dinner #9: pasta with sausage and sumer squash

This is probably going to be my one and only tribute to Sandra Lee and her niche in the foodie world. For anyone ignorant as to who she is: Sandra Lee hosts "Semi-homemade with Sandra Lee" on the Food Network, a show devoted to simplifying cooking by jazzing up already prepared foods (think store-bought pound cake with homemade strawberry compote and Cool Whip). While I personally don't agree with Sandra's approach to cooking, I have found that it perfectly suits one of my favorite lazy lunches:

Easy Mac.

(Please note that this is Annie's Easy Mac, not the blue box kind... I still have some taste).

I LOVE dressing up easy mac or boxed macaroni and cheese with sautéed Brussels sprouts or asparagus or peas and prosciutto, or even oven roasted beets and caramelized onions. There is something so much more satisfying to me about eating packaged pasta when it is practically being suffocated under a mound of vegetables. I'd like to think that, in the realm of college lunches, this still borders on gourmet.

I decided to apply my macaroni logic to last night's dinner (though I excluded the dehydrated cheese sauce from the equation). Instead I bought a pound of rotini pasta, a pound of uncooked chicken pesto sausage, and a bunch of summer squash and some onions. I chopped the squash and onions and roasted them with some dried basil, thyme, salt and pepper. I sautéed the sausage and cooked the pasta when the vegetables were close to finished, then tossed them together in the same pot I used to cook the pasta. I added some cream and grated Pecornio Romano (were you aware that Pecornio Romano is the new Parmegianno Reggiano?), mixed it all together and called it a day.

That's all.

Oh, you probably want a more precise recipe. That will have to wait as I refuse to miss salsa dancing for the blog.

And I PROMISE to put up the panzanella recipe soon! But be forewarned: classes start on Thursday. This could affect future posts. We'll see how everything goes.

dinner for ME: summer panzanella

Dinner #5 - Falafel

One of the requests N. has made for meals is that they be vegetarian on occasion. I grew up in a house where, though we ate many vegetables, a carnivorous main was almost always present, so it’s a bit of a change to be thinking outside of the “meat at dinner” box. Thankfully, I think being a college student has helped me in the vegetarian sphere, as meat is often more expensive (and requires more careful cooking) than other foods, and is thus more often excluded from daily cooking. I do, however, want all of my meals to be relatively interesting, and I want to vary the flavors that I use throughout the week. It seemed like a good a time as any to whip out falafel.

Falafel, for me, is a bit of a sentimental food. I remember my first falafel at Hebrew school when I was in third grade. We were celebrating something... who knows what Jewish holiday it actually was, but someone’s mother had decided to make falafel for the occasion. I sat outside in the courtyard with my friend Zoe, amidst a throng of other children as we ate the hot, dark brown patties.
I remember falafel being confusing. My first bite was tentative, and I only tasted the deep-fried exterior exuding just a hint of spice. But underneath the crusty shell was a yellow interior flecked with hundreds of tiny bits of green. I had no idea what I was eating. “What is this?” I asked Zoe, who had eaten falafel before. “It’s falafel,” she said. “No, I know that,” I said impatiently. “I mean, what is it?” “It’s Jewish food,” she said, “Duh!”

I decided one falafel was enough until my confusion was alleviated.

Though I now understand how to make falafel, it still fascinates me that something relatively simple to make (chickpeas, onion, water, spices, oil) tastes so complex and is substantial enough to almost seem meaty. Wrapped in pita with lettuce, Israeli salad and hummus or Raita (yogurt sauce), falafel makes an incredibly satisfying and completely vegetarian meal (or vegan, with the omission of the yogurt).

This dinner consisted of:

Pita
Falafel
Lettuce
Israeli salad
Hummus
Raita
Carrot salad
Orange Honeydew melon

In making a falafel sandwich, I usually wrap the pita in foil and heat it in a 300˚F oven for 5-10 minutes, just until it is warm. I then cut each pita in half along its diameter to make pockets for filling. A lettuce leaf or two lines the inside of the pita (this not only ensures lettuce in nearly every bite, but keeps the sauces and juices from the vegetables from leaking through the bread). I usually place 3-4 falafel in my pita, depending on their size (and how hungry I am). The sandwich is finished with a heaping spoonful of Israeli salad and a generous drizzle of hummus and Raita. I made the carrot salad on the fly as a side, but the flavors would probably also work in the sandwich if you were feeling ambitious (though I don’t think the sandwich needs anything else).

Recipes to be posted soon! And AGAIN I forgot my camera; I took a couple of pictures on my phone but don’t know how to begin to move them to my computer. So this may be another instance of using your imagination.

simple tomato sauce

This was sort of a "sauce-on-the-fly," as I really wasn't sure what to make for Wednesday's dinner and I wasn't feeling incredibly inspired to make something complex. I was pleased enough with the result, however, that I reinacted its creation last night (I had snuck a bite of the Wednesday pasta to make sure it tasted okay; I subsequently wished that I was eating it, too).

This may sound funny, but tomato sauce, for all it's simplicity, is something I've had some trouble getting right. Or at least, I've had trouble making something that tasted like some of the really fantastic tomato sauces I've had over the course of my life (granted I'm young, but I have a very good ratio of years lived to bowls of pasta eaten). This is the closest I've come to meeting my criteria for a good sauce.

ALSO: I do not always measure things when I cook, which some may find horribly frustrating. I've given general amounts, but remember that you can (and should) adjust things according to your personal tastes as well as the quality of your ingredients. For example, if you are worried that your sauce may be too acidic in taste, throw some grated carrot in with the shallots and garlic; it will cook down with the aromatics and sweeten the sauce without you (heaven forbid) adding any sugar. Or if fresh tomatoes seem mealy or flavorless, substitute canned tomatoes. This recipe is not worth making with fresh tomatoes outside of tomato season, as the final product will be ultimately lacking in flavor. You can also mix it up by using heirloom tomatoes of different colors and puréeing only a portion of the sauce, preserving some of the distinctiveness of each fruit. You can also add a pinch of saffron along with the wine in step 2 to take the flavor in another direction altogether.

In other words, think outside the box.


Simple Tomato Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2-1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2-3/4 pounds of shallots (about 4-6 medium shallots), minced
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes (I used a mixture of Roma and dry-farmed tomatoes, which have a more concentrated tomato flavor), seeded and diced
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream, optional (I like adding a little cream to this sauce as it both enriches it and slightly lightens the flavor; you can also always add more!)
- About 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, optional

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan or deep-sided skillet over medium-low heat. Listen for the milk solids in the butter to begin cooking (they will make a slight sizzling noise and create bubbles), and add the shallots. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the shallots (this will cause them to release some of their liquid and become soft as opposed to crisp) and cook for one minute. Add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots and garlic are soft and translucent, about ten minutes.
2. Add the wine to the pan and adjust heat to maintain a low simmer. Stir occasionally until the liquid is reduced and barely coats the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.
3. Add the seeded and diced tomatoes to the pan. Stir briefly and cover pan. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until tomatoes have softened and broken down into a chunky, thick sauce.
4. Remove from heat; carefully pour sauce into a blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached (the sauce is a bit thick for an immersion blender; I used one and I sauced myself a bit). Transfer sauce back into pan and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add cream and stir until fully incorporated. After saucing pasta, tear or chiffonade basil leaves and sprinkle over the completed dish.

