Consider this: you've just ordered your 6" veggie patty sub on honey oat bread at Subway (yes, I realize I shouldn't be eating at Subway in the first place) and the friendly guy behind the counter asks you if you want him to switch to a new, clean pair of plastic gloves. Veggie gloves, as he calls them. Now, if you've eaten at Subway a few times over the course of your modern, Western life you've probably noticed that the people working there go through plastic gloves like they're going out of style. I understand a certain level of cleanliness in an eating establishment, but is the trade-off really worth it? Until today I was more or less under the impression that they used a new pair of gloves for every sandwich. So, lets create mounds of plastic waste in exchange for a slightly reduced chance of catching a cold from the teenager behind the counter? Maybe the guy behind the counter could just refrain from picking his nose or scratching at his butt crack while he makes me a sandwich. So, after a momentary pause I decided to let him keep his meaty gloves on to make my sandwich. Perhaps if I was a lifelong vegetarian I would've chose differently, but after eight months I'm still not too worried about getting sick off of a few chance specs of meat. Plus, to me the waste far outweighs the taking a chance on an upset stomach.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
If you find yourself in Manchester hit up the Mod Pop Cafe--awesome vegetarian and vegan food, including traditional English breakfast and vegan cupcakes. The menu made me wish I was still hungry, and the cafe is nuzzled in the basement of a 60s and 70s vintage clothing and memorabilia shop which is also pretty cool. It's amazing how good real coffee tastes when you've been drinking nothing but instant Nescafe for two weeks.
Tonight I get to see some old friends in Manchester and go to a giant DJ/bands/crazy dance party. Our driver for both UK Giving Chase tours, the illustrious Martin Ciderspiller, is part of a collective that puts on mostly free parties in the Manchester area. Free usually implies squatted apartment house or old mansion in some shady part of town filled with loud music, crazy people, and lots of drugs. I'll never forget showing up for our first tour here and crashing for several days in squatted apartments in Bolton, just outside Manchester. The laws concerning squatting are very different here, and if a property has been vacant for a certain period of time it's completely possible to occupy it and then even get the utilities turned on, etc. The kids we stayed with then had electricity, heat, even internet! Basically, squatting is legal and it's illegal for the police to force entry to a property that is occupied. So once the owner figures out you're there and the authorities get involved there's a whole civil legal process they have to go through to remove you from the property. As long as you follow The Squatters Handbook (http://www.squatter.org.uk/) you can make it work. I've stayed in similar places in Holland and it's really kind of amazing how it all works.
Anyway, tonight looks looks like a pay at the door, semi-legit version of the warehouse parties Manchester is famous for: four different collectives with DJ's, burlesque performers, bands, and all sorts of other ridiculousness. And luckily, it's only a five minute walk from our hotel.
Tonight I get to see some old friends in Manchester and go to a giant DJ/bands/crazy dance party. Our driver for both UK Giving Chase tours, the illustrious Martin Ciderspiller, is part of a collective that puts on mostly free parties in the Manchester area. Free usually implies squatted apartment house or old mansion in some shady part of town filled with loud music, crazy people, and lots of drugs. I'll never forget showing up for our first tour here and crashing for several days in squatted apartments in Bolton, just outside Manchester. The laws concerning squatting are very different here, and if a property has been vacant for a certain period of time it's completely possible to occupy it and then even get the utilities turned on, etc. The kids we stayed with then had electricity, heat, even internet! Basically, squatting is legal and it's illegal for the police to force entry to a property that is occupied. So once the owner figures out you're there and the authorities get involved there's a whole civil legal process they have to go through to remove you from the property. As long as you follow The Squatters Handbook (http://www.squatter.org.uk/) you can make it work. I've stayed in similar places in Holland and it's really kind of amazing how it all works.
Anyway, tonight looks looks like a pay at the door, semi-legit version of the warehouse parties Manchester is famous for: four different collectives with DJ's, burlesque performers, bands, and all sorts of other ridiculousness. And luckily, it's only a five minute walk from our hotel.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
