Hello friends I am back

Hello fellow reader! I am well aware of my long absence from the internet world, I even forgot about my own Instagram acount! But I can assure all this time-out of the screen and into the world has really changed me as a person. I am back now for two main reasons: first, I feel that I owe mother earth the favour of making the world a better, happier, more conciouss and sustainable place; and having the power to reach people from all over at the short distance of a click makes me feel like I'm letting down mysef if I don't, at least, try. So I aim to share with whoever is interested my own path and discoveries and thoughts on the world around me and somehow document this awakening process I am myself into.

The second reason is  more mundane but, at least for me at a personal level, equally important: I want to start a business, and I have no f***ing idea where or how to start. So I thought tracking my progress and small steps on here would not only maybe help others in the same situation but also give me some sense of commintment.

That's what's up for now, I hope to be writing in here frequently from now on but don't expect long, hard-researched,deep essays on huge overwhelming world problems because I've tried that and it doesn't work for me, instead I'll take you along some of my raw thoughts, insecurities and daily concerns and approaches, hoping to help, or at least entertain, someone in the process.

Have a wonderful day!

Tània

RUBY WAX

Ruby wax is a comedian who now has found her path as a mental health campaigner.  She has depression and she struggled to keep it a secret for many years as it would be detrimental for her career.

A while back Comic Relief (a charity based in the UK) asked her to use her photo for a mental health campaign; Ruby then decided to write a show about mental illness and toured mental institutions for 3 years, after that the show transferred to “normal” places. What Ruby found out was the fact that people were asking the exact same questions as the ones in mental institutions.

All and all, she then became really interested in knowing and learning how the brain works and why we all have what she calls “the critical voices”. That's why she got into Oxford; to study neuroscience, in an attempt to understand what’s really going on inside our heads and in my opinion, she suceeded.

What she exposes in this video is very interesting and REALLY makes a lot of sense. Besides she makes it a really funny exerience; give it a look:   

Much love,

Tania

A POWERFUL MESSAGE

On 13^th November Justin Bieber’s new studio album Purpose came out. Now, this information is cool for me as I’ve been long waiting for it but why is it relevant to you?

Among all the hits the album is made of, one song has stood out for me ever since I listened to it for the first time; so today I want to comment/review with you this one song called Children.

Because the thing is that, in a country where clubs and discos are crowded common places and young teenagers change toys for high heels and cigarettes at a much younger age every time;  one finds club music to be senseless beats about anything silly you could imagine: love, sex, makeup, skinny shaming, fat shaming, break ups…. And this leads me to a much bigger concern than empty lyrics, and the funky beats played over and over again on clubs; it is the people listening to it every weekend –their passions, their values, their purpose in life…

I don’t know about you but to me it looks like the majority of those kids are brain-washed robots programmed to only care about how good their makeup is and who has the prettiest clothes. I don’t see a living vibrant soul wanting to change the world for better, I don’t see ambition away from materialistic useless stuff we have been trained to need on a daily basis. Oh wow, this blog post has gotten serious!

I have been thinking about this whole world-changing idea lately and it is something I want to deepen in but for now I only want to say that I am so happy that songs like this one are out there.

The song is an ode to youngsters who quoting the lyrics, want to make a difference.  The very serious message behind the upbeat dance tune sings lines like:

Look at all the children we can change

What about a vision? BE A VISIONARY FOR A CHANGE

We’re the generation who’s gonna be the one to fight for it

We’re the inspiration

Powerful words beautifully thrown directly to us; the raising generation. Asking  and even begging to change  the situation of those who suffer now and fight to give them a better future –because it is in our hands .  Following by lines like:

Who’s got the heart? Who’s got it?

Whose heart is the biggest?

Wear it on your sleeve

Bet we can make a difference

See the competition these words lead to? I bet it would be great if we cared more about how nice and lovely and caring we are and “make it a competition” than today’s who’s-prettier, who-has-a-hotter-boyfriend and who-earns-more-money toppings.  I bet the world would immediately become a better place for sure.

The outcome of the hit is a melancholy tune with a very profound and powerful message to be passed on among the youngest ones. And I found it particularly genius the fact that it could perfectly fit at a dance floor on any Saturday night! I really hope this song gets played in many places such as clubs and discos so that the message can reach those that might be lost in this crazy-brain-distracting world we live in.

