one of the ferals, a pretty one named Butch), but I had a hell of a lot of work to do this weekend as well, so it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been. Did manage to see an intriguing episode of Torchwood.

Got back middle of Sunday, wrote an entire paper, then pulled an all nighter Monday night reading a book and doing work. /wrists

Still working on getting the money together for the apartment. We still need to pay off the last month's rent, and Kate's going to cover the security.

I'm going to adopt a kitty! He's eight (six?) months old and he's a gray tabby named Grigio, but I'm going to rename him Elwood. Need to fill out the application and gather $65. Julie's adopting one as well, a girl named Ace who she's going to rename Nephry.

Also need to fill out an application to work at Brotchen, since I'm going to need a job this summer, and working at Brotchen sounds awesome. Though I should also start searching for other work, just in case.

I have concluded that EVERYONE likes Journey. People who say they don't are just in denial.

Oh, and, in another example of how the muse desires my death, I've come up with yet another over-elaborate idea for a story, which I'll talk about in an up-coming friends-locked post. (Paranoid? Whut?)

Showed Julie all of Dennou Coil and she died a little over it. Showed her episode 26 of Darker than Black, and she also died a little over it. Also, Mushishi is as awesome as ever in ASIC, and Baccano! is beginning to make some more sense. Persona 3 has gotten intense, Julie and I have set aside Tales of the Abyss until summer, and the RP continues to be abso-fucking-lutely awesome. Julie's going to app Kirihara (fuck yeah!)

There are two characters in Persona 3--Akihiko and Shinjiro--who remind me of Boone and Scryes, which kind of kills my heart a little.

Life is generally okay :)

I found a dead lizard outside of apartment 25-1. No, seriously. A dead lizard. In winter, just skooshed there on the concrete, right outside the door. What the fuck! A dead lizard! It doesn't make sense! It goes against all logic!

Well. In other news, life and college is EATING MY FACE, and there's various drama shit going on, and we've apparently found an apartment. Or rather, a house. Um. Three floors, the most beautiful kitchen ever, four bedrooms, XOMG it is gorgeous and affordable, assuming we live with six people. So far that seems to be the plan. Julie's been buying furniture already! We're going to be responsible adults!...Sort of!

This means I have to get a job here for the summer, so I'm thinking of Brotchen, this awesome little bread-and-coffee shop down on the Commons.

Let's see. Tales of the Abyss continues to pwn. There's been quite a bit of brain break there recently. And I finally got my copy of Persona 3 which is prooobably the most amazing game ever. It consists of you shooting yourself in the head to summon a monster which fights other monsters. It's supremely existential and psychological and brilliant. The gameplay is probably the most elaborate of any game I've seen, and the soundtrack is pretty wonderful.

Also, the RP has gotten a whole lot more intricate, and there's a bunch of new people who have arrived, including the Tenth Doctor and the most recent Master, Persona 3 characters, a serial killer from "Dexter" and the main character from "Psych," among others. Woot.

ASIC has been room-hopping, and now we're in one of the lecture halls in Williams, which is pretty brilliant. Nodame Cantabile and Gurren Lagann have reached new heights of brilliance. Nodame has gotten more layered; and Gurren Lagann is about to do a timeskip (so I've heard).

Oh, right, Boskone. Well, it went from late Friday to the middle of Sunday, and it was awesome, as cons are wont to be. The panels were a lot more enjoyable than the ones at World Fantasy. Everyone was very friendly, there was a weapons display, and the art room had some amazing pieces in it. I didn't buy a single thing. I'm trying to cut back on my spending overall.

Amanda and Darcy, Julie's little sister, came with us, and we rode up with Tammy, Tim, Cara Coville and one of Bruce Coville's assistants. Good times were had by all, and now, thanks to Tim's podcasts, I think I want to learn some programming. /wrists

I also got a lot of writing done. Mot is this close to being finished. I intend to be up quite late tonight, writing.

...My icon makes me want to watch Ergo Proxy again.

...but I did end up seeing "Time Crash" which is the best fucking episode of Doctor Who ever, even if it is 8 minutes long.

...celery.

Just got back from the Trio's where we spent the past few hours playing Telephone Pictonary. I think I actually lost weight from laughing so much.

So I've been having my first ever classes in Smiddy Hall lately, Smiddy being the most damn-fuck furthest building from Gardens as you could like, except for Cerrache. And who knew Smiddy was the business school? I'd never been in there before. Why am I in there now? Well, because the ceilings above at least two classrooms in CNS--one of them being my classroom--collapsed. No one knows why. Even ASIC got kicked out of the building, though now we have the freaking conference hall in Williams. So it's a win-win, I suppose.