This recipe makes enough to sauce one pound of pasta. I put a pot of water on to boil right after I added the tomatoes to the pan; I add the pasta to the water after I've moved the sauce to the blender. This gives me enough time to blend the sauce, season it, and add the cream without micro-managing my pasta. Once the pasta is done, I use tongs or one of those toothy spoons (forgive the non-technical label, I am going to go hunt on Sur la Table for the correct term in a moment) to transfer the pasta directly into the sauce. I never rinse my pasta if it's going to be sauced; rinsing strips the pasta of all the fantastic little starch particles that help it hold the sauce. Moving the pasta directly into the sauce after cooking also ensures that those fantastic little starch particles won't make the pasta strands hold onto each other. After saucing, I tear up the basil leaves or cut them in a chiffonade and add them to the pasta (this way they stay bright green and add freshness to the sauce). I ate this with a small mountain of freshly grated Pecorino-Romano (Pecorino is the new Parmesan) and a glass of milk (what can I say, I like milk; you can go nuts and have wine, I don't care).

Enjoy! And try this before all of the good fresh tomatoes are gone!

spaetzle is super and foodie!

At my mother's request, I am converting this into a FOOD BLOG. I have a new job cooking three nights a week for a family with two working parents, and I'll be doing my best to document the things that I make for them; perhaps it will provide ideas for aimless food-blog wanderers who can't figure out what to make for dinner, as well as help me keep a record of what I've made already (and whether or not the family liked it).

But mainly this is for my mom (and my dad, since if he'll be eating whatever my mom makes from my posts). Anyone else who happens to swing by is more than welcome, and feel free to share recipes you think are kid-friendly (no strained peas, please, these are late elementary/middle schoolers).

New post to come soon...

food... any questions?

Is food a keyword today? Perhaps a better question would be, when has food not been key in any way, shape, or form? From bears to bugs to Bill Clinton, many of the motives for our daily activities are centered on obtaining the means for survival, namely, sustenance. Yet as we’ve evolved from simplistic hunter-gatherer roles to supermarket customers, we’ve in turn created various philosophies regarding food and its role in our lives and subsequently redefined it on numerous levels.

Before delving into the historical and ideological events surrounding food, it is important to note the organization of this post. A large part of this essay will be focused on simply stating the obvious, since philosophy can often ignore the more subtle simplicities of a concept. I believe that the fact that there is so much confusion and speculation about something as simple as food justifies this take on the subject.

Though perhaps food’s place in our lives has been increasingly overshadowed by technological, social, political, and economic advances and changes, none of the events or inventions humans have influenced or created would have been possible without its constant presence. Cities and towns first became possible after agricultural techniques were born in the Fertile Crescent in 10,000 B.C.; today, many of the ways in which our society operates would not be possible without large-scale food production or food processing plants. Food quality standards today are also at a record high, as books such as Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle, led to public awareness and policy changes regarding health and cleanliness regulations within food processing. As food security within developed nations became increasingly stable, the number of more superficial philosophies surrounding food increased. In some cases, philosophies are a result of Gina Mallet’s observation that, “Once necessity is satisfied, we eat for pleasure;” others, however are redefinitions of necessity itself.

Interestingly, history is riddled with various food-related ideologies. Perhaps the most influential philosophy on the American eating perspective was the one that arrived on Plymouth Rock: Puritanism. The Puritans were not concerned with food as a medium for pleasure and enjoyment, rather, they argued against it. Food was eaten only so that one could continue living and working. Later, ideologists such as Harvey Kellogg and Sylvester Graham pushed early vegetarianism and simple eating (i.e. food without flavor) as a means of preventing impure thoughts and masturbation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Diet). This “food-as-fuel” mentality persisted through the development of the American nation into the 20th century, when the rise of ethnic classes, new food safety regulations, and European influences culminated to produce a philosophy whose proponents are referred to as “foodies.” Foodies generally support organic or sustainable food production methods, as well as keeping food in a local context (this has in turn created a foodie denomination known as the Locavore Movement). This platform, however, though it may be perpetuated by many of America’s educated and wealthy, is merely one against many other philosophies not concerned with palatability.

The reasoning behind the adoption of food philosophies varies; some are spurred by ethical or religious reasons while others are due to health concerns or, more frequently, “health” concerns. Fad diets, such as the South Beach Diet or the Atkins diet are generally concerned with weight loss or weight management (which is often seen as inversely proportional to an overall level of health). This type of food faddism views food more as a wild animal in need of taming than a source of nourishment and comfort. Such philosophies generally ignore concerns regarding food production or quality (including taste) and instead pay homage to our Puritain roots of eating only what is “best” for you.

Harvey Kellogg would be proud.

The increase in popularity of such diets has also resulted in a food product explosion. As these items are not actually food in a holistic sense, the term foodstuffs was coined as a blanket descriptor for such goods. Many of these products are processed to the point where most natural ingredients are eliminated; this resulted in the practice of food product enhancement, or, the addition of vital nutrients “back” into the food. Some of these goods, such as nutrition bars, protein enhanced water, and calcium chews are so far removed from actual food that they are instead referred to as nutrition supplements, meal replacements, or even food alternatives. The fact that modern-day consumers are searching for “alternatives” to food exhibits the real value placed on the things we eat (interestingly, most diet and low-calorie foods are more expensive on a cent-per-calorie basis than the majority of unprocessed foods). Americans on average spend less than ten percent of their income on food, as opposed to Europeans who spend about thirty percent (Indonesians in 2006 spent 49.9 percent); the cost of food in the United States also (on average) fails to reflect the environmental, social, and political costs associated with various food-related processes. There is still an overarching mentality of having what we want to eat when we want it and for cheap. We continue to take the staff of life and place its value below that of cosmetics, concerts, cars, and other consumer objects (most of which we could easily live without) for the sake of reserving capital.

The under-appreciation of food in developed countries in turn affects global food security, as highly populated poorer nations struggle with rising costs of staple goods. A good example of security suffering under the whims of the wealthy is the ethanol fuel movement, which sacrifices land that could be used for food production for the sake of producing an alternative fuel. Agricultural and food subsidies are often also put in place to try and convince farmers to grow certain crops, but such foods are often not nutritionally rich. This in turn has contributed to Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) research to try and create higher-yield crops or foods with (again) nutritional enhancements. In spite of all the research and aid surrounding the current food crisis, global food security remains a high-level concern for all nations.

Let’s again ask the question: why ought food be a keyword today?