I am well aware that you might despite Justin and I am not here to change that, all I want you to do is to give this powerful one-of-a-kind song a go. I know you’ll get inspired from it; after all, we are the ones who CAN make this difference he’s referring to. Here's the fabulous video for the song (even tho the song is cut out) you can also find it on Spotify or iTunes.

It all comes down to love and compassion, once again.

Tania xx

WHY VEGANS DON'T EAT EGGS

I was with friends the other day and they started wondering why I wouldn’t eat eggs; they couldn’t understand why Vegans choose not to eat them as the animal doesn’t get killed and the eggs would be there anyway so no harm is made in the process, right?  Well I guess their response is what I call misconception and lack of knowledge.

In a brief try to educate them I realized that actually none understood what veganism is about. Hiding behind the argument that the hen doesn’t get killed in the egg industry they though Vegans should eat eggs too. This brought up some concern on me as I realized that people is waaaay more uneducated than I thought.

I am going to try to explain to those of you who share opinion with my friends why Vegans choose NOT to eat eggs.

First of all, it’s true that the hen does not get killed –at least during their productive lifespan- in order to get the eggs BUT those animals spend their lives confined in tiny cages not even having a chance to breathe fresh air. So between this and death I couldn’t actually decide which one is worse.

If you say this ain’t evil explain me what is?

Now let me clarify some points to make this explanation a bit easier:

1. Only female chickens (i.e. hens) lay eggs.

2. EGGS ARE HENS’ MENSTRUATION: when a hen hasn’t been fertilized they lay the eggs most people consider food; if they happen to be fertilized chicks are born.

Moving on, hens naturally lay  about 18 eggs per year but due to decades of genetic manipulation and selective breeding, egg industy’s hens produce 250 to 300 eggs per year. In other words, we have modified their bodies up to such unnatural state that it results in high rates of disease and mortality. Forget to mention that it all has been done without any consent/right to do so, of course!

Now let’s think for a moment that hypothetically were woman instead of hens in those cages; doing the math, we all know that women only ovulate 12 times per year so as the greedy hypothetic industry of woman periods doesn’t have enough, they genetically and hormonally modify women’s bodies so that they ovulate every day of their lives!! If you reading this happen to be a woman this might resonate with you as you can easily emphasize with the beings that ARE in this situation; that is because evil is evil no matter who the victim is; there is no difference in the atrocity no matter who it applies on: a hen or a woman.

 

Not to talk about the 6,000,000,000 newborn male chicks 

killed every year as byproduct of the egg industry.

 

So, we have now seen that Vegans do not consume eggs because even though the animal does not get killed their bodies do get modified without any consent and do not enjoy the freedom they naturally deserve; and as I have explained, we CHOOSE to see evil as evil without distinction of who the victim is.

Let’s move on to a much twisted excuse. When saying: well but my grandparents happen to have some hens in their backyard so they take care of the animals by giving them a big natural place to run and be free, those animals have the perfect lives so why not take THEIR eggs in return?

Here is where commodification steps in. “Commodification is the crime as much as killing is.” Veganism is much more than keeping the animal alive; it is much more that giving the animal the happiest of lives. Veganism is about equality, about seeing the animals as if they were humans. In spite of what they have made us believe their bodies are not machines; a hen’s body is not an egg-producing-machine. A computer is a machine, hens are sentiment beings.

The reason your grandparents have hens in their backyard is not unconditional love, it isn’t because they love them and want to selflessly take care of the animals (like domestic animals such as dogs or cats). No, they OWN hens because they WANT SOMETHING FROM them. This is called commodification. Their bodies do not belong to us and neither does what comes out of them. I’m sure people wouldn’t agree to have old hens in their backyards –who don’t lay eggs anymore. This is because they take care of the animals in order to get eggs IN RETURN; which means that they are USING those animals –who, by the way, can be as happy as you want– to get something from them.

So, vegans –or at least ethnical vegans– see animals as sentiment companions who have the same rights and desires as one would and, for so, don’t want to be killed, tortured, caged NOR USED AS AN OBJECT. That is why we not only advocate that the animals don’t suffer or get murdered in behalf of another specie (humankind) but also that they are not seen as commodities or objects.

