Day Sixteen: Odds & Ends & Raffi

Apparently Bob the stinky boatman hasn't asked to be paid in four years. This is why nobody complains about his slow service. Now I have guilt.

I was listening to a Commonwealth program about intergovernmental climate change on KFOG (streaming live, gotta love it) and this guy-- Rajendra K. Pachauri (with a big title)-- said that going off of beef is equivalent to trading in one's car for a hybrid because it takes so much energy to produce a hunk of mignon. I'd probably know this if I could have gotten past all those ears of corn in Omnivore's Dilemma. R's mom happened to be nearby when I mentioned that I'm tinkering with the idea of giving up meat, and her jaw dropped to the floor. She said I'd be a difficult person to live with.

Well, I'm already difficult person to live with, so no change there, but then how will I make up for the stinky boat?

On a less depressing note, our FMF and I were singing "Five Little Duckies" with the children the other day and wondering what happened to Raffi, so I wikied him. Looks like he's been busy working for children's rights. Here's my favorite part of the blurb:

Raffi advocates for a child's right to live free of commercial exploitation and he has consistently refused all commercial endorsement offers. Raffi's company, Troubadour Music, has never directly advertised nor marketed to children. In 2005, he sent an open letter to Ted Rogers of Rogers Wireless, urging them to stop marketing cell phones to children [2]. He has also turned down a film proposal for "Baby Beluga" because of the nature of the funding, which was based on exploitative advertising and marketing.
In October 2006, Raffi was presented with the Fred Rogers Integrity Award by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood for his consistent refusal to use his music in endorsements that market products directly to children.

Go Raffi!

Oh, and I finished The Last Summer (of You and Me). It is the perfect beach house read--even if the beach is on a lake and not an ocean. I didn't grow up with a sister, though, so I had a little bit of a hard time understanding the sibling relationship. Overall, a good, easy, summer read.
Well, Buckaroo and I are entertaining guests today. Our friends Darci and Petrina came and played ball with us, and Petrina got to learn the wild rumpus song. Lucky woman! Later, our friend Annie is coming, and I hope she can tell us the names of all the flora and fauna around here. There's so much to learn. So far no rain today. Knocking on the notty pine, as usual.
Ah, and today is Obo's birthday! He's celebrating with the English people. Happy Birthday Obo!

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