Remember when you learned about new music through those little booklets called "zines"? You read a short paragraph review of a record, took a gamble on it by sending your well-concealed cash to the distro, and a few weeks later the United States Postal Service delivered the record to your door? Well, South By Southwest (SXSW) has been around since those halcyon days, too, but it doesn't mope around and wax nostalgic about the golden years prior to the Internet Revolution. Nowadays, it still organizes a bazillion live shows, as well as a film festival and a surprisingly diverse interactive portion that plays host to a slew of panels, such as those featuring bloggers who want to talk about blogging to other bloggers! Futuristic stuff!

Our pal Stephanie of The Lazy Smurf's Guide to Life has envisioned a panel for vegans to call their very own at the next SXSW in March 2011. Here's the official description of "Internet Activism Vegan Bloggers Take Over the World":

A surge of vegan bloggers has been using the internet to make change in the way people think about animals through new forms of activism. VeganMoFo (the vegan month of food) and worldwide Vegan Bakesales to raise money for causes and promote veganism are just some of the ways that we are breaking out of the stereotypes of the past and creating a revolution. Learn creative ways to promote your message and engage your community on & off the web and more about food activism and using your culinary skills to promote compassion.

SXSW panels are decided by crowd-sourcing, so please vote if you want to see SXSW get more vegan-friendly next year! Voting was originally scheduled to close last night, but it's been extended through this weekend, so cast your vegan vote by 11:59 CST Sunday, August 29th, and your vote shall be counted!

Sometimes I’m a very composed vegan, open-minded and willing to explore the merits of opposing arguments. The vegan who has come to be content with the fact that there just might be more than one right answer; the world is complex after all.

Other times though, I drink straight from a bottle of Haterade.

I must be parched today, because when I stumbled upon this piece in Time Magazine about Weekday Vegetarians I threw back the Haterade like my jaw had hinges.

I can certainly appreciate the idea of vowing to eat less meat for a myriad of honest justifiable reasons that absolutely make sense for you (the environment and the animals), but stay away from calling yourself vegetarian, because frankly you’re not only diluting the brand, you’re making things confusing.

I’m all for Meatless Mondays. I love that Mario Batali is penning a vegetarian cookbook. I couldn’t be happier that Graham Hill from TreeHugger is only eating meat on the weekends. What I’m not happy about is the re-appropriation of long-held ideals.

There is obviously a movement towards eating less meat; I can see that clear as day (and I'm all smiles about it). I just don’t like the flippant disregard and dilution of those movements that were here when soymilk was a powder and Seitan was God’s sworn enemy.

Simply put: Get your own words - this one is taken.

On July 8, without any prior notice, the Feds rounded up hundreds of Prospect Park adult and baby geese into crates and suffocated them to death. The news of these covert killings prompted a furious outcry from members of the press, the public, and certain politicians.

And the slaughter will go on, as the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, the Port Authority, and the USDA announced their intention to kill geese off from city property within a seven-mile zone around JFK and LaGuardia Airports. This plan will exterminate two-thirds of the goose population from New York State, which is approximately 170,000 birds. This is the second year of geese killings, a response to 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 emergency landing,after the airliner flew into a flock of migratory Canadian geese. Animal rights groups have decried these killings as senseless, as there notable humane methods of controlling the geese population. In 2009, a proposal by HSUS and GeesePeace to help the city implement a humane plan was rejected by Mayor Bloomberg’s office, Port Authority, Parks Department and the USDA. As a further absurdity, In Defense of Animals has noted that “the Prospect Park geese, and those in other NYC parks and waterways, are not the same type of geese who flew into the US Airways flight in 2009. Those were migratory geese, traveling at 5,000 feet. Local geese (classified as resident geese) don’t fly as far or as high. The distinction was made using DNA analysis of the feather remains.”

You have an opportunity to voice your outrage alongside IDA Thursday afternoon on the steps of City Hall:

What: Demo in opposition to killing New York City geese. Join IDA President Scotlund Haisley, and City Council Members Brad Lander, Letitia James and Stephen Levin, plus State Senator Eric Adams.

