Clara In Veganland

Films!

2012-01-24T16:21:00.000-08:00

I don't have much time these days, you and me both. As always there's a lot to do and get done. However, I'd like to tell you about some great films I've seen lately.

The Artist- I LOVED this movie. This film didn't lack originality at all. The actors were adorable, the silence, black and white, and the time period were all very refreshing. You must watch it.

Somewhere- I really love Somewhere. Sofia Coppola is ridiculously awesome and talented. Some people hated the long scenes of just silence, but I really loved how that gave you a feeling of what it's like to live Johnny Marco's life-it really showed the haziness of what his life is like.

The Future- If you know me well you know how much I love Miranda July. She's definitely one of my role models. Her films are beautiful, and very unique, you won't see a talking cat or an animated tee shirt in one film by anyone else.

Beginners- This movie was absolutely lovely! Very entertaining and realistic. Because it's a true story, the film was definitely one of a kind. I just loved the way it was put together.

BEST OF 2011 PLAYLIST

2011-12-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

It's finally here! The best songs of 2011! This list I think really varied on my mood, to be quite honest. Although I do think the order is right.

1. Atlas Sound-Mona Lisa

2. Bleached-Electric Chair

3. King Krule- The Noose of Jah City

4. M83-Midnight City

5. Real Estate-Green Aisles

6. Girls-Vomit

7. Yuck-Soothe Me

8. Youth Lagoon-Cannons

9. Neon Indian-Polish Girl

10. PJ Harvey-The Words That Make Maketh Murder

11.Friends-Friend Crush

12. Unknown Mortal Orchestra-Bicycle

13. Ty Segall-Goodbye Bread
14. Wild Flag-Romance

15. The Antlers-Bear

16. Trailer Trash Tracys-Candy Girl

17.Chairlift-Sidewalk Safari

18. Grimes-Oblivion

19.Vivian Girls-The Other Girls

20. Hunx and His Punx-Too Young to be in Love

Enjoy! Let me know if you think this is the right placing.

P.S. I drew a picture for this but it won't scan properly! AH!

Police Brutality. I'm angry.

2011-11-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

The past couple of months I've been working on a documentary about the Occupy Movement for my film class. It seems every week the government and the police turn violent on the protesters.It really gets to me how police are able to pepper spray, beat and pin protesters down to the ground, hurting them, in the name of keeping others safe. These peaceful protesters aren't harming anyone and the people watching the police brutality are urgently telling the police to stop! It's the police who are doing the abuse.

In the First Amendment, it's our right to peacefully protest. It's stated clearly. There is no reason for us to get pepper sprayed, tackled by multiple police officers, and arrested when we're doing nothing but standing up for our gawd damn rights. Why isn't President Barack Obama speaking about this police brutality? I don't see him trying to prevent this from happening. Who are we supposed to go to when we can't even try and stop the brutality without getting harmed ourselves by police? It's like a cycle. First you're protesting the government and federal reserve. Then, you see others getting harmed by police. Then you start protesting the police brutality. Now you're the one getting harmed.

When we see this happening in another country our government leaders act appalled and condemn the countries leaders. The President would be speaking about it. So, Mr. President, if police brutality is happening here in the United States, the country you're representing in case you've forgotten being so busy with other foreign country deals, bailing out huge banks, etc. Why won't speak about it? Nice, dude.

I just feel disgusted that we the people do not, in some areas, have the right to peacefully protest. So UCDavis students don't have the right to protest when they're benefiting a California by going to a UC school. How backwards is that? Might I add that the policeman pepper spraying the students earns a $100,000 a year partly funded by these students' tuition.College students have done exactly what society told them to do by going to college. They have no choice but to be buried in debt when they graduate (unless they're the 1% of course. Good for you being born into a wealthy family.) so why can't they protest about that? Why do we have to have consequences for working hard, getting a college degree, and trying to find a job? When will life finally start paying off?

I have always been optimistic that in the future I'd be doing well financially. Now that college tuition has become crazy expensive I've been put in a catch 22 type situation. I can either go to college and graduate buried in debt and in hopes to find a job, or not go to college, lose the college

November Playlist

2011-11-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

Hello!

So here is my November playlist. Life has been really busy, like everyday. I'll try to post some more detailed things but for now here is a magical playlist.

VERONICA FALLS-Found Love in a Graveyard

This song is really perfect for winter! It reminds me a lot of Vivian Girls and some other bands. Catchy!

TY SEGALL-Imaginary Person

For some reason I'm a little late on liking Ty Segall. I've known his music/name for a while but just now I'm getting into him. Super great!

THE ANTLERS-Bear

A rather sad song? I'm not really sure but it's beautiful.

PHANTOGRAM- Don't Move

What's up with Phantogram and their music making skills? I swear basically everyone of their songs I say to myself This is one of the best songs in the world.

JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD- Ripper

Jeff the Brotherhood brings a really great rock n roll tune along with a sort of punk type tune as well.

CHAIRLIFT- Sidewalk Safari

This song has been stuck in my head for days, this will happen to you as well just by listening to it once. Super cute song.

FRIENDS-Friend Crush

I can't find a site or anything for Friends! They're a damn good band! This song is adorable!

TRAILER TRASH TRACYS- Candy Girl

^^ Crazy cool band name. This song is just dreamy.

BEACH HOUSE-Master of None

Beautiful song. Such beautiful vocals. Beautiful.

REAL ESTATE- Green Aisles

Lovely lovely lovely! So sweet.

WILD FLAG- Romance

Finally some girl power!

LE TIGRE- TKO

Who Took the Bomp was a hilarious, entertaining documentary! I remember when I was little I was listening to this song and album on the radio. My bro loved Le Tigre!

FLAMING LIPS- Convinced of the Hex

Flaming Lips can not get any better. I, and many others, would just explode. Or maybe our lips would start flaming? Is that why they named their band that? Do they have some sort of plan where all of their fans lips start flaming? That would not surprise me.

DINOSAUR JR.-Feel the Pain
This song reminds me of home, I think of my dogs? Weird. Because I completely don't feel any pain from my dogs whatsover, they have it made. This song reminds me of my brother, actually. Awwww.

THE ACTION INDEX- Red
Wait for itttt!

My bros are talented.

PIXIES- Where is My Mind?
Duh.

Enjoy!

October Playlist

2011-09-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

My lack of posting on here is insanity. I am so sorry. Basically, I've been caught up with high school (eeek!), film class, a zine workshop, baking, and well, yeah. I'm just really annoyed that I haven't been updating this blog when I do have free time. What's important (I guess) is that I'm doing it NOW! Since October is in four days I'm going to post a playlist for October!

It has been a pretty exciting month for music. Dum Dum Girls released a new album, Only In Dreams, Wavves released a new EP, Life Sux, and, well, most importantly it's been 20 years since Nirvana's Nevermind came out! Pretty crazy month in music. Oh, yeah, did I mention I get to see Dum Dum Girls play this week?! So stoked.

Here's the October playlist!!

1. NIRVANA- Territorial Pissings
So it's been 20 years. I wasn't alive then, I really envy anyone who was. Nirvana is amazing, that's all. I definitely think this is one of their best songs, but I also think that all of their songs are their best songs.

2. NO AGE- Teen Creeps
I definitely believe that No Age are the Nirvana of my generation. Unlike a lot of bands right now, they have a distinct sound constantly. Also, their accessibility definitely shows they have the spirit of Nirvana and all the other bands then. It's a breath of fresh air in this music culture we have right now.

3. VIVIAN GIRLS- I Heard You Say
I have been listening to so much Vivian Girls lately. They're quite lovely! I Heard You Say fits my moods lately, along with most of their other songs. What can I say? I like my music moody.

4. TITUS ANDRONICUS- Breed (Nirvana cover)

When you cover a Nirvana song it's going to sound good because you're covering a Nirvana song. Titus Andronicus completely covers this song in the best way possible-they didn't tweak it, but they sort of gave it a newer energy which was the point of Newermind.

5. YUCK- Georgia

This song is adorable, I probably listened to this song (along with all their others) 100 times this past summer. In between all the more bummer-type love songs and songs in general it's nice to have a faster, upbeat one like this in the mix.

6. DEERHOOF- Milkman
In the beginning of summer at Amoeba I decided to choose a random Deerhoof album. I had only heard a few of there songs but really liked the songs that I had heard. I decided on Milkman and I'm so grateful I did, it's one of my favorite albums for sure.

7. BRATMOBILE- What's Wrong With You?
Possibly the most clever, right lyrics ever? Oh yeah, the sound is pretty fantastic as well. Bratmobile, I love you.

8. BLEACHED- Think of You
This band rocks really hard. The video for this is both bad ass and adorable, you must watch it.

9. WAVVES- I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl
With a song title like this can you really go wrong? This song is pretty good, it's definitely very catchy and poppy. Wavves has definitely transformed sound wise in the past few years.

10. BEST COAST- How They Want Me to Be
You guys know I love BC. I have dibs on them. I've been loving them since the beginning. Anyways, this song I stay away from when I'm in a good mood because it can bring me down. Such a beautiful song, though!

Enjoy!!

H E L P

2011-08-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is a very brief post, but please visit this link for how you can prevent this DISGUSTING event from happening. No animal deserves this. I cannot believe that there is an actual event for turtle cruelty. Help NOW! These turtles need you!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196932843704365

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

2011-07-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

Amy Winehouse has died today. So extremely sad, she was only twenty seven. I remember my mom and I listening to Back to Black a few years ago before she blew up in the U.S..

No one knows what she died from yet, but I'm pretty sure it's drug and alcohol related. She is now apart of the 27 Club, with others such as Kurt Cobain, D.Boon (I include D.Boon because he was an amazing musician), Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison.

What is so sad is that we all watched Amy Winehouse struggle with her addictions through the media. That must have sucked knowing everyone knew about your addictions. We all know she should have taken a ten year break from it all and get herself healthy. This is such an awful loss.

It's so crazy that last night I actually googled her to see what was up with Winehouse, I hadn't seen her face anywhere for awhile. Who knew she would die the next morning? Crazy.

R.I.P., Amy.

Next Week

2011-07-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hello all my friends! Thanks for reading my blog, it means a lot. It's cool knowing how you guys are basically reading my thoughts.

I just wanted to give you a heads up that next two weeks will be crazy busy so I may not have very many posts up. I'll try my hardest to, though. Expect me to post something on Friday...Maybe a playlist before I go off to camp? I am so sad that I haven't been posting playlists because I get such positive feedback from them. I actually have a lot of new music to put on next month's playlist so it'll be a good one!

Hope everyone is having a lovely vegan summer!!

Clara

No Flag

2011-07-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

I went to this show last night that is explained on the poster above. I'm so stoked I went, and I actually caught one of these posters! Ceremony actually guest played this show and opened up for No Age, they play awesome! It was an rad surprise because I’ve been wanting to see them! There were rumors going on that Dukowski and Morris were going to be playing this show, but everyone thought it was too good to be true. Next thing you know, after No Age plays you here "Wasted" and all of these people start running to the front of the stage. It was practically a Black Flag reunion plus No Age. That's why I love the music I listen to. Anything can happen at these shows. You never know who's going to come out for the next song and play; especially when FYF (they put this show on) events basically always say "Plus Special Guest". What makes this show even sweeter is that No Age actually comes out and hangs out after the show’s over. It's annoying when bands with a big fan base (like No Age) hide away after the show and make the fans wait to meet them. No Age keeps it real. I really need to learn an instrument, because I want a band. I want to make good music and play shows!

This was an entirely free show, and Food Not Bombs were there! I didn't get a chance to eat anything because we got there kind of late but I saw that they had tacos which looked pretty delicious! Free vegan food, Black Flag reunion, No Age, AND Ceremony? I don't think this show could have gotten any better.

Highlight of My Day

2011-07-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today, my mom and I took the dogs for a walk around the Silverlake reservoir. I took the dogs, and she took off to run (you could say my dogs and I are a little lazy when it comes to running) She eventually overlapped me, and informed me that there was a baby Opossum caught in the fence where there was barbed wire. Poor baby was exhausted, he should have been sound asleep in his Opossum home as possums are nocturnal. He had been stuck there for about four hours according to a neighbor across the street. Supposedly Animal Control was called but never showed up.

Neither my Mom nor I had our phones to call for help. My mom got a box from someone's recycling and a blanket had been left for the Opossum. We were hoping somebody would help us get the baby down. Eventually a man with a phone stopped to see what was going on. My Mom asked him to call Valley Wildlife Care and see if they could send help. They gave us the phone number for SmART (888)452-7381. It's Los Angeles Animal Services Small Animal Rescue Team. The nice man with the phone called and SmART was there within 15 minutes.

While all of this was going on people were passing by, jogging, and would say "How cute!" or "Poor thing" and run off. I don't really see how an Opossum stuck and in distress is cute..Actually, I wasn't there at the time, but this overweight lady just says to my Mom,"Oh well!". That makes me so mad! What makes you so much better than this stuck Opossum? You're an animal too, a far lazier, apathetic one. Keep your mouth shut if your going to say ignorant words like that. Like we're going to just walk off and say "Yeah, you're right, see ya stuck little Opossum" to the fat woman.

What made me so relieved was that he wasn't injured and was old enough to be released to the wild life. I can't imagine just walking away from the stuck baby Opossum like so many others did. If you were in some position like that, for four hours, I'd think that you would want help instead of falling and dying.

It's so terrible that if you just google image the word "possum" possum roadkill comes up, people holding possums by their tails, possum removal traps, and hunted possums. It's so effed up that they're looked upon as negative type creatures. Why are people so weird and demented? Why are they so scared of possums?

I am bummed I wasn't able to make it to the Greatest Circus Protest on Earth last night, but helping the possum helped make up for it. Yay for the Opossum! This event today makes me feel a little more in touch with my animal rights side. I mean I haven't stopped being passionate for the animals, and I'm a vegan for life but I guess I haven't been very active this summer. There's been so much human stuff going on. It's nice to take a break from your busy life and help another being. I definitely needed to help rescue that Opossum. Now let's go rescue some more animals!

Cool Opossum Facts:

Opossum's are the only marsupial mammals in the United States. That means the female carries her babies in her pouch.

Opossum's are actually sweet and gentle. They like to be alone.

