Green Room - Week 1 - Day 3

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I was reading an article yesterday that really upset me. 

It was about use of child labor in the making of chocolate. Which is, of course, horrifying.  I don't understand how such a thing can actually be happening in this day and age!

Everyone knows that they aren't children! Why would you even print that?  They are Oompa-Loompas, and they love working long hours in the factory for no wages! They thrive on it! 

So everyone just needs to calm down, and realize that those aren't sunburned little children out there in the cocoa fields and the chocolate chip mines, they are just tiny red people who really like singing!  

Because, if they were children, that would be horrible. 

Exploiting barely disguised racial stereotypes? Who could possibly have a problem with that!! ;) 

***
Speaking of horrible - remember that the deadline for the first entry is coming up in a couple of days! Time has a way of slipping by when you aren't fully paying attention - there's always "I'll do it a little later" that ends up getting people every single time!   http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/486728.html


Having trouble getting your head around an idea, or making it work? Pop in over to the Work Room http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/487080.html

For that matter, Sign Ups are still open as well, for anyone who wants to join in on the fun!  http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/485253.html

***

Gadhafi is dead. OMG I can't believe that someone said that to me. and *insert pictures of cats here* 

I've now summed up the rest of your LJ and FB feeds. You can go on with the rest of your day! 

Comments

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Right now I'm eating Green & Black's certified organic fairtrade chocolate, smug in the knowledge that it's child-labour free.

Just as well. I have children, and I know how icky they are. I don't want children touching the cacao beans that make my chocolate!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

You're first again!!!!

:throws confetti:

_{Yes, folks, I've trained her well ;)}

[stharridan.livejournal.com]

LOL AND I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO WRITE FOR TOPIC 1. TOTALLY CLUELESS, TOTALLY UNINSPIRED.

First? :3

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Does that mean you're going to write about Gaddafi, child labour in the chocolate industry, or kittens? Or all three?!! I can't wait :)

[phoenixejc.livejournal.com]

I had both Gadhafi and Amy Winehouse on my Celebrity Death Pool list this year. I think my fellow pool members are ready to club me! Including my own wife!!!

Today I'll be super busy with office work, so no time for writing. :(

[java-fiend.livejournal.com]

Gadhafi AND Amy Winehouse? Dang... you're good. Though I think it's probably safe to put somebody who ingests drugs by the pound and somebody who people want to fill with pounds of bullets on a Dead Poll list... But still... good job!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Good Morning!

We're switching cable providers sometime this morning, so I'm going to be forced offline until that's done.

Right now SO's going through my computer because we still cannot find the reason for its wonkiness...at this point he's saying he thinks it's more than just needing a new hard drive...

I also pulled a couple of incisions yesterday :(

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Sheesh, be careful with the incisions!

I hope you get your cable sorted soon. I think some of the worst interactions I've had with any company are those to do with telecommunications. I'm not sure why that is...

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

"I've now summed up the rest of your LJ and FB feeds. You can go on with the rest of your day!"

You forgot *insert picture of random platitude, such as "I stand up against bullies" or "I believe all people should be allowed to marry"*. At least, that's the kind of stuff I'm seeing on Facebook lately. Is it any wonder I don't spend much time there?

It's Friday! Friday! Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opCkrzPzTDM)

cheers,
Phil

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

This person really likes arrows that point to him.

[wolfden.livejournal.com]

I saw that Gadhafi was dead on my Facebook and meant to go confirm the story but I was busy reading idol entries and never got around to it.

Today we are off to the local university hospital for the follow up on my husband's leg and to make an appointment for him to get his screws out. Later we are driving 3 hours to watch polo.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

EWWWW!!! Your poor husband! What happened?

We've got polo grounds north of here, sort of near where I went to uni. I saw part of a match once, but I now barely remember it. I'd love to see one again!

[seratonation.livejournal.com]

Lol thanks for the summary, but I knew all of this already. Perks of living in the future *mystic hand waving*

On the bright side, I posted my entry (yay!) and I'm now enjoying reading other peoples entries. I'm really glad I went with the idea I went with in the end, I haven't seen any like it so far :D

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

I know, living in the future rocks. Unless stuff happens in the night and then I wake up and have no idea what's going on.

J woke me at midnight last night and I caught the headlines on BBC world. Watching it without the sound was a little... disturbing. Just seeing people stamping on his clothes and shooting into the air. I wasn't sure quite what to make of it.

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

Good morning.

Yesterday at the midwife went well. No Group B Strep! Hoping that the occupy movement in my womb will vacate soon.

I made some more progress with reading last night. 50 entries down seems not too shabby (plus a few from my flist... but I didn't note those yet).

[bewize.livejournal.com]

This was, indeed, time saving. Now, Gary, if you'll just do all my work for me, I can go back to sleep now.

