Monday, November 30, 2009
Blog entry for Wednesday, Dec. 2
For this blog entry, reflect on the entire learning community--the reading and writing parts of the coruse--so far. Discuss the skills that you have had the most success learning about, skills that remain difficult for you, and what aspects of the learning community you have found most and least enjoyable. Be specific: talk about particular readings, videos, activities, assignments, essays, chapters, etc. The purpose of the reflection in this blog entry is to help you prepare your mind and spirit for your final portfolios and tests. Sharing your reflection will also help your classmates prepare.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
What I learned from King Corn and Chew On This
Besides learning that I'm kind of homesick for Iowa, but kind of not, I learned that basically, many of the environmental, economic/labor, and health issues are the fault of soda, or as I would have said in Iowa, "pop." I also learned that the problem is huge and involves lots of money, so it's not going to go away any time soon. Farmers are subsidized to grow more and more and more corn every year, so there's always a surplus, which means that they can make corn syrup really cheaply, and Pepsi and Coke can make tons of money. Oh, and we all get diabetes. Oops.
In addition, because all that cheap corn is lying around, we can fatten cows up really quickly and thoroughly (by keeping them in confinement feedlots and feeding them corn all the time), and it makes really fatty meat. Plus it produces soooo much waste. The feedlot in King Corn produced as much wasate as a city of 1.7 million people. Isn't methane from farm animal manure contributing to global warming, too? I think Al Gore told me that.
I have really been trying to stop drinking soda for health reasons, but now I think it's kind of an ethical issue. I don't want to give them my money any more. It just feeds the corn machine. Completely by coincidence, when I was in Whole Foods today, they were giving samples of Snowville Creamery Milk, which comes from grass-fed cows in Ohio. It's non-homogenized (meaning the cream still rises to the top), pasteurized at lower temperatures, and bottled on the farm then shipped to grocery stores the same day. It tasted really, really good, kind of creamier than the milk I usually get (which is already organic and all that, but not grass fed. I got some for Daphne. $3.19 a gallon... I don't think that's that much more expensive than other milk, is it? I'm also going to shop at my local farmer's market more--I got some apples from there last week, and they were like, 100 times better than ones from the grocery store, so I actually ate a few apples this week. Only had cafeteria pizza twice this week. Maybe by next semester I'll be writing, "I am hungry, so I will eat grass-fed organic beef."
Anyway, I'm going with grass-fed meat and milk from now on, and a complete moratorium on soda. If I find I can't afford as much meat, I'll just eat more veggies. I will do a grass-fed meat recipe this weekend and report here what it was like. (My parents had some grass-fed beef recently and they said they definitely could tell the difference... unfortunately, it's the fat in beef that makes it tasty (not the big chunks, but the tiny flecks in the grain of the meat itself), so it probably won't be as good, or as tender, unless i get dry-aged... but then we're looking at $20+ per pound, easy.
In addition, because all that cheap corn is lying around, we can fatten cows up really quickly and thoroughly (by keeping them in confinement feedlots and feeding them corn all the time), and it makes really fatty meat. Plus it produces soooo much waste. The feedlot in King Corn produced as much wasate as a city of 1.7 million people. Isn't methane from farm animal manure contributing to global warming, too? I think Al Gore told me that.
I have really been trying to stop drinking soda for health reasons, but now I think it's kind of an ethical issue. I don't want to give them my money any more. It just feeds the corn machine. Completely by coincidence, when I was in Whole Foods today, they were giving samples of Snowville Creamery Milk, which comes from grass-fed cows in Ohio. It's non-homogenized (meaning the cream still rises to the top), pasteurized at lower temperatures, and bottled on the farm then shipped to grocery stores the same day. It tasted really, really good, kind of creamier than the milk I usually get (which is already organic and all that, but not grass fed. I got some for Daphne. $3.19 a gallon... I don't think that's that much more expensive than other milk, is it? I'm also going to shop at my local farmer's market more--I got some apples from there last week, and they were like, 100 times better than ones from the grocery store, so I actually ate a few apples this week. Only had cafeteria pizza twice this week. Maybe by next semester I'll be writing, "I am hungry, so I will eat grass-fed organic beef."
Anyway, I'm going with grass-fed meat and milk from now on, and a complete moratorium on soda. If I find I can't afford as much meat, I'll just eat more veggies. I will do a grass-fed meat recipe this weekend and report here what it was like. (My parents had some grass-fed beef recently and they said they definitely could tell the difference... unfortunately, it's the fat in beef that makes it tasty (not the big chunks, but the tiny flecks in the grain of the meat itself), so it probably won't be as good, or as tender, unless i get dry-aged... but then we're looking at $20+ per pound, easy.
Blog entry assignment for Friday, 11/20
For Friday, blog about what you learned from King Corn and Chew on This, and what you can do to have an impact on the problems created by the way food is produced.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
It takes two lyrics punctuated
I wanna rock right now. I'm Rob Base, and I came to get down. I'm not internationally know, but I'm known to rock the microphone because I get stupid, I mean outrageous. Stay away from me if you're contagious cause I'm the winner. No, I'm not the loser. To be an M.C. is what I choose. Ladies love me. Girls adore me. I mean, even the ones who never saw me like the way that I rhyme at a show. The reason why? Man, I don't know, so let's go 'cause it takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!