Oppossum's can live anywhere with food, shelter, and water.

Sexist advertising

2011-07-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

When I'm watching T.V. my day can be easily ruined by the commercials. Okay, not ruined, but I get very annoyed. Not by having wait through the commercials, that doesn't bug me. But the messages that certain commercials send.

For example, one that has come to my attention is a laundry detergent commercial. I'm not sure exactly what corporation and company it is because I was so distracted by the degrading-ness of it. Anyways, it was showing how the detergent takes stains out and leaves the clothing looking brand new. Awesome. What annoyed me was that, of course, women were talking about this. Not one male actor in this commercial. I am so sick of the 1950's housewife commercials that are stuck in modern times. In case you don't know, women are kicking ass. We are successful, powerful women and doing what we want to do with our lives. I give major props to all mothers and housewives because they do a hell of a lot for their families, but they do have other things to do and talk about rather than just gasp over their amazing new detergent they got. There are many men that are "house-husbands", why aren't they in any of these commercials? There are many gay men who have kids, they aren't appearing in any of these commercials. Who says that one parent has to put up with all the house work? Get with the times people. Women aren't machines meant to just raise kids, clean the house, and make dinner. I'm here to have an effective voice in the world and do whatever the hell I want...or maybe not do whatever the hell I want like laundry!

This sexist advertising is so god damn degrading in my opinion. Another commercial that made my blood boil was of a mom on a computer looking at ideas for dinner and as the kids and dad walk in she sees some kind of pre-made dinner she could make. Is there some kind of rule that women have to have the meals made at dinner?

I don't see them very often but one of the most aggravating commercials are the Carl's Jr. ones. Those commercials are disgusting and so disrespectful to women. We all know those girls in the commercials will not go out and buy a burger, or if they do they'll go and then puke it out due to pressure to continue being skinny and sexy. When girls see those commercials we get self conscience. Especially when it's so sexual. The key people of Carl's Jr. are men, which obviously don't give a crap about these problems, like most CEO's of corporations. Sex sells.

After such disrespectful commercials I get even more motivated to become a super successful woman. This isn't about which gender is more successful, it's about doing what makes YOU feel great. Being fourteen and being my own boss for my business is so rewarding. First, knowing that I will never have to work for "the man" is sweet, and second, not having to go to my parents for money for certain things makes it even better.

We're in the United States. There are a lot of problems with our government, but women do have the right to do what we want. We can go to college, have houses of our own, do what we want. So when I see some of these effed up commercials it makes me pissed off because why should we keeping sending these messages to women who have the right to do what we want! These commercials sort of pressure us into thinking we should have families or settle into a certain gender role.

I guess my point is to tell girls that they don't have to have a family, or make a perfect dinner or wear a bikini and wiggle on a car (unless you want to later on!). You don't have to work for the man. You do what makes you feel empowered and happy. Whether it's starting a band, or a business, doing what you want to do with your life I think is absolutely bad ass.

Summer and Nonsense

2011-06-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hey fellaz. It's summer break! What are you looking forward to? I'm looking forward to:

1) A vegan summer (well, rest of life for that matter)

2)FYF (shows in general)

3) Zine class

4) Hanging out with friends

5)Bake sales

6) Trying to be cool

I started my zine class a couple of weeks ago and we have a pretty cool them: In the Streets. Looking forward to sharing it with you guys!

I didn't post a June playlist! What's wrong with me? Well, there will be a July playlist. Full of riot grrrl music and crazy cool new bands.

I want to start a book club. I'm in need of a new book to read, any suggestions?

Stay sweet.

Clara

I'm inspired.

2011-06-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, I just moved and graduated from middle school and I haven't been posting very often. Story of my friggin' life. Anyways today, I stumbled upon this awesome interview on Kathleen Hanna. If there's anyone I'd like to meet that I'm inspired by it'd be her. She has inspired some many girls to get up, learn an instrument, and jam to their opinions. That's my type of music. Thank you Kathleen Hanna for inspiring me to stand up for what I believe in, and inspiring me to get on my blog and write!

Read this interview by CNN that I absolutely loved: http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/07/kathleen.hanna.documentary/

Happy summer, I'll be writing on here soon!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Mother's day is this Sunday! What will you be doing to celebrate your mother(or yourself)?Though you should appreciate your mother everyday, mother's day is a fabulous holiday to be appreciative towards your mother. They do a lot. I know my mother does.

Mother's Day isn't just a day to celebrate your mother, but all mothers. Human and non human. That's why, in honor of Mother's Day, I want you to drop any food with an animal ingredient. Really think about where your milk or eggs come from in honor of the animal mothers that produced them.

By consuming animal products you are contributing to the misery of a mother cow who just lost her baby right after she'd given birth to it. A mother cow will be slaughtered because of your "need" for her milk. A hen will be cramped in a cage just a little bigger than her with multiple other hens because of your "need" her eggs. A hen's male chicks will be grinded alive because of your "need" for her eggs. A male calf, new to life, will be in a tiny crate tied down and about to be sent to slaughter for veal because of your dairy eating habits. Sounds like a pretty pure and sweet Mother's Day, huh? Yeah right.

My non vegan readers, I don't mean to be super harsh but, this is reality, and if you want to stop being attached to this disgusting industry that causes so much pain and misery to our fellow Mothers, you can. Celebrating your way to life by eating death is so ironic.

In honor of Mother's Day go vegan! You won't just save a few animals; but about a 100 animals a year. What a wonderful gift for all Mothers!

May Playlist

2011-05-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm two days late. I could have sworn yesterday was the 30th so I figured I'd do my playlist today and be on time. I've learned something in my 14 years of life: time is never on my side.

I'll stop babbling away and start getting to business. I have been listening to a lot of Hunx and His Punx, Dum Dum Girls, PJ Harvey, and some other goodness. As a result a lot of those bands will be on my playlist!

1) Hunx and His Punx- Too Young to be in Love
Hunx and Punx. I'm in love with this band right now. The songs are hilarious and incredibly fun.

2)PJ Harvey-The Words That Maketh Murder

Did anyone catch her on the Coachella live Youtube thing? She has such an amazing presence...Even through a computer screen! Her voice is magical. Radiohead and PJ Harvey is the music my mother raised me with.

3) Dum Dum Girls- Blank Girl

Dee Dee and her husband, band member of Crocodiles, sing this together. My husband better do stuff like this with me.

4) The Strokes- Machu Picchu

Julian Casablancas. His voice. Can it get anymore beautiful? Its so powerful. Anyways, this song is amazing, they totally kill it.

5) Vivian Girls- Sixteen Ways

This song is so Vivian Girls.

6) Andy Gibb- Love is Thicker Than Water

So sweet. It's not fair that he died so young. My mom and I's song.

7) The Radio Department- Heaven's on Fire
If I was making an enormous soundtrack to my life this song would be on it. It describes my mood half the time.

8) Hunx and His Punx- Lover's Lane

This song is perfection. Gotta love it.

9) Jenny and Johnny-Scissor Runner

I've heard them before and haven't paid much attention to em'. I know Jenny is in Rilo Kiley. I see that they're going on tour with La Sera so I though they'd be totally worth giving a listen to. Cute!

10) Sleater Kinney- Jumpers

The lyrics to "Jumpers" are so real. It totally tells a story.

Keeping you posted!

2011-05-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

I know, I haven't written on my blog in quite awhile. Well, that's not entirely true. I have been working on some posts but I have not published them yet. I have had so many ideas for new posts, it's just a matter of getting them all down in thorough explanations. I don't want to post some political nonsense that doesn't even make sense.

So it's been about a month since my newest post which was a playlist. I feel really lazy. April has been crazy. I was just in New York for almost a week, had a lot of school stuff, and not a lot of time to sit down and dedicate an hour and a half to blogging. Like I said, I have a lot of ideas for new posts! I have two in the works, currently, but one is going to need more research and details to it. I will try and get one of the posts in the works published tomorrow night. Summer is right around the corner meaning that I will be posting a lot more than I am now! Please be patient with me guys!

April Playlist

2011-03-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Tomorrow is April which means time for a new playlist! And this time I don't want it to be late! I have been really inspired by the riot grrrl bands. So you'll notice that a few songs are Sleater Kinney and Bikini Kill!

1) Double Dare Ya- Bikini Kill

Eff yeah. Girl power.

2) Call the Doctor-Sleater Kinney

I think this may have been the first Sleater Kinney song I heard. So here's a celebration.

3) Lotus Flower- Radiohead Thom Yorke's voice feels like a staple of my childhood, as cheesy as it sounds. It totally is.

4) Amsterdam-Peter Bjorn and John My last blogpost I was singin' this song.

5)USA Boys- Health I don't know. This song reminds me of last summer....Or of Coachella. They didn't play there but the sound of this song gives you a Coachella-ey vibe.

6) I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone-Sleater Kinney I wanna be your Thurston Moore.

7)If You Want It-TV Girl It's just an adorable, funny song.

8) Two Kinds of Happiness-The Strokes If I could marry somebody's voice it'd be Julian Casablancas'. This song is a new, but classic Strokes song.

9)True Love Will Find You in the End-Daniel Johnston They didn't play there but the sound of this song gives you a Coachella-ey vibe.

10)Downtown-Petula Clark Oldie, but goodie. Makes me wanna go downtown.

Baby went to amsterdam.

2011-03-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

I had promotion pictures yesterday...They're basically a joke.

Because I'm a jokester and all, I wrote on the "Photography Notes" on the slip you give to the photographer so they know what backround to choose. I wrote 'Have Clara have a 90's pose on.' My brother Andy would be so proud. Yeah, above in the sweatshirt polo thing is some google image exhibiting the 90's pose.

Baby went to Amsterdam

She put a little money into travelling

Now it's so slow, so slow

Love that song. Oldie but goodie. What am I kidding? It's only 5 years old.

Though this post has no subject really, I'm going off subject to ask you a question. Do you think slavery has ended? Or do you think it still exists today?

2011-03-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as I was cleaning my room I put on Lykke Li. Then, I put on Sleater-Kinney. I must admit, I've just recently started to listen to Sleater-Kinney. But after listening to them I can proudly say they are one of my favorite bands. I love the lyrics to their songs! Sleater-Kinney, if you read this will you please let me interview you?!

I think Sleater-Kinney is one of those bands you get into and listen to for the rest of your life.

Swell Vegans: The Food Blogger

2011-03-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

When you hear the word "vegan" what do you think of? Some hippie or even an anarchist punk? Well, I want you to get rid of those stereotypes and meet some real life vegans.

That's why I started my latest project..."Interviews with swell vegans". I've interviewed vegans before, of course, but this will be a huge range of vegans. You'll learn that there are so many kick ass vegans who will inspire you and show you that being vegan is not some crazy, hard to achieve thing!

What better person to interview than the first vegan friend I made! It all started at one of my favorite restaurants, Follow Your Heart. There was a dinner made by vegan chef Tal Ronnen and his cookbook signing. We met in line, and we instantly became pals.

Who is she, though? Well, she's Vegyogini of the Hugger Food blog, an absolutely rad blog. She's also a yoga enthusiast and amazing cook and baker. I would know, I've made pancakes with her and have tried her baked goods. Vegan Cadbury Creme Eggs anyone?

Here it is!

Why/when did you become vegan?
I've been vegetarian since October 10, 1998 and vegan for a little over 5 years. Around the time when I was 12, I became very aware of nutrition's connection to health, and started eliminating certain foods from my diet. I was also very concerned about environmental issues as a teenager. Then, when I was in college, I faced the reality of animal testing and stopped buying products tested on animals. It was a natural conclusion to become vegetarian shortly thereafter. I became vegan for my health, for the health of our planet, and for the health of the animals.

Where did you go to college? What was your major?
I went to UC Santa Barbara and majored in French. It was the perfect major for me. Right after college, I went to Loyola Law School for my law degree.

What's your favorite food?
Fresh blueberries!

What's your favorite music?
I love singer-songwriter rock, classic rock, the music I grew up with in the 80s and early 90s, and I have a huge soft spot for 60s protest music.

What's your blog about?
I strongly believe that delicious vegan food is an excellent ambassador. I write about what I cook at home, vegan cookbooks (or veganizing recipes from non-vegan sources), the food I eat when I'm out, and occasionally products I like.

So you like to cook/bake, what's your favorite thing to make?
I love cooking Indian-inspired soups and stews; I make a lot of those in the fall and winter months. As for baking, a couple years ago, I had a lot of fun veganizing my two most popularly requested cookies: Chocolate Chip and Snickerdoodles. I have always loved baking cookies for people because it makes them so happy! Within our vegan community, though, I get the most requests and praise for my vegan Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Do you have a hero?
Not particularly, but I greatly admire people who stand up and (peacefully) fight for what's right.

What is you favorite movie?
"Breakfast at Tiffany's"

What's your favorite book?
I'm such a bookworm and I always have been! You've seen in person the number of books I have carefully organized on my many bookshelves at home. I am always in the middle of at least one book. Right now, I'm reading Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m. by Sam Wasson, which is about the making of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." All that being said, I don't really have a favorite book that I've read as an adult, but The Giving Tree is one of the most beautlfully-written books I've ever read. Also, when I was younger, I read and re-read The Secret Garden more times than I can count.

What are your hobbies?
This question really makes me wonder about my own definition of the word "hobby." I'd say that writing my blog, Hugger Food, is a hobby. I don't really consider cooking and baking to be hobbies because they're such a big part of my life, although I suppose you could throw them into this category. Yoga has been so ingrained in my lifestyle for the last 6 1/2 years that I don't really consider it a hobby, either, but I will put it down here anyway. I also love music (recorded and live), film (mostly independent, documentaries, and classics), and, as I said earlier, I am a total bookworm!

Thanks Vegyogini of the Hugger Food blog! You're an inspiration and soul sister!

March Playlist

2011-03-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

Woah. Well, it's been quite a long time since I've posted. No excuse, bro. I'm lame. I guess I wasn't feeling super inspired to write, but now I am! And I mean, come on! I've left you without a playlist for March! But, it is here my friend!

So this playlist will be mostly newer stuff, mixed with a couple of older songs! Cool?

1) Lykke Li- Follow Rivers

Lykke Li reminds me of Lady Gaga. But a cooler version. Just watch the music video for this song.

