I finished up a couple books in pretty rapid order last week: The Kestrel and The Beggar Queen, the last two books in the Westmark Trilogy by Lloyd Alexander. I finished these two books really quickly because a) they're super-awesome and b) I had just finished my finals for the semester and was unwinding.
I was amazed throughout the reading of these two books at how adult these books are, as I talked about in this post. Not adult in the "woo-woo" manner, but in that Alexander deals with adult subjects like violence, war, death, and hatred, and in doing so he doesn't pull many punches. So very different from the Chronicles of Prydain. If I were an author, I don't think that I would be able to pull off two very different styles and suceed in both. I highly recommend these books.
Now I'm on to Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, a book by Philip K. Dick, an author I've greatly enjoyed for the last several years.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
Many things 4 (listen!)
Surprisingly, I am currently listening to NPR. Here and Now is on, a program that I listen to when I can (it's not my favorite). Today they're talking to Michael Pollan, a professor at UC Berkeley and author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. They're talking about "the politics of food", providing some good information on exactly what corn (and soybeans soon) is doing to the U.S., including making the poorest people obese, a trend that has never really been seen in history (usually, the poor people can't afford food and starve, now they can only afford fatty foods, and they get big). They bring up some issues that a lot of people don't know about, but should. Go here to give a listen to the interview. It will be worth your time.
The second thing to which you should listen is an episode of This American Life entitled Habeas Schmabeas. I have listened to This American Life many times in the past, and the stories featured are often pretty much meaningless in their own powerful way. This episode, on the other hand, is something that I think any American who considers her/himsef informed should give a listen. The episode deals with the rule of habeas corpus, including its introduction in 12th century England. The most important part of the episode is the time it spends dealing with the rule in regards to the current inmates of Guantanimo Bay, and how our current administration is completely ignoring this rule's place in our constitution. Listen to the stories of some of these detainees, and see if you think there is any reason for them to have their lives destroyed, and not even have the chance to tell their stories.
The second thing to which you should listen is an episode of This American Life entitled Habeas Schmabeas. I have listened to This American Life many times in the past, and the stories featured are often pretty much meaningless in their own powerful way. This episode, on the other hand, is something that I think any American who considers her/himsef informed should give a listen. The episode deals with the rule of habeas corpus, including its introduction in 12th century England. The most important part of the episode is the time it spends dealing with the rule in regards to the current inmates of Guantanimo Bay, and how our current administration is completely ignoring this rule's place in our constitution. Listen to the stories of some of these detainees, and see if you think there is any reason for them to have their lives destroyed, and not even have the chance to tell their stories.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Many things 3 (books)
I'm not sure how this happened, but I have finished three books over the past week. It probably has something to do with the fact that this was my last week of classes, and I was procrastinating more than usual.
First book: The Highwayman by R.A. Salvatore
This was a non-D&D book by my favorite D&D novel author. I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as his other books that I've read; I think that the author has become a little more sentimental over time. I have actually met him once or twice in the past, and he's a very nice guy. This book was definitely enjoyable, although the main character was a little over the top, both in his negatives and in his positives. One of those endings where everything you can hope for happened; in other words, not very realistic (I know, it's fantasy). This would definitely not cause me to stop buying and reading his books.
Second book: Stavrogin's Confession by Fyodor Dostoevsky
This book is actually a chapter that was removed from the 1872 Dostoevsky novel The Possessed (a.k.a. Demons) because it was way too racy for sensibilities of the day and age. It was very interesting, and reminded me why Dostoevsky is one of my all-time favorite authors (probably #2 behind Mister John Ronald Reuel Tolkien). I only wish I had read it in the context of the original book; once I am through my current long reading list I will be sure to go back and reread this one with the omitted chapter in its intended place.
Third book: Westmark by Lloyd Alexander
This is the first book in the Westmark Trilogy, a fantasy trilogy that is written toward young adults. This author also wrote the Prydain Chronicles, a series of five books that are written for children; Disney made a movie and Sierra a computer game from The Black Cauldron that you may have heard of. I read this trilogy when I was in middle school. I also reread the Prydain Chronicles a few years ago and found them very childish, more so than I had remembered. I was struck, rereading Westmark on how the language was accessible to my adultitude; the writing was not bothersomely below me age-wise. I definitely recommend these book, which I think a lot of people have not heard of.
