Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Jon Stewart

Just when I thought I couldn't love Jon Stewart any more than I already do I found this article on One Green Planet  www.onegreenplanet.org 
I had seen his interview with the founder of Farm Sanctuary Gene Baur but didn't realize that he and his wife Tracey are big supporters of this organization, which I also support, and that Tracey is also vegan.


Jon Stewart’s leanings toward a greener world and fair treatment of animals is pretty well known. Did you see the episode where he positively destroyed New Jersey Governor Chris Christie over vetoing a popular gestation crate ban? How about his thorough interview with Farm Sanctuary founder Gene Baur?  Or even the segment where he took on poaching?
Though the playbook for his reporting style likely reads, “A. Place tongue firmly in cheek. B. Explore all sides C. Mercilessly skewer,” he’s almost universally lauded for being the voice of reason in an age of scaremonger journalism and corporate pandering by “news” networks. Oh, how we will all miss him.

Please…please, don’t go….

With the announcement that he will be leaving The Daily Show at the end of this season, speculation as to what’s next for the comedian has encircled him. While it’s still up in the air what kind of future magic he’ll deliver, and in what medium, the only thing we do know is that he’s going to greener pastures. Literally.
As it turns out that he and his wife Tracey have reportedly decided to purchase a farm in New Jersey. It’s a good thing too, considering that they boast a family that consists of two children, four dogs, two horses, two pigs, three rabbits, two guinea pigs, two hamsters, one parrot and two fish. ”All rescues,” Tracey says of her enormous brood. “Except for the children.”

This is a moment of zen if we’ve ever seen one.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart Buys The Farm! Don't Worry, he Plans to Live There.
You see, Tracey – a former vet tech – is not only a vocal and steadfast animal advocate herself, she’s the Editor-in-Chief of the online parenting magazine Moomah, whose April 2015 issue is entirely dedicated to veganism.
Makes sense since she’s vegan herself! Even so, why would she devote an entire issue of her magazine to the subject? “Being vegan myself, I think it can only benefit others to at least ponder what life would be like on a diet filled with fewer animal products,” she writes.

How else do you think she has all that energy for kid crafting? 

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart Buys The Farm! Don't Worry, he Plans to Live There.

While reports are circulating (though are unconfirmed) that their intention behind purchasing the farm might, in fact, be to house more rescues in a sanctuary type set up, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising. After reading Gene Baur’s first book “Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food,” Tracey reached out to the organization in order to offer support and began taking her children to visit the animals at their various locations. She even went so far as to gift all of the couple’s guests Adopt-a-Farm Animal sponsorships last Thanksgiving!
“The joy of interacting with animals as friends instead of using them for human consumption is life-changing,” says Tracey. “A trip to Farm Sanctuary should be on everyone’s to-do list, but you can also bring a little bit of sanctuary home when you sponsor an animal through the Adopt a Farm Animal Program.”

Wasn’t Snow White the one who hung out with all the animals? So fitting.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart Buys The Farm! Don't Worry, he Plans to Live There.
The couple are such supporters of the organization that two sheep were named Jon and Tracey in their honor and the pair recently had a little sheep of their own named Hazleton. She’s even taken educating people about animals a step further by penning a new book coming out October of 2015 titled “Do Unto Animals,” which promises to be a humorous and insightful look into the secret lives of animals and a guide for how to live alongside them. A portion of the proceeds will go to, you guessed it, Farm Sanctuary.

This happy mama was aptly named after another happy mama.


While the loss of Stewart from a half-hour comedy show that has turned out to be a better source of news than most other network programs on air still stinging, it serves as a slight balm to picture him awash in the love of rescue animals on an idyllic farm in America’s Garden State. Maybe his next show can be a family oriented glimpse into his life with Tracey and their animal friends? We can dream … we can dream.

Friday, April 17, 2015

This Kiva loan is in honor of my mother's birthday:
"Grigor lives with his nice family in Dilijan city, which is in the Tavush region. Grigor says that he greatly enjoyed his two previous deals with Kiva and hopes for the third one. He hopes that Kiva lenders will be so kind again to support him in his request with the loan amount.
Grigor works at the computer office, and there he repairs computers and printing machines. His wife also works there as a manager. Grigor has two pretty daughters; the elder already graduated from a state university, and she works at the insurance company. The smallest daughter is still a student at the Yerevan State University, at the faculty of Romano and Germanic languages. She studies at the paid division and Grigor would like to solve the problem of tuition fee repayment again with the help of Kiva lenders.
This loan of 450,000 Armenian drams he seeks as he must pay his smallest daughter’s tuition fee."