Perhaps all the previously discussed issues can be neatly tied together Jeremy Iggers, an author for the magazine Philosophy Now:

“Food as a topic for philosophical investigation may be especially timely today… Today, food and eating occupy a role in our culture that only a few decades ago was occupied by sex: food has been eroticized and problematized and made the source of enourmous anxiety… a generation or two ago, our (Western) individual identity was much more defined by our social roles and relationships – hence the emphasis on sex; today our identities are much more strongly linked to what we consume.”

What is important in discussing food is to think outside of the realm of personal economy and interest and begin to explore the greater financial, environmental, social, and political costs surrounding food. We need to start caring about the thing that allows us to exist on this planet, and we need to stop being blinded by superficial ideologies so that we can begin to understand the real issue at hand.

Food is key because food is food; regardless of the discussions, the confusion, the ideas, fears, and pleasures, it is what it is and there is nothing else.

something to think about

...

So. I know we're supposed to state our first impressions of the class and then dive into what worked for us and what didn't, but I feel almost bad stating my first impressions as they don't reflect my current thoughts regarding this course. I'm going to try to tie everything up nicely by going back to my original theme of explanation through lists.

Reasons why I was enthused about this class:
1. I was excited to take an English class to mix up my courses a bit; I rarely write simply for the sake of writing.
2. I wanted to get my UWP requirement out of the way so that I wouldn't have to take it during the regular school year.

Reasons why I was less than enthused about this class:
1. My counselor had told me that I could "not under any circumstances test out of the class," and I needed it as a requirement for graduation (I don't usually go into required classes feeling juiced about the subject matter).
2. I didn't like the original idea about blogging; it seemed quite unfamiliar to me and I couldn't figure out how it could effectively be incorporated into a writing course.
3. I like structure and direction most of the time.
4. Um, it's summer, duh.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that my initial impressions of this course were quite mixed; I also had this weird connotation regarding blogs due to my few experiences reading others' posts outside of this class. I remembered back to freshman year of college when some of my friends had Livejournal pages and would write things about "how Josh hasn't called me, and I don't know what to do because I saw him at that party last weekend with Andrea and I can't tell if he likes me and I'm so stressed out and I have a paper due in five hours and I just don't have any time to do it and my mom is mad at me and blah blah blabbity blah..."

This, of course, is an exaggeration which is in no way representative of all blogs (or bloggers), but it shows how I felt about the medium of writing in this class; I didn't want to be associated with the noise of personal analysis so often stumbled upon online.

Then something changed.

I don't know what it was exactly, but something happened that made me begin to truly enjoy blogging, at least in an academic sense. It may have been that this class allowed us to read the writing of our peers, something I have never had the opportunity to do outside of editing groups. Or perhaps it was that we were writing according to prompts, and not just vomiting internal monologues into cyberspace. Whatever it was, it greatly influenced the way I ultimately felt about this class.

And the way I still feel about this class.

I don't know if everyone had as recondite an experience as I believe I did; I think that the lack of structure and direction was, for some, scary and oppressive. I'll admit that I too like some sort of framework most of the time. But ultimately I think the fluidity of the course and the flexibility of Chris regarding subject matter resulted in more profound and meaningful discussions, which in turn lead to more thoughtful and expressive posts.

I think I'm actually going to keep my blog post UWP 101. I don't quite know what I'll use it for, but I hope that others may keep theirs as well so that we can continue to read each others' work and provide a forum for feedback. Wouldn't it be hilarious and wonderful if someday we were able to read each others' dissertations or articles or books before they were officially published?

I think so.

back to the backpack

Arlen's post regarding mobility demonstrates the variety of connotations that can be associated with a single word. In his post, he describes his first thoughts regarding "mobility;" he saw the word as being more related to geographical movement as opposed to financial mobility or physical impediments towards being fully mobile. He adeptly supported his point by describing his backpack in great detail, and offering examples of why it allows him increased mobility in his life.

I really appreciated Arlen's post because I felt that we didn't talk about the most simplistic geographical movement in our class discussion; rather, we focused on diligently analyzing the word to mean something deeper than just movement. I think that this can sometimes be a downside to analysis, as we often try to look beyond the superficial implications in discussing a word. But by using the example of his backpack, Arlen demonstrates the importance of mobility on a more basic level, thus giving new light to its importance.

Arlen's backpack also showed how he is able to be mobile yet have access to various things he may or may not need throughout the day. His particular backpack has four pockets which get progressively smaller towards the front of the pack. He carries everything from his gym clothes to his cell phone charger to deodorant to an umbrella. I think that we sometimes take backpacks and bags for granted, as they really do allow us greater freedom in our mobility, especially when it comes to situations for which we might otherwise have been unprepared.

One of the main reasons I liked this post, however, is because I, like Arlen, carry my life around in my bag. I have a huge green purse that my fiancé has taken to calling "Rachel's bag-and-a-half" because it is, well, huge. And to be quite honest, that's why I like it. It can hold (and has been holding) my laptop, a notebook, my Dreamweaver manual, scissors, tape, glue, my cell phone, my pen/pencil case, my internship journal, photos for my internship journal, a box of giant mints from Holland, thank-you cards, chapstick, my camera, my camera charger, deodorant, chocolate, band-aids, two packs of gum, and sunscreen. Not to mention anything else I happen to need on a particular day.

I've been teased for having such a huge bag; I think the fact that I am not a very big person serves to emphasize the bag's magnitude. But, whenever someone needs band-aids or gum, they're quick to appreciate me and my bag.

Arlen's final words beautifully sum up his post: "I am free to go mobile any time I want to." I feel as though these words would be a great catch phrase for Jansport or another backpack company... "Free To Go Mobile." Because in the end, that's what you are.

You are free.

het plassen in Holland

This is a bathroom.

No, really.

I guess it would be accurate to say that I kind of have a thing for bathrooms. I find them to be one of the more interesting rooms in buildings and homes, and I usually make a point of visiting the facilities in new places (if for no reason other than curiosity). I've seen my fair share of the beautiful and the weird; from William Randolph Hearst's bathroom trimmed with gold-leafed tiles, to the waterfall urinal at the Madonna Inn (one of the more risqué visits as it was in the men's bathroom), to the bathroom of the Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, that boasted ten-foot tall tangerine stall doors, to the bathroom of a Freiburg restaurant with 6-foot high ceilings and an equally statuesque condom vending machine. I have probably seen enough random bathrooms to write a coffee-table book, albeit a more uniquely flavored compilation than usual living-room literature.

This bathroom, however, was one of the more interesting pit stops on my journey through Europe last summer; I took this picture during a layover in the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol while I was waiting to board a plane for Frankfurt. This image continues to fascinate me when I revisit the photos from my trip.

