“I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.” - H.L. Mencken
I just wanted to say, I will be going on vacation until the 23rd. I hope to be updating while I am gone, but I can't predict that yet. I will be in Key West, splashing around in the Gulf of Mexico and thinking about what's next in my world, seeing that I am now unemployed. I am so touched and moved and happy that there has been so much interest surrounding this blog- it has inspired me to take it to the next level, which I plan on doing when I get back. it will be more radical recipes, guerilla and urban gardening, beekeeping, and other sundry adventures in occupying one's self- and then some. You'll see. I'm talkin' Next Level stuff.
I freakin' love the whole process of gardening. From taking the little seeds and nurturing them as they sprout- I love to watch the little baby seedlings grow. I become very fond of them- I kind of love them, truth be told. I think they know it, too. So when they are finally old enough to be planted in the tower, its like a Bar or Bat Mitvah. So exciting that they are old enough to live on their own!
my little babies!
Here are those babies three weeks ago- just a gleam in my eye
Even cooler is when its harvest time, and you are able to make salads and smoothies with the harvest. I have harvested three times now, and its amazing to know you grew what you are eating. This novelty, I know, is lost on old school garden growers. But for me, having been citified for so many years, I lost the relationship with growing food. I thought it was impossible, given that I live in an apartment. And above all, I wasn't interested- as everyone who has read my blogs knows, until recently I wasn't about to eat anything green.
I am invigorated by the movement when it comes to food- from the revolutionary stance, such as I take, to the nutrition freaks, to the vegans who love animals, to those who are concerned for the environment and buy local for that reason (I am one of those, too)- its a full on movement, and its exciting as hell. Like Jamie Oliver, raising so much Cain that McDonalds is going to stop using the ammonia in the McNuggets (they still will be total crap, but better than before), to documentaries about the farming industry revealing the truth about what the FDA is doing to small farmers, to local merchants trying to simply sell raw foods, or raw milk, and the people who want to buy those items (Farmageddon- click here to see movie), to all the facebook postings about Monsanto, and the revived interest in farmer's markets, urban beekeeping and gardening...its amazing! Its...GANGSTA!
Gardening is Gangsta- I told you!
Gardening is GANGSTA- especially when you do it urban style, either in an aeroponic garden tower, or guerilla gangster style- planting food bearing plants in public spaces). Eating healthy is gangsta- just check out THUG KITCHEN ("eat like you give a fuck"). I personally love when there is a saucy dose of irreverence, like PUNK ROCK HOMESTEADING ("Resistance is Fertile"). These earth friendly, body loving practices all comes from the past, but this is the future, its necessary, and its radical, revolutionary, and a movement worth joining.
Thug Kitchen is totally gangsta- love those punx!
If you think you can't grow your own fruit and vegetables because you live in an urban setting- you're wrong. Check out Garden Towers- they have a pretty sweet payment plan.
If you think you can't afford to eat locally or organic- I am doing it, and I raise a family of two teenage girls and 5 animals on one small income, smashed into a two bedroom apartment, and I'm doing it. Trust me, its not as expensive as you think.
I am gonna eat that arugula tomorrow
If you think you can't live without your certain processed foods- go back and read my first blog and keep reading until you catch up to this one- I am you. You are me. I'm on day 4 of no coca cola- the longest I have gone in 34 years without a Coke. I know how hard it is, but I also know what it feels like once you do it. Its like...discovering you were a slave and freeing yourself. Nothing bad about that. You deserve to experience it for yourself.
If you have any other resistance- look at it. The human Ego was designed to resist anything that is truly and deeply good- for you, for your life, and for the planet. The Ego is like a disease. It would prefer you be a robot to your programming, a puppet to your tastebuds and a slave to your insecurities, than to question any part of your life and habits. THATS EXACTLY WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT. Don't be a robot, or a puppet, or a slave. Question yourself. Then Occupy Yourself. Start here, start now, start small, but by all means. start. You will be in good company. And you might, like me, love it. And you might even be, like me, a GANGSTA. Yeeeoooow!
