Deadly Persuasion

I am trying to change the background of my blog...but it is not going smoothly. '

I'm thinking you should check out what Jean Kilbourne has to say about advertising. She's hilarious and will get you thinking. I'm going to use her take on things when we run a Girl Power group in a few months. Go to www.jeankilbourne.com (I'm not fancy enough to be able to make that a link), and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qFENyemgk8



Hmmm...I wonder what this ad is for?

Stick it to the Man

I came across a list of products that are owned by tobacco companies today. Holy cow! The list is from Georgina Lovell's book, You are the Target: Big Tobacco, Lies, Scams-Now the Truth.

Philip Morris’ Non-Tobacco Companies and Brands:
Miller Genuine Draft	Lowenbrau
Miller Lite	Red Dog
Miller High Life	Milwaukee’s Best
Kraft Food Brands (wholly owned by Philip Morris):
DAIRY:
Kraft Macaroni Cheese	Minute Tapioca
Velveeta cheese product	Athenos Cheese
Philadelphia Cream Cheese	Cheez Whiz
Knudsens	Cracker Barrel
Breyers	Sealtest
Kraft Parmesan	Breakstone’s
Kraft Singles	Light N Lively
Kraft Taste of Life
POST Cereals:
Alpha-Bits	Banana Nut Crunch
Grape Nuts	Pebbles
Raisin Bran	Toasties
RJR NABISCO (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco):
Oreo Cookies	Air Crisps
Chips Ahoy!	Wheat Thins
Snackwell’s	Nilla, Nutter Butter
Ritz Crackers	Stella D’Oro
Premium Saltines	Better Cheddars
Nabisco Honey Maid Grahams	Cheese Nips
Triscuit	Toastettes
Newtons	Barnum’s Animal Crackers
LIFESAVERS:
Life Savers	Bubble Yum
Breath Savers	Gummi Savers
Care*Free	Ice Breakers
MISCELLANEOUS:
Minute Rice	Cool Whip
Miracle Whip	Dream Whip
Jell-O	Claussen Pickles
Good Seasons	DiGiorno Italian Sauces
Sure Jell	Calumet Baking Powder
Certo	Shake ‘N Bake
Kool-Aid	Oven Fry
Seven Seas	Altoids
Country Time	Toblerone Chocolate
Taco Bell Home Originals	Stove Top Stuffing
Baker’s Chocolate and other Baking Products
Maxwell House Coffee	Capri Juice Drinks
Sanka	Crystal Light
Yuban Coffee	Bull’s Eye Barbecue Sauce
General Foods International Coffee
Tang
DELI:
Oscar Meyer Products
Louis Rich Products
PLANTERS NUTS etc.:
Roasted Peanuts, Cashews

The beer doesn't surprise me, but pretty much everything else does. Especially because I really like a lot of these things!

Being an ethical consumer is hard work. Everything adds up: Fair Trade food, clothing made ethically, and now companies that are owned by tobacco companies.

Worthy of a smile: Gap jeans are now made ethically in Canada...without a raise in price :)

Love Hurts, Baby

Thought of the day: You cannot have a genuine relationship without conflict.

People (including myself) often shy away from conflict. We see it as a horrible thing that should never happen. If you ask me, however, a healthy amount of conflict is a necessity to have a genuine and authentic relationship. As for the "healthy amount" part, that's up to you.

Even therapy needs to have conflict. A good therapist will establish rapport with the client, and then challenge the client to face uncomfortable and painful truths. Of course all of this is rounded off with followup and a lot of kleenex.

Second thought of the day (I don't have many, obviously): Unconditional love. The beauty of my job is that I get to meet people wherever they are in life. I get to work with people who don't give a rat's ass about changing, and figure out how to best be their counsellor.

It's a long way down

I love birthdays :) I like picking out presents for people (and getting presents), and the way everyone seems to be just a bit (or a lot) immature and silly on their birthday. Suddenly people have an excuse to sing, eat cake, play games, wear funny hats, and act like a little kid again. Of course, in my mind nothing bad is allowed to happen on your birthday either. If it does, you deserve a redo.

I had the most boring day at work today. My boss asked me if I wanted to poke my eyes out with a pencil. I'm in withdrawal from working with crazy kids. Come September though I will have plenty of crazy children to hang out with.

That's all for now. Toodleloo!

From Every Rooftop

After a long hiatus, I am returning to the world of blogging. You're probably wondering why I didn't just return to my old blog...the answer is simple and yet complicated. I am different, still me, but different. Instead of returning to the past, I decided to move forward. I'm a fan of change. Sometimes.

Also, I have many musings I feel the need to share. Such as this one:

What does it mean to be a Christ follower? For me the answer is found in the first chapter of Isaiah.

Say no to wrong.

Learn to do good. Work for justice.

Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless.

Go to bat for the defenseless. Isaiah 1:17

This is what I strive for. Sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I fail miserably. Thankfully God is merciful and forgiving...otherwise I'd be royally screwed.