When: Thursday, August 12, 12 - 1 p.m. (Please arrive about 10 minutes early, as you will need to pass through a security checkpoint to enter the City Hall area. The rally will end promptly at 1 p.m.)

Where: New York City Hall

RSVP on Facebook here.

On Monday, July 26th, a low budget animal lib film screening at Anthology Film Archives became a fascinatingly larger phenomenon. Animal welfare personalities like Moby and Russell Simmons appeared, tons of disparate vegan groups showed up to table across the entire theater (the star being a rescued beagle from Azopharma's animal testing laboratory who tabled for W.A.R.), and AR legend Andy Stepanian gave a speech in full ski mask gear about compassion in the face of animal testing horrors that made people weep openly. Needless to say, this type of thing doesn't usually happen when a low budget, non-distributed, independent film about animal rights screens in the East Village. So why did it happen this time? In a nutshell, people flocked to the sold-out show because they heard it was excellent enough to warrant such a turnout, and they realized it was way past due for a film like it to be made and seen.

Interestingly, there was never before a professionally-made narrative feature film about the growing world of animal liberation groups. Despite the sheer amount of political attention and defense budget that the Bush administration devoted to animal welfare groups, and despite the impressively unconstitutional nature of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act passed during the Bush era, scifi/horror movies like 12 Monkeys or 28 Days Later were the closest anyone's come to an ALF movie. Enter Bold Native.

For those of you who missed Chrissie Hynde's new side project JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys' benefit show at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary last weekend, they will be doing a show tonight at Brooklyn Bowl in W'burg. Doors at 6pm, show starts at 8pm. Admission is free but donations are encouraged; all proceeds collected at the door and from advance ticket sales will be donated to Stray From The Heart, a non-profit dog rescue organization that rescues, rehabilitates and places homeless dogs in good homes.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, lead vocalist for The Pretenders and animal rights activist Hynde joined forces with Welsh songwriter JP Jones and his bandmates and the result is down home, blues-influenced, folksy rock. They played a benefit show last week at Housing Works bookstore with singer and WFAS supporter Tracy Bonham, whose husband Jason Fine of Rolling Stone organized the WFAS benefit--the first of a series of concerts at the farm. Stay tuned for updates about future shows!

Enjoy Brooklyn from between your handlebars at the Brake of Noon on Sunday, May 30th! Meet at the north end of Manhattan Avenue (north of Ash Street) in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at noon. The ride will end where the picnic begins at 2:00pm: Prospect Park’s Nethermead. Suggested donation of $5 to $20. All proceeds will benefit local youth activism programs through the New Look Foundation and Powered by Service Initiative.

Event organizers Lila and Sarah answered our most pressing questions about the ride. If you have additional questions for them, email thepublicbody@gmail.com and follow them on Twitter (@thepublicbody)!

SuperVegan: Why did you choose to benefit the New Look Foundation and its Powered By Service Initiative?

Lila: New Look Foundation and Powered By Service empower and mentor youth as leaders to gain skills and create social change on their own terms. I've worked with New Look for some time and the teens are doing some incredible things—teaching other youth about environmental justice and community gardening in neighborhoods like Hunt's Point (which has the highest rate of asthma in the country), using art as a tool for social change, creating their own youth-led media programs, and more.

SuperVegan: What are your favorite landmarks we'll visit en route to Prospect Park?

L: Well, we'll start off at the Newtown Creek—which, did you know is the site of one of the world's largest oil spills? They think it's connected to the elevated rate of brain cancer in the surrounding area. After that, we'll check out a really elaborate environmental justice mural in South Williamsburg. We'll also drop by a few other sites related to art, community, and more, but I don't want to ruin the surprise!

SuperVegan: Can our gluten-free and soy-free friends expect to find something to eat at the picnic?

Tonight Animal Planet premieres a documentary about an undercover investigation of the largest puppy-selling retailer in the country, Petland.



