Tonight is birthday meal time - we are having Japanese

However, we nearly did something rather embarrassing. I showed the menu to Les (my gf) to make sure it was suitable for those afflicted with vegitarianism and it was. However I didn´t realise that there are two Japanese restraunts in Manchester and I showed her the menu for the one in Castlefield not the one in ChinaTown.......

So we very nearly booked a table for the one in Castlefiend and then turned up at the one in Chinatown - that would not have been a good plan at all. But fortunately we realised before ringing up to book.

Happy birthday!!  

Did you drink lots of saki??? 

Happy Birthday!!!

 This made me laugh out loud................ have a great time, off to Canal Street after I guess!

I would not normally comment on this, but as you have lectured this forum on "respectfulness",I find your laughing at something I feel very strongly about offensive. I am sure someone as "respectful" as you would never say the same about muslims being "afflicted with not eating pork".   I am not against people eating meat, but I will refuse to eat it until the way we farm animals changes.  If that causes inconvenience at your dinner parties, so be it.

BRAVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

!!!!

 I agree with you on that...but then could you please define which life is being considered?

...look what we just passed in CA 

 My major concern is sentient beings.  As plants do not feel emotion or pain (in the traditional sense, although Budhism will tell you differently), I will leave them out of my protest for now !

Please note that I did not feel it necessary to post a wiki-link to "sentient"

 I see. I feel all life should be treated with respect and compassion, weather I recognize it´s language or not. That book I linked to gives shows some very interesting research on that matter.

One of the more depressing aspects of being "alive" is that things die (some would say are transformed) so we live. How to balance that is a concern for some.

 Of course I agree all life should be treated with respect Alameda.  If you truly believe plants to be sentient, then I assume you do not prune or weed your garden?

Let´s put things in perspective eh?  Watch the video of the link I posted above, and then tell me if plants suffer in this way?!

 I dont find it depressing -  it is the natural way of life.  However, if we want to eat meat, we should ensure that animals are treated with respect and live as natural life as possible while they are alive.  In the wild, animals live in a natural environment and are killed and kill.  We farm insensively, keeping animals in cramped and horrible conditions and give them severe stress before they die.

 Of course, it´s a matter of how things are done. Is it with compassion and respect, or wanton, mindless, careless consumption?  

When you note how difficult it is for us here on TLC to communicate, it´s no wonder communication with other forms of life are misunderstood.

It was not long ago that Blacks in the US were not even considered human, thus they could be enslaved.  

As for the video link, did you look at the Propostition 2  recently passed in CA?

Anyway...it´s something to think about. Since I read The Secret Life of Plants, my consumption habits have changed.

Working in botany, I have yet to find anyone in the field who agrees with the all the findings in "The Secret Life of Plants", and the evidence and the manner in which it was collected, is very unscientific.

It was a very popular book, but most eminent botanists describe it is psuedo-science.

As Dr. David Hershey said:-

I was not aware there was a video but the experiment you describe is
detailed in the #1 bestselling book of that title by Peter Tompkins and
Christopher Bird. It also contains a lot of other botanical pseudoscience
as does its less successful sequel, Secrets of the Soil. The supposed
beneficial effect of some types of music on plant growth even inspired
Stevie Wonder to release an album of music to grow plants by! Art Galston
wrote a rebuttal to the Secret Life of Plants book titled "The
unscientific method" (1974. Natural History 83(3):18,21,24).

Most of that type of botanical pseudoscientific research was later tried
by actual plant scientists, who could not confirm the results. I do not
believe a lot of it was published because it represented negative results
that would not look too good on the resume of a legitimate scientist. A
1990 Cell article 60:357-364 reported no effect of music on mRNA changes
that could be induced by touching the plant, Arabidopsis.

Pseudoscience is a good topic to add interest to botany classes. A
close-to-pseudoscience theory is hydrotropism, which most college
textbooks say does not exist but precollege biology books say is valid.
See Hershey, D.R. 1992. Is hydrotropism all wet? Science Activities
29(2):20-24.

 I agree 100%! That´s why I voted yes on Proposition 2. Although I eat meat on ocassion, I only purchase that which has been farmed in a humane manner....and when I grow my veggies....I treat them very nice  and try to protect them from predators.

 Why do you keep repeating your links?  Are you trying to hypnotise me?  Perhaps you think I dont read them?

I am very pleased to see that Proposition 2 has received such a huge vote.  It is wonderful news.  I see nothing about animal transportation there, but hopefully you have legislation about the maximum time that animals can be transported?

 are you getting sleepy........

I repeat them not for you, but for any who may enter late.

I have two cats to whom I try to feed raw meat with some regularity. It´s interesting to notice the difference in their activity when they are fed raw meat. They seem to get more "animal" after eating it.

 Now where is your sense of humour?  Anyway, I was replying to Bod not you and he is not insulted

 Oh dear Bod, what have I / we started

Here we go again with that innocent "ouh look how everyone jumps on the slightest thing" act.

Of course you had no need to apologise to Bod, as you were (rather excessively) laughing about his joke regarding vegetarians.  I would not normally bother to reply, had it not been for your remarks about learning "respect".

 Am waiting for clarification from Catwoman as to whether using a smiley which says "you are crazy" is the same as saying "you are paranoid" as both imply mental illness.

I find this post very rude actually (even without the smiley).

Ooops just noticed your post Bod

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE mwah mwah mwah

 am i too late ....happy belated bithday

Happy Birthday Dude

And I too am very late thanking everyone for birthday wishes

BTW - the Japanese food was excellent and we went to the correct one!!!