I remember the whole experience of taking this photo because I almost ran into the faux windmill tower; I had been trying to text message my parents that I had made it to Amsterdam and was waiting to board my next plane. The tower stood in the middle of the floor next to a mural of a seascape, complete with white slatted fence and plastic grass. It seemed to scream, "In case you forgot, you're still in Holland!" I found the whole scene to be somewhat comical, as if it was putting a theme-park spin on, well, an airport*. Looking at this picture now, it seems impossible to me to think of it being anywhere but the Netherlands.

But what if it were someplace else? What would we think of it then? Would it have been so recognizable to me as a Holland seascape with a windmill if it had been in, say, Humptulips, Washington? And if we're going to start designing bathrooms to represent countries, what would an American bathroom look like?

I can think of how, perhaps, a bathroom located in New York or San Francisco might be designed. It could have a miniature Golden Gate Bridge or Chrysler building inside, or perhaps display a backlit mural of the cityscape at dusk. Idaho could have potato-shaped porta-potties, while New Orleans' would paint theirs in green, purple, and yellow. But how would one design a bathroom that would simply exude an "American" feeling? And is it weird to try and construct something to display such a concept?

I keep thinking of many discussions we've had over the past weeks which I feel relate quite well to these bathroom design ideas. I feel as though I am automatically stereotyping certain areas by trying to ascribe particular aesthetics to bathrooms, though I'm not doing so intentionally or maliciously. There are just so many different flavors of American states, towns, and people that I don't know how to roll them into a single, yet all-encompassing lavatory. I both love and dislike this about America; it makes me think back to our discussion on "whiteness" and the lack of a culture associated with American caucasians. I don't know that I want there to be a single bathroom for Americans, but I do wish that I personally felt more of a cultural connection to my country.

But perhaps one of the things that makes the United States a wonderful place is that we can't all fit into one bathroom (literally and figuratively). To some, we are a melting pot; to others, we are a salad bowl. Yet regardless of the differing views of America, it is undeniable that we are incredibly lucky to be exposed to such a variety of cultures, languages, foods, and ways of life; such experiences can only serve to enrich our lives and make us more aware and accepting of others.

Who knows what bathrooms lie around the corner?

*Side note: the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the Netherlands' main airport, and includes multiple wi-fi hot spots, a family section for quiet naps and play time, as well as an art museum and a three-star restaurant. It also features a scaled model of the airport made entirely out of Legos. It is the Disneyland of the European airlines.

to walk, or not to walk...

In Amy's post, "Start Walking, it is Good for You," Aimee discusses the merits of walking versus driving. Among the many benefits she lists are saving money, burning calories, and helping the environment. Moreover, walking (according to her blog) is actually a mood booster in that it allows us direct interaction with nature and places of beauty, thereby creating a more aesthetically pleasurable traveling experience than one would have sitting in a car. Aimee did, however, note that she was not preaching that everyone dump their cars and began walking everywhere, but do so "whenever possible and in the right weather." What could be so hard about that?

Interestingly, Carol's comment on Aimee's post seemed to focus on the above question. Carol acknowledged that it would be greatly beneficial to people to walk everywhere, and did not decry the positive implications listed in the post; she did, however, state her opinion that walking as a mode of transportation has become "quite unpractical in the U.S." She noted that with the combination of weather and distance in Davis, it is often undesirable to walk to school, stores, or friends' houses, especially because such areas are often located outside of close proximity. Therefore, while walking may be a healthful and ecologically supportive means of transport, it simply cannot uphold the busy American lifestyle of today.

Both Aimee and Carol bring up valid points regarding walking's place in our nation. Yet why is it that we seem to understand that walking is good on multiple levels, yet refuse to accept it as a practical form of mobility?

I visited the city of Brentwood last year while working on a farmstead project near Discovery Bay. Barbara, the woman leading the project, drove us through the city to reach the agricultural tract we were discussing how to farm. She explained that one of the reasons she was excited to begin the project was because Brentwood had grown from ten thousand residents to forty thousand over the past decade, and she expected to reap the benefits of the population growth in her profits.

I remember staring out of the window amazed at the number of cars, housing developments, strip malls, and gas stations we passed. For a city which had only recently become a suburban metropolis, it was one of the most inefficiently developed areas I had ever visited. Brentwood, not having a fixed development plan in the initial stages of growth, had immense potential to incorporate a public transportation system, bicycle paths, and mixed use zoning to increase the amount of foot traffic and pedestrian friendly spaces. Instead, it took advantage of the fact that most residents were quite comfortable with using their own cars as opposed to buses, trams, or even bicycles, and neglected to create a town condusive to walking (my apologies if you are from Brentwood and you disagree with me; I'd love to hear your perspective as to the organization of the city). In this case, it is definitely unpractical to walk as the city's arrangement increases the time and personal energy spent traveling, and public transportation does not permeate all areas.

This example of urban sprawl relates to Carol's view because it shows how we seem to have accepted that cars are simply the necessary way to get around town in America. But to embrace Aimee's mindset, I feel we need to shift our focus away from the most widely accepted means of travel. Perhaps walking is not always practical in America, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be or that it won't become more practical than driving in the future.

(By the way: walking and public transportation, to me, go hand in hand. If you embrace one, the other will follow.)

Until we are able to use walking as our default mode of transport, we should simply do as Aimee suggests: walk where you can when you can, and reap the health, environmental, and financial benefits.

girls from mars

This is a photograph of women steelworkers during WWII. I found this photograph to be fascinating as it is quite difficult to tell that these are women due to the extreme coverage of their gas masks. It is also hard to discern any sort of facial expression under the masks, so it would be a stretch to say what emotions they may have been feeling at the time this was taken.

One of the reasons that I was drawn to this picture was because of a video I watched in my CRD 161 class. This class discussed the historical progressions of people, work, and technology between the industrial revolution and the current day. During our discussion of WWII and its effect on work opportunities, we watched an old advertisement promoting women working in mines, shipyards, steel works, and other factory conditions. The way in which they encouraged women to move out of the household and into the workforce was by playing a clip of a woman performing a domestic chore followed by a clip of a women performing an act with similar movement in the factory. The idea was "if you can do this at home, you can do this for us!" For example, the video might show a clip of a woman using an apple peeler before showing her working on a lathe.

The gas masks were preceeded by women giving themselves facial masks and then placing a cloth over their face. They were smiling throughout the clip until the cloth covered their mouths. Likewise, the women in the next segment, were also smiling upon the removal of their gas masks. Yet the women in this picture were wearing these masks because they were cleaning around the tops of the blast furnaces, a hot and dangerous job. These masks are also oxygen masks rather than gas masks, since there often was a lack of breathable oxygen towards the tops of the furnaces. Did women sincerely believe the ads promoting such occupations? Did they believe it would be like having a facial in a factory?

I find it hard to accept that women would so blindly listen to such advertisements. Yet, I have to wonder what these women were feeling about their position; perhaps it was fatigue, perhaps it was frustration at balancing the household while working in such a labor-intensive job, perhaps it was happiness at being able to work in a job previously reserved for men. I'd like to think that, no matter how these women were feeling on this particular day, they had a constant sense of pride for doing what they believed was right and necessary to help their husbands, brothers, sons, and their country.

spam e-mail poetry

(This is not an official post.)

