You know you’ve been listening to too much Public Radio when . . .

your dreams consist of arguing with someone over the current healthcare debate.

You say you want a (food) revolution

Well you know. We all want to change the world.

Forgive the musical digression but I’ve been listening to the Beatles lately. I’ve also been reading more news since I started working. Yesterday, an article appeared in the NY Times, entitled, “Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?”  In it Andrew Martin discusses the changing political climate and popular trends concerning organic, and sustainable foods (note that they are not always the same thing) and the public’s increasing demand for them. What I like is how he outlines the varying views on the issue – from subsidized farmers, to organic farmers, to sustainable food advocates (which is where I would include myself) who want to see an increase in local and regional food networks. For the most part Martin discusses Tom Vilsack, the new secretary of agriculture, and the Obama administration’s potential change in attitude toward U.S. farming and food networks. But there’s also a lot of good background information. Martin does a great job painting a multi-colored picture of farmers and food advocates, and the variety of media and personal influences that have made this such a popular issue.

I remember a critic once who cited environmentalism as a middle-class concern. And for the most part I think it is. A poverty-stricken family does not have the luxury of  buying food that’s good for the environment and the local economy when they’re worried about simply getting enough food in the first place. And the almighty dollar does play a role here since organic and local produce can often be more expensive. From the article:

Even Jeffrey Hollender, the president of the green cleaning-products company Seventh Generation, worries that some of his movement’s messages are a tough sell when consumers are stretched thin. Although some people argue that there are hidden costs to cheap food, from environmental damage caused by factory farms and fertilizer runoff to the health costs associated with eating highly processed, calorie-laden food, [ . . . ] commercially produced food is relatively inexpensive. “The idea of the true cost of food?” Mr. Hollender asks. “That’s the last thing consumers want to hear right now.”

But there are ways to eat well within your means. We’ve been on a tight budget for years between graduate school costs and my staying how with the Towhead, so Mr. A and I have long discussed how to maintain our values and yet not go into debt. I found a list in a local paper years ago about the “dirty dozen,” or the fruits and veggies that require the highest amount of pesticides, and the “clean dozen,” or those that require the least. It has given us an informed way of making those choices. If I can buy only 2 organic produce items this week, I know it’ll likely be celery and strawberries and that I won’t worry so much about avocadoes and bananas. (All of this is assuming that there’s not a farmer’s market going in which case I’ll buy whatever is in season locally. ) But given how tight budgets are for so many people right now I’m surprised at how many are still so concerned and so vocal about this issue in spite of the recession. I find it inspiring that people are drawn as much to what is sustainable these days as to what is cheap.

On this same line there was another article yesterday right up this same alley, “Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not,” which talks about the problems associated with buying organic food shipped from halfway across the globe. This is a tough topic for me because in spite of my growing loyalty to locally-produced products (both to reduce our carbon footprint and to help local economies), I remember visiting an organic farm in Jalisco, Mexico. I remember the wonderful woman, Maria, who ran the farm and how hard she was working to pull together farmers, activists, researchers, and schools in the community to teach them about farming sustainably and taking care of the land.

The coolest thing I learned though is that Michelle Obama began work last week on a vegetable garden for the White House

to provide food for the first family and, more important, to educate children about healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become national concerns.

I’m not sure yet if we’ll have a chance but with CT getting old enough to understand some of these concepts, this is exactly what I want to be doing with my girl and I applaud Michelle Obama for making this gesture. Whether she’ll be out getting her hands dirty and letting her kids do the planting remains to be seen, but there has to be a first step before creating a new direction. I’m sure the media would have a heyday, but I hope that mudpies and eating off the vine are things her girls learn to enjoy.

Where the f* have you been?

damn it's cold

Working on the railroad. In the kitchen with Dinah. Walking in a winter wonderland.

