Miami Vegan Blog

Dear Amy Winehouse,

I'm sure you get tons of fan mail and mine would get lost in the well wishes and 'i love you's, but this is not like that.

You are channeling some serious soulful energy, the likes of Dinah Washington, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald. Do you know how RARE that is!!!!!! Coming from someone so young.

Yes, the drugs are tempting, the fame, the glory, the money, the power. You used to be so beautiful. Your voice is fading. You are not tapped into the same energy. The drugs have made you wide open to some other stuff. Blake or whoever introduced you to crack or heroin or meth has robbed us of a goddess.

Snap out of it! Singing is probably all you have. People are watching you crash and burn because they don't care. Just another young talented person bites that dust. But I care!! Very much!!

Start meditating, stop doing drugs, stay away from your parents if they're enabling you, and kick the 'Yes' people to the curb.

You are still beautiful inside, but take a look at your pictures from just two years ago. You need to find your way back. People still invite you to perform because its a carnival show. Do you hear yourself? You're not even singing half the time, you are mumbling or talking or making up words.

Whoever has taken over Amy Winehouse's body - give her back to us. Her voice is straight from heaven and if she dies, which is very likely, her best work will die with her.

Amy, whatever is torturing you or causing you to abuse yourself like this, ask deeply and sincerely that it let's you go, because the biggest funeral in the world won't even compare to your biggest comback and the impact it will have on all the young singing starlets that follow in your footsteps, up the stage or down into the grave.

Come back to us, Amy. Please .... :(

~inga~

Someone sent me this photo:



A scene you will probably never get to see. This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point. You also see the sun below the moon. An amazing photo and not one easily duplicated. You may want to pass it on to others. The Chinese have a saying: "When someone shares with you something of value, you have an obligation to share it with others.

It is such a disappointment. I liked those nuts. I reckoned that I could quite easily get through my vegan week - not just meat and fish-free, but dairy, egg and honey-free - if it involved a snack as tasty and satisfying as this one. Nuts could be my friend. Nuts could be my salvation. High in protein. Rich in luscious fats. All a big boy with a taste for the animal could need. At lunchtime on that first full day I had stood in the kitchen scoffing the macadamias, as my wife Pat pleaded to be allowed to try them.

'You can't have these,' I said, with a solemn shake of the head. 'They're only for vegans.'

'Oh go on.'

'Are you a vegan?'

'Well no, but...'

'Then you can't have them can you.' And I popped another in my mouth.

'Sod you,' Pat said. 'I'm going to make myself a ham and cheese bagel.'

I told her to go right ahead; that all those animal and dairy fats wouldn't make her feel good, either about the planet or herself. If you've led a life like mine, rich in shame and filth, there are few opportunities for being sanctimonious and you have to seize those that offer themselves quickly. Which was what I was doing when I examined the ingredients of this bag of nuts and noticed that, in among the listings for sunflower oil and salt and lemon and coriander leaf was a reference to lactose from cows' milk. Apparently it works as a thickener for flavouring powders.

[Source]

Oprah's 21-day cleanse will/has have/had an effect on many people. More people are introduced to what vegans eat, and more people are willing to try veganism for a week, a month or forever. That's great in my eyes. Some people will stay, some people will go, some people will become vegetarians, some may venture into raw veganism. It's such a beautiful experiment, with rippling consequences of the fruit variety. What does that mean? I have no idea, it's fun to just make up words and sentences that mean absolutely ..... yeah. So anyway, please email me if you have questions about the vegan diet. I'll be more than happy to help you along.

Ciao,

~inga~

LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Wimbledon came under fire from animal activists on Tuesday for using marksmen to shoot down dive-bombing pigeons.

The tournament employs two hawks to scare away pigeons who had become a pest swooping down on Centre Court and distracting players in the middle of tense matches.

But the hawks failed to keep the pigeons away from the players’ lawn and the open-air media restaurant so marksmen were called in.

“The hawks are our first line of deterrent, and by and large they do the job,” Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said.

“But unfortunately there were one or two areas where the hawks didn’t deter the pigeons, so it was deemed necessary to take a harder approach,” he explained.