My name is Rob. I gotta real funky concept. Listen up 'cause I'm gonna keep you in step.
I got an idea that I wanna share. You don't like it? So what? I don't care. I'm number one, the uno. I like comp. Bring all the suckers 'cause all them I'll stomp. Bold and black, but I won't protect all of my followers 'cause all I want is respect. I'm not a doctor. Put them in rapture. A slick brother that can easy outfox ya cause I'm Rob, the last name Base, yeah, and on the mike, I'm known to be the freshest, so let's start. It shouldn't be too hard. I'm not a sucker, so I don't need a bodyguard. I won't fess, wear a bulletproof vest. Don't smoke buddha, can't stand cess, yes. It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight
Hit it!
The situation that the Base is in: I'm kinda stingy; that's why I don't wanna lend a funky rhyme to a foe or a good friend, but listen up 'cause I want you to comprehend cause I'm the leader, the man superior. I take care of ya and then ya get wearier, so just sit. my rhymes are not counterfeit. The record sells which makes this one a hit. It won't hurt to listen to Red Alert. Take off your shirt; make sure it don't hit the dirt. I like the kids--the guys, the girls. I want the ducats 'cause this is Rob Base's world. I'm on a mission. Ya better just listen to my rhymes 'cause I'm all about dissin' cause
it takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!
I stand alone. Don't need anyone cause I'm Rob. Just came to have fun. Don't need friends that act like foes cause I'm Rob Base, the one who know about things that make ya get weary. Don't cheer me; just hear me out 'cause I got the clout. Shout (Ho!) before I turn the party out. I won't stutter.
Project my voice. Speak clearly, so you can be my choice on stage or on record. Go to the Wiz and select it. Take it off the rack. If it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper; f### the Big Mac. If you want static, so let's go. So, throw up your hands. Go for what you know. Bro', I got an ego. Yo, talkin' to me? No. Oh. 'Cause Rob is in the front; EZ Rock is on the backup. We're not soft, so you better just slack up 'Cause I'm cool, calm just like a breeze. Rock the mike with the help of EZ
Rock on the set. The music plays; only cuts the records that I say. It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!
All right, now, EZ Rock, now, when I count to three, I want you to get busy. You ready now?
One, two, three, get loose now!
It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!
Hit it!
My name is Rob. I gotta real funky concept. Listen up 'cause I'm gonna keep you in step.
I got an idea that I wanna share. You don't like it? So what? I don't care. I'm number one, the uno. I like comp. Bring all the suckers 'cause all them I'll stomp. Bold and black, but I won't protect all of my followers 'cause all I want is respect. I'm not a doctor. Put them in rapture. A slick brother that can easy outfox ya cause I'm Rob, the last name Base, yeah, and on the mike, I'm known to be the freshest, so let's start. It shouldn't be too hard. I'm not a sucker, so I don't need a bodyguard. I won't fess, wear a bulletproof vest. Don't smoke buddha, can't stand cess, yes. It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight
Hit it!
The situation that the Base is in: I'm kinda stingy; that's why I don't wanna lend a funky rhyme to a foe or a good friend, but listen up 'cause I want you to comprehend cause I'm the leader, the man superior. I take care of ya and then ya get wearier, so just sit. my rhymes are not counterfeit. The record sells which makes this one a hit. It won't hurt to listen to Red Alert. Take off your shirt; make sure it don't hit the dirt. I like the kids--the guys, the girls. I want the ducats 'cause this is Rob Base's world. I'm on a mission. Ya better just listen to my rhymes 'cause I'm all about dissin' cause
it takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!
I stand alone. Don't need anyone cause I'm Rob. Just came to have fun. Don't need friends that act like foes cause I'm Rob Base, the one who know about things that make ya get weary. Don't cheer me; just hear me out 'cause I got the clout. Shout (Ho!) before I turn the party out. I won't stutter.
Project my voice. Speak clearly, so you can be my choice on stage or on record. Go to the Wiz and select it. Take it off the rack. If it's wack, put it back. I like the Whopper; f### the Big Mac. If you want static, so let's go. So, throw up your hands. Go for what you know. Bro', I got an ego. Yo, talkin' to me? No. Oh. 'Cause Rob is in the front; EZ Rock is on the backup. We're not soft, so you better just slack up 'Cause I'm cool, calm just like a breeze. Rock the mike with the help of EZ
Rock on the set. The music plays; only cuts the records that I say. It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!
All right, now, EZ Rock, now, when I count to three, I want you to get busy. You ready now?
One, two, three, get loose now!
It takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Blog entry assignment for Friday, 11/13 (Friday the 13th!)
1. Choose a song you like. 2. Write down the lyrics. 3. Punctuate the lyrics correctly as if the song were sentences. 4. Write the lyrics, correctly punctuated, in your blog entry.