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Gary could write my entry too while we are at it...that would really be time saving :P

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

Thanks Gary! Now I don't need to read the newspaper or listen to CNN! You're everything!

Seriously, hi all!

Again no playing here for me today. I must go to the hospital to talk to the medical team about my mother's release. She broke her hip a couple of weeks ago and we're trying to get things set up for her to come home. It's not easy to get all the pieces in place but we're getting there.

So this is my task for the day. I hope all are well. Find fun in your day!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

:crossing fingers that everything goes well:

:waves:

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

BTW – anyone who is on facebook and has Livejournal friended, they finally mentioned us being in Spotlight! So, if you wanted to pop over there and comment in that thread, that would be awesome! Let them know how what Idol means to you!

[honeybeewriter.livejournal.com]

link please?

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Good morning! I can finally tell myself "at least it's Friday" and not be lying to myself. That counts for something, right?

Gary, you didn't sum up my FB friends page very well...you forgot about updating the Cardinals every move during the game last night. Or mention them losing. Boo. You can tell where I'm from simply by reading my FB friends page...it's lit up with Cardinal's updates at the moment.

So who's going to win the World Series? You better say the Cardinals :-P

[tamaraland.livejournal.com]

I keep forgetting there's also a baseball team called the Rangers and thinking it's ice hockey, wondering who the Cards are.

[lynxypoo.livejournal.com]

Hoping to have time to post my entry tonight. It's written, just need the husband to do a little editing. It's only fair, as it's about his grandfather, right?

Questioning the timing though, as tonight is PACKED full of pastry making. SOOOO many pastries @__@

[lynxypoo.livejournal.com]

Oh also, my FB feed is full of Oprah visiting and practicing Transcendental Meditation in our Domes... That doesn't sound weird at all >.>

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Gary asked me to repost the links my friend _samalander dug up on child slave labor in the chocolate industry.

Did you know that cocoa farmers engage in human trafficking and slave labor to make your chocolate bar? They do. (http://www.good.is/post/child-slaves-made-your-halloween-candy-stop-buying-it)

Did you know that TEN YEARS ago there was an international protocol passed requiring chocolate makers to work to end child slavery? There was, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_Protocol) and people were too busy patting themselves on the back to enforce it, so nothing has changed.

Think a boycott will just hurt the people who make those 15 cents a day? You're missing the big picture. (http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/boycotts.html)

Addicted to chocolate? Fine, here are the Fair-Trade companies that don't use slave labor. (http://transfairusa.org/products-partners/cocoa)

Want to give money to supporting international labor rights? You can do that, too. (http://www.laborrights.org/)

Want to learn about better candies to give out at Halloween? I have an app for that. (http://www.good.is/post/ethical-halloween-candy-that-doesn-t-suck/)

I was also pleased to find out that Ben & Jerry's has an index (http://www.benjerry.com/activism/inside-the-pint/fair-trade/?refcd=GO000000518038271s_AZfair_AZtrade_AZchocolate&tsacr=GO14025246352&gclid=CLHCvoyg-KsCFYSK4AodUxrgjw) of which of their ice creams use fair trade ingredients, so you can pick and choose which to buy. All of their ice cream is fair trade but many of the mix-ins are not.

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Thank you for all those links! That helps a lot. It's such a shame that this even has to be an issue today :/

[vaudy.livejournal.com]

Good morning! This is pretty much all I'll be around today (I say as though I've been around so much the last couple of days), because I'm baking! All day!!

I donate a large quantity of good things to eat to my choir's bake sales every year (we have two of them). It's a lot of work to do all in one day, but I'm excited, especially since the last one was planned very last minute as I was unable to participate. I've got this stuff down to a science, now, so I can get a lot done in one day (and a little bit--I started last night).

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Ooh, what are/did you make?

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Of course you posted the GR ten minutes after I turned off my laptop at home.... *shakes fist in Gary's general direction*

Ah well - at least I got out of the house in time to pick up a caramel macchiato from Starbucks. I'm much more coherent with caffeine coursing through my capillaries! (More prone to alliteration, too!)

*Goes awww at imagined cat pictures*

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Yummy Starbucks! Caffeine doesn't affect me though. I drink coffee because I like it and I rarely even do that. I'm a freak of nature who often drinks water in the morning and saves coffee for special treats. But i love a good latte any time I can get one :)

[n-maranda-coy.livejournal.com]

Good morning, Green Room.

I have been in bed and asleep before 10pm for the last two nights, and I am still exhausted. I fell asleep in the middle of an astronomy program, for heaven's sake! I think I am getting sick and have no time to be sick. Waaaaaaah, waaaaaah, waaaaah. [grin]

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Good morning!

I need to be in bed before 10 pm to feel rested in the mornings...but I make it there maybe once a year? Not good.

And not good that you're getting sick either!

