Every Life

My friend, Malory, started Every Life Has a Story after losing her baby girl, Janessa. I know that most of us haven't experienced such a loss, but many of us know someone who has. It would be great for you to become a fan of her page if you're on facebook and follow her blog because you never know who might stumble upon it through you. I know that she'll help a lot of grieving parents through her efforts.

Stop stuffing your face for a minute and read this...

It doesn't matter what you support. Somehow, whatever it is that you feel strongly about, reducing your meat consumption will support that. If you care about climate change, the agricultural industry contributes more harmfully to climate change than every mode of transportation combined. If you care about animal welfare, take a look at how this industry treats animals. If you care about poverty, consider what western meat consumption is doing to third world economies every time you pay $1 for your fast food burger. If you care about the depleting rain forests, think about how much of the Amazon is destroyed every year to make more room for cattle.

I'm not asking anyone to stop eating meat all together. Just stop eating so much of it. And stop supporting an industry that is so full of greed that it has lost any sense of humanity.

http://www.supportmfm.org/

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

Or so said the German novelist, Berthold Auerbach. I thought I would post this video. Her name is Sarah. She has amazing vocals and I really love her lyrics. The fact alone that she can play a guitar and sing at the same time makes her cooler than me. Ha! And so she more than deserves a spot in my blog.

Assalamu Alaykum

This is my favorite photo from the protest in Iran. This woman is so passionate and sincere. The look in her eyes seems to express her sadness over the conflict, while her fist clearly displays her anger and willingness to fight. She is a modern day hero.

Ma Salama!

(This photo is all over the internet, so I can't say for sure who has the rights to it. It is listed in the Flickr album of mousavi1388.)

Favorites.

These are a few of my favorite music videos. I hope you enjoy them.

















I hope you enjoyed those.

~Dyanna...

I call this part of my life: Angry.

So it's been a few months since I've posted anything on here. I've just been waiting for something worth saying. I found something to say.


Fuck you, Ahmadinejad.

http://www.rockthevote.com/campaigns/iran/

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1905331,00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/14/iran.election.rival/index.html#cnnSTCText


I'm not really a big fan of government ever since I worked for them and saw how much they like to fuck with innocent, defenseless people. The government here in the USA has not really done a whole lot to impress me since.... ever. Maybe things are changing, but we won't know that for a while. What I do know is that I can come on here and piss and moan about my government any time I want. I know that I can march into Boston and gather in front of City Hall with signs and chant until my voice is gone about anything that I believe in. Maybe no one is listening, but they have every right to ignore me. What they do not have is the right to beat me, rape me, kill me. They don't have that right. They shouldn't have that right. There is no reason that Ahmadinejad should be giving that right to the government of Iran. And there is certainly no reason that we shouldn't be doing everything in our superpower to stop the violence.

The streets of Tehran. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mousavi1388

Fuck you, Ahmadinejad. Fuck you.

Back

I know it's been more than a month since we've posted anything. We've been busy. Viet Nam was amazing. We both loved it. Photos exist. I'll get to posting them another time. We both would have like more time in Singapore, but thanks to our lack of preparation during Chinese New Year, it didn't work out. We plan to go back soon, though.

We went to California and caught up with some old friends. That was awesome. Los Angeles is an interesting place. We also made a stop of in Disneyland. We had a blast.

We were only back in Mass for a week when we decided to go to Daytona with Shawn and Bobbi. I guess our sensitive skin just can't handle the cold.... Daytona was cool. It was our first bike rally. We were told that it was a bit slower than past rallies. I think we'll check out Myrtle in May.

Now we are both in Mass again, looking for jobs.... Uncool, I know. This is just a quick note to fill in the last couple months gap. We haven't finished visiting with friends and family, so hopefully you will see us soon if you haven't already!

Love,

Nate and Dyanna

Good Bye, Australia...

It is officially our last day on this little island! I am so excited. Nate is overwhelmed. He doesn't really know what to do with himself. We'll be spending our last day in Melbourne doing laundry, mailing stuff home, meeting Svetha's family (who are so kindly taking on ol' Red), and getting all our final paperwork together. It has been a real trip. Australia is a great continent - harsh and treacherous at times, but great nonetheless. Melbourne is an amazing city, the best city in Australia, in my opinion. I don't know what else to say. We aren't too sure how often we'll be on the net in Viet Nam. Hopefully, we will have a little relaxing time while we are there. Believe it or not, driving across Australia is far from a relaxing holiday. We did more work on this trip then we ever did back in Perth!