Example: Now, when you bug out, you usually have a reason for the action. Sometimes you don't; it's just for pure satisfaction. ... etc. ("Buggin' Out," A Tribe Called Quest.)
Example: Now, when you bug out, you usually have a reason for the action. Sometimes you don't; it's just for pure satisfaction. ... etc. ("Buggin' Out," A Tribe Called Quest.)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
What I'm eating
Starting now, 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday: I just ate two chocolate truffles from Whole Foods, in bed. I put them in the freezer for a few minutes so they aren't so smushy. I got them as a treat for when my parents were in town last weekend. I'm also drinking my nightly liter bottle of Harris Teeter seltzer water. I have heard that the bubbles "leach away" nutrients, but I don't believe that. It's a good digestive after meals.
I didn't used to ever eat breakfast, but I've been starving in the morninglately. Wednesday and Thursday (and if they have it this morning, Friday) I had hashbrowns and bacon from the cafeteria. I switched to turkey bacon on Thursday. Supposedly healthier, but I don't know how anything that salty couldn't be bad for you. Also, the pork bacon was somehow dry and greasy at the same time. I eat breakfast on the walk from the cafeteria to my office. Plus coffee. I am down to two cups a day now, one at the apartment from the machine in the lobby (It's Starbucks!) and one at school... you know, the one you see me drink after MC Munchies opens up at 10. That fake Dunkin Donuts coffee in the cafeteria is foul.
I have a small but unhealthy lunch most days. I am hungry, so I eat pizza. (coordination) Because I am hungry, I eat pizza. (subordination) I am hungry; therefore, I eat pizza. (coordination with conjuctive adverb). One slice of sausage on Tuesday, pepperoni on Wednesday, cheese on Thursday. Plus I snack on nuts I keep in my office. A handful or two holds me over. I'm such an idiot, I even had pork chops to bring to work to eat, but I kept forgetting. Now I'll have to throw them away.
This week, all my colleagues had tons of leftover Halloween candy, so I ate too many Reeses, Mounds, and Sweet tarts to count. One day I must have had 10 Reeses in the afternoon.
Dinner--on Monday I made Moroccan spice-rubbed pork tenderloin with sauteed apples and zucchini. (had to get that in there cause I'm proud of myself.) Tuesday was some kind of leftover... I can't remember what it was. Wednesday, leftover pork tenderloin, apples/zucchini. I was surprised that my daughter didn't like that. I thought she would, but she spits it out. Thursday is sandwich night! We go to the Whole Foods after work and buy sandwiches, but I bought a piece of salmon out of the deli case and cooked some frozen mixed veggies with it. Daphne didn't like the salmon either; I was picking it up off the floor. Tonight I'm going to try to talk my wife into going to Trio's, a diner down the street. I want a hamburger.
Why did I eat so much pork this week?
I didn't used to ever eat breakfast, but I've been starving in the morninglately. Wednesday and Thursday (and if they have it this morning, Friday) I had hashbrowns and bacon from the cafeteria. I switched to turkey bacon on Thursday. Supposedly healthier, but I don't know how anything that salty couldn't be bad for you. Also, the pork bacon was somehow dry and greasy at the same time. I eat breakfast on the walk from the cafeteria to my office. Plus coffee. I am down to two cups a day now, one at the apartment from the machine in the lobby (It's Starbucks!) and one at school... you know, the one you see me drink after MC Munchies opens up at 10. That fake Dunkin Donuts coffee in the cafeteria is foul.
I have a small but unhealthy lunch most days. I am hungry, so I eat pizza. (coordination) Because I am hungry, I eat pizza. (subordination) I am hungry; therefore, I eat pizza. (coordination with conjuctive adverb). One slice of sausage on Tuesday, pepperoni on Wednesday, cheese on Thursday. Plus I snack on nuts I keep in my office. A handful or two holds me over. I'm such an idiot, I even had pork chops to bring to work to eat, but I kept forgetting. Now I'll have to throw them away.
This week, all my colleagues had tons of leftover Halloween candy, so I ate too many Reeses, Mounds, and Sweet tarts to count. One day I must have had 10 Reeses in the afternoon.
Dinner--on Monday I made Moroccan spice-rubbed pork tenderloin with sauteed apples and zucchini. (had to get that in there cause I'm proud of myself.) Tuesday was some kind of leftover... I can't remember what it was. Wednesday, leftover pork tenderloin, apples/zucchini. I was surprised that my daughter didn't like that. I thought she would, but she spits it out. Thursday is sandwich night! We go to the Whole Foods after work and buy sandwiches, but I bought a piece of salmon out of the deli case and cooked some frozen mixed veggies with it. Daphne didn't like the salmon either; I was picking it up off the floor. Tonight I'm going to try to talk my wife into going to Trio's, a diner down the street. I want a hamburger.
Why did I eat so much pork this week?
Blog entry assignment for Friday, 11/6
This week, we'll start writing about food. To start with, keep track of everything you eat from now until Friday morning. Describe the food and your experience eating it, and offer whatever comment you have about it. This would be a good entry for do piece by piece, adding new foods and your thoughts frequently.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)