they do chickens wrong

I wasn't planning on posting anything today but I saw something shocking in Santolan:

KFC Cruelty

I've heard rumors that KFC wasn't even using real chicken anymore so they had to change their name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC. In a previous post I posted a link to snopes who reported that they changed the name because of the word Kentucky and not chicken.

Apparently, they're not exactly doing anything better than that. Advocates of animal rights, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have launched a campaign against KFC. They have even set up a website where celebrities are helping spread the word. They want people to boycott KFC until KFC improves the conditions of the chickens. They have even managed to spread the word here. Though I only saw one billboard while I drove from Quezon City to Alabang, I'm pretty sure it won't be long before they multiply.

According to the website:

Chickens are probably the most abused animals on the planet. KFC’s breeding birds and all egg-laying hens have their sensitive beaks seared off with hot blades and are crammed into tiny cages with the decomposing remains of other birds. They are bred and drugged to grow so obese, so quickly that their legs can become crippled under their own weight. Hundreds of thousands are left to starve to death, and huge numbers die as a result of long journeys in extreme weather conditions. Basically, any and all abuse is allowable when it comes to chickens, who are, in fact, remarkable animals with distinct personalities and intelligence that, if allowed to develop, is as advanced as that of cats and dogs. Most importantly, they feel pain, just as we do.

Remember The Meatrix? "The lie we tell ourselves about where our food comes from." The flash animation I saw about industrial farming and how it is affecting our environment. Most people probably treat that as a joke because it is a parody of the Matrix but it is also true and should be taken seriously.

I'm not sure if the Philippines have jumped in the Industrial farming bandwagon. I still see a lot of small farms, chickens running around and cows still free to munch on grass during our climbing trips. However, I'm not sure if KFC Philippines imports their chicken meat. I heard from a reliable source that Jollibee imports its meat even if it is a Philippine company so KFC may be doing the same. It's possible but I wouldn't be screaming "Boycott KFC" just yet.

PETA also invites people to become vegetarians. I've eaten in vegetarian restaurants like the one in UP (forgot the name), Bodhi (vegetarian fastfood) and Greens (Tomas Morato Area). I can eat there once in a while but not everyday and last weekend I brought my whole family to eat at Greens and I have to say we didn't have fun being vegetarians for a night. I don't think we can last a lifetime.

i brightened up the image a bit so that the curls will be more noticeable. I wanted a picture of my hair since I rarely get to style it. The earrings were bought by my sister. They're really long and pretty ^_^. 

the church up close. i wasn't able to get a good pic of the altar though.  

lighthouse over the couple's table 

what if?

what if you know when someone is going to die?
you don't know who.
you don't know how.
you don't even know when.
but something happens. you feel something.
then you forget about it.
then a few days later(the longest was a week)
you hear that someone you know just died.
the closer you are to them, the more horrible the fear attack is, the more accurate your feeling becomes.
some days you think its just BS.
maybe it is. though the accuracy, the number of times it has happened, the way it happens without fail, they nag at the back of your mind.
the freakish thing is that the people who die all die unexpectedly.
an accident, a sudden illness.
no warning.
it's not expected.
what if the fear attacks get so bad you can't sleep unless there's a light in your room.
you think, what if it isn't BS and you can tell when people will die?
can you develop it to the point that you'll know who will die, how they will die and when?
would you want to?
and exactly how far can your senses reach?
who's in your network?
relatives? old friends? old teachers?
what if it doesn't work on your family?
what if you don't want it?
what if you'd rather have a normal night where you can sleep instead of finding yourself gripped in a fear so strong and you don't know what's causing it or how to stop it and all you can do is pray it stops.
your flashlights are running out of batteries and you desperately need a night lamp.
you start to hate the feeling of being alone in your room with -- dare i say-- spirits telling you something you can't understand and you just want them to stop.
you realize you felt the same way when you were a child only you found a way to make it stop but now you don't remember how.
finally, if you do realize that you have this gift.
if you would call this a gift,
imagine how bad the wait would be when it happens again and you don't know who will die.
only that someone will die.
and you wonder if it's your turn
will you get any sign?

