Dear Flock,
Our apartment smells like lentil soup. That’s not a bad thing. I wish I could bottle that smell and send it to you through your computer.
Working hard, and hearing about other people working hard for animals, gives me a hefty appetite. I was looking at my list of things to consider writing about, and I’m kind of blown away by the top-notch campaigns, projects, and happenings that seem to be rampant — everywhere from academia, to the arts, to for-profit ventures. Though you might see more fleshed out articles about any of these items coming soon to OHH, here’s a glimpse at what I mean: #PRIVATE#
- Moby apparently has a music video contest, and animal advocate Michael John Stough wrote a fetching song called “Almost Home,” with an excellent video to go with it. Michael dedicated it “to the 2.7 million adoptable cats and dogs euthanized in shelters each year.”
- OHH reader/listener Allison Socie emailed me saying, “Have you guys seen or heard of the game ‘Can Your Pet?‘ […] I’ve seen a few YouTubers play it on their channels. This one even asks the vegan/vegetarian question.”
- JL Fields told me that The American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research is inviting applications for a post-doctoral fellowship.
- Just outside of Boston, the Organic Garden Cafe has a “pay it forward, meal style” program that looks like it’s replicable for folks and businesses looking to advocate for veganism while at the same helping fellow human animals who are less lucky than we are.
- Mercy for Animals is looking for an undercover investigator.
- There is a new online course being offered by Arizona State University and the Animals and Society that will educate on the subject of assessing and treating adult and juvenile animal abuse.
- The trend of design schools hosting faux-fur fashion competitions inspires me — and is another replicable project for all the fashionistas out there.
- A Delaware filmmaker is using a thriller to campaign for animals.
There’s so much more, too! There’s just a lot happening for animals, and it’s impossible to stay on top of everything I need to write about. But that list will give you some food for thought for now, anyway.
In other news, I’m excited that the Our Hen House tote bags, which were temporarily on backorder, are back in stock! And so we’re giving one away today to one lucky flock member — possibly for you to give to someone in your life (assuming you already have one)?
To enter to win:
- Email contest [at] ourhenhouse [dot] org, put “flock tote bag giveaway” as your subject line, and include your full mailing address in the body of the email.
- Tweet something cool about Our Hen House, and tag us — @ourhenhouse. Some ideas: you can mention that this is a great time to donate to an organization that is trying to change the world for animals; you can say something you liked about a recent podcast episode; you can explain why you’re a flock member; you can tweet one of your favorite recent articles from our online magazine. (One pet peeve: Please don’t simply “RT” something and count that as your tweet. Surely there’s something you can say!)
You have one week to enter — so you have until Friday, December 20, 2013, at Midnight EST. On December 21, we will randomly select a winner and send you your tote bag! (Note that because of the timing, we can’t guarantee that you’ll have it by Christmas, especially if you’re outside of the U.S. — though we’ll certainly do our best!)
I want to mention — though you probably already know this — that our “Tote-Ally Vegan” tote bag was designed by the fabulous artist Razi Bhatt, and produced by the incredible folks over at Lion’s Share Industries. The bags are ethically-sourced from 100% recycled soda, water, and food containers, made in the USA, and were printed using eco-friendly ink. The bags are black, yellow, and grey and proudly state “A PLACE TO FIND OUR WAY TO CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ANIMALS.”
Last tidbit for today: I think you’ll really dig tomorrow’s podcast episode, #205. It will feature Tod Emko, the founder of Darwin Animal Doctors, an organization providing comprehensive veterinary care for the animals of of the Galapagos Islands. Tod will tell us all about this unique organization, and will also let us in on “A Piggy’s Tale,” his new comic book about a three-legged dog superhero! Here’s a sneak peek of the comic book:
OK — I admit it — the lentil soup I spoke of at the beginning of this letter is now inside of me. And it was every bit as delicious as I knew it would be. (Mariann is a great lentil soup-maker.) Amanda, our new Web Coordinator, is sitting across from me queuing up some of the gems we’ll be publishing next week (including a column by Keri Cronin, and a book review by Robin Lamont), and “Rose the Dog” (as my 3-year-old niece refers to her) is asleep beside me with her head on my lap.
Even though things are so hectic all the time, sometimes it’s good to stop and smell the lentils.
xo jasmin
