i have yet to hear an argument against bottled water that does not annoy me.

Anne Leonard [from the story of stuff] and others use both the argument that bottled water is a waste of money because most brands are just filtered tap water, and that tap water is better than bottled because it is subject to daily tests. These arguments are stated at least five minutes apart, perhaps so people won't notice that tap water that is subject to testing might actually have value added to it if it is filtered and does not pass through your own nasty pipes. Furthermore, just because tap water is required to be tested does not mean those tests will occur as required, it will pass these tests, there are methods to insure that they pass the next evaluation, nor that the public will be informed of any failures in a timely manner. As for the 1000% mark up outrage, soda ingredients aren't much more expensive, which gives those products at least a 500% mark up, but the anti-bottlers don't seem too up in arms about that.
Those who make that argument typically believe that no one can taste the difference between water sources, which is pretty bogus for those of us who have taste buds, or even a sense of smell. I can't drink Seaford water that hasn't been through a filter; I'm amazed that the public pool even has to add chlorine.


The other argument is that bottled water is a waste of plastic. All disposable plastics are a waste, but this sentiment doesn't make it into a bottled water diatribe. What they won't mention is that if bottled water did not exist, people would consume bottled whatever isn't water and also has calories and/or chemicals which cause their own problem in addition to plastic pollution. Another alternative is indeed tap water, but when one is on the go, one may use disposable cups, which may and usually do have a recycle number above 2. The trend of carrying one's own refillable bottle is what is pushed as the best alternative, but it is also not without problems. The plastic ones still have BPA or whatever BPA-free things will still make the water taste like plastic on a hot day in the car. Sufficiently thick bottles intended for disposable water may also be used, but that doesn't support an argument against their existence. Aluminum is now linked to Alzheimer's. Steel does not have any known problems, but I believe there is some kind of physical law regarding how any container that can hold liquid will cause problems. Tap water may also pass through OMGtoxic plastics if your building or municipality uses PVCs.

One argument that was used at the start of the film Tapped was that bottling companies unfairly take water away from the pristine nature of Maine to sell it in cities. I felt a bit uncomfortable watching people argue this point, as we all know the diversity of rural Maine compared to any city; even Boston, even Seaouaoel. It was framed as the commonvolk vs the evil corporation, but some speaking sounded like they didn't think the cityfolk deserved their fancy clean Maine water.

I believe that all of these arguments are good, but the main problem I have with them is that they can be applied to so many other things that it doesn't make sense to single out water. Anything bottling water can do, bottling soda can do worse. If they local government doesn't have laws in place to stop a company from over-pumping water, does it have laws in place to stop a company from buying the same land for farming, which may not use as much water, but can contaminate enough that the locals are left with the same slim pickins? Disposability is bad, but why not go after straws, which so few people need and have even less chance of renewal? Why not go after plastics that are 3-7 on the recyclability scale? Why not go after planned obsolescence which forces people to replace things at a faster pace than even desired?

16. religious themes, especially non ironic religious images from religions that frown upon tattoos. i really don't know what to make of that guy who wanted to give jesus and his fellow convicts court side seats on his left wrist to the wanker show. i also don't want to look at the word jesus while you expect me to be aroused.

17. words. if you don't know the language, you can't be sure it's really 'lucky' if you do know the language just get it on a tshirt that you can use as a rag when you realise what a bad idea it was; better still, just set it as your away message/fb status.

18. faces

19. unambiguous memorial tattoos are another think i can't stand to look at while you expect me to be aroused

1. accidental pregnancies resulted in marriage just to be polite, and failing that, you could just say he was killed in the war, and half the time he was
2. all the fun revolutions
3. all lesbians were rad fem who wouldn't nag me about looking nice
4. video games hadn't yet been invented
5. less pollution had accumulated
6. the gold and later bimetallic standard
7. no one wore shorts in public
8. dancing

and everything else was horrible

You lose your heat
Like a man loses me.
And you clog with lime,
Like a cave over time.

You overheat,
Burn my ass, then you freeze.
I should know
That you are gonna chaaaaaaange.