Puppy mills are exactly that - factories that churn out puppies for sale and keep female dogs constantly pregnant and in miserable conditions. Watch the show, tell your friends, and sign the HSUS Pledge to stop puppy mills. And if you're looking for a new BFF, please, please adopt that special someone from your local shelter or rescue group.

Click for more air dates on Animal Planet. More about Working Dog Productions, the cool folks behind the camera.

Author and activist Mickey Z. will be the key-note speaker at this Sunday's Veggie Pride Parade. The parade begins at 11am in the West Village; he'll take the stage at 1pm in Union Square, where the parade ends. There will be additional speakers sharing the stage to educate the masses about the benefits of a veg diet but my vote goes to Mickey for being the most bad ass of the lot.

Mickey's books include The Murdering of My Years: Artists and Activists Making Ends Meet, 50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism, and Self Defense for Radicals: A to Z Guide for Subversive Struggle--and he's published by some of the edgiest indie publishers around, such as Soft Skull Press, Disinformation Company, and PM Press. Oh, and Newsday called Mickey Z. a "professional iconoclast" and Time Out New York has referred to him as a "political provocateur."

SuperVegan: Well hello there Mr. Fancy Pants. How did you end up being the key-note speaker at this year's parade?

Mickey Z.: Wow, that's funny because I'm the furthest thing from fancy pants. I tend to wear my clothes until they fall off me. Anyway, I've known parade founder Pamela Rice for many years and she invited me to speak at the 2009 event. I ended up going on very late and reaching a much smaller crowd but Pamela said I still "stole the show." This year, well... I guess I got bumped all the way to the front of the line.

What Would Joan Jett Do (WWJJD--get it)?

Well, last Tuesday what Joan Jett did was help launch PETA's Vegetarian Starter Kit (VSK) "blitz" of Manhattan in which thousands of VSKs were to be stocked at 30 stand-alone newsstands throughout the city. PETA rep Amanda Schinke explained that they decided to start offering VSKs at newsstands after the group filled more than 400,000 requests for the brochures in 2009 alone. There are also stands in Chicago and DC; those of you not lucky enough to live in any of these veg-awesome cities can order a free copy on PETA's site.

Jett has been veg for 20 years and has done a "vegetarian testimonial" for PETA as well as helped out Farm Sanctuary in the past (check out the amazing photos of her visit to the farm).

When I asked Jett why she decided to do the launch for PETA, she explained that she liked the organization because it's "intense" and it "doesn't stop." Explaining that you "can't always do things with smiles and kisses," it was clear that Jett approved of this grassroots approach to spreading the veg message (though this event featured more polite conversation than in-your-face ranting).

Daiya-serving pizza chain Z Pizza opened in the West Village this week. Gluten-free crust available! Huzzah! Fill out a two-minute survey (really, I tested it out for ya) to get a $5 coupon delivered to your inbox.

Even better: the largest foie gras farm in the U.S., Hudson Valley Foie Gras, will pay $50,000 for violating the federal clean water act after a judge ruled against them in a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States.

Pepperidge Farm is way behind the times, still using eggs from caged hens. Join East Bay Animal Advocates in telling Pepperidge Farm's parent, Campbell Soup Company, that cage-free is the way to go by e-mailing Douglas Conant at douglas_r_conant@campbellsoup.com or calling him at (856) 342-4800, ext. 3752.

Haven't seen Fowl Play yet? MFA has organized a screening at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center for Thursday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. The movie will be followed by a Q&A with MFA campaign coordinator Matt Rice, Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary founder Jenny Brown, chicken keeper and blogger Martha Lazar, and Elizabeth Ayer, BK Farmyard’s farm director and consultant and caretaker at Wyckoff Community Garden and Farmers Market. Tickets are $12, or $8 for students and seniors.

VegNews won the best lifestyle mag category for the third consecutive year at the Maggie Awards this week! Yaaaay VegNews!

A mere round-up mention of Mia MacDonald's HuffPo article about the relationships between Goldman Sachs and agribusiness and your tax dollars, "Investment Bankers with Wings: Making a Killing", doesn't do the story justice, so go read. You will be horrified.

And finally: Holy cannoli! Mike Tyson is vegan!