Doing things different is hard. That's probably why we often don't. I've said it before, and I'm saying it again- I refuse to be a robot, with my actions dictated by my programming.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
For me, the true act of resistance, the really radical thing any one of us can do is to question everything, starting with our own selves. So often we define ourselves by our preferences. How many times have you said, "That's just me, that's just who I am." Poppycock. There are a precious few of us who are self realized, and those people shirk the concept of "I' entirely. I'm not suggesting that, though- its too extreme for most of us, slugging out our daily lives and trying to be the best and most helpful versions of ourselves.
If you are what you eat, then you are what your taste buds tell you. Your tongue DEFINES you. Try that on for size.
In my life, as in most people's, my relationship to food is defining. For anyone new to this blog, let me give you an example. I have always hated water, and preferred cokes. I hated vegetables. I loved processed foods and fast food. Since I never gained weight, I never thought much about it- and you know as well as I do that weight is a much bigger motivator for people changing their eating habits than health. Sad but true. So for me, I wasn't motivated to change, and more than that, I enjoyed being a food brat. I thought it was funny to eat Kraft mac and cheese every day for lunch, to drink 5 cokes a day, a steak for dinner, and 10 cookies with milk before bed and a big chocolate-y coffee drink for breakfast. But when I started to look at my own resistance to even considering eating more like a GROWN UP, I had to admit, I was stuck. I was rigid about it, I wasn't going to listen to anyone who might suggest I try to drink more water, or eat some veggies. I wasn't going to listen, and I didn't listen. I was stubborn as a mule. And I know many other mules, and I know how they feel. To question our food preferences strikes at the heart of our identity.
Word up, yo
I've come a long way in a short while, if I do say so myself. However, this isn't really about me. I offer myself up as a guinea pig of sorts- this blog inspires me to continue because it might, it just might, help someone else make some better choices. Its a self fulfilling prophecy in the most positive of ways. I just know that if I can do it, you can too, no matter who you are. You have to figure out your 'why'. Mine is entirely a socio-political statement. Health was never a selling point for me, nor weight loss. My reason is entirely this- there are evil corporations that are poisoning our food sources. They seek to dominate the world food supply- and when they do, they will dominate the world. Companies like Monsanto and Bayer are killing our bees, tearing up rainforests for palm oil production, and are genetically altering our food. They feed us crap in bright packaging and we eat it. Every cent I don't spend on processed food is a cent they don't get, and every time I buy locally grown, I am supporting farmers, freedom, and the future of the planet. That is what inspires me now, about all choices I make- but it started with food, and now its taking over everything. That is why I call it a revolution- it is a personal revolution, it is a radical move to question your own proclivities and to alter your own internal system.
I am not sure if this is an ad for Coke, or a warning against it.
My new challenge? WATER. Drinking water and cutting back on Cokes (maybe even cutting them out completely- maybe). I didn't think I was ready for this, and it wasn't even really a decision I made consciously. I just chose other things besides Cokes to drink for the past two days. This might be the first time since I was 10 that I have gone two whole days without a Coke. I'm 44. 34 years. That sounds appalling, but its the truth. Coke was my water. So when I say- "If I can do it, you can too", this exact scenario comes to mind. If I can let go of a 34 year long love affair with Coca Cola, then for sure you can let go of whatever you think you never will.
So I am on day two. I am not telling myself I will never have a Coke again, but I can tell you this- the last few cokes I had, I questioned myself. I thought, "Is this really a good taste? Do you even like this?" And I found that the real answer, behind the knee jerk answer, was no, not really. Its too acidy, too sweet, leaves a strange after taste. So I asked myself what I did like about it, and really I just like the carbonation. Those bubbles are what I am after. I have been drinking sparkling water instead, and there isn't anything I don't like about it. I love this clip, below- this guy makes a pretty good point. In Mexico, high fructose corn syrup is illegal. And yet you can't even drink the water in Mexico- so even with their standards, high fructose corn syrup is not allowed. And that is the main ingredient in my favorite drink. We all know how a nail will dissolve in it. And even this isn't as compelling as the dictates of our taste buds.
Our taste buds control us. I want to propose that our taste buds make emotional connections that could be entirely based on lies. Or, our taste buds lie- and they are very, very compelling. When I do what my taste buds tell me, I am the worst kind of robot. I am letting little bumps on my tongue define a large part of who I think I am. I am letting the food corporations manipulate my taste buds into manipulating me. That makes me a big meat puppet. No thank you. I'd rather OCCUPY MYSELF! I will figure out who I really am, what I really like and want in my system, and consider the needs of the future of this planet when making my own authentic choices.