Tales of the Abyss proves to be awesome. At first it was just kind of fun times and equally fun to make fun of, particularly because Luke is such an ass, but now it's full of political stuff and awesome cut-scenes and mindfuck, all of which add up to equal much win and awesome.

Unfortunately I'm also bogged down with Phoenix Wright (finally have all 3 of them), FFXII or whatever the hell it is (Revenant Wings), and I just bought Zelda: Phantom Hourglass because I'm insane. Plus I've never really played a Zelda game, at least not all the way through (I seem to recall fucking around with, um, one of the earlier ones and Twilight Princess, but that's it. We never had any Nintendo stations). Not that I mind it, though it cuts in on the homework time and it's already looking like I'm screwed this semester. *sigh*

The RP continues to be brilliant. It's definitely making me hate crossovers less.

Went to Tammy's house this weekend, got no homework done but had a brilliant time. Saw "Mirrormask", which is a combination of Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Monkeybone, and Tommy. Beautiful, but I had no idea what was going on. The main actress was really good though.

Motley Crew is, at long last, rolling toward its final end. It's all downhill skiing from here, I should think, unless I run into unexpected roadblocks. At the very least, it's going to be fun. Epic battles and all.

It's about 4:30 and I have a plane to catch in about 4 hours, which means I need to wake up in about one so we can leave in two. Whhhyyy did I stay up this late?

Yes, I'm heading back to Ithaca about a week early, mostly because I want the time away from my family to write. Something I've done ALMOST NONE OF for this entire break, and for someone who was talking about finishing Motley Crew by the end of the year, that's simply unacceptable. Of course this always happens--as soon as I have some free time, I get writer's block, or get sick, or have real-life shit to deal with.

I did do some writing tonight, mostly world-building stuff. I decided that all the stuff for North has been kicking around in my head for long enough, and deserved to finally be on paper where I can sort through it all.

Did I mention that another new idea has sprouted? No? Let's just say it's based in a country that's like a cross between 1800's Japan and present-day Haiti (in terms of culture, mostly), involves gods, and involves a guy who works as the muscle at a brothel (he throws the johns out when they get drunk and start making a fuss). As well as a female samurai-type and poor old Naioh, my blind character who has officially made about ten moves from project to project. :3

I'm going to write it entirely in fangirl Japanese.

No, I'm kidding. I think Crow (main character, brothel guy) wouldn't know what to do if anyone screamed "KAWAII-DESU~!!!1!11!one!" at him.

Though I must admit that he certainly is kawaii-desu~ *is shot*

Still considering that RP. It's an absolute blast to watch, particularly when seeing The Master being called a poof by another character who has no clue who he's talking to. Lol, I might not have met him yet, but I at least get the sense that The Master would eat you for talking that way to him.

Now I really do have to go get in that hour of sleep before leaving. Agh. At least I'll be seeing Julie half way. We wrangled it so that the both of us will be on the same plane out of Detroit.

See you all back in Ithaca.

Oh my god has this been the week from HELL, and not just because of finals. I'll go into those reasons later.

Today was Judgment Day in my Grants class. Today we turned in our (43 page) grant proposal and gave a presentation not just to the class but to our community partners as well.

So I realize I never really explained what this class was all about. Pretty much, the class consisted of us breaking into teams and selecting a community partner--literally a partner from the Ithaca community itself--to try and draft a proposal for them. The entire semester has been us working on that one goal, which is the final grant proposal, to be utilized by the community partner as they search for funders.

My group consisted of four people, myself included--Princess, Andrew and Dan. We were working with an alternative school in Ithaca called the Lehman Alternative Community School (LACS), which wanted to send a group of students to Guatemala do to some cultural immersion work there, after which they'd return and set up a peer-to-peer workshop for their school, for the other high school, and for alternative schools across the country.

The amount of hours put in? Countless. The amount of writing? A final total of 43 pages, though overall it was probably twice that. The stress? Incalculable.

This was the most intense and most beneficial work/school program of my life. I can't even begin to talk about what I've learned. Not just about writing a grant proposal, either, but about working collaboratively with a team and about working professionally with a community partner.

Last night we were working from 7:30 to 1 in the morning to bring everything together, complete the proposal itself, and put together the powerpoint presentation. Andrew actually then slept for an hour before finishing the whole thing, then Dan went and spent a hundred freaking dollars at Kinko's to get this beautiful thing all printed up.

And today we turned it all in and did our presentation. Stumbled over a few things, but I think it went over really well, all things considered.

It's been a damn long road, but now it's over. It was rough and difficult and incredibly stressful, but it was also a wonderful experience, and I'm so glad I took the class.

And now for the after party. I intend to get drunk.