Buried under six feet of snow for most of December, that’s where. As far as updates and what we’ve been up to there’s lots in the realm of small stuff and not much in the larger, noteworthy realm. Mostly I’ve been occupying my time with domestic shit that makes me by turns happy, and then digusted that I’m happy being so insanely domestic: making granola, baking bread, knitting hats and scarves, mending clothes, reading, arts and crafts with Crazy Towhead. Somewhere in there we go to the YMCA everyday to “play with kids” as CT calls it, or “burn off all that stuff I like to eat but don’t have the metabolism for anymore” as I like to think of it.

In the interests of catching up on all those blog entries I’ve been thinking about posting but haven’t had time for, here’s a short list:

• I was planning a rather satirical piece about the virtues of shovelling over a foot of snow each day around Christmas. Talk about weight loss plan! Suffice to say it’s over (for now). I love winter and snow, but not when I can’t get out in it because of blizzard conditions or single-digit temps that make my fingers hurt through my heay-duty ski gloves.
• The next piece I contemplated was one psychoanalyzing my dreams about Stargate’s Dr. Daniel Jackson. And I mean in-depth dreams that lasted almost all night. At first glance it may seem weird that I’m dreaming about a sci-fi TV character that travels to different planets within our galaxy meeting new people and fighting aliens. But really, I suppose my attraction is not that strange. He’s intelligent, sensitive, funny, speaks 26 languages, and can handle a firearm nearly as well as his military colleagues. And his overall personality and appearance reminds me of this wacky wildlife biologist who shares my closet.
• Obama. I could analyze, potificate, hope, dream, and gush. He inspires me. When it came to our last president I feverently hoped he would prove all my skepticisms wrong; I was disappointed. In this case, I’m crossing my fingers that this president will be half as good as I think he can be. Rhetorically I think he’s brilliant and professional. Personally I think he has the ambition to meet the disaster he’s inherited. I’ll be eagerly watching to see if his rhetoric and his actions match up.
• Snowshoeing was, for the third year, the most wonderful and fantastic way to celebrate the CT’s birthday. The sun came out and we had a fantastic time. I’ll post pictures soon with the wonderful new camera my sweet hubbie surprised me (and I mean I had NO clue)  with for Xmas. He says the fact that I didn’t get him a fantastic surprise can be paid off in daily massages for the next two months – I knew he had some angle going.
• Sidenote: I am not allowed to build a fire when I’m sick. The neurons don’t connect right when I have a head cold. I nearly burned the family room down this weekend. Thank goodness Mr. A was home. It’s actually a funny story I may reserve for later. We spent the rest of the weekend singing, “Burning Down the House” to each other at odd moments.
• I have been a member of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment for a number of years. I was accepted to present at their conference in British Columbia in June, and I had to email yesterday and tell them I won’t be able to attend. It broke my heart that I won’t be able to see so many wonderful people or hear about all the interesting work they’ve been doing. I may use this blog as a forum for the work I was going to present instead. Stay tuned. 
• Recipes. Recipes! This has been one of my projects lately. I have so many good ones to post. Again, come back soon.

But in all of this, be patient. I’m also on the hunt for work and checking out preschools for the Towhead. One of my new resolutions is to write more. So if all goes well the blogosphere will be seeing more of me in the next few months. I’d ideally like to start producing more creative work instead of these chatty updates. Though I admit they are a wonderful necessity for family and friends that live far away, they bore me. And if my own writing bores me I don’t do it, hence my less-frequent posting these last few months. We’ll be on vacation for the next couple weeks (visiting family) but after that tune in for your regularly scheduled inanities

Compact Christmas

Delayed though this may be I thought it still worth posting. It was written awhile ago but I’ve been busy crafting and baking and shopping. What can I say?

Christmas is here! Actually the Christmas season started before Halloween this year according to the store shelves. It has always driven me nuts when I see lights and ornaments adorning shelves when I’m still in harvest season/ Halloween/ apple cider mode. Be patient people! is all I can think. Let me enjoy this season before you move onto the next one. Christmas is so commercialized as it is. Being a stay at home mom, and immersed in a life where everything takes three times as long to accomplish as it did before I had kids, I must admit that I was more ok with the early shopping thing this year. But it still bugs me that Christmas seems to be one big consumption craze. I see a lot of people scaling back this year, our immediate and extended family included. But, especially with kids, it’s hard to avoid the pull of “I want, I want.” I’m victim to it myself. Once you open the door of “what do you want?” the void seems to extend on and on.