When you come right down to it, its really a trip to start dismantling your preferences. In so doing I have discovered that I also really don't like my Kraft Macaroni and cheese. Or American cheese, or white bread. Or hot dogs. I might not even really like gummy bears, but that's another blog entirely. These past two months of eating fresh food, locally grown food, I have discovered a world that was right there all the time, at which I scoffed. I actually like green food. I even kind of love it. I like fruit! Water isn't so bad, either. I have cut back on red meat to the extent that I have had it twice in two months instead of every night. I will not ever eat fast food again, ever. Who the hell am I anymore? Its crazy, but its oh so good. And in taking on this shift in my eating life, it has taken root in other areas. I accept no substitutes, I don't seek cheap thrills. I am not about to drink the Kool-Aid. I want an authentic experience in all aspects of my life. I am learning that the old adage is true, after all- we really are what we eat. Damn it all to hell- I hate it that they were right all along. Pisses me off to no end! It is a supreme insult to my inner brat to accept defeat, but the brat has run the show long enough. Its just not that cute anymore.
So- for those of you, who, like me, have a hard time with drinking water, there are some great apps out there-
And just to remind us all about the magic of water, and its ability to display the consciousness that it is-
And finally, if you are a water drinker, try to avoid water produced or bottled by Nestle. The CEO of Nestle thinks that people are 'entitled' about water, and that water needs to be privatized. Screw that guy. Learn about water- its not all the same. And try to buy those 5 gallon bottles with a little spigot to keep in your fridge and get yourself a cool water canteen or sport bottle and refill as needed for the day. No need for all the senseless waste produced by all those water bottles!
And Why Shouldn’t You Have A Swank Gadget For Keeping Bees At Home?
Honeybees are on the decline. Urban beekeeping could help.
Five years ago, honeybee colonies started dying off. No one knows why. Some theories point to the impact of pesticide use or the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, which is transmitted by a Varooa mite. Whatever the cause, it’s bad news for bees and the crops they pollinate. Oddly enough, bees are doing better in cities than in the countryside--which may shed light on the cause of their disappearance--and some urban dwellers have begun keeping bees to help stem their decline. Seizing on the trend, Philips recently unveiled an at-home hive, allowing anyone--anyone, that is, who isn’t deathly allergic to bee stings--the ability to harvest fresh honey from their window.
The concept is part of the Dutch electronic company’s Microbial Home design, an eco-system concept unveiled at this year’s Dutch design week. (Click here for an earlier post on the kitchen component, which is powered in part by human poop.) Pressed against an opening in a window, the Urban Beehive splits the difference between inside and out, with a flowerpot and entry passage outside and a tinted-glass shell, filled with honeycomb frames, inside. Honey can be harvested by releasing smoke into the hive and opening the top cover.
Beekeeping is still illegal in many cities. New Yorkers are in luck; the city legalized the practice last year, and beekeeping classes are available here.
Okay, this won't look like much to anyone else, but remember that I am learning to use Aeroponic Garden Towers for urban gardening. When I ordered the seedlings, I didn't pay any attention to how they were marked, so to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what I was growing. I was waiting until it burst open with vegetables, and then I'd know. Yesterday a new friend, who is a nutritionist, came over and pointed out that two of the mystery plants were kale. Kale!!! And ready to harvest! I also had an impressive bunch of chives, too, but they aren't pictured.
So....yay! One small step in the right direction! My baby seedlings are about a week away from planting into the second garden tower- I am hoping to get the swing of it in the next few months so I can help teach others how to do it. I think it will be amazing to help people who live in apartment buildings learn to grow their own vegetables, in spite of the lack of soil. So cool!
Could Kanye West grow Kale like this?
Here is the second picture my sweet friend Becca took- she told me to look as excited as I was- personally I think I look a little psychotic, but make no mistake, that is sheer enthusiasm. And then...I made a big fat kale/strawberry/almond/banana/coconut milk smoothie with it.
Yay organic home grown kale!