EATING OR CONSUMING eggs does not apply to those conditions therefore it is unethical, evil and cruel to participate in that no matter how good the hen has been treated in the process.

None of that changes when buying

 from cage free, range free, organic or 

however-you-want-to-name-it

NOTE: Also let me mention that the egg industry –along with the dairy industry- is the highest form of ANTIFEMINISM as it is literally the commodification of the female reproductive process.

I hope this post enlightened you about what you are really collaborating with/paying for when you choose to consume eggs.

Thank you for your time,

Tania.

SOURCES:
- freefromharm.org/eggfacts/
- common sense, empathy and compassion

DESTROYING MEAT EATERS' MOST COMMON EXCUSES

Hey you courious creature! I've compilated some of the most common arguments/excuses that people who consume animal products use against the Vegan lifestyle and argumented them down. The responses are manly based on Gary Yourofsky's "The excuses" speech which I really recommend (I've linked the video down below). I am aware that there are many many many more non-sense statements against Veganism so if you are really bothered by one in particular ask it to me (click here) and I'll try to argument it down for you too. Enough of rambling already so let's get started:

Plants are alive; you kill the plants when you eat them

Let’s start this issue telling you that plants are not doted of a general nervous system such as animals do. Plants do not have a bowel movement and DON’T SHIT. Also, a plant does not have a mother; when was the last time you could differ the members of a “vegetal family”? How about never? You really need to be crazy to think that the broccoli dies when we collect it. Have you ever heard the broccoli scream for its life?  I’m sure not.

But, anyways, even if plants could feel and they died when collecting them, Veganism is still better because by eating animals you have to kill the plant first, in order to feed the animal until it’s big enough and then you kill the animal. By eating directly from plants you trigger less suffering to living beings, so this puts Veganism still ahead.

Animals are here for us to eat them

If you think that humans are special you are missing a point. You don’t really think that the entire animal kingdom worships us? Thinks we are special? Believes that we are the image of God? We are a bunch of bullies, criminals and killers.

Their bodies do not belong to us. Commodification is the crime as much as murder is.

We need meat to get protein

Unless you plan on starving yourself to death it is impossible to not get enough protein in a Vegan diet. You couldn’t even do it if you tried because all plants have protein even fruit has around 5% of protein, nuts and seeds and beans and lentils have plenty of protein. And by the way, beans and lentils have 25% of protein. So the misconception about eating meat to get the protein is nothing else than that: a misconception!

Humane killing

Let me tell you that straight: there is no such thing as humane killing, or humane slaughter, or humane rape. If I told you there is a place in Thailand where they humanly raped kids for the child porn industry; you know, they have a big backyard to play every day for six glorious hours in between the rapes, would you support it? I don’t think so. Is that because rape is always evil no matter how it is being done?

There is no right way to kill someone who doesn’t want to be killed.

God says it’s okay

If your excuse is to say that God put all animals in this planet to be our slaves you have a really twisted conception of God. Because if you think that such things as slaughterhouses (house-of-slaughter!!!!!) are approved in the eyes of the Great divine; so that we can cut off the heads off his terrified animals. If you think that he doesn’t mind that we steel newborn babies from their mothers, or cut their horns and beaks and tales and teeth off while they’re fully conscious, then what does de DEVIL do?????? What could a cow, a pig, a chicken or a turkey ever do to deserve the wrath of Got himself?

               

We are carnivores

Comparing the human body to other’s carnivores and omnivores we can spot some huge interesting differences to prove that we are by all means herbivores. For instance, the length of intestines in humans and herbivores falls between 7 to 13 times the length of the torso section of the body while the length of intestines in carnivores/omnivores is only 3 to 6 times. Also, the lower jaw moves from side to side –and the food is grinded and chewed- in the mouths of herbivorous. The jaws of animal meat eaters only move up and down, vertically and they don’t chew, just rip an swallow. Also humans sweat through their pores to cool down unlike dogs, cats or lions –who pant.

We have canines

Hippos have the largest canines of all animals and they’re 100% herbivores.