I know that pictures are probably expected because this is the last update from Aus, but that just isn't going to happen. Again, all our pictures are crap. If you want amazing pictures, google Melbourne Victoria Australia and the Snowy Mountains of New South Whales. That's what we saw. We both look the same, but a little darker. We tried our best to shield our skin from those deadly rays, but a few got through.

Hope you have all enjoyed the Australia updates. We'll talk to everyone soon, I'm sure!

Love,

Nate and Dy

skim reading

We are in the Capitol. We skipped a butt-load of stuff to get here, but I think we hit all the good points. We are full on back in populated territory. It kind of sucks, but it has its own appeal. Brisbane was alright. South Brisbane had a gigantic man-made lagoon right in the middle of the city with sandy beaches. We watched a guy build a sand sculpture until we fell asleep in the grass. Other than that and Starbucks, we didn't do much in Brisbane.

From there, we headed south to the Gold Coast. It was exactly as we always dreamed... People piled on top of people... Everyone and their dog trying to surf in what seemed like miles of clean peeling waves. We did some swimming and playing in the waves, but only stayed for a couple days. The most entertainment came from stalking the mass amounts of beach goers with our point and shoots.

Nate was thoroughly entertained by his 27th birthday present. A picture says it all...

We burned down to Sydney to check out the most well known city in Australia simply so that we could write about it in this blog. It was a city. We were in constant confusion about what train to get on and which direction we should walk. We ended up cab-ing it back to the car because we couldn't handle it anymore. We took on an additional 18 year old German girl who stayed out too late and was also having trouble finding her way home. We dropped her off and headed west.

We got to the Capitol, Canberra, and dropped off our passports to the Viet Nam Embassy. We hung around for the afternoon and caught a movie that night - Seven Pounds. Will Smith hit another one home. It was a lot more relaxing than the hustle bustle of Sydney. We found a little grocery store and I had my first Reeces Peanut Butter Cup and Dr. Pepper in three years. They were both amazing.

After that, off to the mountains. Lots of good stuff: high meadows, winding roads, wild horses, mountain streams, lakes and rivers containing water, and cool, fresh air. The best Australia has offered us yet.

We burned back to the Capitol to pick up our passports today and we're heading for the south coast soon. We've only got about a week left in Australia before we're off to Southeast Asia. We are both really excited to get going and do something new... or newer...

Here are a bunch of photos to make you jealous. Or not... depending on what sort of stuff you're into.




Nate about to rinse off in one of those mountain streams.



Emu.



Mountain Stream.


Dyanna making breakfast and trying to keep some of that 9am sun off my neck.



The best camp spot we've had through this whole trip.


Same spot as above.


I took this one of Nate from inside the tent while he was making us dinner.


Mecca.


Grasshopper.


Nate flying the kite on the Goldcoast. Some kid was flying a little kite with his dad, so we thought we'd pull out ours and squash them right out. They left shortly after. Just kidding... They were getting ready to leave anyway.....


The beach where we flew the kite.


Another kite shot with a beautiful sunset.


Nate walking to the Tiger Moth. Happy 27th, babe!


Guy making sand sculpture.


Bird.


Bird.


Random beach with rainforest creeping right up to the sand.


Me relaxing with a good book. A damn good book. Thanks Elle.


An airplane.



Love,


Nate and Dy

Jellyfish-free

We finally made it south of the Tropic of Capricorn and can officially swim in the ocean without fear of excruciating pain and possible death. Unfortunately, this place is jam packed to the brim with people. Right now we are on the Sunshine Coast just north of Brisbane. Ironically, it has been raining all day.

We saw a piece of the Great Barrier Reef. That was pretty good. We were going to snorkel to get a better look, but my fear of jellies and Nate's laziness prevented us from accomplishing this task. We went on a semi-submarine tour instead. I know. We're lame.

We are heading to Brisbane next. We have to get our visa's for Viet Nam, so we'll be there for a few days. I'll post another blog with some pictures of this area sometime while we are here. Right now I am on a cheesy connection that gives me about 1 mbps. Sick.

Love you all,

Nate and Dy