In the interests of saving green, ie the environment and our cash, I’m trying some new things this year. I want to use recycled wrapping materials (paper bags, or cool scrap cloth for those hard to wrap things), reusable containers instead of throw-away boxes, and keep the gift buying to a minimum. This means a lot of extra work making things but I think it’s worth the effort.

So far I’ve made a set of lacing cards for my niece, a scarf for my sister-in law, and haven’t bought a roll of wrapping paper or a gift bag yet. Though I’ve cheated a bit and used up almost all the wrapping paper I had left over from previous years. It feels good to do something different like this. More personal somehow. It’s hard to find the time to make gifts for everyone, but at least not buying things like wrapping paper that I know are going to get thrown away feels good . . . less wasteful, efficient, like the energy I put into the gift is more than just trash? Maybe all this is silly, like my hubbie likes to point out. Maybe it is just something I do for me. But maybe it’s the beginning of a shift to a less consumption driven holiday. I figure it can’t hurt.

In looking for ideas I came across a group that is truly defying the consumer-driven mentality. It’s a group called The Compact. The idea is to buy nothing new for a year. The only things you are allowed to buy new are food and basic necessities needed for health and safety. Can you imagine? It would be hard, but it seems an admirable and worthwhile experiment with or without kids. A way to teach yourself that you really don’t need as much as you desire. That there are ways of maintaining your lifestyle that don’t involve as much waste. There is more about the group, originally started in the San Francisco area but now with groups all over the nation, in this article.

Although it has a number of detractors, the group has gotten publicity in a number of newspapers and magazines (I saw it in Sunset). “There is no dogma,” says Rachel Kesel, a Compact member. “No one is out to chide you for not being perfect. We’re not out to be environmental martyrs. We’re just a group of folks looking to consciously reduce our consumption and keep trash out of the landfills.” It sounds wonderful but I’m not sure I could do it. I like shopping and finding stuff on craigslist and Freecycle can be challenging and time-consuming on a good day. But what a way to change your life, your thought patterns, your assumptions and your ideas about what you need and where it comes from. How much different would Christmas be if you couldn’t buy anything new? Wow! Talk about a culture shift.

The musical qualities of Prop 8

For a number of reasons, I am a big supporter of gay marriage. Marraige is about love and committment. And the legal perks that go along with a state-recognized union should be available to anyone willing to make that lasting committment to another person. Notice I say state-recognized. The church need not recognize the marriage if they don’t want to. I have no problem with that. Mr. A and I have talked about this a lot, him being raised Catholic and all.
Anyway, as serious as this issue is, you gotta give these actors props for lending some humor and perspective to the issue.

The War Effort

I was researching an article proposal I’m writing and I stumbled across this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The message of this poster, “If you don’t need it, don’t buy it” seems appropriate with the current economic crisis and the impening holiday rush. I like making Christmas more about family than about material goods anyway. But it feels like many people are just waking up to this concept of only buying what you need and can afford now that their stock portfolios have lost nearly half their value if not more.

Ironic that this economic crisis has put many Americans in a wartime mindset. Hang on. Aren’t we in a war now?? Wait, make that two wars. And do we hear those with their hands on the reins asking us to conserve in a time when our nation’s resources are being stretched to the max. Nope. Bush’s mantra (albeit quieted now because of increased attention to the absurdity of it) is go about your business as usual. Spend money. By going into debt you are helping our economy. A message companies like AIG and others took to heart.

The irony and sadistic humor in it all, is that in some ways Mr. A and I couldn’t be happier. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve lost money and are strapped for cash just like everyone else. The future does not look rosy in our eyes, but the upside is that we see more people paying attention to their actions. It has forced us to start using our bikes and taking the bus more than we used to. We are cutting back, trying to spend within our means, wasting less and conserving more. And so are more and more people. Isn’t this the message environmentalists and conservationists have been preaching for over a decade?? I’m sad it took $4/gallon gas to really make hybrids and public transporation so popular but I’m glad it happened nontheless.