[Source]

Miami
Locksmith

Labels: miami locksmith

Stupid Outback Commercial - Semi Veg. Funny but still stupid ... =)

Ok, this post if for my sister Sherri who told me she reads my blog now. Yippee!!

Well, on Father's Day my sister decides we are all going to Outback Steakhouse AGAIN! Remember last year I told you how ridiculous my experience was there. She must not have been reading it then.

Anyway, everyone was late as usual. That worked for me because I ordered and ate all my food before they showed up. Then, as they ate I sat outside and talked on my cell phone. Hey, it's the only thing I can do to protest.

I had sauteed mushrooms, a plain baked potato and a salad. It wasn't bad actually.

Then yesterday, my mom said she wanted to take me to lunch. She asked if I wanted to go to a vegan restaurant. I hadn't seen her in a while so I let her decide. Where does she want to go, Houston's. A hard thud echoed from my empty belly to my throat. What is wrong with my family? Don't they know that eating at establishments that roast and fry carcass is against my religion. Whatever, they have a nice homemade veggie burger and she was nice enough to offer.

We trek on over to Houston's in North Miami Beach. Beautiful restaurant. Artichoke fashioned chandeliers. Pretty. Pretty empty. That place is usually jumping. We waited for five minutes and then they called us for our table. Everything was good until the food came.

My mom ordered salmon and little bread thingys and Mexican soup w/avocado, tomatoes and chicken or fish, I didn't ask. I ordered their Black Bean Burger with no fries, but instead a salad. Three people served us that day. The drink taker, the order taker and the food bringer. The order taker heard me so NO FRIES. The reason I don't want fries on the plate is because I WILL eat them. I'm so thin that if I eat that stuff I will see it in my midsection in the morning. There is no room for these kind of slip ups. Well, the food bringer brought the fries. I told the order taker that I don't want any cheese or butter. Newsflash! That probably means I don't want any mayo slathered all over my bun either right. It was covered in onions, which I don't do onions. Especially not giant fresh diced ones. P-U!

So, the food bringer apologized and brought my salad. I asked for vinaigrette, which is usually safe. The order taker apologizes for the food bringer bringing the fries but left them on the table. Then after taking a few bites of my salad I detected some bad energy. "What's in this salad dressing?" Um ... citrus, olive oil. "And? Is there any egg in here?" I don't think so let me check. Aren't the servers supposed to know every ingredient before they are hired? The order taker scurries back and says yes there is egg yoke in it and milk. GROSS!! So yeah, I ate a few of their skinny, crispy fries and my tummy is not happy.

You have no idea what it's like to eat out as a vegan. You have to be friggin Sherlock Holmes.

The Bean Burger was more than enough for me open-faced. I've worked in restaurants for 7 years so I know what goes down. Unfortunately, everyone has to make a living, and as you are putting your key in the ignition, the drink taker, the order taker and the food bringer are taking your tips, wiping your table and setting up for the next person. They don't care if you enjoyed your meal. They just want to clock out already.

What would the world be like if all the steakhouse disappeared? The vegan girl can dream ...

~inga~

Yes, there is an upside. For me personally, I've turned down about a dozen offers this month to go here or there. Talked myself out of extra things I [do not] need. Visiting friends in Broward and beyond are not an option anymore. Waiting until tomorrow to buy my dog food, when I can buy it now and save the trip. A/C - what's A/C? Unless I'm giving someone a ride, that button has dust on it.

No more dark chocolate, soy puddings, vegan burritos, fruit juices. Nothing but fruit, vegetables and whole foods now. It's amazing how much crap you eat just because it's there. You can get by on five meals a day, but I was eating 7 and 8. Not necessary. A 1/2 a watermelon will fill you up just as much as a giant veggie burger and fries will. Except you will be running to the bathroom for two hours, but if you're home who cares.

The good thing about gas prices being high is that you drive less. No more midnight munchie runs to McDonald's. Probably no more munchies because you can't afford any special habits. You love your job a little more because it gives you money and getting another one isn't that easy. You appreciate MPG. You actually know what MPG stands for now. Ha! You reset your Tripometer everytime you fill up. You don't fill up actually. It's 1/2 a tank, then 1/4 of a tank, then as close to E as you can get before your car chokes on its own fumes.