I keep getting spam e-mails for sexual pleasure enhancement products, scholarships, and travel promotions with my name in the subject line. This is somewhat disturbing to me, but the creepiness it somewhat outweighed by the randomness of the body of text located below the advertisements. For example, here is a block of text from a dating website ad:

For water. Outside, all round the walls of this into lucia's
face. This is an awful house, aunt he got? No, i guess not.
i think it's his cough. Ended. Next day we spent in preparations
for departure. Noises of the kitchen, the high, shrill note
of phoebe's deduction was, not that jane talbot bore wide
enough for a couple of boats to go through you? It wouldbe
awkward, said emily. Well, if came out of the stall he grasped
her roughly by has adela no companions of her own age? None
but her closer against him. Her head rested on his murder!^
she looked defiantly at miss marple and about herselfnot
of herselfi don't mean that, oct. 1799. Dear jackson within
a few days of each disappearing dogs. All that is finished!
and the but now... He shrugged his shoulders in humorous
which seemed to betoken the desire to lose no royal for
shame, maiden! Said the queen wouldst to the reader better
than a description. A high he said to himself, as he lay
awake that nighti

It makes no sense, though that is a common theme with these e-mails. Yet I've actually grown to look forward to receiving them just to see what weird e-mail poetry will be included.

Maybe this is what the monkeys wrote before they finally made it to Shakespeare.

dance dance observation

Sometimes differences are most interesting and complex when they are explored within a single context. It is possible to notice things that you would not otherwise see if you were simply looking at the context itself.

Yesterday marked the second day of the summer session's beginning Salsa class at Barbara's Dancing Tonight Studio. I originally signed up for the class so that I could learn about technique and keep up with my roommate, a more experienced dancer. It seemed like a good way to learn to dance as I could practice with multiple partners in an educational setting.

The class begins with men and women dancing separately, each learning their own parts of the dance and repeating them over and over. Our instructor, Korie, waits until she feels we're all relatively comfortable before adding music and forming us into couples. The women then rotate between the men during the course of the song so that each person gets sufficient practice with different partners.

For anyone unfamiliar with salsa dancing, the general idea regarding who orchestrates the dance is, well, somewhat sexist: the man leads the woman to dance in certain ways and the woman follows. This somewhat simplistic rule, however, is easier said than danced. The reason why it is important to dance with many partners is because many partners interpret this rule differently in practice. This particular class has very prescribed basic steps and turns, so there are only so many different moves a couple can make. It may not be clear at this point where the differences occur, so allow me to elaborate (and please keep in mind that I am not in any way trying to place myself in a more advanced dancing category than others in the class, I am simply observing):

Partner #1: My first dance partner seemed terrified that he was going to step on my feet, and kept his eyes glued to the floor. He also seemed as though he was thinking really hard about his next move, as each transition was slightly exaggerated.

Partner #2: This dance partner danced a little heavily, that is, each movement was very forced and enunciated.

Partner #3: This guy, Scott, is blind, and dances really well. He holds you slightly more away from himself, however, as I think he is also concerned about stepping on toes.

Partner #4: Partner number four would be the "high-five guy" in any group of friends; he moves his head side to side while we're dancing and always says things like, "Awesome," or "All right!" or "Heck yes, watch us go."

Partner #5: Partner number five kept saying "Mmmmmm." We'd be dancing and then out of nowhere would come an "Mmmmm," and then an "Mmm-hmm." It always caught me slightly off-guard.

Partner #6: This guy was a foot and a half taller than I was, and we had turning issues. The man is supposed to lift the woman's hand when he is about to turn her, but he was holding my hand so high in the air already that I couldn't tell when he wanted me to actually turn.

Partner #7: He would be an excellent dancer if he would simply follow the tempo of the music.

It's interesting to be in this kind of a situation because everyone is learning and thinking about different things while they're dancing, and sometimes their thoughts manifest themselves in physical ways. I think that dancing has been a really good learning experience for me regarding the mind-body connection, and how subtle differences in thinking can create larger differences in physical approaches to movement.

It's odd, too, in this kind of a situation, because the woman is not supposed to correct the man if he makes an error. Even if he cannot keep the beat and is starting on the wrong foot and keeps turning without warning, it is our fault (technically speaking) if he steps on our toes or if we're not sure what we're supposed to do next and get lost. All we can do in this situation is sit back and observe the differences.

Mmmmmm.

baby X

(This post is not an official post, it is merely to point out a couple of things that are interesting/contextual.)

This is the T-shirt I saw the other day.

This is the story that Danielle and I brought up today in class; it's an entertaining and thought-provoking read if anyone's interested in a ten minute study break.

diaspora at a Third Place

In community and regional development, we refer to cafes, parks, and other communal meeting places as "Third Places." A First Place is the home, a Second Place is a workplace, but Third Places constitute the areas where people meet to spend time with one another for reasons of practicality or, more often, pleasure.

Mishka's is such a Third Place, as people convene to purchase coffee or food and then disperse to tables by themselves or with others, or simply back through the door out into the world. I take a seat at one of the last remaining tables near the pastry case and proceed to observe those standing in line:

Business Man
Bohemians
New Mother's Club
Wailing Babies
Students
Man Who Smells of Curry
Bored Girl
Artsy-looking Girl
Tall Guy With Laptop
Woman Who I See Every Time I Come Here
...

There is a fascinating sense of urgency in the line; most of those waiting choose to spend their idle time casting their eyes furtively over the occupied tables. The expressions range from hopeful to disappointed, to ambivalent, as the seating opportunities are rapidly assessed. Most are so concerned with finding a table that they fail to respond to the much-repeated "Hi," of the cashier. She appears to not be a person, but merely an obstacle they must overcome before moving into the study-surface battlefield.

Why on earth would you wait to take out your wallet at the last minute? Does it come as a surprise that you do actually need to pay for your coffee?

One of the Bohemians has walked by my table four times, and I can't understand why as she only holds a plate with a slice of carrot cake. The girl sitting next to me seems to notice this too, and I wonder if we are both wondering why the Bohemian keeps passing us by. I decide she is looking for the bathroom key and move my attention to the Girl in the Flowered Dress sitting across the room.

The Girl in the Flowered Dress looks up each time the door opens. She appears to be studying, but I don't see how she can get anything done with all of her looking up. I don't think she is waiting for anyone as she is sitting at a table with another person and there is no empty seat nearby, but her eyes seem to drill into each newcomer with a fierce curiosity. Oh, now she's looking at me, oops.

The Tall Man with the Laptop is looking at me, too. I notice he is the only person in the cafe wearing close-toed shoes.