My nutritionist friend dropped some science on me about, errrrrr, well nutrition of course, and she always leaves me feeling like the world of food is a great and amazing mystery- not unlike my recently harvested kale. She is like a food Yoda. She says things like- "smokers need to eat more vitamin C than non smokers, so when given a choice between strawberries or bananas, they should always pick bananas." Or, 'adding lemon juice to dark leafy green liberates the nutrients', or "an actual serving of a bagel is 1/4 of a bagel. Not the whole bagel. 1/4. Same with red meat. A serving is 3 oz. Americans eat 12 or more ounce steaks. And we wonder why obesity is what it is." When she explained to me how insulin in the blood works, and how it responds to stuff like pasta, that its this whole tricky thing that goes on inside creating spikes in insulin, more than the body can use, so the insulin is just hanging out in the blood, telling you that you are hungry, even if you are completely full, you will often still feel hungry." Such cool information! I plan on picking her brain and sharing what I find in there with YOU.
Yoda is cute, but my Food Yoda is waaaaay cuter
I really liked this bit of info. It points to the different sides of the fence we all make in regards to food. Its such a personal matter, which is why changing your way of eating is, in my opinion, such a revolutionary act. Some do it for weight, some do it for health, some do it not to hurt animals, some do it to stop supporting the food corporations, hence a socio/political stance. Some unexamined eaters will eat for comfort, out of boredom, for the high, because of a disordered relationship to food, they supersize it because they can, they eat it because its there. For those who eat healthy out of concerns for weight, I just want to say- the last two times I was at the Farmer's Market, I did not see one single obese person there. Not one. Everyone was, dare I say it, easy on the eyes. They looked fit and healthy and content in their skin.
Here is an angle we don't hear about much, in the face of Monsanto and GMOs. Palm oil production. Have you heard of this? I hadn't. Apparently palm oil is now in pretty much everything. And this palm oil is harvested in places like Indonesia, where the climate is perfect for it. In order to grow it, they are destroying rain forests at an alarming rate, threatening many species of animals- not the least of which is the orangutan of Sumatra's rain forests.
Read more about palm oil, deforestation and the plight of orangutansHERE
Learn more about what food to avoid that contains palm oilHERE.
Suffice it to say, its many of the same foods you might already be avoiding if you are trying not to eat GMOs. If you aren't there yet, here is another good reason to start being very conscious about your eating habits- these little babies below are one of the species that is being endangered so the food corporations can give the world snacks. SNACKS.
This whole radical shift in the way I am living my life when it comes to my eating habits continues to surprise me. Its so much more than it seems, on the surface. "Its just food, what's the big deal," I used to think, and many still do. But our food is everything. Its the one thing we ALL have to do, eat. Its the one thing that will determine the state of our health. Those who control it have us by the short and curlies and we as a culture are not even aware. Did you know that it benefits insurance companies to keep Americans fat? They can charge you higher rates if your BMI is over a certain percent. Do you think they might be very happy, in fact very encouraging, of the whole Super Sizing food portions? This isn't conspiracy theorizing. This is an actual conspiracy, and the joke is on us all.
This very reason is why this is a radical thing to do. This is why its revolutionary. If we don't buy or eat their food, then we are, individually, free from their toxic influence. If enough people do it, we start to shift the mantle of power. They need our money to succeed in a capitalist society. Its our money- lets not use it to support those who want to make us fat and dumb, to feed us poison and destroy the earth and its critters. Every cent you spend on processed foods, non locally grown produce, fast food, etc- is money you are giving the McDeath Corporations to poison your children and kill your world. Have you ever seen the movie Wall-E? I'm just sayin'.
Okay, so perhaps I am waxing a little dramatic, but its not far from the truth. Give it some thought. I am here to tell you that if I can do this, you can too. I am here to tell you it IS affordable, it IS fun, there are so many amazing new things to try that you don't even know of yet (check out my Radical Recipes on this blog! New recipes every week.) Its sexy. It changes the way you look at everything. It feels liberating. You feel...awake. It feels good! In ways you can't possibly understand until you cross over. And if you aren't ready yet- I ain't mad at ya. You can do your part in other ways. Like share the crap out of this blog!!!!
I will leave my ranting and raving for the day with my favorite song of the week... Kanye West, Black Skinhead. He has redeemed himself, if you ask me.
