Double Bass Hima Chinese basses

[Jeremy Allen]

So would a group that adopts a way of life that is not self-sustaining, which employs vast agricultural and fossil fuel resources to have its "special" food and clothing trucked all over the country, be considered a parasite? Me thinks they may well be.

Since when were vegans anti-technology? And the vast resources you mention--we haul clothes and food all over the country no matter whether they're "special" or not, and the amount of water and agricultural resources required to produce X amount of calories and protein via a cow, pig, or chicken is orders of magnitude greater than that required to produce the same amount of nutritional value through grains and vegetables.

No, I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian, and I know that eating meat isn't unnatural. But stuffing animals full of hormones and antibiotics, growing them in such large numbers that their presence (feces, food requirements) causes serious environmental problems, and clear-cutting rain-forests just so a bunch of fat Americans can have meat three times a day (and therefore die of heart disease and colon cancer) just seems kind of pointless, and it's as far from the "natural" balance our ancestors knew with nature as limiting one's food intake entirely to plants. Internal combustion isn't evil, but getting in your gas-guzzling SUV to drive three blocks to the grocery store is just a waste of energy--and trying to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge when the amount of oil available there could be saved just through the US government actually implementing the fuel-efficiency standards it set for its own fleet of vehicles (as a random example) is, yes, unreasonable.
The point is, we're smart monkeys; we know not to crap in the river upstream from where we draw our water, or at least we used to, and we're capable of being responsible for our actions and not behaving suicidally. And the thought that the actions of one individual are insignificant is wrong--to get back on the topic, I'm sure that the guy who makes HIMA basses considers every sale to be important, and losing one potential sale affects him. Double basses aren't tennis shoes, after all, and the community of bassists is fairly close-knit. If one finds it distasteful to support the Chinese rape of Tibetan resources (if indeed this is what HIMA represents, which is still unclear to me...), just don't buy the basses. You don't have to take on the entire Chinese economy or feel unable to act because you come from a country with a wretched imperialist history of its own; your "dollar vote" still counts.

 

[John Sprague]

John, I think you overreach.

Often! And no, I don't have the #s. I am pointing more to the vegan's notion that humans are not natural born omnivores. To pretend to be "above" that is what I find absurd. I also wanted to point out that the vegan would likely have a low survival rate outside the most ideal year-round growing climates.

 

[Silversorcerer]

Did you mean 'saprophytes', SS? In that case, vultures would certainly seem to fit the category, even if it wouldn't be considered their main classification.

No, saphrophytes is the word Jeff was mispelling (unless his spelling was wrong in two places. Imagine that!), which is a classification of orchid type climbing plants that grow on dead stuff. The reason the vultures can't descriptively be either saphrophytes (orchids) or saprophytes (plants that feed on decaying life) is that vultures are animals. Phytes are plants.

edit: apparently both spellings, saprophyte and saphrophyte refer to the same group of plants. saphrofite is a mispelling of either word.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Man, I knew I should have kept my "mouth" shut. In an attempt NOT to be/sound self-righteous I said these are the things I do... not YOU should do this and that... guess my strategy failed. Sorry

I always find it challenging to express these things without upsetting people. Confrontation is not what I am about.

Sorry for upsetting anyone. I was just trying to share information that in my opinion, would help to live a more sustainable life.

As for these debates I could give you tons and tons of information that would back up my viewpoint etc. But I am not going to get involved. Because 1)rarely do these debates do anything positive. They usually just entrench people further in their own positions. 2) There is so much hurtful confrontation in this world. Whenever possible I try to remove myself from it.

Talk about a Leftist, tree hugging, plant eating hippie... Yup, that's me!

Again sorry for sounding like a jerk. That was not my intention.

*unsubscribes*

 

[John Sprague]

Man, I knew I should have kept my "mouth" shut.

Nah, your opinion is as welcome as any.

 

[Steve Killingsworth]

In an attempt NOT to be/sound self-righteous I said these are the things I do... not YOU should do this and that... guess my strategy failed. Sorry

Now.. what do we do about it? I try to minimize my ecological footprint as much as possible by:

-being vegan
-cycling, using transit, carpooling (i havent owned a car in 5 years)
-reduce, reuse recycle everything as much as is reasonable.
-be cognizant of the fact that the most power I have as an average citizen is in my wallet... thus use my purchasing power wisely.

Or you can drive an SUV, eat meat and throw paper in the garbage and buy a bass made from Tibetan or Endagered wood (etc) without thinking twice... seems pretty typical of the average North American IMHO.

If this was an attempt to avoid self-righteousness I wonder what the real thing would sound like?