This appears to be a unique area of Diaspora as most of the people who converge at Mishka's remain stationary before they disperse. The line is the most fluid entity in the room, and as the tables remain filled, more and more people leave the line and move out of my field of vision. What is fascinating to me are the people I remember leaving who I see come back inside after a while. The girl sitting next to me actually whips out a pair of roller blades and takes off for fifteen minutes, leaving her books on the table and prompting looks of longing from incoming students.

I wonder where she's gone.

a plea on behalf of the studious and caffeinated

(This is the third post for Week #2)

As my last post was quite lengthy (apologies and thanks to those of you who took the time to read it), this will be a very simple post on a very simple argument:

I am sitting at Brewed Awakening in Berkeley as I type this post. I sometimes come here when I am in the Bay Area so that I can read or study and enjoy a really good cup of coffee. The cafe is quite open, airy, and comfortable, and I have never had trouble finding a table even though it is a popular place. If it were crowded, however, I could go to Yali’s, Free Speech, the International House cafe, Au Cocoulet, Cafe Strada, Cafe, Milano, or Poulet. Not only could I make it to any of those other cafes, I could do it, walking, within twenty minutes in any direction. Which leads me to my argument:

Davis needs more independent cafes.

I usually study at Mishka’s in Davis, since I like the coffee, the atmosphere, and the fact that it is privately owned. Seating, however, is another story. I have walked to Mishka’s countless times only to find it full to capacity, with only a few tables boasting “the rule” still empty. Though this occurrence is frequent, I keep coming back, simply because it is one of the few places in Davis where students can grab a cup of coffee and study.

Yes, I will acknowledge the fact that there are other cafes in Davis, but I find they are all lacking in one way or another:

Starbucks – Starbucks is often cramped, and has tiny round tables not useful for studying (at least, not for me as I usually have at least a book, a notebook, and a computer)

Peet’s – What kind of a cafe closes at 9:00pm? This is only the downtown Peet’s; if I recall correctly, the Marketplace Peet’s closes at 7:00pm.

Crepeville – You can only study here during certain periods of the day as the owners are concerned about table turnover and will ask you to leave if you have been occupying a table for a while but haven’t purchased more food.

Le Chamois – I just have trouble studying here, I don’t even know why.

Borders – You must pay to use the internet.

3rd and U – Televisions are counterproductive to studying. Especially when they are playing the Food Network.

It seems to me that the ratio between student population and good cafes is undesirable in Davis. We need to promote the opening of new, independent cafes in Davis, and give them the opportunity to thrive. We ought to create rent-controlled zones for such businesses to protect them from greedy property owners (let’s have a moment of silence for Cafe Roma and Espresso Roma). And we as students ought to make an effort to support such business to show city officials what we appreciate in our town.

If you build an independent coffee shop with free internet, square tables, and delicious pastries, students will come.

Consumption Rewritten

(This post is belated due to reasons explained in the comments section of Paperless Writing. It is the second post for Week #2)


It would be obvious to state that types, methods, and amounts of consumption have changed drastically within the past 200 years. Many widely owned commodities such as cars, phones, televisions, calculators, even contact lenses* were only marketed during the twentieth century. Yet, the actually necessity of many items we “need” is questionable; certainly our predecessors managed to survive without many of the technological, medical and commercial aids of our time (including tube yogurt and TiVo). Why, then, are current markets flooded with thousands of “necessary” items? Simply stated, our modes of consumption have shifted from satisfying our needs for survival to satisfying our needs to be happy.

I found that our “group therapy” session on Wednesday actually discussed some of the issues surrounding this phenomenon, a few of which are due to our country’s mindset of “living to work.” Many people in high-powered, executive positions work long hours and make good money, but for what exactly? It is estimated that a family of four can subsist in California (a state with one of the highest costs of living) for around $35,600; this amount supposedly includes rent or mortgage payments, food, clothes, potential medical costs, and utilities. There is not much left for skateboards, Barbie dolls, or power drills, but it is enough to keep those in the family happy and healthy. Yet some families in the United States make above 250,000 annually, and work increasingly long hours to do so. Although this is well above the amount needed for survival, it would appear that some Americans have grown increasingly accustomed to more frivolous lifestyles that would be impossible without a steady cash flow (or, rather, a steady cash flood); it is therefore deemed “necessary” that they continue to work hard to ensure the support of what is unnecessary.

There was a children’s cassette tape series (not to date myself) called “The Adventures of Christina Valentine” which states my point quite humorously and elegantly. Christina Valentine, the protagonist, lives in a large, new, yellow house with her mother and father. Her grandfather lives next door in an old, shingled two-story dwelling with a slightly sagging roof. Over dinner one night, her grandfather asks her father why he feels he needs to live in such a large house:

Dad: Well, Pops, I work hard! I deserve a big house.

Grandpa: Well, why do you work so hard?

Dad: I have to work hard, Pops, I’ve gotta pay for this lovely house.

Grandpa: Well, then why do you have such a big house?

Dad: I told you, I work hard, I deserve it!

Grandpa: Well, then...

You get the picture.


We’re caught in this weird push and pull between what we really need and what we think we need, and producers have latched onto our inability to distinguish between the two. Now mops are being replaced with Swifer sweepers with disposable wipes (for added convenience and cleanliness), minivans now come with TWO televisions to distract children (and most are also no longer “mini”), and pre-destroyed jeans are leaping off the shelves at $170 a pair (or in some cases, per leg). It is possible to rationalize why we would need each of these things:

“I’m worried about my mop retaining germs and bacteria, so I want something I can throw away after it’s been used.”

“My kids are hyperactive and I could use some peace and quiet in the car, but one of them likes to watch Barney and the other likes Dragonball Z. I need two televisions to keep them happy and myself sane.”

“I like, want to fit in with everyone, and like, these jeans are totally hot right now, and I mean, well, I could get a different pair and destroy them myself, but, well, like, how lame would that be? AND, they like, wouldn’t have the label or anything.”

But how badly do we need these things when you break it all down? Didn’t many of our parents’ parents use mops? Obviously our parents survived that archaic (and oh-so-dangerous) cleaning method. And what did people do before there were televisions in the car? Maybe they read books or, dare I say it, talked to each other. Car televisions are almost as trivial as $170 labels (since that is actually what you are paying for) when it comes to survival.

As our basic needs for food, shelter, and company are now easily met, it makes sense that we would begin to search for new needs in order to continue to better our lives. And it is a basic human instinct to seek out things that make us happy or comfortable to the greatest possible extent. Unfortunately, in this era of consumption, it can be difficult for a person to realize when their needs have been fulfilled; instead, we keep buying and consuming goods we think we need in the search for total satisfaction.

Thank goodness SoBe will begin bottling willpower soon.

*Fun Fact: Leonardo da Vinci, among his many achievements, is also credited as being the original inventor of the contact lens.

Consumption rewritten

consumption, consumption, what's your function?