This week, I started to count all the ways I contribute to the problems in this world. As consumers in this modern age, we barely notice all the waste we cause just by living. Its seemingly natural to have the checkout person at the grocery store double bag our groceries, to drink water out of plastic bottles, to pay the outrageous sums of money for the gas our cars require, which add to emissions and create an environmental crisis that is just rearing its ugly head. We drink our Coffee Bean or Starbucks out of paper or plastic cups with plastic lids, and perhaps a straw every day. We use those wooden chopsticks at Chinese restaurants that are thrown away after one use- for which entire forests have been used, in order to provide the world with these utensils. Its mind boggling.
So, here is what a normal week for me used to look like-
Coffee Bean, every morning. Plastic cup, lid and straw in summer/ paper cup with plastic lid in winter. 7 cups/ lids/ straws a week/ 365 a year
Groceries- once a week, two stores/ Vons and Trader Joes- about 20 bags since they double them
Speaking of groceries- all the packaging. Fruit in plastic clamshells. Cartons of milk, plastic bottles of juice, plastic bags for bread- boxes, wrappers, all of it. Too much to quantify
Gas- about $100 a week- around 25 gallons. $5200 year (around 1050 gallons)
Plastic water bottles- I have a confession to make. I personally don't make much of ripple here, as water is something I am learning to drink. My kids, however, go through about 24 bottles a week.
Electricity- So here is a little lesson. Most people haven't given it much thought as to how the electricity is produced that we all use, and that it requires fossil fuels, in most cases. For your edification-
Power plants make electricity out of other forms of energy. Most electricity in the U.S. today comes from converting the heat energy released from burning fossil fuels--coal, natural gas and oil. The rest is generated from nuclear reactors and from renewable sources, such as sunlight, wind, falling water and geothermal heat (see Renewables, Unit 5).
In a typical power plant, a primary energy source like coal is burned to create heat, which is converted in a boiler to mechanical energy in the form of superheated, high-pressure steam. The steam is directed into a turbine, where it pushes on blades attached to a central shaft or rotor. The rapidly spinning rotor powers a generator.
I am going to stop right there. I could just keep going, but I think this paints a pretty adequate picture of what we, individually, are doing to trash the globe. So what am I going to do about it? I'll tell you. Like all things I recommend, its baby steps. You can take big ones- that's awesome- but I find that for something to stick, its best not to change too much at once or your life won't support the shift.
1. For my morning coffee, I now get one cup on Monday, and I re-use it all week. Its easy to rinse it out when I am done and stick it in my work bag. I can't tell you how many times I mindlessly threw it in the trash, only to go back and get it out later. Its shocking, really, to confront that auto pilot thing, to realize how easy it is to just be a consuming and wasteful robot. Today, one of the baristas asked me why I did that. I told him because I love the planet, and we had a nice chat about it. You never know how a chat like that could inspire someone else to do things differently. Talk about what you are doing, and why. Not in a preachy way- no one will listen.
2. Groceries- I've started to shop mostly locally. This reduces the fossil fuel waste which occurs when they ship the produce from a foreign country, usually via several trucks, a plane, and sometimes a train as well. I use bags I bought specifically for shopping. At Trader Joe's, I try to look at how things are packaged and choose items which are loose- for example- a clamshells full of nectarines, or loose ones that I put in a little plastic bag that I brought, and that I reuse. Or a large bottle of juice instead of 6 small bottles, or a 32 ounce yogurt instead of 8 single serve ones. Another way that this sneaks up on you- you just run into 7-11 for a gallon of milk and don't notice that its in a bag until you get home. or at CVS, you are buying lotion and razors and stuff like that, and you forgot to bring a bag in with you and its too much to carry out. I have been known to take the stuff to my car, empty the bag, and take it back in and give it back to them. It becomes a habit after a while.
3. Gas- I got a Prius! Its funny, I have friends who are judgmental about those cars, and people who drive them. I had one friend tell me that if I go vegan, to lose his number. Someone else said- Not you! You are becoming one of them! Another said- the money you think you save on gas, you spend on the car itself, so it doesn't average out. What he was missing is that its better for the environment, and for me, that is one of the most important factors when deciding anything. If you think global warming isn't real, check this out. I love Prius drivers. I think they are sexy. I think when people show their concern for the state of the planet and its evident in the choices they make, its just plain old hot. The cars are definitely not sexy, but the drivers are. And the opposite is also true- someone in a gas guzzling but beautiful Aston Martin can not really be sexy by my standards. Someone flying around the globe in a private jet is maybe the most unattractive sort of person there is. No one who loves the planet or cares for the future of mankind would be so wasteful. If you haven't at least looked into getting a hybrid- there is no harm in looking. You might be surprised at how easy they are to finance, or buy used. But you won't know until you look.