2) Minutemen-This Ain't No Picnic

The lyrics are timeless. Same with the song.

3) Toro Y Moi-Still Sound

It has taken me a long time to put this song on a playlist.

4) Yuck-Get Away

Rock out now!

5) Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues

Adorable, cute, lovely. Snowflake talk. Cheers to the new Fleet Foxes album!

8) Ducktails-Killing the Vibe

This song is really, really vibe-ey.

9) The Hood Internet-The Sprawl of Glass

I know, your sick of Arcade Fire. You and me both. But this is an awesome mash up, its worth a listen.

10) Wild Nothing-Hey Cool Kid

Its just a hilarious song in this such a mellow way. Watch the video for it, it'll make your day.

Enjoy!

Anti Sex Trafficking

2011-02-17T18:11:00.000-08:00

Even more of a reason that I love Bethany of Best Coast! This song is beautiful, but about such a heartbreaking subject, sex trafficking.

It is insanely sad to even think about this horrid thing. It's crazy how disgusting some humans can be. 640,000 women and children are tricked into this slave labor and prostitution a year.

I feel like as free human beings, it doesn't matter what race or gender you are, its our job to help other beings that aren't so free. Why not take time out of our lives to help others who are living a life they can't control? This applies to all living things.

School.

2011-02-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

Hey dudes! I haven't been posting consisitently due to school. I have a 70 question science test next week that's worth 3 test grade that I haaaaave to ace! This week I have had loads of homework, as well.

Woooo! Yesterday I just registered for high school, I'm a big kid! Hopefully I get into the AP classes..

I think I may have a project for this blog in the works..

Stay tuned!

February Playlist.

2011-02-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

Awww it's the month of Valentine's Day! And like my monthly routine, I will present you a new playlist! So give it a listen, and have a good music session with you Valentine whether it be your bestfriend or boyfriend or girlfriend or dog or..You get the picture.

February Playlist

1) Foster the People-Pumped Up Kicks
I cannot get enough of this song! And the lyrics are clear enough to sing along to! Hats off to Quarrygirl for showing me this song!

2) Das Racist-hahahaha jk
"We're not racist, we love white people! Ford trucks, apple pies, bald eagles!"
This song will cheer up your day.

3) Smith Westerns-Only One.
Apparently Smith Westerns cannot have 1 bad song because I simply love all of them! This song, in my opinion, is perfection for February and taking strolls around the neighborhood.

4)A Cold Freezin' Night-Books
Why oh why did it take me so long to put this on a playlist? You'll get a great laugh out of it!

5) Houdini- Foster the People

Can Foster the People get any better? I don't know if its possible.

6) Leave Everywhere- Toro Y Moi
This song isn't super new or anything, its just an amazing song. A standard.

7) Diamond Sea- Sonic Youth
An amazing magical song.

8) Washing Machine- Sonic Youth
Such a story to it.

9) TV Party- Black Flag
TV party tonight!

10)Six Pack-Black Flag
Cool jam.

Oprah and 378 Staffers go Vegan for a Week

2011-02-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

Oprah and 378 of her staffers going vegan for a week has been the buzz all day with vegans. With all the excitement for it, was the actual episode really that great?

Well, as a blogger, I'm very opinionated as you all have observed from my posts. But, I don't want to be thought of as a negative nelly who doesn't see the good in anything. So, let's start off with the benefits of the Oprah episode before I rant about why I got annoyed watching it:

Publicized veganism

Showed your everyday people losing lots of weight in a week and feeling really good about themselves

Advertized that you don't starve when you're vegan, and you have many delicious vegan options, more than most people know about

Kathy Freston is sooo rad

Showed a slaughterhouse

There you have it, the cool things about the episode.

This part of my post will explain why watching this episode made me roll my eyes every other minute.

Michael Pollen

Congrats for being one of the most influential people in the world, and for showing us basically impossible ways for average Americans to eat to try and eat right. (Oh, and for having your own section of this post.) I mean in this economy how are working class families going to afford to drive to who knows where to buy super expensive meat and other animal products you can so live without! Must be nice to sit on your high horse (and you looked like it the way your were sitting on the show so arrogantly) and spew that to the Amercian public. The truth is..There is something wrong with eating animals. 99.9% are not treated like the cattle they showed or like the animals you so lovingly care for before you eat them.

I did, however, love the remark he made about the footage,"If you can't watch it, don't eat it." But, that was the one thing that I appreciated from his mouth. In my opinion, Pollen only agrees with himself. Pollen is a wealthy author who isn't exactly easy to relate to about diets. So for him to put his own spin on the perfect diet was super lame and ridiculous.

Cargill

Way to go, Cargill, for making yourselves look like the nicest people and slaughterhouse ever. And way to go Temple Grandin for designing their wondeful, peaceful place where cows are packed in to be hung upside down and killed. Peaceful.

Obviously, that's sarcasm. This footage really bugged me. Not because it was hard to watch, it was very easy to watch compared to other footage I've seen, like the dairy farms. The catch was was that Cargill wouldn't allow footage to be taken of the actual killing or the bolt being shot into their heads supposedly rendering them brain dead. You didn't see that cow get hung upside down, have it's throat slit and being bled to death. You only saw Lisa Ling's reaction which is certainly not going to change meat eaters, especially after hearing that Lisa Ling continued eating meat after that.

How do you even freaking know those cows are brain dead?! We don't.

We saw a carefully orchestrated show for the public in a very clean slaughterhouse. The vast majority are not so nice and clean with a friendly lady showing you her sparkly house of murder.

Cargill mentioned that they feed their cows corn. Hello! Cows don't eat corn in a natural environment!

"We take a lot of pride in the work we do in the facility."- The general manager of the Cargill slaughterhouse. Yeah. Because you should have a lot of pride in murdering these innocent animals.

Where's the dairy and egg footage?

The whole episode was vegan themed! So why didn't they show dairy and egg footage? Like Kathy Freston said on Oprah, 9 out of the 10 billion animals are chickens and turkeys! And they didn't show the footage there?!

So many people cannot live without cheese, or so they think, so why didn't they show dairy farm footage and hear some clarification on how cows produce so much milk for us to basically breast feed off of?

If I was a vegetarian who saw dairy and egg farm footage, I'd so make the conversion to veganism. And I think many others would, too.

The End...

In the end, this episode pissed me off more than anything. Hearing Pollan's annoying remarks, and Cargill's general manager's lies and her wanting to be friends with vegans B.S. was just lame.

That being said, hats off to Kathy Freston for pushing veganism, you go girl! It must be hard to sit there with a pretty smile hearing the other guests say there is nothing wrong with eating animals.

Oprah, just friggin go vegan.

New Peta Ad.

2011-02-01T08:09:00.001-08:00

This new Peta ad has really crossed the line. Using ultra provocative ads to convert veganism is making us vegan girls look like complete idiots who have no respect for themselves. I'm pretty damn proud to be a vegan girl who uses her voice and brain, and to see that ad really upset me. Come on Peta, your organization is for the animals and to convert people to veganism, not to make almost pornos.

Sup.

2011-01-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

Friday mornings I go to school late. I'm supposed to be studying for a math exam, I'm not fond of that. I took the exam yesterday and left 18 answers blank! Its all that perpendicular and parallel graphing. Just graphing in general, ahhhh! Wish me luck on finishing it today.

What should my next entry be?

Coachella 2011

2011-01-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hell yeeeeeah. Above, you can see a Coachella 2011 poster....Meaning the lineup has been announced TODAY.

Its a mixture of lame bands and great bands. I must say, 2011's lineup is not as rad as 2010's but there are definitely bands playing worth going for...Hello? Best Coast?

Oh my. Black Keys, Interpol, Arcade Fire, and The Strokes? Sweeet. I mean, these bands are the bands I don't care how much you call 'mainstream' I will continue to love.

And Cut Copy, Tame Impala, Ariel Pink, The Drums, and and and ahhhh! Too many good ones to list are playing.

The one thing that upset me a little bit is that Surfer Blood is not playing? Say what? Right after Coachella I said to myself that they'd play. Come on Coachella, get with the times!

Anywho, are you planning on going?

Where is the Love?

2011-01-13T13:18:00.001-08:00

Last night was one of the 100 Shows for Haiti, and an amazing, eye opening film was played called Lift Up. http://liftupmovie.com/

Lift up is a documentary that showed brothers who go back to their home country, Haiti, and visit family after the earthquake and death of a beloved grandfather. Along the journey they met other Haitians and heard their stories of how the earthquake effected them. They also experienced some pretty rad kite flying. I loved Lift Up because it showed Haitians as people
just living life after the earthquake, not just as sad victims of the quake. It amazed me how resilient they were, especially after having their country destroyed and losing so many people. The only negative about this night was that not too many people came to support this benefit.

We cannot just forget about Haiti. Lift Up showed families who's children are starving and don't have clean water to drink! About a month after January 12th (the date of the earthquake) the public seemed to have just forgotten about Haiti. We can't do this to these wonderful people. These Haitians who are living in tents rain or shine are human beings just like us. I just don't think it's acceptable as intelligent beings to let others suffer how the Haitians are. Haiti's government is corrupt, and the majority of the people were living in extreme poverty even before the earthquake. are in poverty as it is. So when the earthquake came it left Haitians helpless. We need to be that help.

It broke my heart a little to not see a lot of my vegan friends there. We all pat each other on the backs at vegan events, but we can support other causes. Human life is just as precious as any other life. The lack of many vegan activists surprised me. This isn't a matter of who is vegan and who is not. It's about all living beings that were affected by this awful quake.

I was lucky enough to hear Andy Stepanian talk last summer at a benefit for a skate park in Africa. He said something that really stuck with me. He said activists need to back other activists up, whether they be animal rights, human rights, earth rights. Last night really proved that for me. If my fellow vegan activists showed up in solidarity with the Haitian earthquake survivors, that theater would have been full.

If you are a vegan who only attends animal rights benefits, wouldn't that be specieism?

I strongly encourage you to attend a show for Haiti. Its not too late! To see whats coming up go to:http://100showsforhaiti.com and choose the state you live in. Whether its eating Veggie Grill today to support Haiti or going to see one of the shows for Haiti, they need your support.

January Playlist

2011-01-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

School's back in session, so what better way to start off January (other than going vegan) than with a playlist? It's the 6th...so I'm a little late, sorry, I was catching up on April Morning, which we had to read for school.

Oh brother, speaking of school, I had detention. I'm a rebel. It was my first detention ever and it was very chill. I was able to get some reading done on Our Band Could be your Life, a very interesting book.

I've been raised with punk rock (how corny does that sound?!) and lately I've taken the time to listen to it more than I used to. This explains why half my playlist is punk. If you listen to some of the song's lyrics, a lot by Crass, they're so intelligent. Its the art of cramming in a ton of aggrevating topics into a crazy, fast song.

Oh and to warn you, I mixed this punk with some other fun songs that are definitely not punk.

So here it goes!

1) Adolescents-Amoeba
I've always loved this song, it just makes my day.

2) Crass- Fight Wars not Wars
Simple as that.

3) OMD- Electricity
Such an awesome song, a lot of current bands seem to be inspired by it.

4)Circle Jerks- Beverly Hills
The first time I heard this song when I was just a tiny thing I sang it at school, home, everywhere. How bad ass. Every couple of days now, I still sing it.

5)Smith Westerns- Weekend
I told you have a lot of different music...This song is most definitely not punk rock.

6) Seconds- Young Until I Die
My mama's song. I want to see 7 Seconds live so bad!

7)Crass- Big A Little
Crass is like one of my favorite bands, now. I love the lyrics.

8)Sylvester- You Make Me Feel
Dude. How couldn't I have put this song on?

9)Dum Dum Girls- Bhang Bhang I'm a Burnout
Hahahahahha.

10)Ratatat- Party With Children
Because you should.

11) Blondie-Heart of Glass
A classic.

Bako.

2011-01-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

Red polka dotted pants that look awesome with some boots and a denim blazer.

Sporty satin jacket.

This knitted yellow cardigan looks so sweet with a cool vintage dress.

Looks a little blah but looks great with a funky necklace.

Makes a total Pretty In Pink outfit belted with a tutu skirt.

PERFECT. I have been looking for some mod-ish earrings to complete my wardrobe.

I can't find the other earring, argh! But I love the carvings.

Emerald Curry with Mixed Vegetables

Oh no! I don't know what this sushi is called...Just ask for vegan sushi!

Mmmmmmm Miso Soup!

Once upon a time there was a place called Bakersfield. Its a big, flat farm town (that's why it smells so bad) filled with newly built neighborhoods and a historic downtown. But, unexpectedly, this place it definitely has its charms. Like the beyond rad shops Downtown and good eats. So next time before you go straight to Northern CA (since its on the way there) I suggest you check out Bako's downtown scene.

Like, Nature's Food and Market! Its like a mini, all vegan Whole Foods. They have everything a vegan wants to eat, and they have to go wraps, sandwiches, and juices. This is an amazing local place, so support them if your ever near Bakersfield. You can check em'out at:http://www.faceboo%20k.com/pages/Natures-Food-Market-and-Juice-Bar/270417735563?v=info#!/pages/Natures-Food-Market-and-Juice-Bar/270417735563

So if you do ever find yourself at Nature's Food and Market you should check out the shops/stores downtown while you're at it! Like, Going Underground, an amazing record store that carries a lot of genres of music...If I can find something there I'm SURE you can. You can read Going Underground's blog at:http://goingundergroundrex.com/

OHMYLORD. You HAVE to check out Rad Thrift Store in Bakersfield. Its not exactly downtown Bako, but pretty close. If your someone who thrifts, this place is heaven. They have like 10 zillion racks of clothing, in all different colors. If your willing to dig and have a half an hour to hour to spare you'll definitely find a lot of clothing! I was there for like half an hour and came out with a whole bag of clothes! Did I mention how great of deals they have? The whole bag of clothing included 5 cardigans/sweaters and 2 pairs of earrings all for $12! Dude, if you have $10, even $5, it'll be plenty to get a sweater or two. That's what I'm talkin' bout. Check out their Yelp (don't let the bad review scare you) at:http://www.yelp.com/biz/rad-thrift-store-bakersfield

Last but certainly not least is an AMAZING Thai-Fusion restaurant you should try. Its not vegetarian, nor vegan but its definitely worth while, its called The Orchid. I had the Emerald Curry with fried tofu and it was phenomenal! And the prices and servings are great! If you have any questions about what's vegan, or what can be vegan on the menu they're extremely helpful there.