fan films and my old best friend and how some accidents don't give you second chances.

i was sick friday.
not the i'm-just-mildly-sick-i-can-still-go-to-work-but-didn't-want-to type of sick but the i-cant-even-stand-to get-my-own-medicine type of sick.
it was horrible and i had a very busy weekend planned so i had to get well last friday or suffer going through saturday sick.
i did the latter by the way. my throat felt like it was scraped with a knife.
i also attended che's (neal's sister) wedding last sunday. I was a bridesmaid who took care of the candles. I loved that. more details on that and pics later.
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for those of you who love star wars. aids, paul and a rej's oneal are part of a new fan film called Twilight Jedi. Details are in the website.
Another website I just discovered is suzanne's. She and I exchanged blogs through friendster messages.
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People change. Well, some people change and you can't handle them anymore but there are special people in your life who change but you're still friends.
Suzanne is just like that. We barely saw each other during our high school and college years but we still get along well. I always want to find time to spend with my friends but I'm also a procrastinator like Dawn so I don't usually find the time.
I've started reading her website/blog and i just realized why we were inseperable back in elementary. People who really know us will understand why she was my best friend back then, and why we're still close now.
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i'm sorry for jumping from one topic to the next. i hate it too but I have a lot to do.
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One of my college professors, Doc A, has just died. Details about it are still vague and still in the rumor-level.
He's well known to all ECE students in UP as a terror who has high standards that you can count the number of people who has gotten a 1 in his class with your hands even if he has been teaching for several years now. He's the only professor who (unofficially i think but he always gets it every semester) has his own room in the College of Enginering.
He's a great teacher who either overestimates the abilities of his students or expects them to strive harder. He has a different approach to the subject and he uses his published papers as reference. He wants the students to learn and if you don't understand what he's talking about that's a sign you have forgotten what you should, in theory, already know.
I knew his daughter back in highschool and I was really happy to learn that he still knew me when I took his class in college.
I wanted to be his student again for my any of my masters subjects.
I just really wanted to show him that I could put my heart into studying for his subject unlike what I did before.
Now it's too late.
His wake is now held in the UP chapel. The funeral, if the news I heard is accurate, will be this wednesday. For people who know him, there can be no mistake because there is just one Doc A, please visit.
We've just lost a true legend.

Digital Camera fun

my sister came home with my new digital camera. I'm paying for it slowly hehe so it really is mine.

It's a Sony DSC-W5. Not as nice as my dream Canon EOS camera but it is lightweight and really good. It can be a point and shoot camera for people who don't want to bother with details but it has enough features for me to satisfy my craving for photography. It's also small enough to bring up a mountain and when I buy the waterproof casing, it's great for underwater photography.

I took a picture in my room with the lights closed. The room was so dark I couldn't see anything in the viewscreen but when the pic turned out brightly lit.
I can't wait to try it during the socials or underwater.

The W5 can be equipped with several accessories that are very handy and expensive (most are around 100-200 US dollars) so I'll probably be buying them one at a time ^_^.
Some of the available items are external flash, telephoto lens, polarizing filters, and my personal favorite: underwater casing. The good thing is Sony prices here are almost similar to the US dollar equivalents unlike the Canon cameras and accessories.


watching CSI while playing with my new camera

I've been taking huge pictures ^_^ the camera is currently set at 5MP all the time. Most of my pictures are of my dog of course. Tammy seems to find it strange that we started dressing her up for pics. She always seems to find the right moment to move so the shot will be ruined. I did get some nice pics of her though.

I'll play around with it some more until I get the hang of it. Been taking pics of anything as long as I have the time. I will bring it to neal's sister's wedding. The location and occassion couldn't be more perfect for me to try out its abilities: people are dressed up and the place where they are holding the reception is wonderful.

I'm also a bridesmaid so neal might take most of the church pics. I haven't been a bridesmaid since I had to wear a bright red Maria Clara outfit for my cousin's wedding and my closest friends are making sure I get married before them ( I don't want to get married before them too ) so I'm looking forward to this Sunday.