Your hot - it gets old
You scald, then you're cold
You boil then freeze
So red are my knees
You don't work with sinks
The sulfur - it stinks
You break, you get fixed;
You clog, and it sticks.

You can never hold your heat, no
Then you can't even stay cold- oh

Your hot - it gets old
You scald, then you're cold
You boil then freeze
So red are my knees

Too much cold, too much heat-
I think you've ruined me
It might be nothing;
I swear I'm balding
I should know
That you're just gonna change.

Your hot - it gets old
You scald, then you're cold
You boil then freeze
So red are my knees
You don't work with sinks
The sulfur - it stinks
You break, you get fixed;
You clog, and it sticks.

You can never hold your heat, no
Then you can't even stay cold- oh

Your hot - it gets old
You scald, then you're cold
You boil then freeze
So red are my knees

Someone call the plumber
Got a case of the tap bipolar
Stuck with a crappy shower
That can't even get the grime.

You lose your heat
Like a man loses me.

You scald, then you're cold
You grow all this mold
No place for a wall;
Whole room is your stall.
The TP is damp
It reeks like a swamp
The shoes- revolting
Wall paper's molting.

You don't have a decent flow, no
But when you're off you still go, oh

You drip down the wall,
I slip and I fall
Ruin every drop,
You're on, then you stop, stop, stop, stop

what is more annoying:

an explanation when the situation calls for an apology

or

an apology when an explanation is needed?

15. your status updates clogging up my stalkerfeed:
some people think they are the same thing as the aim away message.
some people think anyone cares what boring, common american food it is they just ate.
any of the following are not worth the effort it takes to type: *sigh* *giggles* lol *shrugs*
something to the effect of [my relationship, which i refuse to take any advise on, has experienced change]
something to the effect of [other people are boring me with their uninteresting, negative, or depressing lives and since i can dish it out and not take it, i have to unfriend / hide them] every time i read one of those i think 'guess who just got hid' and do so with no ceremony.

16. people who don't know the difference between a comment and a message. comments are things everyone can see. messages are where you discuss your plans for the weekend or ask a new internet friend to jog your memory.

17. fb mobile/twitter. i disabled these weeks ago and haven't looked back. what i hate most about it is there is no filter between the brain and the update and no indication of when it's something important or just a random thought i don't want to read. i am generally against cell phone typing, as it is often done in motion where it is or should be illegal, or on the toilet, which is just gross.

18. bad photography for all the world to see. i delete about 1/3 of the pictures i take, and modify about 1/10. real photographers only save about 1/3 and leave 1/10 unmodified. if it's uninteresting and unflattering and you have other pictures of the subject, this would be an example of something that gets left on the cutting room floor. if you must keep it because you are some kind of image hoarder, for the love of god, don't tag it.

19. "apps" i hate that i have to tell fb about every single "app" i don't want clogging my stalkerfeed, and that it can't just assume i don't want anything to do with astrology or whateverville. i hate that every stupid quiz requires adding another "app" if you want pointless quizzes, that's what the eljay is for.

20. the extent to which liking things has degraded groups and the normal profile features. no one cares that you like bread and lady gaga and air and picking your nose on airplanes and the oil spill and 10,000 strong against the oil spill and betty white on SNL, and a status and a posting.

21. groups used to be interesting.

22. myface and the email i used for it both decided not to let me on anymore, so now my empty shell of a profile can forever embarrass me on cyberspace; at least it doesn't have a crazy pink sparkly background, but those videos bother me.