Take my word, if you want some cheap priced clothes, filling, yummy food, and a cool market to get some groceries at, Bakersfield is the place to go to. I'm not advising you to drive 200 miles just to come here, but if you ever find yourself near there you better stop.

Its A New Year...So What Are You Going to do Now?

2011-01-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

2010 has been a pretty swell year. I met my vegan pals then, got into more music, did pretty good in school, met cool bands, and started this blog legitametly! But, being an overachiever at heart I feel like I should be doing more. My list would go a little like this:

1) Read more.
2) Study harder (gag me).
3) Go on Facebook less.
4) Bake more of a variety of desserts.
5) Volunteer more.
6) Walk my dogs more.
7) Write more.
8) Learn piano.
9) Listen to more music.
10) Start drawing more.
11) Stop getting my phone taken away at school.
12)Fight harder for ANIMAL RIGHTS!

What are your New Years resolutions? Being the preachy vegan I am, you should go vegan. While you're at it make sure your not wearing anything that comes from an animal. I'll post the truth about leather soon.

Everything you love to eat is vegan now!! There's absolutely no excuse to not be vegan. I don't care whatcha mama says, do it for the animals and for yourself!

Stop eating egg periods, rape, murder, and all of that gross stuff. No matter how vegetarian you claim to be, consuming eggs and dairy is most definitely NOT ethical. Your eggs came from a confined hen who's baby male chicks (that communicate even when their in their mothers' womb) are grinded alive because they cannot produce the eggs that are sitting on your table scrambled. Dairy is so not vegetarian either! Milk came from a mother in distress because her baby was taken away from her at birth. That baby is your veal. That veal baby's mother was raped on a rape rack so you can drink the milk that should have been for the baby! Stop consuming breast milk that does not belong to you, stop consuming egg periods that hens had to suffer from, and stop consuming meat because we as humans should have evolved way past that! We're freeking smart, we should know better! Stop letting commercials, big business and the convenience of a "happy meal" dumb you down!!! This is 2011, guys!! We need to STOP depending on animals, we aren't cavemen! We have so many modern alternative options, that taste the same, without the suffering!

If you want to have a great 2011 go vegan, its as simple as that. It takes some adjusting but jeeez, think about the animals! You'll be saving 150 animals a year!

Ta Ta For Now

2010-12-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

Hello! How do you do?

How was your Christmas? I hope all of your wildest dreams came true....Hey, I'm tired, don't laugh at my cheesy writing.

I'm going to be out of town for a few days, and , "Santa" should bring me a laptop so I can update on the go..But for now, I'm going to take photos of my future thrift store finds on my adventure! Cool deal?!

Don't worry my music pals, my January Playlist will be up soon. Probably on the 1st, but realistically the 2nd. How did you like my December one?! Got some oldies but goodies in it! Jeez Louise, playlists each month are going to make this future year go by fast and furious....Okay, okay, I sound really lame now so I need to get my wacky head to bed.

^^^^^^^^Future career in songwriting? Oh boy, Clara, oh boy.

100 Shows for Haiti

2010-12-23T22:02:00.000-08:00

I would make a bad mother, I would neglect my child, like I occasionally do to my beloved blog. I'm one of those kids who prefers to be inspired to write.. Which I am! Any who, how has you winter wonderland been?! Christmas Eve is TOMORROW! How are you spending your holidays? Well, here's a thought:

There's a cause that you should definitely know about, its only fair.

Remember the huge Haiti earthquake that came around last January? Though its been a year since the citizens in Haiti are not in good shape. This earthquake has killed many, left many homeless, and without medical attention, let alone access to living necessities like water. 100 Shows for Haiti is a charity all around the world that is putting on shows around the 12th of January to benefit the Haitians. Whether its a show, arts and crafts show, a dance,or even a bake sale, come and support them! The money will be split between two amazing organizations: One Hundred for Haiti and Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees.

http://www.100showsforhaiti.com/

Have a band? Line up a show to benefit 100 Shows for Haiti! Have a friend with bad ass knitting skills? Set up an arts and crafts booth at the show! Love to bake? Sell some vegan sweets at the show! Any hobby you have, make an event out of it to raise money for this around January 12th! Contact this organization to set it up @ mypart@100showsforhaiti.com

Busy schedule, but want to donate to this lovely organization? Easy, donate some dough via Paypal.

If you can't do the above, even just spreading the word is great. Blog it, tweet it, facebook it, whatever. Pass out flyers, even! Just get the word spread about this rad cause. http://www.100showsforhaiti.com/

One Big Hypocrisy.

2010-12-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Sarah Palin's hunting trip has been a headline in the news. From the start, we all knew how she loves and brags about hunting. So why are most liberals disgusted by her publicizing it? Though I am completely against hunting, most animals that are hunted, like the Caribou Sarah Palin murdered, have had much better lives than the ones you eat and wear daily.

No matter what, when you strap on that leather sandal, bake some fish, scramble some eggs, drink a glass of milk, eat steak, it all still comes from a living being. They all gave up something in this process to feed and clothe you, whether giving up its own life without choice, or giving up its baby without choice. In this day and age using any living being for fashion and food is completely barbaric. I don't care if your food is supposedly humane (which is completely false, what is humane about murder?), organic, or you hunted it yourself, its still completely unnecessary and quite frankly, disgusting.

That animal SP killed had a MUCH better life than those billions of animals killed in factory farms.

If one eats or wears animal products, yet thinks Palins' hunting is awful why don't you put the hypocrisy down and go vegan? Boy, if you think hunting is bad you better open your eyes to all the cruelty and torture that goes behind the daily food you eat. That animal SP killed had a heavenly life compared to that poor factory farmed cow which went through living hell so you could have a glass of milk and eat her dead baby in that Veal Picata you just chowed down.

Obviously, I'm against hunting. Why? I think its repulsive to go out and shoot an innocent animal for the fun of it. Why not go target shooting or paint-balling? Oh and those pictures of hunters posing with their kills...disgusting. The animals look so majestic even in their death and the humans just look like douche bags.

A huge dilemma between people like me and some animal consumers is that they think it's their "God given" right to kill animals for fun and food (I can assume most people who hunt don't save the skins to make shoes, etc.) Ask yourself this: Why would God put living, breathing, feeling animals on Earth if we were just going to kill them. I mean, come on, that just doesn't make sense to me.

I know in the wild, animals will eat animals. Yes, I get that. It is my hope that we have evolved as humans and can see a future without using our fellow living beings for their flesh to eat even if it's 3 bucks a pound at your local supermarket.

So please, put the gun down, and get out of the meat and dairy aisles. GO paint balling or volunteer at an animal sanctuary instead! Yeah Sarah Palin, I'm talkin to you and your offspring!

Tired.

2010-12-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

Long weekend. Late night at The Smell, funeral, late night baking, man I'm tired! On the plus side, my mother trimmed my bangs so they're no longer looking gross. More detailed posts coming up soon. Essay after essay at school, as well.

See you later, alligators!

December Playlist

2010-11-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

Winter is my favorite season. It snows, rains, pours...Scratch that, I live in Southern California. Well, it is my favorite time of the year with that crisp, clean holiday scent, and all the teachers are decked out in ugly Christmas sweaters and pins.

So of course, I present you a playlist for December. This one ranges from The Replacements to Crystal Castles' Not in Love featuring Robert Smith. Variety guys, variety.

So here it goes:

1)Ariel Pink- Don't Think Twice (Love)
There's Katy Perry's pop songs and then there's this.

2) Mission of Burma- Outlaw
How can you not get pumped up by this song?

3)The Replacements- Favorite Thing
Yes. Just plain yes.

4) No Age- Depletion
You just can't wrong with No Age. I love everything about this song, it just has an original sound.

5) Crystal Castles- Not in Love
I don't what it is about this! Maybe Robert Smith's vocals and the cool beat in the background? It just reminds me of a freezing, interesting day.

6) The Smiths- Meat is Murder
Is there a need for me to say why I'm in love with this song? All my opinions are in this song.

7) Sonic Youth- Silver Rocket
This song gets me all pumped up for school in the mornings!

8) Tennis- Cape Dory
Brings sunshine to a cold winter's day.

9) Blonde Redhead- Not Getting There
Its just one of those songs that you listen to while sketching and daydreaming in your room.

10) TVTV$- Do You Play the Radio?
For you dad, for you.

Check out La Sera's music video for Never Come Around!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKwZSoIrAnY

Stuff.

2010-11-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

Winter is coming, winter is coming! Before I get too ahead of myself, let me ask you, how was your Thanksgiving and break?

I shouldn't get too carried away with talking about mine and things I have observed, one would think I have a big head. But, hey, its my blog and I have a lot to share.

First things first, Nancy Drew is a great movie, just thought I'd share that with you.

The 400 cupcake project went fabulous....and tasty.

United States of Tara is an amazing show. As you can see I watched a bit of TV on my break.

Lavish Lint has fabulous animal rights t shirts http://www.lavishlint.com/

Baking a 12 by 17 inch isn't that hard, especially when you bake it for someone rad.
My mother is a swell pig decorator. No, she did not decorate pigs, but frosted a fake one onto that cake.
Masks is one of my favorite bands. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/masksmusic
Bold Native is THE best movie EVER. (Though I already knew this) You can purchase the movie and other merch at http://boldnative.com/store/
Going back to school isn't as bad after you get past waking up at 6:30.

One more thing, R.I.P. Grandpa Gene. You were a rad grandpa and cinematographer.

P.S. Stay tuned for the December Playlist!

Happy Thanksgiving?

2010-11-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

I'll keep this post short and not so sweet.

I can easily say "Happy Thanksgiving!" to a vegan, because it truly is. But I cannot say this to a meat eater because it is definitely not. Meat eaters may not realize this, but what's sitting on your dining table stuffed and roasted was once an abused creature. Just like a cat or dog, turkeys can feel pain and emotion. If you spent time with a turkey you'd notice that they love to be petted, just like a dog or cat. Would you want to see your dog on a dining table laying lifeless?There's absolutely no excuse to eat one of these poor beings for "Thanksgiving" or any to other day, period.

No Age Interview

2010-11-22T09:10:00.001-08:00

Randy, Dean, and bananas.

No Age is defintely the best band around. They bring their own style of punk to the table, and are the nicest, coolest guys one will ever meet. What makes them even more rad is that they're vegan.

Here they talk about how they met and formed No Age, their ex band, Wives, their newest and past albums, inspirations, and being vegan!

How did No Age form?

Dean. We formed in 2006 after our former band Wives self-destructed. No
Age was the outcome of that. Stripped it down from a three piece to a
two piece and went to town.
Randy. After Wives was over Dean and I knew we still wanted to play music together. So, we just started jamming and we were really into just keeping it open and see what we could come up with.

What was it like going from a 3 piece, Wives, to a 2 piece, No Age? How did it affect your sound?
D. It affected it greatly, different drummers can fully change the band. We were way more stripped down.
R.Going to a 2 piece was awesome because it was so much easier to get stuff done. We just had to be more creative with how we made sounds. We needed to work harder to fill out the sound. It was inspiring to think outside of the box regarding what we could use to make sounds and how we could put them together just the two of us.

How have your ideas/inspirations changed since Wives?
D.My goals for wives were similar to no age ones. Communicate to the community. No age is going for a larger scale discussion, wives were smaller scale.
R.Yeah, our ideas are always changing and evolving. We try not to get bored or stand still too long

What was it like to play with legendary bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement?

D. Very very cool. Playing at the Hollywood Bowl was surreal.
R. It was nutz!!! I was/am a huge fan of both of those bands. I saw them both play at Lollapalooza in 95' when I was 14. So it was especially surreal to be on the same stage as them.

Where and who did you work with for Everything In Between? What bands have they recorded?

D. We did half of it ourselves in our own practice space. The other half was done at a studio called Infrasonic Sound in Los Angeles. They recorded part of the Nouns record, Abe Vigoda, Beck, Mission Of Burma, Mars Volta etc...
R. Yeah, we worked in LA with Pete Lyman at Infrasonic. We worked with him on Nouns and Losing Feeling. We also recorded a bunch of stuff at N.A.P.S. (our practice space).

Who are your influences? How have they changed over the years?

D. I have so many influences. They do change over the years, it seems like I can find inspiration and influence in so many different things. Not just music, but art, friends, spaces, even food. All these things surround me and influence the art I try to create. It is exciting to think about how I will keep learning and changing.
R. I get really psyched on seeing what other friends are working on. Luke Fishbeck from Lucky Dragons is super inspiring to me because he makes beautiful music and presents it in a very accessible tactile way. So mind blowing. Jesse Spears inspires me because she has such good energy and is constantly making funny/cool/WTF art.
Books, film, life are also huge inspirations. In general just having time to let my mind wander and forget about myself is what inspires me the most.

How has the touring experience been?

D. It is great to see the world, but can get hard on family and friends. We are taking a long break coming up.
R. Touring is good. It is fun to get the opportunity to travel around and see the world outside of Los Angeles. But, y'know, it can be hard too, because you miss your family and friends and you miss out on cool events that happen that you wish you could be at. Touring has definitely taught me a lot about myself and the world and how I fit or don't fit in the world.

I've noticed from you last two albums to Everything In Between your sound has changed some. Is there a reason for this?

D. I would hope our sound has changed. We have never been in tested in doing the same thing over and over or follow a formula. I am glad you noticed!
R. I feel like we have a hard time repeating ourselves. There are always things that your instincts will attract you to, but overall we get bored of doing the same thing over and over. So, because of that I would imagine our sound is always changing. I have a tough time distinguishing the difference when I listen to our songs because I am always thinking about how we recorded the song and when we wrote it. In my mind there are a million ways to record a song and by the time the song comes out on a record I have probably thought about how it sounds waaaaay too much and how I imagined it or re-imagined it has changed and evolved. So that by the time the song is done and on the record it is the strange collage of ideas and I remember all the different forms it took on its way to being what it is.

What's it like touring when you're vegans?