Next, I move on to the other two books of the trilogy, which also shouldn't take me long. These books make me want to keep reading all the time. Then it's on to a little bit of Dick.
First book: The Highwayman by R.A. Salvatore
This was a non-D&D book by my favorite D&D novel author. I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as his other books that I've read; I think that the author has become a little more sentimental over time. I have actually met him once or twice in the past, and he's a very nice guy. This book was definitely enjoyable, although the main character was a little over the top, both in his negatives and in his positives. One of those endings where everything you can hope for happened; in other words, not very realistic (I know, it's fantasy). This would definitely not cause me to stop buying and reading his books.
Second book: Stavrogin's Confession by Fyodor Dostoevsky
This book is actually a chapter that was removed from the 1872 Dostoevsky novel The Possessed (a.k.a. Demons) because it was way too racy for sensibilities of the day and age. It was very interesting, and reminded me why Dostoevsky is one of my all-time favorite authors (probably #2 behind Mister John Ronald Reuel Tolkien). I only wish I had read it in the context of the original book; once I am through my current long reading list I will be sure to go back and reread this one with the omitted chapter in its intended place.
Third book: Westmark by Lloyd Alexander
This is the first book in the Westmark Trilogy, a fantasy trilogy that is written toward young adults. This author also wrote the Prydain Chronicles, a series of five books that are written for children; Disney made a movie and Sierra a computer game from The Black Cauldron that you may have heard of. I read this trilogy when I was in middle school. I also reread the Prydain Chronicles a few years ago and found them very childish, more so than I had remembered. I was struck, rereading Westmark on how the language was accessible to my adultitude; the writing was not bothersomely below me age-wise. I definitely recommend these book, which I think a lot of people have not heard of.
Next, I move on to the other two books of the trilogy, which also shouldn't take me long. These books make me want to keep reading all the time. Then it's on to a little bit of Dick.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Many things 2
Today is an important anniversary. Very important in the history of our country. Four years ago today, our erstwhile president announced an end to major combat operations in Iraq. You can read this gem of a speech here. I'm glad that Bush did such a super job, going in just a year and a half from the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil to winning the war in Iraq, which had obviously been providing support to Al Qaeda. Kudos Bush, kudos. I'm glad that we so quickly took care of terror, with which Iraq was sweeping the civilized nations of the world away.
So let's all take some time today to celebrate the great accomplishments of our great president, who used his extensive, insider knowledge of the military to sweepingly defeat the forces of evil throughout the world, eliminating human rights violations, genocide, starvation, poverty, and other ills that were facing our 21st century society. Bush will go down in history as our greatest commander-in-chief ever, greater than Calvin Coolidge, who was not only a snappy dresser, but also once singlehandedly beat up every criminal in Boston and on another occasion used his laser beam eyes to stop an asteroid from impacting earth, destroying civilization as we know it.
What? None of this ever happened? Damn.
So let's all take some time today to celebrate the great accomplishments of our great president, who used his extensive, insider knowledge of the military to sweepingly defeat the forces of evil throughout the world, eliminating human rights violations, genocide, starvation, poverty, and other ills that were facing our 21st century society. Bush will go down in history as our greatest commander-in-chief ever, greater than Calvin Coolidge, who was not only a snappy dresser, but also once singlehandedly beat up every criminal in Boston and on another occasion used his laser beam eyes to stop an asteroid from impacting earth, destroying civilization as we know it.
What? None of this ever happened? Damn.
Many things 1
I have many things to blog about right now. This will be a several-part post probably.
The big news is that my article that I have been working on for basically the past three years was accepted, and I uploaded the final version today. It will be printed eventually in Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, which, if that doesn't sound exciting to you, I just don't even know. I'm now waiting on other people to get their articles through the ringer so our special issue can be published. I will finally have been published in an important periodical, woohoo. My only hope is that I will have gotten there before Alison and Arun.
