Dusty Dirt- Vegan Love

Animals don't exist for people to use as food. They don't belong in a laboratory, circus or zoo.
Dominion over God's creatures doesn't mean a license to kill. It's the 21st century, there's plenty of alternatives to putting meat on the grill.
Vegan Love is all about equality and seeing animals as our friends, not just our pets.
It's the next step in human evolution, having reverence for creation, in the highest of regards with the deepest respect.
I found out that a Big Mac does not agree with my digestive track. Because my stomach wasn't made to correctly process stuff like that. it's more adapt to absorbing Vitamins and subsidence from plants. And now I know I'll never die from diabetes or a Sudden heart attack.
Because I've got Vegan Love, compassion's what I'm speakin' of. You might think I'm a freak or eating only fruit and vegetables will make you weak.

Dusty Dirt- "Wild World" by Cat Stevens

Now that I've lost everything to you

You say you wanna start something new

And it's breakin' my heart you're leavin'

Baby, I'm grievin'

But if you wanna leave, take good care

I hope you have a lot of nice things to wear

But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world

It's hard to get by just upon a smile

Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world

I'll always remember you like a child, girl

You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do

And it's breakin' my heart in two

Because I never wanna see you a sad girl

Don't be a bad girl

But if you wanna leave, take good care

I hope you make a lot of nice friends out there

But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware

Cat Stevens

Viva La Vegan! Grand Opening, Rancho Cucamonga's First Vegan Only Grocery Store

Isaak and Jennifer
(Owners)

Viva La Vegan! had a great turn out for their grand opening. There were still a lot of people when I got there around 3:30. Unfortunately I missed the bands but they were still putting out free vegan food samples and I got pictures of some of their new products. Viva La Vegan! has gone above and beyond any local grocery store to provide the demand for vegan only products. There are so many new products I haven't tried that I have to stop myself from going on a shopping spree every time I go there. I also like the fact that my money is being spent on a local business that is providing a healthy, cruelty-free alternative to corporate chain-stores and fast food giants.  

Chezzy Pizza was giving out samples of their vegan cheese, bbq and supreme pizzas. I don't know if they use daiya cheese (probably) or not but the samples were so good that I thought to myself for a second "wait is this really vegan?" They had a lot of other samples of food sold in the store like these sandwiches made witch Tofurky slices and macaroni salad made with Veganaise, the best vegan mayo substitute. They also had samples of taquitos , corn-dogs, sausages, and many other things.


















One of the most impressive things to me at Viva La Vegan! is their refrigerated section. At first they didn't have any produce but at the grand opening there was some organic vegetables in the cooler like I was hoping to see. Romanesco Cauliflower was one of the odd veggies they had, I'd never seen it before. It looks like a fractal in plant form. 




















A couple things I didn't really expect to see when I heard a vegan grocery store was opening were that they would have such a vast variety of food items and also an excellent inventory of vegan clothing, household and beauty products. Being vegan means that you try not to use any products that involve the pain and suffering of animals, not just food. They could've just sold food in the store and I would've been happy with that but the fact that they sell all things vegan makes the store way better than I could've hoped or asked for.   

Vegan Shoes and Boots

I'm glad Viva La Vegan's grand opening was a success, I knew it would be. As a native of Rancho Cucamonga, I feel that this is one of the greatest additions ever to our business community. There's been a handful of vegetarian/vegan restaurants and stores opening here in the last few years (that I still need to write about) so Viva La Vegan! fits in perfectly as the city's first vegan only store.  

Vegan Cup Cakes

Paradise Garden Project Online Member Application

Membership in Paradise Gardening Project is free but we're only looking for people who are serious about making a commitment right now. We have about two acres of land at our co-op located in the middle of Rancho Cucamonga, Ca. In exchange we're offering free personal garden plots and an opportunity to be a part of the business as we grow. We're not only interested in growing food but also many varieties of flowers, ground cover and rare, exotic and landscaping plants. Our main focus is to reach out to the community and build an outdoor virtual gardening classroom and have weekly sustainable living work-shops, art/music shows and Vegan Potlucks. One of our goals is to grow enough food and plants to sell for a small profit at local farmer's markets and nurseries. This way, we hope to create a few jobs and support non-profit food and homeless programs like Food Not Bombs!  

Dr. Strange Record's Food Not Bombs! Sale, February 19th and 20th.

Dr. Strange has been a long time supporter of local Food Not Bombs! groups. They're having their 3rd annual Food Not Bombs Sale this weekend. Bring in one item, get 10% off, two items get 15% off anything in the store. Food Not Bombs! is looking for donations like rice, cereal, dry dog food, toothpaste, clothing toilet paper, canned fruit and vegetables, etc. Food Not Bombs! gets to help the needy, Dr. Strange makes money, you get some awesome punk records at a discounted price, everyone goes home happy!!

FOOD NOT BOMBS! WEBSITE!!!!

Dr. Strange Records

Dr. Strange has beaten the odds not just as a record store but as a punk record store in the middle of a suburban, Conservative town. When there wasn't much to do in Rancho Cucamonga you could always go to Dr. Strange to check out some records and kill some time. Over the years Dr. Strange has had steady growth, mainly because Bill Plaster is a smart "businessman" and does it for the love of the music, not money.
Dr. Strange Records is kind of like a temple of all things Punk. You can spend hours just thumbing through their collection of seven-inch records. In future posts I'll have updates about news, updates, events happening at Dr. Strange.  Here are some pictures I took inside the store on a recent visit and the story of when I first met Bill.





I was living in Pomona in 1999 and used to hang out in the arts colony on 2nd street with friends. One night there was a show at the Glass House and other things going on, a lot of people. I ran into Bill (Dr. Strange) and his wife Crystal who were passing out fliers for their new punk rock record store. We started talking and I offered to pass out some of his fliers. A couple of hours later that night I realized that I locked my keys inside my truck. Bill and Crystal were in the same parking lot that I was, passing out fliers.  They we're walking by and could see that I had a problem. I explained that I locked my keys inside my truck like a stupid, dumb ass. They had AAA and offered to call for someone to come out and slim jim the door. The guy got lost, so Bill and Crystal waited about 2 hours with me until he finally found us. I think it was pretty cool how they went out of their way and took the time to help even though we'd just met.

DR. STRANGE RECORDS WEBSITE!!!!