[sdaisyk.livejournal.com]

I have not been participating and my entry has not been written (or started for that matter) because I have been dealing with the fallout from a break-in that took our TV and each of our laptops. This is especially nerve-racking because I am currently taking online classes...

We might be seeing about replacing my laptop over the weekend instead of waiting for the insurance check so that I can get somewhat back on track. I might end having to dictate my entry to someone though...

(I'm at work right now, and thus taking advantage of COMPUTER TIME!)

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

That's awful :/

I am so sorry to hear that. I hope you're able to get back on track soon.

[sra33.livejournal.com]

I can't believe how packed my "free weekend" already is! I have 3 appointments "downtown" today, one of them lasting until god knows when... usually I don't even leave until 1am, but I guess it depends on the person I'm driving, if she wants to leave I'll probably leave.

Then Saturday (is my birthday!!! :D), but I had nothing planned, then got invited to a huge group haunted house thing... that'll be so awesome. ^^

Sunday VooDoo Tattoo parlor is selling pink ribbon tattoos for $20, half of which goes to the Breast Cancer Association, which is awesome, so I'll probably be out there doing that... sometime early because I have a friend who wants to come with me and I think she's busy in the afternoon.

I wanted to see my mom sometime this weekend... and I can't next weekend either because of all the Halloween Parties going on. I think I might be able to see her on the 30th. I think. Maybe. XD

Happy Fall Weather, Everyone!!! :D
~Sammy-Joe

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

What kind of appointments do you have that start at 1 AM? Hmmmm? Sounds kinda fishy to me, young lady... :-P

Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY a day early.

Gene Wilder Vs Johnny Depp!!

[worldofcharlie.livejournal.com]

That's my original canon *I refuse to watch Tim Burton's version which scares me*

Carrie liked the books...

And the irony...I hate Willy Wonks candy (we couldn't eat some of it anyway)

So... Gene Wilder or Johnny Deep??

Sorry I'm old school, as dashing as Johnny Deep is, I prefer the original

Re: Gene Wilder Vs Johnny Depp!!

[euphonious-13.livejournal.com]

They both creep me out, tbh.

But I like Gene Wilder a lot more! Which is odd because I do enjoy Johnny Depp. I just like Wilder's version of the character.

[euphonious-13.livejournal.com]

Good morning to everyone just waking up!

It's my second to last day at my current waitressing job, which is very exciting. Come Sunday I will once again be an unemployed student, but since it's my last semester I really need the next month off to prepare for exams and blah blah blah. This is unrelated to everything, but I'm excited. XD

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

YAY for going back to school! And I know how exciting it is to be entering into your last semester of college. I've been there...twice :)

[barrelofrain.livejournal.com]

'morning all. I've been sleeping a lot lately because my Lyme disease is rearing its ugly head.

Today my partner comes home after being on a business trip all week! Can't wait to see him!

I started reading the entries last night... does anyone have a spreadsheet set up that they wouldn't mind sharing?

[monkeysugarmama.livejournal.com]

Yay for loved ones returning :) That's always a great way to start a weekend.

As for the Lyme's disease, what a mess! So sorry to hear you are affected. May I ask, did you get the bulls eye rash and all that when you were bit? I worry about that so much because we live in a pretty ticky part of Georgia.

[thaliontholwen.livejournal.com]

Aaaand now I feel bad about the fun size Butterfinger I have in my lunchbox. :(

I'm counting the hours until work is over so I can be free! I've answered entirely too many questions in the past two days about why I don't have a job yet (with the implicit judgement from the asker that clearly I suck because I don't have one yet), so I think I deserve a night of take out Chinese, beer, and my DVR, and woe betide anyone who interrupts.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Amen for that! What's your favorite Chinese food, and what's on the DVR?

Oh Dear...

[malruniel11.livejournal.com]

I just figured out how to get LJ to work right on my phone... This can be dangerous for my productivity at work.

Oh, and I've been having Novel epiphanies right and left this last week or so and it's amazing!! Finally got the bit concepts and characterizations down with the help of my bestie/beta, Bekah-boo. This morning, driving to work, the starting point came to me, so I texted it to her for concept approval and addition to my story notes (because who doesn't keep their story notes in a friend's notebook, half a country away!) I can't wait to read my story, unfortunately, I have write first! lol

Re: Oh Dear...

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

Yay for character cooperation. :)

[nyxocity.livejournal.com]

Good morning Green Room!

Hm. I'm gonna guess the half a Dove dark chocolate bar I have in my purse is not on the approved list.

I've been making a concerted effort to get more sleep recently and lo and behold, my word count on the story I'm working on has increased incredibly! This makes me very happy.

Also... it's Friday? What was yesterday? What comes afterwards? If only there was someone who could answer these difficult questions!

[java-fiend.livejournal.com]

I think you get a pass on the Dove bar since you didn't know it was on the naughty list. :-)

Funny how we're more productive when we get some rest, isn't it???