Flock Only: GIVEAWAY of “Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger?” and the Inside Scoop from the Coop

Dear Flock,
Let’s cut right to the chase today and start with a fabulous giveaway. We’re excited to offer you a copy of Sherry Colb’s new book, “Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?” And Other Questions People Ask Vegans (Lantern, 2013). Sherry is one of our guests on tomorrow’s podcast episode (#191 — Dr. Neal Barnard is also joining us). #PRIVATE#Sherry will shed light on everything from how to deal with people who point out what they perceive to be imperfections in veganism, to how to respond to those who justify continuing to support factory farming, to what she says when someone asks her, “Mind if I order the cheeseburger?”  I personally found Sherry’s insights to be refreshing. Even for the questions that I feel well-versed on, Sherry’s answers had a new style — one that oozed with empathy, succinctness, and humor — which I would really like to try on for size. I really think you’ll dig her interview.
And I really think you’ll dig her book, too, which is why we’re giving it away (thanks to the generous and good-looking folks at Lantern Books). This is just for you, our darling flock (though we’ll soon also be offering a second giveaway via Twitter available to all, which you’re also welcome to enter). If you want a chance to win the flock giveaway of Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger?, simply comment below (be sure to include your email address when you submit your comment) and tell us how you answer that question. You have until Friday, September 13 at Midnight EDT to enter, at which time we’ll randomly select a winner, and send you your new book!
Now I want to share with you what was perhaps the best Facebook conversation we “overheard” about Our Hen House. I kind of want to print this conversation, frame it, and hang it up.

Person A: I’m getting addicted to this podcast! And if I go back and start listening from Episode one, I’ll have about 180 episodes to listen to, so unlike “The Wire,” this can keep feeding my addiction for a long, long time!
Person B: OK — I’m listening right now!
Person A:  They may not be your cup of tea. They’re very opinionated, vegan-lesbian-New Yorkers who speak bluntly. Nothing philosophical, spiritual, or Tuttle-esque about them!
Person B: LOL! I have a sense of humor too. They have a certain entertainment element about them also.
Person A: I love them! They’re smart, honest, direct, and full of information. I love their conversations! And now I’m going to have to find a copy of the 1974 version of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”!! (Who wouldda thought??)

That basically made my week complete.
In related news, did you know that you can subscribe to my personal Facebook page now? I’m constantly irked by the 5,000 friend limit which bit me in the ass a couple years ago, so I was grateful to my Facebook friend who pointed out that we can now follow each other, as long as our settings are modified accordingly.
It’s been a busy week for us hens. First, we attended Bang Bang Tattoos‘ Kick-Off Party benefiting the charities Animal Haven and Empty Cages. It was exciting to see so many chic people gathering together for animals, and even more exciting to only recognize a few familiar faces in the crowd. Though I love running into my friends at these types of happenings, I know it’s better for animals when I’m at an event with all new faces. Plus, Mariann hopes to get some work done there on one of her tattoos. We love patronizing vegan tattoo artists, and artists with a consciousness about vegan ink. Here’s a blast from the past: Way back in February, 2010 — only a few weeks after starting Our Hen House — I made a little video about Brian Wilson, the brilliant tattoo artist who owns Scapegoat in Portland, which is one of the stores that’s part of the celebrated vegan mini-mall.
Then, last night, we were interviewed for The Dr. Don Show, a weekly radio show based in Arizona. Dr. Don is a medical doctor who is totally vegan and prescribes a plant-based diet to his patients. It was thrilling to chat with a doctor who actually gets it — not only about the health imperatives of veganism, but gets it on the ethical level, too!
And tonight, we are lucky enough to be attending a new vegan supper club at Suite Three Oh Six, hosted by Chef Daphne Cheng. My last encounter with Daphne was when she organized an American Idol-esque “Vegan Talent Show” — for which I was one of the three judges (I was totally the Paula Abdul). I’m looking forward to trying Daphne’s concoctions — I’ve heard she’s an incredible chef. I’m also hoping to score a short interview with her in between her preparations, so stay tuned for that.
Writing-wise, I’ve been staying up until 2 or 3 a.m. this week working on a new piece for my column in The Huffington Post. It’s amazing how much I hate writing, especially given the fact that I absolutely love it, too. I guess that’s completely par for the course, and I’d guess that many of you reading this can relate. Who was it who said, “I hate writing, but I love having written”? Was it Gertrude Stein? Anyway, the piece I’m working on is a tough subject for me because it details the anger I feel from how the world treats me differently now that I’m nearly 100 pounds lighter. I am battling with sounding like an asshole, sounding like a victim, and sounding like a bitch. Ha! I don’t want to sound like any of the above. We’ll see how the piece turns out … (BTW, please do follow me on HuffPo, if you don’t already! It would mean so much to me! Thank you!)
I’ve also been trying to be fastidious at practicing my tap. I realize that I’m somewhat of an obsessive person sometimes, and when I start something, I can be completely monomaniacal about it. But I’m under a significant amount of stress with everything happening with my Grandma, and having this distraction from Real Life is helping me immeasurably. In addition to my Wednesday night class with badass Barbara, rehearsals for my tap ensemble begin next week, on Friday night. Between my demanding work schedule for OHH, visiting Grandma regularly, and trying to keep my life in order — if you’re a friend of mine, well, I’ll see you next year perhaps? Anyway, it’s all (well, mostly) really good stuff, and I feel energized by everything in my life — even if it’s exhausting sometimes.
Ack! It appears as though I’ve exceeded my self-imposed 1,000 word count on this flock letter. I must say, these rather personal letters are new to me, but I’m going with it. OHH has always been all about activism explicitly, not personal updates. But I am happy to be able to give you folks the “Inside Scoop from the Coop,” tell you about some upcoming happenings in OHH, and let you in on my life a bit, too. Your comments last week really meant a lot to me. Thank you for rockin’ the flock so much. I adore you — I do.
Enjoy the sunshine.
xo jasmin
P.S. The delectable looking photo of ice cream used as the feature image for this piece (which you saw on the slider) is from Vegan Stock Photo, and credit goes to Kelly Garbato (a.k.a. “Easy Vegan“).