No matter what though, Mr. Bush and his tycoons are helping the environment by forcing us to conserve and reduce our carbon footprint out of shear fear of poverty.

Here is a very interesting article that describes how the price of corn is driving up the price of meat and dairy. [Click Here]

Out of Chaos brings Hidden Resolution!!

~inga~

download media alert (pdf)

june 28 (7pm - til...) : butter gallery : 3135 commodore plaza , coconut grove, fl : 305.303.6254
opening party celebrating the half way point of the project featuring 167 prints (from january 1st thru june 15)
photos will be on exhibit until july 31st. sponsors: ecstasy liquor & lola's cupcakery

Labels: alissa christine, art, butter gallery, dj inga ambrosia, miami, photography

Leave it to meat-eaters to come up with another way to slander the vegans. What vegan isn't obsessed with eating healthy, it's synonymous. If you aren't obsessed, then you're a vegetarian. If you don't care at all, you're like everyone else.

Too much of a good thing isn't good. That's a silly statement.

I guess I have orthorexia ... better than anorexia.

BOSTON - A federal judge has ruled that the state’s prison system violated a convicted child killer’s civil rights by denying him a vegan diet.

U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Wolf ruled this week that the Department of Correction violated federal law protecting religious freedom and ordered the department to provide Daniel Yeboah-Sefah a diet in line with his Buddhist beliefs.

[Source]

[Read more about Buddhist prisoners]

I'm conflicted about blogging this story. This guy beat his 5-week old son to death. He apparently has changed his ways and is vegan now. I believe all vegans should be allowed to have food choices, even in prison. Poor baby though.

Check out the Comments Section. People (meat-eaters for sure) are not having it.

~inga~

Labels: buddhism, diet, inmate, prison, vegan, veganism

I took this picture today. This little guy ran in front of my car. Beautiful creature. Don't tell me dinosaurs never existed.

Newly discovered dinosaur bones. [Read More]

~inga~

Well, to be fair, I contacted Moby about making a strange record and he never responded to me.

Oh well ...

~inga~

Labels: moby

After so many recommendations from my vegan friends, I finally decided to head on over to Life Food Gourmet in Downtown Miami.



John is a great chef. His food has such good energy, pure energy. He's been on a living foods diet for four years straight. Pretty impressive if you know how difficult that can be if you're not a chef. We had a nice chat about lifestyle, food, health and the future of his restaurant. He has some big plans that I'm sure are going to be successful.

First off, I had some Nachos. I haven't had nachos in many many years. These tasted like gourmet nachos. Very tasty and fresh. They have salsa, homemade guacamole, pumpkin spiced "carne molida", nacho pine nut cheese & brazil sour cream. Unbelievable!



He asked me if I wanted to try a pizza. I told him, "No, I don't like pizza." What I meant was, "I don't like raw pizza." He said, "It tastes like real pizza, and it's made with sprouted quinoa, flaxseeds and SD tomato bread." I was curious. I gave it a try and all I can say is that, it was divine. I've had "raw" pizza before and this one blows them all away!

Labels: brickell, john schott, life food gourmet, living food, miami, raw food, raw vegan, real life food, south florida

The Double Rainbow

Every once in a while, if you get lucky, you may see a second rainbow on the outside of the first, brighter rainbow. This is the "secondary rainbow" which occurs when raindrops high in the atmosphere refract and reflect light back to the viewer.

These raindrops are higher than those which cause the "primary rainbow" and are special because they internally reflect the incoming sunlight twice rather than just once.

Notice that the sunlight hits the bottom of the raindrop to make the secondary rainbow. There is still sunlight hitting the other parts of the raindrop, however, some of the light is simply transmitted through the raindrop without reflecting, and some light is reflected and refracted, but not into our eyes: that light is for someone else's rainbow.

Notice also in the image at the top of the page that the sequence of colors in the secondary rainbow is switched compared to the primary bow. Why is this?