Veganism is expensive

Since when did bananas and apples and carrots and cucumbers and potatoes and broccoli and tofu and barley become more expensive than meat, milk, cheese, eggs and honey? There are some pricey vegan things out there, hell YES!, blueberries are 4€ a package but you can get 4 bananas for 1€. Veganism is actually one of the cheapest “diets” out there if you stick to the basics (i.e: lentils, rice, potatoes, pasta, veggies,…….).

Watch Gary's speech here.

Much love,

Tània

My first (mini) collection!

I want to present to you all my first collection ever! I've named it the Imperial Collection and it consists of 3 long gowns that share a sophisticated character with a glimpse of a seductive cut.  You can see it in the videobook featuring my sister (thanks babe for modelling for me, you are the best) or head to the site taniatomasx.weebly.com .

Now let me tell you that my very first idea was to do only ONE of the dresses, as it is how I have always "worked": desinging what could be a gala dress or day-to-day dresses, skirts, tops, playsuits... Anything that would come to my mind! But never keeping a connection between them.  So how I came up with this collection? Truth is: by mistake. Turns out that I bought waaaaaay too much fabric for the dress I first intended to sew so by a follow-up of coincidences and good combinations of fabrics that I happened to have at that moment the Imperial Collection was born.

I liked it so much and people's response was so good that I have already starded working on my next "Collection" (and I am soooooo excited about it).

Oh man I love life so much,

Tània.

WELCOMING A NEW PROJECT

I am not liyng if I say I am a wreck of nerve right now. I am scared and terrified but in a positive-kind of way I guess. Ok let me start from the beginning:

I have always loved sewing and designing but for some reason I have always tried to keep it a secret as I thought it was weird for someone my age. I started sewing dresses for my friends and me when I was a little kid; I remember taking my grandma’s sewing kit and repeatedly asking my mom for some cool-colored fabrics. I would always have a project in mind –whether it was a dance to perform for our families or a photoshoot to pretend we were a rock band- and then I’d plan and think of every detail to carry it out: make up, dresses, choreography, songs, speech…

I have been a planner my whole life; as I grew up there was always some kind of crazy project I had in mind involving creativity and imagination skills. I never realized how my personality shined through these projects/skills/behaviors, it all always ended up overshadowed for what we –me and my parents- thought was important: school.

As a teenager I focused on my grades and put my target into getting into college –which wasn’t hard as I have always been a good student- and, just like most of my friends, I got into Uni. I’ll be starting my forth year next September and I have been doing fine. Just like “it is supposed to be’’ anyone might think: you graduate from high school and go to College and then get a job and a husband, you have kids…. But wait, STOP.

It would all be just as perfect as it sounds if it wasn’t for the fact that during this whole process of growing-up-and-realizing-who-you-are-and-who-you-want-to-be I didn’t consider at all which my true passions really are. So after some help/advice from my friends and family I have decided to let my abilities shine and forget about what people might think. So now I state loud and strong: I LOVE SEWING AND STYLING AND DESIGNING AND CREATING and I am finally out to work for what I really like doing because it is what ultimately makes me happy.

Now that you know my story, it’s time to introduce you to the project behind it all. I have decided to call it Tania Tomas x –there is not a particular reason for the x at the end just the fact that the name by itself was already taken on Instagram haha. I don’t know exactly what it is or what it is going to become all I know is that I am ready to give it my best. Think of it as a kick-start platform to show/share with the world my work and get in touch with anybody who might be interested in it.

As one may expect, I am still discovering my boundaries and experiencing with all kind of shapes, fabrics, textures, patterns… I plan to expand my –skimpy little- knowledge in regards of fashion/design as I have finally realized that it is not only a hobby and I want to pursue it.

I know this is a stupid blog post that rarely anyone is going to read but with all being said I hope I can finally feel free of judgements –my own most of the time- and let go/grow my imagination. Now if you have read this I deeply appreciate your time, if you want to head over to taniatomasx.weebly.com it’s the site where I’ll be working on everything I have told you about.

I hope you have a nice day and that you get the chance to do what makes you happy J

PS: I thought it would be fun to show you some of my very first dresses as a tiny 9-year-old designer so I looked for some old photos I had developed. I know there has to be more old treasures like these somewhere around the house but I have no clue where -crazy analog times. Anyway, enjoy them: 

Tània