D. Well, every day is an exciting search and reaffirmation why I am
vegan. It is easier some days than others. Luckily we tell the promoters ahead of time, so they have vegan snacks at the show. Then we look up happycow, ask the locals, look for vegetarian places and health food stores. There is always a grocery store to get veggies, fruit, peanut butter, nuts, bread etc. When all else fails, we can go to Subway.
R. being vegan and touring has its ups and downs. I love rolling in to a new town and finding the cool/weird/awesome vegan restaurant. It might not be in the center of town, so you gotta go exploring and find where the Vegans in that town hang out. At the same time it can be tough because either there are not a ton of vegan options where ever you are at or there is really cool interesting local cuisine that is not vegan. Overall, being vegan and traveling is awesome but y'know sometimes you gotta work harder to find good food and not be too picky about what is available.

What are your favorite bands?

D.Faith, Black Flag, OMD, Public Enemy, Gun Outfit, Gas, Amps For Christ, Husker Du, Bad Brains, NWA, Mika Miko, Dow Jones and the Industrials, Infinte Body
R.I love:
Slayer
Sonic Youth
Squeeze
Captain Beefheart
Tom Waits
Jonathan Richmam
Crazy Band

What does No Age mean?

D. Anything you want! To me it means make your own rules, write your own story.
R. No Age means do your own thing. Don't worry about what other people say or do just make your art and have have fun!!!

Thanks No Age! P.S., No Age, Andy says hi!

Check out their blog: http://noagela.blogspot.com/
And see if they'll be near you: http://eventful.com/performers/no-age-/P0-001-000024974-1

R.I.P. LCD Soundsystem

2010-11-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

There was absolutely no party without "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" or "Pow" blasting through the walls. LCD Soundystem was THE band for parties, no doubt about it. They killed it at Coachella! They got all the drunk girls dancing to "Drunk Girls!"

Why am I typing in past tense, though? Well, tragically, LCD Soundsystem is no longer a band! I haven't found out why or anything but this ruined my morning. James Murphy, the vocalist, will most likely to go on to do other music acts. I wonder what the other members are going to do....

Now what music is going to take over parties?

Comment Comment Comment

2010-11-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hey fellow readers!Newcomers that dicovered my blog, AND, cupcakes on quarrygirl,and Girl's Life, welcome!

One of the funnest, and interesting things about having a blog is getting feedback. It opens your eyes to what you have left out, suggestions, or positive reviews. Sadly, my blog lacks that and wish it wouldn't. So please make my day and leave a comment!

Stay tuned for an interview with No Age! Wish me luck on baking 400 cupcakes, eeeek!

-Clara

November Playlist

2010-11-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

November is here! Well, 11 days into it but, still. I'm now featuring a music playlist for each month just to spice up my passionate blog. Of course, if I hear an amazing song I'll share it with you guys as soon as I can. Oh, just to clarify my playlist it won't include Justin Bieber. Sound good? What's EVEN BETTER is that soon I will be posting an interview with NO AGE. Noooow how does that sound?

1) No Age- Fever Dreaming
Can I please just put all of their new album, Everything In Between, on this playlist?
2)La Sera- Never Come Around
I'm definitely lovin' La Sera's sweet, original tunes. They are amazing live (and so nice in person) and anybody who sees them live will be STOKED.
3)Tennis- Marathon
I want to have a music duo with my future husband! SO adorable.
4)Foals- Total Life Forever (song, well the album is spectacular as well)
This song, this song is magic.
5)Born Ruffians-Retard Canard
Yeah, that's right! I called you a retard canard.
6)No Joy- Heedless
I met this rad band and they have crazy cool music.
7) Cults-Go Outside
I think this song fits the fall season.
8)Wavves-Baseball Cards
"I don't wanna walk outside. Cause where would I go? We won't know."
9)Hindu Pirates- Sweet Tooth
Super duper cute.
10) Ariel Pink- Round and Round
I just had to put this song on, so fun, so kooky, no wonder I dig it.

P.S.
Since I'm already talking about music.... I have definitely noticed a trend in a lot of bands. Surf (the genre) music is making waves in music.

2010-11-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Its just that season, leaves are falling to the ground, all the restaurants are serving their pumpkin spice specials, and the weather is windy with a chance of sun. Yes folks, its fall, the season of Thanksgiving where we supposedly are giving "thanks" for what we have.

Ever since we were little, we’ve been taught the concept of Thanksgiving. The original holiday was when Indians and Pilgrims supposedly got together and made a swell dinner and were just thankful. Thankful for their friendship (although I think we pretty much tried to massacre the Indians) food, and life. I remember in elementary school we would always have a paper with a little Thanksgiving story and picture on the back for us to color in. Normally, of a lifeless, beheaded turkey with stuffing and mashed potatoes on the side. It always annoyed me to see these images and to have adults tell me this was “tradition”. I surely didn't believe this was a tradition I wanted to celebrate.

I never thought it was right to sit at a dinner table and stare at a once living beings dead carcass and be "thankful". I think that's complete bullshit. Isn’t it hypocritical to be thankful for a living being to give up its life so you can shove its roasted flesh into your mouth? I mean most carnivores do it daily. Why be extra thankful for murdered animals on Thanksgiving? How about this? On Thanksgiving before you (my meat eating readers) stuff a poor dead animal down your throat, research where your turkey comes from.

PETA posted an undercover video of slaughterhouse workers abusing turkeys before they go to slaughter. Is this what you’re thankful for? That these poor turkeys got physically and mentally abused before being killed? Turkeys are living, feeling beings. I think most people really don't know this. I hadn't actually interacted with a turkey until a year ago. Turkeys are amazing little creatures, they’re intelligent and loving, and they remind me of dogs and cats. They like to be stroked and scratched. The last time I was with turkeys they were trying to sit in my friends lap, it was the funniest thing. Maybe people don’t appreciate their goodness because of the way they look?

In honor of my rad turkey pals please watch this video before you eat a turkey for Thanksgiving or any other day. Be warned...its graphic. One of these turkeys could have been on your Thanksgiving table.

Pot or Not?

2010-10-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm the type of youngster that goes to a show (for a band) rather than go to a football game. It’s just that I’d much rather go somewhere to get away from my town. I think my buddies would agree that we'd much rather see a show than high school football game.

The first music festival I went to was Coachella.While enjoying some of my favorite bands live, I discovered something that's quite common at concerts, pot. I mean I knew of the drug, but I didn’t know how normal using pot is to so many people.

I've never done the drug and I have mixed feelings about it.I asked many people in my life their opinions of marijuana and I got some excellent response!

Is pot a substitute for reality?

Is that what we've come to? Having to depend on a drug to make oneself happy? Pot, pot! Come and grab it! It’s magic! I envision a ton of ex-miserable people advertising pot. Smoke pot and you become happy and serene because when you're not high, life just isn't very enjoyable. Maybe since magic doesn't exist humans depend on drugs to make it seem as if it does. Is the world is a boring place if you aren't on some mind altering substance?

Its the on going trend.

It seems more and more people basically approve of pot. Though it’s been around forever, it seems to be a ginormous trend. There are people encouraging kids (well, teens) to chill with their friends and smoke weed and listen to music. Are the kids who never try it their entire lives going to regret it? Are the kids who do try it going to experiment with far worse drugs and mess up their whole lives? Does the way a kid is raised effect their decision making?

Childhood

I've definitely noticed that kids with sheltered lives are often the ones who start smoking pot or experimenting with other drugs and alcohol. When a parent tries to enforce too many rules and restrictions does a kid just want to get out out and do all the things they're not supposed to?

My parents are not the restrictive type. I've been able to go to music festivals, watch R rated movies, participate in animal and human rights activism. We explore interesting parts of CA and have come across an amazing array of people. They've shown me how other people live their lives and it's made me feel lucky and thankful to be where I am today. I don't feel the need to experiment with crazy drugs or go out and party all night. I feel the way I've been raised has helped me make that decision. I'd much rather be baking, but you guys know that.

My point is...I think kids who have extremely sheltered lives tend to rebel into pot smokers. Kids who haven't been so sheltered have more of a feel of the real world and aren’t as inclined to use pot.

I asked many people in my life their opinions of marijuana and I got some excellent response!

A Health Teacher's View

It was refreshing to get a health teacher's point of view on marijuana. It was kind of like hearing our bodies speak up about this stuff.

"Marijuana does not serve a purpose to society. The fact that marijuana forces you to release more endorphins to try and feel better is a concern. The more you use, the harder it is to release your endorphins. Marijuana is not harmless in any dose. If you use marijuana it slows you down which affects the cerebellum of the brain. It takes up to 4 days for marijuana to leave the body. One of the largest reasons not use marijuana is the fact that it alters brain cell function. Marijuana heightens a person’s senses due to the fact the brain can’t remember (it gives it a sense of new information). It also has more carcinogens then cigarettes. Teens have no business using marijuana due to the fact that their brains are starting to grow. Since the brain is a chemical factory it is always seeking balance, therefore if a teen is using marijuana the brain can’t balance itself."

When I asked the health teacher if alcohol or pot is better for you:
"Neither is better for you. "

Alcohol vs. Marijuana

Lots of people who responded to me pointed out another awesome point. Alcohol vs. Marijuana. Many said that alcohol leads to violence while pot makes you chill. I kind of agree with this. The people I've encountered who are "stoned" don't seem so as worked up as people who are drunk. However, if you’re smoking marijuana consistently for years it seems you don’t grow as a person. Maybe just a goony, immature version of what would’ve been you as an adult.
"Alcohol makes people out of control and depressing. Marijuana makes people pacifist, while alcohol has the tendency to involve violence. When did you ever hear somebody stoned hurting his wife and children?" I kind of agree with this person, you don't hear about domestic violence when people are stoned, you usually hear there's alcohol involved.

Undiscovered consequences?

So is this drug as fun and harmless as it seems? As my health teacher says, "marijuana has more carcinogens in it than tobacco." It increases the risk to get cancer. For all we know, there could be tons of negative effects from marijuana that we don’t know of."

A smart 14 year old I know says "I believe the negative effects haven’t been discovered yet, but exist. They have to logically, since you are putting unnatural chemicals into your body, messing with your nerves and brain."’

Troubled Childhood

The most interesting opinions I got on this topic were from people whose parents were druggies and alcoholics or people who actually did marijuana themselves for several years. It would suck to come home to a house without either parent in their regular state of mind.

"I'm middle-aged and I grew up with parents who were addicts. Drug use is not a victimless crime by any means. Kids/families are victims. It doesn't matter whether a drug is "legal" or "illegal." At least it doesn't matter to a kid." This person is someone I look up to and was surprised to know she grew up in that environment.

My friend who is now working on her PhD dissertation says "I am very glad on an individual level that I no longer smoke pot. I think it complicated my life, wasted my money and made me a less effective person.’

Yes on Prop 19?

Would we be making money off legalizing marijuana if we tax the hell out of it? Maybe not necessarily making money, but saving money by not jailing a ton of stoners.

"The US government could tax pot and make money off of it. However, I believe that they make more money off of not legalizing it. If marijuana was legal, Mexico would have a viable tradable commodity in the U.S. and this would be a problem for the government. The U.S. benefits off of Mexico's poverty. As much as we say we don't like illegal immigrants, they are the backbone of cheap labor in this country- and the government knows it and does not want to pay fair wages. It is also perceived as worrisome for the U.S. to be bordered by an economically viable country. The US government has a vested interest in keeping Mexico in poverty and in my opinion the US has consistently done immoral, questionable and nonsensical things to maintain our economic privilege over them." Again, my off the chart intelligent PhD pal.

No on Prop 19?

Before I personally make a definite opinion on Prop 19 (the legalization of marijuana) here in California, I think there needs to be more research. And I mean research on human beings who use the drug consistently. If the law passed, how will you keep people like preschool teachers or bus drivers from smoking pot on the job? That freaks me out. They aren't supposed to be drinking and doing their jobs, I'd prefer they not be stoned also. Another thought...where does the marijuana one gets come from? The person growing it could be putting so many dangerous chemicals into it that you don’t know of. I guess this is just when smoking it at your own risk comes in. So why not legalize it? The government obviously doesn’t care what we put into our bodies since mainly corporations own food labels. Are corporations going to jump on the pot bandwagon? If theres money involved...you bet your sweet patooty.

"Legalize, regulate, and tax." I'm not so sure about that.

So in the end, should marijuana be legalized? I think not. I see a potential poop storm. There are just too many different things that can go wrong and too many greedy people who will make it all about the money.

Lady Gaga Wears Meat.

2010-09-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

Vogue covers will be lining the newspaper stands in Japan debuting Lady Gaga in a meat bikini. I was in horror when I heard the news, but after I thought it out a while it made sense. Especially on the Vogue cover.
Vogue's known for its couture fashion articles and interviews with quite glamorous stars. It’s also known for using a ton of fur (especially American Vogue because you know how much Anna Wintour loves the animals). I don't get why they still use that horrid piece of clothing because fur looks so dated and disgusting. It has never occurred to me that fur is glamorous and luxurious, ever since the start if freaked me out to even feel a fur coat which once belonged to a precious animal. Also, fur is defiantely not worth the thousands of dollars you pay for it. Unless you want to contribute to thousands of animals getting skinned alive and killed in awful ways, or just left to bleed to death. It must be such a nice feeling to put on your $12,000 coat just for status knowing that multiple animals suffered greatly for it. Yeah I’m talking to you, Rachel Zoe. Gross.

On another note, if you think about it, wearing meat is just as gross as wearing leather or fur. Animals were killed, tortured, and depressed in the process for those, too. So why do we react so badly to this?
I think my reaction was negative because she not only used murdered animal flesh for the cover of vogue, but also as an outfit at the VMA’S. The outfit screamed attention whore. I also found it extremely disrespectful that she wore it on the Ellen Show since Ellen DeGeneres is a vegan. Ellen , of course, asked Gaga for her explanation of wearing this disgusting gown and it was,” If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat!” She also said something along the lines of,” I totally respect vegans and vegetarians. I don’t judge.” You might not judge but you certainly offend.

She also did this for gay rights (which I'm for) but I don’t get how yeah you’re for gay rights but you’re going to advertise it in a murdered creature’s flesh that had no rights whatsoever? How about rights for all living beings, Lady Gaga? This gal obviously didn’t think this stunt through.