Second, I read the following article yesterday: Wolfgang Puck: I Want Animals to Be Happy. It seems that Wolfgang Puck has decided that, at no extra cost to the consumer, he will instigate reforms to his culinary empire (including frozen foods even, which is pretty amazing) so that all animals used for his food will be hormone-free, and cage-free (nothing mentioned about vegetarian-fed). Also, he'll start using as many organic ingredients as possible, and make an effort to use recycled materials and reduce waste.
There were a few quotes in it that made me laugh:
"I'm not going soft, or, heaven forbid, vegan." - Apparently being vegan carries a stigma still...
"Why shouldn't cows and pigs feel sunlight on their backs, grass under their feet? Fish shouldn't be jammed into tanks too full for them to even think about swimming. They should be able to exercise their muscles and feel a current. Yes, they'll be killed for food—but until then, they should have a nice stay on Earth."
"As for foie gras, my customers and I can easily live without it."
He also gave the following quote, which I think is important for people to understand. It is in reference to his upbringing in Austria: "We never stocked cans in our pantry. Instead, we ate summer fruit in the summer and winter vegetables when the weather turned cold, just as nature intended. Our chickens were raised to run about the property, and were fed a wholesome diet. Our cows didn't know a thing about bovine growth hormones. And the food tasted better." I think that most people have no idea any more of the things that happen to their food, and the energy that it takes to make sure that we can have strawberries all year. I love being able to eat the same thing at any time of the year, but I think, once we move to Albuquerque, Alison and I are going to start trying to eat more things we grow ourselves, or are locally grown; that makes for a big sacrifice, bigger than it might seem. That means apples in the summer and fall only, bananas and oranges never (so sad), and fresh green chiles only in the fall. We'll see how long that lasts.
The big news is that my article that I have been working on for basically the past three years was accepted, and I uploaded the final version today. It will be printed eventually in Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, which, if that doesn't sound exciting to you, I just don't even know. I'm now waiting on other people to get their articles through the ringer so our special issue can be published. I will finally have been published in an important periodical, woohoo. My only hope is that I will have gotten there before Alison and Arun.
Second, I read the following article yesterday: Wolfgang Puck: I Want Animals to Be Happy. It seems that Wolfgang Puck has decided that, at no extra cost to the consumer, he will instigate reforms to his culinary empire (including frozen foods even, which is pretty amazing) so that all animals used for his food will be hormone-free, and cage-free (nothing mentioned about vegetarian-fed). Also, he'll start using as many organic ingredients as possible, and make an effort to use recycled materials and reduce waste.
There were a few quotes in it that made me laugh:
"I'm not going soft, or, heaven forbid, vegan." - Apparently being vegan carries a stigma still...
"Why shouldn't cows and pigs feel sunlight on their backs, grass under their feet? Fish shouldn't be jammed into tanks too full for them to even think about swimming. They should be able to exercise their muscles and feel a current. Yes, they'll be killed for food—but until then, they should have a nice stay on Earth."
"As for foie gras, my customers and I can easily live without it."
He also gave the following quote, which I think is important for people to understand. It is in reference to his upbringing in Austria: "We never stocked cans in our pantry. Instead, we ate summer fruit in the summer and winter vegetables when the weather turned cold, just as nature intended. Our chickens were raised to run about the property, and were fed a wholesome diet. Our cows didn't know a thing about bovine growth hormones. And the food tasted better." I think that most people have no idea any more of the things that happen to their food, and the energy that it takes to make sure that we can have strawberries all year. I love being able to eat the same thing at any time of the year, but I think, once we move to Albuquerque, Alison and I are going to start trying to eat more things we grow ourselves, or are locally grown; that makes for a big sacrifice, bigger than it might seem. That means apples in the summer and fall only, bananas and oranges never (so sad), and fresh green chiles only in the fall. We'll see how long that lasts.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Sushi Thyme
Last night we decided to "experiment" in the kitchen. Some time ago we bought some nori (seaweed for you america-jin) and some sushi rice. You might be able to tell where this is leading. We made some sushi, hooray!