The other good news, for anyone who says they can't afford to eat local and organic- I will spend about $350 less a month on gas, so I will have more to spend on eating like someone who gives a f*ck about this world. And, p.s.- I am actually spending less by eating right. There aren't brands and ads to lure me in to buy items I don't really need. I purchase only what I need, I love that its fresh from the farm, I learn new recipes, and its fun as hell.
4. Plastic water bottles- Contigo water bottles are my solution. Instead of buying cases of water bottles, we are buying 5 gallon jugs and filling our water bottles for the day at home. (At my work, I installed water filtration systems that also alkalinize the water, and I fill up when I am there, too). Here is a pretty good example of why we should all stop using water bottles, plastic bags, and 6 packs that use those plastic sturdy rings to hold them together. This picture isn't terribly shocking until you realize it is twice the size of Texas, in the Pacific Ocean, and growing all the time.
This is an aerial representation of the garbage vortexes in the pacific ocean. The scale is also represented.
Here are some of the sad results for creatures-
That could have been something I threw away years ago. or you. I can't live with that. If all I have to do is change my ways so this might not happen to another turtle, so that vortex of plastic waste materials doesn't become 5 times the size of Texas by the time my daughters have children. Given these facts, why wouldn't I endeavor to change my ways??? And if you do the same, and influence others to also do the same, we can change where this is going.
5. Electricity. This one is a no brainer. Turn things off when you aren't using them. If you live in an apartment and you notice that the building leaves all its lights on during the day, ask them to get a timer. My kids and I have a tradition when we exit our elevator on the ground floor- we turn off the laundry room light and the one directly outside the elevator. I have trouble getting them to do it at home, but at least its in their consciousness. They are beginning to recognize how gorgeous a person is when you can see that they care, and are willing to take a few extra steps (or more) to be less of a problem and more of a solution on this planet. If you own your own home- solar is such an exciting option, you lucky thing you! You can also collect rain water, compost, and garden organically, and have a few beehives, and a chicken coop for fresh eggs! You are so freaking lucky- I would give my eye teeth to have a home and some land so I could really take this to the next level.
Here is a great link for all things solar, sustainable, and green for your home- Green Home Solutions
I encourage everyone to make a small list of ways they can change some of these habits ASAP. Here is a small list- try it out!
1. Use recycled bags any time you make a purchase. keep them in your car at all times.
2. re-use your coffee cups, or buy sustainable ones
3. Purchase water bottles that you can keep with you, and buy one big 5 gallon jug at a time, instead of 36 small bottles
4. Look into getting a hybrid car. Just look. Amazing things happen when you start to look into your options- they somehow manifest in the strangest ways. Just start looking on the internet. Can't hurt!
5. Turn off your lights! Turn off other people's lights. remind people to turn things off. Look into solar powered electricity for your home, if you own one.
6. Buy locally grown produce and other goods! This way, you don't contribute to the fossil fuels needed to ship them via truck, train and plane to your grocer. Support the good guys growing in your neck of the woods. Go to your local farmer's market once a week and stock up. Try your very best not to shop at the major chain stores or purchase major brands. I have kids and I have gone in Vons twice in two months- you can do it! Learn new recipes that concentrate on the fresh food in your area. Avoid bringing GMOs into your home. (Click here to check out the buycott app, which will tell you what foods to avoid while you are shopping)
There- 6 simple things that will make a huge impact, the more of us take on this way of living, the better. Even if you just pick one and practice it until it becomes a habit, and then pick another- but by all means, pay attention to your life and in what ways you are contributing to the demise of the planet. We are all part of the problem, by virtue of being alive in this day and age. But we can become part of the solution. Share this blog with your family and friends, so they can join the cause. OCCUPY YOURSELF!
(Why do I keep saying Occupy yourself? Because until you do, something else is occupying you. Only right action and waking up to reality will allow you to OCCUPY YOURSELF. Watch this short video below. This concept is best conveyed with visuals.)
And last but not least, Frank Zappa has something to say. Listen up.