I hope somehow this brings attention to the cause of animal rights.

Eating Our Way Through San Francisco

2010-08-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

One thing about me is that I live in the suburbs. My town is kinda boring, sports oriented (i'm not so sporty), and small. What we kids do here, if we're not on a sports team, is walk and walk and walk, kind of like taking advantage of living in such a small place. Whenever I have a chance to get of the suburbs I jump at it, but we normally go to Los Angeles. About a week ago we just felt the need to get out of Southern California altogether and take a semi long road trip to San Francisco which I hadn't been to since I was just a little baby. I don't think we could've gone to a better place to visit and explore.

On the way there I was really excited to see a couple of signs for this vegan Indian food restaurant slapped in the middle of nowhere. We didn't get a chance to try it as we were saving all the room in our bellies for San Francisco vegan grub.

When we arrived in San Francisco we checked in to our hotel and immediately drove off to Ike's Place to try their vegan sandwiches. Once we got there we discovered a huge line outside but shrugged and decided it was probably worth it. Forty minutes later we make it to the front of the line and order when we hear the sad news," Oh, we're out of vegan cheese." Like we did with the line we shrugged and ordered anyways. The staff were really funny and friendly and very dedicated to Ike's. About twenty minutes later, we got our sammies and dug in. Mine, a Meatless Mike, was deeeelicious and didn't even need soy cheese. My mom got a Vegan Zoe, on the menu its called,' ( Favorite Sesame Street character)' which was rad. She says its one of the best vegan sandwiches she's ever had and didn't miss the soy cheese one bit. The line was indeed worth it because Ik'e Place was impressive.

After having full bellies we wandered off to the Haight which I basically haighted. I don't know what it was, I've been to areas similar to Haight Ashbury but didn't dislike them as much. Maybe it was because I was super thirsty or something. It could have been the amount of homeless dogs we saw but, most of the dogs looked in better health than their owners. We went into a few shops and bought a couple of things. The highlight of Haight was seeing a homeless vegan man who was in need of some hemp milk which is pricey so we gave him a buck. I did like the funkiness of Haight Ashbury.

Somehow we were able to manage getting hungry a few hours after our sandwiches and decided on going to Herbivore since it was just a couple blocks away from our hotel. The menu was very impressive, it took me awhile to figure out what I wanted. My mom actually asked our waitress what she suggested and went with the Shawarma and LOVED it. I went with the ravioli since it I hadn't had a vegan ravioli before that. I can't say I loved it. The creamy marinara sauce was delicious, but flooded the bowl making the dish almost like ravioli soup. There were only a few raviolis themselves which were tasty, but I could mainly taste the sauce. It came with a side of garlic bread which I thought was decent, nothing that I haven't had before, but it is just garlic bread. Overall my dinner was just okay.

The next day we went to Herbivore again to try their breakfast menu since it was so close to our little hotel. I ordered the savory crepes and my mother ordered the pesto tofu scramble. The crepes were very satisfying and they came with a side of potatos. Oh.My.Lord. I have never tasted any potatos that good in my life. I don't know what they do to make them so freaking good but I want to know. The pesto tofu scramble was different and something we've never tried and thought it was pretty good. I'd give that breakfast an 9/10.

After breakfast we walked ALL OVER the place. We walked to the Haight, down through the ternderloin to downtown back up to Divisadero and then down to the Mission and Bernal Heights. After thrift shopping and exploring we ended up at Gracias Madre for dinner. I think that was my favorite restaurant in San Francisco. You get this city vibe when you walk in with all the people. All the wait staff were super friendly! I got lemonade there which is possibly the best lemondae I've ever had. I ordered the Enchiladas con Mole Poblano, and wowzah. I haven't had that great of Mexican food in a long time. The beans tasted like those beans that you would get at a regular mexican restaurant full of lard (which you didn't know about until you become vegan). The enchiladas defintely hit the spot, so flavorful and spicy that you have to have a tall glass of water next to the food. My mom got tacos which you get 3 choices of different flavors. She got the Hongos (mushroom and garlic), Rajas ( pablono chile strips with onion), and Platanos. (grilled plantains) My mom raved about the Rajas but didn't like the Platanos since it tasted like banana on a taco. Besides that I would SO give this place a 10/10 for the service, food, and vibes.

Our last day we started off at Herbivore, again, since we could just walk there. That was probably the worst restaurant experience we had in San Francisco. We arrived as soon as they opened. The woman who was working was running late and looked stressed. We walked in and took a seat. From the beginning she wasn't friendly. Since I had a sweet tooth I got the dessert crepes and my mamma got the sausage biscuit. When I took a bite of my crepes with the creme they serve it with which was rather runny I got this very bitter taste in my mouth. So I tasted the crepe, then tasted the creme and figured out it was the creme. I have no clue how it got so bitter and tylenol-tasting but I sent it back. Again, the woman seemed really annoyed. I ordered sourdough french toast in replacement of the crepes and that was so much better. Capably, the best vegan french toast I've ever had. The sausage biscuit my mom had was yummy! Very good comfort food and extra delicious with the gravy on it. It came with a side of those heavenly potatos. I tried them with some gravy and that was to die for. So I think the food ( for me the 2nd round of food) made up for the bad service. We read about Herbivore being hit or miss, our experience was mostly hit with a bit of miss.

Once we were all packed up with our luggage we walked around Chinatown before heading to Berkeley. Hands down the worst experience of San Francisco was Chinatown. I could deal with all the people but couldn't deal with the dead birds hanging upside down with there heads still on on display. So sad. Then it just got worse. As we were walking back to our car there were live pigeons in a box so tightly compacted, it was heartbreaking to see. Who knows what torture they go through when people buy them for food. I had had it in Chinatown, so we thankfully headed to a more sane Berkeley.

Berkeley was a nice balance with San Francisco. The people were a little more friendly and it was defintely more mellow. We walked around a bit and went to Cinnaholic. Okay, if I could live on a deserted island with Herbivore's potatoes, Cinnaholic's cinnamon buns, and Gracias Madre's food and lemonade altogether I'd be the happiest girl in the universe. My cinnamon bun was half strawberry half cream soda topped with marshmallows and strawberries. I'm drooling just thinking of it, those things are amazing. I would make a 6 hour roadtrip out to Berkeley just for those babies. Mom got one of there specials which was a banana nut cinnamon roll and she loved hers she as much ad I loved mine. We are officially Cinnaholics. Before I go crazy I must stop talking about Cinnaholic's cinnamon buns.

We roamed around Berkeley and did some vintage clothes shopping. Before hitting the road back home we stopped and ate at an Indian restaurant, House of Curries. The guy working there was extremely helpful with what vegan curries they had. He pointed out the one's that aren't vegan and left us with alot of options. We got yellow lentil curry with potatoes and a mixed vegetable curry. Both were amazing and exactly what we wanted. It was nice to sit down, relax, eat and watch Berkeley during the day.

We had an amazing time in San Francisco/ Berkeley and it was so nice to get out of the usual! I cannot wait to go back.... and go to college there.......

Joaquin Pastor Interview

2010-08-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to meet the star of Bold Native, Joaquin Pastor. Even cooler than that I had the opportunity to interview him. He likes Radiohead ( and other really great bands), did the music for Bold Native, AND, did an amazing job playing 'Charlie'. I didn't mention that he's very sweet, quite hilarious, and is working on his newest project, Masks. Sounds like a rad actor/musician, huh? Yeah.

Where’d you grow up in, what was it like?
I grew up in Highland Park until I moved to Santa Cruz. I was in LA til I was 9 and a half or 10.I actually moved out of LA one night, or shortly after. There was this evening; I was sleeping between my parents as I would sometimes do. I was crying in the middle of the night and my mom wakes up and she’s like,” Honey, why are you crying?” And I was dealing with the fear of: If the bullet comes through the window and I’m sitting on the outside I’ll get shot first. But if you’re on the outside you’ll get shot first. And that was kind of the end of my mom wanting to live in Highland Park where there was gang activity on our block frequently. Then we moved up north and it was pitch perfect. Kind of like sim city world in Santa Cruz, California. And then I came back here (Los Angeles) for school.

What school did you go to?

UCLA. For theatre, for directing and acting.

Do you still play in a band, if so what’s it called?

I just started a project called Masks, nothing is out yet. It’ll be a few months before I play a proper show. I’m very excited about the personnel. It’s difficult to get band members in place and people that your happy with and I trust everyone in the group so it’s a good thing.

So you basically became vegan because of Bold Native, but what made you become vegetarian?

I became vegetarian the night that I saw The Inconvenient Truth primarily because when the credits rolled they suggested all these things you can do for the environment but eating less meat was not one of them. And it totally upset me that it was not part of the national dialog even though it’s by far the most impactful thing you can do to create a greener earth. So that pissed me off enough to go vegetarian and it took some time after that to become vegan.

What are your favorite bands?

In no order of importance, Of Montreal, Radiohead, Portishead, Talking Heads, all the head bands . Jeff Buckley, James Brown, Ratatat, I think the new Crystal Castles album is really great. It’s endless, there’s so much good music out there and thank god it’s that easy to make and easy to listen to.

What’s your favorite food?

Burritos. Burritos were my favorite non-vegan food too. And it’s transferred to being a vegan now. I eat a burrito just about everyday.

What inspired you to play music?

I've been, and am continually, inspired by my friends. Most of my
friends are artists of some kind and watching them create beautiful
things out of thin air still seems like magic to me.

Do you play any instruments, if so, how did you learn to play them?

My main instruments are guitar and voice. I'm starting to claim I play
piano too, albeit like a toddler on a unicycle. Learning to sing was
easily the most annoying process my family could have imagined. I
didn't take lessons or anything and for years. I was more interested in
the extreme sounds my voice could make as opposed to beautiful tones.
I would 'caah' like a rooster for hours on end until my dad would yell
at me - rightfully so. One time, on a road trip to Downieville with my
sister and mom, I spoke in a robot voice the entire 6 hour car ride.
(In full robot voice,) I'd feign having no idea what they were talking
about when they would beg me to stop. The day after we got there I
came down with pink eye and strep throat at the same time. It was
instant Karma.

What was your fist acting gig?

I was a salmon in Coho the Salmon. This the kind of play you do when
you grow up in Santa Cruz. I suppose my first proper film/TV gig was
an episode of "Californication". I played Dave the guitar teacher and
taught music lessons to David Duchovny's daughter on the show. It was
a surprisingly relaxed set.

What genre is Masks?

The pretentious but true answer would be: yet to be determined. We
actually don't yet have a full set of material on its feet. I imagine
it will take a lot of cues from art rock but we'll also be stealing
from hip-hop, soul, electronica, funk, and jazz. I hope this project
will be more rhythmic than anything I've ever done.

Thanks for taking the time to answer all of my questions, Joaquin!

Bold Native has another Los Angeles premiere TONIGHT (8/12), at Sunset 5! So come, come, come if you haven't seen this powerful movie yet!

Peter Young Interview

2010-07-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

Peter Young is an animal activist who liberated at least 8,000 minks and fox from 6 fur farms in South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. As you all know, there isn't always happy endings with animal liberation. After nearly a decade of being wanted by the FBI he was arrested in March of 2005. He was charged with "Extortion by Interfering with Interstate Commerce", and "Animal Enterprise Terrorism". About 2 years later he was released from prison and to this day is watched by the FBI under a microscope. Being an animal activist (not liberator, I'm only 13), this story triggered my interest and I couldn't wait to meet him at the Skin Trade premiere. But it got even better for me, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview him at the Bold Native premiere. This is my first interview on my blog, I couldn't have asked for a more interesting and gracious person to start with!

What was your home life like growing up?

My home life I would describe as middle class. My parents were together until I was 9 or 10 years old. So there was a divorce. I was raised In Silicon Valley in Los Gatos just outside of San Jose, so it was fairly normal. My parents got divorced and I think divorces are always hard on kids. But in retrospect, I don't think my childhood was nearly as bad as I thought it was at the time.

I know that you were inspired by vegan straight edge bands in the 90's what kind of bands do you listen to now?

I heard someone recently say that you spend the rest of your life listening to bands that you listened to during the ages of 15 and 22 and I'd say that's pretty true. The music that moves me the most is the music during my formative years especially as an activist. So the music I listen to now is largely the music from the 90's. But there's some bands coming out today that are still recording that are very inspirational. Earth Crisis has put out a new album; I've always respected them, bands like Heaven Shall Burn, and Parasitic Skies. So by in large I would say not much has changed. I'm also real fond of early 80's hip hop. (Around 1979-1983)

Do you have any brothers or sisters, if so are they vegan?

My sister, I have not seen my sister in 12 years, she's two years younger than me. Between my fugitive status, and her living with my mom when I lived with my dad, our different living situations, my prison sentence, and her having moved to Europe when I got out of prison - it all resulted in me not seeing her in a long time. She is a very ,very conservative person, but strangely enough, so I'm told by my mom, that she's mostly vegan and has been since I think, she might dispute this, but since I've influenced her to be vegan way ,way back when she was 15. I don't think she's as strict as maybe we are, but by in large she's vegetarian and mostly vegan I'm told.

After being on the run for 7 years you stole CD's (or so I'm told) right in front of a cop. Why'd you do this, were you just done, or were they really awesome cd's?

That's the toughest question I've ever gotten from anybody, even an ambush journalist. I, well.... I would challenge the presupposition that I actually was stealing cd's. The whole situation surrounding my arrest, the circumstances were very, very strange. I was guilty of nothing more than moving a couple cd's across the room. I never left the Starbucks, had no intention to steal them, and didn't conceal them, so what you really had was a police officer thinking that I looked suspicious. To this day I'm not really sure what sparked his interest, but my approach to dealing with police is to not speak with them. So I provided him with a name, an identification card, but at that point I refused to talk to him. And I think that really I was arrested for belligerence against a police officer because I stone- walled him and said I'm not going to talk to you. I don't talk to police and I think they wanted to get me into custody to sort of figure out what was going on because when people don't talk to police they assume that you have something to hide. Which I did, so it was accurate in this situation. So they booked me into jail under shoplifting charges but I really think it was just a pretext to get me into custody. They ran my prints and that's what led to them discovering who I am. And the cd's were Ray Charles and no, I don't like Ray Charles.

