Early Edison Kinetoscope film footage.

Sometimes I really miss watching 3-2-1 Contact.

The future of food.

Several months ago, I watched an incredibly informative documentary regarding genetically mutated food crops, the motivation behind them, and the danger we're facing because of it. It became a sort of obsession with me, mostly because I really had no idea how much we are threatening the survival of our future generations with these seed modifications, as well as our own. Yesterday, I came across a blog posting regarding the very company held responsible for the majority of these genetic mutations and that some of their corn has recently been linked to organ failure in lab rats. Everyone (note : if you eat, and chances are you do, then I'm talking to you) needs to be aware of what is happening with our food.

It concerns me that the majority of the public is ignorant (as I was before The Future of Food kick started my research into other GMO claims) that among the crops in the US : 89% of all Soybeans, 60% of all corn, 75% of all canola, and 83% of all cotton are GENETICALLY MODIFIED. I dare you to go one full day without coming across an American made food product that doesn't contain corn syrup. Guess where that corn syrup is coming from? Well, we already know it's bad for us, but add on top of that that there is a 60% chance that corn was genetically modified, and of that roughly an 80% chance it was modified by the Monsanto Corporation. And remember, Monsanto's GMO corn was just linked to organ failure in lab rats. Here's what's even scarier : Monsanto has seed patents. What that means in layman's terms, every time one of their GMO seeds is picked up by the wind and accidentally cross-pollinates with a non-GMO crop, not only is that crop now infected with the genetic mutation, but Monsanto has the legal right to put the newly infected crop's farm & farmer out of business for patent infringement. And that's exactly what they are doing.

What I don't know is what we can do to stop this. What I do know is that light desperately needs to be shed on this issue before any hope for change can exist.

- C.

Calamus Gladio Fortior.

I read a lot, mostly non-fiction. Every once and a while, I come across a written page (or series of) that forever changes my course; I equate it with those tiny intersections on the palm's life line. I picked this book up recently and the instant I started skimming the pages, I was affected by the relevance that it held with my own current personal battles.

In Russia circa 1882, Tolstoy's memoir discussing his struggles between belief in nothing vs. faith in something; a journey to understand the meaning of life, was subject of such controversy that it led to his eventual ex-communication from the Catholic church. What I have found is nothing less than a letter of recognition of sorts, a piece I feel has been written specifically for my guts to devour, my brains to absorb; one that defines my own internal conflicts, and couldn't hold more relevancy some 100 years after it was written.

- C.