Last night I was having dinner with friends and the subject turned to "our most embarassing moments".  My friend told us this story:-

She had recently had a baby and she had had a particularly bad night with her.  The next morning her husband woke her and said that she would have to drop him to work in the car that day.  She hurried out of bed, grabbed the baby, and they set off to the next town, where he is manager of a bank.

After dropping him off, she realised that she had forgotten her house keys....even worse, she had not thought to bring her cell phone.  Turning back she parked the car in the town again and sat for a few moments crying, realising what was ahead.  Finally she wiped away her tears and got out of the car, walked through the busy pedestrianised square, full of early morning shoppers and people rushing to work, and finally walked into the bank and asked for her husband so she could get his keys ................ wearing baggy old pyjama bottoms (with a very sagging bottom!), a cropped pink sleep top, pink slippers, a scruffy old cardigan, no underwear, very messy hair and no makeup!!!!!

Just to make her day REALLY complete, when she got home and looked in the mirror, there was baby sick on the shoulder of the cardigan!!

I didn´t know if to hug her or roll on the floor laughing.... so did both!

I had a similar situation when taking the trash out. I thought I could just sneak around the building and put it in the bins. I was not quite as badly put together as that lady, but certainly not in any condition where I wanted to meet anyone from the outside world.

A car honked and stopped and my ex-boss got out of his car.....I could have died!

Now I make sure to comb my hair and put something decent on to take out the trash.

I´m so glad this thread resurfaced.  I remember reading it at the time and almost made a comment but decided against it. 

Hilarious Aenigma, I forgot how entertaining you can be at times .

One day I met a sweet gentleman and fell in love. When it became apparent that we would marry, I made the supreme sacrifice and gave up beans.
Some months later, on my birthday, my car broke down on the way home from work. Since I lived in the countryside I called my husband and told him that I would be late because I had to walk home. On my
way, I passed by a small diner and the odour of baked beans was more than I could stand. With miles to walk, I figured that I would walk off any ill effects by the time I reached home, so I stopped at the diner and before I knew it, I had consumed three large orders of baked beans.
All the way home, I made sure that I released all the gas.
Upon my arrival, my husband seemed excited to see! me and exclaimed delightedly: "Darling I have a surprise for dinner tonight."
He then blindfolded me and led me to my chair at the dinner table. I took a seat and just as he was about to remove my blindfold, the telephone rang. He made me promise not to touch the blindfold until he  returned and went to answer the call.
The baked beans I had consumed were still affecting me and the pressure was becoming most unbearable, so while my husband was out of the room I seized the opportunity, shifted my weight to one leg and let one go. It was not only loud, but it smelled like a fertilizer truck running over a skunk in front of a pulpwood mill. I took my napkin from my lap and fanned the air around me vigorously.
Then, shifting to the other cheek, I ripped off three more. The stink was worse than cooked cabbage.
Keeping my ears carefully tuned to the conversation in the other room, I went on like this for another few minutes.
The pleasure was indescribable. When eventually the telephone farewells signalled the end of my freedom, I quickly fanned the air a few more times with my napkin, placed it on my lap and folded my hands back on it feeling very relieved and pleased with myself.
My face must have been the picture of innocence when my husband returned, apologizing for taking so long. He asked me if I had peeked through the blindfold, and I assured him I had not.
At this point, he removed the blindfold, and twelve dinner guests seated around the table chorused: "Happy Birthday!"

I fainted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I don´t think your friends will be coming to anymore of your surprise birthday parties!

i think there will never be a surprise birthday pop-ups anymore

 Not after that trauma!  I promise you, I will just send you a card next time!!

 ha ha OMG classic!!! (just embarrassed myself in the park laughing at this post....weird crazy lady laughing to herself)

 OMG how addicted are you that you are logging on to TC in a PARK????  For the love of god woman get yourself some help!! 

 I know but there´s only a help line for the babyglam vigil

Come to the Duduholics Anonymous meeting, in the Lounge, 10pm tonight!  

 But it clashes with the vigil!

Methinks it´s going to be the same crowd.

How can you be an anonymous dudu???

*CoNFuSeD*

 you need glasses, bod. or are you posting for posting only?

 It´s hard to stay on top around here!

Of course it is, you should accept your lower status predestined by your gender you awful feminist! Woman on top violates the perfect world order. Speaking of order, cleaned the house yet? Dinner ready?

no

what is the punishment for me now?

 Write a thousand times ´I should be cleaning my house and cooking dinner for my hubby´.

now? in this thread? will not they get deleted?

 I can´t promise that. I would say try it....

 Yeah - go on!  A new post for every line and you´ll soon catch bod!

(lady in red says:  Go for it!!  but her alter ego ´admin in red´ says NOOOOO!!!!  )

Hm... lest you pay attention to it, you might develop schizofrenia.

 Do I need to catch bod?

 I think you have a fairly commanding lead!

Have you actually read the book "Secret Life of Plants"?

Or, are we relying on the wisdom of "most" botanists here?

´After I read it, pseuda-science would not be the word I would choose to describe it.

I am yet to read another interesting book, such as that one, on plant life written by these scientifically critical botanists.

Any suggestions?

 Yes I have read Secret Life of Plants and I stand by my comments. Plants are not sentinent. 

And what is wrong with relying on the wisdom of botanists?    I happen to work with one of the most respected botanists in the UK - so actually YES, I do respect his wisdom on such subjects!

Why would you want to.......

Or maybe that should be - why did you want to