Do you think in future generations' fur farms will get closed down, and what about factory farms?

Well at this point the fur industry is very, very small. You have about 270 mink farms left and only a few dozen fur farms breeding species like foxes and lynx so it's very ,very small. The end is definitely foreseeable. This is an industry that we can definitely shut down in our lifetime, absolutely. Its very, very winnable and I think that's why the I chose the fur industry ( to liberate the animals) and why I continued to focus in large part, not in whole , but much more far on the fur industry because I think it's very winnable. So the fur farms will continue to fall. The trend now is consolidation, where you have the smaller farms going out of business and the big farms getting bigger. So you know, yes fur farms will get closed down. Unfortunately the number of animals killed every year has remained very stable but it's good in the sense that you have less numbers of farms to take out. (Food animal) factory farms I think at this stage, no, the industry is so huge we need to get people to become vegan.

What do you think of Bold Native? (Casey Suchan, one of the filmmakers, was recording this when I asked this. But I completely agree with everything he had to say about this film.)

I'm somebody who does not watch films. I'm very rarely moved by films. I'm one of those strange people who are very rarely stirred by films but I think Bold Native is incredible; it's the kind of movie that makes me want to reconsider my opinion about movies. Honestly I can't tell you how many times I've had somebody say," Hey, you have to watch this movie." And they sit me down and I watch it and I'm just not stirred at all. But Bold Native, it really reminds me of a lot of personal experience and conversations I've had. I had a friend pull me aside earlier this week and say," I have totally forgotten that passion that I used to feel." Bold Native seems to stir that in people, so you can't ask anything more in a film.

What was the deciding factor for you in becoming vegan?

There are a couple of milemarkers that I can say, but I remember catching a glimpse of slaughterhouse footage as I was flipping through stations on public access. Someone had reserved a block of time and threw a tape in the VCR of slaughterhouse footage and I caught a glimpse of it, not even 5 seconds and I have never forgotten it. So combine that, that visual image, and a lot of the messages I was getting from hardcore punk bands at the time and supplemental reading from books like Diet For A New America. I think that the moment I became vegan was when I heard a story on the news about a study that just came out, this is a mainstream news source, that concluded that you reduce your cancer risk across the board by 50% by being vegetarian and my dad was in the car and that was sort of the "in" I was waiting for since he provided all my food since I was in high school. I didn't know how to bring it up with him so I was like," You know what, do you hear that? I don't want to eat this anymore." And he was like," Alright, tell me what to buy." So that was it, the news story was what pushed me over the edge.

What did your parents think of you liberating animals?

My parents neither overtly support nor condemn my actions. I would best characterize my animal liberation activities in my family as "unmentionable". I am perhaps fortunate my parents are gernally not very opinionated. If they were, we might find serious conflict when I visit because I will never express remorse for those actions.

I want to thank Peter for taking the time to answer a 13 year old's questions for her blog. It means alot.

Listen Up!!

2010-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Now that I have posted a passionate post I feel the need to post something light and easy to read.... Or light and easy to listen to. I LOVE music, I'd be a sad, little thirteen year old without it. Not because I'm some "indie" or "hipster" kid, but I love indie music. SO, I'm posting 'In Ruins' by Fol Chen. And hey, while I'm at it I'll post one of the cutest, folky type songs that I've loved for over a year now, 'Home' by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Speaking of...Soon I'll have a few interviews including Nora Kirkpatrick who plays the accordian and does vocals for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and happens to be a vegan. Who here has seen Bold Native yet? Amazing, right? Also, one of my next couple of posts will be Bold Native merch givaways!

Fol Chen- In Ruins

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros- Home

2010-06-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Without vegan ism or even being a vegetarian, I have to admit, my life would be DULL. I wouldn't have that feeling of being "re-energized" after talking to an intelligent vegan. I wouldn't have the feeling of being free, free from the torture and murder of innocent animals just for me to eat. If I wasn't vegan, my daily life would include the following: Wake up, enjoy cooking some scrambled chicken periods, or what they call "eggs", dead pig, or "bacon", and maybe some toast, preferably that junky white bread. I would slab some cow rape goo, or "butter" on there also, delicious..NOT.

Now, for the non-vegan readers I have, this post is really not meant to upset you, it's meant to inform you. What does it take? Meaning, what does it take for you to become vegan? I sound very desperate, but I listed all of these breakfast items as the truth. Are you thinking about these animals when you're eating away their lives? What's the magic potion for people to become vegan?

When I look back at it, I made the decision to become vegan because of encouragement from family and a photo of a scared cow going to slaughter (the one above), and I felt, even being a vegetarian, I was supporting that.

Most people aren't just going to become vegan because they want to, most everyone has an important reason, usually ethical. Without these reasons, we wouldn't know that we were actually doing the right things. There are also health excuses that people come up with..." Where do you get you're protein and calcium?" By no means is that an annoying question, I mean if you're raised in America looking at all of these Got Milk? adds and California Happy Cows of course no one's going to question these campaigns unless you research the backrounds of these "happy" cows. There defintely aren't ads for greens, like kale, saying I'm a great source of calcium AND protein! That's what gets me irritated, that there are so many things besides animal derived crap that have all the nutrients you need.

Every vegan has some non vegan friends who they'll educate when asked about veganism. Some will tell them the horrid facts (me, for example) and then they'll nod and not say anything and then just have an animal carcass meal (not all,but most). In my opinion,I think you need to see the truthful photos, and the big meat/dairy consumers need to see the videos. Yes, giving a friend a passionate speech will help, but not as much. For all you know, this person could just be nodding and thinking about a completely different topic. Most Americans don't see the graphics of what their eating, you know, ignorance is bliss. I don't think its very blissful to be eating the one thing an animal had, its life. You just can't hide that.

If you truly love animals, its simple, don't eat them. You may not have killed them, but you're supporting the heartless people and corporations who did. The number one excuse not to become a vegetarian, let alone vegan is that it's "too hard". Think about it,just so you can enjoy your sour cream a dairy cow is impregnated on a rape rack just to have her baby dragged away from her right after birth. (The baby will probably become somebody's veal meal.) Just so you can eat your meat, innocent animals are slaughtered by the minute. When you're biting into your egg period omelette, is it nice knowing that that chicken who was supposedly "free range". Last time I checked, free range wasn't being crowded into a 1 window shed, or being in a tiny cage with 10 other hens. Oh and "vegetarian eggs"...are they really vegetarian? Male chicks are thrown into a grinder alive, or just thrown in a trash bag and left to suffocate(because they can't produce eggs). I hope you can answer my question now: WHAT DOES IT TAKE? Get over yourself, you'll feel much better.

Bold Native

2010-06-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for a film like Bold Native for a while now. And let me tell ya, its everything and more than I expected! It'll change a meat eater into a vegetarian,even vegan! This movie made me passionate about animal rights and I feel like I just want to get up and protest, and Joaquin, who played Charlie, wasn't so hard to look at :). Bold Native was just a great movie, period. Then on top of that, it was a great animal liberation movie. The actors were all fenominal and shined in their own ways. I loved the humor in this film that balanced out the dramatic videos of animal cruelty. Oh, and the music.... Amazing!! Each song fit the scenes perfectly! Everyone needs to see this film because it'll change the way you look at your eggs, meat, and dairy and animal activists. (No,believe it or not, their not terroists! :)) So get out there and support this amazing film made by these wonderful people!

Peta2!!!!

2010-06-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

Today, is a VERY exciting day for me! One of the nicest vegans I know, Sunny, interviewed about why I'm vegan,and my baking and put it on Peta2 since she's the blog coordinater. She did a wonderful job and I absolutely loved the questions she asked. I love the website, Peta2, and to be on it is such an honor! Check it out, all you out there!

New Name

2010-06-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Although I have some followers, I've decided to change my blogs name to Clara In Veganland. You can now find me at clarainveganland.blogspot.com

Love you!

Skin Trade Premiere

2010-06-11T19:21:00.001-07:00

Last night, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Skin Trade premiere. I have to admit, I didn't watch the movie. My Mom thinks some of the scenes, although important, are too brutal for me to watch. I know exactly what's on it, I think I'll watch it within the next year, I might be able to handle it more and not let it get to me so emotionally. I love movies and documentaries like this because they make you more angry and passionate about animal rights. We're so fortunate to have a documentary like this. It doesn't sugar coat anything! It gives you the bloody details (literally). If you know someone who wears fur or even fake fur you NEED to have them watch this and they'll get rid of the dead animal 'fashion' right away!

The highlight of my night HAD to be meeting and talking to Peter Young who is just amazing and inspirational. He is an animal rights activist , who saved AT LEAST 8,000minks from 6 various fur farms. Not only did he do that, but he shut down 2 fur farms. Young was charged with "Extortion by Interfering with Interstate Commerce", and two charges of "Animal Enterprise Terrorism." (Oh please, he's as much as a terroist as Anna Wintour is an animal lover) He was in jail for two years, until FINALLY being released. To this day the FBI is still following him. Peter was really nice to talk to, he had a ton of people around him but he made time to talk to me which meant alot!

Also, I loved talking to my mom and I's friend, Casey Suchan, the Bold Native producer/editor. She's one of the nicest people I know and she really pays attention to what you have to say. I'm SO excited to see Bold Native! We are going to the premiere next week and can't wait to tell you all how awesome it is!

P.S. Be on the look out for Bold Native t-shirt and other goodies givaways!

Vegan Bake Off

2010-06-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I did a vegan bake off/sale which was a blast! Everyone there was super friendly, but what vegans aren't? I made three things: Lemon Pow, Pimpin' Neapolitans,and Mint Chocolate cupcakes. The lemon pows were acting up, I made 3 batches until they FINALLY came out of the bundt pan without breaking. The Mint Chocolates were just simple and easy, as usual! And the Pimpin' Neapolitans were a complete last-minute idea and they turned out wonderful and original. I met some great people at this Bake Sale/Off and all the proceeds went to Compassion Over Killing. I put each of my baked goods aside and soon enough some of my stuff sold out which made me really happy! So later on, it was time for the judges to test out all the baked goods that were brought. After they were done we waited about an hour and I was so anxious! Then, about 15 minutes before we left they finally announced who won... on camera! I must say I wasn't exactly prepared for being on camera as my hair wasn't done and I just threw on some eh clothes! But they announced the 3rd and 2nd place winners ( who happended to be friends of mine) and then the final winner.... Pimpin' Neapolitans! By that time I was so energized my mind was going a mile and minute! I got some awesome prizes, and met some amazing people. What made me feel even better was that they didn't just give me 1st place because I'm thirteen and all, but they gave it to me because of my idea and the result! That was a great day!

Coachella!!!

2010-04-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

When I saw the lineup for Coachella (curtsey to perezhilton.com) I was in aw. I mean pratically all of my favorite bands were on that list!! I thought that I most likely wouldn't be able to go, but I guess I thought wrong. The only catch when we decided on going for my 13th birthday was that ALL the hotel rooms were reserved. I honestly don't know how, but we found a room making Coachella official since we didn't want to camp out with all the high hipsters. I had never been on a vacation before, I mean my grandmas house in Arizona, but thats about it. Coachella is not what a typical vactaion is. Its more of a music heaven and you can't really believe what's going on. Maybe this is so, or at least for me, since I was inhaling all the pot and cigarette people were smoking. The first day we got an early start and drove out to Indio, CA. We checked in and went to Indio's AMAZING Super Target that has pretty much a market inside. Then when it was about the time to get to Coachella we saw this looooooooooooong line of cars. All to get into the music and arts festival. About 2 hours later we were parked and standing in a even slower line just to get our wristband and then get our purses checked. Boy did we learn a lesson to come EARLY because we missed out on a few bands we really wanted to see like Yeasayer and Sleigh Bells. Once we got in I scrambled to find Yeasayer but I just heard the last second of their last song. We were pretty tired and hungry so we sat on the grass eating some delicious vegan raw food. That long line wristband was worth it when we got to see Grizzly Bear. One of the highlights of Coachella was seeing David Grohl in person with his wife watching She and Him play like a normal person. The next day was possibly my favorite since it wasn't jam packed with bands, so you could take a chill break every couple of hours. My best friend, her friends, and I went to the Outdoor Stage early so we'd get good seats for Edward Sharpe and the magnetic Zeros. And I gotta tell ya that sitting through BORING Temper Trap was well worth it! It was craaaazy though because that crowd did not move a bit after Temper Trap was done. We didn't have any room but when Edward Sharpe was playing I could care less. It was a super cute and fun show they put on!! The one scary thing about watching them was trying to get out when thy were done. We were basically trapped their with no water, burning in the heat, crammed with not alot of breathing room. Thank god that there were four of us saying," We NEED to get through!" So these Austrailian boys chanted," LET THEM THROUGH" and we got lifted up and had to ruuuunnnn through the VIP area. After that I swear I drank a Powerade in like a minute. Later on we watched MGMT which was actually kind of boring....The next day was a really exciting one since Spoon, Thom Yorke, AND Phoenix played all in one night. They were all equally amazing! During the day we watched King Khan and the Shrines and they were THE most entertaining ones there!! Yo Gabba Gabba came on stage and danced with them which was even more entertaining! Later on, after we saw Gorillaz we went night night and dreamt about wonderful Coachella. I saw a lot of really awesome bands and its almost impossible to write about them all but I hope you could feel what its like to go to Coachella!

The bands/artists I watched............

She & Him- Zooey sounds WAY better live

Passion Pit- Pretty good, singer is ADORABLE

Them Crooked Vultures- Super band

Grizzly Bear- Very dreamy and sounded flawless

Echo and the Bunnyman- Relaxing

LCD Soundsystem- F-U-N

Vampire Weekend- Better than I thought! Singers also adorable

Jay Z- Beyonce came on stage, ebtertaining

Fever Ray- So out there!

2nd Day

Frank Turner- Just discovered him right their and then, reeeaaally fun

Portugal the Man- Ughhhhh not my cup of tea

Frightened Rabbit- CANCELED ;(

The Temper Trap- Singer and guitarist or bass player was SUPER grumpy. singer had an ego. Super boring.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros- A DREAM COME TRUE <3

MGMT- Sounded like just a live recording, good though!