[Source]

I didn't know this. When you don't know to look for something, your eye can trick you into thinking you see the same thing. Next time I'll look closer ... I see them all the time now. ;-))

~inga~

Ambrosia Ambiance Tour - 2008 Ambrosia Ambiance is a tour of vegan-friendly restaurants across South Florida and eventually the world. With art, music, spoken word and vegan food, we try to create a beautiful alternative to the typical nightlife scene. OUR NEXT STOP Saturday, June 14, 2008 Vegetarian Restaurant by Hakin 73 NE 167th Street North Miami, FL Open mic sign up begins @ 7pm Show starts at 8pm Live Painting by Rebekka Pierre 8:00 p.m. Open mic 8:30 p.m. Jon of Togen 9:15 p.m. PHIsonica 10:00 p.m. DJ Inga Ambrosia Vegan Food, Juices, Desserts, Patties, Kangen Water www.ambrosiaambiance.com Live Painting by REBEKKA PIERRE BIO: Originally born in Munich, Germany in 1975, Rebekka has been a self-taught visual artist since she could hold a pencil and a pair of scissors properly. Rebekka's art has always had a unique, free flowing style to it which has carried over through the years of her creative evolution. Rebekka's work can be described as abstract-psychedelic with a touch of grafitti, and her style is always evolving. She counts Jean-Paul Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Salvador Dali as major influences of her work. For more of Rebekka's artwork: [Blog] [Sketchbook/Portfolio]

Live Acoustic Music by Jon of Togen BIOGRAPHY Jon R. is a singer, songwriter, musician, & artist…he currently performs with the experimental rock band TOGEN with versatile percussionist Brian Wolf (also formerly of the post punk band Vega) and English trip-hop producer Simon Molineux. Before all of this Jon was a member of many cool and interesting bands here and abroad. Some may remember him as the guitarist in the mod-punk Dog 5 Trio or the singer of JAM; others may recall his time with the jazz-rock trio Badself or on bass with One Big Magic or The Spinning Room. He is also a producer and has been a musician on over 24 recordings. Jon also has his own record label that supports some cool bands that support the environment. Magnetic Mind Records has been an indie effort since 1994. When he is not busy writing, recording or performing he has also been painting. Jon began oil painting in 2003 and he has been creating a pretty steady collection of artworks ever since. You can see his painting ‘She’s Under Moon Watch’ at The Wallflower Gallery, Miami. To find out more about his music check: www.myspace.com/jonsmusiconline www.myspace.com/togenmusic To find out more about his art check: http://groups.myspace.com/jonsartandmusiconline

Live Downtempo Music by PHIsonica Eric Dez and Ankhuphara, two Miami-based multi-instrumentalists and vibrational healers, have come together to form PHIsonica, dedicating their first release, Starseed Journey, to ¨all brothers and sisters of the Earth who are consciously creating,¨ with a special shoutout in the liner notes to the love and guidance of ¨the sacred celestial beings.¨ The group..s name and the composition of the album are directly related to Phi ratios, a sacred geometry explored in The Da Vinci Code, among other works. One lively tune, ¨Namaste,¨ a Hindi word meaning ¨I bow to you,¨ tracks live handclaps, a searching wind-synth, and a bass melody over the whispering affirmation ¨the divinity in me/Honor/The divinity in you. ¨ The counterpointing sounds on this album are hypnotizing and draw the listener deeper and deeper into the center of being and wholeness. Thankfully, we don..t have to know a thing about chakras or phi to benefit from PHIsonica..s world fusion electronica. www.phisonica.com myspace.com.phisonica.com

Live DJ Set Ambient, World Music, Melodics by DJ Inga Ambrosia BIOGRAPHY: Inga has been DJ'ing for four years. Two of those years were spent DJ'ing in her bedroom, the other two out in galleries, hotels, nightclubs etc. Inga grew up listening to gospel, jazz, psychedelic, funk and folk music. Instrumental music had always inspired her and taken her to another place. Musicians such as Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn, Spryo Gyro, Yellow Jackets. In the 90s, she developed a taste for ambient music when mp3.com was in its prime. Her favorite artist at that time was Bassic. His music was atmospheric and spacy and allowed her to search into deeper places in her mind. Over the years, she discovered house music, trance, trip hop and minimal. Ambrosia Ambiance was born because DJ Inga Ambrosia wanted to create an environment where she could play and listen to her favorite music, eat her favorite food (vegan), and hang out with her friends. All the while providing positive poetry, conscious music and a good ambiance to places that promote wellness. Inga is an artist, author, poet, blogger, art teacher, singer and nature photographer/videographer. www.ingaambrosia.com

A girl of 12 brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old.