This was our first attempt, so of course there were problems. But we approach sushi with at least two extra disadvantages that may not face other first-time sushi chefs. Number one, we're both white midwesterners. Huge disadvantage. Second, I hate (hate!) vinegar. I can definitely taste it in regular sushi, no matter how light it is. If you've never made sushi, you may not understand why it is important, but un-vinegared sushi is about as sticky as sticky mud.
Our first attempt was our two-roll attempt. We decided to each make our own roll, and use half a sheet of nori each. I put some carrot and zucchini in mine, and Alison's was all avocado. As you might be able to see in the photo, it didn't go well. I overstuffed mine (both with fillings and with rice), and Alison had too much rice. Luckily enough, the rice was so sticky that you could pretty much set a chopstick on top of it and lift it to your mouth. So it was at least easily edible. Further, we don't have a particularly sharp knife, so we kind of mashed our rolls a little bit. I cut mine first, and you may be able to tell that it's a little flat. I did a better job with Alison's.
Attempt number two was a large roll. For this one, Alison put on the rice and we shared filling duties. Then, she rolled it and my job was cutting, which I did slowly and patiently. The results, as you can see, are much better. This roll contained carrot, zucchini, and avocado. The only problem we had was apparently not quite stuffing it fully enough, as you can see a little bit of spiraling in the nori.
The final attempt for the evening was another carrot, zucchini, and avocado large roll (it doesn't take much vegetable to make filling, as we used a single carrot and a very small zucchini for the four rolls, plus an entire avocado somehow). This one we approached the same way, with Alison ricing and filling, and me cutting. We even did a better job with getting the roll almost the correct size, so there is very little spiraling.
I am going to quit school after this semester is over, and become a sushi chef. While I expect to be good at making and rolling sushi, the fact that it was not very good at all may be a larger problem.
This was our first attempt, so of course there were problems. But we approach sushi with at least two extra disadvantages that may not face other first-time sushi chefs. Number one, we're both white midwesterners. Huge disadvantage. Second, I hate (hate!) vinegar. I can definitely taste it in regular sushi, no matter how light it is. If you've never made sushi, you may not understand why it is important, but un-vinegared sushi is about as sticky as sticky mud.
Our first attempt was our two-roll attempt. We decided to each make our own roll, and use half a sheet of nori each. I put some carrot and zucchini in mine, and Alison's was all avocado. As you might be able to see in the photo, it didn't go well. I overstuffed mine (both with fillings and with rice), and Alison had too much rice. Luckily enough, the rice was so sticky that you could pretty much set a chopstick on top of it and lift it to your mouth. So it was at least easily edible. Further, we don't have a particularly sharp knife, so we kind of mashed our rolls a little bit. I cut mine first, and you may be able to tell that it's a little flat. I did a better job with Alison's.
Attempt number two was a large roll. For this one, Alison put on the rice and we shared filling duties. Then, she rolled it and my job was cutting, which I did slowly and patiently. The results, as you can see, are much better. This roll contained carrot, zucchini, and avocado. The only problem we had was apparently not quite stuffing it fully enough, as you can see a little bit of spiraling in the nori.
The final attempt for the evening was another carrot, zucchini, and avocado large roll (it doesn't take much vegetable to make filling, as we used a single carrot and a very small zucchini for the four rolls, plus an entire avocado somehow). This one we approached the same way, with Alison ricing and filling, and me cutting. We even did a better job with getting the roll almost the correct size, so there is very little spiraling.
I am going to quit school after this semester is over, and become a sushi chef. While I expect to be good at making and rolling sushi, the fact that it was not very good at all may be a larger problem.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Marrow Trek
So a friend of mine from U of A (who now works in the same lab as my wife) is undertaking a 3,000-mile hike from Mexico to Canada along the continental divide. He and a friend are taking their dogs and 4 months off for the project. It's not all fun and games (and bears, and being overjoyed to see a trash can); they are using this hike as a medium for raising money for bone marrow donor awareness. 3,000 miles and they hope to raise $5 per mile, which, according to my high-power computer, adds up to $15,000. They're up to $4.40 per mile, so they don't have a lot left to collect. Please go visit their website and look around, and consider donating. Good cause!
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