Muse- Sounded awesome!

3rd Day

The Middle East- Boring.

The Soft Pack- Cool San Diego dudes

King Khan and the Shrines- FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN

Local Natives- Okay.

Deerhunter- Pretty good

De La Soul- Fun beat

Yo La Tengo - Don't remember!

Jonsi- Cute!! Crazy!!

Spoon- One of my favorites!

Phoenix- Ahhhhh one of my fave bands, I dance and sang the whole time

Pavement- Cool to watch

Thom Yorke- I got into the zone while watching

Gorillaz- Sounded amazing!

Bake Sale

2010-03-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty stoked lately.... I've been having bake sales weekly it seems!! I was asked to bake for a little fundraiser at this cute shop so I went ALL out!! I experimented with different recipes I hadn't tried and this is what I made: Chocolate Peanut Butter cookies, Vanilla Cupcakes with vanilla frosting, Rice Kripsie treats, and Chocolate Cherry Creme Cupcakes. They all turned delicious!! Here are some of my mediocre pictures of them!

Help!

2010-03-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

I feel ike I've been posting so much about baking and food rather than fashion. What's wrong with that? I know its way easier to post about food, for me, but fashion is half of my blog and I feel as if I haven't filled half of that fashion space quite up yet. So I need help!! I've been looking online for runway pictures so I could keep updated on all the shows, but I can't seem to find any resources. If someone could suggest some good sites for new runway pictures you would be my hero!!

Lights! Camera! Fashion!

2010-02-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I've had a post about fashion.... Well Fall 2010 Fashion Week just passed by soI shall state the trends. I've been seeing lots of nice, feminime, tailored pieces that look so put together, which I love! Also, I've been seeing black and white mis-matched pieces that look very graphic and awesome. Just lots of very girly pieces with flowers and sparkles!

Pee Wee Herman Show

2010-02-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

A couple weekends ago I got to see the fantastic live Pee Wee Herman Show! It was super entertaining and the audience had to participate in some parts. The set was awesome, very colorful ( suprise, suprise) and fun! Pee Wee and the cast all seemed very happy and excited to be doing that show. Sadly, it was only a 4 week performance so maybe in another 10 years they'll be back! Anyways, that show was a blast and I'm so happy I got to go!

Bake Sale- V Day

2010-02-16T20:54:00.001-08:00

For Valentine's Day I had a bake sale for one of the farm animal sanctuaries. All the proceeds went to caring for the animals and keeping the place strong. It was honestly a blast for me! You could call me a people person (trust me though, I'm shy also when it comes to making friends!) so it was fun showing all my favorite treats to customers who needed advice on what to get! I brought chocolate with strawberry cupcakes, red velvet with cream cheese frosting cupcakes, brownies, cookies and rice krispie treats. The rice krispie treats were a first for me and kind of an experiment and they turned out successful , everybody loved them! They were super easy and fun! I also got to hang with the pigs before and then the goats after. Afterwards, we went to Subway and got a veggie sandwich which was satisfying after a hard day's work(jk). Then to top that day off I had a sleepover with my two besties! Food, Friends, plus Farm sanctuaries, make my day! xoxo

Bake Sale- Vday

2010-02-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

RIP Alexander McQueen

2010-02-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today there has been a terrible loss in the fashion industry. The fierce, brave, amazing, designer, Alexander McQueen has passed away. I just can't believe it. He was a legend, and he was only 40. McQueen was such an icon of mine because he didn't care what anybody thought. He was bold. I guess he killed himself. Alexander had some terrible losses in his family which probabaly made him pretty depressed. It just proves that you can have all the money, talent, fame, and still not be happy. I'm dressing crazy tomorrow in memorance of him. We'll never forget the fashion legend who had probabaly the most original designs ever.

Bake Sale for Haiti

2010-02-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I brought some baked goods to a fundraiser for Haiti. I made chocolate mint cupcakes that everyone said looked so elegant. I also brought brownies, blueberry muffins, and black velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. This bake sale was like heaven for me. The first thing that caught my eye were the vegan cannolis. I had never had a cannoli vegan or not but boy, those were delicious! I think I've found my favorite treat now. It was so nice being able to choose whatever you'd like to get. We loaded up on treats including: Ding Dong, bacon-peanut butter cookie, fried cupcake on a stick, rice krispie treat, cinnamon roll, chcolate mint cookie, and a root bear cupcake. Mmmm... Don't worry, I didnt eat all of that. That would've made me sick, well I am at home sick today but anyways I split all of that between my brother and mom. I got to meet new bakers/bloggers and just recharge my vegan self which was very nice. Afterwards we went to Veggie Grill where I got the Santa Fe (I think that's what its called) chicken burger and a side of salad and caesar salad dressing. I tried the sweet potato fries that my mom got as I side and the Mac N Cheese my brother got on the side and both were very yummy. Also a waitress came around giving us their new nacho sample. Those were good! The only negative was the price. We thought it'd be ind of affordable, but it was worth it. That Sunday was a great food filled day!

Tal Ronnen

2010-01-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my mother and I went to a dinner/book signing with Tal Ronnen at Follow Your Heart. He made this amazing 3 course dinner and afterwards did book signing. The first course was a Tomato Bisque Soup served with focaccia bread. Wow I could've had the whole pot of that soup! The 2nd course was this Gardein Chicken with this sauce with "lobster" which was very yummy. The 'chicken'was almost scary because it tasted very real. The chicken was served with steamed kale with garlic on it which I really enjoyed. It also came with little potatoes which were just as yummy. Last but not least was the dessert: Date Cake. Mmmmm, but I was so full by this time (not to mention I ate a whole bag of Have'a chips beacuse I was starving!!) I had to take some of the cake home. The best part was getting to meet Tal Ronnen himself!! He's like an idol to me and he was so nice and modest. I wish I could've talked to him more and asked him some questions but there was a line of anxious vegans so that'd be a little hard. (But worth it!) That was the place for star sightings too! We saw one of the authors of Skinny Bitch with Ginnifer Goodwin who's the most cutest thing ever!!!!!! Her hair is sooo adorable! (Its short) We also saw a tattoo artist from LA ink who's not really a star but I guess he's well known haha. Anyways, that dinner was amazing and I'm so glad I went!

Haiti

2010-01-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

Wow. A terrible earthquake hit Haiti over a week ago and they NEED help. I'm doing bake sales to raise money for Haiti. It'll be kind of like an experiment to see how much sell and tell me if I have potential. Please, if you have any spare time do things for Haiti! They need all the help they can get. xoxoxo, Clara

Follow Your Heart

2010-01-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

Is Follow Your Heart not the most home like feeling place for a Vegetarian or Vegan? The food there is sooo good and unlike places in the hip parts of Los Angeles, its not pretentious. I wouldn't suggest the nachos there but I would suggest the Angel Hair Pomodoro. You can get it with pesto which I always get because its so good. The potatos are also really tasty. I suggest the chili potato vegan or not. They've got tons of vegan options so its nice to go somewhere and be able to get pretty much anything. I cannot forgot about the desserts! I always get a slice of chocolate cake. Its amazing, the outer layer is this dark chocolate frosting and the inside has vanilla and chocolate frosting. The picture shows it all. If you live in the valley or near it I highly suggest Follow Your Heart.

babycakes

2010-01-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my mother and I spent our Sunday in L.A.. Thank god!! I needed to get out of our little suburb town. We went to breakfast at Meet Market which is a vegetarian cafe' that has a breakfast (vegan) buffet. We filled ourselves up! I loaded my plate with potatos, cinnamon-ey pancakes, fruit, tempeh bacon, and fake meat. Mmmmm I almost got thirds but I remembered we still had to go to Babycakes which is a vegan bakery that has gluten free items and some things are sweetend with agave syrup. We got 2 brownie bites ( the best thing there), 2 cookie sandwiches which were just okay, the cookie wasn't flavorful. It just tasted like frosting and chocolate chips.We also got a red velvet cupcake which wasn't very impressive. It was very dry and when I was eating it, it felt very thick and heavy.The chocolate cupcake was the same thing. The frosting made most of the items better since most of the things weren't very flavorful. We got a cinnamon donut which we just had for breakfast which was pretty good. The service was very unimpressive. We got these bratty looks thrown at us, no smiles. We bought alot of stuff, they could at least give us good service. I would describe the service as: I'm a vegan hipster and I'm so much better than you. All and all the hype about this place is not worth it. In my opinion they should've worked on there recipes before selling a batch that tasted like a bad batch of my cupcakes. For advice for people in L.A.: Go to the farmers market in Hollywood and get baked goods (vegan) from C'est La Ve!! Way friendlier owners and WAY better food. Goodluck to babycakes, though!

Thanks!

2010-01-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

Thanks soo much for following me Jen and nikinik94. I was soo super happy when I saw that I had 2 more followers! Seriously, you should've seen me!! I was jumping up and down hahaha. Again, thanks. Clara <3

Please Follow!!!

2010-01-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

If you enjoy my blog please follow! I've got one followeer which is myself hahaha. It means sooo much when people actually read my posts and all so please follow. Thanks so super duper much!!

Back To School

2010-01-05T16:08:00.000-08:00

School started yesterday. I was happy to see all my friends but once I get to history class I'm thinking," I'm out of here." Don't worry I would never ditch hahaha. Once I actually get into the routine of things again learning is kind of fun. I mean if you think about it school is such a privilege and your learning 6 subjects a day for free. I guess that's the National Junior Honor Society in me :)))). Anyways, I'll talk about the outfits in my casual school. The typical outfit is a baggy sweatshirt, skinny jeans, converse/vans. I really stand out hahaha..... Some of the girls dress cute but like I said my school is casual. Now that I have school I'll have alot more to blog about.

Sorry

2010-01-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my typos. I just get on these blogging rolls and I forget to edit hahaha. I'll try my best to type and spell better!
xoxoxo,
Clara <3

Saving Up!!!

2010-01-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

I'm saving some of my money for a bakery one day...... My mom and I joked about how I should go on Bank of Hollywood. I'm trying to learn how to sew though

Happy New Year's!!!

2010-01-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's everyone! This New Year proves that I seriously am a true grandma at heart, I was up baking chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting at nine oclock. I gave them to this animal sanctuary I volunteeer at called Animal Acres. But I did stay up!! Anyways, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year's although I'm probably the only one who reads this hahahah.
xoxoxo,
Your 12 year old fashion and baking know it all, Clara

Animal Acres

2010-01-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

Valentino:The Last Emperor

2010-01-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

A couple nights ago I watched a documentary up for awards about Valentino. Its called Valentino: The Last Emperor. It was really well done and it made me have a great respect for the brand because every piece of fabric has so much work put into it. All the gowns are made by hand by the fussy, cool, seamstresses. I thought it was great when Valentino and his partner come in to check on how the gown was going and showed how much they really care about their brand. Its like their baby, it touched me when Valentino was crying when they were selling the company. I can only imagine the pressure and stress. This movie inspired me to become a designer and really just follow my every instinct.

I'm a true grandma at heart

2009-12-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

Shopping

2009-12-31T15:46:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I went shopping since I wanted to spend some of my Christmas money. I went to Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters. I came up with some adorable/affordable outfits. Outfit #1 is a folky country outfit. Maybe something Taylor Swift would wear. The boots and the denim jacket just make the dress pop. Outfit #2 is one of thse outfits you wear on a day where you feel spunky and want to stand out. Whenever I look at this outfit it makes me laugh because its so fun with its bright attention grasping colors ad tye died skinny jeans. The steal were the jeans which were 10 bucks!The splurge was the top and the converse which I already had. Outfit #3 This 50's style dress was a steal at Urban Outfitters! I got it for 10 bucks!! And I had a giftcard which was awesome. The splurge of this outfit was the jacket ($40 at Forever 21)I loove this outfit because you get the sophisticated dress with edgy spin on it. Outfit #4 I got inspiration for this outfit from a similar outfit online I saw. If its warmer that day you could change the sweater and put on a black and white tee shirt. I've got one that has the collar and the end of the sleeves cut out.

First Fashion Post

2009-12-31T15:41:00.000-08:00

To start off my fashion part of the blog I'm going to blog about what inspired me to do this blog.

For Christmas I got the Teen Vogue Handbook, it just came out. Its a fashion book thats a guide to people who want careers in fashion. Perfect for me! So I'm hoping this blog will be my foot-in-the-door.

New Year's Resolution

2009-12-31T15:33:00.000-08:00

Its the time of the year again when everyone wants a healtier new year or to have some big thing improve. Well I could care less about being healthier since my resolution is to make crazy cupcake recipes!! I'm going to make all the fancy cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I'm all pumped for this because I got these frosting tips from my awesome grandma for Christmas. To me, some of the recipes look like a stomachache but I'm on a mission. Oh yeah I've got another goal: I'm saving up dough for a bakery. I also want to learn how to use a sewing machine, but I also have to get one of those. Wish Me Luck!!!!

Black and White Cake

2009-12-31T15:31:00.001-08:00

I made this cake back in the summer and now that I look at the picture of it I think you'll agree that it looked pretty yummy. It was fun to make two different cakes after making boring ones over and over.

Happy 16th Andy!!!

2009-12-31T15:04:00.000-08:00

My brother, Andy, just turned 16. So of course I go all out with baking, almost like I was his grandma or something. The reason I wanted to bake a lot is so all of his friends could try my desserts and see if they liked them. It was a success!! I made chocolate cupcakes with mint frosting topped with shredded Ghiradelli dark chocolate which equals amazing . Boston Cream Pie which was..... wow. Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting which were equally amazing as everything else. Everything was animal free too which is the cherry on top.

Blueberry Muffins

2009-12-31T14:55:00.000-08:00

Mmmm Blueberry Muffins. What better way to start off a blog and a morning? These babies came out perfect! There weren't too many blueberries inside which was great because too many blueberries can be not so good. I got this amazing vegan recipe from http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/03/02/vegan-blueberry-muffins/ . The only thing I would change next time is the amount of lemon zest. Lemon zest is the outer layer of lemons but just the yellow part. It gave the muffins more flavor, but I would've preferred a little less. Just because, I added a little vanilla extract because I thought that would give the muffins a nice balance with the lemon. Overhall that started off my day fabulous!