 

[Pete G]

Vultures are scavengers, nature's own recycling squadron... They are also sacred to most Native American cultures. In Georgia, in recognition of their positive role in removing carrion and road kill, they are protected by law, sacred or not.

And don't forget the annual secular holiday know as Hinkley Buzzard Day, when the buzzards, like clockwork, make their yearly return to Hinkley, Ohio. Capistrano has nothing on it, nothing...

 

[Pcocobass]

...clear-cutting rain-forests just so a bunch of fat Americans can have meat three times a day (and therefore die of heart disease and colon cancer) just seems kind of pointless, and it's as far from the "natural" balance our ancestors knew with nature as limiting one's food intake entirely to plants.

So there were no fat people back in the day? And I guess there's no fat people outside of America.

There was at least one fat guy I know of in Bible times (that means a long time ago). Judges 3...

 

[Jeremy Allen]

So there were no fat people back in the day? And I guess there's no fat people outside of America.

There was at least one fat guy I know of in Bible times (that means a long time ago). Judges 3...

You may just be yanking my chain. If not, what's your point? Yeah, there have always been fat people--but there are a lot more of them now because, as a population, our activity levels have dropped and our access to plentiful, fatty, sugary foods has increased; meanwhile, we don't need to scarf down pounds of red meat every day to get the nutritional benefit of it. And, yes, there are fat people outside of America, but we Americans are the ones driving the demand way up--we account for way more of the resource allocation on this planet, per capita, than anyone else, whether that means energy, oil, or pipin' hot gravy.

I'm not sure where the compulsion comes from to defend the bloated overconsumption of everything we humans can get our hands on. It's not simply an "individual's rights" issue, because the effects extend far beyond any one person.

 

[Pcocobass]

You may just be yanking my chain. If not, what's your point? Yeah, there have always been fat people--but there are a lot more of them now because, as a population, our activity levels have dropped and our access to plentiful, fatty, sugary foods has increased; meanwhile, we don't need to scarf down pounds of red meat every day to get the nutritional benefit of it. And, yes, there are fat people outside of America, but we Americans are the ones driving the demand way up--we account for way more of the resource allocation on this planet, per capita, than anyone else, whether that means energy, oil, or pipin' hot gravy.

I'm not sure where the compulsion comes from to defend the bloated overconsumption of everything we humans can get our hands on. It's not simply an "individual's rights" issue, because the effects extend far beyond any one person.

J-5,

Yeah, I was just yanking you chain, but it was fun getting you all riled up like that. I do think theres a lot of exaggeration about how we are bleeding the planet dry, though... only my opinion...

 

[Jeremy Allen]

Yeah, I'm a little humorless at the moment. Sorry! Spending all day in a listening library trying to absorb the finer distinctions between the operas of Handel and Vivaldi...(but it's better than being stuck on the LIE on the way to a wedding-band showcase in Hauppauge, which is what I would've been doing last year at this time...)

 

[Pcocobass]

That's cool... been there myself.

 

[anonymous0726]

No, saphrophytes is the word ... refer to the same group of plants. saphrofite is a mispelling of either word.

I was going by this: Link Removed

 

[Steve Killingsworth]

I was going by this: Link Removed

Ray, I wouldn't get too worked up over a guy who tries to demonstrate his political knowledge by telling us who his senators are--and gets it wrong.

Lets see, my senators are Zell Miller (lame duck Demopublican) and Saxby Chambliss (Chicken-hawk opportunist). ]

I believe the honorable Mr. Miller retired sometime back.

 

[anonymous0726]

I get a huge kick out of Zell, regardless. He seems like a no BS lind of guy in the interviews that I've heard.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

http://www.mapquest.com

 

[anonymous0726]

Damn, Marcus, I have to apologize, but the reference is a little subtle for me. Which is not a bad, if accidental, pun. If I must say so myself.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

It's for anyone who wants to find their way home outta this thread.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

http://www.mapquest.com

Thanks for that, Marcus. I tried all the old-school stuff I could think of - clicking heels together, wetting my finger and holding it up to the wind, the venerable "two hands and a flashlight" technique - and nothing had worked.

Folks, this thread has gotten pretty silly, and at this point, we're sniping at each other over stupid **** that has absolutely nothing to do with "Hima basses", and edging ever closer to "left vs. right" politics. If it goes there, I'm moving it to the Lounge.

Sincerely, your not-fat-but-not-as-skinny-as-he-used-to-be, quasi-vegetarian, socially-liberal/libertarian-but-fiscally-moderate-moderator,

DURRL

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I did not mean to be judgemental, just an attempt at some lameass oblique humor. I like free-associating quite a bit. Any conversation that starts in China, passes through Veganomics, and winds up at Zell Miller (!) is okay by me.


Now... how 'bout them recess appointments?