In looking at a lot of these WWII era posters, both American and Canadian, I was struck by how much the messages are pertinent and useful now. Like the fashions of the 60s, 70s and 80s, even messages like these seem to be coming back into style.

    

The Ohio Historical Society remarks that, ”Posters, such as these, helped mobilize the nation for World War II. They called for sacrifice and participation. Citizens were asked to contribute time and money, to produce products, to conserve resources, and to contribute to the war effort in personal ways.” What happened to this attitude? Are we so insulated by material goods that the concept of sacrifice has become alien and scary? Posters like these and the others listed with them make the phrase “Support the Troops” take on a whole new meaning, and leave the yellow ribbons I see decorating the rear end of SUVs a lot more empty.

And it makes me appreciate all the more the attitude of unity and change that President-elect Obama is trying to promote. I listened to his victory speech from Grant Park with the admiration a writer has for a well-written piece, and the hope of an American that wants to see a change – in our politics, in our foreign policy, in our attitudes toward war, our Earth, and the needs of our citizens at home. In his words, “So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that [. . .] in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.”

I don’t want another war, I don’t want a bigger war. I don’t want our nation to be as desperate and strapped for resources as we were during the first and second World Wars. But the idea of sacrifice and conservation don’t need to be such scary things that we’ll spend ourselves into bankruptcy to avoid them. Maybe I’m trying to convince myself that tightening our belts is not a bad thing. Maybe I’m trying to understand why our government continues to reward overspending (and overspend itself), and is so afraid of asking Americans to change the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to that they’ll do anything to maintain our status quo.

In looking at a lot of these posters Mr. A and I wondered what the reaction would be if we started posting some of them around town. We figured that this one might turn a few heads,

but that the more modern parodies might be a bit more pertinent and possibly get more attention (be it positive or negative. Call me a devil’s advocate but does anyone have the money to rent billboard space? Could be fun to see the affect it has

Fly and Dance

Have you ever seen leaves brought up by the wind, away from their tree at a 45 degree angle, up over the telephone lines in a huge whirl, so that you thought the diamond-shaped wave was a flock of birds?

This morning looking out my kitchen window I was amazed to see so many birds flying together, swirling over the tops of a tree a couple blocks away. Then I realized they weren’t birds, they were leaves. I’ve never seen leaves fly and dance, over around and up like that.

What a beautiful day.

In election news, I am crossing my fingers, praying, standing on my head, and channeling every ounce of universal energy I can get my hands on to see Obama elected. If not I will cry and move out of the country.

In homefront news, Mr. A is having surgery Thursday on his knee for a torn meniscus.

With all the rain, wind, clouds, and increasing darkness I am i feel like I’m living in a dreamworld or fairytale. I just hope today has a happy ending.

Birthday for Me, Halloween for Us, Votes for Them

Self-portrait on my birthday.

Am I on a narcisistic bent? After my List of 99 it may feel like it, but not really. Self-exploration maybe. Reflection. I do that a lot in the fall. I was thinking yesterday that the seasons are a lot like fire. In spring things are just getting started, sometimes they seem to be ebbing back into darkness, the next moment flaring to life as things try to find their purchase and come to life. Summer is a roaring blaze – no imagination needed there. Fall, though, is like a thick bed of coals, providing warmth and more quiet time for sitting around talking, relaxing, and reflecting on the day. I like Fall. I always have. I’ve always blamed it on my birthday but as I get older and birthdays are less of a big deal, I don’t think so. I like the sense of community that somes with “harvest time,” though the actual harvest is a reality for only a few in current times. But there are so many activities and celebrations this time of year it gives a feeling of solidarity, community, and warmth as the days begin to get colder.