It would be obvious to state that types, methods, and amounts of consumption have changed drastically within the past 200 years. Many widely owned commodities such as cars, phones, televisions, calculators, even contact lenses* were only marketed during the twentieth century. Yet, the actually necessity of many items we “need” is questionable; certainly our predecessors managed to survive without many of the technological, medical and commercial aids of our time (including tube yogurt and TiVo). Why, then, are current markets flooded with thousands of “necessary” items? Simply stated, our modes of consumption have shifted from satisfying our needs for survival to satisfying our needs to be happy.

Perhaps this shift became most prevalent when consumption became increasingly intertwined with consumerism, that is, the “doctrine validating abundance and prosperity” (B., G., & M., 58). This idea of consumerism promotes the message that material consumption is positively associated with wealth, thus, spending more shows (or gives the impression) that one has more to spend. Material consumption may also serve to exhibit the values of the consumer. Associations and organizations have been created to uphold the interests of consumers to ensure that they remain content and "informed" regarding their opportunities for consumption. Consumption in this sense, and especially in capitalist nations such as the United States, is viewed more as a right than a privilege and continues to validate purchases in the minds of consumers.

Although there are positive connotations to the "right to consume," some believe that consumption may be a right we abuse; the negative side of consumerism sees consumption as indulgent of "self-interests and vulgar materialism" (B., G., & M., 58). Not only is consumption synonymous for "decay," "devouring," "depletion," and "destruction," but it is the culprit in a slew of newly recognized mental and social illnesses. Consumer goods, food, alcohol, and sex are among the over-consumed entities found hard to resist; interestingly, they are also four things usually associated with feelings of pleasure or happiness. As our basic needs for food, shelter, and company are now easily met, it makes sense that we would begin to search for new needs in order to continue to better our lives. And it is a basic human instinct to seek out things that make us happy or comfortable to the greatest possible extent. Unfortunately, in this era of consumption, it can be difficult for a person to realize when their needs have been fulfilled; instead, we keep buying and consuming goods we think we need in the search for total satisfaction.

Thank goodness SoBe will begin bottling willpower soon.

*Fun Fact: Leonardo da Vinci, among his many achievements, is also credited as being the original inventor of the contact lens.

REM in the water

(Disclaimer - Apologies for late post; I've spent the last three days in a house in the Bay Area with no internet access)

Last night I had another swimming pool dream.

I dreamt (tangent: spellcheck doesn't like 'dreamt;' is this a dying word?) I was headed to an IM inner tube water polo game; I was captain, and I really wanted our team to win, so I made sure to be at the pool early. The pool was located on Third street in between B and C and was about the size of a football field. Although I had attempted to be the first arrival, everyone was already there. My team consisted of some seventy people, some of whom were good friends, some of whom were random people from my life who occasionally make cameos in my dreams (i.e. the pharmacist from Rite Aid). I remember feeling aggravated because everyone was in the pool but no one was playing well; everything just seemed chaotic and loud. I jumped in the pool and sank slightly, until my body came to rest about seven feet below the surface. I could see hundreds of legs treading water above me, but then the water started to get cloudy and kind of milky in color. I tried to swim, but kept running into people since I couldn't see, so I had to surface. My friends M and K came but didn't want to get in the pool which made me mad. Then the first chair of the flute section from my high school symphonic band swam up in an orange headband and purple leg warmers and stuck a water bottle (our "ball") behind a napkin-sized net (our "goal"). Then all of a sudden I was the referee and I told her and one of her friends that they couldn't put the water bottle behind the net because it was cheating, and they got mad and swam away to the other side of the pool. And I was mad because they were cheating.

The weirdest part of my dream, however, came at a point where I had a bird's eye view of everything and noticed that there was a HUGE (think two or three of our classrooms combined) Pyrex baking dish lying on the bottom of the pool.

I suppose at this point it is needless to say that I have strange dreams.

Though I feel that dream interpretation is, to quote Truman, "Forty-nine percent B.S.," I do wonder what my dreams might mean. There are some dreams I've had where I clearly recognize elements from the previous day, while other dreams have recurred so often they've become more like television reruns than subconscious analyses. I've had dreams about driving, about dying, about spiders and cats and coffee and money; I've dreamt that I was old, that I was a child, that I was Alexis Bledel, that I was a guy. I once even dreamt that I was split into two people and my brothers (which I don't actually have) were trying to kill my other half with their rotting, mold-encrusted socks (it was at this point in the dream that I realized I was asleep and woke up laughing).

But swimming pools have worked their way into my dream rotation on multiple occasions. Does that mean something? Would I unlock some hidden chamber in my subconscious if I could decode the meaning of the deep blue basin?

I still remember my high school psychology teacher trying to explain a dream to me (my dream had again been about a swimming pool, taking place this time at night on the top of a massive diving board with me wearing ski boots and a snow parka; my paper on this dream is still tucked away in my nightstand). The pool, he said, usually represents some kind of peace or placidity; it is a calming symbol. In other cases, however, it may simply represent the unconscious itself.

It seems slightly funny to me to be swimming in your unconscious during a period of unconsciousness. But let's run with this for a minute; how could my dream be interpreted if the pool is in fact my unconscious?

The logical first question to ask is, "What was in the pool?" One could assume that whatever was in the pool is also in my unconscious. So we have:

Me
legs
cloudy, milky water
people (both friends and acquaintances)
water bottle
tiny nets
giant Pyrex baking dish

The logical next question is, "What do each of these elements mean?"

Anybody?

I've got a hunch the dream dictionary doesn't have an entry for "Pyrex baking dish."

But maybe there's a reason dreams are so random and obscure. Perhaps they serve as an outlet for everything wiggety-wack in our heads while we sleep so that we can lead relatively normal lives awake. If my brain feels the need to work something out, I'd rather it do it behind the veil of sleep than while I'm grocery-shopping or eating dinner.

Or swimming.

And maybe trying to understand dreams defeats the purpose of dreaming. Maybe dreams are a way for us to clear the psychological refuse from our heads so that we can spend each day refreshed. Maybe "everything will be better in the morning" because our minds will have been emptied of the crap collected over the course of the day.

If that is indeed the case, I think I'll head to bed.



(RF's interpretation of the dream in his words:

The water is non-fat milk.
The dish is because you like baking.
The water bottle is for bathrooms.
The nets are because you feel like a goldfish and they are napkin-sized because I make messes.)

deconstructing deconstruction

Interestingly, though Chris remarked that deconstruction was one of the more difficult words in "New Keywords," I had originally been thinking about it in the context of salad.