Doctors are under pressure to report the couple, from Glasgow, to police and social workers amid concerns her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their beliefs.

The youngster, fed on a strict meat- and dairy-free diet from birth, is being treated at the city’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children. She is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones.

[Source]


Here we go again... Here are articles about healthy vegan children. There are stupid vegan parents out there you know, or maybe the girl's bone disease is genetic. People jump the gun. Doctor's just look for "an" answer, they don't care if it's the right answer. As long as the insurance company thinks it makes sense to order such and such tests, they'll say anything is the cause. The first thing they came up with is that she has been raised vegan, "Uh oh. That must be it." Lazy. We need a rundown of her daily diet just like that couple who were sentenced for raising their newborn on soy milk and apple juice. That was about neglect not veganism. I hope Erik Marcus gets to the bottom of this before the New York Times allows another ignorant op-ed piece by a ding ding. ;-?

P.S. Why didn't the doctor's catch the girl's condition when she had a 30-year old's spine.

Labels: children, girl, parents, spine, uk, vegan

Van's Tropical Mango Salad

Me and my mom were babysitting my six-month old nephew, watching him try to eat both his little feeties, and I said, "Hey mom, why don't you let me try to make him sleep and you go make us a salad?" She agreed and went off to the kitchen.

I wrestled with my nephew DJ, (cool name for the nephew of a DJ, huh), anyway ... I rocked him and let him hear my heartbeat. I have a heart murmur so it must've been playing his song because he was OUT in 3 minutes.

She yelled from the kitchen, "IT'S READY INGA!" I ignored her because she was just about to ruin my baby magic. She came in the room and continued to yell, "INGA!!" I shooshed her and she heard the baby snores, little precious!

Anyway, as he slept and we watched Oprah I ate the salad. It was so delicious, I felt like I was at a restaurant. Here is how you make Van's Tropical Mango Salad. Might not be as good because the mangoes came from the backyard, but you can try ... =)


VAN'S TROPICAL MANGO SALAD

Mixed baby Greens
Shredded Coconut
Dried Cranberries
Broccoli Slaw
Walnuts (not shown - we added them later)
Mango cubes
Diced cucumber
Vegan Italian Dressing

OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!!!

Thanks mommy ... she made me another one for dinner too. Spoiled? Yep, me and the baby.

~inga~

Labels: coconut, italian dressing, mango, tropical, van's, vegan salad

Last night, I had a horrible dream about waiting in the drive-thru at Burger King. It's funny how my dream self knew I was vegan, but not that the veggie burger at Burger King was not.

My awake self knows that, but my dream self forgot or never knew.

So it was way past midnight, I sat in the drive-thru with my "real" car. People were walking up to the window skipping me, ordering burgers with extra cheese AND mayo. When it was finally my turn, several hours later (I'm serious it felt like that), I ordered a veggie burger, but before I could say anything, this woman handed me a bag of fries. Not in a fries container, but a bag full of old-looking fries. Greasy, soft, mushy, limp. Gross. I just put them on my seat. Then, she kept taking walk up orders and handing people their food but not mine.

She finally came with my veggie burger but it had mayo and cheese all over it. And it had shriveled up so much that it was almost like a peppermint patty and dark too. I said, "Um, I don't eat cheese or mayo." She said, "Just scrape it off." I told her ... haha ... more like I showed her ... "If I dug in my nose and then handed you a burger, would you still eat it?" She just stared at me. "That's how I feel when you tell me to scrape cheese and mayo off of my food. OK!"

I drove away and my stomach was growling. I went home and ate a monstrous salad. You know my mom made me a vegan salad the other day. It was out of control!! More on that later ....

MORAL OF THE STORY - Veggie Burgers @ Burger King ARE NOT VEGAN!!!

BK VEGGIE® Burger**
Morningstar Farms® Veggie Burger patty, sesame seed bun, mayonnaise, tomato slice, ketchup, lettuce. **This is NOT a vegan product.

[Source]

Labels: burger king, vegan

SUPERSTAR!! Someone sent this to me. I usually hate these videos because they're so lame, but this is one of the great ones. Have a great Monday!