23. profile pictures that are 90% boobs

who is bored? my brother is bored and my sister is sad

nina is going to see boris, but boris isn't home. where is boris? let's no ask about that.

who doesn't have a big black table? your bad brother doesn't.

your old neighbour doesn't have a beautiful old green rug

they are forbidden to eat cheese

they love me, but i don't love them; i cannot say why

she advises me to fix pizza

what doesn't newark have? newark doesn't have a good big museum or a large square.

we're not afraid of our neighbours

don't worry; the repairman has just arrived

in three hours, the germans will leave, and you will get your rooms

he never has any money because he always loses it.

my interesting friends have 6 old windows and 7 bad neighbors

anna watches comedies often, but her parents watch them a lot oftener

your book is big, but mine is bigger! yes, but my book is better than your book!

do your parents need anything? yes, they need good poems.

in her free time, queen elizabeth knits and dances

larisa never takes care of her health; she smokes and drinks and watches tv.

the president talks to himself every tuesday

no, it's not a robot, the president himself is talking

he doesn't think only about himself, he also thinks about everything he has

what's wrong with you?

no way, i'll probably throw up!

suddenly, i heard dima speak russian

he lost my cat.

i'm afraid of dogs, airplanes, and teachers

5 blue raspberry.
it doesn't exist in nature. sour and spicy candy defeats the purpose of candy. if i wanted something sour, i'd be healthy and eat a damn lime. things that have blue raspberry as an option usually don't have blueberry, the superior flavor because the blue die has already been claimed by the shit pile known as blue raspberry.

6. your diet.
those who eat things i don't: hot dogs aren't food. who the fuck still eats pork? sausage on pizza looks like turd, go watch that episode of drawn together. watching you gleefully slobber over a burger and smelling your stank breath will not change my mind on hating mcdon'ts.
those who don't eat things i do: don't go vegan because you think it will make you lose weight and then act like you cared about animals the whole time. getting your stomach stapled won't make you able to digest nasty applebee burgers better than delicious mexican food.
misc: eating chemicals isn't the same as cutting down on fat and sugar, and you will still be a fatass if you drink diet soda. i don't want to hear about whatever new fad diet book or supplement you think gives you superpowers.

7. going out to eat in large groups.
the end result is always something crappy and americanised. the person who picked it specifically will not enjoy their meal. my blood sugar has already dropped by the time anyone gets serious about finding a place to eat, so at that point i am weak and will agree to anything. the reason we can't go anywhere that serves something palatable is that some jackass starts whining about "heartburn" or what their crotch dropping has to or can't eat. the crotch dropping won't eat anything anyway, and if it was so important you should have packed something. every interesting place has a digestion friendly selection, but you just wanna whine until we go somewhere full of things i can't eat.

8. "organic"
i hate that organic in food labels means natural instead of 'containing carbon', and natural means nothing. organic doesn't have to be 100% for the label. organic means nothing in things that aren't food. i hate the way people look when they say the word.

9. lent.
50% increase in the number of times some asshole tries to tell me that fish isn't meat. constant whining about not having caffeine or whatever it is they are "giving up". assholes with no will power letting their little hobby effect my diet.

10. those bullshit "vegetarian" selections offered by meat centered establishments consisting of topping vegetables that don't have sufficient protein and therefore require cheese or egg.

11. energy drinks
everyone who drinks them is a douche. zero calorie energy does not exist. the way the voice over on the 5 hour energy shot commercial says 'tisk, tisk'.

12. water in a can.
if you can't afford good beer, stay sober. anything that exists in a can is probably crap.

13. soda.
especially when people call it 'pop'. the face people make when drinking coke and walking or looking at me. the fatass with 234242542lbs of popcorn complaining that the soda isn't diet. they way people look and sound when saying the words 'coke' or 'pop'.

14. nutrition labels.
percentages are useless considering that i do not need 2000 or 2500 Calories
why does water need to take up 3 sqin to tell me it has nothing? the serving size should always be an integer, but this is never the case with chocolate bars. in fact, just tell me what the whole package or one unit is and i can decide what to eat.

i miss human contact

1. he thinks he is attractive to women even though he is a sweat bear
2. he is a fat guy with "standards"
3. no sense of boundaries
4. reeks of cigarette
5. completely worthless without the obligatory nicotine fix
6. tried to lie about how it's more addictive than herion
7. has been acting like he owns the place since a month after he'd been there
8. stares at my ass
9. goes on and on about his small penis
10. got his dumb ass arrested by joy riding his friend's dad's car