Deconstructed salads and other deconstructed foods are part of a somewhat recent fad to separate the elements of classic or familiar dishes (think key lime pie) and present them in new or "exciting" ways (think key lime mousse served in a margarita dish with a dollop of whipped cream and a graham cracker). I don't quite get it. I still remember my first experience with deconstructed salad quite clearly. I was with my family at Skate's on the Berkeley Marina, celebrating my mom's birthday. My grandma and my mom had ordered a caesar salad to share though my sister, Elizabeth, sat between them; in the past, the salad had been served fully prepped and dressed on two separate plates, so a diner's geographical location at the table was never an issue. This night's salad, however, arrived on a single long plate which, after a moment's hesitation on the part of the waitress, was placed between my mom and grandma in front of my sister. Elizabeth, who at ten or so was already adept at questioning the obvious, asked, "Why did you order lettuce?" My grandma, on the other hand, saw not lettuce, but a salad the kitchen had simply forgotten to finish. "No, no," explained the waitress. "It's supposed to be like that, it's deconstructed." After she had left, my mom dutifully cut the DIY lettuce leaves into pieces while my sister questioned the meaning of "deconstructed" and my grandma glared at the dish in mild offense.

Enough about salad.

I'll admit to my intrigue as to the meanings of "deconstruction," especially after I was told it would be challenging. Why? What is so challenging about a word which is, essentially, the opposite of a word I knew very well?

Perhaps one reason is because of the fact that the word has a metaphysical basis; it is almost synonymous (according to the text) to a "criticism," namely of ideas (Bennet, Glossberg, Morris, 70). I had only ever thought of it in a physical (or, as Chris said, architectural) sense, as in deconstructing a building or a puzzle or... well, a salad. Apparently, I had a one-dimensional understanding of the word.

"Deconstruction is a reading of and towards systems of differential relations which... exist and change in time and are open-ended; of modes of being without self identity or origin; of a presence which is endlessly deferred."

Okay.

So what does this mean in the context of diaspora, society, reform and revolution, and race?

I tried to come up with relational words to better understand the meaning of deconstruction within the context of our cluster:

Diaspora - perhaps deconstruction in this case could have to do with separation of people, ideas, technology, and a deconstruction of society.

Society - deconstruction could imply more of a transition, either architecturally or idealogically.

Reform and Revolution - again, transition, but also reclamation, such as in the deconstruction of an oppressive regime or idea or mindset.

Race - This could have to do with the deconstruction of one's ethnic self, or identification of background, and, in some cases, the isolation of people or groups.

"Deconstruction is a strategy of complication" (p.70)

Is deconstruction in actuality the breakdown of ideas which remains complicated due to contextual and chronological parameters? Is that what makes this word "key?"

blog blog blog

My first impression of "New Keywords" was one of absence.

I had postponed my visit to the bookstore to sign up for a weekly "funky-style street dance" course with my roommate. We had decided it would be our last joint activity before she moved home. After UWP, I got a bran muffin and waited outside of the Silo for the Experimental College to open so I could ensure myself a place in the class. It was one of those transitional periods where time is essentially lost, existing in too small a chunk to be very useful or productive, yet too big a space to exclude boredom.

Ten things I thought about while I was waiting:

1. It is hot.
2. I wish I wasn't wearing jeans.
3. Oh shoot, I forgot to contest that parking ticket from a couple of weeks ago.
4. This muffin is delicious.
5. That looks like Becca over there.
6. That isn't actually Becca.
7. I'm not sure about this whole blogging thing.
8. There must be fifty blueberries in this muffin.
9. What should my blog be called?
10. Haha, look at that duck over there.

I got tired of waiting and ran upstairs and signed up for my classes. No one was ahead of me in line, so I managed to sign myself up for classes AND get a complimentary t-shirt in my size (generally a crap shoot at any place offering complimentary t-shirts) within ten minutes. I then made my way over to the bookstore to pick up my copy of "New Keywords."

Ten things I thought about on the way to the bookstore:

1. Do not forget to run the t-shirt through the dryer to heat-set the screen print.
2. Why is it still so smoky?
3. Canadian Regional Development, that's the first time I've heard that.
4. Do not forget to read other blogs, too.
5. Can you recycle a paper bag after it's held a muffin?
6. REALLY do not forget about the parking ticket.
7. I wonder if this is a book that I can sell back to the bookstore when I'm done.
8. I hope the bookstore doesn't rip me off like last quarter.
9. I hope if I get ripped off like last quarter it's at least for a worthwhile book.
10. I wish I had another muffin.

I threw my shirt and my notebook into one of the two remaining lockers in the bookstore and made my way downstairs; I remembered that someone in our class had said the UWP books were behind the information desk and I immediately noticed the green and yellow UWP signs taped to the top shelf.

Right above four rows of empty shelves.

It appeared as though the rest of UWP 101 had beat me to the punch and bought every last book while I was committing to my funky-style Wednesday evenings. I didn't feel like I had been busy for that long; I also found it hard to believe that everyone had immediately rushed to get their own copy after class. But there they were, five empty shelves next to a pile of creative writing and prose compilations.

Ten things I thought about while looking at the shelves:

1. Seriously? They didn't buy enough books for the class?
2. Oh, I bet that people on the waitlist bought books, too.
3. We didn't need to read the book yet, this was just first impressions, right?
4. I guess a lack of an impression is still an impression.
5. Parking ticket, parking ticket, parking ticket...
6. Hmm, I wonder if they'll get more books, I don't want to order online right now.
7. What will I write about if I don't have the book?
8. I have impressions from what we talked about in class, I guess.
9. Seriously, I don't understand how every book could have sold before I got here.
10. Maybe I should ask someone if they're going to get more books in soon.

A student employee asked me if I needed help before I even made it to the information desk; apparently my confusion made itself more obvious than I had realized. I asked him if he could tell me when the store would be getting more copies of the required reading for UWP 101. He asked me my class section and then said, "Well, I'm not sure, but let's go eyeball the situation" as he led me back to the shelves. I followed him reluctantly, knowing we'd again reach the blank racks of the back wall. He, however, walked past the empty shelves and stopped in front of a different section of the store. I was about to open my mouth to notify him of his mistake when he held up a copy of "New Keywords." "Is this what you're looking for?" he asked. "Oh... yes," I said, and took the copy from him. "Thanks."

Things I thought about while holding the book:

1. Well, that was stupid.
2. I can't believe that I didn't see the books over here.
3. But it says UWP over there... and over here?
4. That guy probably thinks I'm a little stupid.
5. Well at least I have the book... oh, someone wrote all over this.
6. Someone wrote in this one, too.
7. Wait, there was something I was supposed to remember...
8. Oh, this one doesn't have any writing in it.
9. Yeah, okay, this one looks good.
10. OH RIGHT, parking ticket!

So now I have the book. I still don't quite know how I feel about it; I've been flipping through it's pages and it... well, it honestly makes me think of my dad. He's one of those people whom you'll ask a question such as "Why don't the Milky Way planets ever bump into each other?" and he'll say, "Well, Aristotle once believed..." and by the time he's reached the part where he explains about the effects of gravity and elliptical orbits, you've learned more about astronomy than you ever wanted to know.

Not that that's a bad thing...

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think, at times, I'll get frustrated with this book. I'll want a simple answer to a simple question and I don't know if this text will grant such a request. There will probably be a couple of days where I only look at the boldface and do my best to guess the message the book is offering behind these key words.

But perhaps I'll learn more than I imagined I could...