I just figured out why they really hate torrents
I figured it out, while watching Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood. The thing about most available media is the inherent advertising. Commercial breaks. The incidental advertising, the brand of the icons the media provides.
Thing is, ever since we started getting our media through torrents [mostly because we can’t get the media where we are] we aren’t as exposed to the commercials as everyone else.
All torrented shows clip the adverts.
The kids don’t know about the multitudes of other commercial-oriented things out there. They don’t know about the commercialised game sites. They don’t know about the toys we’d have to order online if they wanted them in the first place. They don’t demand the brands with the logo/mascot/character they’ve been taught to want.
We decide what shows we download in the first place. Most of what the kids are exposed to are documentaries and the odd show we decide actually contains a better message.
Sure, we have a lot more fans of the G4 ponies in the house, now, but the show has a better message than the “need it, want it” of most kids’ television.
I actually trained my 10YO to recognise and despise advertising. Now, if only I could get him to start consumer inspection and doing the things that are good for him…
Maybe I should start advertising veggies to him ;)
Anyway.
I’m doing my bit to teach my kids about things like “value for money” and “we can’t afford that”. And, more importantly, “Handmade means someone cared to make it”.
You can do it, too.
Disconnect the cable. Vet your media before the kids see it. Limit their computer time. Don’t look at the magazine rack. Shop at cheap vendors who don’t even have the brand-saturated products the mainstream ones do.
You, too, can isolate yourself from the commercial.
Unplug. Unravel. Undersell.
It could be the catchphrase of the new revolution.
Spotted this on Twitter and had to share it here. Created by Mark Miller (@Gonzoville).
If I could carry a sign in an OWS march…
It would read:
One people
One planet
One chance to change
For the better
Pay attention 1%!
I don’t suppose anyone would like to carry my idea in a march?
Mince Soup
This is another one of those “primary ingredient plus whatever you have lying around” recipes. Again, it’s just a few ingredients away from being a stew.
You will need these tools:
1 big pot
1 ladle or spoon for stirring
1 handy heat source like a cooktop
You will need these ingredients:
water
about 500g mince of your choice
sauces/flavour/herbs/spices to taste
vegetables
thickening or noodles optional
Method:
half-fill your pot with water and set it to boil
add mince and stir vigorously to break it into little eentsy-weentsy pieces
add herbs/flavour/sauces
bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-high and add veg
add anything else that takes your fancy
Can be served over rice, with bread, noodles or on its own. Theoretically can be portioned and frozen - but mine’s never lasted that long.
Slow-cooker Glop
This one’s for the busy people. Slow cookers are handy little gadgets that allow one to, say, set up a pot roast before you leave for work.
Everything I cook in my slow cooker always ends up as Glop
You will need these tools:
1 slow cooker
1 thing to make it go
1 thing to serve/stir
1 method of cooking rice
You will need these ingredients:
500g protein of your choice, preferably in bite-sized chunks
1-2 jars of simmer sauce
vegetables to taste
rice
water
Method:
Place protien in slow cooker with simmer sauce and vegetables. Add enough water to cover and start the cooker
When you come back, prepare the rice
Once rice is cooked, add rice to slow cooker
Stir well
Serve glop
Theoretically, glop can be portioned and frozen, but mine never lasts that long…
Sausage Soup
This is another one of those “scratch” recipes, in which you scratch together whatever you have going and put it in a pot.
You will need these tools:
1 big pot
1 handy heat source, like a cooktop
1 big spoon/ladle
1 knife or other means of chopping things
You will need these ingredients:
sausages
water
sauce/flavour
herbs/spices
vegetables
The quantity of these is up to you. Optional extras include: soup mix, rice, potatoes/potato powder, and anything else you like the look of, really.
Method:
Boil water in pot and add sausages
Once sausages are cooked, cut them up into bite-esque sized chunks
Return sausages to water and add the other ingredients
Serve with bread or on rice or on its own.
This is not cordon bleu. This is not fine dining. It is one stop away from Glop [next recipe!] and a few extra ingredients away from stew. What it is is cheap and easy to make after a long, hard day.
How to Stretch a Stew
There are as many recipes for stew as there are people who cook it. You might like a different kind of stew, but the core is the same:
* A lot of water
* Some kind of key protein [meat is traditional, but not necessary]
* Lots of vegetables
* Thickening
One of the key ideals of stew is that it can be stretched. You might portion yours up and freeze it straight after it’s cooked, but even then, you can stretch one portion of stew to make many more.
1) Water it down. Say your stew is stiff enough to make bricks out of. Turn it into a soup by watering it down. As many as five portions out of one! Serving with bread also helps fill those hungry stomachs.
2) Thicken it up. Stew a little too runny? No problem! Add some pearl barley, split peas, soup mix, lentils, rice, or potato powder to the mix. Or any combo of the above.
3) More body. Add more meat or veg, add more sauce, add more herbs and spices. You can always put more in a stew.
Remember - it is not recommended to store your stew in the pot for more than two days. After that, it starts to go off [quicker if you didn’t refrigerate it!] and your health is at risk.
For best economical advantage from a stew, add the date stored to your freezer containers and use the oldest samples first. Even freezing is not forever, so be careful about obeying the recommended storage times in your freezer.
Budget Busting in the Kitchen
Many of you know a few tricks, but these are some of mine. If you only have a little left to spend on food after taking care of all those bills, you need to make it stretch. And you also need to make sure you get a balanced diet. We’ve all heard the urban myth about the college kid who made a buttload of porridge etc. etc.
Anyway, over the next few days I’ll be sharing some budget-stretching recipes, but these are my generic hints and tips.
1) Own a freezer. It doesn’t matter how small it is, you can store a lot of stuff in there, including serving-sized portions of leftovers.
2) Where possible, buy in bulk. Remember economies of scale? Companies save cash by purchasing pallet loads of whatever they need. Obviously, they don’t sell pallets to plebes, but you can do the next best thing once you find where they sell it.
3) Be prepared to shop around. I know, going on a several hour journey to save a few cents isn’t sane, but knowing every last cheap vendor in your area makes a whole bunch of sense. Especially if you have a couple of places that let you buy items by the box load.
4) Change your purchasing to cash only. Cash is way more tangible than e-cash. Cards of any kidney make it easier to spend more. After all, when you hand over money, you get less back - but when you hand over a card, it remains apparently unchanged.
5) Learn how to cook for yourself. Pre-packaged, pre-processed, chemically altered and otherwise “convenient” food winds up being more expensive. Home cooked does take time, but you know exactly what went in there. Plus, if you cook a LOT, you can have plenty in the freezer for those “blah” days when you don’t feel like raising a spatula.
Just doing these five things can change your personal economy. It won’t happen overnight [especially if you have to buy a freezer] but it will make a change.
This video shows actual footage of the strange and elusive Occupy Melbourne tent monster.
I love the ever-living crap out of these guys :) All Occupies should start doing this :)
Ladies - just make sure you’re decently attired underneath. Guys - wear nothing. It’ll serve them right ;)
(Source: citizen-earth)