I’m also doing the legwork involved in entering back into the workforce. Reluctantly, I might add. I like what I’ve been doing. Teaching my kid about the world. Taking the time to do things how I want, instead of settling for what time allows. Choosing the projects I volunteer for and get involved in. But I’m also looking at my resume and feeling the need to explain to myself why I haven’t been ambitious enough to take on more, to write more, to accomplish something that sounds impressive. Call it ego, but self-justification and self-esteeem matter. And the “but raising your kids is important” line only gets me so far. Yes, when I look around my house, and observe my husband, my dog, my kid, I am proud and satisfied that I do everything I can for them and that all of us seem content, crazy, and healthy enough to cause mischief. But I’ve always been afraid of settling for mediocrity, of becoming so content that I cease to grow as a person, or stop learning things and pushing myself to do and be more than what I am. That is what scares me about motherhood. It is so all-consuming sometimes that I’m afraid I’ll slip into that state and never know it happened. But I also worry about becoming so obsessed with “getting things done” that I’ll miss all the wonders of the experience. It’s a fine line to walk, and I often feel off balance. But balance is important in all things, and it’s good that the concept stays at the forefront of my mind.

In other news, I am happy to say I voted early! I keep laughing becasue this is probably the closest I have ever followed an election campaign, and the most research I have ever done about the issues and the candidates I voted for. And yet, from day one, there really was no question about who I was voting for! I hope after another 8 years of repair maybe the country I’ve grown to love will be back where it was before the millenium started and not in the hole this administration has dug for us. I have more hope for the world my daughter inherits than this.

And speaking of my daughter, here she is in all her Halloween splendor! There were multiple costumes throughout the day dug from the dress up box. But these were my favorites:

What TV says about your politics

I’m a few days late commenting on this but I heard this tidbit on NPR Saturday that has had me thinking. All Things Considered reported on a new study that asks whether Democrats and Republicans respond differently to different TV shows. The study asks people about their engagement with certain shows; engagement being how much they remembered about shows they watched the night before. The results list Cash Cab, a game show that takes place in a New York cab, and Comedy Central’s South Park as the highest among Republican voters.  The Colbert Report, an offshoot of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, and Deadliest Catch, a Discovery Channel sereis about fisherman in the north Pacific, rated highest among Democratic voters.

Maybe it’s how my brain works but my thoughts immediately go on a rhetorical bent. What kind of people watch these shows? What are the characteristics of people who are “into” each respective show? Now generalizations are hard because I know plenty of people who watch all of these shows. But the study makes a point of emphasizing that it’s not just viewership but “engagement” – you may watch both the Colbert Report and Cash Cab but you remember more about, or are more “into” one than the other.

My immediate thoughts venture something along this line. Cash Cab and South Park are no-brainers - Cash Cab is a game show where you answer questions “Who Wants to Be A Millionare” style with lifelines and clues etc, and the chance to gamble your knowledge or take the cash and walk. “Surprise you’re in the Cash Cab now how many trivia questions can you answer correctly” - nothing too complex. South Park likewise – funny, witty, irreverant, potty-mouth, slapstick humor. If this describes Republicans then my assumptions lean toward hard-working people who are looking for escapism rather than mental stimulation.

As for the Colbert Report, this show is again funny, irreverant, and sarcastic. But in spite of its irony and sarcasm the show addresses key political and newsworthy issues, often pointing out and questioning details that go unaddresses by mainstream news. Deadliest Catch is a reality-style show that follows crab fisherman in the north Pacific. If Democrats are the target or typical audience for these shows, then I’m assuming they’re interested in hearing a slant on the issues, and like learning about things they have no expereince with.

What this really makes me wonder is what this says about what people are absorbing concerning the upcoming elections. Since TV is where most people learn about the candidates and upcoming ballot measures how much are partisian viewers tuning in. It scares me to think that the attention span typically reserved for Soputh Park is being to used to decide the future of local and national issues. All I can do is shake my head. And all this was done with the intent of informing advertisers where the best placement was for political and campaign ads.

I’d love to hear people’s views on this. What do you think? What do you like to watch and why?